Color Me Miki--March kit--Going Retro

Hello MARCH!!! I say this every month, but dang, where did the past month go? Maybe because it as a short month, maybe because of all the 3day weekends we had, maybe just because we were so busy living life.... Whatever the case, it's already MARCH!! Two months have passed in 2010. And there seems to be no slowing down.

One thing is for sure, I've been busy with scrapping...my mojo has really been flowing this year. I'm having so much fun with it. I've missed it, I've missed cutting up papers, I've missed embellishing like a crazy person, I've missed fondling all the goodies. It's good to be back :)

I've also been scrapping with this month's kit from Color Me Miki...Going Retro! Terri seriously packs all her kits every month and March is no exception. Check out all the projects I created with the kit.....first up a canvas. I've missed creating these, too!

And a couple close ups of the canvas.... you can also click on any of the images to enlarge...

And some cards....

And the layouts.....

I did use a couple of the die cuts from Feb's kit, but everything else is from March. The picture was taken Dec. 24...right before Christmas.

And this picture was taken on Christmas....this my favorite picture of the kids to date. I want to make a canvas using this picture. I love it!

And now getting back to the Holy Land trip! I know, that was back in Nov. 2007. At least it's finally getting scrapped. And it's wonderful to relive all those amazing memories! Besides, I need to get them finished by June..haha! Our first visit of the day, Cana...the place where Jesus performs his first miracle.

I've been anxiously awaiting April's kit. but I've been keeping busy with actually using up my stash!! Although I've sold or gave away so much of my stuff, I still have so much more. It feels good to be using it. But I still have LOTS more!!

Still to come...more layouts using "antique" scrapping goodies :)

Thanks so much for passing by, have a great day!!!

Plethora of pages!!

Last year Willow Traders hosted the Use a Kit Challenge. We could either use kits we bought from monthly clubs or make one up using your stash. Since I do not sub to other kit clubs, I usually just make my own. I received a prize from a fellow Willow who makes AMAZING homemade kits. In my Stash kit, I mixed some of the goodies she gave me with some other stuff. I just love throwing in more and more stuff. It's very eclectic, just the way I like it..LOL! I was always told I never matched my clothes. Why bother matching my scrapping stuff, too? LOL!

And here are the plethora of layouts I've created so far. I still have some more stuff from my eclectic kit. I plan on making some cards and such. I focused on scrapping pictures from last year's summer. Our niece and her family visited from LA for a few days. We managed to go to SF, Napa, and Santa Cruz. Not to mention swimming time at home, too!

Here is the cover page for the album. I'm also double dipping for The Scrapping Spot challenge #3, using circles. I used a bunch of buttons as a border along the bottom of the page.

This is just the way you would see it in the album. I'm anal like that..LOL. Heintje's sister also came up for the weekend when we went to SF.

And this layout was for The Scrapping Spot Stash Challenge #1, Evens. I used 2 pictures, 4 patterned papers, 6 ribbons, 8 buttons, 10 letters in my title. Fun page to do!!

I'm so excited to be scrapping again. I feel like I haven't scrapped in months, except for DT layouts!! Forget sleep man, it's time to get my scrap ON (like donkey kong)!! LOL.

Gotta go, it's midnight and it's time to scrap :)

Color Me Miki Nov kit--On the Road Again

Gosh, I wish we were on the road again...how I miss traveling! We haven't had a big trip since The Holy Land...2 years ago! We've been saving for a big, gigantic, super exciting, and long awaiting trip to the Philippines next June!! I can't wait, we'll be gone for 1month...woohoo!!!

This kit is from Color Me Miki, it was from November...yikes! I have Dec all ready to go, and I'll post that soon. Nov. has been a crazy month for me! Planning Jordan and Joey's birthday..I still need to get their pictures up!...and the Thanksgiving Feast for Jasmin's class. Then of course Thanksgiving and Black Friday..haha!! Gotta plan all those shopping sprees!

Now, on to the kit....On the Road Again!!

Even if you don't travel, you can use them for everyday pages! Here are my boys...

Here is Jordan when we went to SF. He had so much fun on the bungee thing. I was so proud of him for trying so hard and making all those flips!!

And one of Ms. Jasmin. This was taken when she was 4 and I'm just now getting around to it..LOL. The journaling is about now. Every night (we try to at least!) we say our prayers and say at least 5 things we are thankful for from that day. She is so cute and says "I'm thank you for..." I wanted to document it now before she says it the grammatical way..LOL! Sorry, my scaner is just getting so so sad lately :(

Another SF layout. I feel like we go there quite often lately! This time we were with my parents. This was Labor Day, the kids were off, and so was Heintje! We planned to go to SJ Japantown, but we headed north to SF to visit my brother and Tina instead. Also had some yummy cheesecake and shopped at Old Navy!! woohoo..I love Old Navy! Oh, in these pictures, were were taking a break and stopped at Blondies, the BEST! pizza ever!!

Finally.....can't do a travel kit without scrapping about the Holy Land! Have I mentioned how I miss it there...LOL.... This was taken at Caesarea. It was a port on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It's so beautiful and you can still see many of the structures still standing. You can see the Med. Sea in the background!

Okay, that's all folks! I totally squeezed every last bit of this kit, I had such a great time with it!! And I just peeked onto the Color Me Miki site. It's a little different and to top it off...there is a SALE!! I haven't shopped for scrap stuff in a while, but I think I might pick up a couple bottles of Maya Road Mist!! Fun stuff!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break and well rested for the busy month ahead.

Happy Dec. 1 everyone :)

Another post!! Goo me :)

I'm trying to keep this up, really! It's been really crazy at the house with all our internet woes. Then also throw in end of school, cleaning up the house, and just plain living life. The house is a mess right now since we are trying to organize the garage. We got 2 storage things Hman is putting together. Just need to get some brackets then I get to organize...FUN! The scraproom/all purpose room is a mess with school papers everywhere. We need to weed out things and just save some of their favs. Hopefully tonight I get to scrap. I have the upcoming Color Me Miki July kits...yes...plural as in 2 kits!! I love them both!

The month of May was Paper Posies anniversary celebration. They posted challenges every few days, but I only had a chance to complete 4 of them. They also had a weekend crop that I'll post about in another entry. This is what I created for the challenges. Thanks so much, Paper Posies for a fun month and for helping me knock out some layouts!!

This challenge was to create a card using a sketch. It was around the time for Mother's Day, so I created a Mother's Day card...this was for my Sister In Law.

This challenge was to mimic the Paper Posies logo. I love the posies and how simple it is to create. Just get some circles and layere them. Then add a center, I used hearts. This photo was taken in Lake Tahoe last year, I'm sure I scrapped this before, but this is for my Mom's album. I can't believe I used cardstock as the background!! LOL..I NEVER use CS anymore! Heidi Grace PP and I think a scrap of KI Memories and Daisy D. Chipboard circles by Heidi Grace, gotta have bling baby--Prima! Heart stickers from Michael's...I grabbed them from a sticker sheet the kids were using..LOL!

This layout was based on a Page Maps sketch. My poor Joey Boy. He fell off the back of the couch--HEAD FIRST! I was so scared that he bent his neck wrong..they way he fell looked awful!! OMG, it must have been the scariest accident any of the kids ever had. Luckily he got away with *just* a black eye...LOL. Totally used up some old school Doodlebug PP and stickers, Heidi Swapp journaling spots!, Technique Tuesday circle frame I painted with Crackle Paint, and Junkitz glitter chipboard.

And finally...another Joey layout! LOL. This was a scraplift from one of the designers. I loved how she layered a bunch of PP strips..I'm all about using up scraps! I don't even know if they match, but it's DONE :) Patterned papers: Prima, Love, Elsie, Junkitz. And a bunch of misc stars and buttons.

Thanks so much! Have a great weekend!

Solvang/Santa Barbara, pt. DONE!

Haha! I bet you guys are so excited that this is the last post you'll see about our trip. I'm just so glad I got it DONE! A whole album for 1 event. 4 days comprised into 24 pages. Not too bad. Now...I really want to get started on the Holy Land trip again. I've been slacking on it. Almost done with that trip. I think 4 more days to go...woohoo!

I can't believe it's been almost a week since I last posted. It was a busy week indeed! The AHA crop was amazing...thanks so much, Suzy! I got to hang out with my scrappin' buds..it's been so long since I've been to a crop. I sat with Michelle, Laurie, Krista, her sweet mom, Sue and Danielle. Also saw Erin and Rocio and bunches more. It felt like the garage again seeing faces from long ago. It was beautiful how these women banded together to support Michelle. That is one thing I love about scrapping..in times like this, we all get together and show our love and support. No matter how close we are to them, no matter if we are best of friends, acquaintances, or someone you don't even know. It's amazing how much love can be shared! Although I was only there for 3 hours...and in between, there were speeches, games, and lots of laughter and tears, I was able to create 3 layouts. They are pretty much done, just need to get journaling on there and maybe throw in a few more embellies. You know me and embellies! LOL! Those will be in my next post...along with a couple pictures from the crop. I love those girls. I can't wait to crop with you guys again! Oh yeah...I totally forgot to mention, I won a SWEET prize! It was a huge package from Fiskars. FILLED with lots of love goodies! I'll have to take a picture and post it. THANK YOU sooo much, Fiskars for the generous prize!!

Have you guys noticed my banner? Probably since it's right at the top staring at you in the face. I FINALLY decided to sit down and just do it. Of course I ignored my family for a few hours and Heintje had to pick up the kids from school, but it was worth it..LOL. Now, just to figure out the rest of the blog!

Here ya go...the LAST pages!

This was taken at Mission Santa Ynez in Solvang. Man, isn't she so pretty. I look at her in awe everyday. In awe of her prettiness (is that a word), in awe of her craziness!, and in awe of how big she has grown--physically and emotionally. I love this girl so much!!

Here we are on the streets of Solvang. And a cute little place to eat..and yummy!

I always love taking pictures of the kiddos on the way home. You can tell they are so tired because they pass out within minutes of hitting the freeway! Jordan was not in the car with us, he rode with my brother.

That's it! Thank you all for coming along on this journey with me. I hope you have enjoyed your trip to Solvang and your adventures in Santa Barbara! Until next time....

Travel Mini Book

Happy day after Valentines! I hope you all had a great day filled with love with your family and friends. Today we planned to go to Great Mall, but we were first side-tracked by the beautiful snow on Mount Hamilton. We tried to go up there, but they closed the road. It was such a long windy road, Jassy, Jordan and I got car sick. Jordan fell asleep, so he didn't feel it so much. Jasmin was crying on the way down the mountain and me...I still feel a bit sick! After our {non}adventure at Mount Hamilton, we finally made it to Great Mall. Jordan has had a growth spurt and lots of his clothes do not fit him as well so we got him a bunch of clothes and 2 pairs of shoes. Lucky fella! Got home, took a nap with baby Joey, had dinner, then finished the night with Karaoke...haha! Actually, my night has only begun now that I have peace and quiet in the scrap room, although I"m still feeling nauseous..lol.

Tomorrow I'm going to the LSS for a big crop. Bay Area Scrappers is having a fundraising crop for the American Heart Association in memory of Michelle's husband, Marshall. I'm looking through pictures figuring out which ones to scrap and came across this mini album, I think it's an 8x8..so it's not exactly mini...LOL! I gave it to Ate Monette and her family so they can remember their time spent here with us. Here are a few of the pages...very simple!

I kept the journaling parts blank so they can write their own feelings and memories. They were here for 6 weeks!! What a great vacation! I can't wait to see them again..hopefully soon. Next year we are planning to have a big family reunion in the Philippines. All the folks from our Holy Land trip will be joining us. I hope it works out, I haven't been home since 1994 and I miss my family so much.

Tomorrow I'll be getting my scrap ON!...well, only for a few hours. Jordan has a basketball playoff game in the evening at Moreau! Man, I haven't been back there since I graduated...I bet that place looks different, too! There will only be 6 of them so they will be very tired! They are currently in second place and will be playing for a spot in the CYO tournament. Please keep the team in your thoughts and wish them good luck!

Take care everyone

Solvang/Santa Barbara pt.3

Okay...promise, only 1 more post after this..LOL! And I won't even post all of the layouts..some are just too "thrown together." I'll just post the nicer ones for your viewing pleasure. I want to show you eye candy, not eye sores..LOL! At least I can say the trip is DONE! 24 -12x12 layouts all in 1 album. All in chrono order. All DONE! As a fellow scrappin' friend use to say...Stick a fork in it and call it DONE!

Here ya go....still focusing on Santa Barbara. We spent the whole day there so there were many photo ops :) Here is a layout of my dad. We went on this little getaway to celebrate my dad's bday. He is a 9/11 baby! Here he is on Stearn's Wharf.

After lunch at Shellfish Co. on Stearn's Wharf, we headed to Paseo Neuvo Mall. We didn't want to shop, so we headed toward the beach....duh, we JUST got back from there! It was a nice walk, but a little far. The kids did great and when we arrived at the beach, they completely forgot the walk..LOL!

Kids + water= fun, fun, fun! I don't know what draws the kids to the ocean. I bet they can be there for hours just jumping the waves, playing with the sand, skipping rocks. If it was a warm/hot day, they would be running in there!

After the beach, we headed back to Paseo Neuvo Mall. This time we took the city trolley. We got there a little earlier than the rest so it was photo shoot time..LOL! Dude, I'm telling ya, I'm going to have my hands full with that person in the blue tank top! Can't you just see the attitude!

Lastly, we went to the Courthouse. Sorry, I'm too lazy right now to post links...LOL. But in my previous posts, I do have links to these places in case you are interested :) And after the long walk to the Courthouse (we didn't realize it was so far!), we took the trolley back to the mall. Only to find our car would not start and we were stranded for a couple hours!

Did you make it this far?? I'm all done with Santa Barbara...woohoo! The last post will be about Solvang....done! Thanks for joining me as I relive our getaway. I'm totally missing Holy Land layouts, so I'll probably get to those soon. I have a few new layouts in progress from 2009! I decided to use a different size for the kids' album. You'll have to check it out next time....until then...get your scrap ON! :)

Solvang/Santa Barbara pt.2

Here we go....more Santa Barbara pictures!! I am ALMOST done! I have about 2 more layouts to go...some journaling....and scanning! These are layouts from Santa Barbara. First stop was Stearn's Wharf. These layouts are not spectacular, but I wanted to get them done. Papers totally don't match, lots of pictures, lots of stuff...LOL. But I didn't want a super fat album...we are running out of space in our house!!

Totally OLD SCHOOL paper...Me and My Big Ideas baby paper pack like from 2003 or something! It was a dull, overcast day in Santa Barbara. The gray paper seemed to fit the mood...LOL. But then I wanted to brighten it up a bit with other goodies. Oh..and trying to be "green," the yellow piece on the left is actually packaing from a K&Co sticker sheet :) What else is on here...the stars are cut from Prima Dude PP; Love, Elsie sticker; transparency..maybe Prima?; Die Cuts with a View die cuts; Thickers; blue scallped border is Jenni Bowlin crepe paper!

My parents, Auntie Elon, Uncle Menor, Kuya and Tina. I love when we all travel together! They help out so much with the kids and Hman and I can have some quiet time :) Background paper is K&Co, birdie paper is DCWV, green paper is Rusty Pickle. The black strip says "Road Trip", I think it's from Lil Davis? Wow..old school Scrapworks titlework on a journaling block from the Color Me Miki Jan kit, as well as the tickets. And a bunch of other random stuff.

After walking around a bit, we had lunch at Shellfish Co. LOL...my parents and aunt and uncle took a picture just like the one on the website..LOL! Yummy crab! This is probably the least favorite of my pages! Oh well, it's done. Chipboard from Basic Grey; die cuts from Making Memories. Background paper again from Me and My Big Ideas; pink papers are KI. And using packaing again..the brown spotted piece from Imaginisce.

This is it for now. I have more to show you, but then I'll be going out of order and that gives me stress, haha. Let me finish up the other couple layouts, then I'll be posting all the layouts in multiple posts so you are not bombarded with dark, gloomy overcast. Seeing the layouts in order will feel as if you were looking at the album right next to me...yapping....and yapping away! How fun for you!! :)

Take care, ya'll!

Solvang/Santa Barbara pt.1

Hello everyone...happy February! I can't believe how much scrapping I've been doing. It's totally exciting and our poor household, it's been neglected! At least I'm almost done with the Solvang/Santa Barbara getaway. I only have 5 more layouts to create and I'm done...stick a fork in it..baby!

To help with the layouts, I joined a challenge at Willow Traders...use a kit! I've had this Polka Dot Whimsy (PDW) kit for a while. I bought it from a fellow Willow a few months ago. I really love PDW kits, the owner totally packs the embellies and lots of fun goodies! This is a partial kit, I've already created a layout shown in the previous post. And I took out all the other stuff that I did not want or had dups of. Here is the kit I started with for the challenge.

And these are the pages I created with it...5 pages! And I think I still had some left over pieces. You'll also see the alpha in upcoming posts. I used up MOST of the letters! Woohoo! Let's start with the first page of the album. We stayed at a time share in Solvang. Heintje and I passed by here once before-on the way home from LA. It was Jordan's first road trip to LA, he was a 17 months old at the time. The place still looks the same, haha!

The next day we spent the day at Santa Barbara. It was only about an hour away. Here is my silly girl. She just loves to pose! This is outside of Paseo Nuevo Mall in Santa Barbara. *please note, pages are not in chronological order*

Then we walked to the Santa Barbara Courthouse. We did not realize how far it was from the mall. But it was beautiful once we got there and we were able to see the whole city!

After the mall and courthouse, we headed back to the car. Unfortunately, it would not start! We had to call a tow truck and he tried to fix it with his portable battery jump start thing, but it wasn't charged enough to get us started. Thank goodness my brother was there with Tina's brother's car. We were able to start it, but we still needed to get the alternator replaced. We followed the guys to the shop and ate dinner while they were fixing it. What an adventure! While in the parking garage, the kids made the most of it and had a picnic in the back..LOL! But man oh man..it was HOT and the sun was directly facing us!

Finally, the last layout I created with the kit. This was taken at Santa Ynez Mission in Solvang. I guess it's spelled with both "Y" and "I". Oh well..LOL! It was perfect that there was a church close by that we can attend and at the same time, perfect for Jordan since he had a mission project for 4th grade! We used this picture for our Christmas card this year. It thought it was suitable, esp since they are all wearing greenish/red...haha! The first word in the journaling, "enjoying", was written by Jasmin..then she got lazy..LOL!

I've got a bunch more layouts for you..and they are all scanned and saved! I'll post again in a few days and let you digest this for now. I'm hoping to get the rest of the layouts done this week...WOOHOO! Finally...something is accomplished! Yes, I'm still working on Holy Land..and Lake Tahoe...and life....oh and that darn Hawaii trip we took back in 2004! LOL! Take care home skillets!