Tag: Create with Me

Create with Me: 3D Letter Typography

3d-letter-typography

Hey all! I’m back again with another Create with Me post.

For those who don’t know, Create with Me is a relatively new feature here in my blog. It’s kinda like Get Ready with Me for style bloggers but for my first- or second-attempt creative experiments.

The aim of this feature is just to experiment on different creative things. This is one of my little ways to feed my creativity with something new and unfamiliar.

Today, I’m showing you what happened to my first ever try at making 3D letter typography.

3d-letter-typography

I’ve always wanted one so bad but I couldn’t find them anywhere so I thought, “Hey, I’ll just make myself one!” Which was crazy of me considering I’m worse at crafts than with watercolors.

So that idea went to the back of my mind for a long time until I was on the school supplies store to buy myself a new notebook. I saw this rolled up cardboard that’s white on one side and brown on the other. And reminded by my idea to create a 3D letter typography, I grabbed for it.

Lesson #1: Embrace the spontaneity!

I didn’t plan for anything at all. The closest to a plan that I did was this tiny doodle in my notebook on how I’m forming the letter K. Plus I didn’t think about what materials I’ll use thoroughly. (See: cardboard impulsive-buying above) And that’s cool and all.

At first.

So I went on to follow that messy doodle I won’t even call a “guide” and arrived with this.

Letter K - 3D Letter Typography

Please note that perfectionist Kate took the reins at this point, and sloppy Kate was cast aside, which is why the letter K looked so good.

I cut out two of these using a cutter and a ruler because, like I said earlier, I suck at precision cutting with scissors. And I used masking tape to make the little strips that connect these two 2D K’s and make it one 3D K.

Putting it all together - 3D Letter Typography

And that’s when I realized: the cardboard is too thin to hold itself. *cue The Scream face*

Lesson #2: Spontaneity is good—at small enough doses. But always have a plan when doing crafts or DIY.

I don’t have a picture of it but when I tried to make place it upright, it bent and wobbled. As did my hopeful heart.

Then my aunt saw me and was like, “Why don’t you put sticks inside?”

And my heart soared like a kid in Halloween.

Lesson #3: When things get sucky, improvise and be resourceful.

We have unused barbecue sticks so I used those and picked thicker ones. I cut them to fit inside the letter K without it looking distorted.

Improvising with barbecue sticks - 3D Letter Typography

And it stood proudly like the Statue of Liberty!

After that, it was just a matter of buying a wrapping paper to cover it.

Finished letter unwrapped - 3D Letter Typography

I would have liked paint but A) we don’t have any, B) I don’t want to waste money buying a can for a first-time project I’m not even sure I could do right, and C) I wanted to cover the sticks.

So wrapping paper it was.

Patterned wrapping paper - 3D Letter Typography

I believe it was fate that this was the only non-holiday kind available.

And this is the finished look! Plus flowers as props for Insta.

Finished look - 3D Letter Typography

I still don’t know where I’m putting this so it’ll be kept in the cabinet temporarily. But with this, I’m now a wee bit confident at making other letters—using thicker board this time.

So the life lesson I got here is this: there will be moments when you can’t support your own so don’t be afraid to rely on others and ask for help. 😊

Also: avoid winging craft projects. Seriously.

Did you create or do something new recently? Were you spontaneous about it or did you plan every step? I’d love to hear your stories!

Happy creating, awesome peeps! 🎨

Create with Me: Watercolor Flower Garden

Hey guys! This is going to be a new feature here in the blog and you can expect it during Saturdays–although, not every Saturday. It’s kinda like Paint with Me or Get Ready with Me for lifestyle bloggers but since I plan on getting crafty every now and then, I thought “Create” will cover the broad scope of creative experiments and projects that I’ll have in the future.

Please note that these aren’t tutorials. Although I may have tutorials in the future, Create with Me will basically be a glimpse on what happens in the learning curve part of… well, whatever I’m learning. In this case, watercoloring.

I’ve also added some lessons I’ve learned during the whole experience including one lesson that I think can be applied to life in general. Because life lessons from mundane activities are awesome, no?

One thing you can expect: Lots of messes, mistakes and disasters. But that’s okay! As they say, every expert was once a beginner. And I seriously believe that the path of learning comes with lots of messes and mistakes and cussing. 😉

So let’s get to it! Today, I will show you how I made this kinda cute watercolor flower garden. Watercolor Flower Garden

I love adding flower gardens in my sketchpads because they’re so pretty. But I’ve only ever tried one finished watercolor flower garden and…it was too messy for my taste. This one was my second attempt and it was a tad bit better.

The first thing I did was pick my color palette. I got two shades of green, one dark and one lighter, for the leaves and stems. I tried different colors for different stems the first time and that didn’t sit well with me. It looked messy. But if that’s what you like, go ahead and try it! I have three kinds of flowers in three different colors too.

Lesson #1: Always check if your brush was washed before dipping it in your palette. I forgot mine still had dried green watercolor from when I last used it and my golden yellow turned into this greenish color that looked like the color of mucus. Sigh. Had to add more yellow into it afterwards.

Gosh, I haven’t even started putting brush on paper, and I’m already messing things up. 😩

Okay, after recovering from that mucus disaster, I started painting the ferns and other leaves on the bottom part.

Lesson #2: There’s nothing wrong with rotating your paper if you want to. I mean, it’s far better than twisting your wrist. Less painful too, believe me. Unless of course you’re also improving your flexibility. 😉

Then I painted the flowers. At this point, I was winging it. Since this isn’t a realistic drawing but something quirky and informal in style, I wasn’t really focusing on perfect flowers. I added buds for each flower too.

imperfect-flowers-watercolor-flower-garden

buds-watercolor-flower-garden

And to show how noob I still am at watercoloring, when I got to painting the orange flower that was supposed to be this cute kind with more than five petals, this happened.

lefty-struggles-watercolor-flower-garden

Oh no!

Lesson #3: Mind your hands and make sure they don’t touch a still-wet part.

Lesson #3.5: If it does, cussing is okay.

Lesson #4: But don’t give up on your work instantly. (As a perfectionist, this is a hard lesson to learn.) If you can still save it, try to.recovering-from-hand-disaster-watercolor-flower-garden

After that disaster, I was so into painting the rest of the flower heads that I forgot taking pictures of the process. But this is how it looked afterwards.flower-heads-watercolor-flower-garden

I, then, added the leaves and stems.

adding-stems-and-leaves-watercolor-flower-garden

Lesson #5: There are very few straightedges in the natural world. So don’t fret too much if your lines are crooked. 🙂

Also: did you know that the scientific term for when a plant’s stem stretches to reach enough sunlight is called etoliation? Fun fact, yo.

I added some finishing touches and it’s done!

Finished lookI had so much fun making this, despite the many disasters (disaster #2 happend more than twice) that happened. I was also playing some music while working and it was quiet so it was kind of like a therapy.

Here’s the life lesson I learned: In life, we often encounter mess-ups and things not going according to plan. And we automatically give up. I know I did countless times. I almost did in this artwork.

But maybe, you can still save something. Maybe a little change in the plan can be good. See if you can do something else before you completely give up on whatever it is you’re working. Who knows, maybe that little change could make a positive impact bigger than you would expect. 😉

If you did something crafty or creative recently, let me know in the comments below and add some lessons you’ve made while doing it. I would love to hear about it! 🙂

Happy painting, awesome peeps! 🎨