Looking for a new hobby? Try scrapbooking

MANILA - Want to take a break from the daily grind? Here's a fun and relaxing hobby that you can try -- scrapbooking.

Aside from being a stress-buster, putting together a scrapbook can also stimulate creativity and preserve precious moments.

During an event organized by Fujifilm and Wonder Photo Shop-Tokyo, selected media and guests were given the opportunity to rediscover the beauty of scrapbooking.

Nelson Perez, division manager of Fujifilm Philippines, said he appreciates the idea of assembling a scrapbook complete with printed photos as opposed to browsing images on social media pages.

 

"We are getting older and we need something that we can touch... You can see the photos instantly when you open the scrapbook, and it brings back the memories of the old days," he said.


Perez also noted the growing popularity of printed photos among the younger generation who grew up with gadgets.

To those who want to try this hobby, here are some scrapbooking tips to help you get started:

1. Gather your supplies


The materials you use to put up your scrapbook are entirely up to you. But at the very least, make sure to get the basic supplies such as colored paper, stickers, scissors and punchers. Of course, prepare your photos, too!

2. Play around

With scrapbooking, the possibilities are endless. Use your imagination and come up with different designs!

3. Be resourceful

If you are doing a scrapbook about your son's birthday, why not use part of the decorations from the party? This adds a personal touch to your scrapbook.

4. Share it

Spread your love for scrapbooking by showing it to your friends and loved ones. Keep it going, and you'll be a craft master in no time.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Here's where to get all-Filipino, museum-quality items

MANILA – An upcoming artisan’s fair at the Rockwell Tent in Makati promises to offer nothing but museum-quality Philippine arts and crafts, from hand-painted table runners to stylish purses.

The annual maARTE artisan fair of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines is expected to bring together up to 60 participants selling products not usually found in malls.

The event, which will be held from August 23 to 25, aims to encourage Filipinos to appreciate their artistic heritage.

One of the artisans who will be participating in this year’s maARTE fair is award-winning jewelry designer Ann Ong, who is known for her gold-dipped metal cuffs and neckpieces.

There is also Riqueza by Erica Concepcion-Reyes, which features vintage Filipino jewelry; high-quality fabric from Tepiña; intricately designed coasters, picture frames and serving trays by Creative Definitions; pottery by Joey de Castro; and abaniko (fan) by Monchet Y Cia.



One can also expect to see works by Studio Bohemia, Balay ni Atong, Two Chic and Art of Gold Enterprises, among others.

“We want to boost productivity to make their businesses sustainable,” maARTE 2013 co-chair Maritess Pineda said during a recently held media launch for the event. “We want to provide artisans a venue where they can market their products... [so we] transferred to a bigger venue, to Rockwell.”

"The more you buy, the more you support [our artisans]," Pineda added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Magnetic Faces Board – A Homemade Toy

It’s craft time!  The last time my MIL came to visit us, I asked her to bring some old magazines that we could cut up.  We also needed some advertising magnets, and my parents were able to provide a few.  The only other supplies we used for this were stiff cardboard and a few laminating sheets (I had some in my craft stash, but you could also use clear packing tape).

Our son and I leafed through the magazines looking for large faces.  We found lots of heavily made-up eyes, since most of the large faces seemed to be ads for wrinkle cream or make up.  But we did manage to find a few kid faces, a few dog faces, a few men, and even a buffalo.  We tore out the pages we needed and immediately put the stack of magazines in our wagon to drop off at the library.  Craft clutter has to be tamed right away or it has babies when you’re not looking!

Next we cut out the individual features from each face, and glued them all onto the pieces of cardboard (we just used cardboard that we had in our recycling bin).  Then we trimmed the cardboard around each feature.  We chopped up an advertising magnet into lots of little rectangles and glued them to the back of the cardboard on each feature.  Some of the larger items needed several magnet pieces, but most needed only one.  We waited until after we had put the magnets on to laminate the features, since we weren’t sure how well the magnets would stick to the backs if they were already laminated.

The last step was to laminate the features and cut them out.  Viola!  A neat magnetic face board!  It’s like Mr. Potato Head in 2-D


The boys have had lots of fun playing with it.  Even the little one gets into it, although he seems to have the most fun un-doing whatever arrangement his brother has just put together.





We already had the magnetic message board –  a relic from the days before we went paper-free in our offices.  It’s perfect for the boys’ letter magnets, which I prefer to keep off the fridge and with the toys instead (I like clean fridge doors; we put up a wire on a wall to hang artwork so that doesn’t get stuck to the fridge either).  So now the letters and faces share a magnet board, and it’s all very portable from one room to another.

I got the inspiration for this project from another blog, but it was a while ago and unfortunately I don’t remember where it was. If you know who came up with this idea, please leave a comment and let me know!  This would be easy to do with words, shapes, or other objects like trees and houses.  Half the fun for our son was looking through the magazines and finding faces that he wanted to use, so any sort of magazine scavenger hunt would be fun.  A magnetic faces board is a good project to do with the kiddos if they’re old enough, or you could fancy it up a bit and make it as a DIY Christmas or birthday gift.

source: frugalbabe.com