Hobbyista

Cheap Finds and New Faves

2016-06-19T16:50:00.002+08:00

Just want to share some of my cheap finds and new favorites.

I went to Daiso to look for their cheap-o fountain pen but it was not in stock (they had lots of refills, however, if you're interested) and instead found these decoration tapes.

The decoration tape is like a correction tape but with print, I'm not sure though if the function is the same or if it's purely decorative. Really up to you, I guess. I bought these to jazz up my letters and post cards. It's PhP 88 a piece but they have a back-to-school promo which is Php 188 for three. Other designs are also available.

Next cheap find which became an instant favorite is this nail polish top coat with a matte finish. It's from the local brand Bobbie and it's only Php 30 a bottle. Amazing, right? I know it has probably been around for some years now but it's my first time to see this. I don't go to malls unless I really have to buy something and when it comes to nail polish, I don't explore much except for the brands that I use. It's easy to apply and dries quickly... really not bad for 30 bucks, plus, it's matte! :D

I'm no coffee expert but I'm loving these...

I keep a couple of these in my office drawer... the Nescafé Berry Mocha when I'm craving for something sweet and the Nescafé Blend & Brew in the Espresso Roast variant when I'm craving for something strong.

Lastly, got these materials from Divisoria for some projects.

I've already forgotten how much I got the natural thread but I'm sure I got it for less than Php 50. The fabric was Php 70 per yard, I didn't attempt to haggle anymore because it was so hot that day, I was already sweating like a pig. Haha. Anyway, will post here when I'm done with the projects using these.

Surprise mail from China

2016-04-27T15:58:00.000+08:00

Welcome back me! It's been a while since my last post, huh? Got tied up with work and it took me some time to adjust since I'd been working freelance for years before going back to an 8-hour job. In fact, I'm still adjusting until now but also trying to manage my time effectively so I can still do the things I love despite being busy with work.

One that I have started doing again is writing and swapping letters and postcards. Just sent a batch of postcards a couple of weeks ago and received a couple, too. It really makes me happy when I go home and see a not-so-empty mailbox.

These were in my mailbox yesterday:

Both are from Lirong Huang of China. In the envelope is a little note, some ephemera, a bank note and a coin, and a pop-up card. I loved everything, especially the pop-up card... it's so pretty, I just had to share it here...

It makes me want to attempt creating something similar but it's not yet time. Haha. By the way,
I don't know if the symbol means anything, if it does, can you tell me on the comment section, please?

Hoping for more happy mail days!

Tao Kae Noi

2015-02-17T20:02:00.000+08:00

I am on the lookout for this particular nori... it's a Japanese brand (but I don't know the name), It's snack sized, and it has a wasabi flavor. I still haven't found it since the first time I've tasted it, which was about two years ago (sad, I know), and nothing else comes close.

Anyway, I tried this particular brand from Thailand, Tao Kae Noi, and it tastes good, too. Yes, they have a wasabi flavor, too, which was the one I tried. Aside from the original and wasabi, the other flavors are hot & spicy, tom yum goong, tomato sauce, seafood, pizza. I'm intrigued with the tom yum goong and tomato sauce flavors... gotta try them next.

Nori is a favorite at home, not only of the adults but also the kids. Open one pack and it'll be gone in less than a minute. Haha!

And this is how I eat it...

One Little Word: DOWNSIZE

2015-01-02T03:16:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year!!!

Just wanted to share that I'm doing the One Little Word project this year... I won't be joining Ali Edward's class but I'll be doing it on my own, instead. For those of you who is not familiar with the project, You can read all about it here.

So, here's my One Little Word for 2015...

DOWNSIZE is the word I'll be focusing on this year. The word chose me and I even tried to confirm it.

This year, I'll be focusing on downsizing by removing excess or unnecessary baggages in all aspects of my life. I feel physically, emotionally and mentally drained. My heart is heavy and so is my body, obviously. My mind is cluttered and so is the space around me.

Here are things I'll be working on this year (what I have thought of so far):

Health: Will try my best to shed off some pounds for the obvious reason and also for the sake of my slipped disks.
People: Will try to let goof people who give me heartaches and try not to push myself to those who obviously don't want me in their lives.
Organization: Like what I've mentioned, both my mind and the space around me are cluttered. I'll try to organize my mind by removing unnecessary thoughts and feelings. Also, to help me focus and somehow clear my chaotic mind, I will be doing lots of decluttering and organizing, getting rid of things that I don't really need.
Financial: I'm aiming to be debt free before the year ends and to have saved a little.

I'll be updating this post when I think of new ones to add. At the end of each month, I'll reflect how the word has touched me and will try to post it here. I will also think of a project that I can do to go with this.

How about you, what's your One Little Word?

PHOTOS: 2PM What Time Is It Live Tour Manila

2014-12-27T18:35:00.002+08:00

I watched the Manila leg of 2PM's What Time Is It Live Tour last year and I just want to share my experience and the photos with photos. I already posted the photos in my old blog but I already deleted it, so, I'm posting them again here.

I wasn't really familiar with 2PM's songs back then (I am now) and I was only watching because I really like Taecyeon, Nichkhun and Wooyoung. That;s how I decided to just get the cheapest ticket (Gen. Ad P1000). I bought the tickets (my friends and mine's) without knowing that it was the last day to be qualified for the Meet and Greet with 2PM. Boy, was I ecstatic when I received a text message and an email saying that my name had been drawn to join the event. We got a chance to see the boys up-close before the concert and we were given a photo op, too. (Thanks to Hoopla Inc. for the photo)

There was one more surprise... our tickets were upgraded to VIP 1 & 2! Imagine my ticket from P1000 to P11500... wow! Good thing I already bought a new camera and I was able to take decent pictures. The only downside was that I was alone at the VIP area with no one to talk to. But who cares when you have 6 gorgeous men right in front of you, right? Haha! Anyway, my friends were able to transfer from gen ad to upper box, so, I'm happy for them, too.

So, these were my friends at the upper box section...

Here's me alone at the VIP section... one of my very few selfies. Haha!

Here's us, reunited after the show...

Now, on to the pictures. If you chanced upon my old post, you'll be glad to know that I added a lot more photos to the set... almost doubled, so, enjoy! (All I ask is that you give credit when re-posting the photos and link back to this post. Also, please do not edit the photos and DO NOT remove the watermark. Thanks!) I added the blurred and grainy ones but are still decent, and a lot more. I'm posting a few here but you can find the whole set in my Facebook page.

I will be posting photos from other events, too... do wait for it. :)

MTO: Handmade Notebooks

2014-12-24T00:24:00.000+08:00

I finally was able to try long-stitch binding or buttonhole binding and, lucky me, I got me a commission work, too, because somebody ordered a few pieces. Yay! I'm liking this process better than coptic binding but I also still need to work on it, of course. I was glad for the order because it made me practice and learn about long-stich binding.

What I like about long-stitch binding is the book lays flat when opened, just like in coptic binding, but the stitching part is less complicated and easier than that of coptic binding. But... preparing the cover is a longer process since the spine is included.

Below are photos of the notebooks together and some detailed shots. (Me thinks the picture of the all the notebooks is pretty...) Click the photos to see a larger view.

P.S. The watermark on the photos is that of my FB store... I just redid it using my own calligraphy. :)

10 Days of Heartaches

2014-12-03T00:13:00.000+08:00

I joined DyosaImma and Fozzy's 10 Days of Heartaches calligraphy challenge on Instagram and I just want to share my works here, too.

I had a hard time with the very first one because it was a while since I last did calligraphy. One thing I learned from this challenge is that practice really does make perfect. Well, in my case, it's not perfect but I can see the improvements. So, I've decided to practice calligraphy frequently if not everyday. I should at least do the drills, right? Also, I've learned that calligraphy need not be expensive. See, mI don't want to buy expensive inks or paints unless I'm doing this professionally. I just buy Indian ink for black and watercolor and poster paint for colors, including metallic ones like gold and silver, and white.

Here are my works with their corresponding song titles and links to YT videos (so you can listen to them). Click photos to view full size.

Day 1: Because I Miss You by Jung Yong Hwa of CNBLUE

Day 2: Eyes, Nose, Lips cover by Tablo X Taeyang

Day 3: Porcelain by Julia Fordham

Day 4: Tonight I Can Write, a poem by Pablo Neruda read by Andy Garcia

Day 5: Everything You Want by Vertical Horizon

Day 6: Sa Kanya by Agot Isidro

Day 7: Illusion by CNBLUE

Day 8: Tell Me on a Sunday by Marti Webb

Day 9: Foolish Games by Jewel

Day 10: Only One Day by SS501

I hope you'll take the time to check out the songs... they're all really nice, even the non-English ones (Filipino, Korean and Japanese). You can also check out my work on Instagram (link in the sidebar) or search for the hashtag #10DaysofHeartaches to see all the participants' works.

Filed Doodle Planner 2015

2014-12-02T04:06:00.000+08:00

I'm planning to work on my doodles, so, I decided to get me a Filed Doodle Planner for 2015 for inspiration. Got it about two weeks ago and would like to share with you some pictures of it and what I think about it.

Some pictures... here's the front of the planner, the free pen slinger (a backpack inspired pen holder with 6 slots - available in several colors), and the customizable magnetic bookmark (the little white guy).

Here's the back cover with the pen slinger attached. The facial expressions stickers you can use to decorate the front cover for fun.

Here's the pen slinger filled with pens. Cool huh?

I really like the pen slinger except for one thing... when strapped, the straps kinda blocks the pocket like what you can see in the photo.

Another thing I don't like about it is that the pages sometimes tear when you turn them. This one can't be prevented since it's wire-bound.

One more thing that I really don't like about it is that the daily calendar for each month starts on the first Monday and not on the first day of each month. Do you get it? The first day of the month (if it doesn't fall on a Monday) you can find on the previous month, before the doodled monthly divider page. Got it? Sorry but I'm really bad at explaining things.

Now, I'm not a fountain collector but maybe this will be helpful if you want to know if it's fountain pen friendly. I wrote on it with a calligraphy pen using two different inks. "Hello" was written in Indian ink and "annyeong" was written in Parker Quink ink.

Now, the fun part that I really love about... you can personalize it! There's this little bubble on the cover where you can put your name on. I used Sharpie pens on mine...

For the Love of...

2014-11-18T14:15:00.000+08:00

A couple of friends asked me to do some calligraphy for this windsurfing camp in Anilao that we frequent. I hesitated at first because I don't think that my calligraphy is good enough. But they talked me into it and now, I'm very excited to do the project... calligraphy and some paint decorating. Yay!

I Googled for some ideas and here's what I came up with first...

I had a hard time with the waves (took me several tries before I settled with this one), I don't know how to draw waves. Haha! Also, I thought this was not really appropriate for the camp. It's a windsurfing camp and the peeps there catch wind instead of waves (fine... they do sometimes haha). So, I looked for a more appropriate quote and found this one by Isak Dinesen...

I like this one better. What do you think? Now, the question is, will I be able to replicate this on a much much larger scale? I already bought some poster-sized papers for practice.

I really wish this project will push through and that I'll be able to do it. For the love of Anilao! Wish me luck!

Bookbinding + Old Magazines

2014-11-16T02:25:00.003+08:00

I just finished another handmade book, this time using coptic binding. I started working on this one when my computer was at the repair shop. I stopped working on it for sometime when I got my computer back and then I also had to leave for volunteer work. But now, I'm finally done with it and I like how it turned out. Of course, my bookbinding skills still need a lot of improvements but I promise to work on it.

Also, I've found another way to put old magazines to good use (aside from using them on my niece and nephew's school projects)... book covers! I also use some magazine pages to jazz up the spine a little. Here's a peek:

I sprayed the covers a couple layers of clear paint to make it sturdier. But I still have to work on the covers. It feels kinda loose. I'm not sure if it's just me or if it's supposed to be like that.

I'll work on another bookbinding project soon and I'll try another bookbinding method. I'm also working on another handmade project. I'm already 50% done, still have to buy the other materials to be able to finish it, though. What it is... will post about it soon. ^^

DIY Chalkboard Labels

2014-10-28T02:11:00.000+08:00

I made a new discovery at the National Bookstore Warehouse House earlier this year... self-adhesive blackboard! Sorry if I've been living under the rock but I didn't know such thing existed. Haha! Well, it's not really blackboard but it's a black sheet with a rough plastic-y surface. Here's a closer look at the sticker...

I bought it for only P25 for a pack of 6 8.25x11.75 sheets. (Original price was P55.) Also, it might interest you that they also have self-adhesive whiteboard.

First thing I did with the sticker was to make chalkboard labels. I thought of using chalk pencil but realized that it smears and gets erased over time, so, I used a white colored pencil instead. Here's what I came up with...

What do you think? Close enough to the real thing, right? Next time I'll try using pastel pencil for more vibrance and I'll play with other colors, too.

In case you're wondering, those are dvds of raw files of some of my favorite series and videos of my favorite groups. :P

The List Project: Ice Cream and Toys

2014-10-04T06:41:00.001+08:00

Here are my lists for day 2 and day 3.

Day 2: Ice Cream Flavors That I Love. I love ice cream! I've tried a lot of flavors and loved almost all of them. But my favorite flavors are the uncomplicated ones on my list. Click the images to view full size.

The word sarang is a Korean word which means love and the title was inspired by the Korean song Lovin' Ice Cream. Go search it in YouTube, it's a really cute song with very nice lyrics, too.

Day 3: Favorite Toys When I Was A Kid. Instead of a word list, I made a short list with images. Short because there were still a lot more but I just included some of the toys. The most fun part the Barbie dolls... they really brought back a lot of memories. The ones I included were the ones I remember playing with. Some were originally mine and some were hand-me downs from my sister and cousin.

How about you? What flavors of ice cream do you love and what are your favorite toys?

The List Project: Names People Call Me

2014-10-03T00:41:00.000+08:00

I joined this prompt called The List Project... it's supposed to be a daily prompt for the whole month of October but I obviously couldn't follow the schedule. Haha. It's already the third of the month and I'm only on the first prompt.

I've decided to make this an All About Me project. I will scrap a page for each prompt then compile them in an album later on. I'm really excited about this because it's been a while since I last scrapped. It's about time I make use of the kits I've been hoarding. (Yes, present tense... meaning I'm still doing the hoarding even though I'm not scrapping anymore. Haha!) And I promise to finish this project even if it takes me until the end of the year to do so. (Hopefully not that long. :P)

This new pocket scrapping trend gave me an idea. I've seen people do scrap pages in the 3x4 size. Instead of that, I'm doing it in the standard 4x6 photo size. This way, it'll be easier for me to compile them into an album because it's a standard photo print size. Here's my first list: Names People Call Me

and a second page... (*The Ting Tings' That's Not My Name playing in my head)

I'm thinking of documenting this whole name thing whenever I go to coffee shops, just for the fun of it. Haha! Here's the list, by the way...

If you want to do the prompts, you can join the Facebook group here. The idea is to make your list and share a photo of it on the FB group or Instagram (with the hashtag ‪#‎thelistproject2014). Me, I'll blog about it and share it on my Facebook page.

7k

2014-08-21T21:49:00.001+08:00

7k... that's how much typhoon Glenda has cost me, so far (and hoping that that is it) and I'm still computer-less. Sigh. Glenda and PCWorx, actually... the store where I bought my computer from.

What happened to my computer was it became grounded due to the fluctuating electricity caused by Glenda. Now why do I blame PCWorx, too? The electrician who is now fixing my computer told me that the power supply installed was just a generic one and it wasn't enough based on the specs of my computer. So, because of the power supply and the fluctuating electricity, the motherboard and video card were busted.

I had the impression that these computer shops know what they're doing when you ask them to set-up a computer for you. Sigh. Compare this... my computer is just turning two on October while my previous one lasted for about 10 years without me encountering any serious problems like this. It is, in fact, still intact and working until now. I just bought a new one to keep up to date.

Anyway, I can already pick up my computer from the repair shop tomorrow. I'll just need to check and re-install some software as needed. Then I'm back to blogging, yay!

Paper Toys: The Walkind Dead's Rick, Daryl & Michonne

2014-07-28T23:23:00.000+08:00

I was preoccupied making paper toys before typhoon Glenda hit the Philippines and, yes, as the title says, I did The Walking Dead's Rick's, Daryl's and Michonne's. Thanks to Enrique for sharing his templates! (Although, I'd love it if he also shared his other TWD templates especially the zombies. :))

I was also able to take photos of the paper toys, complete with backdrop and all, before the series of rotating brownouts. Don't I have much free time on my hands, huh? Haha!

First, here are photos of the paper toys and the backdrop with my ever reliable P250 desk lamp.

Now, here's the staged photo of the toys with the backdrop and a little help from Photoshop...

I'm actually thinking of tackling Adobe Illustrator to learn how to make my own paper toys (and clip arts, too) but I'm still finding time to do it. I'm too lazy for it right now. Haha! But I can't wait for The Walking Dead Season 5! Haha!

My next paper toy project: The Simpsons. ^^

MTO: Superhero Invites

2014-07-26T05:18:00.000+08:00

Just want to show you how the superhero invites I was working on looks like when finished. It took me several tries before I made one that works. Yeah, I know, I'm a paper killer. ㅠㅠ Anyway, I love, love, love how it turned out and I'm very glad that my client loves them, too.

Here are some photos of the invites shown in different angles, plus, the matching names and seals for the envelopes, and favor tags!

It's my first time doing such kind of invitation and I really had fun working on these... I kinda wish there were more to do. I felt sad when I finished. Haha.

If you want me to make something like this for your or your child's event, drop me a message here or shoot me an email asmachica at yahoo dot com. You can also message me on my Facebook page (link at the sidebar) or my FB Shop www.fb.com/StudioPixelDust.

WIP: Superheroes Invites

2014-07-01T01:35:00.000+08:00

Wondering what I'm busy with? This...

I'm making invites for a Supergirl who'll be celebrating her 7th birthday sometime this month. The one on the photo is just a prototype. My client saw a similar invite somewhere and asked me if I can recreate it. So far, so good.

I'm done cutting the building silhouettes and I am now working on the superheroes. I'm telling you, my papercutting skill is being tested here. As if I really have that skill. Haha! Anyway, here's a peek at the buildings when illuminated

How I wish I can also do this with the actual invites. Oh well. I hope I can finish everything this week. Will post when I'm done. ^^

Gifties

2014-06-29T18:28:00.000+08:00

I feel so blessed as I received a few gifts these past couple of weeks. Not only that, I also heard a very good news but I'm not gonna share it yet as I don't want to get too excited about it and jinx it. I'll just share it when it's already happening. ^^

On with the gifts... I got this really pretty and sparkly anklet from a very good friend who's based in Kuwait.

I LOVE it! It reminded me how much I love anklets and should get back to wearing them. Thank you so much, Amor! Like what I keep on telling you, you're spoiling us too much. *insert green heart here*

Next, I participated in two Redditgifts exchanges, Everyday Carry and J.R.R. Tolkien, and the package from my Everyday Carry secret santa already arrived. Yay! Here are what's in the package

along with this note...

I love everything she sent me but my secret santa did not reveal herself (I'm assuming she's a girl based on the heart on the envelope, the handwriting and the xx on the note). It's like she knows me personally... see, there's this little notebook, pens from Japan (I love anything from Japan!), touchscreen pen, and a GREEN emergency pouch with a mini screwdriver keychain and a small sewing kit inside... perfect for my travels! Thank you so much secret santa! xx

Last but definitely not the least is this package from Sarah Schwartz of The Paper Chronicles.

Here's her sweet note...

She sent me this stationery set in exchange for participating in her letter writing campaign. The lovely set is called The Polaroid Love Notes and is sponsored by Adam Schwartz of Chronicle Books. (No, they're not related. Haha) Thank you so much Sarah and Adam! I really love this set! It really suits me because I love analog photography (and photography in general). The photos are all beautiful and I really like their vintage feel. I'm seriously thinking about using them (I'd rather keeo them. Haha!). I promise to put them to good use.

Brush Calligraphy 101

2014-06-24T16:28:00.000+08:00

Here's another super delayed post.

I attended another workshop on the 31st of May, this time it's Brush Calligraphy 101 at the Commune and again by Trade School Manila. The teacher is Paola Esteron of Crafty Kitty. Below is the description of the class

I attempted doing brush calligraphy on my own but it made me feel frustrated. Thanks to Paola, I'm really loving it now. Even though I already know basic calligraphy, I still learned a lot from Paola's workshop like how to hold the brush properly, hand exercises and drills to help loosen up those hand muscles. Paola was a hands-on to teacher and she made sure we were picking up what she's teaching. It also helped that the class was small because she was able to check on each one of us and how we're doing.

Paola made us do some practice drills so we can get used to how to handle the brush. Then we practiced how to paint the letters. We were supposed to practice painting or writing a quote but since we didn't have much time left, we just painted the word ALOHA and had our class picture taken with our works.

Below are photos from the workshop, photos taken by Makee Wilwayco and grabbed from Trade School Manila's Facebook page.

Here are my practice sheets and my "Aloha" and the last photo is our class picture.

Trade School Manila's sites:
http://www.tradeschool.coop/manila/
https://www.facebook.com/TradeSchoolManila

Paola Esteron's sites:
http://instagram.com/paola_koala
http://themightypaocat.carbonmade.com

Old School Friendship Bracelet

2014-06-20T02:28:00.001+08:00

My niece saw me making an old school friendship bracelet one day (the one with different colors of threads and a LOT of knotting), she got curious and asked me to teach her. I did and now she's hooked. Imagine this, she promised about 18 of her classmates she'd make them one each this summer. I don't know where she gets her energy, really. My fault, I know. Haha! Now, a trip to Divisoria won't be complete without me buying her threads.Anyway, she asked me to help make her classmates' bracelets and now I'm hooked again, too. Haha!

Here's one that I just finished, take a look.

What do you think? It's a little hard to do because of the not so flexible thick natural thread. (I don't even know what it's called. Haha!) Despite the difficulties, I lurve how it turned out! But I did make a booboo... well, not exactly a booboo but a room for improvement.

Did you notice it? One end has a knot and the other one doesn't? I'd like both ends to be knot-free but I don't know to do the other one, yet. Haha! So, what do you think?

SS501 Week

2014-06-08T13:30:00.000+08:00

This week is also SS501 week. Why? First is because it's Kim Hyun Joong's 28tth (29th - Korean age) birthday last Friday, June 6. As a gift (although I won't be giving it to him :P), I made use of what I learned at a workshop a few weeks ago and painted him a watercolor version of U:ZOOSIN, his official character. ^^

He's a charming little alien, isn't he?

Next reason why it's a SS501 kind of week is because my boys (SS501) are celebrating their 9th anniversary today! Yay! Well, they're not together as a group right now but soon. ^^ To show them how much I love them... this...

This was when I was in Lobo a few weeks ago. (Look at those angry veins on my feet. Haha!) I did this and a couple more. (I'll post those with some of my other Lobo photos in the next few days.)

I celebrated by watching SS501 videos and listening to their songs all day. That includes their mushy videos which made me cry again, of course. I miss my boys terribly!!! ㅠㅠ

Happy Mail Week

2014-06-03T14:46:00.000+08:00

Last week was a happy mail week for me. Not only did I receive a very nice package but my letter for a letter-writing campaign and my hand-bound books for an online craft swap already arrived their destinations. Wee!

First of all is the letter-writing campaign. I was following a blog about a calligraphy tutorial and I saw this post about a letter-writing campaign. I am into mail swaps, I am trying to learn calligraphy, and I love anything paper, so, I joined.

I used one of the stationery I received from the craft soirée that I joined last year. I didn't take a picture of my letter anymore because my handwriting that time was crappy. Haha! Instead, here's a picture of the stationery that I used which was made by my groupmate or swapmate, Mab.

Pretty, isn't it? And very creative, too! Here's her Instagram post... you an see my messy handwriting here. Haha!

My letter finally reached Sarah of The Paper Chronicles and you can read all about it here. Thanks again, Sarah, for the letter-writing campaign! I really love the idea and I wish there are more like this.

Next is my hand-bound books for the Online Craft Swap 2014, PH version. I mailed the notebooks on Friday and it arrived the next day. Louie posted about them on Instagram and I'm really glad she liked them. You can see photos of the notebooks on my previous post.

Last but definitely not the least is my package from my swap buddy from the same online craft swap. I received it on Friday but haven't got the time to post about it, yet. It's from from someone named Melza and I do hope I get to meet her personally one day.

I love everything that she sent me! Here they are...

The felt craft is so pretty! Like what I said on my IG post, I now have the sea, the moon, and the stars in my room with a bonus cityscape, too! The art knife and mat I already have but I still love them because one can never have too many craft supplies. Agree? Haha! I'm going to put these in my everyday carry. ;) The rubber stamps... I am actually pondering over buying one set like this. Now, I don't have to because I already have one. Yay! Thank you so much Melza! ETA: Just heard from Melza and she said that the felt craft was inspired by the Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong and the craft materials were bought in Shanghai. Thanks again! :D

Hand-bound Books for My Swap Buddy

2014-05-29T23:29:00.001+08:00

I joined an Online Craft Swap her in the Philippines and what we're going to swap are handmade items or craft materials. I think there are at least 10 participants in the swap, 2 of them I personally. Deadline of sending the goodies is tomorrow and I can't wait to find out who got my name and what I'll be receiving.

Right now, I just want to show you what I'll be sending my swap buddy. She mentioned that she likes little notebooks, so, notebooks it is. :D We were asked to post a sneak peek of what we're working on on Instagram a few days ago, so, my buddy already has an idea of what she'll be receiving. She's the swap organizer and she knows I'll be the one sending her some goodies. That's one less mystery for her. Haha. Anyway, here's the sneak peek that I posted:

I made her two personalized hand-bound notebooks, one with a basic Japanese stab binding and the other one with hardcover or case binding. I personalized them by putting her name on the covers. (Yay 'cause I was finally able to use my metal stamps for the first time! Haha!) Here are some photos of the notebooks...

The last photo is with my handwritten letter together with the books. I'm currently trying the Spencerian script and thought this is a great opportunity to practice it. :)

These notebooks are off to the owner tomorrow. I hope she'll like them!

Watercolor Workshop for Beginners

2014-05-24T22:59:00.000+08:00

I am so glad to have learned about Trade School Manila (TSM) from a friend's post on Facebook. For those of you who are not yet familiar with TSM, is a group of people who shares their skills and knowledge in exchange for stuff other than money... it runs on barter. It is modeled after the blueprint of Trade School in New York and you can read more about it here.

On my first visit to Trade School Manila's website, I signed up for two workshops and one of them is Des Feliciano's Watercolor Workshop for Beginners at Commune in Makati. My barter item: this blog post and I hope I do justice with it. :)

Here are the details of the workshop with a little introduction about the teacher (screenshot mtaken from TSM's website):

Actually, I already took a basic watercolor class but that was ages ago. I have already forgotten what I learned and I never really did get to practice it... I am literally back to zero. When I saw the workshop being offered, I thought I'd give watercolor painting another shot.

Now, about the workshop, it was fun and I did learn some new things. I love Des! Her works are beautiful and I love her personality. She's bubbly and I love that she went around during the workshop to talk to all of us... not just to check how we're doing but she also made an effort to get to know her students. She gave us a little background about herself, her achievements and her works. She taught us about the materials that we're going to use, which kind of paper and watercolor brand. The most important parts in the workshop were when she taught us about the different types of brushes and the different watercolor painting techniques. Some of the techniques I'm already familiar with but I honestly didn't know about the brushes. I know there are different kinds of brushes but I only used the very common Japanese (or Chinese) brush that's the easiest to find in bookstores. You know, the one with the bamboo handle. (I don't even know what's it's called. Haha!) Now, thanks to Des, I know about the basic types of brushes that is used for watercolor painting and their specific functions.

Des taught us some basic watercolor techniques using the different brushes. She taught us the wet-in-wet, graded wash, two-tone wash, lifting out, and stippling. (Did I miss anything?) She showed us first how to do each one and then she let us try doing them ourselves. When we were done learning about the techniques, she let us paint a small landscape (or whatever we'd like) using the different brushes and combining all the techniques we learned.

The workshop was really fun and I do recommend it to anyone who wants to learn basic watercolor painting. I do hope Des will teach a different watercolor workshop and I definitely will join again!

Here are some photos from the workshop and below are the links to Trade School Manila's and Des' sites.

Trade School Manila's sites:
http://www.tradeschool.coop/manila/
https://www.facebook.com/TradeSchoolManila

Des Feliciano's sites:
http://desfeliciano.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/des.illustrations

Happy 501 Day!

2014-05-01T17:01:00.000+08:00

Aside from being a crafter, I'm also a fangirl. And yes, it's May 1st... 5/01... 501 day! This day is very special for Triple S (SS501 fans) for the obvious reason and to celebrate, my SS501 collection had a photoshoot and I posted it on Facebook. Well, I'm doing a general cleaning of my room and I took everything out of the cabinet to clean them, so, might as well take a picture, right? I'm not bragging about my collection but I'm really to be a Triple S. Anyway, here's a peek at one of the items (photo link to the album on Facebook)...

I haven't included the other items, yet, like calendars, magazines, trinkets, etc. Will do so sometime soon and will post about it here, of course. That includes gifties from friends.

I still have a lot missing from my collection and my dream is to complete it or be as close to complete as it can get. If you want to add to my collection, you can check my SS501 wishlist on Pinterest to see which items I don't have, yet. Of course, I'll be very happy to receive anything SS501 related or anything green.