Post Valentine

on a day when love transcends nemeses

Happy Post-Valentines, everyone!

La Mer de Reve Brooches

After much contemplation (not to mention temptation), I puchased my first and second set of washi tapes during the past weeks. The first one was from Hey Kessy, one of the leading online sellers of washi tapes. They have unique and vast variety of designs to choose from. Then I went to National Bookstore where I chanced upon ultra slim washi tapes at 6mm width! No doubt I had to buy them.

And here are the results of my growing addiction. The illustrations are hand-drawn and colored, then dabbed with washi here and there and a bit of Mod Podge. Et voila! Handmade brooches! These'll be in the shop soon so watch out!

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Lunch Date at Rustic Mornings by Isabelo

A celebration was in order as my son just had his first communion on the last day of January. Good thing Rustic Mornings was only a few minutes' walk from the church and his school. I've always seen their signage whenever I take my son to school and now I have a chance to explore it.

Rustic Mornings is the daytime, walk-in version of Cafe Isabelo, as the latter only serves dining by reservation. It's located in a nondescript alley from the shoe museum in Marikina leading to the Pasig River. The alley's quite tight but it is a quiet neighborhood. RM also has a different menu, mainly serving breakfast/brunch specialties. I don't know what it is with breakfast food but I enjoy eating them any part of the day. I guess they're one of my comfort foods.

like dining in the comfort of your country home

The shabby chic interiors and decor will transport you elsewhere upon entering the compound. There were much blues and whites, distressed finishing, and crafty decors. You'll simply cozy up to this place. We chose an al fresco dining space since the weather played along with us; it was a windy-cloudy weather, perfect for the setting. I think not many people have gotten news of this place since it isn't packed yet. But it was a weekday, at lunch time so I wasn't expecting much of a crowd.

our little patio of a dining space

We ordered Chicken Fricasee, Sausage Platter, and Waffles and Chicken Strips for my son... And an additional order of Crispy Waffle since it was that good (for dessert). The food was okay, but more of the usual. I did enjoy the cheesy sausage and waffles though. Servings were just right, not too little and not too much.

yummy home-made pancake/waffle syrup

modest Sausage Platter

Our afternoon was cut short since the husband had to go back to work. If it wasn't for that I think I would rather have spent more time eating more slowly and savoring the place.

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the boy enjoying his Crispy Waffles!

digital illustration

I admit that I'm not a techie. I only know the basics of Photoshop (more of photo manipulating) and Autocad (the 2007 version). Call me old-fashioned but I'm just really into hand-drawing/painting.

Then came my Nexus tab, a late gift from my hubby for Christmas, complete with Sketch Guru apps and other sketching/drawing apps already installed (but no Paper since Android doesn't have it yet). I tried the Sketch Guru app and was amazed by the results. Instant textures! Loving the Dave Mckean-ish look on my sketches. Here are two of them. Pardon my art, I don't have a stylus yet.

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first testing



i love doing Merida's hair. it's always a challenge



Learn from the wise. Owls have always been perceived to be wise. It is the symbol of Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom.

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My First Mail Swap



cute stamped package

Sorry for the lack of posts, Christmas has been crazy with all the things to do at my day job, gift buying, and inter-island trips. Last December I joined a mail swap hosted by Hey Kessy, the theme was Christmas. This is my first time to join such so I didn't quite know what to put in the package. To be honest I forgot to take photos of the handmade Christmas-y stuff i made for my swap partner (this Christmas season has been the busiest by far!), but I managed to take photos of the loot I got from Joyce of Monsterella Plush Art.

 

some stuff from the Monsterella shop, moustache eye mask and cutie plushie keychain



handmade gift tags made with washi, felt and stickers



more gift tags!



personalized postcard

Joyce and I have been exchanging emails lately, and we're planning on doing a personalized mail swap (meaning on a lower scale, haha!). I'll be updating you soon on this. :)

Learning Screen Printing

last weekend was quite exhausting but enjoyable, as we had a long weekend in celebration of Bonifacio Day. i took advantage of the holiday to do some crafting and learn how to screen print.

i joined Hey Kessy's Merry Mail Swap and i'm excited to make my swap partner Christmasy things! no photos yet so as not to spoil the fun!

oiling the screen

then that afternoon i headed off to Megamall for a short course on screen printing. it was very exciting because we will be doing photographic screen printing.

applying some photo emulsion chemicals

though during the process, i got a little bit turned off because of the amount of chemicals to be used.

fun with squeegee!

i was hoping for simpler methods with at least non-toxic materials to use. nonetheless i proceeded with the class, and eventually enjoyed making my own shirt. here's the finished product:

Early Christmas Treat

the Christmas presents i got for myself finally arrived today. i feel so giddy as i saw the package on my work desk this morning. these were ordered through Avalon.ph. where they have one-of-a-kind book selections, not to mention more affordable Moleskines. great service too! they were kind enough to double-check my mailing address, turns out i forgot to include the floor of my office building (not that we have too many floors).

now on to the goods, i got a large Moleskine sketchbook and The Heart of Faerie Oracle by Brian and Wendy Froud. i think it was about time for me to get a Moleskine sketchbook. i do have a lot of notebooks and sketchbooks, i have tried using Moleskine planners and cahiers but i just had to try Moleskine to see why so many are using it as a sketchbook (they're darn expensive!).

and as i wanted someting exotic, i got myself The Heart of Faerie Oracle. it has a book and tarot-ish cards to "read", with AMAZING artwork. back when i was still a book buyer i encountered Brian Froud in book catalogues. of course i can only marvel at miniature versions of his art. now i can enjoy his art one at a time, in every piece of oracle card. and who knows, i might dabble in the art of the oracle someday.

The Queen of the Golden Bough leads the pack