biting off more than i can chew

during the past year, i've been overwhelmed by the joy of accumulating new things that i actually forgot about what drew me to this hobby in the first place - the joy of creating. i am trying to cut down on the shopping but i also wanted to purposely make time for crafting - to use up my stash but also to be able to breathe and recharge. i think for me, art has become as necessary as food and sleep.i find this quote so apt especially during this season in my life - art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

i dubbed my project a year of creativity and at the end of the year, i wanted to be able to create 366 projects (tags, cards, canvas, etc), 100 layouts and 12 albums. so far, i've made around 14 tags. i've not yet decided what to do with them, probably use them on other projects or with gifts.

i have not been very diligent in posting my progress here in my blog but i have been creating albeit not as regularly as i hoped i would. however, i have been posting updates through my twitter account in case you are interested in following me and my attempt to infuse more creativity in my life.crafting and creating breaks, quiet time and blogging are some of the activities i have to integrate in my daily routine.

anyway, without further ado, here are my tags for the first week. let me know what you think. enjoy the week ahead everyone.

week 1

january 1: a fabulous day, a fabulous year

january 2: because it still feels like christmas

january 3: never too late for a garden, there's always time to learn and be happy

january 4: why hello there mother and child

january 5: the road to toledo

january 6: all my favorite things...flowers, birds and birdcages

january 7: all dressed up

a snapshot

of my craft corner during one of its"better" days. someone said that clutter is a sign that creativity is brewing, or at least there is some sort of activity going on, that things are actually getting done. i suppose i can take comfort in that but the disarray bothers me.

i like looking at a clean workspace, the kind that you see featured in magazines. but that is so far from the truth, at least for me. most of the time, i usually work on just one project, and even then, my area seems like it's been hit by a tornado.

when we moved in almost a year ago, the space was evenly split between me and hubby. today, he remarked how my stuff had taken over most of the space.

hubby was sick this weekend so i didn't get much scrapping done, except for a few cards, one of which i will give to a friend who celebrated his birthday last friday. i also started working on a simple album for a friend who is here for a short vacation. i was supposed to make one before she left but i didn't have time so i'm making one now. i hope i finish it before thursday. i will try to take pictures and share it here. i still have one album i completed that i haven't shared here. 

the weekend is almost over and once again, i feel as if the past two days are not enough for me to get some rest. anyway, i'll try to complete what i can for my friend's album. 

yes, it's another mini

this mini-album was created for the maya road challenge over at two peas. i used the maya road birdhouse chipboard mini and pink paislee's butterfly garden collection. i love this collection and i can't wait to create another project with this. enjoy the rest of the week. 

there's a storm coming

...and i have layouts pouring in. the first two layouts were completed in the span of a day and the last two, i was just too lazy to take pictures of. i also have an album i will be posting pictures of. stay tuned. 

can you say yummy?

prima's april product picks are so yummy...the colors are right up my alley. ooh i hope i win. :)

how pretty makes it easy

this year's valentine's day celebration was pretty low key. i got off work pretty late and when i got in the car, hubby handed me a couple of cupcakes. then we had dinner in a quaint and cozy restaurant near our house. after coffee and dessert, we were both pretty tired so we headed home. now on to my scrapbook share.

this is a layout i created from iris' restoration album and layout class. i was in singapore during the day of the class so i was only able to work on it afterwards. i finished most of the layout a couple of weeks ago but i wasn't able to complete the bird yet. i have to tell you, it was very frustrating working on the structuring medium. i am still working on the mini-album. i hope i can share that soon.

this next layout was so easy to put together because the pink paislee papers are so pretty. and don't get me started on the colors - pink, blue and yellow. this one is for the scrappiest sketch 107.

as if to prove my theory that pretty papers and embellishments can jumpstart the creative process, i was able to finish this layout in a couple of hours for prima's february bap.

i think i'm gonna test more of my theory and get started on working with more pretty papers. it's friday tomorrow. i hope i can get more layouts done or even an album. 

a quick share

this is my entry for the january 27 sketchy thursdays challenge. the title took the longest to complete - it took me almost 2 days between choosing what colors and stickers to use to the title. i hope i finish another layout tonight.