Of Halloween and A Birthday ...

It's that time of the year again. We are so excited about the holiday season because we are celebrating it on our own house for the very first time. As I put down all the Halloween decors, I'm starting to plan our Christmas decorations. Ethan has been telling me to make the countdown calendar as early as the first week of November as soon as I finished the countdown to Halloween! Anyway, I'm still thinking what to do with the Christmas calendar this time. The Halloween calendar was a hit to Ethan not to mention it was also an educational material. Since they are doing addition up to number 20 in school, the calendar was sort of a reminder of the numbers 1-20 (and even beyond that) and it was a way to teach subtraction too which they are taking up right now.

I started to put down the decorations from the wreath and I'm beginning to plan for the colors that I will use this year. I usually have a theme each year. I mean I have specific color combinations to use inside the house. Talk about OCness hehehe!

The other day, we bought our first ever Christmas tree and we are all so excited to put it up this weekend!

But before I start posting my Christmas projects for this year. Here are some photos I didn't get to post last month.

The Halloween wreath I made ...

Big ribbon was made from crepe paper. Purple and orange balls were tied with Daisy Bucket paper ribbons. Skeletons, bats, skull, spiders are plastic toys from SM. The pirates, the zombie and monster are finger puppets ; D

... and the treat bags I made for Ethan's classmates for Trick or Treat:

I filled the pumpkins (I bought them from Divisoria) with lollipops and chocolates. I wrapped Mentos candies, Kitkat bars and Choconut with Halloween themed patterned papers (mostly scraps). I placed all the goodies inside a plastic bag and tied it with Daisy Bucket ribbons. I made the tag shaped like a coffin and stamped Little Monsters (also from Daisy Bucket).

And here's Ethan as racer. As soon as he fitted this costume, he told me, "I want this already"!

(sorry for the blurred photo)

I have a five year old in the house now. Ethan turned 5 last Oct. 22. We had a simple "Out of this World" birthday party at his friend's house.

That's it for now. Christmas layouts and projects will be up ... sooner or later hehehe.

-Pia

Turning Five

Tomorrow is another big day for Ethan. He is (no matter how I deny the fact), turning five years old! I don't know how many posts I can write about his growth on my blog ... I maybe saying the same thing over and over again each year ... that is every time he turns another year older. Sigh! He's so grown up already. He has been reading and doing addition in school. He's artistry has grown into another level too, he's getting better each day and I'm so proud of him!

Take a look at one his many drawings. He did this a few months ago, I wish I can keep and scan all his artworks. I used Prima Hello Space Boy papers to make this project from Lasting Impression.

Ethan loves the outer space. He's fascinated with the planet Saturn the most. He collects rockets, space shuttles, UFOs now instead of cars. He loves to look at images of the galaxy, the planets, the stars etc on the internet! And so for his 5th birthday, he wants an "Outer Space" theme!

We are having a small party tomorrow with an "Out of this World" theme. Will post pictures tomorrow! Wish me luck!

-Pia

Ad Inspiration @ Scrap the Boys

October Challenge at Scrap the Boys is already up in the blog. The challenge for this month is to use this ad as an inspiration. You can interpret this however you please ... colors, sketch, circles, surf inspired etc.

This is my take:

title: You Rock My World
This is Joaqui, my friend's son. He just turned 7 last Saturday, Oct. 10. Happy Birthday Joaqui!
matls used: BasicGrey Lime Rickey, Sassafras Lass pps, American Crafts Thickers -Lullaby, Zig and Uniball Signo pen, buttons

I hope you'll find time to create your own interpretation of this ad. For your entries, email them to susan.longman@bigpond.com.

Happy creating!

-Pia

Countdown to Halloween

You have no idea how glad I am to be finally back!!! We finally have internet connection after almost 2 months!!! I know that I've missed some deadlines for my DT assignments. I am slowly doing all the missed projects and updating my blogs and online galleries. I hope you'll bear with me as I slowly make my move back.

So many things have happened after the move. Everytime we say we're home, we actually mean, "WE ARE HOME!". Yes, this is home for us now no matter how small. We are enjoying the new house as well as all the adjustments that come with it. Also, it has been two weeks now that my house help have left us. So even though internet connection is back, I''m spending more time in front of the washing machine again instead of the computer hehehe.

The past week has also been sad because of two things: first, the aftermath of the typhoon Ondoy has left our country really devastated. I can't tell how many times I cried infront of the TV screen because of pity. We're lucky that we are safe and none of our family members have been hurt during the typhoon. But I pray for those who were really affected and have lost their homes and loved ones.

Second sad news is that it's time for me to say farewell to Daisy Bucket Designs. It was a wonderful experience to be part of an international manufacturer's design team. I've been with DBD for two years and I'm very honored to be part of this team. I'm thankful for the generosity of James and Cassandra Cooper, owners of DBD. I'm also thankful for the friendships that have bloomed as I work with the rest of the design team.

I'm sharing with you the last layouts I created for Daisy Bucket but failed to post last month:

Pancake Art
matls used: Daisy Bucket - My Little Monsters; Shabby Green Door - twists; Bazzill cs; Pink Paislee letter stickers; American Crafts Thickers; buttons; Zig pen



Julia
(this is for my friend's niece)
matls used: Daisy Bucket - Posh Posies and Little Black Dress; Bazzill cs; American Crafts Thickers; buttons; Tattered Angels Mist; buttons; flowers and Zig pen

Jr. Chef
(this is for my friend's son, Joaqui)
matls used: Shabby Green Door - Farmer's Market (Blue Ribbon Recipe, Sweet Peas & At the Market), Cherry and Lime Twists, Daisy Bucket - Chipboard Text, Bazzill Kraft cs, buttons, We R Memory Keepers metal embellishments, Making Memories black paint, Zig and Uniball pen, Clearsnap ink,

On a happier note, since we've moved, I'm very excited to decorate the house and so I created a halloween wreath and a countdown to Halloween calendar:

For materials and instructions for this project, please visit Lasting Impression. The bat (green on oct. 4) has a magnet at the back which Ethan can move each day. Aside from Halloween, I also included Ethan's 5th birthday which is on the 22nd of this month. Noticed that I put emphasis on two dates: 22 and 31 by embellishing the dates with buttons.

That's it for now, I'll be posting my halloween wreath in awhile. Back to house chores ...

-Pia