New Logo

Ever since I came up with the quirky name CACTUSmango, I've been racking the crevices of my right noggin trying to visualize our logo. It had to be one that incorporates our company's long name, that's organic yet clean, modern and fresh. The other night it FINALLY hit me like a slushy to the face. Now without further ado, I'm thrilled to unveil our new logo! Ta-da! Ain't that one juicy logo?! I think so! Let me know what you think here or on our FB wall!

Before I go to sleep

I forgot to share with you the rest of my Mom's Recipe Box, mini printable kit.  It's an exclusive KJoi Newsletter Freebie...but you have to subscribe to the Kjoi Newsletter to snag the coupon codes...{so, subscribe here yo}  OR you can show me some love and purcase them in my shop  ;) wink-wink ;) 

Mom's Recipe Box {Set 1 here}

Mom's Recipe Box {Set 2 here}

Mom's Recipe Box {Set 3 here}

 Mom's Recipe Box {Set 4 here}

 

I posted a recipe on my food blog...over here...{Potluck Potato Salad}  that I'll eventually transfer onto these printed recipe cards and place in a clear recipe box.  I'm thinking about purchasing this one:

But that project won't be for awhile...i have two other projects on the back burner that need to get served hot and tasty.  That's tomorrow's priority.  Oh wait, It's tomorrow already. OK! gotta crash. 

A Lovely Place to Be

Music + Fashion are great sources of inspirations for me in general, when I get ready to design a new scrapbook kit. I love acoustical artists, especially ones with a slightly raspy voice. I recently learned about Melissa Polinar, while perusing vids on YouTube. I am loving her lyrics and her vocal quality.

Melissa Polinar - Lovely Place

With a little one on the way, I've been intensely looking for the perfect diaper bag, among other things. While this may not be meant for diapers, it's definitely one lovely tote. I'm especially loving the color palette.

Artist's Tote - Blue Motif @ Anthropologie

So with a pretty color scheme and joyful lyrics in my mind I made this mini kit: Lovely Place. It's feminine yet still neutral enough for scrapping pages of your every day moments. Lovely Place is not really a location themed kit, it's more of how I'm feeling at this moment. Having been blessed with another chance at motherhood, to carry a miracle inside, having this little one just take her time and grow at her own pace, and having a wonderful man to experience and share this happiness with...to me, it's a lovely place to be, even if I have to spend it bed-ridden! ;)

I hope you are smitten by this mini kit Lovely Place and it's 6 coordinating 12x12 quick pages.

Here's one of the pages I made with Lovely Place. Visit my {gallery} @ kjoi studios to see others and to share your Lovely Place creations.

Also, for kjoi studios newsletter subscribers, I made 5 Lovely Place freebies for August. So, be sure to sign up {here} if you're not already and enjoy!

Get Ready for the K-Joi Blog Carnival! {May 3}

Collect this Carnival Stamp Set and all the Carnival/Circus Freebies

by visiting these blogs for the download links that
GO LIVE on SAT. MAY 3, 2008:
www.triplettdesigns.blogspot.com
www.mommietoadramanic.blogspot.com
www.cactusmango.blogpost.com
www.dragonslairdesigns.blogspot.com
http://buzybeehive.blogspot.com
www.fotosbylisajo.blogspot.com
www.topsi-scrap.de.vu
www.summerraindrops.bravejournal.com
http://mlwcustomdesigns.blogspot.com
http://groovygrannysplace.blogspot.com
http://deesbibbmusings.blogspot.com/

What makes you smile?

Kids make me smile. Especially when they are growing up right before your very eyes. My husband and I have had two miscarriages, thus two baby angels. And my nephews and niece live on the other side of the US, so I rarely see them now. I miss them so much. So we know how precious every moment is. And after our first loss, surprisingly, I wanted to be around my friends, who happen to all have kids. See no matter what, these kids make me smile. They really make me happy to see how much they've grown. What they are learning and starting to EXPRESS. I love being their "Tita" which means auntie in Tagalog. Recently my "neice" in the middle, drew for me a masterpiece. The subject was Sam our cat in a technicolor coat of yellow, green and purple. So, this page is for her. She's really got something special in her.

smile child
by CACTUSmango
Scrapbook.com

This is my page for the March Lyric Challenge at kjoistudios.com, that I started hosting this month :) It's my first time hosting a challenge anywhere. I hope I bring some new flavor to your eyes and ears every month through the challenge.

iTreasure_February Lyric Challenge

Here is my late entry for MuddyPaws February Lyric Challenge at Kjoistudios.com called iTreasure...I used lyrics from:

I don't want to miss a thing - Aerosmith

I used paper, brushes, and elements from my yet to be released kit called LuvNotes that I'm working on - in collaboration with Brooke Rochon.
Not to be confused with, but also ties in with a tad bit with kjoistudios lovely Love Notes collaboration kit. (which i was also too late to contribute to.) It's been a hectic start for the new year for me.

Anyways the Luv Notes kit has a puppy love highschool flavor to it vs. the Love Notes collab kit which is Vintage romantic. But i think they both can intertwine.



gallery http://kjoistudios.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=168


forum http://kjoistudios.com/messages/index.php?topic=2530.0

Urban Tropics

it feels so good to be finished with my last digital contest of the year. i've definitely learned alot of new techinques and learned that i can really work it on PSCS2 after participating in the Stand Up & Scrap and Scrapstreet.com. Now that I have my last entries up for the final round 4 of Scrapstreet.com's Digital Designer Contest, I can get ready for the holidays!

Bizarre Sale!

Kjoistudios is back online and my entire store is 50% off now until the end of November! Plus I've added two hot new BIZARRE sets of brushes + frames, perfect for all ghoulish memories. And don't miss out, snag my free Bizarre paper pack while you're there!

50 % off Sale!!!!

Hello everyone!

It's Thursday and the week is about to roll on outta here! Welcome to a wonderful weekend - to be alive! I never believed in those "my-life-flashed-before-my-eyes" stories. But now I do.

My wake up call happened behind the wheel in 5:00 clock traffic. For those of you who don't know, i got rear-ended. Nearly sandwiched between two SUVs...Thankfully, no one was hurt.

I know thanksgiving is not until next month, nevertheless I encourage you to stop & appreciate the ones you love and the life you have. Scrap about it this weekend and Take time to step outside in the fall crisp air and say out loud...I'm alive!

And on that note - I'm having a 50% off sale on my kits over at kjoistudios.com, including my newest collection: Mabuhay! Go on and say it like this - {ma-BOO-HI!!!!} Its a joyful salutation that means Long Live!

[living a life inspired]mabuhay!

--Marissa Carranza

CACTUSmango Designs

[sweetly spiked digital designs]

my new ad banner

i've made animated gifs before with series of facial expressions and dance movements, but this is my first animated gif for marketing purposes. Although it's short...it's got, i don't know, 40+ frames in it! I took me about 5 hours to get it this way. i wanted the transitions to be smooth instead of the constant blinking effect that a lot of the digital scrapbook banners use. my favorite part is the way the words cactus, mango, and designs come come into view from various sides. If i get more time, i'll try to figure out how to put sound on it. Because i'd like the word "designs" to have a little "ting!" sound to it when it hits the "g" in mango.

[afterwards, i realized i should have asked Ron, my graphics & animations hubby, to help me with it. because animation is his bread & butter. hello! zazo graphics & animation! he's going to show me how to make one on Flash sometime next week. he said on flash this ad banner gif would have taken only about an hour, if that, to accomplish. so that's exciting! I'm always down to learn new techniques & new programs that make my digital life easier! ]