Ready for Summer!

Give Thanks. Collage. © Mia Goloy

With our tropical "Summer" (Tag-init) beating down on our front doors and demanding to be let in, I decided to welcome it with a matching color scheme for my blog: a wonderfully warm, spirally, swirly orange. Yes, orange. Happy, vibrant orange. What's not to like about it?

Come on in, Summer, I'm ready for you!

Speed Crafting

Inchies at the speed of light!

Sunday night, and grumpy as hell. Who wouldn't be? I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend of making stuff, but the Household Chores Monster poked its ugly head into my bedroom-slash-studio early Saturday morning and said, "Hey, you can't make stuff today. You got a mountain of things to do!" And he rattled off a laundry list of chores (pardon the pun) : do your laundry, do the dishes, clean your room, mend your socks, answer your email, back up your files, pay your bills... This, of course, had to be done in between the non-negotiables: catching up on much-needed sleep, having meals, going to church, and spending quality time with family members you only get to see on weekends.

When I finally got everything done, and the Household Chores Monster called it a day, it was already Sunday night, with less than an hour to spare before bedtime (which, for me, isn't earlier than 11:00 pm - and which isn't a good idea considering that I have to get up by 5:00 am the next day in order to make it to the Day Job on time). I needed a creative fix, and I needed it badly. In desperation I grabbed my tin full of inchie backgrounds and quickly scrounged around for some found text and images from previous projects. Scissors and glue stick in hand, I plopped down on my bed, spread out the supplies on it and started mixing and matching pieces (Warning: DO NOT try this at home especially right before bedtime - you risk losing your bed under a mountain of scraps!). When I was done, I managed to whip up a total of - tadah! - four inchies. Four. I admit that most of the time went to deciding what would work together and what wouldn't, since it takes way less than a minute to actually assemble an inchie. But yes, I was happy with my four inchies. Finally, I got my creative fix, late on a Sunday night!

I would recommend Speed Crafting only in desperate situations, but with a bit of planning (which I obviously failed to do in this case) you can actually find more time to make crafts, and still keep the Household Chores Monster happy. Head on to BellaOnline.com and read this article that offers tips for busy crafters. Sheesh, I think I need a refresher course! :)

Time-saving Tips for Busy Paper Crafters

On scissors and more

Source: WPClipart.com

'Fess up now: how many pairs of scissors do you have in your craft box? Me, I've probably got a dozen: One no-nonsense pair for most cutting jobs, a non-stick pair with pointy blades for cutting detail work and double-sided tape, and a bunch of decorative edged scissors for that retro feel. Oh, and don't forget the special scissors I use for parchment craft.

Indeed, scissors are indispensable tools for crafters like you and me, but they don't always cut it (pardon the pun) when it comes to certain materials or shapes. If you've tried cutting thick illustration board or a hundred flower shapes with a pair of scissors, then you know what I mean. That's why other cutting tools were invented. Check out these two BellaOnline articles that give you an overview of basic and specialized cutting tools for paper crafters:

• Paper Cutting Tools 
• More Paper Cutting Tools

 So how many pairs of scissors did you say you have? How about craft knives? And paper trimmers? Punches? And....

But what to do with those inchies?

If you enjoy making and collecting inchies like I do, you'll end up with a whole lot of them in no time. Display them proudly by putting them to good use. In this BellaOnline article, you'll find some fun and funky ways to use inchies. Check it out now!

Inchies Projects

I'm back!

Yes, please do welcome me back to Blogger! It's been a while, hasn't it? My last post was in January 2005. Whoa! That's almost eight years ago! And, take this: I've been on Blogger since November 2001. That's 11 years ago!!!

Anyway, like the Prodigal Son, I'm back because my hosted WordPress blog is gone. As in, vaporized off the face of the earth. Zapped out of cyberspace. Years of witty text and pretty pictures, all gone. Yes, I had a backup. But I can't seem to find it anywhere. I figured it would be easier to just start anew, than to find that @#&#! backup of mine. Ah, lessons learned.

It's been months since I've updated that blog, thinking it would always be there. Hah. Epic fail. My cyber landlord apparently decided to give up his property one day, and he must have assumed that I would have a proper backup of  my blog stored safely away in three offsite locations. Well, I don't.

So now I'm back, finding my way around again after all these years. Well, it's good to be back. Welcome home, me!

Shopping time!

Where do you get your craft supplies? If you're like me, you probably have your favorite haunts.

For starters, I always drop by National Bookstore for my basic crafting needs. You know -- all sorts of glue and tape, scissors and craft knives, cutting mats, rulers and compasses, pens and pencils, crayons, paints and mediums, brushes, specialty boards and papers, laminating films, fasteners and staplers and eyelets, craft punchers, giftwrapper, ribbon, styrofoam boards and balls -- you get the idea.

NBS also carries a line of supplies from All About Scrapbooking, and this includes scrapbooks, fancy eyelets and brads, tiny wooden clothespins, leather thongs (it's not what you think!), leaf skeletons, fuzzy wires, foam accents, tiny picture frames, metal charms, beads, acid-free paper, and stickers.

Another line of supplies is that for quilling (sorry, I missed the brand and distributor, but I'll back to you on that), and this includes packs of paper strips, quilling tools, sticky dots, and kits.

And don't forget the books! Judging by the number of titles available, the most popular craft books seem to be on cross stitch, origami, candlemaking, and beadwork. But there are books on papermaking and other paper crafts, bookbinding, framing, quilting, crochet, needlepoint, stuffed toy making, flower arrangement, glass and ceramic painting, mosaics, and woodworking. For books on drawing, painting, and calligraphy, head on to the Art section.

Another favorite haunt of mine is Craftworld, located at the basement of Robinson's Galleria in Ortigas Center. This place is similar to Ben Frank's in Singapore and is kind of upscale, because a lot of the stuff here is imported. This is the place to get the tools and supplies for parchment craft (I got my parchment tools here, one piece at a time because they're expensive), embossing, rubber stamping, gilding (they have tacky glue and foil sheets and imported metallic leaf!), candlemaking, lamp-making, rubber stamping, decoupage, all kinds of paint (for glass, tiles, stickers, fabric, etc.), polymer clay, plus the usual cross stitch stuff. There's more, believe me, but I haven't been there for a while, so I'm not sure what's new.

Craftworld also carries patterns, kits, and craft books, but some of the books are sold in National Bookstore at a considerably lower price so be sure to check the bookstores first. Oh, this shop also offers craft classes, but I think this is by appointment. Will drop by one of these days and keep you posted.

Those of you who are into beadwork and sewing will like Carolina's. This is a shop in Glorietta (there's also a branch in SM Megamall) that sells a whole assortment of fabric, ribbon, trimmings, appliques, buttons, buckles, charms, beads, jewelry findings, wire, cord, threads, fasteners, silk flowers, feather boas, tiaras, swarovski crystals, chinese knotwork -- anything and everything that has to do with sewing. It's no wonder the store is always full of customers -- this is the place where fashion designers and dressmakers go. Do bring along some patience when you go shopping here, or go on a really slow day (which is rare!).

Also in Glorietta is the Paper Tole Shop. As the name implies, they sell a wide selection of designs for Paper Tole, and they have very good Victorian prints. They also sell Japanese Washi paper at P250/sheet (drool!), origami paper, and some parchment kits. Like Craftworld, they offer classes too, and these are by appointment.

Seasoned crafters will tell you that Divisoria is the place to go, and they're probably right. The truth is, I've been to Divisoria only once, and that was quite recently too, but given the chance I would go back there as often as I could. (Blame it on all those horror stories I've heard about Divisoria when I was a kid -- snatchers, pickpockets, crowds. But I digress.) My destination: Tabora St.

If I'm not mistaken, Tabora's the place where they make and sell favors and souvenirs for weddings, debuts, christenings, and birthdays. So you've got stalls selling craft boxes, wooden dowels for scrolls, miles and miles of ribbon and twine, delicate stocking butterflies and birds, colored sand (it's actually sugar, a friend tells me), odd-shaped bottles, native accessories (think buri, sinamay, wood shavings, and the like), tiny plaster and resin figurines, and more. Whew! If that's not enough to make you drool, then you're no crafter at all. Prices are more affordable too than if you buy the stuff in the mall, plus you can haggle with the vendors, especially for bulk orders.

Whoa. Thinking of all those places made me want to go visit them again and see what treasures I could come home with. Hmm, maybe I will make a quick dash for some new supplies tomorrow... Anyhow, if you know of any other great places to shop for craft supplies, do drop me a line. Happy Crafting!

Great Find of the Day: Leaf Skeletons!

How about including some skeletons in your artwork?

Don't get grossed out by such a morbid thought -- we're talking leaf skeletons here! Leaf skeletons add a natural touch to a project, and go well with handmade paper. Use them to embellish cards, scrapbooks, journal covers, boxes, lamp shades and other projects. I even saw leaf skeletons bunched together like flower petals around Christmas lights!

The leaf accents of All About Scrapbooking are available from National Bookstore and cost P11.75 for a pack of 5. Colors available are brown, yellow, green, and red, in one shape only (are these magnolia leaves?).

Those from Tickles cost P15 and P19.50 for a pack of 5, depending on the leaf shape, and are available in a variety of colors as well.

If you have the time and inclination, you can actually make your own leaf skeletons. My sister used to make some for her science class, but since that was years ago, she doesn't remember the procedure anymore. Anyhow, I found a couple of procedures on the Net, and will post them one of these days.

Happy crafting!

Welcome to the Craft Corner!

Crafts are just another of my many interests, and I thought I'd share with you some ideas on crafting. There's actually no local magazine for crafters (am in the Philippines, BTW), and since I don't have the capital to start my own (though I wish I did!), I decided to just publish online -- until I find the money, or until someone decides to put up a craft mag and hire me as the editor! 8)

Don't expect anything structured here -- this is all free-flowing stuff. So in one post you might read about my "great find for the day", and in another you might read about a neat trick for finishing paper. Incidentally, paper crafts are my passion, but once in a while I might dabble in crochet or beadwork or something else.

That's it for now. Please feel free to leave your comments. You can also share your tips here. Happy crafting!