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. (:

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.

Passion Project: The Friendship Bracelet Book

A few months ago, when my friend and colleague Koko came up to me saying she had a project for me, I had no idea that I'd end up with a book. With my hand on the cover!

That's me, Mikko, and Alessa on the cover. Well, our hands at least. Haha! We've been working on this for months and I'm so glad we can finally show everyone our baby. It was my very first time to work as EIC on a book and I learned a lot of things from it. It's not as easy as I thought it would be, but I'll chalk everything up to experience. I actually can't wait to work on another book! Haha!

I let out a squeal when Bianca set a copy down on my desk. We've been waiting for a sample for weeks so imagine my joy (and later on, Mikko, the master bracelet pattern maker, also got to share my excitement) when I flipped through the actual book?

After all these years of working in publishing, I still get kilig when I see my name in print. I'm so happy I got to work with an awesome team. Thanks to Jaykee who made the book look super cute (bet you didn't guess that a dude made our layout), Alessa who did awesome watercolor illustrations (I love our watercolored letters on the cover!!!), Pat for making the bracelets and projects look great in photos (and for letting us invade his condo for additional props haha), Mimi for helping me edit the text last minute (I owe you tons of bracelets!), and Mikko for coming up with such cool, unique patterns and projects. And of course to Koko and Bianca, for asking me to do this project. (: Can't wait for the next one!

Don't forget to grab a copy at all leading bookstores and newsstands nationwide. It's only P150 and you get 30 patterns, tons of fun projects, and free thread in TEN colors. If that isn't a good deal, I don't know what is. Let me know if you already have your copy and what your favorite bracelet pattern is. (: