Extensive Chibi Workshop with Claythinz

When I was just starting to work with clays, my chibis looked like this:

Yes I know, they all looked scary! Even I can't stand the very sight of them. Lol. So I kept practicing and somehow managed to improve and created something more presentable...

I'm happy that people around me find them cute now but I wasn't really happy with the improvement because even if they look better, I can't seem to make their size smaller... at least small enough to make as cellphone charms.

I wanted to make personalized gifts for family and friends that are small yet pretty for them to hang on to their mobile phones but my chibis always end up as big as a charm for a pendant or even a cake topper, haha!

I wanted so bad to make small ones and really improve on creating mini-MEs hence my decision to join another workshop. This time with the chibi queen herself who also happens to be a good friend of mine, Thina of Claythinz.

Why her workshop? Well other than she is the Chibi Queen, she also makes really tiny yet BEAUTIFUL chibis -- and mind you, she's really good at it!

If you get to see these lovelies in person, I bet the first word that will ever come out of your mouth is "WOW!". Yes that's how awesome her chibis really are.

So last July 28, 2011 I had my workshop with Thina at home. A workshop specifically designed for one to learn the art of creating one of a kind detailed chibis. Love of Labor of Love also came to join us. It was such a fun day!☺

Love with Thina

I considered the workshop to be an extensive one because I feel that other than a refresher of my basic chibi workshop with Poxee, it also introduced a wider range of techniques in creating small yet very detailed chibis. But since we were not really able to maximize the day -- I had to take care of my baby and take the workshop at the same time, my mentor Thina was generous enough to give me a second round! Only the round 2 happened a couple of months after, October 09, 2011 due to both our hectic schedules (or was it just mine?) haha!

We still did it at home, only this time we had it in our other unit. And I was able to prepare for it more than I did the first one... Here take a lookie!

and there's still 3 of us because Cherry of Crafty CB joined us!

Cherry with Thina

Serious?

I am glad I decided to take this workshop... Not only have I learned how to make my chibis smaller, I also learned a whole lot of techniques and tricks... oh and hairstyles too! ☺

my workshop projects

Now every time I find myself a little confused or in the middle of nowhere whenever I am making my chibi Thina is always kind enough to answer my questions despite her busy schedule. Isn't that one of the most important things to consider when choosing our mentors?

I highly recommend this workshop for all those who'd like to learn how to make really special and fab chibis! If you wanna learn how just hit her facebook link below. ☺

Oh! And here's a picture of my most recent work that I made for our house help, Bibi.

It may look a little big -- but it's not! ☺ Just perfect for a mobile charm ♥

I give this workshop a 5 out of 5 stars.



Thina Villanueva (Claythinz)
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Sendong: Give L♥ve this Christmas

Sendong (international name Washi), a tropical storm that hit Cagayan De Oro and Iligan on Dec 16, 2011 like a thief in the night, where death has reached 927 while hundreds are still missing...

Read more of my Sendong post HERE.

Love from Friends...

Nothing compares to the wonderful feeling of receiving wonderful surprises from loved ones and friends.

And I got two surprises -- one came a couple of weeks ago and the other one just this afternoon! Both came really unexpected!

Here lookie lookie... 

This came from my friend Joy of Glitz of Joy. I never expected she'd make me my own signature stamp! I can't imagine just how much effort was invested in this project. This is really tiny yet lovely. Perfect for my projects.☺

The second one is this... 

The package came with a sweet note!

opening the package...

and this is what's inside

look at the back view!!!

a closer look at the back part

Perfect for my iPhone!!!

The second gift came from one of my NENDO distributors, Celyn of Kleyland. I really find it sooo cute -- I ended up using it the very minute I finished taking all the photos for this blog and set aside my capdase casing. ☺

I am happy for the lovely gifts I've received from friends, but most of all I feel grateful for having friends like them who took the time and effort in making handmade gifts for me. Really thoughtful, really special.

To Joy and Celyn, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart ♥

Which 1 Should I Get?

Due to hectic schedule weeks before, I decided to take some time off -- to sleep, rest and do non-crafty things (such as watching tv) as much as possible. As a matter of fact, I just woke up at 730pm from an afternoon sleep and it sure felt so good to be able to catch up on sleep!

Anyway, at the moment even if I am not doing anything craft-y my mind won't stop thinking... I just couldn't take my mind off this topic -- "which camera lens to get for my new toy."

I currently have AF-S Nikkor 18-105mm 1:3.5-5.6G ED. I think my photography mentor, Marlon, mentioned that this is a zoom type lens. I tried using it several times in some of my projects and noticed that it had a hard time shooting in low light conditions. Since the only time I am free to take photos would be in the evening, inside our room, I figured I should get myself a new lens fit for what and when I do take photos.

So I am choosing between these 3 awesome Nikkor lenses:

The picture above is an AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G. Initially I wanted this because I heard that it's good at low light condition, great for group shots and basically a general all purpose lens, not to mention it's only P11,000.00, a little easy on the pocket. However, I am not so sure if it'll be that good too when it comes to product shots which is one of my main concerns for getting another lens.

The second one is an AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G. I considered this lens because after several research I found out that this lens works really great at low light conditions as well as portrait shots. Price however is more than double the amount of the first lens considered. This costs P26,000.00 when I called up Henry's and Mayers. :-(

Now this is an AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm f/1:2.5G ED. My friend Randy Bautista of Focal Studios suggested this lens since I do lots of product shots. For him this is really the lens for the job. The only downside of this lens after I made my research is that it doesn't work well indoors and I'd be needing a tripod to prevent blur images. This lens also costs P27,500.00 and I think it went higher because the 50mm lens added 2k its original price from the last time I checked with Mayer and Henrys.

I haven't made up my mind... And I think it'll take me several more days to decide. But I feel the rush to make a decision as soon as I can because this topic is starting to hurt my head, lol.

Then again I have to remember, it's not on the camera nor lens alone -- but more on the skill of the photographer taking the picture. Even with a point and shoot cam one can come up with really fantastic photos. So I have to get to know the new camera, understand my notes from my mentor and learn as much as I can. Oh and not to forget, take note of my budget!☺


Credits: 
Photos - Google.com
Link Reviews - DpReview.com

Something New...

I haven't posted in a while...
Lots of things happened and now I am taking the time off everything, except work of course! teehee.

But I will write again, soon! I promise.

In the mean time, let me just show you a picture of my very special new toy!

The big guy (camera) over there is my new boyfriend! teehee.
I am sooo happy... Finally I have my own DSLR camera!

So other than my crafty little handmade stuff, I will also be posting here lots and lots of photos I will be taking as I step further and explore the fab world of photography ♥ I am sooo excited.

Also, I'd like to thank Mr Marlon Antonio, the wonderful husband of my clay mentor Rocky of Rockybeads, for generously guiding and teaching me lots of things -- from understanding my camera to capturing great photos. ☺ It always feels great to have someone around who's very well versed in photography. Thank you so much!

Lastly, let me share with you my new site -- My Doppelganger. No I am not moving, again. I just put up another site for my more personal blogs and weekly memes. Visit me there once in a while too and get to know the other side of me. *winkwink

That's it for now... Talk to you again soon!
Check back every now and then as I have lots of stuff and stories to share to you all soon! ☺

CFSPh's Early Christmas Give-Away

I made this white angel necklace pendant months back for my Clay Friends Society Ph's Early Christmas Gift Give-away drive. Unfortunately we lost track of those who participated because our page suddenly went missing. :-(

For this project, I made use of Nendo polymer clay for the whole angel but used Premo's Frost for the wings and halo part since my translucent (C2) clay is still not as I wanted it to be. But we're continuously doing our best to improve and so I am sure that soon we'll get there. Ü

I haven't been able to update my craft blog because I've been busy with work... And I won't probably be able to update this until after our first ever bazaar on the 19th which is happening in Megatent. I hope you can drop by and visit us there too!

I have lots of pending topics to post like my workshops with Thina, Pam and Em plus some of my favorite craft stores both online and offline. There's really a whole lot of topic piling up so keep visiting whenever you can. *wink

TJC's I Design, I Recycle Challenge

It's been a very busy month, thus the absence in Tuesdays Jabbering Craft (TJC).
Anyway, let me show you the most recent project I made using polymer clay...

Our group, CLAY FRIENDS SOCIETY PHILIPPINES had our first I DESIGN I RECYCLE challenge. The aim is for us to come up with something nice and creative yet something useful with the use of materials that are about to be thrown away.

Although we were given a month to finish our projects, it took me a while figuring out which material to use and what project to make. With everything that has been going on with my work-Nendo-home schedule, I didn't had much time to sit and think about it. Thank God for helpful and really good clay artists that I get to talk to online, even if they're hundreds of miles away, who provided me with the inspiration to make this project a success. This is by the way a remake of the original one made by Scott.

I choose to recycle a Brands Essence of Chicken bottle. In my family, since my dad drinks this a lot, we sort of have quite a number of this kind of bottle to dispose. And so I thought of using this and turning it into something useful instead of just throwing it away.

Here are the materials I used for this project:

• Exacto Knife (not in the picture)
• Pasta Machine (not in the picture)
• Bottle
• Scrap clays

recycled materials used

And here's the finished project -- my Shark Pen Holder!

Now how do you like a study table or art space full of sharks?

See you again next week for more of...

TJC Joins BC Bloggers Secret

I have tried several times to join the BC Bloggers Secret... but since I moved sites and changed email addresses, I wasn't really that successful. I think I kind of gave up waiting for it to open again because I keep on missing it...

Until this afternoon when I opened my Y!Messenger and saw an email preview of  a message from Paula, the host, announcing its opening again... It made me all excited because this time I am sure I am hitting all the requirement and submitting the links on time!

What's this BC Bloggers Secret and why I really want to join them you ask?

If you have been in the blogosphere for quite some time now, you'll know that one of the most important part of blogging is link building. BC Bloggers Secret is a neat solution for busy bloggers, like me, who would like to participate in blog exchange of links without having to beg for links!   

More reasons to join the BC Bloggers Secret:

• Aside from no more need to beg for exchange links, with BC Bloggers Secret all the people you will meet is willing to exchange links with you.
• The steps are FAST and really EASY!
• You have lots to gain and nothing to lose.

So what are you waiting for join us by following these 3 simple steps:

1. Copy the html code of the BC Bloggers Secret and place it in your sidebar. The badge is required, without it -- you will not be included in the list. You may get the code in Paula's site by CLICKING HERE.
2. Email your blog/s html code to sweetypaula@gmail.com with the subject: I WANT TO JOIN BC BLOGGER'S SECRET.
3. Make a post about BC Blogger's Secret and spread the word! 

Easy isn't it? Join us and be able to reach more bloggers -- the easy way Ü

TJC: Wired.and.Beaded.

Another late post for Tuesdays Jabbering Craft (TJC) as today is already a Thursday. Still fits -- only this time the "T" would have to stand for Thursday, haha!

Anyway, this is going to be a quick one because I still have lots of things that needs to be done offline. I just want to share to you what I've been trying to do this week. 

I have been beading and wiring! Oh and crocheting too! Not clay related this time... just touching base with what I loved first before I got myself into clay-ing. Ü

I tried to do another one but since I didn't have much biggie beads around, I just made do with what I have to practice a technique...

I must admit I didn't quite like it -- the middle looks too busy. And the swirls -- BIG! But I love the colors... Plus it's not as bad as it is up close, hihi! I gotta practice... Practice makes perfect, right? 

Oh and I got myself new set of beads so I can keep practicing til I improve... Ü 

How about you, what have you been up to lately? 

TJC: EA's Baptismal Souvenirs

I have been sick the previous weeks hence the absence in Tuesdays Jabbering Craft. And just like how my work table above is, the week that came after became as crazy busy one.

But let me show you the last project I made on the table... my godson's baptismal souvenir for his godparents!

I browsed through my polymer clay books and was happy to find this very cute yet easy project in Create Anything with Clay by Sherri Haab and Laura Torres. This baby project is a part of their dollhouse section. Tweaked the design a little and tada -- a cute baby!

I was also the one who designed the lay out of the card attached and included a small nameplate bearing the godparent's nicknames.

I had so much fun making this... Although I made this in the middle of the night while the hubby and the little princess were sound asleep -- I loved how it turned out.

And even if this project was too simple to do -- with just 3 colors - hair, skin and blanket, they still didn't end up looking exactly the same. I guess I still need to do a lot of practice. Ü

Nevertheless, I was delighted to see the expression on the faces of the people who received them. They all find it really cute... There were even some who got interested in ordering souvenirs for their events! Ü

There you have it... See you again next week for more of Tuesdays Jabbering Craft!