Finally layouts with only ME in it !

Thanks to My little attic, I delved into my single and carefree days pictures and finally found the reason to scrap them.. Its monumental for me because I swore I would only get to touch them when my kids are in HIGH SCHOOL....
It was a great challenge for me because I only had 3 papers I bought from Nettes earlier event and only had the BOHO chipboard to use for embellishment. So I had to think fast and get something going. I did my journalling and hid it behind one of the flowers. The down side to my 2 papers was that it was carrying huge figures in flowers and paisley... thank god the color scheme was perfect. You cant see here but I was going mad over the eyeletsetter and did holes every where for added effect/dimension. There was only so much you could do with the limited materials I had. The cardstock I used complimented the PP ensemble I had and I just added decorative brads to accentuate my cutouts.. I didnt pierce the brads this time,.. My mind was wondering, make it look like nose ring hhaahahhaah
Journalling reads: Once I was this sassy girl, carefree and spendthrift.. its one time in my life I only had myself to care for, however glad that I was given such chance to enjoy the fruits of my labor. To be be able to express myself without any fear of rejection. Yeah it was all about what was outside that preoccupied my world. I didnt really know that real beauty lies within. We all are made in his image and likeness and once you accept how he made you, then everything else seems to follow.

The second page spread took forever to put together. I was doing a cop out and thought to flip the 1st page spread but nahhhhhhhh i just picket up the wavy pattern and made use of the paisleys and floral patterns. Thank god for Digiprint I didnt feel the need to go out print my pics..I just upload them and walla I have my pics. (hubby now notice extra charges on a regular basis on our credit card on my printing). I included the journalling for this layout and took a closer shot. Journalling reads: "Nobody would have known these images of a once sassy girl with full on make-up and a fashion addict would become QUEEN BEE one day. I was so hung up on aesthetics and getting the right look each time that I never figured one day, I would become less enthusiastic about dressing well and looking perfect every time. I guess when husband and children entered my life, the ME in the equation became less important. I am now more in love with making sure my boys were okay, looking good and always happy. You can say I am more selfless now. I am more accepting of who I am and how GOD made me because my family certainly loved me for who I am. I chuckle when I remember the days when it took me 1 hour to get ready for an event. Now if I had 5 minutes to spare then I count myself lucky. My family has become my first and only priority. They bring intense happiness into my life. Now they are what keeps me going, they bring so much gladness into my world and they keep me young and beautiful. They have a given me such a life I never thought I would ever have. I thank the LORD for blessing me with my children and my husband. And nothing can ever match that!"

Its not my best work but I am happy I was able to put it down on paper and let the Lord hear somehow, how grateful I am to be where I am today

My Xmas picture layouts from 2003 to 2005

The Basic Grey papers really enthralled me when I bought them in OZ last December. Its like I was salivating how to massacre the PP since its been a while now that I have been pining over doing our xmas family shots. It may not be the best pics, but the memory of having babies every year, pregnant every year. Not to mention how difficult it became to go to Roxas city with infants every year,.. I loved the idea of finally completing that project that was in my head.

check this out,.. to date this I feel is my most accomplished layout because I followed what I had want to do and my cutting skills was put to the test. It may have not made the BG cut but I was in full smiles when finished this and I will be ever so proud to show you these layouts.

Check out my Slide Show!

My scraproom evolution and tidbits

Scrapbooking has become a passion and becomes a third in the order of important things in my life.. GOD, family, then scrapbooking...

And among my passions, one that takes topnotch is collecting my scrapbooking materials... Checkout my accumulated scrapstash since 2002 and the changes my scraproom has gone thru... (and to think I started with a corner ok). Its a pain to let go of materials I have passionately searched for and bought with hard saved money... I dont even buy clothes now you know... my mom would always say, you are wearing the same clothes, this money has to be spent on clothes,.. I say yes with a smile but I would turn around spend big during EBs to add more stuff in my already growing scrapbook stash.

Its tidbits like this that would make you laugh.. here's some things you would like to know about me and my scrapbooking...

* I have some envelopes of cut diecuts I have bought years ago when I started, classified to shapes and letters. To date its still there in perfect order.
* My children enter my scraproom and my voice already say on auto pilot "look but dont touch ok" and the boys says "dont touch its mommy's".
* My kids only get to touch a few things, my diecutters (I have 3 to date), my creative memories templates and some of my albums. I have trained them to look and turn pages and they have to do it on the floor so its no event of creasing or damaging my pages.
* The maids clean my whole house except my scraproom, Yaya belle only sweeps and throws my trash.
* I dont have a trash can, but a box from Scrapbukan.com, carton type. Ask me why, I dont know.
* I stole my 20k breakfast table to be my work table, my husband comments but I am Queen bee, he lets me pretend that i am and I get my way!
* I am a clutter freak, I start projects simultenously and when i lose direction or inspiration, i move on others and so some layouts take out longer to be completed! So at this moment my table is a mess! You could see my stuff previously now my racks have hooks and conceals my stuff, its not as organzied as before but it has great function for me, I suddenly see everything I need instead of stashing them into folders.

Dont you think this resembles a Hurricane just past my table.. I cant even see the darn table anymore!

* Everytime my mom travels, I make her visit scrap stores to buy me anything. Now she is going to Korea, is there scrapbooking in KOREA? I better google it.
* To my non versed scrapping friends, they comment when i break scrapbooking into conversation, they would tell me "so you are still into it, grabe its such an expensive hobby".
* I am a stay at home mom, and my husband supports my hobby but my siblings/family finances it hahhahah!
* On my last trip to Singapore, I visited practially every store there -- but I didnt buy much cause its so expensive. I visited Oz last December and I bought heaps there!
* Believe it or not, not all my layouts I believe is good.... I am the worse critic of my own work... but I do take comfort that one day, the best affirmation would be when my kids tell me how much they love their albums.. For now am tickled pink to hear them recount memories as they glance through their pictures,.. what more when they verbalize their happiness of having a very well documented life,.. lucky boys!
* I havent found my scrapbooking style but I am always falling in the massacred layouts look or the 3d/paper tole type layouts.. some one teach me how to deviate pls.
* I hate using paints or anything that needs real embossing, not because I dont find it nice, but I hate taking so many things out, cleaning up and packing up.. LAZZZZZZYY!

yeah just call me crazzzzzzy scrapper why dont you !

My moms precious mini book

I am not so fond of mini books because I feel it cramps my creativity with the limited space I have. However my trip in OZ needed a prop and I love my mom, I would do anything for her so I collated messages from our family. The question was who loves you Lourdes and each member had their pages/section they share to tell her how loved she is. and here is the results of that

Just in case you want to give it a go....... I posted this in our Scrapbytes ezine for our website, www.scrappinmoms.net. This site is to help people learn to scrapbook without leaving their own homes.
Create a Mini Book Gift

Yuletide season is fast approaching, and a phone call from my father for my mother's 60th surprise bash in Sydney was in the planning stage. Yes, I will have to fly out Down Under for it and so I’m rushing a special gift, a mini album, which will contain messages from the Figueroa family of who loves Lourdes, my mom. There is one husband of course, 4 children, and 9 grandchildren. (Credit goes to Maybelle Ngo who gave me the direction of this mini book)

Thanks to Babette Geronimo for inspiring me to make my mini books. For this project, K & Co Neopolitan line will dominate the album. It’s a perfect birthday and Christmas gift for my mother, she will be reduced to tears reading this I’m sure! I will just call this the Neo 8x8 album. Give it a go girls, a great Xmas gift for your loved ones!

Materials needed:

2 pcs 8.5 x.8.5 illustration board, for your minibook cover & base
2 pcs 9.5 x 9.5 patterned paper (paper pps ideal for folding ease), to adhere to your cover & base
1 pc 8 x 10 solid cardstock (for spine to coordinate with patterned paper used, excess is for book holder to disguise spine). For the spine, use 4.5 x 8 of the cardstock
4 pcs 8 x 8 patterned papers
2 pcs 8 x 8 coordinating cardstock
double sided tape
UHU glue or BIC glue
Cutting tools: Scissor, 12x12 trimmer, mat
Procedure

1) For cover and base

• trim pattern paper cover on the corners. Note: only cut sparingly on corners to ensure 100% coverage of illustration board
• if folded sides wrinkle upon folding/adhering, you can cut patterned paper slightly for folding ease
• if using glue to adhere all sides, use glue sparingly/small double sided adhesive strips because a cardstock/paper will eventually hold this down.
  
  2) For Spine
  

• using a coordinating cardstock, score lines using piercer or needle with lines that are ½ an inch in interval
• this minibook needed 4 pages so you would need to score another 6 lines and the 10th line is where you cut the cardstock (leftover cardstock, set aside to be used for book holder).
• fold down those scored lines, folding the first scored line towards you.
  adhere double sided tape every second ½ inch gap
  
  3) Page attachment to spine
  
• Peel double-sided tape on spine & align first page on first gap. Continue till you finish all the pages.
• Note if pages don’t align perfectly, don’t fret, those uneven lines are not what matters!

See picture below three to show adhered pages on the spine. Now you are ready to atach the spine & pages next!

4) Spine with pages assembly unto cover and base

• Lay down flat the cover on the left & base on right, adhere 2 double-sided trips in the middle of cover and base.
• Begin with your cover, attach the front part of your spine & pages unto adhesive strip, repeat the step with base. Align evenly on all sides.
• Cover with 2 pcs 8x8 cardstock the exposed backs of illustration boards on cover and base.
  Use leftover cardstock (4.5 x 8.5) as book holder and adhere on left side of front cover and base cover to hide the spine. Again, double sided tape was used to attach cardstock/pp onto cover and base.
  
  You may use UHU glue here to seal off edges and give your mini book the book bound look.
  
  Alternatively, if you are stickler for neatness, a double-sided tape is ideal to use. Since our cover is measured at 8.5 x 8.5, you can also crop a bigger cover to hide the folding of the patterned paper on the cover and base, but again this is only for people who want the more professional looking mini books!
  
  This finished mini album has patterned paper as book holder, instead of cardstock as per material’s list. It’s the scrapper’s choice. You can add ribbon or ricrac on cover or prima flowers to give it a softer feminine look.