I've been busy...Reflections and stuff

Hello! I have been in a rut for the past 3 to 4 weeks... This all started before we left for HK on July 15. Since then though, there'd been a lot of stuff I had to do and want to do. This blog is sort of my journal too in that a year from now, I'd want to know what I was doing, thinking and stuff.  So in summary, so I don't forget here's what I have been busy with.

July 12 - signed up with Fitness First! Need to go to the gym and lose some weight more especially ass weight! :)
July 15-18 - went to Hong Kong. Bought my first LV. Gio and I both bought ourselves one and we're soooo happy. Hope to scrap those soon. :)
July 24-25 - it's college basketball (UAAP) time again and of course we can't miss any DLSU games so the next weekend after HK, we watched the biggest game ever - DLSU won over Ateneo and we haven't beaten them since 2007! We were there at the Araneta Coliseum jumping up and down the entire game! Happiest and bestest game I've ever watched! And then the next day we were suppose to rest but we decided to go to Greenbelt 5 and watch Inception. But we missed it anyway due to the sumptuous dinner we had. Gio also bought another LV. Yes, now he's addicted and I'm scared for him. haha
July 31-Aug - the next weekend when we thought we could finally rest, we had to attend a baptism on Saturday and then another basketball game on Sunday which got extended to us watching the movie Salt so we went home late again.

On weekdays, of course I work and I don't know what got into me but I have a new found love for sleeping. It started because of my need to sleep first before I head out to the gym. So after work, I'd eat early lunch with Gio (11am) then sleep until 2pm then head to the gym around 3 or 4. And since then, I have been sleeping A LOT! Even on days when I don't think I'd fall asleep coz I wasn't that tired but I do. In the past, after work I'd just go straight into my scrap room and stay there until around 7pm (no wonder my ass has grown this huge!) then head straight to bed to sleep before my work starts at around 1am. So a 4 to 5-hour sleep for me everyday is normal. But now, I add 3-4 more hours to that in between! I've read in a lot of magazines and books that sleep is good for one's health & skin coz that's the only time our body and skin has time to rejuvenate. And I really want to do it but I just feel at times that sleeping is a waste of time. Like I can do so much more if I only sleep enough but I guess 4 to 5 hrs is not enough because now I'm lovin' if and I feel so refreshed and good after my afternoon nap. :)

I'm not sure if this is only a phase but I feel my life is more balanced now. I'm back to reading books & going to the gym and not only scrapping.  I felt that I was happy before because of the scrapbook pages I finish and that was enough but I forgot the other facets of my life. Scary that scrapbooking can do this to me huh? But I feel I've grown and have overcome that exciting phase. Because of our HK trip too, I realized I was neglecting my closet, my physical features, my stuff because I spend all my efforts and money into scrapbooking but have now realized that there's a lot more out there than that and I should balance everything out. So I don't have any stretchy scrappy goals now except for my DT assignments. I don't push myself to finish more than I can handle and will scrap for the pleasure of it and when creativity hits me and not to hit some challenge deadlines and stuff. I have also tried controlling the urges to buy the new releases because I still have tons from CHA last year that I have not used and so I subbed to My Scrapbook Nook's kit too (to combat the hunger of buying new stuff) and will start using my stash instead of buying more that I know I won't be able to use because I just don't have enough time.

This gym thing is really serious for me. I really want to lose weight. The hardest part is that Gio is not encouraging me because he says he's fine with how my body looks now but I really am not okay with it. I feel heavy everyday, I have a hard time tying shoe laces sometimes, my pants are getting so tight (I don't want to go one size bigger than I already am). I used to be a size 8 when Gio and I started out, now I'm a size 12 and would really really hate myself if I go to size 14! So it has got to stop in addition to the fact that I couldn't wear what I want. I always need to consider my arms, what my thighs and hips would look like. I never used to think about those because I looked good in anything I want to wear before (I don't mean to brag but I really do at size 8!) :). I don't think I can go back to a size 8 (something you realize when you hit late 30's) coz my metabolism and eating habits just wont be able to catch up even if I work out that hard. I just want to go down to a 10 and I'd be a very happy lady then. :)

So all this and more are going through my head and I just don't have enough time in a day to do all that I want to. But now I think I got it. I found the balance I want and need. So you'll probably see less projects from me but know that when I do them, they are special and I was in a really creative mood. I'm reading books again, I missed them I have hundreds more to read on my bookshelf. I'm consistently going to the gym 3x a week and still get time to scrap some days (but not everyday now).

Before I end this pretty long narrative, I'd like to leave this layout that I did before leaving for Hong Kong. It's all Prima and it's me and one of my flower girls on my wedding day. She was so pretty and just loved to pose for that picture. :)

Wish me luck on losing weight! :)

Cheers!
Cathy

Weepy weekend...

Yesterday, my mom, sister and bro moved out of their apartment (which was just one house away from where Gio and I live).  After work (Saturday early AM), I actually drove them to the new apartment which was 17 kms away from us!  This made me really sad. I hate to admit it but ever since I found out (last monday) that they are moving out this weekend, I've been sort of lost. I couldn't sleep at all the whole week, I was unstable for some reason. Separation issues I guess...

Since I was a kid, I've been very close to my mom. And we've never really been apart since. When I got married, we lived one house apart so no big deal at all. Nothing seemed to have changed. But now that they are moving far.. i just couldn't bare the thought of really being alone... Of course I have Gio but on weekdays I'm normally all by myself because we have opposite work schedules.  I never really felt alone because I know they are just a few steps away from me. And I love my nephew so much. He's my source of joy. Whenever work gets to me, I just tell them to go over our house and my day gets a whole lot better.  This makes me really really really want my own kid... but not just yet...

But now they're really gone and I was crying when I got home yesterday from driving them. I never thought it would affect me this much and it just made me realize how important family is to me.... I can have all the riches in the world but if I don't have my family,  I'd be really lost... So I wouldn't trade family for anything!

Gio was consoling me of course and we went out for breakfast yesterday and spent most of the day cuddling too. And then today, we also had dinner outside then coffee for me before going home. 

I miss 'em... I really do... Wonder what's it gonna be like this coming week...


No Cheers for me this time,

Cathy

Sharing Nikki Sivils

It's monday once again and that means new sketch over at Scrapbook Challenges. Want to quickly share a new LO I did using Nikki Sivil's paper - Elle's day out & Will he b the 1. I also used my Silhouette for the title on this page. It is made of whilte CS and I misted it with Glimmer Mist Olive Vine and Chocolate. Love that title so much. :)

Materials Used: PP - Will he b the 1, Elle's Day Out

Embellishment: Scrapworks sticker, Scenic Route chipboard

Inks: Distress Inks, Glimmer mists, Shimmerz Blingz

Tools: Fiskars border punch

I thought I was going to be able to scrap a lot this weekend but Gio and I met up with his friends on Sat night and got home really late. Then come Sunday we saw his dad and went out for lunch with the family and we ended up getting home around 5pm and by that time, we were dead tired. So I didn't really get to finish this until Monday. My work starts 2am on Tuesday so I had free time yesterday.

I also had planned the layouts of a mini-album I was working on last week and so I had to complete it this week. These were all from the DT package that Pamela (SC Ning Creator) sent over last January. The album is basically about big events for every month of last year. So in essense a year in review for our 1st year of marriage. :)  So here are the finished pages.

Front and Back cover on top. I used some Heidi Swapp pps for this project and some MM die cuts too.

I also made the round journals using my Fiskars circle punch, Fiskars edge scissor and Autum Leaves montly calendar stamp.

This is the last four months.

Materials Used: Scallop Chipboard Album: Nikki Sivils

PP: Nikki Sivils 6x6 U R My Favorite pad, Heidi Swapp

Embellisment: MM die cust, Heidi Swapp cut outs, MM alpha and Pink Paislee Alpha, 7 Gypsies rubon

Inks: Distress Inks, MM Pink paint, Staz On

Tools: Fiskars border punch, Martha Stewart border punch, Fiskars edge scissor

It was totally heart warming to reminisce about the significant events we went through last year and I am planning to create something like this each year. I loved the fact too that we had a lot of photos for each and every month which surprised me too.

Happy Monday everyone!

Cheers!

Cathy

Good morning breakfast with Gio

It's finally friday here and that means it's Gio's free day already. :) Yes, his friday is normally just spent with client meetings but it's rare that he goes out. Friday is officially the start of our weekend although I still need to work the next day. We're pretty much just cuddling, sleeping on a friday.

So when I got home, I wasn't expecting him to be up real early but he was and asked me if I wanted to have breakfast outside. I was already hungry and can't wait 'til lunch so we went out and had breakfast at Pancake House. It's just a block away from the house but we ate at the ouside tables, it wasn't hot this am so I am glad for the fresh air I had.  We had a really good breakfast and a really good conversation. I really long for times like these. It's what I miss the most when we're both working on weekdays. We love to talk and that's what we do best. I missed him actually and I'm glad we went out. If only I can only pause time... hmnn... sweet day. :)

Before I go to sleep, I decided to blog about it before this warm and fuzzy feeling go away so pardon me for the cheesy opening. I also want to share a layout I made a few days ago. I used my BG Origins pack for the 2nd time, I tried using it once (January) but found it hard. But this time I think I loved it and will surely use it again soon.

This is a print and cut design from House of 3 made using my Silhouette again. And the flower is a Marth Stewart punch.

Handmade flowers I made using circle punches. I got this from the Scrap That forum. Loved it because finally found a lot of use for my circle punches. :) The chipboard is a Tattered traveler chipboard which I misted with Patina. Bought a lot of TA recently. :)

Lastly, here's the title which was also cut out from the Silhouette machine. I just added 3D Pebeo paint on the flourish.

Materials:

PP: Basic Grey Origins, GCD, WRMK CS

Alpha: Silhouette cutout

Embelishment: BG Origins sticker, TA chipboard, MM pearl

Inks: Distress Inks, Pebeo paint, Glimmer mist Patina, Stickles

Tools: Silhouette SD machine, Fiskars circle punch, Fiskars border punch

Good night everyone!

Cheers,

Cathy

Shoes & Personalities

I can't believe it's already the second half of May. This month started really well for me, been really productive and completed a lot of project to date. And since it's the middle of the month, it is time for another layout for my Guest DT spot over at All About Me. 

This time the idea is all about our favorite shoes and how it actually "shoes" our personality - just love that! My ultimate fave now are flats! Whether it's open toed, sandals, just as long as they're flat, I love 'em.  So then came the problem, what shoes to take picture of? I couldn't decide so I decided to rely on my Silhouette SD. Unfortunately I couldn't find any flat shoes to print and cut but high heels oh my there were a lot.

And this actually reminded how attracted I was to high heels - specifically stilleto 7-8 years back. I still like 'em now but would I prefer it over flats? I don't think so. So this stirred up something in my head and I decided to actually use the high heels image and break it. :) So I did exactly that. And lucky me, I went to my LSS last Saturday and got me some new Kaiser papers and the Gypsy Sister is just perfect for this layout!  So here it is, the broken heels and a pic of me right there coming out of the shoe happy to have a broken high heels because I'm all for flats. :)

And reflecting on it, it really pretty much is like my personality. I've never been into make ups, I don't wear 'em although I can't live without cheek tints (that's my only staple). I only wear moisturizer 'coz my skin's really dry, if it weren't for that I'd be happy to let that go.  I've never been into fancy stuff too like nail polish, wild hair colors, contact lenses... there was a time I got hooked into it but when I see past pictures of myself, I get goose bumps. I guess it was just a phase and now I know me and this is me, just flat old me. :)

And character wise, I'm really more of an introvert. Not very social, I'd be happy to just stay home and scrap or read or watch. I know, I sound boring but it is me. I'm not a party gal, never been, never will be... As I aged, I've learned to accept that and I am really happy with who and where I am right now.

Here is the layout. I just love how bright those Kaiser pps are, don't you? And I might as well also calls this a Silhouette SD layout because I sure did cut a lot here and it makes me really think  I actually don't need anything else other than paper! Blaaah! But I still buy stuff haha!

I cut out the scrolls on one of the paper and used that as a top for the shoe and added some bling.

These are all cut out using Silhouette, the font I used is just downloaded online and I just added some Kaiser gems.

Here's a close up of the top left corner. The looped border is also a silhouette cut out. The paper is originally white and I stamped it with clear embossing powder and used distress inks on to of it. Loved it. Those diamonds are just scraps from the cutouts from the machine and I just topped it with liquid pearls.

Here's the journaling these are the same papers as the one I used for the font. And below this is the close up of the shoe. I've attached the cutout on a chipboard so it has dimension.

PP:  Kaisercraft Gypsy Sister
Embellishment: Kaiser pearls and gems, Kaiser rub-on
Alpha: Kaiser paper cut with Silhouette SD
Inks: disress inks, Clear embossing powder Liquid Pearls, Colorbox , Judikins Glaze
Tools: Stampin' place background stamp

I really had fun with the prompts this month and I am so happy to guest design for All About Me. So I hope you try it too and join them this month here. 

Thanks for looking and have a great week ahead!

Cheers!

Cathy

Blogging... lots of projects

Okay so I have been ignoring my blog lately and that's because of our bad internet connection but I have been really productive and have been scrapping a lot! I've been tracking my progress scrapping and I was surprised when I checked how many I made in April - 14! That's a new record I think the max I've made is just about 10.

And then NSD happened! :)  I was actually able to join different challenges and on that same weekend, I think I made about 7 or so. For the first time in my life I was able to make 4 layouts in one sitting!!! Yeah baby! And so for the month of May, I have already made 10 layouts! I'm so proud of me! :) The bad thing is, I couldn't share the details of how I've made the pages anymore, I just can't keep up and I think I was too excited creating! :) 

Anyway, the pages I've been doing are pretty simple. I've been trying clean and simple LO's and am really lovin' it especially when I realized how much time I'm saving. So I've been trying different stuff lately. I am also trying to use a lot of my stash because I can't really buy much scrappy stuff anymore since I'm saving for our out of the country trips coming soon. So gotta save! save! save! That sounds really foreign to me...heehee

I was also in a coffee shop the other day waiting for Gio and I chose to grab the Women's Health magazine amongst all the fashion magazines on there.  And so it got me into thinking as I was reading it and realized I've been taking my health for granted.  I spend hours everyday scrapping, blog hopping and working but I don't really take the time to exercise which I badly badly need because we (Gio and I) love to eat a lot. So I really need to compensate for that since I know there is no chance we'll ever stop appreciating good food (nice way to call it isn't?).

So I started yesterday... I finally used my Timeworks machine again and am planning to do it everyday. As little as 15 mins everyday should help in my opinion rather than nothing at all. I also bought the Abs Diet for Woman which I've borrowed from a friend in the past and found helpful, so i thought investing on it could really help too.  It's not really a diet book but more of what foods are good, really good exercises on there and recipes to try too.  I really am crossing my fingers and will try my best at this daily exercise thing. I've gained about 20 lbs the last 2-3 years and I'm starting to feel like I'm not myself anymore. I've never been this heavy and fat in my entire life and I've started to feel heavy and I do know that my weight is really tying me down so I gotta change that. Pray for me please! :)

So here are the projects I've made the past two weeks, some for NSD, some for sketch challenges.

Here's one I've made for Scrapbookdeals NSD Challenge... Love that photo of Gio. And this photo was actually edited by my good friend LG. Thanks Girl! Love yah!

These are all October Afternoon pps. Love is so much!

Here's one more using OA pps

And I forgot there's one more! On this last one I actually used some of my stash like the K&Co die cut borders and some AC Thickers chipboard frame.

 

The next two layouts are made using Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl and Joyride Line. Had these since February I think but didn't really get a chance to use 'em all. 

The first one's using the cosmo sketch and the second's a sketch from Pencil Lines. 

And these are my first attempt at scrapping 8.5x11 LO's. I used up my old nook kit which features G45 Domestic Goddes papers.  Gotta try more of this soon coz I loved it! 

Loved that pinwheel! 

So you see, I wasn't really kidding when I said a lot on this post. Heehee

Thanks for looking! Hope you're all having a great week!

Cheers!
Cathy

Mom's Day & Winners

Words are not enough to describe the true value of a Mother, and most of all my Mom. For me, growing up without my father's presence (most of the time - because he works overseas) could have been a disaster. Without a father figure who is suppose to be the stronger one between parents, I could have ended up weak, shy and vulnerable but what happened is the exact opposite. And I will give the credit to none other than my Mom. What I am today, what I have become and what I have achieved is because of her... And she did not achieve this well deserved gratitude because she's a career woman I idolized (she's a stay at home mom), not because she's rich (because we barely had enough for the family), not because she gave everything that we wanted (most of the time, we don't get what we want) but simply because she showed us how much she loved us.  She's willing to sacrifice anything for us including her own happiness, she has a big heart for her family and nothing could be warmer, more special than love itself.  Because of this and more I love her so.

Of all the things she's influenced on me, if there's one I wish she didn't it would be the crying thing. :) I cry all the time, even when I'm so happy, that still makes me cry.  Sometimes I feel it's not good because I'm just oo emotional but sometimes I am glad too because it has become my way of releasing my bad feelings and it keeps me emotionally healthy if you know what I mean. :)

I missed her today because she went home to the province last Thursday so we couldn't celebrate. But she is in my hear no matter where she is. Here's a photo of us with my dearest nephew during her birthday last January.

For the winners of the blog hop, sorry for the delay in announcing. I've been having internet problems since the blog hop. I hope the winners are moms too and this could be a real nice surprise on this special day. :)

For the local winnder - it is Benga

For the International winnder - it is Cindy Gay

I have also posted the winners here at SC.

Please PM me your shipping address at catherinecng@yahoo.com

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! This is your BIG day!

Cheers,

Cathy

She luvs life...

Yes I do! I am lovin' my life right now, it's like everything is in it's right place and I am so happy.  Heard over the radio the other day - if you keep asking yourself if you're happy then you probably aren't happy because if you are, you just feel it no questions asked.  And that made me think and I realized how happy I was because I don't really ask and I'm always looking forward to tomorrow with open arms. :)

So I decided to journal about that on this layout and I used the recent photos that I have of myself. This is actually for the Pagemaps sketch challenge. I finally used my new Prima goodies which I haven't touched after 2-3 layouts and I have the whole pp line! I gotta start using them again and consume it all. 

Here's the layout.

 

This title block is cut out from one of the papers, I added a Prima stamp on it (in pink) and then covered the big flower print with a real flower. I also added sparkle on the flower bu adding shimmerz blingz on it.

The pop up flower punch was covered with more flowers and a stem.

The felt is originally white in color - I stamped it with text and then sprayed Patina glimmer mist on it then added flowers and bling.

The photos were partly framed by the stamps scattered on the photos.

This is a Websters' journaling card. I drew lines on it and wrote my journaling notes. I love that it looks stamped and embossed.  

PP:  Prima Strawberry Kisses, Raspberry Tea, Shabby Chic
Embellishment: Prima flowers, Prima Felt, Prima Bling, Prima chipboard sticker, Websters journaling cards, Trim,
Alpha: Websters Alpha sticker
Inks: Distress Inks, Shimmerz Blingz, Glimmer mist
Tools: Martha border punch and flower punch, Hero arts stamp, Prima stamps

I hope you too are enjoying your life at the moment, love it and live it.  Happy weekend!

Cheers!

Cathy

LOTS of updates and SC Layouts

Happy Easter to all! DH and I spent the holiday over at Club Balai Isabel in Talisay Batangas with his family. It was a 3 days & 2 nights vacation. And it was a well deserved break for both of us. We've been working pretty hard the last month and we barely see each other on weekdays so to spend 3 days of uninterrupted time together with the family was truly worth the wait.


There have also been a lot of big events the past month that I just haven't had time to share and note down because of how pre-occupied I was at work. We finally got our most awaited SUV on the 19th of March! We got the 2010 Hyundai Tucson in silver after waiting for exactly 1 month and 1 week! Yes that's how hot that car is and it is worth the wait too. We call him "Silver Surfer", yes we have names for the cars. The other car is a Honda Civic which we named "Dark Vader" - coz it's really black and DH is a fan of Star Wars. :)

Here they are together... These photos make us happy! :)

We also attended bday parties, christening parties and family celebrations (MIL bday, SIL bday, Niece's bday and Niece's Graduation). Yes, all these in a month! So you can pretty much understand why I had no time for myself and my blog. Not to add the arrival of my big boss from the US for two weeks! PERIOD.

Lastly, Gio finally decided to spend my Anniversary gift to him and he went with a Sony Playstation 3! Yes a big boy toy. hehehe... Kinda excited too because I used to play Final Fantasy and found out there's a new release for PS3 and not to add that it's also a Blue Ray Disc player.  We already bought two movies - UP & GI Joe and the picture is awesome! And not to mention our TV is only HD ready so we are now contemplating on getting a new HD TV! Yes, we realized how costly that PS3 box is. Games, Blue Ray Movies and now a brand new TV.  Talk about saving! : )  

So that was just last week and I've already spent 2 hours yesterday playing with "Devil May Cry 4" coz I couldn't get hold of FF XIII - it's always out of stock. Yes, 2 hours of game time that I could've spent scrapping. I wish there's more than 24 hours in a day, don't you?

So enough of my musings! Here are 2 layouts I did for Scrapbook Challenges last week and this week.

On last week's sketch - I used BG Origins papers and embellies

 Used felts too and the MR envelope coz I still have a lot! :)

This is for this week's sketch. I used the new MME Quite Contrary line that I got from YourScrapbookStash for becoming this month's featured member! Big thanks to Erica!

Cheers Everyone and Happy Easter!

Cathy

Lucky line

Hello Monday!  This will be a busy work week for me and I'm prepped for it - had lots of sleep this weekend. And no to mention lots of eating too. :) Last saturday, had lots of time to sleep. DH and I also watched different TV shows I've downloaded over the week.

On Saturdays, the first thing we watch is Survivor. I was sad what's happening to the Heroes coz I really love them but now I think I'm switching sides. The heroes are just all confused, no leadership, etc... next would be Grey's Anatomy - my all time favorite! :) We also watched the first 3 episodes of the Amazing Race. Then more sleeping time and then I was able to scrap something late that night and right around midnight or almost, we decided to go out and grab some dessert and so we headed off to our fave - Cafe Breton - had their signature "La Pinay" crepe. And I thought that was it but then we decided to take home Jollibee Chickenjoy! Yes, we're on a roll. Ate those around two in the morning before going to bed at around 3. Teehee :)

So Sunday we were still craving for food, it's actually Gio who's craving for different kinds of food since Friday night. We went to my SIL's house for lunch for my BIL's bday celebration. Chit chat after lunch and headed off to Trinoma with the gang (ate ten, kim, ate faye, ave, patrick & mama) around 4pm, chanced upon a really nice pink dress from BYSI and I bought it. Then headed off for Dinner at Kopi Tiam - their Angus Beef tapa is the best! We we're so full when he headed home. And that's basically our weekend.

And just this morning, we found out from our car dealer representative that we're finally alloted one unit of the new Hyundai Tucson! This is the looooooooong-awaited news we've been hoping for since early February. So we will finally get the unit within the week! Soooooooooooo happeeeeeeee!!!


So, nuff about my musings, it's another week and that means another sketch from Scrapbook Challenges! Here's our sketch for this week.

 

Here's my take. I used the new papers from Little Yellow Bicycle called Lucky Me. I just love the color combo - green and blue.

Did a few things here and here. First is with the Technique Tuesday chipboard which I stamped using Hero Arts background stamp. I used embossing ink and then heat embossed it using distress embossing powder in peeled paint. Once dried I misted the whole background with glimmer spritz in Caribbean Sunset. The bird is a Maya Road bare chipboard, i applied crackle to it in varying colors. The circle journaling tablets were joined together with a brad and it hides the journaling underneath.

The titles were all from Heidi Swapp Stickers. The tree branch and flowers were also from Maya Road, painted all of them using MM paints and then I added liquid pearls on the border page.

Here's a close up of the middle page with the journaling hidden.

Happy Monday to all!

Cheers!

Cathy

??? @1...

I know I am way behind my blog posts. I blame work, that's all. Been really really busy and when I finally get a chance to blog about something, the internet's down. Yeah... that is what's been happening. Boo boo...

Anyhow, 2 weekends ago I was fortunate enough to attend another class of Iris Uy and I really really loved how the my album turned out. It was our 1st Anniversary celebration album which was our trip to Balai Isabel in Talisay this January 17. I also had an album a year ago about our "big day" and I'm planning to make this a yearly project. An album for every year of our celebration. I'm still thinking of an adjective to describe our first year together hence the title of the blog post ???? @1. I'm thinking... crazy @1? or bliss @1? Well, I'll let you know when I finally decide on it. I'll post it right at the back of the album cover.

I enjoyed the class very much especially the techniques taught. We played with fabric, gel mediums, crackle paints and paints. It was really fun and I finally got the chance to finish this album.


This is the front, side and back view of the album. This is a Maya Road chipboard album with envelopes. The album was covered with canvas that was stamped, painted with a mix of heavy gel medium and acrylic paint.

This is the inside pages plus the envelopes.

And more pages!

Love it! Love it! Love it! Hope to blog some more real soon!
Cheers!
Cathy

February is over...

I can't believe it's over.  This month flew so fast and I hate to admit it but I only made 8 layouts.  This is not because I lost my mojo or anything but I had to rest.  Got sick for a few days - vertigo, had a small car accident - car got a scratch, been so busy at work due to integration activities. So yeah, it got the best of me.

On the other hand though, I did win some seriously awesome stuff! I won a $300 worth of Melissa Frances goodies, I'm one of the CEO awardees - which earned me an extra $250 and bought myself a new Philip Stein watch, a Charriol bracelet and we had a very nice Vday celebration! And on the scrapppin side of my world, I was able to attend a scrappin class with Iris Babao Uy, I got in the top 25 finalist of Nook's DT Call (still proud of that though I didn't make it LOL!), One of my layouts posted at Two Peas got someone's attention and it will be pubbed at Scrapbooking.com and lastly I will be the featured member this March over at Your Scrapbook Stash. What's not to like about Feb eh?

Well just to top it off, I was able to finish another layout this weekend. I'm so happy my Prima goodies arrived in time for the Feb BAP.  No chance I'm hoping to win but I'm just happy to participate, been wanting to for the longest time. :)

So here is the finished layout. I started this layout last friday, when LG came over and we scrapped. But I didn't get to finish it until yesterday.

 

I used the Pastiche Collection on here. They are the most beautiful for me among all the new lines. :) The gate like paper is from my old prima stash, I tore it and applied crackle paint on the edges, like the soft look it added to the strong colors of the paper.

These are the chipboard stickers from the same line. The alpha is an old prima stash too but the flowers are new.  I also stamped a small piece of the music stamp on the side of the photo.

 

Here's the bottom right side. It was hard to cut through those beautiful papers but I did it anyway and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I also added glossy accents on the roses just to give it a little of an epoxy look. 

The leaf is from a new prima stamp too which I stamped on scraps (using two different shades of green) and hand cut after. 

Thanks for looking and have a great week ahead!

Cheers!
Cathy

been BUSY... INDULGING...

So where have I been huh? Been really busy the past two weeks with work and so there was a little indulging done too. Before Vday last week, DH and I went to Trinoma to look for a watch for him. He's been itching to buy one and we ended up buying a His and Hers Philip Stein and one more Kenneth Cole watch for him. His white Nike watch recently got broken so he needed another white watch (excuses huh?).  And as we were just roaming around, we saw the Charriol shop and I've been eyeing it for quite sometime now and he convinced me to buy a bracelet! crazy! But he said i deserved it, so I believed him. LOL!

Then right after we bought those, I actually was given a CEO award that same night! So I guess I really did deserve it right? It was a perfect day. :)

Then that weekend, came Vday then back to work and work has been really crazy for me. Been sleeping a lot less because of it. Too stressed! But all my parcels arrived on Friday!. It was literally parcel day because I got my goods from a friend through a balikbayan box. They are my SILHOUETTE SD!!!, Joann goodies and punchers!!!

Next to that, my BG origins order have arrived. Been waiting for it for a month and was finally glad it arrived. And lastly, my Twopeas order have arrived too! This one was shipped through Johnny Air so it only took less than 2 weeks! I got all the new Prima CHA papers! As in all of it! tee hee... A few stamps and flowers too! :)

I was so high and thought nothing could go wrong but I knew it couldn't be that perfect. So there was a problem with my parcel shipped through our post office. The parcel costs $65 only and they wanted me to pay $35 for the shipping cost!!! That's more than 50% of the total freakin' cost!!! I was so mad because this was the first time they actually are billing me for customs duties!!! That's cray because i've been shipping through them so many times already! I gotta tell you, the system is freakin trash!!!

Anyhow, that should've given you an idea how mad i was right? Well enough about that, I got over it anyway. I left my parcel there and still have not picked it up. Maybe I'm hoping for a miracle... whatever. By the time I got home on friday, DH wanted to get his haircut done so I tagged along. So by the time we got home I was dead sleepy. The next day, worked like hell and right afte rmy shift we went straight to Duty Free and then to the Travel Expo over at SM MOA. I had a foot spa after the expo because DH had to meet a client for an hour or two. We were home at around 6pm and you can imagine my excitement with my new toy right? So I still managed to set it up and try it despite being awake for almost 24 hours! But no regrets there! That toy was AMAZING! Even DH was amazed and asked me why I only bought it now!!! Haha that made me laugh! :)

Sunday is family day. We went out for lunch with DH's family, off to celebrate my SIL's bday. Then we went to Shang rila where he bought another watch! It was the Issey Miyaki watch we saw at HK 2 years ago and he was so suprised to see it here so he bought it! Watch you say? yes, again.  Then we were going to meet with SIL again at around 8pm that same day at Serendra so we've got time to kill. We went to Glorietta and I had my version of indulgence too. :) I've been wanting to go to Clarins Institut for the longest time and I finally decided to go. I had a facial and bought new goodies for my face, It's just about time because my stuff is almost depleted. I'm using Philosophy products and I read in a magazine lately that as we age, our skin needs vary.  I need moisturizers that have specific ingredients to help the skin regenerate faster because it's starting to slow down. Bottom line is I spent 12k on those new products. I didn't mind because they really last a long time. And as DH said, I spend as much on scrappy stuff why not on my skin which is more important? Amen to that! :)

That was it for me so you can imagine that my monday was dedicated to my bed. :) But I ended up cleaning my scrapbook room a bit too. I couldn't help it.

So last week, I only managed to create one layout and here it is. Will post details tomorrow when I get a chance.

Goodnight!

Cheers,
Cathy