Enjoy The Ride

The color yellow always lifts my spirits. I noticed that I tend to gravitate to anything yellow in my closet when choosing my outfit for the day whenever I have the "blues". Mind you, it's not my favorite color, but it's my mom's fave color on me. She told me that she would often dress me up in yellow when I was a baby. Could this be why it makes me happy?

Well, last month I attended my friend Jessica's surprise 40th birthday dinner organized by her sweet husband. I know for sure that this thoughtful gesture made Jessica really happy.

Take a look at the card I made for her.

It just complimented the way I put together her gift.

Just making this ensemble put a smile on my face. Hope it did Jessica's as well.

{Belated} Mother's Day

I know it's is done and over with, but I can't pass up not sharing with you presents I gave to my mom, mother-in-law and all the other moms in my life who've chosen this very fulfilling vocation called motherhood on Mother's Day.

Besides my usual paper creations, this year I included special treats from my kitchen to give to these amazing women.

Since I've been trying to improve my baking skills lately I decided to make these delectable Mini Citrus Rum Cakes with Cream Cheese Glaze. The recipe is very straightforward which made it very easy to follow. Most importantly I had all the ingredients on hand.

I then placed each one inside a golden laminated box which I tied with abacca twine along with my very own handmade tag.

They are like little treasure chests, precious like the recipients.

02.01.11 | A Present for Mom

Mothers always want to care for their children; to hug them and love them. Or simply just to be near them no matter what age they are. However, this was never the case for my mom.

She never had us with her all at one time while growing up most especially now that we're adults and have families of our own. It is also mainly because two of my siblings live in the other side of the world from us. Mom has to take an almost 24 hour plane ride to be with them for a short time until she has to go back home to the Philippines.

So, for her birthday this year my brothers, sister & I along with our respective partners planned a simple surprise for her. Nothing ostentatious, but very much from our hearts.

Here's one of the gift we surprised her with. It's a "Family Love Box".

It is 4 x 4 in box that explodes into a 12 x 12 in scrapbook page with photos of Mom, her children and grandchildren.

It also came with a coordinating card.

Now, Mom can be with her four children and seven grandkids anytime, all the time.

Happy Birthday Ma! We love you!

'Tis The Season

A very good morning to everyone! Woke up at 4 am today to attend the final Misa de Gallo in our village. Feels really good to have completed the 9 consecutive dawn masses, a Novena to Mama Mary, the mother of our Savior. Now, I am most definitely ready for Christmas.

So, before it gets crazy busy in our home I would like to wish all of you, my blog friends, a very Merry Christmas. Thank you also for your comments and suggestions. I enjoy reading them. Knowing that my creations are appreciated by many all over the world really makes me happy. You guys are just awesome!


Here's my last Christmas offering for the year 2010. I made them especially for my friends. I sprayed some shimmer mist in the cardstock to make them more elegant and Christmassy. Too bad the photo didn't capture their twinkle and glimmer. Sigh!


My inspiration for this piece was the gift I received from a friend. She gave me some moist and chewy Food for the Gods that were bundled up in red Japanese paper and gold mesh then tied up with raffia, paper & organza riboons. It was so pretty that I was tempted not to open it. Hahahaha!!!


Well, that's all for now. Enjoy your time with your families and friends. Life is good!

Trivia

As the term implies, a birthday is the the day or anniversary of the particular day on which a person was born according to Wikipedia. So, that would make mine October 15.

Forty-two years ago I was born in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Since my birth coincided with the Feast day of St. Teresa of Avila (1515-82) my parents named me Theresa Janette as it was the customary practice of Roman Catholics at that time to name their children after saints.

Now, why Jaygirl? Hmmm....let's see.

My dad who longed for a boy for his firstborn nicknamed me TJ. However, my sister, born a year after me, had a difficult time pronouncing the T before the J and would instead call out "J! J!" to get my attention. Family members mimicked her. Therefore, the monicker stucked and evolved into 'Jay-Jay'.

Years after when I attended college in U.P. Manila I made friends with a group of people and one of them was named Jay, too. Everytime someone would call out "Jay" both of us would always look up simultaneously. Thus, to prevent further confusion, our friends started calling him 'Jayboy' and me 'Jaygirl'.

I hope you enjoyed that bit of trivia about me. Now here's another one. What is meant by the term Tiffany Blue? Well, it refers to the protected blue color trademark of the world reknowned New York City jewelry store Tiffany and Co. whoose products reek of pure elegance.


As a challenge I used the photo above as my inpiration to make my very own Tiffany favor boxes.


Simple. Clean. Elegant.

Fun Work

Hey there! Yes, I am still here. I haven't gone off to the netherworld. I've just been pre-occuppied with a lot of things for the past days and also trying to recuperate from my weekend bazaar.

As I've mentioned in my last entry, Paperworks along with Jek, my cousin, teamed up with aklat eklat at Santa's Bewitched Christmas Bazaar spearheaded by Zonta Club of Muntinlupa at the Cuenca Covered Courts in Ayala, Alabang last October 2-3.

This was the very first bazaar Paperworks has joined. It sure was a great learning experience and a whole lot of fun albeit very tiring.

Day 1: Our booth was located inside

set-up


other for sale items

with friends who came to support us

Day 2: Our booth was transferred outside by the entrance

with my mom and friends

Jek doing her best to sell our goods to mom

handstamped monogram cards on the spot

Enzo busy with the clay art he bought

That's me showing my support to the booth next to us...lol!

It's Just A Number

Most of my friends have turned or will be turning 40 this year. And if we are to be honest with ourselves, it is an age we dread. It's been said that turning 40 is one of the key psychological milestones in a person's life where we evaluate who we are and where we are going. It is commonly known as 'midlife crisis'.

I recall feeling anxious and sad two years ago just before I hit my two-score mark. The reasons are so petty now, but allowing myself that period of re-assessment gave me a clearer picture of my heart's desires and what is truly important to me. Thus, once I hit the big 4-0, I felt fantastic.

Hey! This doesn't mean I'm gonna go bungee jumping or skydiving anytime soon. However, I am going to pursue the things that put a smile on my face and bring me joy like....

taking long walks with love ones

waking up early before the world gets noisy

discovering the world with great travel mates

being completely mental with my amazing friends

and unleashing my passion for paper crafting!

Have you uncovered what makes you happy?