Happy Holidays

At new year's this year, I have made a promise that I will make Christmas cards early in the year so when the holiday comes, I am not stuck in the house everyday making cards, missing out on all the winter fun and still come up short of cards to give away.

My goal was to make at least one Christmas card every day in July but it turns out that I have been so distracted that I was only able to make three. Isn't that sad? LOL This is better than last year though, I didn't make any last year, I ended up buying cards. So here's one of them I made. 

The blue flower is handmade (by me) using white cardstock and lots of glimmer mist, inspired by one of the blogs I follow. : )

For U

I made this 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card out of odds and ends from cards and scrapbook pages I've made in the past except for the chipboard letter. Sara and I went to our local scrapbook store and found them on clearance a few days ago. All the rest are just stuff I found while organizing my stuff this week. 

Thinking of You

I made this 5 x 7 card out of cardstock I've forgotten I had. I remember this one really good because I just had to have it when I saw this at the store. Anyway, long story short, I bought it, took it home and stashed it somewhere, and FORGOT about it!!! LOL That's why John would not let me put anything away or tuck anything in a folder. Especially my craft stuff because he knows me so well... He knows that if I don't see 'it', 'it' never gets used -- just like this cardstock I used to make this card. 

I made this one specifically for Brandi. She has been in and out of the hospital in the past month and have not seen her for a while that I thought I would send her a little pink pick-me-up. She loves everything pink! A little something about Brandi, she has had a lung transplant (about 9 or 10 years ago), she is battling cystic fibrosis. and is now dependent to an oxygen machine (or whatever they call that thing that helps her breathe). She is John's cousin and she has become so dear to me. She is my prayer partner, my friend, and a great listener too. I admire her strength and her faith in God. We don't have much time with her, and she knows it. But she has peace like no other. I love her laugh and her giggles. And the way she asks John to talk in his "lady" voice. 

This one's for you, Brandi!!!

My Craft Haven... It was truly worth all the wait!

I have been gifted with a great husband and a great dad-in-law, who have worked day and night since Spring this year to finish up my craft room. This week marked the almost-end of it. I say almost-the end of it because we still have to replace the dark lauan doors that came with the house when we bought it in May, they still have to hang a new ceiling fan to replace the dingy old one that used to be in the room, and install thresholds that match my new bamboo floors. My dad-in-law is very good at wood working and he has been a great teacher to my Hubby so this whole time since spring, I have entrusted my vision to the two of them. Two and  a half months later, they delivered a totally awesome craft room. : )

We bought the house we live in now just recently. It is a nice bungalow. My husband and I and our dog, Iddy and our three cats, Voodoo, Mr. Peapers and Foozie Woozie fit in it just fine. However nice and sturdy this house is, it came with its little quirks...  The interior looks like the 70's blew up in it. So since the home loan closed, we have been updating one room after the other. We turned a room adjacent to the kitchen into our den/home office and my craft room. But now, it is mainly all mine. We have left the desktop computer in the craft room for now but it will be going somewhere else soon as I decide to get a Windows laptop or a MacBook Pro. (Yeah, it is a very big decision for me. I am tech-savvy, I am very particular with high-dollar purchases, I am a penny pincher and a bargain shopper but I don't settle for cheap stuff just because they are cheap because that could mean a lot of problems too especially with technology nowadays).

My craft room has all the stuff I want in it except for the tray ceiling. It was John's (my husband) idea, which magically turned the room 180 degrees. It doesn't like it used to!!! I picked out the paint colors, the bamboo floors, the curtains, everything! I am currently shopping for shelves and currently making stuff to decorate my walls with. I am so excited, so happy and just plain thankful that my room will be fully completed very very soon. 

Thank You

I think I was born with scissors, paper, glue and baking tools in my hands. I always had the knack for these things. Of course I was taught the techniques as I was growing up but it's the love for it and learning more of it that I know I always had. As a kid it was always a joy to have my Mom all to ourselves (us 4 kids) on a weekend and all summer long because she never sat down. She was always doing something, and trust me, she is still always doing something. She is a MOM EXTRAORDINAIRE--she can bake, make stupid looking cakes look very pretty, she can sew, love like no other, and she loves teaching and always had the patience to teach us what she knows. Most of all, she manages to juggle her career and her family very very well. She never misses one event in our lives growing up. She is always there. I say all this in present form because even now when we are all grown up and moved away, she is still there cheering for us.

Every single day and every time I make something pretty, I thank God for my Mom. This blog is dedicated to her, my Mama-Os (my grandma) and the four Aunts (my dad's four sisters) who helped shape the person I am now. They are half a world away from me but I know in my heart, that the last 3 years has been bearable because every day, since I left home, they have been praying and cheering for me. 

I LOVE YOU ALL.