Create with Me: 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.

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.

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.

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.

And it stood proudly like the Statue of Liberty!

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

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.

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! 🎨

November 19, 2016 2 Comments

What To Do When You’re Having Blog Burn Out

You know, I personally think that starting a blog isn’t so hard.

I mean, sure, you get jitters and you’ve been thinking about having one and you’re probably going to overthink everything. And I mean every. Single. Thing. But when you get past all the necessary blanks to fill, get that first post live and start interacting with fellow bloggers, you realize, “Hey, that wasn’t so bad!”

It’s kinda like learning how to swim. You’d think you’ll surely drown but the moment you cross one point to another without a rubber tube, you realize it’s so freaking easy.

The difficult part in blogging, at least in my case, is the maintaining and growing.

Maintaining a blog means writing, taking pictures, editing, and virtually mingling with other blogging peeps. And when you’re busy as heck with other stuff in your life (e.g., school, work) the maintaining part could get really tedious.

It’ll be like crossing the English Channel when you are only a novice swimmer.

End of story? Blog burn out.

I’ve had more than a couple of blogging burnouts in nearly two years, most of which I’ve thought of quitting altogether. Just recently, I’ve had two a few months past. But I’m getting the hang of this and I’ve learned a thing or two.

So today I want to share what I do when I’m having a blog burn out.

1 | Identifying the Problem

Burn outs don’t happen all of a sudden. You think they do but they don’t. It’s like the flu. So you want to recall what you’ve done recently that could have caused it. Were you working too much? Were you drowning in self-doubt?

I obsess myself with a lot of things blogging-wise (because, you know, overthinker) but particularly in my blogging schedule. I started posting spontaneously then I decided posting more “regularly”, which means almost every-freaking-day. It was at that point when I felt squeezed out of ideas to write about and I just can’t take it anymore. (Okay I feel like that’s a lyrics to something. But whaaat?) Now I know my limits and try to be mindful about it.

Knowing what the problem is can be helpful, not only to remedy yourself from the burn out but also to avoid it in the future. Because no one wants to feel bad by the same thing twice, amiright?

2 | Refueling My Motivation

I’m the kind of person who has unlimited source of inspiration but that gets clogged up inside me because I’m lazy and my motivation is limited. I usually end up just daydreaming about awesome things but I’ll be like, “Ehh, I’ll do it later.”

I know me. Which is why I find inspiration whenever I’m having a burn out. This could be going to Pinterest or visit my #goals blogs (aka: bloggers I want to be like in the future) and just scroll through the many awesome things I expose myself to.

I’d get super pumped up and inspired that I’ll start writing.

3 | Creating an Idea Dump

Blog burn out usually means having your creative juices frozen or worse dried up. So to me, it’s extremely important to take the time to simply sit down, have a notebook and pen on the table and just stare at them.

No kidding, I really just stare.

It usually gets me bored and I let my thoughts roam free. Going from this imaginary world that I hope I could make into a novel to random musings like, “Will little chicks ever learn to shut up?” (I was sitting in our backyard) And sometime later an idea will pop up.

Boredom does that, you know. Help you out creatively. And science has proven it!

Now this is just my ideal method for coming up with topics to write about. And it works great for me. If you want more, the amazing Allison from Wonderlass (one of my #goals blogs) has shared more ways to avoid running out of awesome content ideas.

4 | When All Else Fails, Take a Break

Sometimes a blog burn out just gets too overwhelming that nothing works anymore. So take a break!

No one will arrest you for taking a break from blogging. In fact, because most of the blogosphere denizens are super nice, you’ll be missed but they’ll understand.

And anyway, it’ll be good to you–mentally, emotionally and creatively. You’ll be free from that claustrophobic feeling that you get from the burn out and when you go back, you’ll be refreshed and so full of ideas!

I would know, I took a break last month. Went to Patrick’s rock. 😄

Burn outs are a pain in the backside but it’s not the end of the world! There are always gonna be ways to remedy them and avoid them in the future. Speaking of avoiding burnouts, I found this really awesome post from Melissa Hebbe where she shares some tips on avoiding blog burn out. I really like the bit about allowing yourself to fail.

Have you ever had a blog burn out? Do you do something about it that I haven’t mentioned? Share it in the comments below or tweet me!

Happy blogging, awesome peeps! 💃

November 5, 2016 6 Comments

4 Storytelling (+Life!) Lessons from Hayao Miyazaki’s Films

It has been more or less three years since Hayao Miyazaki’s last feature film, The Wind Rises, was released and until now I miss his presence in the film industry.

Hayao Miyazaki, in my opinion, is not only one of the best animated filmmaker in Japan but the entire world. You could watch his movies at any period of your life—whether you’re nine or twenty-nine—and they will still resonate with you.

I mean, I’ve probably watched most of his movies more than a dozen times each for the past six years and there are still new things I would learn as I watch one of them for the enth time.

I planned on creating a tribute article of sorts but I felt, with my little insight, I would never do him or his films justice. Which is why I’m doing this Kate-style: a list of lessons.

Since some folks out there are probably participating in NaNoWriMo, I thought I can help out in the inspiration part with these lessons on storytelling. I freaking love stories anyway, whatever medium is used, so this is also me fangirling about storytelling. And I’m going to casually insert some life lessons in there too, if I can help it. Because you all probably know how obsess I am with life lessons, right? (If you hadn’t, now you do ;))
Whoa, that’s like using one stone to hit two birds and eat a cookie! #Winning.

1 | Learning to Pause

Don’t get me wrong, there’s something thrilling about action-packed stories. I love them and my regular praise for Rick Riordan books is evidence enough. But I also love how Miyazaki has this short “breathing room” after every excitement. A space where we see his characters simply reflect their circumstances and we don’t really need any explanation or dialogue. We just connect with them.

My Neighbor Totoro Iconic Bus Stop Scene | 4 Storytelling (+Life!) Lessons from Hayao Miyazaki's Films

I mean, who could forget this scene?

In a sense, you could also apply this to everyday life. I understand the appeal of living in the fast lane but pausing every once in a while, giving yourself a little breathing room in your life, won’t be so bad. Personally, I like plunging on to a project or some task and give myself a little break after. And when you think about it, isn’t that what the Pomodoro technique is all about? *le Eureka gasp*

2| Not Really Happily Ever After

Growing up, I have always gravitated towards happy endings. The hero saved the princess, the cursed town restored, yada yada. I’ve only started to appreciate the not-so happy ones in my late teens, have only realized how closer they are to reality.

And in most of Miyazaki’s films, you would not get a completely happily ever after. I mean, everyone’s happy, sure. But some things aren’t tied up tightly into a pretty ribbon. While Jiji did return to Kiki’s side in Kiki’s Delivery Service, he still can’t talk.

Things don’t always go exactly the way we want them to. And that’s okay. 🙂

3 | Incredible Character Depth

Okay, by far, this is one aspect in a Hayao Miyazaki film that I like the most. (Which is why I’m going to have a short fangirling moment below mehehe) And if you know me, that’s not a surprise at all, considering I always talk about character depths in my book reviews.

The thing is, Hayao Miyazaki’s characters all have incredible depths. And I mean incredible!

Princess Mononoke’s Lady Eboshi is not the cruel, heartless leader of Irontown because we see her compassion towards her workers, women from brothels and lepers—people who have been looked down by the rest of society. The titular character of Howl’s Moving Castle may be one of the film’s good guys but he also bears a vain and immature attitude.

Lady Eboshi | 4 Storytelling (+Life!) Lessons from Hayao Miyazaki's Films

(Image via Nefarious Reviews)

In Miyazaki’s world, there is no purely good guy or a purely bad guy. And it pays to realize that this is true for our world too.

Everyone has a little good and a little evil in them and in the end, you can’t sum up a person by one act. And anyway, that just seems unfair, ain’t it?

4 | Emotions and Logic

Fun fact: did you know that Miyazaki creates scenes through the emotion they bring? He and the rest of his animators actually come up with the storyboard afterward.

I’ll give you a minute if you’re mind’s blown.

You okay now? Okay.

And hey, don’t worry. When I learned about that the first time, I was like, “*whispers* NO FREAKING WAY.”

Hayao Miyazaki Storyboard | 4 Storytelling (+Life!) Lessons from Hayao Miyazaki's Films

The Storyboard for Ponyo (via Creative Stuff)

Maybe it’s because of this that Hayao Miyazaki’s films always bring up a surge of emotions whenever someone (me) watches them. Maybe this is why we (I) could connect to the story and the characters so much.

I think this comment from RogerEbert.com could sum up my thoughts on this one:

“He’s (Miyazaki) always made us realize that human/dramatic motivation is too complex for either-or reasoning.”

While I really want to ponder upon Miyazaki’s thoughts on the complexity of humanity, the point is Hayao Miyazaki does a huge part of his work emotionally, something that I think is important in art in general. And it worked well on him.

In our case, we have to find what works for us. I, for one, am the kind of person who has to balance both emotion and logic in my life. I can’t function in total intuition nor in total organization (a long story I’ll tell some other time) so I need balance.

So that’s it! These are the storytelling lessons I got from Hayao Miyazaki’s films along with some life lessons as well. While we’re at it, here are two amazing videos about Hayao Miyazaki that I’ve watched (for like a hundred times now):

Hayao Miyazaki Tribute Video in 3D by Dono (Vimeo) – A 3-minute tribute video of all of Hayao Miyazaki’s works. This brought me surrounded by my own lake of tears. Like the feels…

Hayao Miyazaki – The Essence of Humanity by Channel Criswell (YouTube) – A 16-minute video essay about how Hayao Miyazaki understands the complexity of human emotions. This is so amazing, I downloaded it in my YouTube app for offline watching. <3

Have you watched any Hayao Miyazaki films? Which one(s) is (or are) your favorite? What are your thoughts on his films as a whole? Share them on the comments or you can tweet it! (Yay for options!)

Now excuse me, I have to go and binge-rewatch some of the movies I just mentioned above…

(I didn’t know you could crave for movies)

(Crap, now that I thought of crave, I’m craving for ice cream too)

Happy watching, awesome peeps!

November 2, 2016 6 Comments

5 Motivating Mantras for when You Think You Can’t Do It

Imagine this: your mind was wandering when suddenly, you thought of something. You’re so excited. You think it’s a good idea…nay, your optimistic inner voice said, it’s a spectabulous idea! It’s gonna be SO great.

But then someone hit the breaks. Your other inner voice, the grumpy one, shook its head and said that no. You can’t do it. Not now. Probably not ever.

You shrink and shrivel, believing that inner voice because it is true, isn’t it? It isn’t possible for you.

Sad, no?

Now, maybe there are some of you whose optimistic inner voice rule your thoughts. But I’m pretty sure there are also people out there like me whose grumpy inner voice hold the reins.

It’s sad when someone else discourages you but it’s even worse when you discourage yourself.

And I should know.

This is the reason why it took me this long to try out watercolors. I had an artistic trauma (ooh fancy phrase) back in first grade when I first used watercolor and my inner perfectionist (already there at age 7) wasn’t happy with the output.

I was happier with pencils and pens because I have control on the outcome. All those years, I’ve never tried branching out the mediums I use for the sheer reason that I think I’m not capable of anything else.

And while I’m now slowly learning watercolor, I still have that grumpy inner voice holding the reins of my self-determination. There are plenty of factors to this: low self-esteem, low self-confidence, afraid of getting out of my comfort zone… I have my own issues. But today, I’m not talking about those.

In this post, I want to share some mantras I recite to myself whenever I’m holding myself back from something awesome. In a way, they help me. So I hope they do the same to you. 🙂

1.)

Believe in your idea’s awesomeness. Like seriously, believe it. Believe it the way Steve Jobs believed in his then-unconventional computer. The way Jasmine said yes to Aladdin when he asked, “Do you trust me?” (swoon)

2.)

This kinda relates to #1. If you seriously believe in that idea, you’ll know that trying it out will be worth it. And it is. Think of it this way: if it doesn’t work out, at least you’d know that it doesn’t. And you’d learn something.

But if it does, boy, it’ll be a great day for you!

3.)

Yeah, laugh at me, if you will. But Ellen personally gives me motivation whenever I think of some crazy ideas. I mean, wouldn’t it be cool to be interviewed by her?

You could change it if you want. Think of anything farfetched: getting a Nobel (I also think of this one), being approached by a big label or company. Anything. It may be farfetched but it boosts your determination somehow. At least it does for me.

4.)

I swear, Shia LaBeouf has become a moderm motivation maven because of this. But it’s really effective when I’m holding myself back in doing something.

Just buy a set of watercolor tubes and brushes, Kate. Just put brush on paper and paint.

5.)

Personally, this is the one mantra that my grumpy inner voice can’t argue with. You wouldn’t know if that idea was awesome or not if you don’t try, right?

So let me get back to Shia here for a minute…

JUST DO IT!

Happy Shia LaBeouf-ing, awesome peeps!💪

September 26, 2016 6 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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.

I, then, added the leaves and stems.

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!

I 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! 🎨

September 24, 2016 8 Comments

8 Places that Offer SUPER-GORGEOUS Stock Photos for Free

One of my long-term goals here in my blog is to hopefully provide my own quality photographs to use here in my blog. Which means buying a good quality camera (not necessarily DSLR, for starters) and learning basic blog photography.

But until then, I need to rely on stock photos.

When I was younger and Internet-innocent, I had a generalization for stock photos. I always thought they’re… Generic. Meh. People in white background wearing fake ready smiles and obviously staged/choreographed poses.

So I scoured the Interwebs. Visited plenty of blogs with information on the best providers for free stock photos. Consulted the huge Library of Google as I embarked on my ~~three-book~~ journey to find the One True Ring the horde of gorgeous stock photos that I can download and use for free. I don’t require much just:

+ Something with white as a dominant color or not
+ Colorful
+ Perky/Quirky
+ No parts of the human bodies (e.g. fingers typing on a laptop)

I just want you all to know that this isn’t The Ultimate List So Thou Shan’t Read Any Other. These are just the sites that worked for me and have photos that ticks all the boxes for what I need in photos for my blog. So let’s start the party, yeah?

8 Places to Get Free GORGEOUS Stock Photos | I share 8 places where you can get free stock photos that are super gorgeous. Blogging Advice - Blog Graphics

Pixabay – Totally free. No attribution needed. My First Love. Most of the stock photos I used in this blog are from Pixabay. It’s easy to navigate and there’s a search bar so it’s a WIN. Other than my favorite desk photos, I found really funky photos here like this one.

Magdeleine – Check photo for attribution. Magdeleine has some kind of theme. Their photos have that deep and mellow feel to them. They’re usually in muted shades so if that’s the kind of vibe you’re aiming for your blog then by all means. Personally, I like how they use white a lot from what I’ve seen. And I feel like I could use their photos in Monday Motivation posts or something similar.

Gratisography – Totally free. No attribution needed but owner would not refuse if you buy him coffee. Where Magdeleine’s are mellow, Gratisography’s photos are cheery and bright. Lots of whimsical photos too.

Life of Pix – Totally free. Use for personal or commercial use. No attribution needed. You know, if this site was an Instagram account, I would click that follow button like there’s no tomorrow. I love how spacious the photos are, I love the angles and…gosh, did I say anything about the huge spaces? Honestly, the style is what I hope to achieve in my own Instagram account.

Foodies Feed – Totally free. No attribution needed. Oh my Clark Gable, this site always makes my stomach grumble whenever I visit it! I haven’t used or downloaded anything from this site but I’ve seen great potentials and I’ve learned that food will always find a way into your life. So… I’m not closing this possibility. (Teehee)

Creative Convex – For non-commercial use only. Need email sign up. Creative Convex is made by the same maker of PinkPot, Chaitra, and she sells styled photos here. However she offers free photo packs for her subscribers. She also doesn’t mind being mentioned in Instagram or linking to her site.

Wonderlass – Use however you want but she’d be happy to be credited or linked back to her blog. Need email sign up. Wonderlass is one of the most successful blog in the blogosphere. Alison, the beauty and brain behind this blog, has a thing for bright colors and pretty office supplies. So if that’s what you’re going for in your blog, then give hers a try! She also gives free stock photos for her subscribers.

Say Hello Photos – Use however you want but don’t distribute the free photos yourself. Need email sign up. I discovered this one through Creative Market (where ooh! you could also find a free stock photo bundle every week). These photos are specifically for lifestyle bloggers but, you know, they’re gorgeous and anyone who wants to use them can use ’em. Rhonda sends photo bundles every month to her subscribers. I got the one for fall this September and *squeals* I’m so excited to use them.

And there you go! These are the places I go to whenever I need some gorgeous free stock photos. Some additional tips that you may want to take note of before enjoying your free stock photo haul:

• Always look at the license or terms and conditions.

• For consistency, stick to photos with similar styles. For example, I always look for photos that has most or all of what I require, as seen above.

• Go do your thing! I’m not forcing you to sign up for anything. I wouldn’t sign up my email just for the free stock photos or any freebies but also because I genuinely like their blog’s content. I’m all about inbox space-savers yo.

YOUR TURN: Do you use stock photos? If so, did I mention any site where you get stock photos? Don’t be shy to share!

Happy blogging, awesome peeps! 💃

September 4, 2016 2 Comments

Reach Inside Your Heart

Hey everyone! This week was so jam-packed, no? And I’m not finished yet! 😁 My good friend and amazing human being, Kiya of Flawed Silence and I have come up with a collab post. My first ever, yay!

So the idea was that Kiya, the ever amazing wordsmith, was going to write a poem and I’ll do an illustration inspired from it. Because, you know, her poems can get anyone inspired. Hope you enjoy!

It’s just another day

As I see myself
Drifting away
Fingers skimming the stars
And grazing the gentle clouds.

I see myself going places
But I see the shadow of doubt
Trailing me
Playing
TAG you’re it
TAG you’re it!

With every fight
And every knife to the back
And every wheezing for breath
We slump down
Deeper
And
Deeper
Into a world full of hurricanes
Uprooting confidence, belief and esteem.

Tell me
Oh tell me why we are wasting time
On crocodile tears, peeling scabs and
Waiting for someone to realise you’re not a paper doll?

Cling to the hope
And let it blossom into a wild flower
So unique from the billions of people existing
Let the thorns prick the ones that cast you aside
But like the wildest roots
I know that you can
Grow, and survive
The evil madness in this world.

Rise above the golden rays of sunshine
And glide alongside the moon’s waning figure
Whilst intertwining with the shimmers of the galaxy
We all have potential
You have capability
So don’t let others dictate
How, why and what you will do.

Instead
Reach inside of your heart
And generously feed your dreams
Hopes and ambitions
Set fire to the negative vibes
And shoot across life
Like a shooting star.

Because you are one.

Such a beautiful and inspiring poem, right? 💕 I’ll tell you guys a secret: I actually had a more ambitious idea of an illustration to pair with that poem but I don’t think I’m good at it. Yet. But who knows in the future? But I still had so much fun making this one.

We have a different collab post up on her blog too so check that out!😁 I had the most amazing time working with Kiya on these collabs. Be sure to head on to her blog because it’s just filled with inspiring poetry and the visits to National Trust properties! Gorsh I love those.

I hope you guys enjoyed this and I’ll see you all again this weekend. (Yep I’m not yet done for the week. ;))

Happy Friyay, awesome peeps!🌌🌠

September 2, 2016 11 Comments

You’ll Be Just Fine

Hello, everyone! I know Mondays could be hard a lot and like Garfield, many of us hate it. But I also know that bad days in general don’t choose when they’ll pop up. Personally, I’ve had a bad Friday at least once in my life.

So I want to share to you all a lullaby I discovered on Spotify. This is an original by a Youtuber named Kenzie Nimmo. It’s so good and so comforting. Besides, who doesn’t love a really simple and soothing lullaby, right?

Happy Monday, awesome peeps! 💃

August 29, 2016 5 Comments

What To Do If You Accidentally Press The Send Button

We have an overcast sky here and the rain just stopped. It’s so cozy and I don’t want to do anything today. But I got this crazy idea for a blog post and it cannot wait a day more.

Has your thumb ever had its own consciousness and suddenly you pressed send in the middle of typing your replies?

I did. Many times. My thumbs are unreliable. One time, I was writing a blog post using my WordPress app but I accidentally pressed “Publish” instead of that gear icon. Not only that, it got published twice. What the heck is wrong with my thumbs? I had to delete both abominations of a published post and continue writing, grumbling at my thumbs while doing so.

The same goes when I’m commenting on a post and when I hit reply/send midway, I’m like

I want to show an example made by my good blogger friend and inspiring human being Kiya of Flawed Silence.

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She didn’t just handle the embarrassing pressed-send-accidentally scenario really well but I could also relate to her a lot. Then a couple of days ago, I found a rather cheeky solution.

Basically, all you have to do is to disconnect your Internet connection while the WordPress app is loading the unfinished comment/post. That’s what I did the last time it happened (which was last Wednesday), it would say error and go back to being a draft. If this happens on your computer, just close the window as fast as you can. Better to start again, I always say.

There you go! This is a completely random and not-so-helpful post but yeah. 😅

And if you can’t help it and it’s already out there, relax bro. Do what awesome Kiya did and coolly embrace your fingers’ clumsiness. There are far graver mistakes to make. So don’t worry, at the end of the day, you’re still alive. 😉

Happy typing, awesome peeps! 💃

August 21, 2016 6 Comments

The Flower with No Name

Hello awesome peeps! I haven’t been able to write any post for the weekend because I had the Headache of the Century. Paracetamol or any pain-relieving med didn’t work. So I applied vaporub on my head and across my scalp. Yep, I was so desperate to end the migraine that my hair smelling like Vicks didn’t even matter to me anymore.

And lo and behold, the morning after, the headache was gone! Thank God for Vaporubs.

But that’s not the story I want to share with y’all today. Today is Monday which means I have a kinda motivational story to share with you.

I’ve been staying in my grandparents’ house for two months now. But I’ve only noticed this plant last week.

See back when I was in elementary, this certain thorny flowering plant that I don’t know the name of was almost dead. Like probably four leaves and it’s kinda wimpy. I was surprised my mom brought that from her school. She planned to put it in front of the house but it didn’t bloom so she just left it in our sideyard to eventually die.

Then I saw something white in the middle of the pot. I thought it was a paper my sister threw or something but no. It was a flower. For some reason, I was so transfixed with this one white flower.

How could something dying even bloom?

I kept staring at it. At one point, my mom saw me and told me to be careful with the thorns. But you know, kids do the exact opposite. So I’d try to reach for that flower but I could never lift my hand with no scratch. They stung, even the leaves have sharpy thingies. And after so many attempts and too many little cuts, I gave up. The flower still there, guarded by the thorns.

And one day, I thought of watering the plant everyday, when I arrive after school. It was the first thing I did when I get home: grab a little bucket full of water and pour it onto the plant. My grandpa would ask me why I was doing it when it was obviously dying. And I always answer the same way. I just want to see if there would be more flowers.

At one point, I was too caught up in preparing for high school and then getting busy in high school that I forgot about the plant. But it was still there. During typhoons when we get the occasional flood, during dry season, and after so many Christmases. The plant was there.

You see, I think we have gone or will be going through something that the plant had. A wilted moment. The time when we will be our lowest. And oftentimes, we act bitter and thorny with the people around us. I would know.

I’ve thought plenty of times that I have been at my lowest. But then something else happens and there’s a new lowest in my life. And during those times, I wallow myself in bitterness and self-pity and dozens of “you wouldn’t understand.”

But recently, I came to realize that the people who love you? They might have seen one tiny flower somewhere within you. That’s why they didn’t give up on you. And that’s a start.

So I guess what I’m trying to say here is: embrace the love given to you. Know that even if you think you’re suffering from your problems alone, someone hasn’t given up on you.

So find the eleven-year-old Kate that will pour water into your wilted phase. That sounds cheesy but you know what I mean. 😉

I think I was already in my last year in high school when I noticed the plant again. It looked so different from when I saw it the first time. And I could still remember thinking, “Yay it bloomed!” And now, two years after, it still is.

Happy Monday, awesome peeps!🌻

Who’s the person who didn’t give up on you at your lowest?

How did he/she/they help you?

August 15, 2016 5 Comments