product shots

these are just some of the paper mache bowls and tray i finished. 

i think my light box needs 2 more lights to eliminate the shadows. 

updated: master says shadows are good :)

so proud of this

paper macheing!

i'm addicted! 

here's my first paper mache using old book pages and Japanese paper:

bottom view

then i experimented on making a thin bowl-shaped one

next, i experimented on pulp. this is a combination of egg carton, tissue and some white paper. it's not finished yet as i'm still waiting for my acrylic paints! 

loving the texture of this one!

i have more but i'll post hopefully nicer pictures once my DIY lightbox is ready! here is what i came up with earlier. 

there's a cloth inside which i used as background for the pic above. but it's still not finished.  

a. i need another light source for the top

b. my light sources are too weak for the box size. i need three 100w bulbs!

c. plus i want to do it again but this time without the masking tapes showing, without a line showing between the two white papers on both sides (i only glued oslo pages together as i don't have a large white paper or fabric available.)  

anyway to learn how to make a DIY lightbox, just click here. 

paper mache

if someone will tell me i can paper mache all day everyday,

i will be very happy.

all made today! (except for the yarn base)

all interiors are book page strips. 

i'm particularly proud of the heart shaped case. 

i used a heart stone as a mold but i'll make my own mold next time.

what i hate about this craft is the waiting!

i'm so impatient to see the final product.

good thing the dried glue on my hands kept me busy while i wait. 

but as it is, i still have to wait for them to dry 

before i apply the varnish and paint.

next time, i'll experiment on paper mache pulp!

on DIY weddings

let me count the weddings i've attended in my 33 years...

Four weddings: my sister's ex's wedding, my sister's, my former boss's wedding and my best friend Mylene. (ok make that 5. i attended a classmate's wedding just to see my college crush haha)

it's a miracle i got to attend 5 because if i can make up an excuse not to go i will. there are two reasons i will attend: if i have no way out or if i'm curious.

in the case of my sister's ex, i attended because i wanted to see the bride (tsismosa). he and my sister were together for about 6-7 years then they broke up. after a year or less, he got married. his bride looked like my sister!

his wedding was boring and very traditional.  it made me believe what i suspected all along, that he was just marrying that girl to get over my sister!

on the other hand, my sister's wedding was the first DIY wedding i attended. they were hands on in every detail and they paid for everything themselves. it was a new idea to me that time. my contribution was a mixed CD of wedding songs that was played during the reception.  it was Japanese-themed so my playlist included the following:


Turning Japanese by The Vapors (which i found out later was about masturbation! my sister doesn't need to know that)



Sho-jo-ji (The Hungry Racoon) by Eartha Kitt was played during the reception


it's one of the things i really enjoy, making mixed CDs! and if you're compiling this unusual quirky songs for a wedding, it's all the more fun! 

Drew Barrymore and new hubby danced to this song.


 I don't think it's danceable but i like Band of Horses.

but i made my point here. songs are really important! it's next to food and venue on my list of must-be-perfect wedding elements!

anyway back to my sister's wedding, it was the first wedding i enjoyed because instead of dancing to For The First Time or another mushy song, they danced to the tune of HAPPY by Alexia! 

DIY weddings make me root for the couple and make me want to hope that their marriages will work and last.  just like when i saw an FB friend's DIY wedding pictures and i felt the intensity and sincerity of their love for each other, i really wish that Djae's marriage lasts forever and ever. i would have enjoyed attending that wedding.

the truth is seeing their pictures made me kind of feel happy and a little envious at the same time. not anybody can have that kind of love or happiness and not everybody are meant to get married and have kids. most of all, not everybody will be given the chance to meet the love of their life from another continent and then wed them too.  i guess they're just meant to be together.

i wonder what their songs were! (i have to ask her)

and i wonder still, what would have been if i left the movie industry 8 years ago and worked on a cruise ship just as planned. in that parallel universe, what is Michiko, the-cruise-ship-housekeeper, doing?

is she retired and living in some European country with a foreign guy? is she married to him? or is she also having a midlife crisis and wants wondering about her parallel universe at this very moment?

(pathetic pala kahit saang universe hahaha!)

let's make a pact

it would be hard to say no to an offer like that so Universe, decide for me.

if you do, i'll accept the first film project that comes my way even if it stars the worst actor there is (ok will have to use a pseudonym) and then continue with the business plan. will continue supporting myself that way until i don't need to accept any more writing project for the money.

good enough Universe?


(tap tap tappity tap)

the ferris wheel experience

when i was in Grade 5, i splurged P300+ on ferris wheels instead of paying for my school costume. my teacher didn't find out about it. somehow, she missed my name every time she did the roll call for students with unpaid costumes. i was lucky...but not for long.  at the end of the school year (where i placed 4th miraculously despite my absences), she reported my misconducts (including calling her stupid behind her back) to my mother who had to pay the school costume too. i don't remember my mother scolding me for that.  but i also remember crying while they talked without me. i was mad at my teacher for telling and sad that my mother now knew how bad i behaved...

  

but i'm digressing. the moral of this story is not about my early rebellion. it's about the ferris wheels. 

ferris wheel in Okinawa

when i look back at my elementary days, i don't remember the classes, what i learned or how i did in projects. instead i remember the days when i was in uniform but not in school. i was playing volleyball at the back of the municipal hall building with two friends who were also absent like me. i was 10 years old and i was cursing loudly. that was my idea of rebellion.  

again, i'm digressing. this isn't a post about rebellion. i want to talk about the ferris wheel!

the ferris wheel. 

it was our school foundation day so naturally, there were rides in our school ground. i never rode in a ferris wheel before but when i saw it there, i was just amazed and wanted to try it. since my baon was not enough for a ride (i think it cost about P4 or P6 per ride), i decided to use my costume money. 

i loved riding in ferris wheels! imagine how many rides my P300+ got me! of course being happy alone is not fun so i had to share my happiness to friends and paid for their tickets too! i also used some betting on numbers where i won my first bet with one liter of Coke. i took my prize home. 

my money disappeared fast but the memories last until now. 

i shake my head when i see people being stingy or kuripot. it's not that i'm judging them but i'm sad for them because they don't know the feeling of satisfaction that you get when you share your blessings to someone, especially to those less blessed than you are.  that feeling you cannot buy anywhere.

birds of the same feather flock together. all of my friends are generous but i wonder, do stingy people have friends? are they also stingy like them? 

(if i didn't break the rule, i wouldn't have discovered the gift of giving. so yes, this is also a post about rebellion :))

1979

i want to be born again. literally.

i feel you giraffe