A Sketchbook Practice: Fruit Stickers

Thank you for your visit today!

When buying fruit at the supermarket, they usually have these sticker labels that indicate the brand and price code:

When I get home, I remove the stickers and wash the fruit. But I noticed that some stickers are quite attractive! Don't you agree? I usually throw these away but maybe I can incorporate them into my sketchbook practice.

My sketchbook practice involves a blank sketchbook where I get to work on my watercolor paintings. Just so that I don't get overwhelmed by a blank page, I usually use prompts like travel journaling or favorite quotes. 

And because we have a supermarket theme going on, my prompt for today is FRUIT. 

Bananas, nectarines, limes, and a mango...I tried to get their coloring as realistic as possible.

And of course, I added the fruit stickers...TADA!

Just a little sense of humor and a souvenir of the current time. Who knows, maybe someday, fruit stickers will no longer exist.

May you draw some inspiration from today's project and turn ordinary things like fruit stickers from blah to TADA!

And speaking of fruit sticker labels, Anna Bond (owner and lead designer of Rifle Paper Co.) also used them for her line of home goods a few years back:

Dish towel

Calendar

So cute and clever, right?!

*****

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How to Make a Vision Board

Hi there!

I'm pretty sure you've heard of the term "vision board" before. It's literally a board where you display photos of goals and dreams for your life. By looking at your vision board every day, you are able to focus on what's important to you and bring them to life. 

I do save pins on my Pinterest but I never made a vision board until last year. 

To make a vision board, we'll need old magazines that we are willing to tear and cut-up. 

Flip through the pages and cut out words, phrases, and images that you connect with. Some of mine include: Home, Let's Make Your Dream a Reality, and Etch Your Legacy on the Hearts of Others.   

I also chose an image to anchor my vision board. I was looking for a confident woman and I found her. 

Yes, she has no clothes on. Through her nakedness, flaws, and failures, she exudes confidence. She's standing on her tippy toes, pointing to the direction where she wants to go, and pulling something from behind. I don't think it's baggage, but maybe everyone and everything that depend on her? She won't let anyone or anything stop her from reaching her dreams...TADA!

I experimented with the layout and when I was ready to commit, I used a glue stick to glue my images and phrases to a piece of sturdy cardboard. 

I also added the year at the top to remind me of when I made it for. 

While some of the items here are still a work in progress, what's important is not just to look at the vision board daily, but also to make very concrete steps to bring them to life.  

I think it's time to make another vision board for 2025.

And that is how I turned some magazine pages and cardboard from blah to TADA!

*****

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Three Thoughts for January

Welcome 2025!

I'm grateful for another New Year, a blank slate to try and make a difference in the world. Here are three thoughts as we begin again:

1. A Tradition I Keep Every New Year's Eve

I grew up in the Philippines and every New Year's Eve, we always assembled a fruit bowl of at least 12 round fruits. They symbolize abundance and wholeness and aren't these the things we wish for the New year to be? 

Now that I live in the U.S., I keep the tradition and I have enough fruit to start the year with healthy eating...TADA!

How about you, what are some of your New Year's Eve traditions? 

2. A New Journal 

As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, I use a Bullet Journal for productivity, list making, and recording memories. 

This year, I have a new one:

It's a logbook of the books I've read...TADA! It's a Muji Notebook and the cover is made of scrapbook paper and an embroidery stencil kit. 

I write the year on top of the page and make a list of titles and authors. Of course, I could gild the lily by rating the books using stamps like this one and this one. 

It encourages me to track the books I've read and include reading in my daily schedule...TADA!

3. A Prayer to Start the Year 

Whether or not you practice your faith, here is a blessing that I'd like to share:

 

May we be steadfast during the ups and downs that this year will bring and may our positive attitude turn our blahs to TADAs!

*****

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Paper Cut Lettering Collage with Lynn Giunta

Howdy everyone! I'm going to introduce you to an artist that I deeply admire. 

Her name is Lynn Giunta. She describes herself as a "Maker of things that usually involve letters." Look at her work...aren't they darling? They are cute, colorful, and reverberate with positivity. She has an Etsy shop and she designs for Hallmark!

Here are some of her collages up close:

Lynn Giunta Etsy Shop 

Lynn Giunta Etsy Shop

Lynn Giunta Etsy Shop 

 

Sigh. Collage never looked so good! Lynn Giunta can really turn paper from blah to TADA!

I got to attend her session at Workshop Week and she demonstrated how she made her collages: 

She used colorful paper that she decorated with marks like dots and stripes (right side of photo). Then she cut the paper into rectangles and trimmed them down into letters. If you'll look at the left side of the photo, she uses the Cut Paper Alphabet Guide on how to cut the letters even without the aid of a pencil, just scissors. And it doesn't have to be perfect...some legs are skinny and not all letters are exactly the same height.  

Based on these guidelines, let me try my hand at making Lynn Giunta-style collages. 

I unearthed my stash of paper scraps and a pair of scissors.

To make the collage my own, these alphabet stamps are helping me out. I use them with an acrylic stamping block and a black ink pad.  

Choose the letters for the word that we'd like to spell and line them up on the acrylic stamp block. Tap this on the ink pad, making sure the letters are evenly coated with ink.

Stamp the words on paper and form the phrases like these ones. 

Make the collage by gluing on the letters/phrases on a sheet of paper (this is painted with watercolor). 

This one is glued on a magazine page that was mounted on cardboard.

This one is decorated with magazine cut-outs and washi tape. 

Here, I tried out Lynn's letter-cutting technique. First cut the paper into a rectangle, then trim it into the letters I needed. I was able to spell out "I am worthy"...TADA!

As we end another year, I want to remember all the highs and lows of 2024...I am so grateful for all of these experiences that contribute to my story. I will carry all these words with me into the New Year: Be Grateful, Stay Curious, Find Beauty, I Am Worthy. 

Thank you for always being here, reading my words and crafting with me. 

Let's keep on turning all things from blah to TADA!

An Angel for Your Angels

Do you believe in angels? I do! And I know each one of us has been assigned a guardian angel at birth to protect us while we complete our calling here on earth. When I was little, the first prayer I learned was "A Prayer to My Guardian Angel."

Angel figurines have a special place in my heart. They are reminders of all the angels that surround us, whether spiritual beings or people in the form of family, friends, caregivers or service people who lighten our daily load. 

Here is one of the cutest angel figurines I've seen. It was sold in a little shop by the Jersey Shore. I love its simplicity and compact packaging, it makes for a nice token of appreciation for the angels in our lives.

Inspired by this Little Guardian Angel, I'm going to craft my own.

I'm using Air Dry Clay but you can experiment with salt dough clay (note though that you will have to bake your salt dough figurines after shaping them).

With a small amount of air dry clay, I formed a cylinder for the body (flatten both ends) and a sphere for the head, then I attached them together while the air dry clay was still malleable and tacky.

There are many ways to form the angel wings. Here, I am using a small butterfly-shaped cookie cutter. I rolled out the air dry clay into a flat disk and pressed the cookie cutter into the clay. I peeled off the excess clay until I was left with this.   

I attached the wings to the body of the angel. If it doesn't stick, a small amount of all purpose glue will help keep the wings in place. 

Allow this to dry where kids and pets can't reach it. It mustn't feel soft when you carefully press on it. It may take 5 days or longer so be patient and plan accordingly. 

Here is the little angel...TADA!

Make sure to store any left over air dry clay in an airtight container (I kept it in its original packaging, put it in a reusable zipper pouch, and tucked it in a plastic box with a tight-fitting lid). 

Now, let's make the box to house the angel.

The technique is similar to this project where I painted an empty coffee capsule box and added some lettering detail.

I'm adding some angel-related phrases, first with a pencil.

Then I traced over the pencil lines with black marker. 

A new phrase on another side. 

And still another phrase on another side of the box. 

A final phrase for the top of the box. 

Once fully dry, tuck the angel inside the box. 

Make as many to give away to all the angels in your life and tell them that you appreciate them.

And that is how I turned air dry clay and an empty box from blah to TADA!

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DIY Winterberries

Hey, hey, it's nice to see you today! Care to join me for some holiday crafting?

During the winter months, when all the trees are bare, I am always drawn to this tree with red berries. I think it's called a Washington Hawthorne, but for any of my dear readers who are skilled gardeners or tree enthusiasts, please correct me if I got it wrong.  

I think of it as a fantasy tree where woodland creatures come to gather for some winter feasting. But that's just me. It's also inspiration for a lot of holiday decorations like holly wreaths, garlands, and holly centerpieces. 

It's easy to find bunches of these holly berries or winterberries at the supermarket. Just add them to a clear vase and your home will turn from blah to TADA!

This door decor looks so extra with all the berries and pinecones!

I'm now inspired to make my own winterberries.

I found these dried twigs with pea-shaped buds in the park. I don't know what they're called. They are lovely as is or if included in a dried floral arrangement.  

But if we painted the buds using some acrylic paint and a small paintbrush...

Don't they look like winterberries?

Paint a few stems, let them dry, and add them to a vase -- instant holiday vibes! 

Or why not add them to your holiday gift wrapping?

And that is how I turned some dried twigs from blah to TADA!

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