Monday, June 29, 2009

Bump in Progress

Boy, my blog's dusty! I actually designed a quick page and digi scrapped for the first time in months!!! And yes folks, that's my bump in progress...the reason I've been away from the blogosphere & all of digiworld. That little growing package is very delicate...such that, I've had surgery, bed rest, weekly injections and tons of ultrasounds since my last post in March. We're just living it day by day, week by week.


fonts used in [bump] title:  Tahoma and Desryel.

But, the joy of finding out that baby's a lil' girl, has brought me back to the drawing board with a fresh new goody to start the day.  This kit is based on the first ever digital scrapbook kit that I designed, called Desert Botanicals Collection Volume 1. That was a mouthful of a name! LOL!  My 2009 version Desert Botanicals v2, has been reborn into a sweet little 5x7 quick page album set.  Desert Botanicals v2 is inspired by the colors of the southwestern landscape and the surprisingly exotic looking flora that bloom in the desert.  The floral patterns on the paper are based off of the Mexican Bird of Paradise.

Desert Botanicals v2 5x7 Album is available exclusively at K-Joi Studios.

This 5x7 quickpage is a sample of the album set above and will be offered as a freebie on K-Joi Studios Blog sometime this week.  Please check K-Joi Studios Blog to snag this quick page ;)

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Old Spice...

No not the men's cologne. Just showin' off some of my old brushes in a new twitter background. It's a definite improvement from the photo of the pillows on my couch.
CACTUSmango Twitter

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

International Scrapbooking Industry Day

All of scrapbook world is having a party today. Woohoo! Which also means there are prizes to be had. Creatively Obsessed (host of the Book in a Day challenge) announced the prizes from all the sponsors of K-Joi Studios ISID.

I would like to thank the great companies that have chosen to support K-Joi Studios by sponsoring our International Scrapbooking Industry Day events. The generous contributions made by these companies help us to ensure that our guests get every opportunity to take advantage of and make great use of, the wide variety of products available here at K-Joi Studios.

Please join me in showing our appreciation by visiting our sponsor sites listed below.

Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild
To help celebrate ISID the Digital Scrapbook Artisan Guild is excited to be able to share the benefits of membership with one lucky Grand Prize winner. In addition they want to share the inspiration of the Artisan Notebook magazine with three runners up.
http://www.digitalscrapbookartisanguild.com/

Scrapbooks to Share Scrapbooks to Share is giving two lucky winners 10 quality prints on beautiful cardstock paper. A value of $20 for each winner!
http://www.sbtoshare.com/

Scrapping simply
Scrapping simply will be awarding 10 free prints to one winner.
http://www.scrappingsimply.com/

Scrapbook News and Review
Scrapbook News and Review has generously contributed two 6 month subscriptions and 1 annual subscription.
http://scrapbooknewsandreview.com/

Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine
Scrapbook Dimensions Magazine is offering a subscription to their magazine as well
http://scrapbookdimensions.com

Viovio!
Viovio is happy to offer a scrapbook
http://www.viovio.com
What a beautiful bevy! I am heading over to K-joi Studios right now to play along. Come and Join us! here

Friday, February 27, 2009

Mamalo once said...

...that someday I'd "rub elbows" with someone after I finished college. That phrase cracked me up every time. She'd proceed to tell the story of how Ferdinand Marcos used to court her back in Ilocos. She'd smile and crack her sweet little old lady laugh, as she'd push off the floor, to set her rocking chair in a slow and simple rythm. I enjoyed these light hearted moments with her. Back then, I often got more of the well-meaning but, stern lola looks and advice. So, a little love story was warmly welcomed on my part. I don't doubt that Marcos had an eye for my lola, she was a looker. I also don't doubt that Mamalo easily brushed him off - for she was a woman who pursued education with a passion and had little room for elbow rubbing. At the time, what I garnered from her story, was "don't have a boyfriend until after I graduate". It didn't cross my mind until today, that she was right though - that I had indeed met the love of my life after college.

title: since by: marissa carranza aka cactusmango

Songbird Avenue + Paislee Press

de.love.ly digital scrapbook kit by Paislee Press for Songbird Avenue to benefit UNICEF





While she was approaching her 93rd year of life, it still came as a shock to me that Mamalo is no longer with us. Even as news filtered back to me via my mom and cousins on Facebook, that Mamalo was not doing well - even as my dad rushed from Virginia to be by Mamalo's hospital bedside...I still believed that she would pull through. In my mind, she is always strong, ever poised for whatever the day brings. I truely believe she's happily reunited with Papalo now after being apart for 32 years.






Tuesday, brings to the valley a traveling film festival courtesy of the makers of those yummy Luna bars. I mention this because there is a film called Kuna Ni Nanang (My Mother Said) being featured, that I must and will go see. The Color of Paradise is also a movie that I'd recommend to everyone. My husband and I happened to be watching this around the time when the news came about Mamalo. The story's central characters are a Father and his blind son...but, in the movie, I was drawn to the grandmother's character and of course, my thoughts drifted to my Lola Idang and my Mamalo.

10 things by marissa carranza aka cactusmango
CACTUSmango
All paper & elements by me. Page done for the Feb '09 Kjoi Newsletter Challenge.
fonts used in title: the king and queen, tahoma, vladimir script, rosewood std, script MT Bold.

Friday, January 23, 2009

25 Random Things

I got tagged by my boy John Nesbit, aka OldSchoolReviews. I spent entirely way too much time filling this out, but now that I have compiled this list, I might as well share with those select few who actually read my blog. If you read this, consider yourself tagged buddy.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this on Facebook, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. i'm a pretty good MacGyver-style cook. to eat in my kitchen is brave.
2. i've made felted jewelry beads out of my cat Sam's hair. (clean hair, mind you.)
3. my nike+ "Power Song" is "Me Against the Music".
4. i'm a 1x marathoner.
5. Elijah and Angel are my two babies in heaven.
6. i run in a skirt.
7. chocolate is like a vitamin. i have it daily.
8. even though people stare and give me that "girl - you are weird!" look, i often refuse plastic bags and styrofoam left-over containers and prefer to use tin-foil or paper.
9. again, at restaurants, ignoring other's attempts at making fun of me, i take home veggy/grain leftovers to toss into my compost bin in our backyard.
10. i don't miss paper towels at home. instead i use + launder cloth napkins.
11. in college, i was affectionately known by a select few as "Over-da-Bakod Queen". (bakod=fence)
12. one cloudless pitch-black night, outside my on-campus dorm, i witnessed the most fantastical rainbow encircling a full moon...was it a "moondog" or is it a "22' Halo"...whatever you call it, none of the pictures online, depict exactly what I saw in the Philippines.
13. i still believe i saw a giant black butterfly or moth inside the Palaruang La Salle.
14. i miss Mushroom Burger in Tagaytay. mmmm....tenga ng daga....
15. i made the pledge to only give/buy handmade gifts. we'll see how well that goes...
16. there are many "walks" to remember lost children, but someday i'll organize a team/fundraiser full on 5k run for miscarriage awareness and research. I've been running for my angels for years now. I always see the TNT, Team Diabetes, Autism, etc...but nothing for Miscarriage research & support.
17.there's a UK org focused precisely on this issue, called Tommy's. Someday I will run in the London Marathon for Tommy's.
18. i'm running out of random things to say.
19. in isla mujeres, mexico- dogs ride on the hoods of moving vehicles. no seriously, ask ron, he was witness.
20. you wouldn't want to lift weights with me. you'd be too busy cracking up at my straining-facial-expressions.
21. a very long time ago, i won a co-ed billiard tournament at Blue Hawaii in Cavite. i still have my participant t-shirt, somewhere...
22. i miss sparring. i think i still have a pretty solid back-fist. SAI!
23. "fractice make ferfect. and ferfect fractice - makes ferfect ferfect".
24. No one makes donuts like my mom. Her "Blueberry-Cream Cheese-Bear Claws" were the bomb-diggidy.
25. I survived being side-swiped/hit by a car...had minor whip-lash, but thanks to learning how to fall correctly in Kuntaw, I didn't crack my noggin on the concrete. Thanks Kyud Lito.

Ok now that you have entirely way too much random info about me, go forth and smell the roses and dance in swaying fields of wheat ( i was going to say "hemlock fields", but turns out those are poisonous).

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama

President Obama's Inauguration Speech: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28751183/

Rev. Lowery's Inauguration Benediction: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/01/rev_lowery_inauguration_benedi.html

Elizabeth Alexander's Inauguration poem:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/us/politics/20text-poem.html?ref=books

Friday, January 16, 2009

took the plunge

Being well aware of my procrastinating tendancies, this pledge will be a challenge to keep. Yet what motivates me is the many benefits of going "handmade"...it's more sincere, heartfelt, original and often times more budget friendly.  Since, it's the begining of the year, I am going to take this as a head start.  What stumps me, is what to hand-make for my nephews - who love video games and Legos?
I Took The Handmade Pledge! BuyHandmade.org