Little Monkeys NSD Blog Swing!

Thanks for dropping by! In honor of National Scrapbooking Day on May 2, the Little Monkeys are having a blog swing. Here's a LO I created using the Build A Bouquet stamp set by My Favorite Things.

Title: Beach Babes
Materials: Cardstock (Bazzill, Provo), Stamps (My Favorite Things), Alpha stickers (Making Memories, American Crafts), Ink (Tsukineko), Pen (Zig), Embossing Powder (PSX)
Journaling: Bianca & Nadya pose in the new swimsuits from Tita Noc. Boracay, Mar 09

Little Monkeys NSD Special!
In honor of National Scrapbooking Day, all orders over $50 on Friday and Saturday will receive a free stamp set (over $15 value)! You don’t need to enter a code or anything - it’ll be automatic.

Happy Scrapping everyone!

It's a Scoop!

Is there a better way to cool off in the summer than by swimming and eating ice cream at the same time? This is exactly what Bianca did when we went to Bohol last year.

Title: It's a Scoop!

Journaling: The lure of strawberry ice cream was too much to resist. It was the only thing that could get Bianca out of the pool on this hot summer day! May 22, 2008; Bohol, Phils.

Materials: Patterned Paper - Scenic Route; Foam Letters - American Crafts; Chipboard - Buzz and Bloom; Small Alpha Stickers - Making Memories; Brad - Queen & Co; Pen - Zig; Ink - Clearsnap

Little Monkeys Green Sale

Here at Little Monkeys, we made the effort to 'think green' in terms of our products from the beginning with recycled materials being used from the boxes to the inserts. It's all the little things that add up, so we're making sure to do our part!

Since this year Earth Day's really become a celebration, let's celebrate with the Thinking Green Sale in the new Little Monkeys shop! We've redesigned our shop, so check it out for yourself. Lots new to see!

Thinking Green Sale Info
30% off your total order now through Friday, 4/23, using the code THINK. If you miss the beginning of the sale while you're out planting a tree, don't worry! Receive 20% off your total order through Tuesday, 4/27, using the code GREEN.

While you're swinging by the shop, be sure to check all around the different categories. We're starting to carry some additional products and have already added the thin, black EZMount sheets and acrylic stamping blocks.

Thinking green, thinking green, thinking green! How do you think green? Big projects? Day-to-day focus? Post a comment on the Little Monkeys blog and Susan will draw a winner for a fun green surprise on Sunday night!

My Just Desserts

Here's a LO I made of my 3 kids, photos taken by Blow-Up Babies. I never went back to them after this because of the really bad editing job they did -- my kids look like they have make-up on! I had this grand plan of using this for my blog header, but a year after I got the pics I still hadn't come around to do it, so I made a LO instead.

Materials: Pink Paislee papers and letter stickers; Dymo Caption Maker, Zig pen

Yesterday was a fun, fun girls day out with Joanne and the rest of the girls. Mia was even in town with her girls so even our kids had great fun. All we did was eat, scrap, chat, eat, eat, eat....

If there's one thing I believe in, it's that people get their just desserts...sooner or later.

I don't know what I did to deserve everything that I have -- a gorgeous husband who, after 10 years, is still crazy about me, my 3 beautiful and smart kids, real friends, the life that I live... Heck! People even mistake me for being 10 years younger than I really am! As far as I know, I have everything I could ever need or want.

Having the money to buy anything under the sun would be great too, of course! But how much money do you really need to be happy? More importantly, is it possible to buy enough happiness for yourself, so that you can then be happy for other people? Hmmm...

Happy Easter Monday!

Here's another Easter LO I made with pics taken at last year's egg hunt.

Title: Egg-citing Easter

Journaling: The kids always look forward to Easter Sunday. From what character basket Lola Linda sent this year, to finding out what goodies are inside. They look forward to our own little egg hunt where there are more eggs than can fit inside their baskets. And even if they know they will never be allowed to eat all the candy inside, they still find joy in opening each and every egg. Easter 2008;

Materials: Cardstock - Bazzill, DCWV; Patterned Papers - Tinkering Ink; Felt and Vinyl Letters - American Crafts; Ink - Tsukineko; Pen - Zig, Uniball Signo

Sketch: Becky Higgins

1 Busy Bunny

Here's an Easter LO I made a while back.

Title: 1 Busy Bunny

Journaling: As soon as the Egg Hunt was over, Bianca got down to business! She sat on the ground and began to open her eggs to see what treats lay inside. Knowing that it was not yet time to eat candy, she didn't bother to ask anyone to open them for her and just bit into the chocolates...wrapper and all! She could not even be bothered to stop and look at the camera for she was one very busy bunny this Easter!

Materials: Patterned Paper - Scenic Route; Felt and Vinyl Letters - American Crafts; Journaling Paper - Making Memories; Metal Tab - Making Memories; Chipboard - Heidi Swapp; Pen - American Crafts, Uniball Signo; Ink - Clearsnap;

Happy Easter everyone!

Been a Delinquent Blogger...tsk tsk

Sorry I've been out of the loop for the past few weeks. Kids are on vacation, and so is Yaya Jen -- which means mommy is on duty 24-7 as the kids' summer activities have begun. Trying to find time for the gym is harder than I thought!
Mondays-Fridays, my day begins with Luis' baseball from 8-9:30am. Then we rush home so we can leave by 10:30am, to make it to Nadya's 11-1pm Repertory Workshop. On Tues and Thurs, Nadya and Bianca go to the Enopi Center at 3pm. After Easter, the kids will start swimming lessons from 3-5pm, MWF. On Saturdays, Luis has fencing from 9-10:30am and the girls have ballet from 2-4pm.
I try to squeeze in some gym time by taking the 7:30am class. But if Luis doesn't get up early enough, I just run a few rounds around the LSGH oval. Yesterday he was dismissed from baseball at 10:15am so when we got home, I grabbed my gym bag, rushed to drop Nadya off at Repertory and went to Fitness First at the Fort to take a well-deserved shower!
This all means I haven't been able to scrap much -- can't wait for Yaya Jen to get back this week-end and Holy Week break so I can finally scrap to my heart's content (yeah right!)!
So in the meantime, here's a LO I haven't posted (I think) taken from our Bohol trip last summer. I only wish I had my nails painted hot pink instead of boring beige -- like I have now! Happy Summer everyone!

Within 30 minutes of getting to Boracay, the kids are enjoying the powder-soft white sand! Mar. 21, 2009

Nadya's K3 Videos

This is what's been keeping me busy the past few weeks...I doubt if I'll ever do something like this again...for free! Haha!
The hardest part was having to burn 60 copies of the DVD because making the LOs was actually fun (as well as shopping for digital products)!

K3 Peace AM

K3 Covadonga AM

There are actually 2 more videos but they are longer and with bigger files so I can't upload them here.

Digital Products Used to Create this Project:

• March 09 Mega Kit - www.scraporchard.com
  
• Cottage Kit by Tracie Stroud - www.elementalscraps.com
  
• Delicate Garden Kit - www.elementalscraps.com
  
• Happy Go Lucky Kit - www.shabbyprincess.com
  
• Imagine Kit by Lynnemarie Favreau - www.scraporchard.com
  
• Teen Angst by Jennifer Barrette - www.elementalscraps.com
  
• Pop It Like Its Hot by Sharia Braxton - www.elementalscraps.com
  
• Sunbeamin’ by Erin Keith - www.elementalscraps.com
  
• Sunshine and Rainbows by Jennifer Barrette and Mandy Mystique - www.elementalscraps.com
  
• Time, Love and Tenderness - www.scrapu.blogspot.com
  
• Chipper Chat by Tangie Baxter - www.scrapbookgraphics.com
  
• It’s A Date by Tracie Stroud - www.elementalscraps.com
  
• You’ve Been Framed by Tracie Stroud - www.elementalscraps.com
• Grey Matter by BellaGypsy Designs by Tabatha Reed and Lena Brandenburg
  - www.elementalscraps.com
• Matties Big Squares by Corina Nielsen Designs - www.thedigishoppe.com
• Trimmed 02 and Trimmed 03 by Studio RA and Princess Lala Designs - www.divinedigital.com
• Templates by:
  
• Yin Designs - www.simplyyin.blogspot.com
• Circles & Stars Template by Kristine Aagard - www.digidelights.blogspot.com
• Genia Beana Scraps - www.geniabeana.blogspot.com
• Majula Designs - www.freebiesandscrapsbymajula.blogspot.com

Scrap 'N Supply Shack March 2009 Kit

Can't believe this is my last kit for Scrap 'N Supply Shack -- 6 months goes by so fast! By the end of this week, Luis and Nadya will be on summer break, and Bianca by next week. This kit makes me wish we had some cool spring weather here in the Manila -- but all we have are wet and dry seasons.





The heat of summer came pretty early this year and I can't wait to hit the pool with the kids this Friday and to the beach next week! Woohoo for summer!

I Rub U

It feels so good to do a traditional LO! February seems so unproductive compared to January because I've been working on a Digital scrapbook/yearbook for Nadya's class...for free! What did I get myself into???

Here's a LO using some adorable stamps from My Favorite Things care of Little Monkeys. And to keep in theme with the ongoing economic crisis, how much thriftier can you get when you use the negative portion of letter stickers for background paper???



Title: I Rub U

Materials: DCWV cardstock, American Crafts stickers, My Favorite Things stamp, Tsukineko inks, Zig and Uniball Signo pens, Fancy Pants felt heart, misc bling

Journaling: Apo Lola Lydia gives Bianca a kiss (Nov 2006). But when you really look at it, it’s not your average pucker. There is something in the way that grandparents (and in this case, great-grandparents) kiss their grandkids. It’s sort of a “stop and smell the roses kind of kiss”, where you can actually see them savouring every moment that the child is in their arms, and would rather not let go. I wonder what goes through their minds when they do this? Do they look back on their childhood? Does it make them long for their own youth? Or do all grandkids just smell so delicious that you want to eat them up? Whatever it is, we all know that a grandparent’s kiss is their way of saying...I Rub U

And speaking of Little Monkeys, Susan just released 2 more adorable color sets:

Tropical Getaway

Sweetheart

Do check out the Little Monkeys site for more details!

My Heart's Desires

A little late for V-Day, I know but each time I look at this LO, I am reminded of how lucky I am to have these 4 beautiful people in my life.

This is another LO using the Feb 2009 kit from Scrap'n Supply Shack.


This LO was inspired by the song "As the Deer" which was sang during Luis' 1st Holy Communion last December. This song just kept playing in my head as I created this LO.

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after thee
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship thee

REFRAIN:

You alone are my strength, my shield
To you alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship thee

You're my friend and you are my brother
Even though you are a king
I love you more than any other
So much more than anything - REFRAIN

I want you more than gold or silver,
only you can satisfy.
You alone are the real joygiver
and the apple of my eye. - REFRAIN

And can I just say that I love my new Threading Water Punch from Fiskars and want to get all their new punches?????

Scrap N Supply Shack Feb 09 LOs

Here are my 1st 3 LOs for the Feb Kit of Scrap'N Supply Shack. The kit features Webster's Pages and as what always happens when I work with these papers, I find myself trying to bring out my "inner-Iris" (Babao-Uy, for those not in the loop) -- haha!

Not sure if there are any more kits left, but here is what the Feb kit looks like.

I love how these LOs turned out (considering I only got my kit yesterday) and the best part is, these photos have been waiting to be scrapped for over a year...little did I know that this kit would bring them out of hiding.

Creata-A-Cupcake

Some of my kids' favorite toys that they haven't outgrown are wooden pretend food with velcro attachments by Melissa and Doug. These toys are cool because you can pretend to slice the food items and stack them up to create food to order. They have the bread set, some vegetables and their ultimate favorite is a birthday cake set. They love to pretend that it's someone's birthday and make a cake for the "celebrant".

Nadya saw these cupcake stamps from Unity Stamp Co. hen they arrived and immediately wanted to make her own cupcakes. This I thought was cool because although I do have a cake-decorating sideline, cleaning up after the kids make their own cupcakes is not always fun. So what's the next best thing to decorating real cupcakes? Try out my "Create-A-Cupcake" play set and find out!

• First, I stamped, colored, and cut-out the different pieces -- cupcakes, icing, candles, flowers, cherries.
• Then I laminated each piece (having my own laminating machine is very handy).
• Lastly, I attached a small piece of Cling-On Mounting foam (the kind you use for unmounted stamps) behind each piece.

And that's it! By using the cling foam, they can make as many variations as there are pieces -- and since I have the stamps, we can always add more pieces to the set.

I also altered a tin lunchbox that used to hold chipboard die-cuts (K & Co.) to keep all the pieces in. Now my kids can create as many cupcakes as they want, without mom having to clean up after them...or even worse, having to eat all the cupcakes!

Cupcake Clips with Unity Stamps!

Have you seen Unity Stamps? They sent us Design Monkeys a few sets and I got these adorable cupcake stamps to work with. These cupcakes are huge and offer so many possibilities for scrapbooking and crafts!

For my 1st project, I decided to make these cute cupcake clips with a matching notepad -- I think my kids' teachers will love to get these for Valentine's Day!

Materials Needed: cupcake stamps, Staz-on ink, shrink plastic, permanent markers, oven toaster, wax paper, glue gun, paper clips

Instructions:

1. Stamp cupcakes on shrink plastic with Staz-On ink.
2. Color the image with permanent markers.
3. Cut-out the cupcakes.
4. Lay on wax paper and put in oven toaster. Image will curl then flatten again, which is the sign that they are done shrinking.
5. Attach to paper clips with glue gun.

Stay tuned to my blog for my 2nd project with these adorable stamps!

For those interested in making their own paper clips, I got my shrink plastic from Vivian at Lasting Impression.

On Your Own

Here's another LO for Absolument Scrap.

Title: On Your Own

Materials: Patterned Papers - Basic Grey; Journaling Paper - Prima; Die-cut - Daisy Ds; Rub-ons - Basic Grey, Daisy Ds; Glitter Alpha - Making Memories; Stamp - Absolument Scrap; Ink - Tsukineko;

Journaling: It was the 1st time you went on the bridge by yourself. I forced myself to stay behind, resisting the urge to follow you in case you changed your mind. But you said you could do it... and so you did! Congratulations my big brave boy! Jan 3, 2009

Got these awards from 2 creative friends -- Michelle and Janis -- thanks girls!

I need to mention 5 addictions and pass these on to 5 fab bloggers.

I am addicted to:

1. scrapbooking
2. shopping - clothes & shoes (when I feel thin) and scrap stuff (when I feel fat)
3. coffee in the morning -- I'm too lazy to brew coffee for one so I subsist on Maxwell House 3-in-1 Sugar-free
4. Extra-Joss Grape flavor to drink the rest of the day
5. checking my email every few minutes -- when I really need to get some scrapping done, I have to turn off my laptop!

I am passing these on to:

1. Pia and Jeff
2. Helga
3. Maybs
4. Mia Castrillo
5. Em Magpoc

What Number Am I?

It's been a while since I've filled out any of these quizzes. Funny, how this result doesn't surprise me.

You Are 1: The Reformer

You're a responsible person - with a clear sense of right and wrong. High standards are important to you, and you do everything to meet them. You are your own worst critic, feeling ashamed if you're not perfect. You have uncompromising integrity, and people expect you to be fair. At Your Best: You are hopeful, honest, and inspiring. You bring out the best in humanity. At Your Worst: You are intolerant, judgmental, and picky. Your Fixation: Resentment Your Primary Fear: Being corrupt. Your Primary Desire: To be good. Other Number 1's: Al Gore, Martha Stewart, Gandhi, Celene Dion, and Spock from Star Trek.

What Number Are You?

I've joked before that people can call me "Martha", the wanna-be that I am, so this result is really uncanny... don't you agree?

Flower Fairy

Here's a LO for Lasting Impression using beautiful papers by Webster's Pages. Webster's papers always bring out the romantic in me -- I always end up reaching for my ribbon/lace box and vintage embellishments.

These photos were taken during a Working Mom shoot for the October 2007 Halloween issue. Nadya didn't really want to have her face painted, but had no choice because she wanted to appear in the magazine! She is so showbiz!

Title: Flower Fairy

Materials: Patterned Papers - Webster's Pages; Sticker Labels - Jenni Bowlin, 7 Gypsies; Pin - EK Success; Clip - Scrapworks; Metal Alpha - Jo-ann; Pen - American Crafts; Flower Bling - Chatterbox; Dragonfly transparency - MME; misc lace;

Journaling: Nadya, Aug 2007; Working Mom shoot

On another note, I was saddened by the announcement that Simple Scrapbooks magazine will cease publication after the May/June 2009 issue. It served as inspiration for many beginning scrapbookers, and even as my style has evolved, I always go back to my simple roots. I am glad that, at least, I got the chance to be a Simple Gal in the Jul/Aug 2008 issue. Simple Scrapbooks will surely be missed!

Here's a LO for Absolument Scrap using new Prima papers.

Title: Check It Out!

Materials: Patterned Papers - Prima; Chipboard Alpha - Buzz and Bloom; Pens - Zig, Uniball Signo; Paint - Making Memories; Stamp - Absolument Scrap; Ink - Tsukineko; Rub-ons - Basic Grey;

Journaling: Bianca checks out what's outside lola's room in Canyon Woods. 010209

Scrap N Supply Shack Jan LOs

My kit arrived late again this month, possibly due to the holidays. I just got it from the PO this am and worked straight to finish 3 LO and a door hanger project. Whew! I'm so glad I still had unscrapped pics from our trip to the US last year which were a perfect fit for this month's kit.


Title: I Love Snow

Journaling: Nadya is our winter child. She loves the cold weather and can play in the snow longer than anyone. 122807;

Materials: Patterned Paper - Fancy Pants; Cardstock - DCWV; Alpha, Pen & Ribbon - American Crafts; Chipboard - Maya Road; Flower, button, paint, jewel brad - Making Memories; Embossing powder - Ranger; Ink - Versamark

Title: 1st Snow

Journaling: This was the 1st time Bianca had ever seen snow and nothing was gonna stop her from playing, not even the cold she was nursing. 122807;

Materials: Patterned Paper - Fancy Pants; Sheer Ribbon, Chipboard & Sheer Snowflake - Maya Road; Alpha & Pen - American Crafts; Glimmer Mist; ink, brad

Title: Play Ball

Materials: Cardstock - DCWV; Patterned Paper & Transparency - Fancy Pants; Buttons & Clip - Making Memories; Alpha - American Crafts; Ink - Clearsnap; Pen - Zig;

Journaling: Luis, 122807, Glen Ellyn, IL

Project: Today Door Hanger

Materials: patterned papers from Fancy Pants "Arctic Chill" collection, Maya Road flower calendar turn, Making Memories "Poolside Paperie" collection flowers, American Crafts Thickers and ribbon; brads, door hanger, misc fiber; Clearsnap ink

I am still on a roll at the start of 2009, including these 3 latest LOs, I have finished 18 LOs already! That's averaging 1.5 LOs a day -- woohoo!

I guess my resolution to keep things simple is working...I only hope this continues because I still have so much stuff and photos to go through.