Today is the 19th birthday of one of my favorite figure skaters (actually, she’s my #1 fave), Mao Asada (浅田真央). May she stay sweet, cheerful, determined, humble and kind. I wish her all the best in life and I hope she has a blast on this special day and in this season…
Happy 19th Birthday, Mao!
My 2 year old niece Lexi loves flowers. Before she turned two last month, she pronounces flowers as o-wers. She pronounces most 2 syllable words with an O: o-bie (for her dog Robie), ogi (for Mama’s dog pogi). But after her 2nd birthday she’s now pronouncing words with an E: e-mie (mommy), e-dy (daddy), e-bie (Robie), e-fon (cellphone), e-fan (electric fan) and… e-wers (flowers). Glad to hear she still calls me Tita. c”,)
Anyway, she loves flowers so much the she picks flowers outside our neighbors’ fences whenever she goes out. There are no more flowers in the plants here at home because she picked them all already. And she wants some more.
Last month during her mommy and daddy’s anniversary, her daddy gave her mommy a bouquet of red roses. Lexi was SOOOO excited to see flowers. She claimed the bouquet as her own (see pic below). Then two days ago, Tita Laarnie and Tito Eric gave Mommy-La a bouquet of roses for an early birthday. She claimed it as hers again. There’s another pic of her with Mommy-La’s bouquet. Both bouquets are actually too big for her. So I told her we’d make a small (mini) bouquet just for her.
Lexi with Mommy and Mommy-La's Bouquets
We have some materials to be used at home so we just need to look for small flowers. As I was on an errand near the cathedral the other day I noticed some stalls selling flowers. There wasn’t much variety to choose from. There were a lot of daisies and red roses but I don’t wanna use them. I found a few pink and white small roses so I bought a dozen for Lexi.
Less than 24 hrs ago, Mommy-La celebrated her birthday and since she already has a bouquet, Lexi and I made her mini-bouquet with the small roses I bought and the materials we had her at home. Here’s our DIY mini bouquet (1st practice). Hehe…
Lexi with her mini bouquet
She liked it so much she acted as if she was the celebrant… Next time we’ll look for better flowers and buy materials so we can make a bigger and better bouquet.
Ever since I was in school, I always loved making invitations for events. My friends would always say that when they get married they want me to make the invitations for them. True enough I made their wedding invitations. I found some pictures in my multiply album but the picture resolution is low. Some I’ve reprinted and took pictures using my old SE w800i but the lighting here is quite low so the pics are just decent.
Vince and Mimie's Wedding Invitation
This is Sir Vince and Mimie’s wedding invitation. I was just told they want pastel colors with flowers. They didn’t have a specific design in mind. Not even the type of flower. So I just took a picture of a flower and colorized it 4x. Here’s the result. When you open the front flap you’ll see the main invitation, the bridal entourage and their dedications in the four sheets inside and each sheet vary in length to see the colored edges.
The invitation picture was actually taken by me when I reprinted it here because that’s how I originally designed it. Not sure if they have te font I used when they printed these because the invitation I received used a different font. It’s still nice but I like this font better. =) Also, they used a lavender ribbon and since I don’t have one here at home I just used a pink one. A light yellow or light green ribbon will also look good, I think…
Jonahlayne and Bryan's Wedding Invitation
The first in our group to get married. One of my closest friend absolutely loves the color GREEN (and this is one of my least fave). She told me she wanted something unique — one she hasn’t seen in invitations she received yet. Not the “typical” invitations you place in an envelope. That’s what she said. And she wants her invitation to have 7 sheets with 7 shades of green. That’s aside from the main invitation… I was shocked. She followed that up with saying she has 17 ninongs and ninangs and 17 groomsmen and bridesmaids. 17 is an important number for them and they’re getting married on a 17 (Nov. 17). I was thinking, was there ever a marriage ceremony with this number of people involved? She then topped it off with the number of invitations she wants me to make: 200!
My friends and I shared payment for the materials, as well as, the shipping of invitations. But since we’re working in different cities, I only had help from our other friend, Leah, who works with me that time. My officemate, Mama Sarah, lent us the printer to use. We just bought new ink for the printer.
Looking for the board/papers to use was so troublesome. It would’ve been ok if we’re only going to make a few. But now, that’s 200 invitations for us with probably 8 sheets each. Bookstores in CDO don’t carry that much stock (rather, the number of we need). We found some but they only have less than 10 packs left. We needed more than that. I actually wished I can go to Manila to look for stuff, but we were running out of time. I tried calling paper suppliers and they did confirm that they don’t carry much stock on a particular paper type. If I want to order, I’ll have to do much waiting and time isn’t on our side. Until I found new stocks in an old mall’s school supplies section. I purchased all the packs of green and white specialty papers they had immediately.
The box-type invitation is in green (dark green bottom, light green top). Looking for the papers to use was difficult and it’s even more difficult to look for seven shades of green. What I did was to print the main invitation in green and the bridal entourage and other stuff in white (with a different shade of green for the corners).
The picture of the invitation above was taken from my old phone before the invitations were shipped to Davao. The other pictures were from Jonah and Bryan’s wedding album.
I don’t want to make another one like this (well, not in the range of 200 pieces). This was so tiring because Leah has trouble working with straight edges I had to do all the cutting. =(
Dioven and Lorelie's Wedding Invitation
This wasn’t so difficult to make. I only have to make 75 pieces. Of course, Lorelie said she wanted something different from Jonah’s box-type invitation. But just like VMG and Jonah, I have to think of what kind of invittion to make. Just like Vince and Mimie’s invitation, she wants flowers and color should be in “sunset gold” which had me exclaim “huh?!”
What shade of yellow does “sunset gold” use? I had trouble searching for that color shade in the internet. Until after further emails she sent me a picture with a color and it turned out to be just — yellow. c”,) She wanted their picture included and that it has got to have flowers. Her choice was quite difficult to research and I ended up using a white rose for the main invitation. The invitation is in a booklet style in light yellow colors with the main invitation (white) inserted in the booklet. We (Leah and me again with the help of our housemates and an officemate, Kit) also made pochette envelopes in parchment paper for the invitations and tied with a yellow ribbon.
Kim and Glenn's Wedding Invitation
Gracie’s sister, Glenn, got married last year. Gracie was in-charge of the invitation so she asked for my help. Since I was already back home in Davao that time, she just asked me for a layout and they’ll do the printing themselves with a note that I just put detailed instructions on what to do. ^_^
Here’s what I had in mind (I just printed this here). Invitation, entourage and rsvp cards are inserted in a folder. She said color motif is purple. Since I don’t have an idea what kind of paper they’ll be able to buy, I just made the invitation in white except the main invitation where I placed a purple gradient as the background. Layout for the entourage is the same as the main invitation without the purple gradient. I’m not sure about the board they used for the folder but the one I used here is Irish Purple (which we have at home). I wanted to use a darker shade but I don’t think I have that kind of board here. Maybe next time I’ll reprint another one. =)
Leah and Armand's Wedding Invitation
This wedding keeps on getting delayed but it finallycame. At first Leah said they don’t have an invitation as the wedding (or solemnization as she said it’s called in SG) will only take a few minutes and they’ll only have a few witnesses. I insisted she has to have one. She helped in making all those invitations before and she gotta have one herself even if it’s just very simple. She can have another not so simple invitation when they get married in Church. And so a week before the wedding she gave me a simple text (just details of where the solemnization will take place and reception). I made several simple layouts and she picked the last one I made. They’re going to print it themselves so I just gave instructions on what paper to use, etc…
I printed my own copy here in photo paper with glitters. I made the envelope also from a light pink specialty paper.
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All in all, I’m glad they all liked the invitations… makes all the hard work and sleepless nights worth it.
There are still other wedding invitations I made but sadly I don’t have the layout files anymore. I don’t even have pictures of them. Oh well, I’ll just try to make other layouts later and post immediately. Which reminds me… I have to make some for my sister (which I’m not fond of making at the moment). She has an invitation design in mind already but I’m quite sure she’ll change it later if she sees another one that captures her fancy. :p
I bought two Japanese craft books and a children’s craft book last May. Two for paper crafts and another for gift-wrapping. Of cource, I can’t understand the contents of the Japanese books but the pictures and step-by-step pics make up for it. I swear, I really have to study Japanese now. Japan has so many interesting books on paper crafts.
At home, while rearranging stuff in our bookshelf, I found other books I’ve bought. Two for making bags (Japanese), two for card making, one hardcover paper craft book, and one Memory Keepsakes book.
My Craft Books
I think I have other books before but can’t remember what, how many and where I’ve placed them. I know there are a lot of paper craft books out there and I always look for them when I’m in bookstores. Because the Internet offers a lot of DIY tips, I now just surf the net if I want some. It’s much more convenient, really.
But then again, I also love the feel of holding a craft book in my hands — from the materials, instructions, step-by-step pictures and the final product. Plus, it doesn’t hurt my eyes much. Of these books, I’ve done a few. Some of the projects are useful for some other projects that I made. Next time I can find something interesting I’ll probably get another one…=)
I’ve been meaning to make one for the longest time but the CSS coding style of Multiply is turning me off. It would have been better if classes used were properly documented in their help section but its not. Also, CSS codes will depend on what “Base” theme you’ve selected to use.
Now, after practicing with CSS codes for the past couple of days, lots of preview clicking and lots of source viewing I’ve finally come up with this:
My first Multiply theme
As you can see, it uses lots of PINK. It’s my fave color after all. =) Not much since it’s my first try. The brush I’ve used for the header came from the free brush pack by melsbrushes. The terms did say it’s free for personal blogs. Thanks a lot! Next time I’ll make my own brushes. I gotta make this as a new goal. I’ll share it to others if I can make one, of course. =)
It’s functional, alright. But there still might be some more sections that needs a bit more tweaking. If only I’ll find out what classes/ids I really have to edit. Trial and error is sooooo time-consuming.
Well, as my mom would say: “There’s always a first time.” 
I’ll try to make another one next time. Hopefully by that time I’d have full understanding on the way these classes/ids are used.
Here’s my Multiply site: the pink connection
My niece, Lexi, loves to drink juice every afternoon for her snacks. Right now, she’s using her Spongebob tumbler which came free when we bought a big-sized toothpaste last month.
Last week, we saw one blank tumbler in a box when we were rearranging things here at home which she immediately claimed as hers. This was all that was left of the 120 tumblers she gaveaway for her first birthday last year. And so I decided to make her some personalized designs for her blank tumbler — 3 designs so far.
So here’s what her personalized tumblers look like. I’ll let Lexi pick one she likes most and let her use it… maybe 1 design each week? =)
I still can’t find the design I made for her 1st birthday so I can’t include it here.
Lexi's Personalized Tumblers
Here’s a 10-minute video clip I’ve compiled from the clips I’ve taken during the silent drill performed by class 2011 cadets of the Philippine Military Academy during the Kadayawan Festival 2009. This was held at the Agro football field yesterday, August 22, 2009.
It started with some parachute troops of the PMA jumping from two helicopters after gaining an altitude of 6000ft. It was an awesome sight and there was even a female member of the parachute team. This was followed by the entrance of the cadets. The silent drill probably lasted for an hour or more. I’m not sure how long ‘coz I really enjoyed it. esp the “dancing” part of the drill. Hehe…
Since this was held at a football field with no stands, it’s difficult to get clips of the wonderful formations they’ve done. There was a grandstand placed during the event but it was for VIPs. But I did see one performance held at the PMA grounds in Baguio City — at the academy’s Borromeo Field. If you’ll see it there (I think they perform every weekend) you’ll appreciate it even more ‘coz you’ll clearly see the formations.
Anyway, here’s the video I’ve made. I haven’t really “edited” the clips during compilation. I just added some transitions and text. Sounds were retained so you’ll hear the enjoyment of those watching and the sounds the cadets danced to. =)
Video clips were taken from a Sony DSC W55 digital camera.
Here are some more invitation cards I’ve made using photopapers. The 4R-sized invitation was created for my officemate’s daughter and son. It was for her daughter’s 3rd birthday and her son’s christening both done on the same day. The pink one was for little Shanna’s 1st birthday, pocket-sized as her mom requested. And the last one was done for one of my sister’s sidekicks. Hehe… It was another rushed work and we had trouble finding pictures that won’t look pixelated.
Invitation cards printed on photo papers
And here are the CD labels I made for Jonah’s little Maanne. The theme was Pooh and I made 2 layouts. She said she loved both and these actually have matching prints for the cd cases which I forgot to take pictures of. Here are the cd labels.
Maanne's Pooh CD Labels
The 2010 Winter Olympics is near and my favorite [actually the only event I like] is Figure Skating. I’ve made some wallpapers and avatars of my favorite figure skaters and they’re uploaded in the Goodies section. Wallpapers and avatars include those of Mao Asada, Miki Ando, Yu-na Kim, Daisuke Takahashi [avatars only].
Go to Goodies Section or check these albums:
I found some LQ Sailormoon scanned drawings from my old files — what’s left of those that I drew before. As you can see, theyre already quite old when I found and scanned these drawings.
My friend who loved this anime encouraged me to watch this and I got hooked also — my very first anime. I used to collect cards and other Sailormoon stuff before but unfortunately lost them when we transferred homes a couple of times. 
I made these drawings based on the Sailormoon cards I used to collect and drew them on my drawing pad using some pencils and my trusted eraser. There are some posters I’ve made using postercolor and illustration boards but I gave them away to my friends. Sucks that I don’t have pictures of those.
I still have some of these drawings and I’ll try to scan them again.
PS: The colored chibimoon was done in Flash when I was practicing how to use the Flash drawing tools.
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