Taking the IDOL Journey Part 2

I have been preparing a list for the past two weeks on what to bring to the Scrapfest. I've started packing since Monday, by Friday afternoon i've realized i've packed almost a third of my scrap supplies! My dear scrapping buddies knows this, when I say HEEE-HAWWW!!!

I never felt any tension until Friday evening, we had no idea what the kits contained only the possible themes. I had arrived early at the Scrapfest . . . for LUNCH! LOL which was held at Max's in Scout Tuazon. I though I was in the twilight zone when I saw empty seats only to realize everyone was huddled among the suppliers on once side of the room! whew!

All the Idol finalists were situated comfortably at one end of the function room, we were given plenty of space 4 to a table to be exact. I was seated with Nita, which made me really happy to have a famliar face there! And Dra. Rita and Darlene whom I just met. Luckily for Nita and I, we were seated with medical professionals so I assume we had dibs in case we had an anxiety attack!

I don't recall chewing my fried chicken more so swallowing it! Lunch went by like a blur, good thing I had 11 other ladies who were feeling as antsy as I were. Pia finally got as settled down for the last hour prior to the challenge. Ria passed around the kits, and lo and behold! Among the papers and embellys we were given ACRYLIC sheets!!! Yes, AU oblivious ka talaga! hehe

Within that hour everyone planned their layouts but no one was allowed to cut paper, etc. just plan and buy what we needed. I sat for a long while, racking my brain and telling myself not to panic! I think I found myself for a moment with empty tables beside me, my butt was glued to my seat! It was only the last 15 minutes when I got up to buy a sticker and clear alphas.

Finally, Pia announced the start of the crop! To tell you the truth, i SORT of had an idea what I wanted to do but when I plan a layout I always change it along the way . . . and sometimes drastically! I'm glad the girls suggested we bring our iPods, so i whipped mine out with Chill Out music blaring. And I do mean blaring so I could drown out every sound I could hear. I started out with a pretty decent and CLEAN area, when we were down to the last 10 minutes everything just went chaotic.

Then I told myself that's it! I did my best, i'm done! When I looked up Nita was the first to submit her LO! You go girl! Nita has always been saying how she was a slow scrapper, to see her great work as the first to go up the stage was a real feat :-) After Nita I just had to let go of my acrylic sheet, anymore longer and that thing would melt in my hands! A few more moments everyone was going up the stage displaying all their works on the center stage. The last person I saw still busily fiddling with her LO was Cabbie.

We were given our snacks and was finally able to shop in our right minds! I think Mia and I could have just fainted after that stress! But nothing a little shopping wouldn't cure :-) Art and Josh dropped by to pick me up and they gamely stayed until the end, even if the little boy was so hungry he drank 3 glasses of iced tea! It really meant alot to me that they were there, it helped calm my nerves too. While we were on stage, I could see Josh jumping up and down with both thumbs up!!!

The ScrappinMoms started off by announcing the winners of the challenges of the day and ended with the finale, the SM Idol! We were all asked to pile up the stage and stand behind our LO's. They called the Pick of the Weeks first, which I am fortunate enough to be a part of being picked by no less than the master herself, Iris! And so, it was THE moment. Pia JUST had to do everyting a la American Idol style which made my butterflies go nuts!!!

6 names were called in front . . . I was beside Nita and I could not breathe because we were not called! Apparently, we were the last 6 who were safe!!! ARRRRGGGH!!! Next, three names were called . . . god I could have peed!!! Au, Cabbie and I were STILL not called!!! And OMG! We were the final threeee! That's it, I think I could have called it a night. But noooo, they had to hold us in suspense! Double ARRGGGHHHH!!!

Flor, ooopsee, Liza pala hehe made a speech for our dear Scrapping Queen Bee, Joanne. . . which left us in tears, especially for those who knew Joanne as a great, great person.

Ms. Congeniality herself was teary eyed, she's moving to Australia real soon and she will be sorely missed. I don't think I could have gotten this far without her encouragement and I could not have taken the step towards putting up Studio Azul along with Mia, without her advice. Thanks to scrapping, I have met some wonderful women and men (that's you Papa Jeff!) and as I included in my intro . . . who shares my passion, who knows that Basic Grey ISN'T a color and that there's more to glue than ELMER's.

Finally, Liza turned over the floor back to Pia and called the three of us up front. Crazy Pia had to ask each of us if we had what it takes to be an SM Idol!! All I could say was "SANA?!" Ngyek!
Just to be there, with two great friends and scrappers was enough for me.

Afterwhich Pia announced that the name she will be calling out is the SM Idol and the two left behind were the runners-up. To tell you the truth, I was thinking to myself "cabbie? au? cabbie? au?" these two are far better scrappers and artists that I am. They are not afraid to experiment, i'm just a newbie beside these two! When I heard CABBIE's name called I was crazy-happy!!!

Cabbie is the quiet type and they were teasing her to show some emotion!!! But that's how she is, she shows her enigmatic self through her craft and that is enough to WOW anyone. Au and Cabbie are one of the underrated scrappers that go outside the scrapping box, and it has been an honor to have been beside them.

The Idol Journey is not for the faint hearted, but I don't think I speak for myself when I say this, I don't think I would last this far either. I can't wait for next years batch of new Idols, and dear reader, I hope you join if you haven't already. Despite our occassional WTF?! and confusion what layout to do next, if I were to turn back the clock I would join again in a heartbeat!

Earlier in my blog I mentioned I just wanted to see how far I was going to last, and this is my icing on my cake. During lunch Darlene mentioned there comes a time when we just have to discover how far we can go, to push ourselves whether artistically, physically, etc. I joined Idol not to win, I just want to push myself to be better at my craft. I'm glad I took this journey, because along the way I grew as a scrapper and most importantly, forged friendships to last a lifetime.

That evening, as I tucked Josh in bed we were both still. I thought he was already asleep, when all of a sudden he turns around to me and whispers, "Mommy, I have a gift to tell you." "What?" I gamely say, "Congratulations, Mommy." and he leaves me with a kiss before going back to sleep. This couldn't have been a more perfect day.



Journaling:
Saturday, October 6, 2007
I'm ecstatic to say I have been a part of the most memorable scrapping experience ever! Since day ONE everyone did their best and our layouts have truly become our trophies. From 39 wonderful scrappers down to the finaly 12, after 2 months of elimination rounds it all boiled down to the last 3 hours! I believe it took the best of our experiences as scrappers and as artists in our own right.

Our very own Cabbie won, the very first IDOL!!! And that made me doubly proud to be in the company of such inspiring women. Kudos goes to the Scrappinmoms and the Scrapping Queen Bee herself, Joanne, for coming up with such an ingenious challenge. I think it will be quite a while before I koin a challenge series, but at least I can say, BEEN THERE, DONT THAT! ... and damn, i'm proud!

Digital Software: Adobe Photoshop CS2

Digital Layout Elements: Rhonna Farrer -- Spring Frippery Journaling Spot, Ribbon and Paper / Tia Bennet --haPEA birthday tag / Amy Teets Pier 49, Photo stamp and ribbon & SunPorch felt flower/ Anita Stergiou - Straw Kiss Elements / Shabby Princess Organic stitching, vintage florals, dot ribbon & Marshmallows