My First 6x6

part of the make and take in the may 2007 scrapfest was to create 6x6 LOs about oneself to comprise a SHE album.

i never got to try my hand on this until lately, albeit not of me, but of a person so dear to me - - - my super generous aunt.

my initial plan to make 6 LOs which i thought of putting together with a single ring binder, ballooned to 18 LOs in all which i put in a cutie 6x6 pioneer album. i just couldn't get my hands off my stash. yes, i just used a few left-over papers. indeed, in this craft, nothing is scrap.

here are a few:

materials used: cs - bazzill; pp - mem. block 2, mambi, urban lily, american crafts, chatterbox; eyelets - bazzill; brads - colorbok; ink - colorbox; stamps - inkadinkado; rub-ons - lasting impressions scrappy rubs; pen - sakura, ac white ultimate pen; misc - rikrak, vellum, cricut flower

[pardon the glare in the pix; my sister took the photos w/o removing the LOs from the protective sheets :> ]

It's a Bear-y Merry Christmas

....in our 2-man home.

cutie yuletide teddys dominate our tree this time.

a 2006 starbucks bearista sits on top billing.

he's just so cute, isn't he?

For Uncle

hubby and i anticipated the long weekend from the last week of october on to november, so that prior to that, we busied ourselves with our respective backlogs. who would not be, with a b-r-e-a-k waiting for us?

or so we thought.

the night before we flew to home-sweet-home came a shocking news: uncle gerry didn't survive a massive heart attack.

i remember as a toddler, i used to cry on the short but bumpy tacloban-manila plane ride. but on our flight home on oct. 26, i cried because i dreaded to see our once lively uncle, now gone.

my father was to speak in the necrological services in behalf of his 2 sisters. but days before, he didn't assure me that he'd be able to do the task. so i prepared my own eulogy to pitch in for him.

i was glad my father stood up to the podium when his name was called. for sure, that would have what uncle gerry wanted. in ending his eulogy, he said: "this is a joyful day because my brother is already in heaven". oh how brave of him to have said that of his younger brother.

while tatay was speaking, uncle's close-up photo was flashed

in the wide screen. this just breaks my heart.

hereunder is my prepared message. i bet i wouldn't have been able to finish reading it.

---------

good morning.

i am darlene, joseph's daughter, uncle gerry's favorite niece. that's what uncle gerry would say when i am at a hearing distance. i am sure, he also say the same thing to my siblings and cousins whenever uncle gerry is sure that they hear him.

that's our uncle gerry - - - very expressive and never fails to make us laugh.

i learned from my father that even as a young boy, uncle gerry was boisterous; he never runs out of story to tell. and even at times when he'd caught our grandfather's ire for his mischievous ways, he is sure to reason with all the jokes he has mastered. so all of you who know him can now imagine how he was in his youth.

that mischievous boy grew up to be a soft-hearted man and subservient brother. as they say, comedians are always the first ones to cry. that is true of uncle gerry. in a rare gathering among uncle gerry, my father, aunties lina & elen, and our family's tenants in the family farm early this year, uncle gerry in his message, couldn't help but cry when he thanked our family's loyal tenants all these years. that's the other side of uncle gerry that some of you may not have known. uncle knew when and to whom gratitude is due.

uncle is full of surprises. you see, we were scheduled to meet in manila next week where he asked me to have him scheduled for some facial cleaning in the hospital where i work. i never knew that he needed more than that. for the past days, i looked for the answers to the many whys on my mind. of late, i realized, he must have done his share that's why he had to leave us this soon.

i am thankful to have known him. i am grateful for the affection he has shown me and my siblings. sure i will miss his calls to me and my husband, most of the time, just to ask how we are. even while we are geographically far apart, i could feel uncle's concern. there was one time he called, pleading my husband & i to go home quick because he saw on tv that there's a fire in makati. you could just imagine how wide makati is, yet he insisted that we go home. that's uncle. you just have to follow him sometimes.

i will be forever thankful for his thoughtfulness. i have always known october to be a busy month for him, so that when i told him i was getting married in october, i said i'll never take a no for an answer. sure enough, he was at my wedding. i think he missed manning his staff at the civil service exam that month.

for all these uncle, thank you is not enough. i may not have been able to repay you in the best possible way, but rest assured that your memories will not be forgotten. if there's one important lesson from you i wish my siblings and my cousins will learn is this: it's true, tatay and uncle gerry never fought. they were loving siblings in the truest sense that i hope we will all emulate. i think the surest i will miss is hearing you call tatay 'gurang'. and because i hate goodbyes, i'd rather say: uncle gerry, until we meet again. we love you.

My Scrappinmoms Idol Ride - In Brief

i'm alive. i missed blogging, and yes, i haven't scrapped.

after the scrapfest over a month ago, time flew so fast 'coz of the many things i had to do. not even close to 1/8 of what i need to accomplish, i'm giving myself a break.

so i thought of posting the layouts i did for the scrapinmoms idol contest. honestly, i can't, even until now, believe i made it through the 8 rounds, all in all.

elimination round: scraplift your idol - this is the very first time i lifted a layout. oh my, it's so very liberating. i think i'll be doing a lot of scraplifting soon.

tiffany tillman's shonuff was my first choice.

this is my first time to use rouge de garance papers.

i hope i did justice to tiffany's layout.

round 1: stuck on cardstock - whwaaaaaat? cardstock only?

i figured this picture would do well against a plain background.

this is my first time to create flowers out of my cricut.

round 2: what's your color? sounds easy, right? but i actually had a hard time going monochromatic.

orange is not my favorite color.

but i just can't get off my eyes on this picture of my cutie pie niece, bea.
this is my first time to use a template, and yes, experiment on doodling.

round 3: alter it! - i thought we'd just be doing layouts. i was wrong. the scrappinmoms wanted to us to do more than that. at one point i thought i'd back out because....

this is my first time to alter an item.

and i parted with my favorite, soiled towel *sigh*.

good thing, i was relieved to have created a hanging magazine holder.

round 4: what's in a photo - when i read the mechanics that we have to use a photo of an inanimate object that is of significance to us, my only choice was my books. no less.

aside from this is my first time to use a picture of a non-living thing,

i also used fabric for the first time, as mandated by the moms.

round 5: no photos allowed - what the _ _ _ k? ephemera. we had to use ephemera. it seems that the moms were pushing us to the limits. but who am i to complain?

aside from this is my first ephemera layout, i actually cried while doing this, *another sigh*.

round 6: words from the heart - since we were to use at least 3 enlarged photos in a spread layout, i thought of using a simple sketch.

i think this is my first time to pour my heart out as if to say: life's happiness doesn't always depend on all fancy and beautiful. family matters most.

final round: done for 3, short hours on october 6, 2007.

this is my first layout on an acrylic sheet. since i forgot to bring my acrylic block for stamping, i did some stamping w/o it. ouch!

going though my layouts, i realized i have done so many firsts in my scrapping life. i learned so many lessons along the way, the most important of which is never to be afraid.

so, what do i look forward to now? to do more layouts and.....to eagerly await for the future scrapfest where i can enjoy, watch and cheer the top 12 of the 2nd scrappinmoms idol do the final round.

in parting (w/ the idol topic), i'd like to salute the scrappinmoms and give my two thumbs up to the first ever idol, cabbie & the runners-up au & tin - - - truly my idols!