You Never Promised Me a Rose Garden

It was a simple marriage ceremony. We led a simple life. It would have remained simple and sweet had we not had our first child. That was when DH started thinking more of a good and stable future. We were not able to find it back home so we had to go farther out on the other side of the fence.

It was a big change, a big challenge, a completely new life and culture. It was very difficult the first few years. My DH... he never promised me a good life, but he gave me a great one!

Another one of Marj's challenge for November - distressing. It was night time when I took the picture. I used a fluorescent light which showed the depth of my layout.

Close-up of the journaling and one of the flowers I made by cutting a circle, wetting it on the edges and curling the edges inwards. I distressed the edges with Chestnut Roan fluid chalk and inserted a paper flower in the center.

Supplies used: background paper, mat and cut out flowers [the Paper Studio/Della Fantasia collection]; brown patterned cardstock [DCWV/Butterflies and Blooms]; pink & dark pink bling [Rhinestone Stickers]; inks [Color Box/pigment copper and chestnut roan fluid chalk]; silk flowers [Michael's]; foam squares [Miss Elizabeth]; journaling tag [Making Memories /{Note} Worthy

My Hidden Journals

My sister, Lee, came up with this month's idea for the Pinoyscrapbookers' Kaya! Challenge. See here for details of the challenge.

I am mostly a digital scrapbooker for the reason of convenience. Anyway, digital layouts are excluded from this challenge. I think because my sister thinks that digital layouts won't meet 2 of the requirements:

1) the hidden journaling component

I don't see any problem with the hidden journaling component. It is hidden anyway. True, the time comes when the recipient has to take out the sealed message. And you probably have blurted out loud... "How in the world are they going to do that with a digital layout?!"

I don't know how other digital scrapbookers save their layouts, but this is how I preserve mine.

I have hidden journals and messages behind my pictures.



Credits: Coralie's Fanciful Kit: journaling tag, blue ribbon, swirls, butterflies; Avril's Karine Kit: paper, flowers, mat; fonts used: Fonts: Depressionist Three & Freestyle script

See where there are those tags and pieces of paper peeking out at the side? Those are not just there as part of the decoration.



Credits: All supplies used are from ScrapFamily;fonts used - Fajita ICG & Chubby Trail

Those are where my journals are written. Journals that may not aesthetically go well with my layout have they been written out there in the open.



Credits: KSharonk's Faded freebie mini kit [recolored blue flowers into yellow; Miss ViVi's swirls from Kit A Vende; Fonts: Free style Script & Palace Script MT

Most of my layouts have hidden stories of what happened during that day. Not just who are in the picture, where it was taken, what the occasion was, who didn't show up, who messed up, who was funny, who cried, but also my inner most thoughts and feelings.

Lately, I have been making these hidden journals a little conspicuous... and not so conspicuous... see that greenish piece of mat behind the picture? There's journaling right behind there!



Angela Sharrow - A Spring Garden QP; flowers & swirls added from Avril's kit
Yellow bow is from one of Angela Sharrow's QP; Font: Edwardian Script

So now, the answer to the million dollar question... how will one be able to read those journals?

I save my digital layouts in two different versions. One in jpeg version so I can upload them easily in galleries; and the other in psd version where some of the layers are preserved as separate from the rest. I don't merge or flatten all my images. Then I burn my digital layouts onto DVDs.

So in the future, when any of my loved ones want to know what's with the picture, they insert the DVD into the computer, open the file, and with the use of the mouse, drag out the hidden journal to read it. Since by this time the files are read-only, there is no fear of messing up the arrangement of my layouts. When they are done reading, whether they return the note back in its original position or not, it will go back to how it was saved. Ready to be pulled out and read again.

I showed my daughter how this works so she will be aware of what to do.

2) recipient to be able to touch and feel the components of the scrapbook page.

Well, this one is a winner. No matter how much they'd touch the monitor, they won't feel anything but the warm smoothness of the screen. But still, my journals will keep them informed; they will feel the thoughts I will leave behind; they will be touched with the love I have for them.

If you think this digital scrapbooking idea is awesome, something you will consider to use on your future layouts, please drop me a line. I'd like to know what you think. TFL.

Kilig to the Bones

I love Mia's challenge for KAYA! #11. Whooo-hooo! I had a chance to drop by this weekend to check out what's going on. When I saw what's up, I immediately set out to work! And here's the fun I whipped up in less than an hour!

Supplies used:

Kim Christensen: journaling stamp from Prima's Be Beautiful kit; butterfly from Prima Hybrid's First Blush; Diane Rigdon: ribbon with flowers from Prima Hybrid's Firsts; Meredith Fenwick: crisscross from Prima Hybrid's First Blush; Trish Jones - glitzstar and glitzswirl from Prima Hybrid's Firsts; Doris Castle: swirly brown bag background paper from Prima's Dreamsicle kit; Monica69: glitter circles; Graphic Jam Designs: blue, green, & orange FairyLights [used in the center of the Prima flowers]. Blue blings on the butterfly is also by Graphic Jam Designs.

I just have a blue background on my desktop, but this one, I uploaded. Drool...drool.... I better make an LO for my DH. He doesn't really mind. When it's time to watch Smallville, I always announce that nobody bother me for an hour because I have a meeting with Tom Welling. He'd sneak in and watch my facial expressions sometimes and tease me about it. I'd always assure him and say, "Don't worry, Honey, you are always my number one." To which he'd respond, "I know. Besides he can't come out of the TV screen." [hehehe]

Oh, here's one for my Honey.

For this LO I used the following: lace, blue mat, and butterfly from Peta M. Boardman's February Sample Bag "BlueBliss"; newspaper flower and background paper from Journals of Life; blue flowers from Good Ol' Years; Font: Cynthia Script.

I made a lot of copies of the blue flowers and scattered them all over the background paper in place of the yellow star-like prints. I re-sized the flowers in, I believe, 4 different sizes. Wow! there are 67 of those blue flowers! 67 layers all shrunk into one!