Yummy Candies by a Friend

Hello lovelies!

A dear friend of mine is hosting 2 yummy candies for her followers and friends!  Click on this link to join.

These are her prizes...

Holiday Goodies

• A set of Inkadinkado rubberstamp (98305-Snowflake Trails)
• A set of Peachy Keen Stamps (PK480- Christmas Character Faces Assortment)
• A set of Recollection clear stamps (Christmas Past.  This is actually 2 sets of stamps)
• A set of Recollection clear stamps (Christmas Collage)
• A set of Hero Arts clear stamps (CL238-Owl Christmas)
• A set of Close To My Heart clear stamps (W328-Postmarked)
• 15 packs of In Style rubberstamps (Bobby, Akemi, Mitchelle & Tiff, Sofie, Trent, Katsu, Ben, Meiko, Stan, Karaoke Ava, Yard Girls, Lil Gina, Combing Hair Ava, Isabel, and Nate)
• GRAB BAG - Assortment of Hampton Art & MSE! clingmounted stamp
• 1 Stampendous Classic Ornament rubberstamp
• 1 Stampabilities HM - Mouse Drops rubberstamp
• 1 Inkadinkado whimpy border rubberstamp
• 2 sets of Cuttlebug dies/embossing folders (Disney - School days and Take the Cake)
• 1 set of Spellbinder Nestabilities (S4124-Classic Scalloped Circles LG)
• 1 Martha Stewart edge punch (Pinking Scallop)
• 1 Martha Stewart punch around the page (Iron Gate)
• 2 K & Company mat stack (Carolyn Gavin & Amy Butler)
• 1 Pack of Martha Stewart Glitter Marker Set (6 basic spectrum colors)
• 3 packs of Prima flower embellistment (Sprites - yellow, pink and blue)

More Yummy Goodies

• 1 Cricut Lite cartridge (2000544 - Twinkle Toes)
• A set of Inkadinkado clear stamps (98843 - Flashy Floral)
• A set of Heide Grace clear stamps (28349 - Wild Daisy Road)
• A set of Autumn Leaves clear stamps (AL3180 - Block Stamps 1)
• 16 packs of In Style rubberstamps (Laying Ava, Nico, Frankie, Ava Holding Sign, Stacey, Ava Holding Ballons, Sam, Myron, William, Hiroku, Gabrielle, Tatiana, Wing Change Ava, Lizzie, Jack and Virginia)1 Stampabilities rubberstamp (Ernie and Rubber Duckie)
• 1 7Gypsies Refillable Rectangle Stamp pads (3 small inkpads)
• 2 sets of Cuttlebug dies/embossing folders (Disney - Bon Voyage & Love Always)
• 1 set of Spellbinder dies (S4235-Fancy Tags)
• 1 Provo Craft Paper Shapers - Decorative edged scissors
• 2 sets of Heidi Swapp mask (Runway and Carefree)
• 1 EK Success edge punch (Scallop Diamond)
• 1 EK Success corner punch (Flower & Flourish)
• 1 Martha Stewart edge punch (Botanical Scallop)
• 1 Pack Heidi Swapp flower embellishment (6 colors)
• 1 bottle of Prima Got Flowers (Brown)
• 1 bottle of Prima Got Flowers (Assorted Colors)
• 1 Set of Acid-free, Blendable Bic Mark-It markers (Paradise Pastels/12markers)
• 1 8X8 DCWN Linen Textured Premium Paper Stack (The Crafty Stack)

Aren't these mouth-watering?  :D So why don't you join in the fun too! Click here to join. :D

Gundam fun and my first journal page

Hello!

Just for fun, dear hubby and I bought a small Gundam model kit during our 2nd day at the Paper seminar.  We had fun building the model together.  So we bought another one to take home in the province.  The 2nd one is more complicated.  We enjoyed building it every bit.  We have started another collection that both of us enjoy. :)

Then I also made my 31 before 32 goal list, though a bit late.  It was inspired by Elsie.  One goal in my list is to learn and make art journals to record my thoughts, my feelings, and everything about me or has connections with me.  I want to finally learn things about the real me - my style, my dreams, among others.  I know, I should have done this a long, long time ago.  But back then, I wasn't aware of the fun of art journaling.  I do not think that today is too late for me to start learning.  So here's my first entry...

It's nothing fancy nor artistic, but it's a start.  :)

What fun new collections or hobbies are you starting right now? It's never too late you know. ;-)

love, ails

positive news

Hello! Hello! Hello! :)

On the weekend of Pacquiao's fight with Margarito,  I was toooooo lazy and sleepy.  I spent my days (and nights) lying around and sleeping.  I was a bad nanny to Seth that weekend for I fell asleep faster and longer than he did in his cradle.  But my mom didn't mind.  She was hoping that I was showing signs of something good.  And true enough.  I got 2 lines on my test! :) Wow! We're so excited! 

But I haven't been to an OB yet.  I'm scheduled to visit on Wednesday.  I hope everything's perfect inside of me.  Now, my life is no longer mine so I have to be very careful and mindful of what I eat and do.  I want this baby to be healthy and strong.  I have some fears aside from the excitement.  But I am very happy.  And I feel so blessed for this wondrous early Christmas gift from above.  :)

On the other news, the shop construction is almost finished.   

the leftmost stall is my parents'.  They're gonna sell pots and plants.  The next one which is slightly bigger than my parents' is mine.  hubby and i are gonna sell handicrafts and gift items.  the 2-storey is my little sister's.  She's our baker and she'll be offering pizza, pan de sal, pasta, and other pasalubong like our special macaroons (since 1990), yema, pulvoron, and tarts.  the painted one on the right is the existing restaurant which is now my brother's.

I am asking the carpenter to make me a shelf (almost) like this from Crate & Barrel.  I hope he can.  Our inventory as of now is still small.  We are still working on a lot of things for the shop.  Well, the shop is not really made to keep me and hubby from practicing our professions as librarians.  Not yet, for now.  It is being put up to have an outlet for our crafts and to draw more traffic to the restaurants.

Too much excitement has made me sooo unproductive with crafting lately.  But this blog entry is a sign that my muse is somewhat coming back to me now.  :)  Tomorrow, i plan to start a journal specifically for my pregnancy.  And I hope to create Holiday cards too!  :) Wish me luck! :)

Lovely Hoodies

I want to win one of these lovely Hoodies!

The Dainty Squid is hosting this giveaway until November 11! So if you want a chance to win too, click here to join!  The hoodies are reconstructed by MungoCrafts and are also listed in etsy.

xoxo,
Ails

hmmm...

Hello! Hello! Hello!

I've just enrolled once again for the 2nd semester to finish my thesis.  Would you believe that the residency fee in UP, without library fee, is only Php 40.00? Yes, it is true. :)  It's Php 840.00 for residency with library fee. I took the cheaper option of course.  I'll just make use of the materials available in my workplace to draft my proposal.

And since I went to Manila last friday for enrollment, I also took the chance to meet with some of my friends.  I met Rena in UP and we talked abut my wedding while having a sumptuous lunch together at the Beach House.  Their daing na bangus was humongous and I just couldn't resist it's belly!  I've also met some of my former classmates/groupmates.  I felt that my goal to finish my MA became more intense after talking to some of my colleagues.  I was glad I met them once again.

I also went to deliver the goods that Janice won in my little giveaway.  Our meeting was so short - a few minutes only - because she has to go back to work.  I miss our coffee dates and doll stuff shopping in the mall.  We rarely see each other now, ever since I've moved to the province.  I hope that we could play with our dolls and do some paper crafting once again. :)

I also accomplished a little work project while in Manila.  I received journal donations from UP for the library that I am developing now.  Those issues and titles I received will greatly help the students and faculty in our province.  I was promised for 2 more copies of each issue I got so i'll be going back there soon.  I could not carry that much since I do not have a car when i went there.  I am deeply grateful for Mr. Jay and Ms. Barbara for their valuable contribution to our library. Thank you!

In other news, I finally learned how to knit! Yey! I just watched tutorials from videojug and look at what I've accomplished so far...

Pretty neat, huh?  I'm so proud of myself. hihi

I wanted to learn knitting because I want to make some stuff for our little darling.  I love him so much and I just want to give him the best handmade gifts I could ever give.

He turned 4 months old last Friday and we had a little celebration.  Some of his aunts and uncles came to party with us.  :)

Isn't he adorable? I love him so much! Oh, have I told you that already? hihi

How was your weekend? I hope you had a lovely and a productive one too! :)

xoxo,
Ails

Blog Candy Winners!

Hello dearies! :)

As promised, I, together with the girls, drew the winners tonight. Yay! 


For the His & Hers Scrap Candy, we had 3 participants.  Thank you girls for introducing me to your lovely inspirations...

 I let Strawberry and Mariko do the drawing...

 

 

 And the winner is.....

Heather! Congratulations! Please email me your name and complete mailing address at aileenrealeza [at] gmail [dot] com.

And for the Blythe Candy, we had 6 lovelies!  :)

 Here's Maria and Pepper preparing the lots...

 ...doing a little shembot

 ...and picking the winner.

 And the winner is...

Janice!

Congratulations! Please email me your name, complete mailing address, and guitar pendant color choice at aileenrealeza [at] gmail [dot] com.

This back to back giveaway has been a very happy and mind opening experience for me.  I enjoyed it so much and I am soooo grateful to all of you who joined.  All of you inspire me to be better.  i love you all! :)

Halloween 2010

Hello lovelies!

In my previous post I told you that I was helping my sister with her new business venture.  We'll its not kinda new coz we tested the local market for 9 days last June 2009, if this product will click.  And it did.  So to cut the long story short, my sister is gonna have a 'snack house' in between my brother's restaurant and my gift/souvenir shop.  So last November 1, we reintroduced Trois Pizza in Siniloan.  But we made them in small packages only - a bulilit-sized pizza.

A bulilit pizza measures approximately 3.5-4 inches.  We made 2 flavors only (Hawaiian and Beef&Mushroom) for the promotion.  My sister's pizza is to die for.  It's my favorite in the Philippines so far.  :)

Our little angel also went with us in the cemetery.  And he wore the bear hat I made him!

Sad news is that it continuously rained the whole long weekend.  I wasn't able to take photos of my girls outside.  But we are excited for the draws tomorrow! You can still join, just click here and here.  We'll pick the winners tomorrow night. :)

My Doll Family and more

Hello lovelies!

Here is a photo of my little doll family.  They're all excited for our November 1 trip. :)

More lovelies have joined in my girls' little giveaway.  Check them out here.  You can also learn more about their giveaway guitar pendant here.

On the other news, 2 of my old friends visited this afternoon.  We had sumptuous dinner - Lechon Paksiw, Dulong, Beef Tapa, Rice (a staple, I can't live without!), and Coke.  Too bad, we forgot to take some photos. :(  We had a long nice chat and I just want to say that I'm really proud of my friend Nika for what she did 2 weeks ago. It's between us girls but I just want her to know that i'm really soooo proud of her. :)

My sister and I are still getting ready for our November 1 business venture.  Well, actually it's really hers. I'm just helping her out.  I'll be sharing more stories and photos after the dust has all settled down - hopefully by next week. :)


Oh, before I leave, I can't wait to hear stories about Red Velvet's opening day!  Elsie just opened her new shop today.  I hope it was a success! I really love her for all the inspiration. :)

I hope you had a lovely Halloween.  Tell me about it 'coz we don't have it here. :)

xo,
Ails

Best shots and a busy weekend

Hello lovelies!

My girls just featured some of the best Blythe pictures and blogs that our friends shared.  They're awesome so why don't you check them out. :)

I'll be busy this weekend.  We do not have Trick or Treat here in our place but we always spend our 1st of November in the cemetery to visit our departed loved ones.  It also turns into a family reunion since all our relatives also come to visit.  This is something that we always look forward to during autumn, uhmm, the 4th quarter of the year in our case. :)

Two lovelies have already joined my candy.  :) If you haven't done so, and happen to love papers, flowers, and buttons, you can still join until November 2!  Click here to join.  I will draw the winner on November 3. :)

See yah later!

love, ails

sneak peek - leather accessory

Hello lovelies!

I'm happy to say that I have finally finished organizing my craft supplies in the HUGE plastic box and our files in the bottom drawer of my craft table. Yay!  I was too tired after that so I wasn't able to take some photos.  Also I have finally altered a pink gown for my girls. I can't wait to take pictures of them this weekend! :)

Here are some photos of one of our craft products in our local store.  It's made of leather and handcrafted by the Igorots.

Lovely, isn't it?  I'm thinking of selling this online too to support our local craftsmen and women. :)  I'm just so glad my cousin Raymond dropped by last weekend to model for me.  I'll be sharing some more craft products in the coming days.

Btw, have you joined my giveaway yet? If not, please do so.  I'd greatly appreciate it if you do. :) Just click here or on the links at my right sidebar.

Have a lovely day everyone! :)

xo, ails

Weekend Happiness

HellOoO!

This is a late post but I wanna share anyway. :)

My weekend was really special.  Aside from being able to blog about my craft space, I got to spend quite a longer and lovely time with my family.  Of course, I took care of this little angel.

He continuously amaze us.  He is our sunshine. :) And in preparation for our November 1 visit to our departed loved ones,  I crocheted a bear hat for this baby.  Below is a peek of the in-process hat.  I was able to finish it in 1 day but I used a different camera in taking the photo of it's finished state.  And I forgot to copy the picture before we left the family house.

Then I got to practice my right as a citizen once more.  The barangay captain I voted for won the election. Hooray! I just really hate the indelible ink on my index finger.  It's sooo totally ewwww!  I do not paint my nails but this time, I'm kinda thinking of having them manicured.

Then mom and I had a bonding moment cooking.  I do not know what this recipe is called but since we used Turbo Broiler, I'm gonna call it...

TURBO CHICKEN Recipe

ingredients:
1 whole chicken

salt
calamansi
1 small can liver spread
1 medium-sized carrot
1 medium-sized potato
1 stalk celery
1 medium-sized onion

procedure:
1. Clean the chicken
2. Marinate it with salt and calamansi for 8 hours.  It should smell like calamansi juice with salt.  If it doesn't then you better add some more calamansi.
3. After 8 hours... Chop the carrot, potato, onion and celery into small cubes.
4. Mix the vegetables with the liver spread.
5. Stuff them into the chicken.
6. Tie the legs close together and use toothpick to cover the belly with the chicken's loose skin.

It should look like this...

7. Then set the chicken on the turbo broiler.  Close the lid.
8. Turn the temperature to 150 and the timer to 30 minutes.

9.  After 30 minutes, open the turbo and turn over the chicken on the other side.
10. Close the lid and turn the timer for another 30 minutes.  And it's done!
11.  Serve hot.

Oh and I have also started to plan the best way to display crafts in my local store.  Yes, my hubby and I are gonna have a little store of craft and souvenir goodies in our town! :)  We have a few inventory already.  The store is still under construction.  We are just waiting for the flooring and the shutters before we start painting the walls.  I'm so excited!

I hope you all had a happy weekend too!

xo, ails

NOT a pretty sight

I'm back!

As promised, I'll be showing you my new craft space.  So I thought, I'd let you see some parts of the house where my hubby and I live right now.

This is my mom's ancestral house.  It used to be pure wood but my Aunt, who owns the house now, decided to have it elevated because of flood that regularly happens 2-3 times a year during typhoons.  All it needs right now is to be painted...

and a little interior re-designing. :D

My aunt is now above 70 years old and I am happy to share that she has the same hobbies like me. She loves miniatures and she has a Barbie collection.  She even took care of my old Barbie dolls.  She returned one of mine just recently.  It's a Takara doll that dad bought me in Japan when I was little. I'll introduce her in another post.  My aunt sews really good, 'coz sewing used to be one of her job while she was studying high school and college.  She sews Barbie clothes and lots of other household stuff.  I'd be glad to show you some other time the lovely treasures I have found in the old house.


Hubby and I now occupy one of the rooms on the 2nd level.  It's just enough to fit His computer and My craft stuff.  We could occupy another room for those if we choose to.  But for now, since the whole house is unpainted yet, I prefer that we keep all our 'important' stuff in our bedroom.

This is my part of the room...

 except for the weights, of course.

This is my table top.  I still have a lot of unfinished projects.  Like that 2 binders on the right.  Those are from my online classes that I haven't finished yet.  My stamps collection are also here along with the Goo Gone, Prima flowers, glue, and pencils.  The boxes contains some ribbons.

This left drawer contains my journaling and coloring pens, crop-a-dile, stamp pads, acrylic block, edge puncher, shape punchers, some paper tapes, glue sticks, and a pregnancy test (so totally out of place here).

The right drawer contains crayons, Japanese tapes and masking tapes, more flowers, embroidery floss, buttons, and other embellishments.

The file box contains all my papercraft magazines, craft books and some craft magazines I've won this year from Katie.  It also has some of my projects made.

 The lower drawer contains files and photography magazines that I have yet to arrange.  The BIG plastic box contains my 12x12 paper stacks and boards - most are Kleir's craft gifts, and some of my new craft purchases.

And this bookshelf has been a total mess for 4 months now.  My aunt positioned it beside our bed but I will transfer it near my craft table.  The top layer contains my textile and felt stacks.  The second layer is my Blythe house, for now.  Just yesterday, I saw an unused shelf in my Aunt's room that can pass for a doll house.  It was her dolls' before she bought a new one with glass doors.  The 3rd layer has my Smena and some of hubby's camera stuff.  The fourth layer has some of my yarns, Blythe's clothes, ribbons, Blythe hangers & stuff.

These are the things needed organization in my room.  Hubby and I plan to paint it by ourselves, and the whole house too one part at a time.  We wanted our room white to suit our wood furniture and fixtures.  What do you think? I'd like to hear your thoughts. :)

xo,
ails