Gadgets wish list

When I was young my mom asked me why my hobbies always tended to be expensive. I went into oil painting first and you can imagine how much oil paints, canvases, easels and brushes cost even for beginners. Then I got into photography and darkroom development.

After that, I got sucked into digital design and of course fell in love with Mac. I have only had one PC in my life and after I left that behind, literally, I have gone Apple forever (can't say all the way because I still do not believe in the iPhone).

With such whims, eherm necessities, I have to make my gadgets last forever. I can't very well be upgrading every time there's a new release. And to stop that envious flutter every time something bright and new comes out, I put blinders on, stay away from Gitex, this region's biggest electronic and gadgets convention, and generally all big sale signs.

Alas, I cannot avoid these bright, new, shiny things forever. In the last few days alone, I have come up with a gadgets wish list that makes my heart go rum-a-thump-thump.

1. Ipad Mini - It's the size. I love it! It's not so big, it's not so small. Steve Jobs might not have wanted this format, but I feel it's perfect. It's easy to slip inside a small handbag, great for meetings and presentations and gives you access to emails which will show artwork attachments. Now if they could just have added a nice and easy usb connection...

2. Wacom Inkling - I love my Wacom Intuous 3, though admittedly I have not used it to full capacity yet. But no matter how used I am to technology, I still find myself looking for pencil and paper when I want to sketch. Now, this new Inkling will let me do that, draw on paper, but will record the strokes giving me access later to the full digital version. What's not to love about that?

3. Polaroid - Going retro, I want this refurbished Express 600 Limited Edition Instant Camera. I remember one of our uncles leaving his Polaroid with us but nobody really used it because it was expensive. This version is only USD99.99 and print I think will also only come up to about 1USD each. I can imagine myself now, framing the shot, shooting and waiting for the print - so adorable!

I can probably add a few more here, if you just give more time to think about it (not so hi-tech-gadgety but I would love craft tools right now like a Dremmel and a Wood Burning Tool) but I'll stop right here. Because this week, I am in love with these three. 

Back to Star Wars & Fascinating Creatures

Have been busy with other projects but the good news is, it's been going on a more or less steady pace this last week, so I am able to return to crafting. First thing I did was organize my materials in a more coherent manner. I'm tired of spending half the time looking for things. 

After sorting out a new area to gather all craft materials, I cleaned out some box organizers to sort all the new findings I bought in Manila a month ago. I am not a clean freak, but it feels good to sort, organize and clean. For me, it also frees the mind from clutter and gives room for inspiration and creativity to flow in. 

Another new equipment I'm using is a lazy daisy which I found at Ikea! It has a bigger diameter so I have more workspace than the first one I bought from a smaller grocery (and that one doesn't really turn).  

I find that Darth Vader is always great at the ARTE Souq. Dispplayed the broken one at the last souq at Timesquare and it got several inquiries but I couldn't sell it knowing the light saber was broken. And since I did not have enough time to work on new stuff, no Star Wars inspired items on that day. 

Now, it seems I'm going back to Star Wars. I made another Darth V, a human jedi and a Twi'lek Jedi. Today, my imagination was still caught on the Twi'leks - made another Twi'lek Jedi, a Twi'lek non jedi and a baby Twi'lek.

Also managed to make a Harry Potter, Hermione and a UAE-inspired one. Pretty good turnout for the night. They are baking right now in the oven - I'll post photos when they're all colored and done. 

Wonder what creature from the ST world will fascinate me next. :)

The colored Dart V on the right is actually a Mrs Darth - notice the flaring skirt?  

Divisoria shopping

Flew back here to Dubai early this morning, been in the Philippines for the last 10 days. What a trip! Tiring is a kind word to describe it. From the first day of arrival, I was already on local time which is four hours earlier than Dubai. So I was awake at 4am Dubai time, almost every day. Totally not me but it was well worth it.

One of my first stops was Divisoria, a Pinoy haven for shopping dirt cheap. It's the place to be if you're into fashion (we found a pretty cocktail dress with an overlay of lace at PHP250, a similar one in MegaMall was PHP600), toy collections, or shopping for special occasions. You will find a lot of fake items there specially in the bags area, true, but search hard and you will also get really good finds. My reason for being there is to shop for unbranded props and costumes for the Say Cheese UAE photobooth, a product of The Kitsch Company, that is launching this month.

Divisoria Mall

Though the whole area is filled with shops and street vendors, our main destination was Divisoria Mall.  Coming from Mandaluyong, we took the jeepney to Gabbys, then another jeepney to Taft and another to Divisoria (if you want to go to Divisoria and don't know how, check this page out). With all of the best intentions to arrive early, we got there around 10 in the morning and pleasantly found it manageable. If you really want to avoid the crowd, come earlier.

Screenshot from http://www.metromaniladirections.com/

It was fortunate that we got there before the rest of Manila, so we were able to enjoy browsing relaxedly during the first two hours. But with lunch time came more people and it became a mad jostling scene just to get through some alleys. Didn't help that as the hours zoomed by, the bags we were carrying were also multiplying or in the case of our big bags, ballooning like the Marshallow man on more marshmallows. We had to do a lot of calisthenics, swerving, moving our arms up and down, bending, just to avoid hitting other people with our haul.

Plenty of knick knacks!

Since we did not have sukis (vendors that you go to regularly and give you a good price without haggling for it), we decided to scour the entire building. Our strategy was to start from one side and snake through each alley to see each and every shop. At some point, we got disoriented, and saw several alleys twice.

We found wonderful props for both kiddie parties and adult parties on the second floor - butterfly wings, cowboy hats, pirate gear, wigs and a lot more. My sis was on the lookout for gifts, and she found unbranded waterproof backpacks and cute night lights to give away for Christmas.

On the third floor near the food court, we found toy stores with a wide selection. I picked up a couple of props while my sis picked several lovely gifts for the little ones - toy electric guitar, toy synthesizer, race cars and more.

This is by no means my first time shopping in Divisoria, but admittedly, it has been a long time. After a late lunch and a last minute check that we got everything we needed, we faced the crowd again with our extra large bags and started jostling back. My arms were stiff and involuntarily shaking with the effort the next day. But yes, I will gladly do it again.

In case you're in Manila and thinking of Divi shopping, consider my little words of wisdom:

1. Keep your belongings close. Expect a crowd, jostling and restless fingers will probably be in the mix too, so keep your wallet/money close to your body. Use body bags instead of regular handbags. Don't wear jewelry or expensive watches. Bring smaller bills, harder to haggle if all you have are huge bills.
2. Bring your own collapsible bag or tote. It's difficult to handle several plastic bags from different vendors. Also, it's nice to be enviro-friendly, right? If you think you'll be buying heavy items, consider bringing a collapsible bag with a stroller but remember, managing this might be challenging once the place fills up specially during Christmas season. 
3. List down what you need. It's easy to get distracted with so many eye candies. So be sure you have a list. 
4. Be decisive. Haggling? Buying? Decide and move on. The first store you see with the product you like will not be the only one who has that item in stock. So, if you think the price is higher than what you have budgeted for, move on. If the sellers are also not friendly, same case, they're not the only ones selling those items. I particularly don't like dealing with unfriendly vendors, so I tend to move on and I do find those items in other stores. More often than not, with a cheaper price tag too. It also helps if you have a price guide - before I went, I asked another friend about the price ranges of the items I need, so I had them pegged at a price and never went beyond it.



Toy stores at the third floor

5. If you're all set to haggle, try to identify the owner of the shop and haggle directly with him/her. For example, I got some really nice leather cowboy hats down to PHP90 wholesale price when I asked the owner directly, as opposed to PHP120 (last price) his lady seller was giving me. If you buy a lot of items from them, ask for a further discount by rounding off the total price lower. 

In case you're more into fashion, then you should check out the nearby mall 168.

Make Your Own Cool Wall Clock

Cleaning up my hd is so harrrd to do... (can you hear a tune with that?). While I'm waiting for the trash to empty, I'm reorganizing and sorting my folders. Got reminded of this mini tutorial I wanted to post a while back - cool wall clocks! 

When I moved to a new flat, I wanted a super cool wall clock - fun, creative and big. Unfortunately, the ones I liked were out of my budget. Then the idea started - I'll make my own!

I went home, decided where I want to put my wall clock and looked at the stuff I can use. I've always liked the idea of those modern clocks with  pieces that go directly on the wall. I went online and found how others do it and apparently, there are kits you can buy and all you have to do is attach it - but where's the fun in that? 

My wall clock is made of air dry clay, an Ikea clock mechanism and velcro tapes

At the time, I was experimenting with air dry clay, I had a pack I picked up at the art store (also available in groceries and school supply stores) for only AED12. The clay presented limitless ideas - I can create any characters for my "numbers". Finally, I settled only four characters to represent: 12, 3, 6 and 9. As you can see in the picture above, 12 and 6 are actual numbers and 3 is a bird and 9 is a weird face. 

Here's what you need:

1. Air dry clay (or oven-baked polymer clay, it's really up to you). You can also use styro or felt pieces from your kids' unused toys (or buy new). 

Air dry clay for AED12

Considered using this bunny head too

    Other ideas:

    - old plastic domino pieces

    - number blocks (the light ones) 

    - photos on foamboards (light and cute)

    - big, lightweight metal numbers you can buy at craft shops

2. Paint if you're using clay.

3. Velcro picture-hanging strips (found mine at Ace Hardware) - I think this is genius! By using these velcro strips, you can change the designs anytime you want. You can also change the batteries of your wall clock without damaging your design or wall. 

Here's what you need to do:

1. Decide the numbers you want to put up - you can do it like mine, just four pieces or put all numbers in. 

2. If you're making clay pieces, just be sure they are light enough so that they don't fall. Your velcro strips will tell you up to how much weight it can hold, but because your pieces will be smaller, you'll also have to cut it to fit. Paint your clay pieces and let them dry. If you're using other materials, clean them and make sure they do not have lint or other things sticking to them that may make the velcro tape loosen it's hold.

3. Get a ruler and pencil, and mark the spots you want to put the pieces on. I measured the width of my space and marked the center. Then I measured from the center to where I want to put the "numbers" and made sure that they were even. Mark it with small pencil lines. 

4. If you're going for other materials like felt or plastic numbers then they are pretty much ready to use. So just cut your velcro strips to fit at the back. Follow the instructions on putting it up, specially cleaning the surface (both on your piece and the wall) before you attach. This will ensure that it stays on. 

5. Attach your center piece or clock mechanism. I got mine from an Ikea wall clock, the center was black so I just painted it over with white paint using floral patterns. Then attach the "numbers". Be sure to follow your pencil marks.

And there you go. A wall unique wall clock that you can proudly say, only you have. My wall clock has been up there for over a year, have changed batteries twice and have removed the pieces several times to show friends and it's still up and working. 

Let me know if you try this and how it turned out.