Sunday, January 31, 2010

it's been great

being the gdt for january over at scrapbook challenges. i'm really grateful for this opportunity from pamela. having a deadline and a sketch did wonders for my mojo and my scrapping speed. i can actually complete layouts in less than a day. not to mention, i've almost gone through my first pile of prenup photos. anyway, i am sharing the rest of the layouts i did for sketches 181-183. til the next time. :)





Sunday, January 24, 2010

some things outlast a lifetime

...like friends. we might not always be able to keep in touch with each other but we know we can count on each other anytime. next month one of my friends is migrating to australia with her husband. while i am happy about the opportunities this will bring them, i am still sad to see them go and will surely miss them. back to work tomorrow but i do hope you were able to make the most of your weekend.

Monday, January 11, 2010

love is in the details - a wedding-related post

i shared this post in our wedding blog but i wanted to share it here as well where i have previously shared all my other creative pursuits. do let me know what you think. :)

when people asked me why i needed a year to prepare for the wedding, i couldn't tell them that i needed the time for my diy and all the details i wanted. truth be told, i enjoyed the diy most and now that the wedding is over, i miss it terribly. anyway, i digress i guess the following pictures can justify why i needed that year right?

all the pretty pictures are courtesy of our wonderful photographers from imaginenation - jasondeg, jamie and lianne with the exception of the closeup of the birdcages which was taken by a dear friend and photographer/choreograper/performer marco esguerra. the pictures of the inspirations for the gowns and shoes were taken from the designers' site.

the invitations were a 100% handmade - from the pink and blue band, the map, even the diecut and embossed tag with our names. i also went crazy with the albemarle swash font for my invites and all the diy's during the wedding.

i did the layout for our invitation, the printing was done by a friend, corner rounding and embossing was done by hand as well. hubby glued the pink and blue heart-shaped gems on the map to indicate the venue. hearts mark the spot!

the arrhae which contains coins to symbolize wealth. this was bought from a local wedding store. i originally wanted to use a wooden basket with coins from all the countries we've visited but i wasn't able to have the coins cleaned to be shiny. and the holes from the basket in the local daiso were too big.


the cord was supplied by my designer. i love the white backdrop.

the candles were also purchased from a local wedding shop. i wanted to alter the embellishments and decorate the candles in our color but i figured it was better this way.


instead, i focused my creative efforts on the unity candle which was also purchased from the same local wedding shop. it was originally plain and bare, just white but i embellished it myself to be in line with our theme - pink and blue with flowers and birds.


our wedding rings. hubby's ring is not the original one from the pair, he lost it one day while cleaning the bathroom. the jeweller we bought it from didn't have any other one on hand. hubby found the exact same ring in his size two days before the wedding.


pillows in pink and blue provided by my designer as well. the blue and pink silk flowers are the same ones used in the entourage's dresses.


rag dolls dressed in pink and blue dresses to adorn the flower girls' baskets. my cousin was playing with her doll during the ceremony.


martha stewart butterfly punch outs used as confetti together with fresh blooms when we had the recessional after the ceremony.

pink and blue jellybeans for our favors. everything was done manually - from the packaging, tying of ribbons, even the tags were handmade!

pink ribbons for blueberry jellybeans. blue ribbons for bubblegum jellybeans

chocolate and vanilla cupcake favors in our colors - pink and blue. the tags were handmade as well, similar to the tags on our invites.

pink and blue icing flowers on our cupcakes.

birdboxes that contained sheets of papers and envelopes where guests can write their messages. birds were purchased from bangkok, all other supplies sourced locally. each one is unique and no two are alike.

placecards with stamped birdcage in the background.

colored pencils to go with the birdboxes doubling as guest books. tags were handmade and similar to tags used in jellybean favors.

wooden monograms on kraft boxes. these are similar to the birdboxes guestbook except for the wooden letters. letters bought from japan.

couples' table, blue glasses matched out motif. centerpiece was reused from the flowers in the altar during the ceremony.

couples table with our monogram bird boxes.

a close-up of the birdcage centerpiece. each birdcage was created by me and each one is unique.

birdcage centerpiece with birdbox guestbook and colored pencils. cage bought from japan, birds from thailand and all other materials sourced locally. flower arrangement was specifically created by florist with centerpiece in mind. even while i was being gussied up by the makeup artist, i was anxiously asking our photographer about the birdcage. as soon as i was beside hubby during the ceremony, the first thing i asked about were the birdcages.


a closeup of the birdcage. most of the guests took home the birdcages - must mean they love it right?

my shoes are custom made in the same shade as the entourage's dresses. this was inspired by aqua manolo blahniks. the bejewelled center was originally a brooch which i got at half off.

my shoes against the stained glass doors of the bed and breakfast we stayed in.


my shoes.
my shoes amidst a sea of jellybeans.

the blahniks that inspired my shoes.

my bouquet. i specifically requested for peonies, the same flower i used as background in my invitation. i fell in love with peonies during the process of making my invitations. i was afraid i couldn't have them because my florist warned me they were hard to come by especially since they were seasonal.

aside from the peonies, i also asked for pink carnations and a mix of blue roses and white liliums.

another lovely sight near our cottage - a victorian inspired statue.

i loved the homey feel of the cottage we stayed in.

my gown. the first time i saw the gown from a simone carvalli ad from martha stewart weddings, i knew this was the gown for me. never mind that more than one designer told me this did not suit my frame. lucky for me, i found a designer that made it work for me.

my gown in the stone path leading up to our cottage. hubby had to close his eyes when he was passing by.


my gown with our cottage as a backdrop. the weather was perfect that day - bright and shiny but cool and breezy. perfect tagaytay weather. the next day, it was overcast with a slight drizzle.

another shot of the gown i found from the designer's site.

the simone carvalli gown i saw in martha stewart. i never had any doubts, the first time i saw it i knew this is my gown
the bejewelled shrug that was a nice addition to the original simone carvalli design. i was supposed to take it off during the reception for a different look from the ceremony. but my makeup artist suggested i use it as a ruffle over my chest. i finally took off the shrug after the program so i can move around as much as i wanted. so instead of two looks, i ended up with three!
the inspiration for the versatile shrug that was the addition to the original simone carvalli design.

more pictures to come with more people. i am just really giddy with all the details so i wanted to share them first. hope you liked what you see!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

an lo + a bloghop

i know this is a bit late but sharing the lo i did as january guest gdt for scrapbook challenges for sketch 180. there's still time to get in those entries.



on to other news, scrapbook nook is having a blog hop from january 8-15. lots of yummy kits to be won. so why don't you join in on the fun starting here. anyway, off to finish my lo for the next sketch. hope you have a great weekend everyone. :)

Friday, January 1, 2010

scrapbook challenges blog hop



yes, you read it right - i am a guest dt for scrapbook challenges this january! i couldn't begin to think of a better way to start the year scrapping-wise than this, a dream come true for me. if this is your first time here, my name is jeanie nieva-de la rama, i work as a technology consultant for a multinational firm here in manila, philippines. i recently "remarried" my husband in a garden wedding ceremony, exactly a year after our civil wedding. as with most wives, my husband is my number 1 fan and supporter - from taking me to crops and scrapbook shopping and providing feedback for my works.
anyway, enough about me. i do hope you can take some time to join us for the blog hop. if you came from cathy's blog, you're on the right track. but if you didn't, no worries, you can start from pamela's blog.
there are several raks up for grabs for this blog hop and here's how you can win one of them.

1. one lucky person who leaves a comment on all of our blogs in the dt/gdt blog hop will win a collection of goodies from my little shoebox:


2. one person who does the sketch and posts in the hop on section will win the origins collection from basic grey:


3. there are two packs from prima marketing, one will go to someone who joins the group this weekend, and the other will go to someone who invites someone to the group this weekend (through the invite link on the group):


4. then one last rak (which will be posted in the hop on section) goes to one person who leaves a comment on the blogs in the hop on section. they will receive an album and a bunch of trim from rusty pickle:



as promised, this is the sketch and my lo for this blog hop.


if you get lost along the way, here's a map of the hop to get you back on track.

1. pamela (http://www.pamelasworldofscrap.blogspot.com/)
2. katrina (
http://www.paperscissorsandglue.blogspot.com/)
3. wendy (
http://www.wendybaisden.blogspot.com)
4. sookie (
http://totallydoodles.blogspot.com/)
5. debi (
http://bumblebeesflight.blogspot.com/)
6. marilyn (
http://www.melonscraps.blogspot.com/)
7. sarah s. (
http://miss-hippy-chick.blogspot.com/)
8. ilene (
http://whatabunchofscrap.blogspot.com)
9. cj (
http://www.cjalmeda.blogspot.com/)
10. lydia (
http://www.scrappergal78.blogspot.com/)
11. rowee (
http://simplemom-lovingmom.blogspot.com/)
12. sarah e. (
www.scrapcetera.com)
13. annie (
http://littlewingscreates.blogspot.com/)
14. catherine (
http://itsybitsyartsy.blogspot.com/)
15. deb p. (
http://tassiedeb.blogspot.com/)
16. cathy (
http://beautifulscraps.blogspot.com/ )
17. (gdt—jan) jeanie (
http://jeaniebnieva.blogspot.com)
18. (gdt—feb) nadhrah (
http://www.chunot76.blogspot.com/)
19. (gdt—march) star (
http://starsstory.blogspot.com/)
20. (gdt—april) ana (
http://anazelia-myscrapbookaddiction.blogspot.com/)
21. brynn (
http://bzbdesigns.typepad.com/)


thank you for dropping by and here's wishing you and your family a blessed and meaningful year ahead. the next stop for the blog hop is nadhrah. til the next time and hope to see you again.