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

Change....

Its been a month since my last entry.... I guess I'm really bad at updating my blog :( I still have some reservations on what to put on my blog...my deepest thoughts, my sentiments, exactly what I feel on a certain day. Today is just the same though there are a lot of things going through my mind but I just can't let them all out. *sigh* I don't know..... I came across this quote today and it just struck me....maybe this sums up what I am feeling now but just can say it. I'm into red & black today coz I've been working on a design this morning with these colors.

My Starbucks® Collage Series: #1

April 23 - Dropped off hubby to his job interview somewhere in Makati. Just what I needed...some time alone to update my planner and to jot down my ideas. I found a nearby Starbucks® and I immediately need a sugar rush...not the sugar from the Frappuccino but from the rich & moist chocolate cake!

In between bites of the chocolate cake, an idea popped! I'm going to make a COLLAGE using Starbucks® fliers! I already have images running in my brain of how I want it to look like but I haven't even tried making a collage! Lakas ng loob 'no?! Though I've been wanting to create it (I already have my blank canvas, gesso, Mod Podge for the longest time!), the fear in me kept me from doing it.

So, I sketched it before I lose it in my memory.... talk about memory gap! ;) Finished my cake and went back to my car. No, I didn't take some Starbucks® fliers because I've been collecting them for quite some time now, hehe. Wala lang...I just like the looking at the layout and design maybe someday they might be useful. :)

A week passed by and I haven't done my collage because I was thinking why... why in the world I want to create a collage using Starbucks® fliers eh I'm not even a coffee drinker! Though, I love Starbucks® because it is where my friends and I share stories of our lives, it is my "sanctuary" when I need some time alone to organize my thoughts, it is where my kids, hubby and I share some weekend breakfasts together - so many wonderful memories! But still, I kept asking myself why.

Then came along Bo Sanchez' weekly message...it was about the story of the carrot, egg and coffee bean. When I saw it, I knew I already read the same article shared by a friend some years back. I even remembered (o ha! no memory gap! hehe!) that I posted it on my blog. After reading it again, I knew the reason why Starbucks®...why coffee bean. It will serve as my constant reminder that I should be a coffee bean in this life. I don't have to be a coffee connoisseur exactly, but to be like what the coffee bean becomes after going through the heat (struggles, problems, difficulties in life) and that is, to release my sweetest aroma (to become the best that I can be) after all that I've been through.

May we all be COFFEE BEANS! :)

Sneak Peak

I've been kinda sluggish for the past 3 days. I guess the heat of the summer is kicking in and many times during the day I find myself dreaming and planning where to go and what activities to do. :) Aaahhh, beach, watermelon smoothie (sans the seeds ha!), ocean breeze...this is the life! haha!
Now back to reality...
Here's a sneak peak of the invites I just finished designing and will be working in the coming days. I still have upload the ones I already finished and delivered though.

 

(1) Square invitation in summer color of fuschia & yellow green with a Filipiniana touch; (2) Eco-friendly invitation with real pine tree twig accent reflects the couple's simple yet elegant theme of their wedding;  (3) This is a first for me - working on black & fuschia combination but proved to be really cute - a reflection of the couple's personality.

I finally finished updating the inventory file. And while I was working on it, plenty of ideas & designs start to pop in my head I can't wait to work on them! But for now, I have to deal with boxes of samples lying around in my office for sorting & updating. Argh, the to-do's never end but then I'm not the type of person who will be happy doing nothing (ADHD haha!). :)

On learning SEO and stuff...

I'm trying to learn SEO (search engine optimization) the for the past week since I am planning to update my website (www.handcraftedexpressions.com). I heard about SEO and meta tags but never really got to know the technical part of those terms. While browsing, I came across several websites that featured me and my work. I was surprised because I was not aware of some of them! I am thankful nevertheless because the writers took time in writing and posting my work and that gives me some mileage in Google searches. :) And for that, I am grateful to all of them. Thank you!


Shiela is a budding writer. She just texted me last year asking me if its ok to have my business featured on her website. Of course, that would be great. Thank you, Shiela! :)

Website: The Golden Apple

Ajay's Writing on the Wall 

Annalyn is a former client of mine. I just saw her blog entry a few days ago while browsing and I was surprised that she posted her invitation among her other wedding suppliers. Thanks, Annalyn!

She even had her article published on a newspaper!

The PlanetEye Traveler

Marianne, a Filipina blogger & prolific writer whom I met online emailed me last year if she could write an article about my work. Of course, I said, by all means. :) Thanks, Marianne.

Jemps & Jason's Eco-Chic Wedding

I admire this couple whom I worked with last year. They proved that anyone can have a memorable & chic wedding without harming the environment much more inspiring us and to quote them "Every green choice makes a difference - no matter how small!" Just reading the article about their green steps towards an eco-chic wedding is so inspiring you would want to sign up to Greenpeace! :) Congratulations, Jason & Jemps! Thank you!

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Lastly,  I just learned from my husband that there was an online version of the Business Friday article about me. I *heart* this one because it captured everything that is me and to think it was just a serendipitous meeting with Madonna, the writer. The one I posted almost 3 years ago was a scanned image. Thank you, Madonna.

Masigasig Magazine
Ms. Prime S. and I met when we shoot the video of Kumikitang Kabuhayan years ago. Then she went on to become the editor for Masigasig Magazine of Globe Telecom. Thanks, Prime! 

I am just a small business owner. I cannot afford to have paid advertisements/write-ups on the magazines & newspaper. Its my passion that fuels me to stay in the business. Its more than the money and I thank these people who saw that passion in me and took time to acknowledge it and they do it for free! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!
Now, who says nothing is free in this world?

Thanks Alvin & Sab...

I've been busy for the past weeks I hardly have time to update my blog. So many on my to-do lists (with "s" since I have a separate list for personal, business, plans -phew!) BUT I cannot let this pass. It just made my day. :)

Hi Airees! Long time. Hope all is well with you and your family. Just want to tell you na you can check out the picture of the invite you made for us at http://www.joelfrancisco.com.ph/blog/. Thanks so much for being part of our special day. Take care always! Sab

Thanks, Sab & Alvin! It was an honour for me to work with you. God bless you always. :) *hugs*

Here's the photo courtesy of Joel Francisco. If only we can get married again, I would love to hire him as our photographer! :)

2009 - The year that was...

Its been quite a long time since I last posted here. A lot of things happened the past year worth blogging here but I just didn't have so much time left to do it. Work (or what I call my passion) and family top the list and 2009 just went by! I didn't even had the time to wrap gifts much more make handmade gifts which I've always wished I would be doing come Christmastime. But even without the my traditional gift-giving among friends, what I really treasured this past Christmas season was spending time with family and friends - high school, college and balikbayan friends. Nothing beats that!

We celebrated Christmas day differently this time - we went picnic! I realized that we've been eating on the same restaurant every Christmas in Tagaytay and yet there's really nothing special in their menu...mas masarap pa lutong bahay! So this year, we decided to go on a picnic! This is the first time that the kids will experience it. It was fun and we had a great time enjoying the simple things - yummy adobo with egg, rice, soda, just lying under the big tree feeling the cool breeze - aahhh, the simply joys of life! We explained to the kids why we decided to go on a picnic - (1) to try something new & different, (2) its more practical (less expensive than dining in a restaurant) and (3) happiness is in the company of your loved ones not necessarily in a mall or fine dining resto or lots of foods on the table that you don't even know how to consume them all much more what to do come new year's eve party!

Work-wise, I can't complain. God has been very generous to me and my staff for continuous projects here and abroad. One of the highlights of the year was an article featuring me and my kids in Good Housekeeping Philippines on the column about Mompreneurs. :) Hopefully I can post pics here soon! I still have to scan it, haha! :)

Another memorable event was I got invited to share my humble beginnings infront of a thousand students from the different colleges & universities in the province of Cavite - The 3rd Cavite Entrepreneurship Students Summit. Believe me - I've always had stage fright and never in my wildest dreams that I would speak infront of a huge crowd. I accepted the invitation before I knew that there would be 1000 of them! I wanted to back out but realizing that this might be the 1st and last time that I would be doing this plus the chance to inspire those students to become entrepreneurs, too, I decided to do it! And thank God for giving me the courage. It was a very fulfilling experience and I am willing to do it one more time! haha! nawili...

On the homefront, kids have been amazing - in school and at home - assuring us that somehow we are right in raising them. We may not have more than what we need but we're happy and I know that God knows what our hearts desire even before we ask Him....

I'll try to post some pics next time. For now, I just wish anybody who's reading my blog a blessed 2010. May we all be safe and healthy. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Been a bad blogger again but with valid reasons:

- Mom went home and stayed with us for almost a month which meant that I am officially her driver! No pun intended. I liked it because we continued our bonding time after I surprised her a 2 months earlier for a visit ;) Went shopping & ate out and just by simply driving along with her we had our long talks from jokes to sentiments to motherly & daughterly advices. Oh, I'm missing her now that she's back to the US.

- After mom left, I had to catch up with work! I'm not complaining though. I love how I am more involved with the production unlike for quite some time I've focused on designing. But this leaves me little time to FB ;) and more so blogging! But I am thankful - for this job I can call - I still love what I do and the heartwarming messages I get from every client after receiving their invites all the more inspire me to pursue my passion!

So now, I don't know when will I post again but I do hope this will not be the last for this year, haha! Have to go work on my speech (?!) for tomorrow's event. Secret muna...I just hope I'll make it good tomorrow. :)

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Count your blessings! :)

hello blog.

been neglecting my blog for some months now...a lot of things happened - good & bad, happy & sad, exciting & boring, blessing & curse - all sorts! But i just can't find the right words to write here.

I found this quote today and inspired me to play with these colors and maybe start making my "notes to self" everyday IF, that is a BIG IF, I find time to make one. Oh well, it depends on when the inspiration kicks in.

I hope this is a good start for me...

Mt. Rushmore Child Learning Center Graduation Speech

In 2 weeks time, Loui will be in Grade 1, and another exciting year has begun. New friends & classmates, lots of school activities (which means more photo op for mommy = more photos = need to scrap them) exams every week! I will miss our everyday lunch together and our home will be 4 hrs. quieter until she & Vcoy come home from school.

I'd like to share my Thank You speech before the parents and graduates during Loui's Graduation in Pre-School after she had her Graduation Speech.

"Good afternoon parents, teachers, ate’s & kuya’s and graduates. I am very honored to have the privilege of speaking in front of you today. First of all, CONGRATULATIONS to all the parents and families for a JOB WELL DONE! WE made the right decision to enroll our children in Mt. Rushmore Child Learning Center. We would not be able to see our children as to what they have become in the past 3 years without our wise decision and continued support to them. THANK YOU!

Teacher Ella, we thank you for the passion and courage in putting up Mt. Rushmore. We know how much sacrifice you have been doing being away from your children in order to provide our children the best school environment you can give. In God’s perfect time, we know you will be with us soon.

I never knew how important the role of a pre-school is teacher until I saw my children evolved from their 1st day in Nursery until today. Pre-school teachers are the ones that lay the strong foundation in our children that will empower them as they move on to the challenges of the big schools. And with that, THANK YOU to all the Teachers and caregivers. Keep the passion for teaching burning in your hearts. It is my fervent hope that more teachers will stay and teach the Filipino children. For whatever mistakes we made in our society, OUR CHILDREN have the power to correct them and make a change.

To the parents – it is not enough that we send our children to good schools. Nothing beats our love and attention to make them better persons. Believe in their abilities…encourage them to speak what’s on their minds… and listen to them… support them… while they pursue whatever interest they have.

And to you, our dear graduates, DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK, SPEAK OUT… BUT ALWAYS with RESPECT. Everyday is an opportunity to LEARN and EXPLORE NEW THINGS. For it is not only your parents & teachers who teach you but we also LEARN FROM YOU. Again, congratulations & good luck to all of you."

Mother's Day

We heard mass at 9am then off to the mall for an early lunch. Vic and I wanted to try the other restaurants but the kids wanted ang walang kamatayang Shakey's! Vic asked me what I want but for me anything goes. Tutal, I like their creamy mushroom soup and chicken so its ok. Plus seeing my kids happy with their mojos and dip, pizza and chicken, happy na din ako.

The night before I was working at my office when they surprised me with this:

Priceless.

My Starbucks Planner 2009

This is long overdue. I've taken the shots last January but I was not able to post it here since blogging took a backseat 1st quarter of this year.
Vic gifted me this Starbucks Planner last December 2007. Since I am not a coffee/frap drinker, the only way I could get this planner is to ask my husband to get it for me. :) Mababaw lang ako - masaya na ko with a gift like this. What made me even happier was this note he wrote for me. He rarely writes love notes and so this one is something very special for us.

When Starbucks released its 2009 Planner, I was very disappointed. Most people I know share the same sentiment. So as not to overload Vic with caffeine again this year, I thought maybe I could re-use the 2008 planner.

I got used to the layout of the planner and the system really worked for me. The OC in me, I decided to make my own and printed on a similar paper and I liked it! Now, I can use this planner over and over. Will just print the refills yearly and I am perfectly OK with it. :)


I actually thought of printing refills and selling them to those who would like to re-use their 2008 Starbucks planner with a personalized refill but work filled up my time at 'di ko na na-career! :) I'll just make sure next year to move the dates a bit to the right coz when I punched the fillers, this is how it looks like! nyay!

Thank you, Mahal! :)

Busy Hands

It was raining hard yesterday and kids had nothing to do but watch, play with their toys and eat! This summer I tried to be more lenient with them which means no fixed schedule except their daily Kumon worksheets. I just let them play and recently, helped out in the kitchen baking cookies and cupcakes.

Vcoy knows how to fix our bed and he's gotten used to it that one day I automatically fixed it (coz I used to do it myself) and he complained. He asked me why I fixed the bed when he is the one to do it! Oo nga naman....si Mommy hindi consistent! :)

Meanwhile, Loui's task is to help clean up the dining table after lunch and sometimes, dinner, since she's ALWAYS the last one to finish! We've been recording her eating time for a year now to prepare her when she enters big school but sadly, on the scale of 1-10, maybe a 1 would do. Both of them wash their own glass every after meal.

Every afternoon they let their rabbit out in the garden for some stretching :) Ikaw ba naman ang ikulong sa cage the 1 buong araw pag hindi ka ni-rayuma! hehe! Afterwards, its patintero time with our neighbors - from the kids to the yayas to yours truly! I can say that my kids learn more about Filipino when they play with the other kids and its good that they learn to play patintero. I grew up playing the game and its a wonderful childhood memory that I also want my children to have when they grow older.

Yesterday, while my kids were watching tv, Loui, always with busy hands, made this:



She has a gift and we want to nurture it even if it means marker stains on her clothes and our bedsheets, ok lang! I keep all her drawings and would love someday to compile all of them in one book. :)

I don't have any good title for this blog entry...

Been feeling under the weather for the past days....physically, I feel so drained with work though it hasn't been really that toxic. Its when I have long days of official vacation when I feel so tired doing nothing! My usual migraine attacked last week and it lasted for 4 days. I can feel that its still there but enough to tolerate it without taking any meds.

Most of the things on my to-do list have not been checked due changes in schedule with hubby having gastroenteritis and I have to accompany him for check-up. Good thing he's doing ok now and most likely will report to work tomorrow. I, on the other hand, still have my neck pain and I feel warm...parang magkaka-flu ako! Nyay!

I don't want to stay in bed because all the more I will feel sick. So I started going through my piles of paper & stuff in my home-office which I started spring cleaning last week. With good music playing in the background, I finished cleaning my room finally! It feels so good getting rid of stuff lying around accumulating dust and taking up space. I think I'm off for a fresh start.

And speaking of fresh start, a few things will be unfolding in the coming days... work, kids, etc., which I am so excited to share here. :) For now, just want to share this layout I made last year! Yep, last year. Thanks to my dear friend Anj. If not for her birthday celebration, I would not have scrapped 2 layouts in 2008. Haha!
My last layout for 2008 was in honor of my parents. They may not be the perfect couple but in 42 years that they have been married, they finally realized that they cannot live without each other - warts and all! ;)