How to arrange a lovely bouquet of creepiness

With Halloween fast approaching, many must be picking their creepiest, scariest decor ever! And I must say, there's nothing creepier than a centerpiece of eyes on stems looking at your dinner guests as they take each gruesome bite.

But getting it to this nice arrangement can mean a little craftiness on your part - they are on thick metal stems after all that will not stand on its own. So I made this little infographics which I hope will help you with your centerpiece, be it a bouquet of eyes or something similar. Enjoy! 

OrangeJar Art now available at SPOOKED IN SEATTLE

Super excited! My Halloween products found the perfect gateway to the world beyond - the center of everything that goes bump in the night of this evergreen state -- Spooked in Seattle! 

All of my works are hand sculpted and are one of a kind (OOAK). If you're in the area, I do hope you can check it out!

Bouquet of eyes, also available as singles

Creepy eye keychains and skull fridge magnets

Filipiana Twins: Daylight pictorial

Did a quick shoot of the twins this morning to show their clothes and features better. Too bad I did not have any hair styling products with me to keep their stubborn hair strands in place. Let me know what you think of them. 

Part I: how the dolls started is here.
Part II: Hair, painting and costuming is here.

All dressed up and ready to go

Part II of the twins' adventure - my new dolls project (I started talking about them here).  This time they get paint, hair and clothes. I've already painted the face and spent hours putting on hair. Unfortunately, I forgot that I wanted the girl's hair in a bun so I used short strands of hair on her, which I later found was too short for a clean, sophisticated bun. Oh well. Both of their hairs were going wild after it was glued on, hubby kept saying they looked like witches (not helped by having my creepy Halloween bottles waiting to be painted in the background).

Excited to get my hair!

Hmm... I look adorable bald!

Rock and roll!

Headbangers! 

After the hair was done, I started with the girl's clothes first. I imagined it would take more time and I was right. It took a lot of tinkering and experimenting. I found a lovely gray cloth for the skirt. The design was small so it looked just right for a 13-inch doll.

Filipiana dresses can be really elaborate. A lot of them are beaded too. I started a Pinterest board to help me with Filipiana inspirations (click here to view my board). Luckily, there is a lot of photo references out there, both from modern and old sources. I love the beauty of traditional Filipino clothes. I had to make do with similar materials though since I have no access or budget for real materials like pina (pineapple) cloth or other elaborately embroidered materials.

I've collected some beads over the years, most from the Philippines and this was the perfect time to use them. I've never really beaded anything before and I only sew out of need. Luckily, sewing is pretty much like riding a bike, once I pedaled off, I found my running, back and blanket stitches coming back to me. The beading though was totally different -- it was hard and tedious. That's why I ended up with two different designs for the front and back of the skirt. If anybody asks, that's intentional.  

Experimenting with beads

Skirt first version

I found the top easy enough to make. Her white top is made from Ikea curtain scraps. Back in Dubai, the curtains I bought was too long so I cut it to size and sewed the bottoms back. The rest, I kept with my stash of fabrics that I keep for any future use. That was at a time that I did not have an inkling I will have an interest in doll making at all. Pays to be a pack rat sometimes. 

The skirt was patterned after the first easy long skirt pattern I found online. It had a short trail at the back. I snapped this picture above and was simply not happy with it. The waist was too low and the whole thing just didn't seem right. I left it for a day or two and then while reading a cosplayer's blog post about her Elsa costume, I realized I had to put another color in that skirt and it needs to have a flare! I searched for a material that will kind of match the gray cloth and found this two-toned pink striped fabric so I started cutting the original skirt to insert the pink in. Adding those pink strips, made it balloon more, which I thought suited the Filipiana look I was aiming for. 

Front of the skirt

Back of the skirt

I also found a lacy sort of fabric with tiny embroideries in pink! I remember when I was kid, they would spray water with starch in it before ironing shirts to make it nice and crisp. So I did the same with this fabric after I cut it to the size and shape I wanted. This was to be her panuelo or the scarf that goes over her shoulders. As final touches, I gave her slippers that matches her skirt and a pink rose on her hair.  

A rose on her hair

Traditional ones are embroidered I think. I made hers simpler.

I think I need a fan or an umbrella

I love her dainty panuelo!

The boy was easier. I gave him a shirt, pants and shoes. He is not as formal as the girl but this is the best I can do for now. His shirt is made from one of my Dad's old shirts, so even though his clothes were easier to make, his costume is definitely extra special. His final touch is a straw hat. I've learned a lot from this project so I'm definitely looking forward to my next. 

All dressed up

Check out my haircut

Ang Kambal

The Twins

More photos of the twins outdoors here. 

New Dolls and Yoga 2

My father passed away three months ago from lung cancer. It has been a very hard time. And it took a while before I could bring myself to work on any project. It's still hard, only last night I was dreaming he was in the hospital, diagnosed with something else and he was going to die in just a few minutes. He wanted to talk to a priest that he does not know personally, he's already spoken to his friend who's also a priest. I called my friend who knew a priest but his contact cannot be reached, I tried the priest at the hospital but he could not be disturbed because he was holding a service and I think I woke up sometime after that, running around looking for a priest before my father goes which was just a few minutes away.

When I finally found the will to open my boxed up clay, I could not find any inspiration. I did not know what I wanted to do. No spark. Nothing. At that point, I've been absent for a few months in all my social network sites as well. Since I could not find anything that interested me, I went back to Facebook and started looking at my feed to see what my family and friends have been up to.

One of my cousins regularly posts pictures of her fraternal twins, a boy and girl, and their antics, and that stirred up some creative interest. Those two are adorable. After a few days, the muses started humming, setting me on an ambitious note: two dolls at the same time, The Twins or in Filipino, Ang Kambal. 

Kinda funny how the start of dolls are always scary looking. Creating heads, hands and feet and curing them separately looks like a twisted factory but the end is so much fun and full of beauty. So here's the first look at The Twins:

Boy or girl?

Originally I wanted to make shoe-shaped feet but I changed my mind 

Hands waiting to be cured

Cured and "mummified" 

Adding feet and hands

These two are going to be a little older than my cousin's twins but they are, finally, going to be dressed in Filipiña. I've long wanted to create Filipiña dolls, and these two are going to be the start. More updates definitely coming soon. 

Which reminds me, I have not posted about my weekend at the Faerie Character Workshop taught by Wendy and Toby Froud yet. Now, that was super exciting. The doll I made during that workshop was a product of the vision quest by Wendy and my tribute to my Dad. I'm glad he was able to see that, he's always been very supportive of my art. These two dolls are based on what I learned on that workshop so I'll definitely be posting about that too.

Part two of finishing the twins: hair, painting and costuming are here.
Part three: outdoor photos are here.

Yoga Day 2

I am loving Adrienne! I just finished her Day two, 40-minute Yoga session (Day 1 is here) and I feel great. Even the strain on my right shoulder, which has been my constant companion for the last two weeks and has been slowly taking over my right side, seems to be responding well.

Yey to D2!

Of Yoga and Lemons

Once upon a time, I was doing Yoga regularly. I would head to the studio religiously after work and there were even a couple of times when it was only the Yoga teacher and me. That was super fab, with just me to focus on, I got a real workout! But these last few years, I've been getting lazier and lazier, age not helping, so this morning, with the second day of school and a new routine to get used to, I decided to reconnect with my inner self and long forgotten muscles. I found this Yoga for Beginners by Adrienne on Youtube and it was a real treat, just perfect to ease me in. So I'm really hoping I will stick with Adrienne for the week. Like she said, the hardest part of this routine is showing up.

So here's to a week of Yoga with Adrienne!

Making Lemons

After getting my compost bin all set up (which I talked about here), I started preparing for plants that will eventually need the natural fertilizer I'm making. I love fruit trees and I've wanted bonsai fruit trees since forever. And like my yoga, once upon a time, I had a collection of bonsai trees - which I left to my brother. So for my new collection, I wanted a lemon tree from scratch. I got a couple of organic lemons from the local grocery and I carefully cut one on the lower bottom so I don't accidentally damage the seeds. From what I've read, lemon seeds are better to plant fresh than dried. Trying to germinate from seeds that have dried seems to be harder and is generally a hit and miss affair. After I got the seeds out, I saved the lemon juice for cooking.

Got more than a dozen good seeds from that one lemon. I discarded the small, scrimpy looking ones and gave the rest a quick wash and placed them on a tissue paper. The seeds have a slimy outer coating that needs to be removed to help them germinate. To do this, it helps to hold the lower part with tissue paper so it doesn't slide off, then grab the tip with a tweezer and pull down. 

Tadaaaaa!

Nice and clear of the outer coatings, you can now see the golden yellowish color of the upper part of the seed and the brown bottoms. 

And this is purely because I like seeing if seeds germinated or not, I sandwiched the seeds in a couple of thin tissue paper, put it inside a zip lock bag and sprayed water on it, just enough to keep the paper moist but not dripping wet. That was back in August 3. The seeds needed to be in warm place so I kept mine near the computer's tower CPU which emitted some warmth. After seven days, I came back and saw those welcome sprouts trying to force the tissue open. 

All seeds is a go! Repeat, all seeds is a go!

All of the seeds germinated -- I was so excited! But I decided to wait a few more days till the sprouts were bigger before I planted them. 

This is the Root. Root goes in the soil.

Now, here's how NOT to plant them. Silly me, I planted the sprouts root side up.  This is actually the root I left exposed! Good thing they still grew. I watered it once and kept the pots in DIY greenhouses - which is a fancy way of saying I put a clear plastic bag (from reused grocery packagings) over the pot and kept 'em indoors a few inches under a lamp.

It's so gratifying to see them grow. They look so green and healthy and from what I read, they emit a very fresh lemony (naturally!) scent which I'm really looking forward to.

I do want them to grow bigger because I am planning on turning them into bonsai trees so I replanted two in a bigger pot and placed it outdoors with a bigger sheet of plastic to act as a greenhouse and protect it from the turning weather. So far it's been doing well even with the rain these last few days. So psyched!

Go Hawks!

Football mania is afoot! Everywhere I go I see fans in their favorite jersey sporting their favorite numbers. And it has reached my little space I call my studio, so clad in my own Seahawks shirt, I went to work on two commissions from Seahawks fans. Turns out they bring these to the games and get is autographed. So cool!

Doug Baldwin

Russell Wilson

Go Hawks!

Halloween decor

I love Halloween decor. I'd love to go crazy with jute sacks and black lace, ghoulish props and witches' brews. But of course, budget and space is always a problem. So I keep my Halloween party ideas on Pinterest instead. I collect inspirations from classic to the macabre on my board called Booooo... oooo... ooooooooooo.... 

So while collecting those, I have also dreamt up of making my own props and decor and finally this year -- enter unabashed self-promotion -- I have finally come out with my first Halloween inspired decorations: ghoulish bottles that will look back at you; black, aged, vessels to keep the spirits of the night. These, I am very proud to say, would look at home in your apothecary cupboard or witches' kitchen. These are available for sale in my Etsy shop. To view the full collection, just click here. 

Booooo.... oooooo... ooooo to you all.....

Seedling

I am obsessed: I want to garden again. In what used to be my bachelorette's pad, I had a compost bin under my kitchen sink (and friends can testify that there was no stink usually associated with composting) and a window garden. I grew tomatoes, basil, sweet bell peppers, ficus bonsai, holly bonsai and some other plants. But it's been two years in this new apartment and I have not yet tried my hand at growing stuff.

Okay, to be totally honest, I did impulse buy a couple of herbs during last winter season but they quickly died from exposure. But that urge to plant plus this growing, nagging guilt about throwing biodegradable items in with general garbage has really made the itch to practice my green thumb so bad!

Like a seed trying to sprout, this urge grew out of dirt or thrash to be exact. Without any conscious plans to start a garden yet, I started segregating biodegradables again. And because I did not have any gardening materials at hand, save for a set of garden tools which my uncle gave me, the segregated wastes quickly turned into a stinky mess. So I had to get a sack of soil to cover it up. Luckily, my mom gave me a shredder a few months back, so I also had shredded paper that I could toss in to control the smell. More brown materials in the compost like dried leaves, paper and dirt helps avoid stink. If you're interested to get more information about it, here's a very nice infographics about what you can or cannot put in the pile. You can view the full version here.

Since I lived in an apartment complex, I was very concerned about the compost bin becoming smelly. I took extra precautions, specially since I did not (and still do not) use any special bins designed for this purpose. I placed my compost in a garbage bag inside a garbage bag, inside a plastic bin. This makes it possible for me to tie up the first bag to contain the smell, tie up the second bag over it for a second layer of protection and then close the plastic bin cover over the whole set-up. I'd go in, check moisture, add water if needed and try to rotate everything at least once a week. Though mostly anaerobic, the compost turned into dark, moist, rich soil.

This time though, I am using a standard bin composting design because we have a balcony where I can store the compost. I used a cheap plastic bin from the hardware store, punched in some holes for air circulation and filled it up with browns and greens.

If I have the space, I would love to make this DIY rotating composter. This would give my compost that much-needed aeration. A quick Google search led me to this simpler bucket project: DIY on using Home Depot buckets.

Some composters would have a pretty tub that they'd leave by the sink where they can deposit their biodegradable materials before dumping it in the compost pile, but if you're not finicky, then any tub would work. If you don't leave it too long, even a small open top dipper would do. I use an old coffee tin can with a plastic cover.

This waste segregation reduced our garbage immensely! In the first week, we only threw out a couple of small bags of thrash, mostly product wrappers. It was a huge difference to see how much less garbage there is.

Unfortunately, I don't have that much space. I've already started storing some biodegradables in the freezer. I read that freezing them first then thawing and placing in the compost bin helps degrade them faster. However, I would need to stop collecting compostable materials soon.

There's a vast difference between the amount of brown (carbon-rich materials) versus green materials (nitrogen-rich) you can throw in. The Compost Guy says the ratio range of Carbon to Nitrogen (called C:N ratio) is 20:1 to 40:1, so that's a lot of browns (which are my paper, soil and errant dried leaves that drop in the balcony) versus greens (my kitchen scraps). That math just means one thing to me: everything adds up to a full bin and I have no more space. A backyard would be lovely, fairy godmother.

It will definitely not be quick. Composting guides say compost can be ready in three to four weeks (I wish!) because normally compost is ready to use in six months to a year. And I do like to err in the side of caution. I left my first apartment compost in the previous residence for a year before I started using it.  I'm also considering vermicomposting to get it done quicker.  In the meantime, I can start germinating seeds and arranging the space for our burgeoning garden, which right now is just a compost bin and some seeds.

I do wish my apartment community has vegetable gardens or pea patches. Found out recently that Liv Apartments, one of the newer apartment communities in Redmond offers pea patches and for me, that's a stroke of genius! I've often mentioned it to hubby, that with all these landscape grounds around apartments, offering residents vegetable gardens and composting space should be a staple. I hope it works out for Liv Apartments so that hopefully, the trend will catch on.

Recycling, composting, gardening -- ahhh... it feels good to be back in touch with earth.

Alternative contact for OrangeJar

Hi there! For those trying to contact me through orangejar (@) orangejar.com, I cannot apologize enough for the full inbox automatic messages that you have been receiving. I am having a bit of technical difficulty at the moment. I do still get the messages, and I respond with  my personal email.

In the meantime, you can also contact me through orangejar (@) gmail.com or though a convo/message in my Etsy shop.

Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you! 

Raw Artists

Attended a very cool exhibition in Seattle last night promoting up and coming artists: RAW Artists. Showcasing inside a club, the event was a frenzy of performing artists, body art, photography, painters, fashion designers and more. 

RAW Artists is an organization by artists promoting and helping fellow artists. They have over 60 locations worldwide and their local directors would scour for potential exhibitors for a night's explosive and definitely creative festivities. 

Packed within those dark walls - Seattle's event was held at Neumos on E Pike St - was a wide range of works from thought provoking photography, beautiful pet portraits to chic accessories. All the while, the stage was busy with your singers and performing artists. 

RAW Seattle, 082014

RAW Seattle, 082014

RAW Seattle, 082014

RAW Seattle at Neumos 

How'd I know about it? The Seattle director contacted me as a potential exhibitor through my OrangeJar Etsy Shop - *tickled pink, blush, blush. Though I'm not decided yet on how to go about my first venture in the US outside my online shops, I have definitely enjoyed crawling out of my quiet rock and heading into busy Seattle to see a sample of RAW Artists at their best.

Just hop on to the RAW website for more info.