Hand-painted Shoes inspired by Adventure Time

Two months ago, my friend Frida and I were talking about how we want to develop our artistic talents. We both have interest in arts which is one of the things we have in common. We never get tired of talking about anything art-related stuffs so there are some ideas that we came up with where we can apply our skills.

One of the things we discussed was about custom-made shoes. I painted a pair of shoes twice before so when Frida brought up this topic, I shared my experience with this kind of hobby to her. If you think that painting shoes is easy, I would say you're wrong. It takes a lot of patience and TIME. Yes. Time. This is because there are moments that you just don't feel like drawing or painting and you should take a break when this moment comes. You wouldn't want to spoil the design of the shoes you're working on.

I encountered an artist block several times on the shoes I just hand-painted that's why it took me a month to finish it. Anyway, going back to the conversation with my friend, we came up with the idea to order a custom made canvass shoes. Since I don't know anyone who can make a shoes that we have in mind, I did a lot of research and found a local shop who accepts custom orders. At first I was hesitant to place an order online especially because we don;t know if it's a legit seller. Fortunately, I found the right one. We placed an order and got it in two weeks' time.

When we got the shoes, we were both ecstatic! This is it! We are taking this hobby seriously. Each of us have 3 pairs of shoes and we didn't even know what to paint. I have an idea already but I don't know how to execute it yet. So when I finally have the time to start painting I decided to start with something that I like. This is the animation series Adventure Time. I chose this so that in case someone doesn't want it, then I could at least wear it.

I'm happy on how this one turned up. I use acrylic paints for this which I already have. My only tip for those who want to paint shoes is to buy a large size of white and black acrylic paint. You will be consuming these two colors a lot.

Aside from acrylic paints, you'll also need a clear varnish (spray) as your top coating.There's no coating on the shoes shown above yet because I want to wait at least a day for the acrylic paint to settle on the canvass. But that is just me. You can apply the varnish as long as the acrylic is already dry.

This shoes is now up for sale on my etsy store. This is the very first hand-painted shoes I put up on the store so hopefully someone will like and buy it.

 Sprinkling you with fairy dust of happy sensations!

How useful is a Selfie Stick?

If you are someone who loves to take a a snapshot of yourself on your own, then you must have heard of this "self-help" tool called selfie stick. For those of us who are actively using various social media sites, you probably saw a lot of people using this. The first time I saw this tool I was thinking, what is this long metal stick doing in front of their picture (that's because the metal stick is visible on the photograph)? Little did I know that it is a type of monopod that you can use to attach your camera or phone.

At first I am an anti-selfie stick person. I swear! My brain is telling me that I don't have use for it, that I could just ask someone to have my picture taken with my friends. I guess it's been more than a year before I decided to buy one for myself. In fact I just bought mine early this year.

There's a reason why I yielded in my stance against not buying one. This happened late December 2014. In my past blogs, I mentioned that I and some friends have a wedding to attend and we're not just guests here. We are the wedding coordinators. Since we are working on the actual day of the wedding, we wouldn't have time to take decent photos of ourselves. If we need to take a photo, we need to do it quick and on a limited space (because you know, our arms are not extensible and can only capture whatever the lens can fit inside the frame). Imagine how blurred those photos are! Not only do we have little seconds to do that, but we also have to do it on our own.

So because of this, I decided it's time to take action! hahaha! I searched for a cheap one (that's me, looking for the cheapest stuff I could find, not too cheap though because you don't want a low quality one.) I didn't even bought the one that includes a bluetooth  because I told myself that I can just use the built-in timer from the phone. See? That's how this little mind of mine works...(later on though I realize why people buy the one with bluetooth, more on that later.)

Did I have any regrets in buying it? None, although I should have bought bluetooth controls as well. By the time we started using this monopod, I noticed how heavy it can get especially when you set your camera's timer into 10 secs! How stupid can I get? Hahaha. Still, my selfie or our group pictures can now be seen with proper background and not just our faces! That's the main objective.



There are lots of advantages when you use a selfie sticks. One obvious reason is that, you no longer need to bother people specifically strangers to take a break from whatever they are doing for them to take your picture.

Another advantage, you can now show off your outfit by trying the top view shot using your selfie tool!  And since, you're already using it for your outfit, show why not show where you are by capturing the beautiful landscape behind you. Just make sure you are not hitting someone else with that selfie stick.


Always remember though that there are limitations when it comes to using it. There are some places that prohibits you from using it so just follow their rules or guidelines. If you are visiting an art gallery or museum, I suggest that you don't use it (whether they have rules against it or not) because you might damage those amazing artworks and vintage items.

Just be practical. If you need it, then buy it, if not, then you don't have to. If you are planning to buy though, do not take excessive selfies. Make sure you also exercise proper etiquette when doing so.

Sprinkling sweet fairy dusts to you, reader

In the hunt for Waterproof Cases for iPhone and DSLR

A few days ago, one of my friends, Tin, sent me and our other friends a private message inviting us to join her on a planned out of town celebration for her birthday. Since it's her birthday and I want to experience being outside of the capital I agreed (plus the fact that it's all expense paid by our wonderful friend). When she suggested that we go to Baler, which is known as one of the "top surf spots" in the Philippines (although I don't know how to surf), I immediately searched it via Google to have an idea what the place has in store for travelers.

The first thing I saw was the Ditumabo Falls, also known as Mother Falls, because it's the most majestic falls around the area. Obviously, if you are to visit such beautiful place, you must capture its beauty in a photo or much better in a video. My solution to avoid damaging my gadgets is to look for waterproof cases similar to  one I found from a Japanese company called Sanwa.

I'm in the hunt for the cheapest one I could find as I have a tight budget especially for things that I would rarely use in the future. I've seen a waterfalls before during one of our field trip in high school but this time around it will be different as I intend to document this shared experience with friends in a video. Rizza, who is the go-to person in our peer group when it comes to travel mentioned that she had read a blog regarding someone who unfortunately didn't think of protecting their gadget during their trip. I don't want Snow (my phone) and Caspian (my DSLR) to have the same fate as that person's gadgets.

Speaking of DSLR... I am thinking of making an improvised waterproof case instead of buying. How do I do that? I don't know yet but I'll post it here once I figured out how to make one. I promise! Researching is my number one agenda for sure as soon as I'm done with the things I'm currently doing. I'm trying to be thrifty these days so I'm being careful on where or what I spend my money for.

If you have an idea how to improvised waterproof cases, please do leave a comment below. I'll appreciate your help.

Sprinkling sweet fairy dusts to you reader!

Zoo Trip with friends and hanging out at Harbor Square

Hello pixies!

Last Saturday, I and some of my college friends met up so we can fulfill one of our friend's (Tin) long time dream to visit Manila Zoo. Since I live nearby, visiting the zoo is no longer new to me however sharing this experience with my college pals is another thing.

We are actually a peer group of 9 but this meet is actually a half-meeting (for some part-time gig), half-exploring kind of thing, we decided to just stick with the usual crew...meaning the 4 of us.

It was a hot, sunny afternoon but we never complained about the heat because we have each others company to block that thought. We enjoyed looking at the remaining animals from the zoo and took some photos and short videos.

Above are some of the photos I manage to take using my iphone. I didn't bring my camera with me because I want to carry lightweight items as much as possible in my semi-medium size shoulder bag. Sorry Caspian, no enough space in my bag...

We also have a short break during the whole duration of our exploration so we can hydrate ourselves.

Check out this video I made to sum up the Zoo trip.

Tin's dream is now fulfilled... just look how happy she is here:

Happy Tin :)

After our trip, we walked from the zoo to the place called Harbor Square beside the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). We waited for the sunset and the sun didn't disappoint us. I was there the day before this trip so I'm still high with the "sunset feel good moment" and this time I want to share it with the gang as well.

The view is so breath-taking and it instantly captivated my heart. It signifies another beautiful day spent with lovely people.

Angels' adventure will continue.Watch out for more trips as we are already brewing some out of town trips this coming May.

Sprinkling positive fairy dusts to you reader!

Youtube

Hello Pixies!

I just want to say that my Youtube channel finally have some activities going on. I'm gonna try putting up some videos there as often as possible because I just need to have another output for my creativity. Videos that will be posted there will mostly revolve around artworks, crafts, D-I-Y projects and probably some about my dolls or the hobby of doll collecting. I might throw in some vlogs if I'm in the mood to do so. Although my day to day activities are boring and I'm not quite sure if I should share it haha. I'll probably end up shooting some snippets of my daily routine or whatever I am scheduled to do on a particular day.

Anyway, it's 4 in the morning and I need to sleep. I intended to sleep earlier that 4 honestly but the video takes forever to upload in my channel. Here is the one I just uploaded.


Seriously, I gotta hit the sheets now. I'll post a much longer post on my next update.

Swish and flick!

Upcoming Wedding and Christmas Wish List

Hello pixies!

It's December and it's almost Christmas!

What are the things (material or non-material) listed on your wish list? Honestly, I really don't have a Christmas wishlist but it will be nice if I will receive this cute owl mug I saw while browsing for stuffs with owl theme on it. You probably don't know but I have this little obsession with owls (and foxes actually). So when I do window shopping  and saw something about owls, I can't help but stop and admire it. It's a good thing that I'm not an impulsive shopper or I would probably be penniless all the time.

Anyway, I only have simple wishes this Christmas, good health for me and my family, peace on earth (I promise this might be a cliche but this is something we truly need), for my online business to improve more, and for more "event planning gigs to come."

Since I already mentioned event planning, I'll jump on the next topic of my post for the day. I have a college friend who's getting married this coming 27th. She's one of my closest friend and I'm glad that I am a part of the group who's going to coordinate on her wedding day. I'm proud to say that I have a huge part in the decorations for the reception because that's what I love doing. I love being crafty and artsy and it's the perfect task for me.

I'll probably post a video or photos of the event on this blog so I can at least document it online. I'm pretty excited and nervous as this will be my first time assisting in a wedding. It's also fortunate that the other people who's assisting on the wedding are my college friends as well. However, just to set the record straight, I'm not the head coordinator on this one as I'm a newbie when it comes to wedding planning... I'm just happy that I'm part of this experience.

Well, wish me and my friends luck, that this wedding and reception will run as smooth as we ever wanted.
May the odds be ever in our favor! Yeah. I'm a fan of the Hunger Games series. :)

Swish and flick!

Sort of Art Dump or Art Dump 0.1

Hello pixies!

I decided to share some of the artworks I did for the past months this year because I haven't posted anything here since August. This month and next month will probably be the busiest month for me because I'm helping out my friends coordinate our friend's wedding. having said that I'm not sure if I can update this blog next month. So to make up for that, as I said before, I'll be sharing my artworks here.

Here they are:

Sorry for the heavy load of pictures but I've done quite a number of artworks while not blogging so yeah...
My art inspiration were usually about fashion. There's one though (modern Snow White) which I did for an art contest which has a theme of drawing a Disney character in a modern outfit. Obviously that one was inspired by Disney+latest fashion trends.

Aside from drawing, I have some bonding moments with my dolls so I've been taking their pictures too. here are some of the latest photos of my beautiful dollies:

Dolls featured in these photos were Jewel (an Oasisdoll Natalie) and Stardust (Asleep Eidolon Mignon). They are called ball-jointed dolls if you are curious about it. I've been a ball-jointed dolls owner since 2012. I wish to expand my doll family if I became rich in the future. :)

Alrighty, that's it for now!
Swish and flick!