Tag, You're It!

When Dena was an 8th grader she liked to keep cool and awesome tag mostly from clothing item she bought. That lasted about a year then she threw everything away. I don't even pay attention to labels, for me they are obstacles that keep me from using the product. Now that I'm on the other end as a maker of a product I can't help but thinking about label, but judging my own experience as an end user I use materials I already have so I don't have to be so heart broken when I find my label somewhere in someone's trash. Not very practical & very time consuming I suppose, but there is nothing practical about hand made product. All items are cut, glued, drawn, assembled with love :-)

Tante Nelly

4 simple designs + 4 colors of paper + 10 types of ribbon = 100 one-of-a-kind-invitations; cut, glued and tied by hands with love. A tribute to Tante Nelly who left her footprint in my heart: Maleos-leosan, Marendem-rendeman, Wo masawang-sawangan {Love one another, care for one another, help one another}. You are always be remembered!

Angry Bird

It's okay to be angry. What you do with your anger is what matter. Anger can be a positive force instead of a destructive force. It's not easy to be angry assertively: one need to learn to say the right thing, at the right time, with the right attitude and with the right tone of voice. 

Last week I went to this caricature shop to order three drawings for a gift. The artist insisted that I should pay cash 50% of the total cost, I didn't have much cash on me and the guy refused other form of payment, which meant I had to go out of my way to find an ATM and went back there. So I went home instead and decided to do the drawing myself. The next day the guy called me (silly me for leaving my number) and asked if I still wanted him to do the caricatures.  When I told him no,  he got mad at me and said that he already did the drawings, he stayed up all night to finish the drawings and he refused other jobs to finish mine on time....basically trying to put the guilt on me. I took lots of  deep breaths and said calmly, "I'm sorry you took the initiative to do the drawing & worked all night, but I haven't made any commitment yet, I haven't even given you the required down payment." The guy hung up on me. 

Rob & Corrine

 

Eager Beaver

It's almost the end of semester. The grade is already in, all projects are done. What to do, what to do? When stuck with ideas I ask my students, they are endless source of cool ideas. Derek from grade 5 suggested enthusiastically to make a silhouette. So I took their side-ways-mug-shot-style photos with my mobile and teach them how to create silhouette with Photoshop. Awesome idea Derek!