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. :)

New Artist Discoveries and more sketches

sorry for the lack of posts, i've been very busy with my day job lately. as promised, here are some of my discoveries on instagram, and i'm totally in love with their works.

 Audrey Kawasaki (@audkawa)

(@oterawat)

 

 (@eatsleepcreaterepeat)

(@ncwintersart)

(@r_hakim)

artworks over at IG

Instagram has been a source of inspiration for me in many ways. From art, fashion to food and travel and super cute animals (let's not forget about that!), i keep on discovering more and more amazing things and people. I have also been posting most of my artworks there since i find it more convenient. Indeed, it has changed the way we share our lives and craft tp the world.

Watch out for my next post on my favorite artists on instagram.

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Calligraphy Crafternoon

Tablea Cheesecake and my dipping pen are having a swell time

or should i call it an afternoon of calligraphy and sweets...? well regardless of the title, Vins and i definitely enjoyed Alessandra's session of intro to calligraphy. 

we got to Pino / Pipino just in time to ogle at the calligraphy paraphernalia from Scribe. they were so tempting... but we're on a strict budget. after all, i already got a dipping pen, so that's enough for practice. and on to my first attempt at calligraphy.

a twisted gothic alphabet

i never had a beautiful neat penmanship. mine's more like a scrawl. plus the weight of my alloy dipping pen did make my first try a challenge. 

though i'm happy to say i did manage... somewhat.

our beautiful attendance, penned by Fozzy, we're not worthy!

our finished seatworks

some of my favorites

and another

all in all, the experience was very overwhelming and at the same time immensely enjoyable as we got to learn a new craft, something which i can hopefully pass on to my son (to be honest i quite envy French children, they start training writing with a fountain pen at Kindergarten!).

A Drawing A Day12

here's to my Spring/Summer

SS illustration by Bre

A Drawing A Day10

it was a busy week, the previous one. i wasn't able to draw daily, but here's one i was able to do last week.

and it's contagious

her smile, that is...

Contagious illustration, by Bre

A Drawing A Day7

stretching after a rehearsal

Prima illustration by Bre

A Drawing A Day6

i usually don't draw males, but we can make Mr. Catkin an exception 

Mr. Catkin, the Victorian gentle-tomcat illustration by Bre

A Drawing a Day5

 

"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein

 

how very true.

 

and now for A Drawing a Day5.

 

there is no winter in the Philippines, but it doesn't mean i can't be cold

 

 

Cold illustration by bre 

A Drawing a Day4

inspired by Degas

illustration by bre

A Drawing A Day2 and 3

Elven Lady; Day2

Grown Shishigami; Day3

due to technical difficulties i wasn't able to upload these last Wednesday, but here they are. with The Hobbit movie looming closer, i feel myself being drawn to draw elves once more. they are indeed a beautiful race. the bottom is an adolescent shishigami, you'll remember that i've painted a young shishigami before, and now he's grown.


all illustrations by Bre

A Drawing A Day

in order to keep my creative juices running, this year, i resolved to challenge myself to draw everyday. even small drawings (which i really like, especially at the office) will suffice. and here's the start:

illustration by bre

Ex Libris Collection: Isis

i have kind of forgotten that i've made this shirt during the first half of the year. my closet's been a disaster lately and i didn't realize i had bought clothes which up to this date haven't been worn. anyway, i saw this last week while looking for something to wear for a lunch with my friends (a very sumptuous lunch!) and decided to wear it.

 i take the lousiest photos... this is Isis, wife of Osiris, inspiration from The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series by Michael Scott. she is depicted in full warrior regalia, with ceramic armor to boot. i'm supposed to sell this, but somehow i can't let go of the women's shirts that i make...

Craftpreneur Files: Noemi Manalang of Noomiedoodles

before the year ends, it's time for yet another feature on Craftpreneur Files. let me introduce you to a very talented fashion illustrator, Noemi Manalang and her shop Noomiedoodles.

hullo, Noemi. it's a pleasure to have you here at Craftpreneur Files. do tell us a little about yourself and about your work.

My name is Noemi Manalang and I am an illustrator. I just graduated fashion design in ESMOD Jakarta a year ago and now continuing my passion in fashion illustration. I own an online shop in Etsy where I sell my original illustrations, prints, cards and I also do private freelance commisions.

how did you start going about your craft business?

It started on a long summer break during college. During that time my best friend introduced me to this site called Etsy. I was so fascinated by the creative and crafty things people were selling there that I wanted to start my own thing too. So I convinced my mom to help me out with etsy's credit card thing and just started the shop.

lucky you to have a very supporting mom not to mention being so successful at young age. but where do you draw inspiration from?

For years I enjoyed having painting lessons ever since I was small. Back then I painted more in oil landscapes and still life. Then I got pretty busy with fashion illustration in fashion school. I used to watch clips by this famous fashion designer named Isaac Mizrahi do live fashion sketches in his online site. He was my inspiration and still, to this day in making something out of fashion illustration.

well i can't blame you for loving Isaac Mizrahi, i'm also look up to him for his works and not to mention his humor! you mentioned that you have a shop on Etsy. how's it been doing so far?

It's been a very exciting experience selling my art. But what I love the most is having the opportunity to show my art to a wide audience and making friends in the Etsy community. I actually haven't experienced selling locally since I've spent most of my life in Indonesia. Now that I am currently in the Philippines, I get to see the art scene here and know what's around. I'd love to give it a try.

i could see that your shop's got quite a lot of admirers and sales on Etsy, kudos to that! but were there any drawbacks you encountered especially when you were just starting out?

At first I was pretty skeptical and had issues on shipping original art internationally because it is very far away. Well, it has been going good so far. So researching beforehand about shipping and customs would saved me a lot of time in online selling. There I made sure to let customers know in my policy that shipping would take some time and to plan for some worse case scenarios too. I'm also learning to balance my time in doing different things in my business.

from all the projects you have done, what's the most memorable so far?

Every art project has been memorable to me. One in particular was just recently when someone emailed me to request a custom illustration for her first book cover. The publishing is still ongoing so I may not provide some details here yet. It's new to us both and we're excited for the outcome!

all artwork by Noemi Manalang

we're excited to know more about it too! we hope you'll be able to share it with us through your blog once it's done. any last words for aspiring craftpreneurs?

Always be resourceful. Make the best of what you have and keep improving. I think it brings up the creativity in you.

thank you for the insights you shared with us, Noemi! i'm sure many will be looking up to you someday, as you looked up to Isaac Mizrahi.

for more of Noemi's works, you can visit her wonderful blog Noomiedoodles, and her etsy shop of the same name here.

thrifted: International Arts & Crafts book

the lovely cover

as a predecessor of my favorite art movement, the short-lived yet flamboyant Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts has been close to my heart as well. the femininity and stylized figures are what drew me to this movement, as well as the craftsmanship of each work.

all photos by Bre

what a wonderful treat for me! i bought this copy of International Arts & Crafts and would you believe that i got this for only Php100 ($2.30)? it's not very old either, with a 2005 publishing date. i just love scavenging around bargain carts of practically any store. you never know what you might come across hidden beneath those piles of what-have-yous.   

addition to ACEO femme collection

i was able to paint last weekend, and here are my updates for the femme collection



La Pucelle finally has color!

Cleopatra, the much maligned Queen of the Nile



Cleopatra detail

i'll be posting these on my etsy shop this week, so feel free to visit :)