A few of my favorite things

Always make time for the things that matter. Two of my favorite things in the world: making things with my hands and the ocean.

These are some of the books I've worked on in the past 3 years. If there's anything that gives me joy, it's when I'm making something. Whether it's a batch of my chocolate chip cookies, a friendship bracelet, a rubber stamp, or even a journal entry, there's something about creating that just feels very fulfilling.

I grew up spending summers where my mother used to live. We had the ocean and a view of Mayon to ourselves. I still dream of having a house by the sea, where I can escape to whenever the noise of the city gets a little too loud.

These days, I'm lucky if I get a weekend away. That's why I'm super excited for this little project I'm working on with some of my craftiest friends. Craft Camp PH is a weekend of making, creating, and sharing beautiful things with each other. We'll be staying in this beautiful house by the ocean, sharing meals with the prettiest table settings ever, and learning new ways to make things with our hands. Sounds like a pretty good weekend, right? If you're interested, you can sign up and register now. (: It's time to slow things down. Exhale, create, gather. Sea you soon!

Hello, I'm still here.

I can't believe my last post was four months ago. And this after a promise to take my camera out more so I could actually post more. Ah well, life happens.

I'm back because it's a holiday and I'm on what they call a staycation. Aside from the unbearable heat, I really don't mind staying home. Been able to catch up some shows, which is always a great way to spend a free day!

So what have I been busy with lately? Well, apart from the regular work I do, I've also been working on a couple of books since late last year. And this is how incredibly long ago my last post was: both books are done and out in bookstores!

I actually worked on this early this year with Alessa, Mansy, and Mikko. We shot all the projects in two days with Pat and Stephie, ever the speedy Gonzales, finished the layout so fast that we were done in a little over a month! It was a super fun project to do because the people I worked with were friends.

At first, it felt like a daunting task to come up with so many projects and shoot them all individually. But it can be done!

The second book, which was actually the first project I worked on, took a little longer to produce. It's Mikko's second bracelet book, but our first time working with our AD Tracy. I'm not sure if it was the logistics or if the steps for this project were a little more complicated than The Friendship Bracelet Book, but I'll admit I had a bit of difficulty working on this. It was always a wrong photo or a typo I missed. We couldn't get the packaging right. I could go on and on. But I guess good things come to those who wait (and well, edit to death. Haha!), because I still felt super excited when they finally handed me the final product.

I'm so happy that I get to work on books like these. I get even more excited when I see people actually buy them on try the projects. Here's hoping we never run out of ideas and that people will continue to appreciate what we make. (:

The Candy DIY Book (P175) and Knot About Cords (P250) are available at bookstores and magazine stands nationwide! Hope you can grab a copy when you can. (:

Made It Myself: Paracord Bracelets

I've been on a workshop streak with Mikko's I Try DIY. This time around, I learned how to make bracelets out of paracord. These bracelets are more stylish than functional, though. (:

Each participant gets a bottle filled with enough materials for six or more bracelets.

There's also a "buffet" that participants can "steal" from in the course of the workshop. So if you want to save some of your paracord for projects you want to do at home, go ahead and practice with the ones here.

This is what came in my bottle. 5 bundles of I Try DIY paracord (you can actually order these from Mikko's site!). Plus different types of closure.

We were taught how to connect two different colors (with a bit of Mighty Bond and a lighter) together. I didn't want to touch the heated glue so I used the pliers to join them together. If you do get some glue on your fingers, acetone will get that out easily.

Not the neatest, but good enough. Here's how you start the bracelet.

Learned two styles: the cobra knot and this braided style that makes a flatter bracelet. We were also taught how to close the bracelets two ways. One involved a bit of sewing, but you don't need to be a pro to do it!

Came home with these two new additions to my arm party. I still have tons of paracord left and I'm excited to make more bracelets.

If you want to learn how to make these too, just sign up for the next one happening on September 14 in BGC. More info plus sign up sheet on I Try DIY.

Made It Myself: Braids and Seed Beads Bracelets

Spent all of Sunday afternoon finishing up my handmade gifts for my friends in the office. I originally wanted to make my own version of these morse code bracelets, but I got reacquainted with this necklace I pinned a few months ago. Instead of necklaces, though, I made bracelets. I used silver seed beads, but ran out in the middle of the 11 bracelets I was making so I alternated some with gold ones.

I used mostly pink, peach, yellow, and greens from my mom's stash of string. I made sure to include green in all of the bracelets because 2013's year of the color is emerald. (:

And because I wanted to go handmade all the way, I made these pillow boxes out of an old paper bag. They're not perfect (because I missed a step!!! Hahaha!), but I'm pretty happy with how they look. You can make your own by following this tutorial on Mikko's website.

* Made It Myself will be a section I'll update regularly with all handmade and DIY projects. (:

Passion Project: Polished

Right after we released The Friendship Bracelet Book, I was already drawing ideas for the second Berry Books release. This time, it was Mimi who would be the EIC and I would be the "creative editor," (Mimi coined this position, hehe) also known as the person in charge of thinking up nail art designs. I had a tiny notepad where I drew imaginary nails and penciled in patterns. I was to come up with at least 50 designs. I didn't think it was possible until we eventually had 52!

We shot everything in two days. This resulted in a mess of polish and polish remover and fumes-induced headaches.

My boss Mimichoo (making a face!), photographer Patrick Martires, and hand model + cover model Alecx.

Mim is putting on base coat on our other hand model, Trixie, our poor intern we forced to model for us. HAHAHA!

 Missing hand model: Miss Lazatin!

I wish The Face Shop would sell more of these pens in other colors. They only currently have white, black, and silver. If you don't have a nail art pen, though, you can totally still do the designs with a thin paintbrush or a toothpick.

Some of my favorite patterns that came out oh so nicely in the book.

Please grab a copy (if you haven't already!) for only P150. It comes with 4 free polish bottles in Blue Me Away, White A Minute, Orange You Glad, and Pink-A-Boo. It's a great stocking stuffer for kids and adults alike.

I Try DIY Craft Huddle: Paper Folding

I always hover around the origami paper section in Saizen,but never really buy because my origami skills are very basic. I used to be so jealous of my classmates in grade school who could turn paper bills into polo shirts or hearts (like magic!). I could make a paper boat, if I remembered the right order of folding. Haha!

So when one of Mikko's Craft Huddles—the paper folding one!—fell on a holiday, I took it as a sign. I headed over to Harvest in The Fort that afternoon, excited over the thought that I'd be coming home with some paper folding skillz.

First up: choose your paper. Mix had a ton of pretty paper! I couldn't decide which ones to get. Look at all those pretty patterns!

Our first project was the paper wallet. She actually did a tutorial for this on candymag.com. You can totally make this and stuff with a few 20-peso bills for your godkids!

Tried making one on my own (had to ask for help, though!) the second time around. Not too shabby, right?

Next: a box! We had to choose paper with matching prints. I got cupcake-themed ones. So cute!

 We made the base first.

And then the lid. I didn't put enough allowance in my folds so the lid was kind of too small for my base. Whoops!

Paper bags that don't need glue or tape! All they're missing are handles and your gift bag is ready.

This box was my favorite. A bit hard to make (I'm not entirely sure I can recreate it on my own without troubleshooting from Mikko) but it looks so nice! It's like a box within a box. Very fancy, haha.

Pillow boxes for tiny trinkets like earrings or bracelets. Here's a link to the tutorial in case you want to try making them on your own.

My happy family of paper products. I have yet to sit down and attempt to make another batch without help, but this will make gift wrapping for Christmas fun!

Want to learn more holiday crafts? Head on over to I Try DIY for the November schedule of Craft Huddles (I'm personally eying the Craft of the Card next!).

Crafty: The Crochet Book

Got this Cath Kidston Crochet Book at 20% off at Kinokuniya when I went to Bangkok last month. I only discovered the bad reviews when I got home and Googled it. Haha!

I finally got around to opening it this afternoon and it really is this lovely book-shaped tin that had me sold. I don't care if the yarn isn't enough for the pillowcase, haha!

I managed to finish one box (there are 9 for the front part of the 'Granny Square Cushion'). It's not exactly perfect—I had to improvise when the pattern that came with the kit didn't really make sense. But thank goodness for the Internet and my mother who had a crochet bug for a while. I still remember the basics. Iif the yarn won't make an entire pillowcase, I'll turn it into a blanket for my best friend's baby girl!

Nailing It: Ombre Stain

When I saw this tutorial on The Beauty Department, I knew I had to try it. Someone commented that it looked like I dipped my fingers in blood, haha! But in reality, they kind of reminded me of rose petals.

I'll try mixing up colors next time for a dip-dye effect.

Let's Get Crafty

Whenever I go shopping, I have this habit of saying, "Kaya natin gawin yan" when I see an item that looks nice, but is ridiculously overpriced. For example, I'm not going to spend a thousand hard-earned pesos on a bracelet that I can make from the handles of an old paper bag. My friends already tease me with #shitdiygirlssay whenever I say these things.

But after today, I bow down to the REAL crafters! I'm really just a fan of DIY and I'm happy I got to meet such creative people. I have no words so I'll let all the photos do the talking. We were 16 in all, meaning we got to take home 15 fantastic crafty things. Thanks, Alessa for organizing the craft soiree! Congratulations!

Craft overload? Nakakalula, diba? It was like Craft Christmas with our goodie bag overflowing with talent! NUKS. I'm also so glad to have hung out with friends at Pipino—the only place where I actually eat my veggies! I have a new favorite: veggie tempura. My goodness! Ang sarap!

 You probably guessed what my craft was for the day. Macy's Fields reprezent with Kaichypoo!

Me looking like nag-pa-picture sa artista with the super blooming Em!

Ale took my, Koko, and Mikko's mug shots with her Polaroid. I like the stains on the photo—may character! Hahaha!

Thanks for the ride and this cool photo, Koko! (:

Was too tired to stay for the bracelet making, but I'm sure there will be many more crafternoons to come.