Shop is NOW OPEN!

After checking out handmade online shops and even trying to put up a self-hosted online shop (my OC-ness kicked in and I wanted my own design of the entire set!), I still went back to good ol' Etsy! Its good for now for a number of reasons: established online portal for handmade sellers; secure payment via Paypal and easier to upload my products.

Take a peek at my shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/aireescreates

I'll be adding more wallets and other handmade products soon. Kindly bear with me. Thank you for supporting handmade artisans like me. :)

Setting Up Shop Soon!!!

I used to have an Etsy shop but I wasn't able to maintain it for years because I wanted to focus on my handmade invitation business and family life. And besides, our mailing system in the Philippines back then was a pain in the neck, lots of red tape, sad to say but I think it has improved quite a bit and I can see more and more Flipino online sellers.

One of my goals for 2012 is to revive my Etsy shop but I am also looking into other venues like Big Cartel or my very own online shop. I've been out of the loop for quite some time in Etsy and I think I need to "review again" hence, its been quiet up here.

But in my collage wallet area, mojo is still up and I've been making them every week. I just haven't posted them up yet since I am in the midst of thinking where to sell them online. Anyway, here are 2 of my creations I made 2 weeks ago.

Collage Wallet #11 - Eiffel

Here's the close-up:

Collage Wallet #12 - Postmarks

Close-up:

To all who expressed their interest to buy my collage wallets, I will let you know as soon as my shop is up. Soon! Thanks for your patience. :)

Happy Weekend!

I spent the day reading a very good book in the nearby library I discovered today. Then I found this quote and decided to write it on my Starbucks journal and played with my Smash tape. I placed it on the week that I'll be home soon and I can't help but feel excited, re-energized and happy! I think it is much more effective to lift my spirits up than my last trip at Michael's. ;)

Have a great weekend!

Collage Wallet #10: Love in the Midst of Chaos

A few weeks ago, I was on an emotional roller coaster ride. I was hurt, angry, depressed and my self-esteem is at its lowest. Back home, its very easy to just get out and maybe talk to my closest friends but where I am right now, its not easy. To help myself, I pulled out my papers and wallets to create some designs. I didn't know why these images of hearts kept on popping in my mind. I am angry, yes. But why hearts?!? I began to think if I'm "bipolar"?!?!

I started cutting the cute red paper into hearts freehand. No drawing, no pattern. Just freehand cutting. And this is the result.

As I take another look at my finished work, I realized no matter how angry, hurt and depressed I am, I am still capable of loving. In fact, I still love te same person who made me feel this way. Then things become clearer in my mind...I began to understand better and accept some things I cannot change and acceptance without resentment is harder to practice but it is essential to a relationship.

On a lighter note, I feel better now. Still finding myself falling in love with the same person after 15 years! :) Wishing you all love, love, love everyday of ypur lives! Happy weekend.

Collage Wallet #9: "It's the Little Things"

Thanks, Vanessa! 

One of the best things that happened during my short stint at Made With Love, a scrapbook store in Singapore, was I made new friends at work. We were all passionate about scrapbooking and we understand each other when we palpitate on the sight of boxes of New Arrivals every Wednesday afternoon! :) One of 2 fellow Filipino co-workers I've made friends with at work is Vanessa. A very talented scrapper who always wins in online contests especially in the Prima Flowers challenge every month! Apart from her amazing talent is her positive outlook in life. She taught me how to always think that we have $$ even if our wallets don't tell (blame it to the 40% off promos at work!) that because that is how you attract abundance. Last summer, she gave me this stamp for my birthday.

Fast forward to July 3, while I was gathering papers for me next collage paper wallet, I came across the phrase "It's the little things" in one of the paper sheets. Another reminder for me, maybe, not to be overwhelmed by what I thought to be larger-than-life issues but to cherish the little things I have been blessed with. I've always believed that God sends us these gentle reminders when we need them most. We may not always realize them at once but surely they are not just coincidences. I hope that through this design, whoever will own this will be reminded what my friend taught me. :)

Collage Paper Wallet #8 - Pink + Teal and of Possibilities

Aside from vintage travel designs, I find myself drawn to English garden-designed papers lately. I love Webster's Pages papers that I was inspired to make a collage design out of them. During the process, the phrase "Be open to possibilities" struck me. My one little word for 2012 is actually POSSIBILITIES. I guess the Universe is reminding me to believe in the possibilities of my dreams.

Sometimes life's happenings has their way of sucking out the joy in us and we become closed doors to all the possibilities that the Universe can give us. This statement reminds us that every day is a new day, a new beginning and no matter what happened in the past, as long as we stay open, we allow the Universe to work in our lives in the best way possible.

Paris in My Mind & Tribute to Hey Kessy

This is my 7th Paper Wallet Design...whoohoo!!! :)

I've been dreaming of going to Paris and the rest of Europe for years now. I bought stickers, papers, stamps - everything Europe for my vision board. It may not happen this year but I will make it happen in my lifetime! :) Hello, Universe!!!

So to put my stamps in use, I decided to incorporate them into my wallet design and Hey Kessy washi tapes. By the way, Hey Kessy is my source for washi addiction in the Philippines, lol! ;) They have nice and affordable collection of washi tapes and their projects are enough to make you fall in love (and make you buy, haha!) these pretty tapes!

Collage Paper Wallet #6: Missing Loui....

I was on a roll in making the collages...I need to do this to keep me sane. I miss my children very much. Everyday seems to be a lost opportunity for me to spend time with them. But this is just temporary, I know. Though we keep in touch throughout the day, thanks to Facetime, iMessage, Photo Stream and emails, being physically with them doing things together like biking, walking with our Lab, Smirnoff, making assignments, baking or just watching TV together, is a lot different.

While going through my papers, I found myself drawn to these colors and I kept on thinking about my daughter, Loui. I don't know why...maybe I am looking forward to spending time with her, do girly stuff like shopping, watching movies, eat waffles and create art.

So here it is...a design I made with Loui in my thoughts and I'm sharing this with you.

Inside: Holds 4 cards and a paper bills

Collage Paper Wallet #5: Inspiration: Vintage + Travel

My love affair with vintage travel-themed scrapbook items and stamps began in 2010 when I had the chance to fulfill my dream of working in a scrapbook store in Singapore even just for a short time. I found myself buying (my "reward" for a week's work = spending my earnings to buy scrapbook stuff! ==> craziness!) anything vintage-looking designs of papers, stamps and embellishments. I love the look of postmarks, the Eiffel Tower, anything about Paris, old postage stamps, etc.

So to put my collection "at work", I made this collage design. 

Folding wallet

I made another one this time on my long wallet style. 

Long Wallet

Wouldn't it be nice to make a coordinating passport jacket to complete my ensemble of my vintage travel accessories and one day travel to these countries I only see on the map??? :)

Collage Paper Wallet #4

27 June 2012 - I did this collage wallet in under 30 minutes! I love the flowers & the bird design. I used an old pink tear-resistant handmade paper for the wallet to add a vintage feel to the overall design. Take a look! Comments & suggestions are welcome. :)

Closer look:

Thanks for looking! More designs to come. :)

Love Your Own

On ordinary days (ie. running errands like grocery, going to the bank, etc.) I prefer wearing jeans/shorts & shirt & flip flops since we live in a tropical country. I just need my car keys, mobile phone & wallet. I'm not usually fond of carrying bags everywhere I go. So when we came up with our own version of handmade paper wallet I gave my big, thick & heavy (not because I have lots of money but the wallet alone is!) Girbaud wallet a permanent vacation. I took with only the essentials - a few bills, 1 ID, 1 credit card, 1 discount card & 1 ATM card. That's all I need. Talk about simple living and I love it! Now, I can just put it on my back pocket or in my wristlet along with my phone.  :)

I've been using this wallet for several months now and its still okay. The original print is a damask design (see previous post) but I just found myself "playing" with one of my washi tapes and decided to give it a new "look". ;)

Up close:

I'll be posting more of the new designs I made for the past 2 weeks. I hope you'll like them :) Have a great week to all of you!

Wishing you a bright sunny Monday!

Hello and good morning, Philippines! I know its been quite rainy over there for the past days (while its freaking HOT as to where I am now!) but I hope this post will brighten up your day. Remember, it cannot rain forever! :) 

So, I wanted to post my own paper wallet that I've been using for months now. But since I wanted to send a bright and cheery vibes to all of you, I decided to post this first.

My washi-fied paper wallet using Made With Love's washi tapes (except the zigzag design)

I'm not an orange person but when I saw these tapes at Made With Love wow, I fell in love literally! I love the combination with red & light blue & white. The sky design, hearts & orange scallop design are enough to brighten up one's day, don't you think? :) May you all have a great week ahead. CHEERS! :)

It's Not About Ideas...It's Making Ideas Happen

So after months of ideas swimming around my head, I took out my "precious" papers that I've been hoarding for the past __ years. Like what I said in my collage post, it was liberating! I get to use them and see them transform before my eyes. Plus the feeling of being free to do whatever you want to do without the fear of making a mistake was something I missed for quite some time.

So here's what happened to Collage #2:

From this:

To this:

I added a gel medium over the the collage BEFORE sewing to keep the
papers intact during the process and also, to make it smooth & strong.

From Collage #3, I call it Pretty in Pink. I love the softness of the color especially when combined with white doilies. I'm not really a pink person but I think this one "soften" me. ;)

Into this:

The wallet is STURDIER than the Tyvek paper wallets I've seen in Singapore. Although the latter's purpose is for traveling so it was made to be lighter but still tear-resistant. My paper wallet is tear-resistant as well but I think it caters mostly to people who prefer a "more chic" version. :)

Do More of What Makes You Happy!

It all started when I saw an imported paper wallet in Singapore last 2010. It was just very simple, no sewing, just lots of folds and then that's it! I, being an OC (obsessive-compulsive) person, I wanted to have my own version of paper wallet, the one I would be proud and happy to carry anywhere I go. :)

So when I did my product design & consultation stint for my handmade paper supplier last June 2011, I suggested we try to make our own version of paper wallet - an eco-friendly with a lot of "chic-ness" in it. ;)

One of the designs in the 1st batch of paper wallets released last year was the Damask in black. I super love it and decided to give all my girl BFF's one as a Christmas present. Then sometime in the wee hours of morning in February 2012, an idea popped in my mind! I want to design my own paper wallet using a collage of scrapbook papers & washi tapes! I must admit I am addicted to these 2!

True as they say "Its not about ideas...its about making ideas HAPPEN." It took me months to make it happen...designing & creating took a backseat when families came over, Holy Week celebrations & it was summer! :)

It started with this:

Then this:

Into this:

From collage to machine-sewn paper wallet.
The base for the collage is handmade paper and the collage is coated with a glossy gel medium for protection

I was super duper happy when I finally saw the finished product! :) Makes me want to create MORE of them everyday. I actually did (see my previous posts on collages) and will show you on my next post what happened to the other 2 collages I posted previously. **excited!**

On Painting Our Canvas

NOTE:  I just found this blog entry in my drafts folder dated 26 May 2012. I thought I would share this anyway for it has been a part of my journey and will continue to serve as a reminder for me that I am the Picasso of my own life.


The past few days were a sort of emotional roller coaster ride for me. Just when things are falling into place and I am "unusually" feeling calm amidst some uncertainties, some people tried to talk me out to follow the "normal" path as to what they believe will lead me to success.

I have always been a different - no, not to the extent I am weird! I just see and do things differently. Not for the sake of being different, no, I am not KSP (kulang sa pansin or lacking attention) but according to some people close to me, I am "ahead of my generation" (which would require another separate post!).

Anyway, at this point in my life, I practically know what I want to do and to become. I am now confident in my own skin unlike a decade ago. I know I have taken a different path as compared to my friends and classmates but I am happy with what I did. But that feeling did not come easy. I went from being insecure to self-pitying to finally appreciating myself and what I do. It took me years and hard work and appreciation from other people and other creatives as well to get me out of the rut and I don't have any plans of going back!

I wrote this on my Starbucks planner to remind me that I am that my life is a masterpiece meant only to be painted by me. My life is full of ups and downs, twists and turns but I have no regrets. Every experience, people I met, decisions I made, mistakes I committed,  all added colors to my living canvas and I am damn proud of it!

An All-Pink Collage

This is the 3rd collage I made right after finishing the previous 2. But things got busy over here and I had a 3-day Boracay getaway with BFF's last week, hence, a super delayed post!

As I gathered my papers for this collage, I kept reaching for the ones in pink shade so I just went for my instinct and this came out after half an hour.

It was LIBERATING to just CREATE for the sake of creating and not think about any "rules" in designing. It frees up the mind with "what color should go here, there, etc". Just like in life, sometimes we need to break rules, explore and let go so we can DISCOVER new things or even new ways of doing the same thing. We must let go of our inhibitions because they only confine us in our comfort zones. For it is when we take that single step out of our comfort zone we open up ourselves to possibilities and let the Universe work in our lives.

How far have you gone out of your comfort zone? :)

Collage 2012

After making my Starbucks Collage series some years back, I fell in love with the process. It was liberating in a sense that there are no rules - just tear, cut, paste, smudge - it doesn't matter. You may not appreciate the beauty yet but after putting the pieces together you can now call it a masterpiece...your own masterpiece.

It was early morning sometime in March when an idea popped in my head - using my collage paper for the product I helped developed last year. I was so excited with the idea I even made a digital mock-up of how I want it to look like. But making the actual collage paper & the product took a backsear when several family members went home for vacation. Of course, I took a vacay, too! Hehe! ;)

And so, after everyone left last weekend, it was only yesterday that my lazy b*tt got up and WORK! And truly, the hardest part in making something is to get started. But once the mojo is there, wow, there's no stopping until it was time for me to clean up my mess or else, we will sleep side by side with my gel medium, paintbrushes, stamps & inkpads and bits of paper! LOL!

As for doing something again after quite some time, it takes a while for me to gather my thoughts as to how the heck I'm gonna do this???? It takes courage to just tear that piece of paper I've been keeping (coz I don't want to cut it up, just look at it! Haha!) and glue wherever my hand takes me. In between those cutting & pasting, thoughts about life cross my mind. But...I will save that for my next entry. Hehe! ;)

Anyway, going back to my 1st 2 collages for 2012, the 1st one is more on vintage + dark red. I want to see how it looks like AFTER it has been transformed into the "product".

The 2nd one, the process just started with a piece of an "old" Chatterbox paper in orange & brown tones. As I cut it up, pictures of cinnamon, turmeric, cayenne & curry powders started popping in my head. And so I moved into that direction picking up papers in warm shades of orange, brown & deep reds.

I didn't notice that it was dark outside already and I managed not to turn on the AC the whole afternoon amidst the summer heat! (my hubby will be very happy to know this! Hehe!) That's how I got engrossed with the process and slowly, I'm realigning to my center again. :)

On aligning my center...

As I waited for the kids to finish their summer classes, I grab the opportunity to catch up with my blog reading. Its been 6 weeks of busyness with balikbayan families and I rarely had time to follow my “routine”. Although I cannot say that I am a “routine” person, somehow, a bit of structure like having my to-do list for the week; my glancing at my favorite Kikki.K planner several times a day, give me focus; direction on the tasks at hand. Otherwise, I will be lost in my sea of papers (handmade, scrapbook, journals, scraps) and washi tapes; baker’s twines on my table! Oh, and I forgot to mention a pile of magazines & books I bought BUT haven’t read!

After reading Kelly Rae Roberts’ blog entry “on getting further and further away from the center”, I now know the “term” when I write on my journal tired, sad & empty – its not really what those words mean but its more of “losing myself and getting further away from my center and not being present”. I just need to make that everyday decision ALIGN myself with my CENTER and BE PRESENT. The too many hats I wore several times a day for the past 6 weeks took a toll on me and I am totally lost and don’t know where and what to start. When I look at my growing lists of to-do’s (re: work, kids, house, what I really want to do), book wish list (not to mention the unread books list! LOL!), to learn, files to backup, I am completely overwhelmed! But I know now… and I just have to START WHERE I AM NOW, work with whatever is at my command, and I know, better tools will be found as I go along.

Postcard

I was tidying up my work area weeks ago when I found this postcard sent by a former client of mine from Canada. I never met her (the bride) personally, only via email. Even so, she was very polite & pleasant to work with. Not all of my clients took their time to send me a thank you note, for which I do understand because of the busyness before & after the wedding. A simple "thank you" is enough for me. But a written note all the way from the other side of the world is HUGE for me. It inspires me to continue with what I do and do better. :)

In this age of SMS & Facebook & Twitter, nothing beats a handwritten & snail mailed note!

Oh, hello blog!

Hello :) Its been 1 year and 9 months to be exact since my last blog entry. A lot of things happened and changed my life hence, blogging took a backseat. I am still tweaking this blog to give it a fresh look and hopefully bring back my mojo in blogging again.

I do love blogging - writing/documenting it is. But I guess I still prefer the old way of keeping a journal and handwriting my thoughts. I can't say I have nice handwriting but I love seeing my penmanship and the feel of the paper as I write. But years and years of working with computers and paper crafting, I developed ganglion cyst on my right wrist that sometimes writing can be more painful than typing. And so I guess I'll save my handwriting for my Starbucks Art Journal which I use to document snippets of my everyday life.

For now, I'll leave you with the cover page I made for my Facebook business page. Those are some of the invitations I made for past years including the recent ones. Hopefully this will be a good start for me even if it is April Fool's Day! ;)

Happy Spring/Summer!

xoxo