Happy Valentine's Day

I'm sorry for not blogging much recently. Been busy in my cocoon again. We're having another bad weather again therefore DH had to leave early for work... way early actually!

On the positive note, we had a small gathering today (minus DH) and played domino for hours at a friend's house in town. Me and the in-laws has been enjoying our ladies day/night out since January and play domino. We try to do it over the weekends though so everybody is off from work. Before we play, we usually eat first as almost everybody is bringing food. Domino is ADDICTING... period! LOL

I hope you all had a fabulous Heart's Day!

Lion King Musical

We (me and in-laws) had a girls day out last Saturday and watched Lion King at the Civic Center in Des Moines... SIL gave us tickets last christmas. It's the first time for me and Aunt R, but 5th time for SIL & Katie, while 2nd time for MIL. We all enjoyed the show as the production is really amazing. I love all the costumes, backgrounds, etc... lots of colors!

Though the show starts at 2PM, we left home around 9AM due to weather plus the fact that we planned to have lunch in Des Moines.

If you haven't seen Lion King Musical, you must! I highly recommend it. I've seen all the LK movies but seeing the show is wayyyyyyy better.

Our next girls day out will be on May to see South Pacific... at the Civic Center in Des Moines as well.

Good Craft Mail Days

It's always a treat for me to receive crafts stuffs in the mail... be it expected or unexpected. I'm sure you know what I mean!

I finally recieved my first issue of B&B for 2010 (MIL's gift subscription). I'm still waiting for my Bead Style copy though... hope it'll arrive soon. I also got few beading books online: Beadworks by Rollason, Bead Accessories by Sawabanori, and Beads by Paolo Bottoni. The last 2 being published in Japan. I enjoyed reading and browsing all of them... on the sad note, I didn't go ga-ga with SANQ's recent issue. I guess coz I was overwhelmed with bead stuffs when I got it.

What you see on the photo below is just a tip of the iceberg. It's a large box full of jewelry supplies from a dear friend in Florida, Anne. She also does fashion jewelries but has been terribly busy that she decided to destash and send me some of her supplies. The package arrived at a perfect time - on my birthday! And since we celebrated my birthday 2 days earlier, I was sure excited to open something on that day... a gift more than I expected! Thanks so much for the supplies Sis (me and Anne call each other Sis as our friendship started online over a decade ago back home). I hope you feel how thankul I am... you definitely put a big smile on my face.

And speaking of surprises... it was indeed a treat to find DMC's new 2010 products in our mailbox 2 weeks ago as I didn't sign-up in their Designer Program. But then when I received my copy of Needlework Retailer last week, I found out that DMC will take over the Charles Crafts fabrics... now that makes sense coz I'm at Charles Crafts' Designer Program. Anyway, DMC sent me complete sets of satin threads (24 new colors) and color infusions memory thread (17 colors). I have to admit I didn't realize til then that they carry memory threads... that works like magic. LOL I had to use one right away, in my couching works. Thank you DMC! I look forward to working with you... and to Charles Crafts (specially to MaryBeth), thanks so much for the opportunity to use your products and deal with you.

And lastly, I received these buttons from another dear friend, Cheryl, a while back. She knows how I love buttons! Upon opening the package, I had to pick some faves right away to use as cabs and locks on my next jewelry pieces. The purples reminds me of my newest SIL back home as it's her fave color, so I'm planning to make a set of jewelries for her... The green ones are perfect for my next spring theme pieces with button & loop closure. The big ones are just perfect as focal points or cabs for my encrusted pendants. Thanks so much for your generosity Cheryl!

Weatherwise, we're having terrible snowdrifts again that compelled DH to stay at the hotel today. The roads are extremely bad and dangerous. I'm guessing that our plower won't pass by till mid-afternoon... only then our roads will be accessible - and that's Iowa life! LOL I can see myself stitching and finishing today while watching my fave movies, and probably work a lil' bit on my site.

Have a great stitching day everyone... keep warm!

Weaved Bracelets And Wired Necklace

I know, I know, I should be posting more stitchy stuffs!

I also finished all these jewelries this month, and are meant to be surprise gifts... but had to reveal due to a great circumstance.

These bracelets are for my dear friend in Florida, Anne, and her daughter, Kei. Anne sent me a fabulous package which I recieved on my birthday so I thought I'll make something for her and Kei. They're made of seed beads, garnet ships, freshwater pearls, MOP chunks and Silver tags. Both closes with toggles clasps.

The off-white bracelet is a birthday gift for my great-aunt in Michigan. Also made similar to the above ones, spiral weaving... made of freshwater pearls, MOP chunks, silver tags, seed and E beads. The blue-purple bracelet is has 2 beaded beads (tubular peyote), polished stones, and crystals. Another combo of simple weaving and stringing techniques.

And lastly, a linked necklace that I really enjoyed creating... my second piece with this technique. I'll post the first one when I find the photo (it was made of various glass beads). Most of the MOP chunks are from Anne, while the heart donut pendant & the freshwater pearl at the center hole is from my own stash. Still contemplating if I'll give this as a gift as well to match the bracelet above. I'm not doing really good with my stitching lately so I had to boost my ego with jewlery pieces... just so I can say I finished something. LOL

I've had really good mail days this month so I thought I better devote a post for them... something I can look back in time. Hope everybody had a great Sunday! To those in the winter dillema like me, keep warm!

The GOODS And The BAD

The GOOD: As always, DH came home last Monday with this bundle for our you know what... the day we exchanged "I do's". It seems like those moments were just yesterday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just can't imagine my life if I had never met you,

fallen in love, and been smart enough to know you were the one...

I could never do without the big and little things you do daily

to delight me, surprise me, and make me happy.

Give me forever, and I still couldn't find the words

to tell you all the ways you make my life complete...

But there's one thing I can do and do very well...

and that's love you with all my heart.
~from DH (minus some parts... LOL)~

Our happiness together

and our love for one another,

gives today special meaning.

I'm so happy to be sharing my life with you.

~for DH (I design/print my card for him)~

Happy Anniversary Honey!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The BAD: I lost count how many times we lost the electricity today... around 10 times, or more. But I was sure glad the longest was only an hour, while the rest were just few minutes. Due to severe road conditions, DH had to check-in at the hotel where he worked to be safe... and so he can make it to his last work day this week.

The GOOD: Though the ice storm today made our winter days even colder, I love the fact that these trees gave me some inspiration earlier. Will work on an ICE STORM jewelry set in the near future.

The GOOD: Sipping this mocca frap while updating my blog, PRICELESS!

Stay warm everybody!

My Big Day In The Winterland

There aren't enough words to tell you I love you.

Not enough ways to show you I care.

Not enough laughter and good times to wish you.

Not enough wonderful moments to share...

A million bright mornings would not be too many.

Long evenings forever would still be too few.

For I need you and I love you so much that it seems.

There aren't enough days in a lifetime with YOU.

~DH~

The cold winter days gives me more reason to bead and stitch after sipping a cuppa coffee. Really, with tons of snow outside, I'd rather spend my big day stitching. LOL Can't go wrong with that! Here's a classic set I enjoyed creating: Stardust Silver Set with beaded beads in tubular peyote.

Christmas And Crafts

This post has been long overdue so be warned - it's a long post!

Part of our christmas gifts for MIL and Aunt R are books so I made coordinating bookmarks for them, finished them on the 24th. DH was the one who picked all the books and though I'm not a novels enthusiast (used to be back in college), these 2 books caught my attention: The Memory Quilt and A Thread of Hope. I kinda gave MIL and Aunt R that I'm interested to read these books when they're done. LOL

I waited till 24th to finish wrapping gifts coz we're expecting more DVDs in the mail. Unfortunately, they didn't made it in time for christmas. Most of the DVDs below are in the christmas gift lists of my dear in-laws. Did I mentioned before that months before christmas, we exchange lists of what we want to recieve for christmas? I think I did! LOL Anyway, these DVDs are the last gifts I wrapped.

We finished off our gift shopping with a bunch of giftcards... yeah, they're on the list too! Ranges from $25 to $100. I love recieving GC as well, specially from my fave craftstores. They're great for after christmas sale as discounts are hugeeeeeeee! And of course, I recieved some GC as gifts myself. Here I come Hobby Lobby! LOLHere are the gifts, all wrapped up before me and DH hauled them to SIL's house on christmas morning - where we had our gathering. We had a brunch instead of the usual lunch in the past years. I made bacon-wrapped lil' smokies and apple pie. The gathering is a potluck-style so we had a bunch of food.
These beads were from DH and in-laws. Mom got me Bead & Button mag (sub to follow) and Cube Bead Stitching book... plus other stuffs. DH surprised me with a box full of beads (mostly seed and E beads) and other beading supplies. He knew I need to expand my beading stash so he went to Hobby Lobby while I was back home and got me a bunch of supplies. I actually opened the box 2 days before christmas coz I've been bugging him. LOL Talking about excitement ha! He also included bead organizers, and they're already filled. I had been busy reorganizing my craft stash again since before christmas as it's getting hard to find things I'm looking for. SIL also gave me about 10 packs of seed beads (4 oz bags) plus a big organizer. My in-laws really know how to pamper me with craft supplies. LOL SIL gave me, MIL & Aunt R Lion King tickets which we will all use on January 23rd. We'll gonna have a girls day out on that day coz she also got a ticket for Katie and her. This will be the first time I'll see the show but I know it's really good. SIL and Katie watched it whenever the show is available in Des Moines, IA. This might be the 5th time Katie will see it, yet she's always excited. She loves musical shows and always go on some every year.

The first time I saw this bowmaker, I knew right away I had to have one. So I grabbed one this month and told DH to include it in my christmas or birthday gifts. LOL Needless to say, I had to doodle over it, before wrapping it. I'll just act surprise when I opened it this weekend for everybody to see. LOL SShhhsss, just kiddin'.

Look familiar - our driveway! I took the same photo last year... this one was taken yesterday morning as we had snowstorm the other night. DH didn't make it home due to bad road condition. He had to stay at the hotel where he works.
And what could be better during those snow cold days but yummy soup! DH went home few days before christmas with a whole big ham, he said he won it at work. So I immediately cut one fourth of it into cubes and made my own version of Bean and Ham Soup - with celery, carrots, laurel leaves, sweet basil, etc. It was soooooo yummy that I'll gonna make again this week.
I've been in the beadland since christmastime and stitching had to take a back seat. I've been busy beading away... mostly strining and beadweaving! In the last few days, I made more than 10 pairs of simple earrings, which I haven't took a picture yet. Moreso, I made a whole bunch of beaded stitching/sewing accessories like stitch markers, counters, etc. I think I have over 50 packs made already. I also enjoyed making the cases, using scrapbook cardstocks, hence the bright colors... and felt to hold the pins. It closes very well and ready for gift-giving to fellow stitchers. I will list most of them at my store.
And lastly, I'm glad that my partner for the TGOSM Ornament Exchange recieved her package before christmas. She sent me an email on the weekend before christmas that she didn't get them yet despite the fact I mailed it on December 8th. So I told her I'll stitch another one if she won't get them in 2 days, though I stitched a repalcement immeditely for the just in case scenario... and voila, the package arrived on the 22nd. BTW, I restitched another pagoda and will just give it as gift to my great aunt.

Well everybody, I think I've said to much so I better quit. From our house to yours, we wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

Christmas Package From Laura

FIT Group organized a christmas exchange last September which I partake and Laura is my partner. She sent me a fabulous package that made my heart sing with joy.

We were out when the package arrived, so when I saw this box, I knew right away it has christmas goodies.

Ta-da!!!... this appears when I opened the box. Can you tell that Laura is such a crafty person? She used a pretty (christmas) fabric as giftwrapper then the ornie as gift-tag. Great job Laura!

I'm so proud to be the owner of this lovely ornament. It was beautifully stitched and neatly finish. Thanks Laura!

The revelation of more goodies... A pair of oh-so-pretty pillowcases which I'm pretty sure sewn by Laura. I love the muted colors Laura. Thanks heaps!

A couple of christmas theme charts: Prairie Schooler's 2009 Santa - I have to start collecting the series as I have few of them... and JBW Designs' Christmas Tree Collection I - now already in progress. I had to stithc one of the tree that night... now already finished!

A couple of cute drawsting baggies...

... that contains yummy goodies such as beading needles and beads beads at the red pouch while the other pouch contains cute button, Mill Hill beads and WDW threads for JBW pattern above. Thank you so much again Laura!

Now comes my favorite in the package (I'm allowed to have a fave, right?)... A pair of scissors and "What a hoot?" by The Cat's Whiskers in which Laura did a wonderful job. I can't wait to take this piece with me on my next stitching gt-away.

Thank you so much for this great package that you put together very well Laura! I love everything and I can't wait to use all these goodies soon. I'll surely think of you whenever I use the pillowcases... when the ornie hangs on my tree... and whenever I'll use the cute scissors. It will surely stay at its owl place.

Have a great stitching day everybody!

Our Friendly Animals Back Home

Here's a typical view of our kitties when I wake up early in the morning. I would normally see them like in the first 2 photos. But at times, some manage to sneak inside the house and they end up like in photo 3. The last photo is my fave.

The last time I went home on 2006, we only have one kitty that's why I was so surprised when I saw 4 wondering around in our kitchen this year... and at times, even our neighbor's cat stay at our house (which happen to be a sibling of our cats). I can't remember our house not having an outside dog or cat since I was a kid... we always have or raise different animals, either at our house or at the farm. Currently, my father has a bunch of ducks (about 30) in the farm, chickens/roosters, one puppy (few weeks old which we call Brownie), one dog (Whity), and the kitties. Since the cats multiply regularly, we don't bother to give them individual names... we all call them "Muning" which is the lingo term for cat in our dialect.

DH laughed when I told him the story behind our doggies names... If it's white, we always call it Whity... if it's brown, Brownie... if it's black, Blacky... if it has spots, we call it Spot. LOL While MIL always use the same whenever she gets a new dog. She only get a new dog when the old one die or get lost.
How about you, what kind of furry friends do you have?

The Lone Beader: Beading Book Giveaway of the Week!

Diana, aka The Lone Beader, is giving away a beading book each week from Lark Books. Whether you love beads or not, you'll surely enjoy Lark Books. So don't forget to check out The Lone Beader's Blog for details as due date for this week is on 4th of December 2009, 11:59 PM EST.

Angels Of The Family

WARNING: LOTS OF KID'S PHOTOS...

I told some friends about the new additions of my family back home so might as well share their photos here. These are my nephews and nieces that I met for the first time during my vacation back home... Jomac, LJ, Jude and Lian. They're all kids of my 3 younger brothers... yes, younger brothers ranges from 21 to 31.

MEET JUDE AND LIAN: Kids of my brother whom I attended his church wedding in the Philippines on 2006... the civil wedding though was on 2005, so don't be surprise that the first baby was born on 2006.:) Jude is now 3 years old, while Lian will be 2 years old on January. DH laughed when he saw a series of this first photo. I took photos of them while they're waiting for their bottled milk until they both finished. It was like a contest who'll gonna finish first. I was actually surprised Jude beat Lian, as in previous days, Lian always finish first.

The siblings both love peanut butter sandwich, which I have to admit is not one of my favorite food. While I was back home, I made sure the kids' favorite foods are always available in our household - including chips, pancit canton, hotdogs, pancakes, etc. Here's a couple pics of them enjoying their sandwiches. Never mind the mess, I bet you know how toddlers are.

MEET LJ: She was born September this year and is the daughter of my youngest brother. She's such a hyper baby. DH laughed when he saw her photos with mittens... he said they look like boxing gloves. LJ was over couple weeks old on the following 2 photos.

Here's LJ and her Tita (Aunt) Lody holding each other for the first time. She was exactly 2 weeks old then... and sleeps most of the time.

I (literally) took hundreds of photos in a day specially prior to LJ's christening to be use on her invitation, give-away, (tarpoline) banner, etc. We had to change her clothes numerous times on a particular day to take a good shot... and given the chance, we also tried to put a matching hair accessory as she was always mistaken a boy!

We got lucky indeed, and here are the pics I used on her photo invitation and give-aways.

Here are the final products... BTW, I just bought raw materials for the give-aways in Manila then assembled it ourselves in Pampanga... 100 pieces of them! As for her invitations, instead of envelope, I used regular tracing paper - tied with pink ribbon for enclosure.

MEET JOMAC: The youngest among the new addition! Jomac's dad is the eldest among my 3 brothers. SIL was admitted at the hospital around 4PM and was supposed to have a normal delivery but once she got into the delivery room, her BP fluctuated. By 8PM, her doctor informed us that SIL had to undergo a C/S operation. Jomac was born on November 4th at 9:25PM, weighs 3.85 kgs (8.47 lbs), and measures 51 cm long. I was there at the hospital from day one, as well as my parents and Jomac's maternal grammy.

This photo was taken at the operating room... I wasn't inside the OR, but I managed to convince SIL's doctor to take few pictures before cutting the embellical cord for my brother to see his baby right out from mommy's womb. The people at the OR were kind enough to take more photos... starting when SIL's tummy was cut (which I"m sure you don't want to see) till the baby was all cleaned up. BTW, the doctor assigned one of the nurses to take the photos. I was sure glad they had an extra pair of hands to do my request.

By Friday (November 6th), Jomac was released from the nursery to be with his mommy and us. The bonding began right away of course. I was the one who picked him up at the nursery and put him in our assigned private room. I was told that he's the biggest as well as the only baby in there who can finish 3 oz of milk. He'll gonna a 6-footer someday like my brothers, that's for sure. This photo was taken around 3PM, November 6th.

Here he is at exactly one week old. I also used this same photo on his invitations and give-away tags... unfortunately, I didn't able to do any of the give-aways while I was there as my younger sister will do them after I leave. Oh, and we're pretty sure that Jomac will be whiter than LJ.

I thought it would be nice to incorporate snapshots of his various body parts on the invitation so I did!... snapshots are: belly button, ear, hair, hand and foot!

MEET ELLA: Here's Ella, my only niece the last time I went home on 2006. She just turned 7 years old last June and is a second grader. Every Monday, she gets to wear her Girl's Scout uniform in school.

At times, I get to convince her to have her hair french-braid by me... I managed to do it a few times. I wish I took a photo of her hair when the braid was circular. Hay...!

More photos of the kids... just because...
Another photo of the kids at the new "Eat All You Can" restaurant at a nearby town. The two healthy (not fat... LOL) boys are my cousins, ages 6 and 10. They are brothers, obviously... their mom is my mom's younger sister (who's only a few years older than me). I try to take them with me when me and the kids are going at a mall or Jollibee (counterpart of Mc Donalds) - kids fave fast food chain back home. Mat & Louie has another brother in between, but won't go with us unless their mom go too... Yeah, he's a Mama's boy! When I got there on our way home from the airport, I was immediately advised that Lian seldom go out... In fact, she's never been to the mall and Jollibee prior my arrival. So I made it sure that I take her with me wherever I go. As a result, whenever I get dress (a going-out dress) she would hold my hand and won't leave me... coz she knows she'll be left out if she'll let me go.

What better souvenir can we have from our trips than pictures and videos? Since I got back, I've been busy sorting photos and editing family videos I took while I was back home, which are mostly of my nephews and nieces. I can't wait to get the videos done so I can start mailing them to my siblings abroad (particularly my 2 brothers who are working overseas), my sister in CA, and relatives from different states.

More photos and stories about my trip soon!