Craft Soiree!

A sampling of the awesome crafters that converged at Pipino over a week ago.

A belated, belated post.  As I'm getting the hang of managing my workload, my need to make stuff, and organizing workshops (plus a little work-life balance), I suppose a little documentation via more consistent posts here wouldn't hurt.  :-)

The weekend before last saw about 17 crafters converge at Pipino Vegetarian Restaurant for Life After Breakfast's first craft soiree!  :-)  It was wonderful!  The food, the vibe, meeting different crafters and marveling at all of the cool stuff everyone else does!  I think that fateful event sowed the seeds for future collaborations.  Exciting stuff.

It was also like Christmas!  Everyone brought something to exchange, so we came home with tote bags full of goodies!  Drumroll, please.

A delight for the eyes and for the tummy!

Okay, the item on the left never made it to my tote bag, because I ate it right away.  Um, I ate both of them.  Right away.  Hehe.  Thus, a picture pre-consumption.  This was a red velvet cupcake from Macy's Fields!  It was yummy.  The items on the right all came in a happily wrapped package prepared by Lorra of Stars for Dreams.  A notebook she drew on herself, a postcard and a bookmark she designed!

Prettiness all around.

The item to the left is a silver clay charm with my initial on it, handcrafted by Alessa herself.  Yay, we might be having silver clay workshops at Craft MNL, too!  Watch out for that.  The folder-full of lovely stationery on the right flew all the way in from Davao, in the artistic hands of April, who is behind Artisan Paperie.

A friendly reminder, and a load of friendly loot!

Wiji of the Curious Studio hand-lettered the postcards she gave away that afternoon, while the stash on the right is (1) an assortment of rings and a moustache necklace from Nikki of Junk Studio,  (2) a handmade wallet by Pat (whose demo of 20-ways-to-wear-a-skirt I sorely missed), (3) a coffee cozy by Kaye, (4) tiny clay charms by Anna, (5) a cute cross-stitch kit from DMC, (6) a box sample (with earrings inside) from Kilusan, a box manufacturing company based in Makati, (7) a pair of earrings from dyosaimma.  Numbers below for those without links.  

Different materials, different skills.  All craft.

The assortment on the left begins with (1) an acrylic cutout pendant from Wiji also, (2) a felt toy kit from Beam of Artwine (love her felt bouquets, too!), (3) washi tape and funky cotton rope from Mansy, (4) a pretty friendship bracelet from Mikko (I also bought the Friendship Bracelet book too!), and (5) more washi tapes from Joanne of the Quaint Desk!  And on the right, a screenprinted surfer girl tote bag from Noelle (with printed goodies inside), and personalized crayons from Koko!

Whew.  That was a feast for the eyes, for the tummy, and for every craft-gratifying pore muscle I've got.  

I strung up the buntings from Quaint Desk at Craft MNL!  And here's Nikki and Alessa.

We also had bracelet-making with DMC after the craft exchange!  Although my creation ended up being NOT a bracelet...

...but mismatched earrings!  These later evolved with rivets.

I was also happy to see some of the crafters wearing the little fishie earrings I made (perhaps because I wasn't able to package them properly too, boohoo).  But it was nice seeing the fish floating about.

I must admit though that Koko's dimple steals the show.

Yay!  Here's to more craft gatherings!  :-)  This handmade adventure just got bigger.

*****

Kilusan Box Mfg. Company
+63917.8486880


dyosaimma
+63917.5863408

The 10A Alabama Summer Arts and Crafts Fair!

Summer handmade goodness!

Just as last-minute plans for April are settled, I thought I could participate in this summer's Arts & Crafts fair (hmmm, maybe I still could...)--well, I'm still thinking about it, as I've a workshop to lead that Saturday.  But for anyone who's in the area, do drop by and revel in summer handmade goodness!

The Arts & Crafts fairs at 10A Alabama are fun, and a colorful place to get inspiration and stock up on handmade goodies.  :-)

If you haven't been to 10A Alabama, then you're in for a treat.  Visiting Resurrection Furniture and Found Objects Gallery is always a venture into the possibilities that await dusty old furniture and odd knickknacks.  I picked up my favorite fabric necklace there--they carry different brands of upcycled items.

So if you don't have plans on the weekend of April 14 and 15, venture over to New Manila and begin a summer handmade adventure of your own.  Ooooh, and if you're in for some yummy mochi, drop by Dezato (a cafe in the area) for ice cream-filled mochi, or a take-home box of the regular kind.  The milk chocolate mochi is delicious.

Here's the map to 10A Alabama:

RAW and Hausbesetzer aren't there anymore, but it's still definitely worth making the trip.  :-)

And here's a picture of my mochi when we first discovered Dezato (upon the recommendation of awesome art collage mistress, Arlene Barbaza).

Avocado ice cream-filled mochi.  Heaven.

NaPoWriMo Day 4: Afternoon Infatuation

The milkiest, most cinnamon-y cappuccino I've ever had.

Afternoon Infatuation

A warm mug of brew
holds between its thumb and forefinger
an idea
that encloses
an image of you
within a delicate veil of steam.

In that moment, everything is perfectly clear.

- MPN 040412

Today's NaPoWriMo post is inspired from a post-lunch cappuccino with Lex at Milky & Sunny.  We found ourselves hanging there while waiting for word on our workshop stools.  Framed graphite sketches, an assortment of vintage-y frames, and embroidery hoops decorated the walls, which completed a whimsical, crafty look for the pleasant breakfast place.

We really should come back to try the food.  :-)

Cute.

NaPoWriMo 2012: I join in on Day 3.

Because I can!  :-)

And because scribbling is yoga for the brain.  As crafting is syncing my motor skills with my mind.

Dinner

Squasing squash
is an exercise in the necessity
of curry
and salt.
Dancing with sweetness,
the sizzle
savors
the song,
styling the pepper
as its dotted notes
fall into the fires of a domed sky
that echoes
with the scrape of hunger.

The silence, filling.

- MPN, 040312

Okay, so I had squash pasta for dinner.  :-)  I don't have a photo, but what I prepared earlier is a variation of this recipe on Chocolate and Zucchini.  I must remind myself next time to take photos of what I concoct out of the wok.

Oh, and if you'd like to know more about NaPoWriMo 2012, check it out here.