Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Creating Summer Memories...

It is soooooo SUMMER in the Philippines! 
Yes, the weather is so hot, the sun is so bright and sweat is on anytime of the day. It's the typical spirit of summer. But for my kids, summer is sleeping late on movies, waking up at 8 o'clock in the morning, cold airconditioner, more hours on ipad and VACATIONING! Here is our first taste of Summer 2015... A long road trip to the Ilocos Province, North of the Philiipines.  



Let's go to Ilocos Norte and the first destination is Pagudpud. Pagudpud is 560 kms away from Manila and we traveled about 16 hours on the road to reach their famous beaches.


We are virtually on the far left edge of the Philippines on the outskirts of the South China Sea. My boys just enjoyed the beach, its white fine sand and the clear waters. We had our first night here. 

  

The next day, we were back on the road and headed south. But first we had to see the Patapat Viaduct, its a-1.3 kms bridge which connects Maharlika highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region. 


Then, we stopped at the Bangui Windmills, Bangui, Ilocos Norte. It's the first power generating windmill farm in Southeast Asia. They were plenty and huge fans scattered on the shores of the Bangui beaches. 


There was a lighthouse named Parola ng Cape Bojeador at Burgos, Ilocos Norte.


After almost 2 hours of drive and stop, we came to Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, the home town of  the former President Ferdinand E. Marcos.




And this was the Marcoses' ancestral home and its called the Malacanang of the North in Paoay, Ilocos Norte. The local government opened it for the public to see. Aside from some furniture and old fixtures, they made a mini museum in the library room of the mansion. 


We visited the wake of President Marcos too, actually it was my second time. His remains were still refrigerated in a room beside his family museum in the heart of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. The tiny room was heavily guarded and we were not allowed to take videos and pictures inside. This wedding photo was taken at their family museum.

  


Here is the Paoay Church or the Iglesia de San Agustin de Paoay. The church was built in 1710 with a distinctive architectural highlights of enormous buttresses on the side and back of the building. I remember when I was in highschool, President Marcos' youngest daughter Irene got married here. The church was totally repaired then and was installed with airconditioning for their guests. Now, the church looked so old inside.



Our second night was at the Vigan Heritage Mansion. A mansion owned by the Singson's in the 1800s. We had the famous vigan longganisa for breakfast and a sound sleep in room 6.


 

Day 3 was an awesome experience! We went to Baluarte... it is a private zoo owned by the former Governor of Vigan, Ilocos Sur,  Gov. Chavit Singson. It was not just a zoo tour, but we got to visit Gov. Singson's golden mansion up to its penthouse. Don't ask me how we came up there, its a privilege!


Ok here's the zoo part, Luigi got to touch a yellow snake! There were camels, ponies, parrots, iguanas and Gov. Singson's personal pet-tigers Kiara and King Harry. Soon they are putting up dolphin shows too. 


 

Vigan was also known for their pottery. One can make their own clay pot, but needs 15 days for the curing process. 


 


This is the famous Calle Crisologo, the brick road that made Vigan known all over the world. The old houses are still restored, but they are converted to specialty stores, hotels and bars. Kalesas are all over the town too. It costs P150 a ride and a town tour. 


What an enjoyable experience for me and my family. This was actually my second time in the Ilocos Province, but this time we were able to visit more historical places, eat more authentic dishes and more time to just walk around and rediscover them again. We still have two more museums and more churches to visit when we come back. 

This post is actually dedicated to my american uncle, Uncle Bill. I know you will enjoy a visit to the Ilocos Province. These photos are just a little taste of the experience. I intentionally did not show the authentic food, so it will excite you more, hahaha!  Shall we plan soon, Uncle Bill?

I had the whole day today sorting and editing tons of photos taken during this trip, and planning for my April Project Life. I am so happy to add some more good and happy experiences to my boys' memories. I found a perfect quote from pinterest which very much inspired me in capturing the details of life. This is sooo true...


Happy creating of memories and scrapbooks.
Thanks for looking as always!




Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Destashing and creating more...

Hello everyone!
I am slowly finishing my one year backlog on scrapbook pages and Project Life. And as I look on how much old stash I had accumulated  through the years, I am overwhelmed! Because they are kinda old already, I am afraid to use them now. I have these WRMK metal alphabets for years, waiting to rust and to be dusted off. My glossy accents is still good, not yet dry unlike my Tsukineko stamp pads , distress crackle paints and acrylic paints. I totally forgot them already!




My all-time favorite is sewing, paper sewing in particular. My DMC threads are just sitting in my organizer and now I use them on papers no more on cross stitch fabrics. The colors are still the same after 20 years in my keeping.

My Boy... Luigi's photo was a studio shot from Great Image. He was turning 21 here, I guess! I used here Simple Stories-Awesome line papers, WRMK metal embellishments and alphabets, glossy accents, Tsukineko silver-black brilliance ink, DMC threads and cardstock.


It's been three weeks of summer vacationing. I get to rest and sleep well, and every morning brings me the joy of sitting on my scrap table to create. I got to finish a set of scrap service last week, now I  am slowly completing my Project Life and a few pages for the kids. Later this week, we will be off to create memories, a road trip going to the North of the Philippines. I am just excited to capture them!

Hope to be creating more! TFL as always!

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Scrapping Multiple Photos...

Scrapping multiple pictures on double pages are always a big challenge for me. Aside from finding the right colors and theme, we have to create a balance. Balance pertains to all the elements arranged so that the entire layout has a consistent visual weight. I read once in a beginner's book on scrapbooking, balance can be seen in the Rule of Thirds and the "Z" Movement. It is a common technique of artists and photographers, where the rule divides the page into thirds  both horizontally and vertically. Creating a “z” movement on the other hand, is achieved by arranging elements so that they form a “z”. This guides the eye naturally through the page from left to right, then  down, creating an appealing flow. This helped me a lot in making multiple picture-layouts and even working on big sizes pictures.







Coke Museum... I used here American Crafts white cardstocks, Heidi Swapp chipboard clock face, Thickers' foam letters, velum letter stickers, DCWV papers, My Mind's Eye papers, washi tapes, assorted brads, wooden button and native twine.



Today was a Very Good Day... I used here DCWV cardstocker, Echo Park cardstock embies, washi tapes and buttons.

I am just enjoying everyday doing what I love most... CREATING! I missed this last year, I was not able to do anything last summer because I was writing my thesis then. I recall! Yesterday morning, I peeped on my Project Life pages. I realized I was a year behind and I had to go back to picture hunting for printing again. I want to sew owl pillows and cross stitch a Christmas frame to add to my Santa Claus collection. I want to do afternoon walks and naps, swimming and tons of home cleaning.  I wish to do them all in two months -- not to forget family bonding, time-out with friends and my annual travel. God be with me please.

Okay, so let's start with scrapping instead. Let's Go!

TFL!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

My HAPPY Place...

Hello dear Crafters, welcome to my happy place! Summer officially started on my phase, I am finally off from work and done with my studies. And so for this year, I decided to spend more time in my scraproom and with my boys. This morning, I added another table in the room and moved around again to give much needed space to create.




I had to add another table for my cutting area. I also had a space for my daily duties and work updates. I need to spread them out most of the time to keep me updated and force to work always.


I am glad I have enough room to move around my tables and cabinets. I had to use the wall to organize some of my embellishments and chipboards. My paper racks are almost empty, I have not shop for papers lately.


I had my mobile caddy for my frequently used tools like punchers, diecuts, scissors and pens. My wooden cabinet served as my stock area where I store my paper stacks, ribbons, washi tapes, glues, paints, stamp pads and diecuts. 


Now my happy place is all CLEAN! I am inspired to work and ready to mess it again... Happy creating peeps!

TFL!

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Addicted to Mason Jars

I planned to give away little thank you gifts for my graduation party guests but unfortunately, I run out of time to make mason jar desserts. So instead, I stuffed them with assorted cookies and biscuits, got lemon and cheese filled biscuits, red velvet crinkles and Mom's homemade chocolate chips and sugar-nutella sandwiches. Look! 


I got the mason jars from a local retail store in Calamba, please don't ask me where because I bought them all already (hahaha!). I used cardstocks, October Afternoon scraps, SM's printed masking tapes, Inque Boutique rubber stamps and some native twine for my tags

Thank God, summer is here and I am off from work! I have to do some serious scrapping now because backlogs are really piling tall. Happy CREATING everyone!

TFL!