2 More Days to Submit Your Entry!!!

The much-anticipated event of the year is back on its 3rd season!

It’s bigger, it’s better and it’s much easier!

This year’s theme is about going back to basics, back to the true meaning of a scrapbooker –

preserving your family’s memories in pages that transcends time and trends.

And so, let’s unleash those creative juices and start creating!

Be inspired and push your artistry to the limit!

Creativity abounds and we believe you’ve got what it takes to be the next Scrappin’ Moms Idol!

Create layouts that will keep everyone talking about for days.

Join the Scrappin’ Moms Challenge

Season 3

Go ahead and grab your patterned papers, cardstock and embellishments and start scrapping!

Elimination Round starts from

June 16 – June 25, 2009

Deadline for submission of entries is on June 25, 2009 at 3:00pm

And to jumpstart your creativity, here are the details for the Elimination Round:

INSPIRATION SERIES -

Create a layout using this AD MATERIAL as inspiration for your layout.

Anything goes in this round and it is all up to your OWN INTERPRETATION.

THE ONLY REQUIREMENT: Use at least 4 photos in your layouts

You may submit any size format but no lesser than 8.5 x 11

When submitting your layout, submit a short write-up on how the ad inspired you and how you interpreted it in your layout.

Submit all your entries to:
scrappinmoms@gmail.com

• File size of your photos must be no larger than 300KB.
• Anythinglarger than this size will NOT BE UPLOADED.
• It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make sure that you submit the proper size and requirements for each of the Challenges.
• We will NOT REMIND you of any changes you have to make on your file size. However, if you do realize that you have submitted the wrong file size, you still have a chance to re-submit before the deadline

I Luv Skul!

Here's a LO of Bianca from last year's 1st day of school. Tomorrow is her 1st day in big school and she is so excited. The past 2 days, she's hated waking up to find Luis and Nadya had gone to school already and left her alone.

At least tomorrow we get to take her to the classroom, unlike yesterday for Nadya's 1st day in 1st Grade when they didn't let parents in due to the H1N1 precautions. I guess they wouldn't dare do that to 3-4 yr olds!

Title: I Luv Skul!

Journaling: What a difference two months make. Only 2 months ago, we could not leave you alone in school w/out you crying. Now, as you start Nursery 1, you barely even look at me to say good-bye & even forget to kiss me. I am glad that you love school. So much that being absent is unthinkable for you. You've come a long way Bianca & you make us very proud.

Materials: Cardstock - Bazzill, DCWV; Patterned Papers - Fancy Pants; Chipboard Letters - Buzz and Bloom; Paint - Making Memories; Ink - Clearsnap; Diamond Glaze; misc ribbon; Pen - American Crafts

Scrappin Kids DT!

So happy to let everyone know that I am on Scrappin' Kids DT for the next 6 months! Check out the blog for the announcement.

I think it's cool to be working with a team based predominantly in Asia -- at least now the time difference in the forum isn't so great -- we're actually awake at the same time...haha!

This is a great blog and community that focuses on scrapping our kids photos. We have a monthly challenge where the winner gets a RAK prize. Check us out on July 1 when we unveil the next challenge and see our sample LOs!

Back to Princess School

The past few days have been quite busy as the kids' summer activities wrap-up and we prepare for their going back to school next week.

As it is, Nadya's classes have already been postponed from the original June 9 to June 17 -- a precautionary measure to guard against the H1N1 virus -- as kids who vacationed abroad return to school. These kids have been asked to observe a 10-day self-quarantine but in some schools that did open this week, some students tested positive for the virus and the schools are now closed for 10 days. Here's hoping my kids' schools remain H1N1-free -- they'll come armed with a mask and hand sanitizer though.

So my schedule next week is:
Jun 16 - Luis 1st Day, Grade 3
Jun 17 - Nadya's 1st Day, Grade 1
Jun 19 - Bianca's 1st Day, Kinder 1

Although Bianca is still technically in pre-school, all my kids are now officially in big school (i.e. traffic, traffic and more traffic)...sigh.

Here's a LO of Nadya on her 1st Day last year. I think I just might cry when she dons her checkered yellow and white uniform next week for the 1st time -- the same as I used to wear when I was in Elementary.

Title: Back to Princess School

Journaling: Princess School. That's what I call Nadya's private Catholic girls' school - which also happens to be my Alma Mater! Haha! Talk about irreverence! But what else do you think happens when you put 30+ prima-donna princesses in one room, let alone have a whole school of them??? Nadya started going to Poveda just before she turned 4 yrs. old, as she was reaching the peak of her princess-wanna-be years. Already a girly-girl when she entered, she has become even more so - now with matching facial, voice and body language! I can't even take her picture without a practised pose - usually with her face/body at an angle and an arm or leg raised - ala Marilyn Monroe. I'm sure she doesn't know who Marilyn is, and I'm pretty sure she didn't get it from me - or did she? But never mind, as long as she knows that a princess doesn't always have to be a damsel in distress; that a true princess is someone who is beautiful inside and out - and with a brain to match! Pity the boys who will fall for her, though! Nadya, Kinder 3, June 11, 2008;

Materials: Patterned Papers, Felt Die-cuts, Acrylic Die-Cuts (Fancy Pants); Glitter Chipboard Alpha (American Crafts), Letter Stickers (Basic Grey, Making Memories), Fabric Sticker (7 Gypsies), Ink (Clearsnap), Pen (American Crafts), Stickles, Font: Bradley Hand ITC from the internet

Toot Toot! I'm on Willie B's Team!

Still can't believe I'm part of this incredible team of Nikki Sivils.

Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker is a manufacturing company that will debut in July 09' at CHA in Orlando FL with 6 paper lines, clear stamps, brads, flocked chipboard letters, chipboard mini albums and several other embellishments.

Here's a sneek peak at the 1st line "My Sweet Cherry Pie", and you have to agree that this is something to get really excited about.

I can't wait to start playing with these yummy scrapbook goodies! Just take a look at the other names on the list --- what an awesome team I belong to!

The Domestic Design Team:(they are in no particular order)
1. Charity Hassel from FL
2. Nathalie Leonelli from CA
3. Julie Tucker-Woleck from AZ
4. Deana Boston from MO
5. Jennifer Matott from NY
6. Susan Dupre from TX
7. Jana Eubank from UT
8. Mimi Leinbach from PA
9. Michelle Lanning from CA
10. Laura Achilies form CO
11. Deanna Misner from TN
12. Abbie Torroll from OK

The International Design Team:(they are in no particular order)
1. Hilde Janbroers from the Netherlands
2. Emeline Seet from Singapore
3. Nadhrah Maidin from Malaysia
4. Mette Kallander from Sweden
5. Kathleen Glossop from Australia
6. Anne Jo Lexander from Norway
7. Ria Mojica from the Philippines
8. Mieke Nagtegaal from Holland
9. Malin Dahlstrom from Sweden
10. Claude Campeau from Canada
11. Jodi Wilton from Canada
12. Michele Beck from France

A Spot of Sunshine

It's been raining almost non-stop these past few days, so I thought I'd share this mini-album I made for Bud using photos from our Boracay trip last March. I love the cooler weather brought by the rain but I hate going out, and almost a week of rain is just about enough, I think.

Busy, Busy, Busy Week-End

I made these 5 cakes over the week-end -- 4 for Bud's birthday last May 22 (he brought 3 to the office) and the crown cake to celebrate Nadya and Bianca's ballet recital on May 24.

Friday, May 22, Rep Program / Bud's Birthday - Nadya had her Repertory Summer Workshop Program last Friday with a staging of "Kindergarten Musical" where she played the role of Taylor. Call-time at Greenbelt 1's Onstage Theater was at 9am for the 7pm program. After dropping her off, I went home to decorate the 3 cakes for Bud's office, delivered the cakes, had lunch with Bud and headed back to Greenbelt to watch Nadya's rehearsal. The show ended at 9pm after which we had a late dinner at Flapjacks.

Saturday, May 23, Recital Practice / Birthday Dinner - Woke up early to decorate 2 more cakes. Bud's parents gifted him with a whole lechon so we planned a "surprise" birthday dinner at home.

The yayas stayed home to prepare for dinner while I spent the whole afternoon with Nadya and Bianca at their ballet recital practice.

Can you tell Nadya wasn't too happy to have her picture taken beside a pig??? Haha!

Sunday, May 24, Ballet Recital - Went to mass at 11am and rushed home to get the girls made-up for Nadya's 5th and Bianca's 1st Ballet Recital. We were at the Ateneo Grade School's Henry Lee Irwin Theater for the 2pm call time, and the show ended at 8:30pm.

Had another late dinner at Old Spaghetti House.

Bianca enjoyed her 1st Recital so much she can't wait for next year.

Nadya, on the other hand, was so worn out she had a fever by the time we got to the restaurant.

My Kitchen is Open Again...I Think

Now that summer is over, it won't be such a bad idea to start baking again, as the weather should be cooler and I won't be baking in the heat.

And there's nothing like new cake pans to get me really excited about cake decorating again, so here's a peek at some of my new toys along with sample designs from Wilton.

I have more shaped pans as well as character pans that I hope to include in my line-up soon (or contact me if you're interested). I'm also putting together some options for Father's Day, so do stay tuned.

Good-bye Summer!

Today PAGASA (our national weather bureau) announced that Rainy Season has officially started -- about a month earlier than normal.

So here are a few LOs I made of our Boracay trip in March. I've kept them "private" in the hopes of submitting them for publication, but since Memory Makers announced its closure after the Sep/Oct 2009 issue, there's no point in holding back LOs, since the other magazines (CK, SBE, ST) don't require previously unseen LOs. This is another sad moment for the scrapbooking industry. I'm lucky I finally got 2 LOs chosen by MM for their last 2 issues.

Title: Dive In
Journaling: How can anybody not fall in love with Boracay? For us, it's the best beach in the world!
Materials: Patterned Papers (Fancy Pants, Sassafras Lass, SEI), Pen (Zig)

Title: Bora '09
Materials: Cardstock (DCWV), Patterned Papers (Kaisercraft), Fabric Letters (American Crafts), Pens (Zig, American Crafts), Misc lace

Almost 40...

Here's a recent LO I made about me...for a change.

Title: Almost 40...Feeling 30

Journaling:

It's hard to believe that in less than 6 months I will be forty years old --- the Big 4-0! Geez!

I don't feel that old and I'm pretty sure I don't look that old.

I can't be that old because there's still so much of the world that I want to see.

I can't be that old because there are still so many new restaurants and cuisines to try.

I can't be that old because I still want to wear dresses that end above my knee, not to mention a bikini.

I can't be that old because I have a kid who is only entering kindergarten.

I can't be that old because when I was little I thought grandmas were 40!

So I guess it is true that 40 is the new 30...except that I am older, wiser, richer, stronger and more beautiful than I was back then!

Materials: Patterned Papers, Diecut (SEI), Felt Alpha (American Crafts), Tiny Alpha Stickers (Making Memories), Floss, Buttons (craft supply), Pen (Zig);

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!