A Pocketful of Dreams

This mini is about my dreams and wishes and hopes since I was a little girl. I will be adding pages to it as a dream comes true. I will also make a page about dreams that never came to be.

I first made this mini just for myself. Then came the PS challenge about making a mini book. It gave me the motivation to finish more pages. When I saw Bookoto's Show Me the Mini, I thought...hmmm... why not. It might not be the same style as Ali Edward's because of the lack of journaling but I thought the pictures and my mini journaling will tell the story.

I am so lucky that most of my childhood dreams have come true. Not all of them yet, but most. I am truly lucky.

This is me, the Dreamer. Always day dreaming. In fact, that was my nickname in HS. Miss Day Dreamer.

This page says it all about my first crush and first love. Behind the journaling tag which opens to the left is a picture of that guy and me. I had this huge crush on the boy next door. But he didn't pay attention to me. He avoided me like the plague! Whenever he's out there on the sidewalk and sees me come out of our front gate, he goes back in their house. If I chance to meet him on the street, he'd either cross the street or turn around just to avoid me.

So here's that guy who's the reason for the teardrops on my school books [bwahahaha! sounds like the song "...you're the reason for the tear drops on my guitar"]. I had a crush on him when I was in the 4th grade. There he was on stage singing "We Three Kings" with two other "kings". I was hiding behind a classmate because he might see me staring at him and decide to not finish his part of the program, turn around, and hide.

I had the biggest crush on him [still] when I was in high school. When all my HS friends were talking about their crushes guys they say are to die for, I was the silent one. In my mind, wishing I could talk about him.

My true love and I never did talk to each other. I thought it would be different when I went away to college. Perhaps he'd miss me and send me letters. Valentine cards? uh.... birthday cards?.... uh, I'll settle for Christmas cards?... no...?

To my surprise, 3 days short of turning 23 he asked my mom if he could take me out for lunch on my birthday. I didn't know this until the day before. My mom asked me where we were both going to celebrate my birthday. Yup! for the first time in 23 years, he talked to me.

You see, we were neighbors since we were born. I know all of his relatives as he knows mine. He says he never talked to me then because he was always teased by his older siblings. Ah! so it's my fault. I am the reason why he never talked to me and why he avoided me.

The first dream

We got married 2 years later on the first of May. It was a simple wedding. My only regret on that day was that in all the excitement, no one thought of hiring a professional photographer. I only have 12 shots of our wedding day [boo-hoo-hooo...]. His hand around my shoulder, he now comforts me and says, "that's OK. We have all the wonderful and happy pictures/memories in the world". Yes, I agree. Better than those who have the most expensive wedding gowns, and biggest diamond rings, several albums full of wedding pictures + videos to show off, then yell and fight most of the time and eventually get separated after a few years, I am indeed lucky!

The second dream

This is Lennart, our first born. There were no ultrasounds yet during the time I was pregnant with him. I didn't know if I was going to have a girl or a boy but we did prepare two names: Lennart Nillson and April Ann. After 2 days of labor pains, I had a C-Section. The last thing I remember, the anesthesiologist asked me if I wanted a boy or a girl. I said, "boy." He turned around and said, "You heard that, Dr. Zamora? You have to deliver a boy!"

I knew it in my heart that I have a boy. It broke my heart when we have to leave for the USA without him. It was a great sacrifice but we were thinking of his future. Sometime I wonder what life would be had we not left the Philippines.

He is Philippine-grown. He takes your hand and kisses it to ask for blessing. He says "po", and "opo". He doesn't talk back much as he wants to defend or express himself. I didn't see my son grow and missed a lot of his milestones. I still wonder, the move we made...was it all worth it?

The third dream

This is Christina, the girl I wished for! My very own baby doll! We waited a long time for her to come along. Papa's princess; my excuse to buy girly stuff and lots [and I mean lots!] of dolls!

And here she is, a senior in HS. Fiesty and sassy. But deep within a good kid who is ready for college life.

The fourth dream

Every wife's big dream is a house she'd call their own. After several years of moving from one apartment building to another, we purchased our first single family home. It was old and who knows how many families have lived there before us. It took years before we were able to have our first home, built from the ground up. I hope for us to grow old and share this same home together with kids and grand kids for a long time!

Thirty-one years of being married to my first crush, my first love! Thirty one years and it gets better every year!

Supplies used: border puncher used is Fiskar's Sunburst; background paper by K Ology; cut-outs from various patterned papers by DCWV [complete list to follow]

Pieces of Me - Challenge #19-2

This picture was taken during our trip to Toronto. No wonder the kids were quiet. I turned around and this is what I saw! Thank goodness for Marj's challenge I was able to come up with an idea of how to put this on paper! This challenge is all about the use of negative space. I love how this turned out. I would love to keep this as my own style but that would cost me lots of albums [LOL!] I already have a huge back log of unmounted pictures, and what I'd really want to do right now is cram them all on a few pages just to get done!

But that won't be any fun now, would it?


These are pieces of me, born 12 years apart. Looking at them now, it seems DD has caught up in maturity with her big brother. I am so proud of these kids!

The crocheted doily gave the layout a dreamy look. I have to start making smaller crocheted flowers to use. There was a time I crafted lots of bead bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. I have so many left-over beads that I want to incorporate into my layouts. I like how this turned out. Perhaps there will be more beads used in the future! It will be fun for my kids and their kids to look at my layouts and talk not just about the pictures but also how I crafted the embellishments I used!

Supplies used: Background paper [Basic Grey's Granola]; strips of paper [Basic Grey's 8x8 Boxer pad]; crocheted doily, flower [Prima], journaling tag [Making Memories' Note Worthy], rhinestone stickers, glass beads [Bead Gallery], hemp cord [Jewelry Design], journal tag [My Mind's Eye Laundry Line]; thicker foam dots used under the photo [United Manufacturer's Supplies]; thinner foam squares used on the title [Miss Elizabeth]; permanent orange marker [Bic].

Marj's Challenge #19-1

Marj came up with this idea of challenging PS members to make one traditional layout a week for the month of November. I thought...whoa! that is too much! But I am loving it. It forces me to make more traditional pages.

The first challenge is to use a big bow. I've seen Marj's layouts using big bows. They are beautiful. That's coz Marj artwork is always awesome. I don't know what a big bow would look like on my page. Also I couldn't find any ribbons that are more than 1.3" in width except for this holiday ribbon so I was forced to make a Christmas layout. I found this picture of DD with a big red sash and bow around her waist. The big bow challenge was a perfect fit!

I wasn't too happy about this layout after it was done. I tried too hard to balance everything on the page. I wanted the break [the line of punched borders] lower but I made a mistake cutting the paper and I don't have duplicate copies of the sheets. Oh, well.... Next time will be better.


Supplies used: Lace border punch [Martha Stewart]; papers, swirls, tag, and flower [Me & My Big Ideas Christmas specialty pack]; liquid glue [Scotch]; foam dots [Sticky Doos]; sticky bling [Claire's Boutique]; journaling tag [Blue Awning by K&Co]; Child of Mine mini tag [Sharon Ann/Deja Views]; holiday ribbon [Michael's Arts & Crafts Store]

Halloween

This looks like Egypt is burning [tee-hee]. This is DD at a Halloween Party hosted by a friend. They had a bonfire to keep the bugs away and to keep them warm on this nifty Hallow Evening. I thought she's too old to go trick or treating. I completely forgot that this age group has something called "parties"!

This is my take on a PS challenge issued by Marix - the use of decorative edge on the layout. It can either be digital or traditional. I usually make digital layouts, but I have these cute embellishments for Fall and Halloween and I thought I'd play with them. It wasn't too bad. I like the outcome, not to mention I love the rich warm colors of Fall.

In addition to the layout, we were asked to make a card using the scraps from the page we made. As I was making the card, I thought to myself... I could have many cards made if I made at least one for each layout I complete! Wow! Perhaps I have to make that a habit. So that I don't get a box full of scraps that usually get filed in the "forgotten box". The other good thing is the brand names of supplies used are still fresh in my mind.

In Mama's Shoes

Marian's PS challenge is to create a mini book. I've never done one before although working on small things like tags and cards [and perhaps] a mini book is something I love to do and enjoy doing! My problem with mini books is storage. They would be too tiny to put on the shelves along with the bigger albums. I would have to adjust the shelves to make a special place for them. There would be sooo many little albums lying around for people to pull and view and left cluttered on tables, chairs, or on the floor. If we decide to move [again] they will occupy a lot of boxes to be carried out. There is a possibility of a few getting lost; or a box of them getting tossed out [argh! it has happened before , no, not with photo albums, but other records and unmounted pictures].

But it's a challenge so I made one. This Mini Book about my DD is not the original one I made for this challenge. I saw another challenge about a mini so I decided to save the first mini for the other challenge and quickly whipped this one up.

This is DD when she was over a year-old. She loves to wear our shoes. Of course, since DH's shoes are bigger and heavier, she'd wear mine. There was a picture of her wearing my heels too but at the time I was rushing to complete this mini I couldn't find that one so I used this one instead.


Truly, this proves the saying "Monkey see, Monkey do". So be careful with what you do [and say] when little mini yous are around. My little princess painting her TOES! Yes, toes... how can a 2-year old paint just the toe nails?

The thing I love about this picture are her pig tails. DD was born with thick black hair which fell out every time she got a bath. She ended up with fine brownish hair that took forever to grow! We were both excited [she, especially] when I was able to pull together a handful of strands into 2 tiny pig tails!

Ahhhh...! the fur coat! I remember buying some faux fur remnants at JoAnn's to make into teddy bears. But when we went to the Philippines for a visit when DD was 6 months old, I decided to have a fur coat made for her. It took a few more years before she could wear it. I should have bought white fur!

Driving away in a little red Mercedes convertible, which matched our little red Subaru. It was Spring, a little chilly outside but she couldn't wait to drive away.

How antique is this?!!! This is like the first lap top I've seen! She was so mesmerized to see the letters pop up on the screen. If you are wondering about the title for this page, it says, "IYQ"

Come on, say it fast 3 times in a row. Get it? Awwww..... IYQ2 !!!

Little munchkin found the calculator and highlighter. Couldn't decide which one to use first. She must have seen me do something like this!

DD was so excited about this new toy! So whenever I iron the clothes she plays with this. I believe in toys that make kids mimic grown ups. It is a preparation for when they become adults!

My baby doll nursing her baby doll...how cute is that???

I've always wondered what made her pick up the broom and do this. She seemed so intent on getting the job done!

Ah...! my favorite. Really just like me...

The END! TFL!!

Twinkle In Your Eyes

My sister, Lee bought a stack of DCWV Blooms and Butterflies, which I totally LOVE!!! The colors are pretty and the designs are awesome! I commented that they are so deliciously beautiful I just want to cut out the flowers and butterflies! She said I can have half of the stack [meaning, one of each unique page]. Wow! I didn't give her enough time to change her mind. I tore out one of each duplicate page and started cutting out the flowers, butterflies, and diamond designs. I even brought out my Cricut to cut out some alpha and swirls.

I placed some of the cutouts on top of my work table, it just happened there was a black cardstock there and the bright colors looked to beautiful on the black background!

Here's what I came up with.

Journaling: I love how your eyes twinkle when you smile. They're full of happiness and contentment, of love and admiration. We wish you all the reasons that will keep you smiling like this.

Thanks for sharing, Lee. I did find a stack of DCWV's Blooms and Butterflies at Jo-Ann's and replaced this with your stack. You might want to have 2 sheets of each design after you see how beautiful they are!

Supplies used: Foam dots, assorted bling, Cricut to cut out the swirls and the embellishment on the left; Doodlebug border swirls, Prima flowers, pink pen to add the doodles to the diamond borders.

Thanks for looking.

Cookie's PS Challenge

I wanted to make an altered clock to join Cookie's August challenge. My plan was to make a square one - out of a 12x12 layout... with the clock in one corner - a smaller clock. I have this small mantel clock that hasn't ticked for months now because the battery size is so odd I keep forgetting to buy one as it is not one of the sizes that's on display at the check-out lines. I just thought the clock doesn't have to be round and of the same size as the other contestants'. I wanted mine to be different so I can put it up on the wall. I can perhaps ask DH to frame it for me.

The layout I would use is something about remembering me and the love I have for my family throughout time. Perhaps, that altered wall clock will stay on someone's wall to remind them of me long after I'm gone. But I am not going to make my intention that obvious.

The tiny clock didn't work as its casing was glued to its crystal frame. So the next plan was to go to Michael's and buy a new one - just the clock parts. My sister, Lee, however, reminded me it has to be a complete, working clock in order for it to be altered.

I looked around the room. There on the shelf is a round clock with green, brown, black, reddish-colored patterned frame. It has a matching 12x11 photo frame. I didn't want to separate the pair. I stared at the clock for hours...for days...[not continuously, of course, only when I am in my Kalat Room]. I have to revise the planned layout. How on earth can I make a clock with a patterned frame look good with a patterned face???! It won't go!

I really don't want to miss another PS challenge. OK...this is really getting to be a challenge... finding the perfect clock with a perfectly matching layout!

I took the clock down turned it over and I couldn't find screws or any openings in the back! I found out after several hours I have to pry open the plastic face cover! I hope I don't break it.

After several hours [again] of being careful to take out the plastic face, I succeeded [OK...by this time I still don't have a planned LO in mind!] I took out the battery, then carefully lifted up the round thing that held the hands together. It won't budge! It felt springy. After several tries, it seems this is not the kind that I can take apart so I gave up for fear of ruining a perfectly operating wall clock with a matching photo frame!

I ran out of time.... for the challenge..... [sigh....]