Mommy-To-Be Sign Card

My friend Tara asked me to make a card for our friend Jodi's "Mommy-to-be-party". She wanted something that all the guests can write their wishes for the mommy to be. Here's what I've come up with....


Since this will be Jodi's first child, I thought it would be nice if she can get a pointer or two about motherhood that only experienced moms can share.


I often hear that pregnant women have a glow about them. Jodi is no exception! Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy and I'll be praying for your safe delivery!

It's Just a Day in My Summer Life

The thought of warm and bright summer days at the trailer park helps me survive the long and cold winter months. I do love the serenity that winter brings but I also long for the garish green grass and take pictures of my clearly defined shadow on a fresh mowed lawn. I can't wait to spend the weekend at the trailer park and enjoy the long languid days of summer ...

• wake up call by birds chirping excitedly
• warm waffle and maple syrup for breakfast on the trailer porch
• refreshing mid-morning swim on the lake
• sun bathing and reading a good book
• visiting the quaint town for a leisure lunch
• holding hands at the marina until late afternoon
• barbecue and wine for dinner
• sipping hot tea and enjoying smores with friends around the campfire
• going to bed late at night looking forward to another gentle yet vibrant summer day!

Ahh ..... pure bliss!



Enjoy your weekend. I will!

Fallen Heroes

Yesterday the families, friends and fellow Canadians mourned the return of our four fallen soldiers from Afghanistan. These young men joined 112 of their comrades who gave their lives for freedom and democracy.


As the soldiers' remains were taken from the military base to Toronto, a procession of hearses travelled along a stretch of Ontario's Highway 401 known as the "Highway of Heroes". As the motorcade passed by, hundreds of people with flags lined bridges and roads {as they have done to everyone of our fallen soldiers throughout the years} respectfully waving and clapping ... their simple way of saying "Thank you for your great sacrifice and we are so proud of you!".

I witnessed one of these procession last year as I was driving not far behind the hearse. It was one of the most moving and emotional experiences of my life. You can't help but shed tears for the mothers, fathers, wives, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and friends who lost their loved ones to this war. I earnestly pray that this will be the last and the next procession will be that of welcoming back ALL our uniformed young men and women ALIVE and mission accomplished!


To the families and friends of our fallen heroes we are ....




Sincerely,

Jayvee and Mei Ann Guerrero

For a Sweet Friend

"If God closes a door, He will surely opens a window". Over the years I've seen the reality of this saying not only in my personal experiences but to that of families and friends.

Late last year, a very dear friend of mine lost her job due to the company's downsizing strategy. Considering her excellent skills and superb work ethics, we know that it's just a matter of time before she finds another one. To cheer her up, I made this card for her last year. Inside the card, I wrote, "if the going gets rough, the tough gets a card!"


After 3 months I am so happy that she's now back in the workforce doing the same thing that she loves the most. Congratulations P! I look forward to having lunch with you soon! For the meantime, here's another card for you.


And I wrote ... "If God closes a door, He will surely opens a window!"

St. Patrick's Day

3 Reasons why I love St. Patrick's Day:

• the shamrock and the Holy Trinity
• green is one of my favorite colors
• an excuse to get drunk {Guinness beer anyone?}

Happy St. Paddy's Day everyone!

Sugar Shack

Spring Season is just a round the corner, woohoo! What could be a better sign than the start of Maple Syrup Festival in various towns in Eastern Canada. Hubby and I went to Bruce's Mills Maple Syrup Bush yesterday morning.

We though it would be nice to be educated about this golden syrup that we both love specially on top of hot pancakes and vanilla ice cream {oh dear, how can I diet if just the thought of maple syrup makes me want to make pancakes!}.

Canada currently produces 85% of the world's maple products. But did you know that collecting the sap of the maples trees has to be done at a precise time of the year?

It was really fascinating to see the trees giving generously what they have accumulated throughout the year ....

One has to be patient though because ....

Collecting the sap is just the beginning. Just like any other precious gold, the clear liquid is reduced to its "golden state" through extreme heat.

Nature's gift combined with man's ingenuity .... awesome and sweet!


The transformation from sap to maple syrup is amazing. It takes a lot of tender care, patience and appreciation before one can truly enjoy its sweetness.

Very much like marriage, don't you think?

My Wonderland

I was sorting my stash this afternoon and found some rub-ons that I have totally forgotten. Unexpected little gifts that made me want to scrap. So I did! Here's a simple LO using rub-ons and gems....



Materials: Upsy Daisy Design {unwritten fairy tale)} patterned paper, K& Company Rub-ons and gems {que sera fera}, Deja Views Rub-ons {flurries & frost}, Fancy Pants Design {All fall tiles and tags}.

Have a fantastic weekend!

One Man's Trash Is Our Treasure

I'm still weak to report for work today or do anything productive. I don't want to stay in bed either so I just spent most of the day in my craft studio for some serious reading.

When hubby and I decided to make this room as "our niche", we divided it into 3 sections: our books on one side of the wall, my card/stamp area facing the middle wall, and my scrapbook/sewing area on one side facing the window.

Lately, I'm spending a lot of spare time on the card/stamp area like today. As I'm sitting here, I realized that most of the things in this part of the room are "treasures" from garage sales and thrift stores!!!

We got this unwanted solid table from the sidewalk of a local thrift store for almost nothing. Like a pumpkin transforming into a beautiful carriage, this unwanted table turned into a useful and sturdy working area for my stamping projects. That was after scrubbing it with half a canister of Pledge furniture polishing cream! This coming July when it's hot and sunny, we will paint it to match the rest of the furnitures in the room.

This old spice rack came from one of our garage sale expeditions. For it's second life, it is now a happy home for my little ink pads!


It was love at first sight with Monsieur Owl when I saw him on a shelf at a Salvation Army store. He was so lonely and aloof. Brought him home and gave him a new look with these Memorial Day Poppy Flowers! Now he's happy and proud looking after me and my husband as I work late at night making these cards....


while JV relaxes on his favorite corner of the craft studio playing with either his laptop or his camera.

Truly, one man's trash is our treasure ... no make that treasures!

KW Color Inspiration #44

Still fighting the flu bug and stayed in bed for most of the day. Why now when it was gorgeous outside? From our bedroom window, I can see the sun shining so brightly melting the snow on the grounds. Sigh....

When I can no longer stay in horizontal position, went to the craft studio and worked on this card inspired by Kristina's color inspiration.

I made this for my dear sister Jane who I miss so much ....

Hey sister, hope you like this. Talk to you soon!

Happy Friday everyone!

Code BLUE

I'm down with fever but I refuse to surrender the last drop of energy left in my tired voluptuous {also known as borderline fat} being! I went to work as usual but have to go home around 1PM when the fever hit shivering stage. Shucks! I hate being sick!


In between sneezing, runny nose and chugging orange juice, I worked on this LO of my 2 beloved nephews, Adriel and Adriann {my sister's boys}. They sent this picture to their favorite 'tita' {that's me} which was taken during one of their summer trips to Baguio City. Of course, the trip to the city of pines is not complete without the horse back ride at Wright Park.



I want something BLUE, so I used Fancy Pants Designs {daily grind cards} pattern paper for the background, Forever in Time alpha stickers and made my own cowboy outfit to match the boots that I have on my stash. I also stamped the bird and vines for boarders using Inkadinkado mini clear stamps.


Howdy ya like it?!!!

Flowers on a Cold Day

In two weeks time, students will be enjoying Spring Break. This is a misnomer! There's no sign of Spring in Ontario. Instead, we are in a deep freeze for the past 4 days and this is expected to last until the end of this week. Enough already! Really, 25 degrees below 0 is getting the best of me :-(

My dear husband must be sensing my misery ... he brought roses for me today to cheer me up!

Lovely, sweet and timely ....thanks!

You love the roses - so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!

-George Eliot