Happy 2012!

Hello everyone! It has been quite awhile since I last posted a blog entry. I am still quite alive, thank you very much. :)

2011 was a very eventful year for me, for us, personally. So much has happened at the homefront that left me so little time, and so little interest, to focus on my paper crafting and scrapbooking. Aside from personal struggles which I'm very thankful that we're able to get through, August to December was so very busy. I'm still teaching Art to little children in Los Baños. There was the National Architecture Week to plan. Our students' Christmas production needed as much attention as usual (but we had to tighten our belts on stage design this year; economic situation all around calls for it). And since Gerry's schedule was so full last year, that added to my schedule as well. No question about it, I support my husband all the way. Family comes first.

Last time, I had the bright idea of coming up with New Year's Resolutions, not going to do it again. Except, EXCEPT, more travels this year. If I won't be able to go to foreign countries, then I'd be glad to just do it here in the Philippines. Besides, It's More Fun in the Philippines, right? haha. Life is short and I will enjoy it immensely with my husband.

We are planning to move to his parents' home soon. We agreed that it is time for them to have company 24/7. That will take so much time and energy on its own. Right now, I am still in the process of packing our things and some of our stuff are already there. So with everything that is going on and at this rate, I will probably be able to start with my paper crafting and scrapbooking by March. Besides, I have to reorganize this business and finally get really serious about it.

So, one step at a time. Also, I hope to be able to update this blog often even if I have no personal projects to show yet. I have a link to my Twitter account on the sidebar if you want to read about my raves and rants about my favorite tv shows. By the way, you really ought to give Doctor Who and Downton Abbey a chance. :)

See you and have an awesome 2012 everyone!

Curriculum and Things

I was finally able to speak with the Art teachers from the main campus. I think I'm doing good so far with the lessons I'm giving but I still have a lot to teach the kids. The two I spoke to had been very nice and accommodating. I should have joined them during their orientation but at the time, I haven't signed my contract yet that I was not really sure where I stand in the whole scheme of things at school.

I'm currently comparing my notes to the checklist they gave me. I'm confident that we'll be able to reach those goals but right now, I'm a bit overwhelmed. I have to admit though that the checklist is easier to understand than that Rubicon which just swam like crazy before my eyes when I tried to read it.

There are other things I have to do still. Remember the New Year's resolution last year? Well, it remained in theory. The 2010 scrapbook? I did until May. I'm still doing the rest of the year but it's not as fast as I would have liked. I thought I'd just do a page a month but it turned out that our year was the busiest so far. Man! I even have 6 pages in some months because of all the activities and events that we went to.

The wedding album? I went as far as preparing the base sheets. The scrapbook albums I do for other people are quite embellishment-friendly. But personally, I prefer a minimalist approach and I still wasn't able to finish things that need finishing. Ha! Sometimes, when I should be doing this, I find myself reading books or online. I don't even have a Facebook account to lose myself into! I think it's an escape from responsibility thing.

But don't worry, my dear clients, the things I do for you, I can do easily and finish on time. But the things I do for me, I end up being saddled for months. Ha! That should change.

What's Going On?

Hello everyone!

So many things going on and none at the same time. Hee!

Last 8th of January I had a lecture on scale model making with approximately 150 freshmen at the UP College of Architecture. That was fun! But they're a LOT! I even made a few samples that I left with them. The instructors were so sweet and generous. So thank you so much Chris, Patrick, Maureen, Faith and Celine! Much, much appreciated.

Since, I have nothing to do yet (except trying to finish my 2010 scrapbook album), I'm organizing my binder of lesson plan so it doesn't catch up with me later on. First semester is done so, it's about time. Classes are doing great! The students are amazing and some are showing real promise. As it was when I taught high school seniors, I also have bystanders in the Art Room during their lunch break. They're so sweet. Wednesdays are exhausting, yes, but their excitement makes up for it.

And today, I'm going back to my old school and will try to think about what to do with the bulletin boards at the reception lobby in preparation for the Emerald Anniversary. Canossa College is 55 years old!

In February, there's a wedding invitation design I need to focus on. She wants it different, fun, a bit informal and reusable. So, let's see.

Till then...

Hello 2011!

Happy New Year everyone!!

Here is the title for Gerry's Rizal story which he asked me to do. He wanted the whole thing in freehand but of course, for the base pencil, I had to measure and use templates. The inking part is in freehand, though. Here's the finished pencil layout:

I didn't want to do it again in case I made a mistake with ink so I decided to scan it and print the lines in blue. Here's a partial inked part. Not much of it, actually. hehe. You'll see the finish product on his final inked and colored cover this January.

On to paper crafting! Two calendars I did for a couple of very, very good friends. You know who you are. Now you know what you're getting. :)



The calendar which I did myself, has a blank space at the bottom of each page/month to put tiny designs on. Here, I used paper strips. ribbons, stickers and a blank piece of cream paper where my friends can write important dates such as birthdays, et cetera. The pages, along with a cardstock stand, were bound together using wire comb binder.

If any of you would like a digital copy of the blank calendar, please leave a comment with your email address. I don't know how to make PDF file that I can link here, so I'll just send you the image files.

Be safe tonight everyone!

Merry Christmas!

That was just something I was inspired to do only a couple of days ago. I visited my mother and noticed her curtains. I love the burlap bag thing going on. Actually, she said it was for upholstery but she decided to just make curtains from this bolt of fabric my brother bought quite awhile ago. So, I asked for scraps and made these things for tree ornaments. I'm not yet done, as you can see. I know it's late but I still have years to come to hang them. I decided to make one for each family member on both Gerry's and my side. :)

The following are photos of a few pages I took of the souvenir magazine I was talking about. It's 12 days late posting but hey! I am rather proud of this, to be honest. It's my first time to do a "magazine" which was actually based on Candy magazine (it's our young lady's choice of mag)... and it comes complete with table of contents and an publisher/editor's info box! The cover title and all the title fonts inside are mine. And isn't she pretty? :)



On a more different note, our dining seats are just old and manky, and this one in particular was burnt by a flat iron. And I wasn't the one who burnt it, by the way. I've been meaning to change the upholstery years ago but I was such a coward to wade through the madness that is Divisoria. And then I finally could so I bought 4 yards of fabric weeks ago and replaced the old ones. I still have quite a length after finishing 6 seats so I gave the rest to my mother who was inspired to change the seats of her old, manky dining chairs as well.

Side note: What's going on in Photobucket? I can't upload these photos! Is there a monthly limit to how much MB I can use that I didn't read about? The reason I don't like to upload through blogger is this. If you notice, they are smaller than my previous photos.

Anyway, Merry Christmas everyone!! Cheers!!

An Invitation and a Christmas Production

Hoooookaaay..... Merry Christmas everyone!! In advance... because I feel so free right now. Free from deadlines. No work until after New Year, I told myself. Well, aside from the teaching thing. Then again, that's not really work... and the other things I do are not exactly work because they're all fun to make!! The second half of November and the first week of December had been really, really busy. So, I'll just fire away.

First is the invitation I did. This is how it came out, and I did 150 of these which I delivered two weeks ago. The theme is movies so this is what came about. The envelope is a clapper and the invitation itself are oversized movie tickets. I just wrapped it around with a burgundy ribbon. The father asked, "Why do you have to put ribbon around it?" He's hysterical, good thing for him, he's a very good friend.

If you're reading my tweets, you would have read me talking about the train. The train made from corrugated boards. Well here it is. These are the before pictures:


And this was this was taken earlier during the performance.

This supposedly was a dungeon wall where Izzy, Rosie and the Broken Toys were kept by the Abominable Snowman. This was made from newspaper, tissue paper, glue and paint. Thank you Neil Buchanan and Art Attack for teaching me to use these four materials to do just about anything!! And these two were my very able and very giggly assistants, Zara and Edjee. They're amazing! It's easy to meet deadlines with these two.

This was the set for T'was the Night Before Christmas. I wish I could have gotten a better photo because, modesty aside, it turned out so well in person. The stars hanging were made by the kids, pre-kinder to fourth grade. I promised them I'll hang them so I did with the help of Mang Eli. You have to keep your promises to kids!! If you can't, don't promise anything at all.

A closer take with the lights on. For before photos, please check out previous entries.

The three of us after the show.

These are my co-teachers with my assistants. From the left, Grace (prek/k homeroom teacher), Anna (3rd/4th grade teacher), Weng (Music Teacher/Music Director for the show. She's amazing! You just have to help her out to achieve what we're able to do tonight.), Edjee, Maya (Administrative Coordinator), Zara, Maan (Teacher Assistant) and me. Steve (1st & 2nd grade teacher) and Mark (PE teacher) were a bit shy to face the camera.

And us again. :)

It was so much fun, I tell you. Better than last year's in terms of children's performances and the general vibe and as if everything just comes together by Divine Intervention, like Anna mentioned after the show.

I also mentioned something about a magazine. Well, I'll pick them up on Friday and I'll post something about that on Sunday.

Well, I think I'll sleep now... finally. :)

Thoughts About My Job

There are so many things I'm doing that I thought I'd never had the chance to do or won't be doing anymore. I just recently finished writing a company profile and my clients are so very happy and satisfied with it that they now asked me to design, layout and write articles for a glossy magazine as souvenir for their daughter's 18th birthday celebration. They also asked me to make the invitations. As you can see, I do these alongside the set pieces I'm completing for the Christmas production. I am quite all over the place.

Sometimes, all I can do is laugh and ask, "Why do I do this to myself?" I know the answer. Of course I do. It's because I enjoy doing them immensely. The diversity of the projects are just mind-boggling and yet, I embrace it. It's exciting! When they asked me to do the magazine the first time, I laughed at their faces. That's not the way to treat clients, I know. My excuse is, they're my friends. But it's hysterical that they would just ask me to do it because I have no experience on anything magazine-related whatsoever. What got me was, they did not ask if I could do it. That level of trust in my ability to pull it off never fails to catch me off-guard.

These props and scenes I'm producing for the school are another thing. It's my first time to be the lead person to do these things. I'm just winging it, to be honest. They look great so far on the table but I have no idea how it would turn out with the stage lights on. But again, that level of trust in my abilities never fails to amaze me. All I can do is be grateful that they believe I can do it, and because of that I still have a job.

No, I haven't forgotten my paper crafting business. It's still there. It's just these last four months have been about trying and doing new things. Such joy to experience these new challenges.