Learning Calligraphy

I fell in love with calligraphy. I should have done this on my wedding! Anyway, I can do it for friends by then I will be good at it. For the past days, I have been teaching myself with the help of Google. I'm using Sheaffer Pen but I read somewhere that the best to learn it is with a dip pen and a bottle of ink. I have been looking and searching for a store/boutique that sells a dip pen but was in vain so for the meantime I'll use my Sheaffer  pen purchased at National Bookstore. Before 2013 ends I will enroll myself in a calligraphy class hopefully, there's one in Cebu.

learning the basic strokes

Practice and practice some more.

Hello Kitty Invites

Draft

Final print. 

I helped out with the invitation of my friend Mariam on her daughter Thea’s hello kitty-themed 2^nd birthday party. I designed the invitation and Mariam had them printed. She  had minor changes but it turned out pretty with lots of pink. I was not able to attend the party since I had a minor operation but looking at the pictures they enjoyed the party.

Meanwhile, I’m excited to design the invitation of my nephew’s 1^st birthday. A mickey-themed party. Will post it soon.

Post Birthday Celebrated At Rafael's Farm

On my birthday last month, I was surprised by my best friend Abi, who came to visit me in Tacloban my hometown. It was a long travel since she will be coming from Davao due to work then fly to Manila then Tacloban. She arrived late around 10 pm  due to delayed flight. The following day instead of the usual tour around the city, well we don't have  nice parks yet and Manila have so many malls, we decided to go to Rafael's Farm a 45 mins away from the city. It's a lovely place actually. Fresh air,rice fields, ducks freely roaming around the farm,pond,fishes,and boat riding. Many are raving about this place and said a must place to visit when in Leyte. I agree.We arrived at the place nearly lunch and ordered our food.While waiting for our food,we decided to explore the place.

Corner of the restaurant. Antique images of Sacred Heart(?). Old sewing machine used as a corner table to display photos & antique vases.

Front of the restaurant. 

Pond.

Ducks roaming around the farm.

Gazebo at our back. 

A swing. Memories of my childhood.

 Beautifully landscape. This  leads to their function area for special occasions.

 Cottage near the parking area.

Main entrance of the farm wherein you will see this arc covered with vines leading to the inside of the farm.

We did not try the boat riding because it was high noon and so hot. Maybe next time. I hope they will have fun activities such as fish feeding, Carabao riding among other things. 

Rafael's Farm is located in Babatngon Leyte. I would recommend to rent a car going there since it's a secluded place and jeepneys rarely passes by. It's a walk-in basis and opens at 10 in the morning. There's an entrance fee but if you dine in you just need it to present the receipt  to the guard on duty.

Homecooking: Cheese-topped Potatoes

I'm into the process of going semi-vegetarian,no red meat years ago only fish & chicken. And finding meals that are easy is a challenge for me & my husband because I am below average in the kitchen and I will be back into the workforce next week. So last week, I tried this recipe adapted from casaveneracion.com

Preparation: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cold butter
• 1 large potato boiled in salted water and cooled
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 medium bell pepper
• 1 small onion
• salt & pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• a quarter of lemon
• grated cheese
• chopped parsley

Direction:

Rub 1 tbsp of butter on the bottom & sides of skillet.( I used a vision cooking ware instead of skillet).

Cut the potato & tomato into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Cone & seed the bell pepper and chop roughly along with the onions.

Arrange the potato slices around the edge of the skillet, slightly overlapping one another.

Make a similar inner circle with the tomato slices.Make sure that the center of the skillet remains unfilled.

Fill the unfilled center with chopped bell pepper & onion. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Dot the remaining butter.
Set the pan over medium heat. Cover after 3 mins. to soften the pepper & onion. Cook for 2-3 mins.
Pour in the beaten egg. Continue cooking, uncovered for another minute or until the egg  is set.
Turn off the heat. Squeeze the lemon over everything. Sprinkle with grated cheese & chopped parsley.

Serve and Enjoy.

Rainy Day Style

It's a rainy Monday. It's the start of rainy season already. I'm not ready for rain yet but good thing I'm still on leave and won't be back for work for  2 weeks. Meanwhile, here's my style inspiration for the rainy season. How lovely are these rain boots?. Perfect to wear here in the Philippines since rainfall are more than average.Too much rain causes floods.

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DIY Ideas: Blue Japanese Paper Pom Poms

There are many pom pom tutorials out there because pom poms are inexpensive decorations for parties such as baby showers,birthday parties, bridal showers or even a small tea party and are easy to make.

I'm making pompoms for the upcoming first birthday of my nephew. Here in the Philippines,instead of tissue paper it is called japanese paper hence the title of my post.

Materials: Japanese Paper, pair of scissors, wire or twine.

1. Stack eight sheets of  Japanese paper

2. Make an accordion folds. ( Usually 1 1/2 inch wide)

3. Using floral wire, slip over center of folded tissue.Using scissors trim ends into rounded or pointy shapes.

4. Separate layers by pulling  away from center one at a time.

5. Tie a length of thread or twine to floral wire for hanging.

Once finished,hang them from the ceiling for a party or place them at your table as decoration.

A Yellow Tinker Bell 1st Birthday Party

Today,I want to share the birthday party of my god child. This was last year. Her mom wanted a Tinker Bell theme in yellow filled with yellow flowers and butterflies. I love doing party events it makes me think of creative ideas.

The letters spelling T-H-E-A are styrofoam cut outs which I painted yellow and covered it in glitters.

Butterfly centerpieces. (Instead of the regular wire I used gold plated wire used in making accessories.)

Wish cards

Giveaways for the guests/adults. St. Raphael(Guardian Angel of the celebrant)placed in plastic Gerber containers and embellished with satin ribbon and custom thank you cards. While for the kids giveaways was a Tinkerbell/Peter Pan bag filled with goodies.

The happy birthday celebrant in her Tinker Bell costume in yellow.

Pretty Hand Woven Baskets

I'm loving these pretty hand woven baskets. Simple and pretty storage solutions especially when space is a concern.

 (1)Veranda House Interiors (2)Lonny Magazine (3)Sacramento Street (4)Lonny Magazine