Easter Basket

These days, I found myself being reunited with my blog once again. Although I think I have said that before. I just feel this time it's different =) Been re reading my posts from forever-ago and I cannot believe how corny I sounded during my early years of blogging hahaha! But whatever, I thank myself so much I did. The memories captured and kept are soooo precious. Had I not started this blog, I would have forgotten most of them.

So yeah, to show you all how sincere I am with wanting to blog again, here's a little project I did recently. This may be a little too late --- or way too early. You decide haha!




I was assigned to make Easter baskets for the children of our community and I want to share how I did it.



I got these cheap bowls from Daiso (3 pcs. for $2) and altered it with some washi tapes.



Filled the bowls with  these shredded crepe paper from cold storage.



Next I made flower accents using a Sizzix die-cut machine using my leftover foam glitters.



Also with the same machine, I cut these tags and did a little brush calligraphy with my Pentel brush pen.



The fun part! Fill the bowls with treats (I'd like to thank Valerie and Jolene, sisters from the community for helping me search for these yumm chocolates!). Then wrap these bowls with plastic gift wraps I also got from Daiso.




Done and ready!



Happy Easter from us! Christ is risen!

De-stash for Romero

One of my goals this year is to start living a minimalist life. To not just de-clutter but de-own my things. To own as less as possible. And what better way to de-own my scrapbooking stash than to clear them for something meaningful?



I have packed some of my scrapbooking goodies into 25 grab bags and I'm selling each of these   for a worthy cause. Are you in? Keep reading...



Each bag contains a mixture of brand new and preloved items such as patterned papers, embellishments, at least 1 stamp, and a mix/any  of my fave medium (ink, mists, glitter, paint, etc), alphabet stickers and/or thickers. Total value of each bag is around $35-40 or more!

AND YOU CAN HAVE THIS FOR ONLY $15!!!

100% of the proceeds will be given to Romero. He is my husband's former colleague back in Cebu and he needs all the support he can get. Please follow his story HERE.



Please note that due to a high shipping cost, this will only be available in Singapore and Philippines, but you can still extend your help to Romero wherever you are through the Give Asia campaign.

If you are from Singapore, you can buy these by coming to my house personally so you are able to choose and pick the ones that you like. First come, first served. Please send me a personal message at my facebook page, Thoughtful Crafts to arrange pick up schedule.

If you are from the Philippines, you may send your payment through my Philippines account, and I will randomly pick a bag for you (since you can't be here to pick up hehe) I will bring the grab bags when I go home to Philippines very soon. Likewise, please send me a personal message at my facebook page, Thoughtful Crafts  to arrange.

This is such a win win for everyone. You will be happy with your loot, I will be happy clearing my stash, we all help Romero! Thank you in advance for your support.

Here are some of the grab bags!

Looking forward to hear from you soon!
Gen :)

UPDATE: We have given 100% of the proceeds to the wife of Romero last December... and it is with our deepest sympathy to know that Romero had already passed away. May God grant him eternal rest. 

What a Wednesday!

Having no helper for 2 months now (after getting used to having one since my two boys were born) took me out of my comfort zone. The change gave me unexpected twists and turns some almost make me cry but most are just priceless moments. Like these ones I will share with you today.

Yesterday morning,  I forgot that every Wednesday, Kuya’s school bus comes an hour earlier. Totally missed it so I had to be the one to bring him to school (thanks to Uber!). I lost 2 hours in my schedule but anyway, problem solved.



Next concern:  to rush back before Miguel gets  home but just couldn’t so I called him to meet me at the mall. He waited for me at the food court. This was what I saw.



My youngest one making his homework while waiting for me. The sight made me teary-eyed and happy. The feeling was priceless.

So the day went on with the usual Wednesday stuff. Until after dinner I remembered it's children's day the next day and I had nothing planned and I couldn't just shrug it off because Miguel's expecting gifts for his classmates. We have been doing it since nursery.

Guess what happened.

Hubby helped me! After putting the boys to sleep, we did our  last minute project. He ran to the nearest store to buy some chocolates while I prepared the paper strawberries. Turned out to be a fun experience for us. We only didn't make 40 little presents, we actually had our date for the week!

What a wonderful day it turned out to be!

Impossible Is Nothing With Sizzix :)

It is such a great feeling to do the impossible and I have to thank Sizzix for always being a trustworthy companion in such events of my life. Here's the story... 

Today is Children's Day here in Singapore and I only realised it yesterday when I saw a fellow mom, post her DIY sneak peek for children's day. I was instantly in panic mode because I know how much task I needed to finish yesterday and today.. There was totally NO TIME for a single card. What more for 34 cards? *collapse* 

So last night, I cancelled one meeting for this. I had no choice. Mommy duties always come first. And then, it was  time to use those mommy ninja moves! I wanted to create something quick and simple but spells "HAPPY" so I picked this all time favorite of mine, the Sizzix Originals Happy Phrase Die and all the sunshiny yellow cardstocks I have. 

Most of the time, I do not plan when I create. I love it the most when I do it that way. So there I was, mass producing the word "happy" without really thinking what to do next! Oh my!

"happy" x 34 :) I'd like to tie each die-cut with a baker's twine, but that didn't feel right :D so I looked around my scraproom... 

... and found my old  project life cards that have been gathering dust. Picked the ones with colors that are perfect for the sunny happy die-cuts. I love it! I was able to glue the words on 34 cards in minutes!

Just needed a little stamping.. and it's done! Instant cards for 34 kids that they can keep, paste on their notebooks, or use as bookmark.

Because a gift doesn't need to be complicated and extravagant... as long as it is made with sincere love :) Happy Children's Day! Not just to our kids but to us too.. because it is nice to continue to be childlike... and have a childlike faith. Peace and love to everyone! 

Supplies: 

Sizzix Bigshot machine

Sizzix Standard Cutting Pad 

Sizzix Originals Happy Phrase Die

Assorted Yellow Cardstocks 

Project Life - Midnight

adhesives

stamps - American Crafts

Archival Ink - Ranger

Do you want to know how I made this?

Check it out at the Sizzix Blog for a full tutorial :) 

Have I told you ...

That I have a tutorial over at Sizzix? Check it out HERE =)

Charades

This handmade gift I made for my friend, Anna, is inspired of that time when we had lunch at their place a few days after Christmas, her family and mine played CHARADES and laughed and shouted like there was no tomorrow. It's such a happy memory that both our families will never forget, for sure. 

So now that they are going back to the US for good, I wanted to give her something to remind her of our friendship... something the family can play with. And when they do, they will remember us. 

These are boxes are made using my Sizzix Bigshot machine and the Sizzix Mini Recipe Box & Cards Thinlits Die Set by Where Women Cook. 

Each box contains the family's favorite food, movies or memorable family events. (I asked Anna to give me a list of these things, and she trusts me enough to give the list to me without asking why. Only a true friend would do that.) I would then write all things on the mini cards and keep them in the cards accordingly. Here's how I made this Charades boxes... 

I usually start by deciding on which paper to use. I love this Poolside Paper collection from Crate Paper for its happy & cool theme. So I made my Sizzix sandwich that's made of Sizzix magnetic Platform + Sizzix standard cutting pad +paper + thinlits box die facing down + cutting pad. I then rolled the sandwich trough the machine to have these box die-cuts, scored and ready to be folded and assembled. 

Here are the boxes.. ready to be made and embellished! 

This thinlits die set comes with a decorative die which you can use to embellish the box. I die-cut 3 pieces of the patterned paper and anothe 3 pieces in yellow as a mat, using the same steps I mentioned above when I cut the box. 

Next, I adhered the accents to the boxes and added the Prima crystals. And now, to label the boxes, I picked a sticker sheet from October Afternoon. To make sure that the alphas are centered, I first stick it to a clear ruler ...

... and then transfer it to where it should be. I just saw this trick from the internet years ago and it has always been so useful!

Now that the boxes are ready, I can write the items on the cards! 

Charades game, prettified, is ready! :) 

Supplies: 

Sizzix Bigshot machine

Sizzix Mini Recipe Box & Cards 

paper - Crate Paper, Poolside

crystals - Prima

Hello Love Planner Dashboard

Hi guys! I made another planner dashboard using my Sizzix Bigshot and Jen Long's thinlits die and inksheets. 

Sizzix Inksheets are the newest from Sizzix! Now you can add a whole new dimension to your creativity by creating perfect, smudge-free dry ink impressions. Inksheets can be used with cardstock, craft foil, leather, magnet sheet, plastic, suede, shrink plastic, sponge and wood paper to easily simulate the popular metallic foil and chalkboard looks. Here's a video feature on this awesome product that's awarded "2015 Hot Product" by CHA. 

One afternoon, when I opened my Sizzix box with a lot of dies, this little heart from Jen Long's Thank You with Heart thinlits caught my attention. I wanted to use it as a die and also as a stamp! 

So I went ahead and "stamped" hearts all over the blank planner dashboard. When using Sizzix Inksheets the sandwich is composed of (from bottom to top) magnetic platform + inksheets transfer pad + paper or chard you want to transfer the image to + Sizzix Inksheets + thinlits die + Sizzix Standard Cutting Pad. Run this sandwich to the Sizzix Bigshot machine and you'll see the magic! I then added stickles over the heart images and it looked very pretty! 

And for an interesting variety, I randomly made heart holes by using the heart die as a "die" this time. I love the contrasting effect created just by using one little thinlits die! The "hello love" stamp is also from the Hello Love Framelits with Stamp. It just looks pretty and simple. Perfect for the gold planner that Benjo bought for me (thank you husband dear!) from Truffula Forest.

I had a difficulty in shooting the planner. It won't stand! I needed it to stand for better angle. But I eventually managed. Someone so cute was helped me...

I had to zoom in the previous photo but then I just can't help taking another one with the hand. 

That was Miguel's hand :) I usually take photo in the afternoon. That's when he's at home and he'd always join to "help" me. I love you naknak. Thank you for keeping me company :) 

Supplies: 

Sizzix Bigshot
Magnetic Platform 
Sizzix Standard cutting pad 
Sizzix Inksheets
Hello Love Framelits with Stamp by Jen Long 
Thank You with Heart Thinlits by Jen Long