Happy Birthday Mother Mary!

Aba ginoong Maria
Napupuno ka ng grasya
Ang Panginoong Diyos ay sumasaiyo
Bukod kang pinagpala sa babaeng lahat
At pinagpala naman ang iyong Anak na si Hesus.

Santa Maria Ina ng Diyos
Ipanalangin mo kaming makasalanan
Ngayon at kung kami'y mamatay. Amen.

Sweet 16

If the last 2 weeks will be my gauge as to how hectic our summer will be here at the "Casa Guerrero", then I'll say it will be fully booked with fun outings, BBQs and entertainments!

For the last 4 weekends, we've been having fun at the trailer park by the lake where our tiny but cozy trailer is nestled for the last 3 years. We can never get enough of languid nature walks, sumptuous BBQs, bonfires and s'mores shared with my trailer neighbor's family who happens to be my high school bff!

On top of that we are preparing the house for my in-laws who are visiting us from San Fransisco next week. In between all the buzz, we managed to squeeze in a "sweet 16th" birthday party of Trish, one of our friends' lovely daughter.

I bought her a summer/beach bag and made this card to go along with the gift.


I vividly recall those glorious days when I was sweet 16 myself ... my simple life revolved around home works, church activities and endless chatting with my high school best friend Tey.

That's me (second from left) and my bff Tey (second from right) when we were 16

Come to think of it, nothing much has changed. Still there are home works {yeah .. cooking, laundry, cleaning, etc}, church activities are ever present {thank God} and fun-filled get-together with ... would you believe my high school best friend Tey!

16 or not, I love my simple yet sweet life!

Turning 42 on Canada's 142nd Birthday

I turned 42 today! I stared at the mirror longer than usual this morning looking for signs of "old age" and you bet there are plenty....

• my laugh lines are more pronounced, which I guess represent the smiles and laughter I shared with family, friends and acquaintances all these years
• lots of gray hair, nature's highlights I suppose
• freckles I inherited from my beloved paternal grandmother are more visible giving me the pleasure and assurance that I will look like her 20 more years down the road.

It's not bad after all ...specially when I opened a couple of cards...

• From my parents ..."for our wonderful daughter who is a golden ray of sunshine {are they referring to my graying hair?} and a world of joy and laughter {uh oh they are noticing my laugh lines too!}, you couldn't be loved more!"
• From my hubby ... "some people have a wonderful way of bringing joy to others {there's another subtle mention of laugh lines}, you are on top of the list and I hope you know how much you are loved and cared about!"

Thank you Lord for blessing me with things that really matter! God is good ... all the time! Cheers!

On another happy note, as I celebrate my natal day, the entire nation is also celebrating Canada Day {oh yeah, there's always fireworks on my birthday!}. Like most Canadians, my hubby and I went to the local park and celebrate Canada's 142nd birthday.

Good, eh?

"Sushified"

Over the last 2 weeks on different occasions, I had 3 lunch dates with some of my BFFs. For whatever reason all of them gravitated towards Japanese restaurants. Oh I do love sushi and other Japanese treats {including cold sake} but to have them 3 times in 2 weeks was a bit too much. I was just "sushified", if there is such a word.

I guess all the sushi I ate just went straight to my brain because when I needed an inspiration for a birthday card, I ended up with this ....

With or without sushi, I still love this my Japanese doll stamp set. They are just adorable! To all the Hero Arts stamp designers ... Arigato gozaimasu!

P.S. Hubby and I together with my best friend Ester and her family will be spending our weekend on Island RV/Trailer Park. Looking forward to BBQ, s'mores and bonfire!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Card Challenge with a Twist!

Lisa Spangler is taking card challenge to new heights! I am so intimidated by Photoshop but Lisa is generously sharing her knowledge through her tutorial on how to maximize Photoshop's features and elements to enhance your photos. The twist is, you have to apply the tutorial on your photographed cards! A true win-win challenge, don't you think?

Here's the BEFORE photo of the card I just did....

The lighting is not perfect, as Lisa puts it ... it's grey and blah! Applying the "level technique" from her tutorial, here's the AFTER photo ...

Can you spot the difference?

Thanks Lisa, you are amazing!

Cheers,

Late Bloomers

We missed the peak of planting season which usually falls on the fist long weekend of May {Victoria Day} making us late bloomers in terms of "curb appeal".

So we took advantage of today's double-digit temperature and bought flowering plants for our front porch. Since we are 3 weeks late, the plants are already on sale! Who says the early bird gets the worm?

Wave of petunias for the hanging plant boxes ...

which my hubby eagerly planted.

Bright pink dianthus ...

attended by hubby's green thumbs.

Ahh, the fruit of Jayvee's labor! Thanks dear ... you are the best!

Showers in June

I think my mojo is slowly but surely finding its way back to my system. I started working at 6 this morning on a couple of cards that my friend ordered ... she needed cards for a baby shower and a bridal shower. By 7 AM, both cards are ready for delivery!

I had fun using 3D stickers I got from Michael's way way back for this baby shower card.



And for the bridal shower card, I used my very versatile "Who's that girl/rain or shine umbrella stamp".


Looks like a lot of showers {yes, literally and figuratively} are coming our way this June! Whose complaining? I love the rain and the shower parties are good for my card business!

Cheers,

God Bless

I missed my craft studio and everything in it! Good thing, I had an opportunity to create something yesterday after 2 weeks of absence.

Miguel, my bff's son was confirmed to the Catholic faith and we are very honored that the family invited my hubby to be Miguel's godfather. For this special occasion, I made this card for Miguel. It's always a challenge for me to make a masculine card ... no ribbons, no flowers, no frills!

Congratulations Miguel! We pray that you will continue to grow in the love and light of Christ!

Happy Mother's Day

"A mother's love goes on and on, even when her child is grown and gone. God planted a Mother's love so deep that the roots of it go deep and far into our hearts. There is no place to resign, quit, or escape."

I just want to share a very personal Mother's Day card I made for my mama. For all my mom's love, sacrifices and words of wisdom, she deserves the best that I can come up with!

The colors are inspired by Dawn Mcvey's Raspberry Suite color challenge.

To my Mamang {mother-in-law}, my sister Jane, all my sisters-in-law, and all the mothers ... Happy Mother's Day!

The Day The Time Stood Still

Monday, May 5. I came home from work and there was a message on our phone voice mail box. It was my sister from Manila telling me to call her ASAP. The tone of her voice lack the usual cheerfulness. The call was made at 3:30 AM {Manila Time}. At that moment, I swear, my heart just stopped beating. Why would she call me at this time if nothing's wrong? Is it my mom, my dad, my nephew/s? Please God, not any of them.

For 2 hours I tried to reach them {mom's house, sister's house, their cell phones} but my effort was futile! It was the longest 2 hours of my life ... until finally my sister called again. My dad had a heart attack and was rushed to the ICU.

Heart Attack. ICU. My dad. The words did not register at first. In my line of work, these words are "normal". I say them almost everyday except the words MY DAD. Then it hits me! I can't imagine him in ICU. I am my Papa's girl and I can picture him in 100 different ways except being seriously sick.

The last 3 days were very hard. I wanted to be by his side and tell him that everything will be OK. I also wanted to be with my mom and sister so that together we can be strong for him. But I am miles and miles away from them. With my husband's support and my faith, we waited patiently and by God's Grace, my dad survived!

To all our friends who included us in your prayers, thank you so much. Through our prayers my dad is now recuperating at home, where he belongs!

My dad is a joker! My mom took this photo almost 12 years ago when dad lost his front tooth! That's me and my sister Jane with our loving father.

God is great ... always,

Signed, Sealed and Delivered

A friend of mine ordered 20 Thank You cards a couple of weeks ago. Delivery date is May 2. So last Friday, hubby and I spent our usual "Friday night home date" working on these cards.

Instead of working in my craft studio, I put out a blanket in the living room, scattered my craft materials, opened a bottle of wine, prepared crostini with spinach and garlic dip and voila... we had a perfect craft night date!

Following my instructions, JV trimmed, punched and glued all the patterned papers while I took care of stamping and tying the ribbons. After 3 hours, {I guess we spent more time drinking, eating and chatting than working!!} the cards are good to go!

By the time you are reading this post, the cards, 20 of them are signed, sealed and delivered!

I'll Be Your Umbrella

Kristina Werner is celebrating her 50th Color Inspiration Challenge this week. I love the vibrant colors she chose for this special challenge. They remind me so much of spring flowers that will bloom in our backyard very soon!


Thanks Kristina for the inspiration! Have a great weekend!

For Mama

My Mama is celebrating her birthday today. I made her this card yesterday using 2 products I just got recently - EK border punch and Inkadinkado's Gem stone insects collection. The design was inspired by CPS sketch 113.

Just a note for my Mama....

Ma, happy happy birthday! I pray for your good health and more blessings from above. You know how much I love birthdays and the hardest thing is being away from all of you on special days like this. Miss you all!