I’m officially a Design Team member!

Me, Iris and Ria

Once I told my friend, Ria (Mojica) while we’re chatting with Valerie (Salmon) and Diane (Mirabelles) that I wanted to be part of a Design Team someday. We were actually chatting with Valerie about her being a DT of Creative Express that time. I knew it was wishful thinking then, considering that I am new in this hobby!

Nope, I didn’t want any fame for that matter, all I want is the “free” stuff DTs get so that I wouldn’t have to burden Jeff to buy me stuff (I’m a SAHM)! Ang babaw ko ba? (he-he-he)

But what a fortune, a scrapbook store owner offered me the dream I’ve always wanted! Sahrie Wenceslao of Scrapbukan asked me if I wanted to be a DT member for her store!!! I couldn’t believe my luck! She’s actually asking me to be part of her team?!? Wow, that was one of my happiest days! I’d be stupid if I’d say no!

I asked Sahrie who else she’s been eyeing for her store’s Design Team. She said, Ria (Mojica) and Iris (Uy)! Boy, am I so lucky!?! Hahaha! I told Sahrie these two girls are my idols!

By the 2nd week of September, I am an official Design Team member of Scrapbukan as I signed the contract! Wooohoo!

Thank you Sahrie for trusting me! I am very much excited to work with you! I do fear a little and feel a bit pressured… but I know that this is a challenge I would like to conquer!

BasicGrey Challenge

“You did it again!” - wrote Nette Madero of My Little Attic in her newsletter to announce the 3 winners of the BG Challenge. But honestly, I really didn’t expect this! Really! I have my own faves and choices among the entries. That’s why when I opened the newsletter Nette sent that morning of September 9, 2006 and saw my layout, I was asking the same question when I won the Chatterbox Challenge, “What is my layout doing there?” I wasn’t convinced that I won 1st place. I was thinking that if I scroll the page down I’d see the 1st place winner. I saw Iris Uy’s layout, Flight and Airees Rondain’s 32 Random Facts about Me, 2nd and 3rd places respectively. So, I really won?! All the while there was a caption under my layout that I won, obviously I wasn’t even reading! It actually took some time for everything to sink in to me (he-he-he). I was soooo happy and so surprised! Then, as I scrolled down further, I saw another one of my layouts, “Fly High and Far” in the Honorable Mention. Now this was even more surprising for me!

Nette awarding my BG Challenge prize

Here’s an excerpt from the My Little Attic newsletter sent by Nette:

Congratulations to Pia Lopez for winning the BasicGrey Challenge!!! You did it again Pia!!! For those who didn’t know, Pia was one of the winners in our Chatterbox Challenge a couple of months ago and she did it again!!!

Amy Howe, style director of BasicGrey said,

“What a FUN layout! The pictures are so cute, and I love that she has the title encircling the main photo. I also love the washers – this layout really fits its theme
well. The paper combination is also perfect for these photos. An all around awesome layout!”

After that announcement, I received phone calls from two close friends of mine, Joanne and Ria greeting me for winning the challenge. I also received messages on my YM, e-mail and cellphone. These greetings really meant a lot to me! Thanks guys!

I’m so honored to be recognized by the likes of Amy Howe, Joy Uzarraga and Nely Fok. This year, I have received so many blessings already that I couldn’t even think if I deserve all of them. God has been so good to me and my family and I’m very thankful for that! I myself could not believe all the achievements that I have already accomplished only after a year of scrapping!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Nette for coming up with the BasicGrey challenge. The challenge has brought out the best in all of those who participated, especially me. All those who joined are really good, all are winners too! I would like to thank the lovely and equally talented ladies of Scrapbooks Exchange! Have I not met these beautiful and wonderful people, I would not have started scrapping too! And of course, Jeff who has been very supportive of my passion!

I also posted my layouts below. For a larger view, click the layout in the slide located at the right corner.

MLA BG Challenge - 1st Place Winner

MLA BG Challenge - Honorable Mention

Good finds in QUIAPO

I am a practical scrapper (maybe others will not agree with me though). But honestly, I am. My layouts will tell! I have a limited budget whenever I shop and I always see to it that I don’t go beyond! Could you believe that?

Practical as I am, I always find alternatives to expensive embellishments. I hop from toy stores, to fabric and embroidery stores, to specialty shops (not scrapbooking related, huh!), and even the hardware store to find stuff I could use for scrapping.

A couple of weeks ago, hubby and I went to Quiapo to buy camera lenses and accessories. While hubby shops for his stuff, I on the other hand did my own shopping too! I tried to find fabric stores in search of ribbons and buttons. As I hopped from one store to another, I chanced upon a store that really caught my attention – Welmanson. It was bigger than the other stores I’ve been through. I took a peek and found a number of girls shopping. I went inside and found myself surrounded by beads, charms, strings… all stuffs needed for making necklaces and bracelets! I told myself there’s no time to waste. I begun searching for items I can use for scrapping!

Here are my finds:

Scissor charms (I’ve been thinking if I would buy the one from Jolee’s, good thing I didn’t because it looks quite the same!)

Cute baby shoe charms - perfect embellishments for those pictures of Ethan’s baby shoes

Letter necklace pendant and small letter charms (I thought of painting them with acrylic paint or just put them away from the pictures for safety).

But the best thing that I found looks like buttons (I don’t even know what they are). One thing that caught my attention was that these buttons only have one hole and are even textured!

Oftentimes, we complain that we have a limited choice of scrapbook stuff here. But think again, aren’t we even lucky that we could find cheap alternatives to expensive embellishments? Think about the rick racks, ribbons and fibers we can buy by the yard at Divisoria, Carolina’s and Quiapo? Think about the buttons and charms we can buy by the dozen or by the piece? So why not try those non related scrapbook items you find, they might as well be the right embellishments you are looking for!

Here are the layouts I made using these finds...

You Got Mommy's Smile

Supplies: Patterned Papers: BasicGrey Lucky (Sweet Lavender, Wish, Chance, Sunkissed & Cornsilk) and Fusion (Chartreuse); Stamping ink: Colorbox; Pen: Zig Writer; Charmed words and acrylic paint: Making Memories; Embroidery floss: DMC; Others: chipboard, sun charm, fibers, buttons & sanding paper

SOMEDAY

Supplies: Textured cardstocks: Bazzill; Patterned papers: BasicGrey Fusion (Spoiled, Mesmerize & Solar Ray), Lucky (Cornsilk), Lollipop Shoppe (Pink Lemonade); vellum; chipboards ; letter dies: Sizzix; pen: Zig Writer; stamping ink; embroidery floss: DMC; ribbons; charms; necklace pendant: source unknown

-pia-

Point-and-Shoot

I know most mommies would agree that the best photos to scrap are none other than their children’s photographs. With the advent of digital cameras, computer hard drives are now clogged with gigabytes of photos waiting to be printed and scrapped. CDs of photographs pile up month-by-month as mommy and daddy trigger-happily shoot all those cute smiles and candid expressions. But at the end of the day, when mommy sits down on her desktop and starts viewing these loads of photographs… mommy finds out that a lot of the photos taken ended up with blur images, unfocused subjects; some even had faces of subjects washed out because of the flash. Then mommy begins to ask… why can’t I get good shots? Why can’t my photographs come out the way I want them to come out? For a mom and I mean a scrapping mom, this indeed is very frustrating.

Now wait! Before you despair and think of throwing that point-and-shoot digital camera out of the window, read on and you might just find these simple mommy photography tips helpful.

First tip: Know your gear. If you just recently bought a camera, spend a few minutes in reading the manual. You’ll be surprised what other features you might just discover on your camera besides turning it on and pressing the shutter.

Ok, so you’ve read the manual and you’re itching to press the shutter button and start capturing those precious giggles and smiles. Here’s my second most important tip: If you can do away with the flash, do so. Well I’m not saying you don’t use the flash, but as much as possible, avoid using it. The automatic flash that comes built-in with your cameras are actually the culprit for those “red eyes”, the “shadow outlines” produced in the background and the “washed-out faces” of your subjects. Why not try using natural light? Turn off the automatic flash function in your camera and try shooting in well lit places like beside a window or a door where natural light is available. Or if possible, try shooting outdoors. So remember, use natural light… use the sunlight, it’s free!

Alright, so you got the children to play outdoors and here you are shouting: “Smile! Smile! Look at mommy! Smile!” Well, there’s actually nothing wrong taking pictures this way. Point a camera to a child and they will instinctively strike a pose and a smile. But wouldn’t it be great to capture your child’s expressions and movements when they’re not even aware of the camera? The best way to do this is to get involved! Have fun and play with your kids until they forget that you’re even carrying a camera, then go ahead and snap some shots! Another tip to get their attention off your camera is to keep them busy. Give them activities they will enjoy doing. Like drawing, sports, or just let them play with their favorite toy. It’s amazing when you get to capture children’s facial expressions when they’re fully absorbed doing something.

So now you got their attention off your camera and focused on something else; and you’re ready to take the shot. Then you ask yourself, how do I take the shot? What angle is best? Or what composition would work? Well, there’s actually no strict rule on how you must take the shot. Though you may consider shooting at your child’s level. Most people take pictures from their own eye level, thus, looking down on the kids.

I suggest you try getting down to your child’s level. Bend down if you need to. Just try it! This will give your photos a whole new perspective. And if you’re using a digital camera, be as trigger-happy as you could be. Take lots and lots of shots! Don’t limit yourself to just one shot. Taking lots of shots increases your choices as well as chances of getting that great photo you really want.

Happy Shooting!

- jeff -