Caffeined By Artesania at Makati

Amazingly, this gem in the heart of Makati was introduced to us by a couchsurfer. Unknown to a lot of locals, this showroom/restaurant/cafe quietly sits on the second floor of an artsy building made with concrete and rust-treated steel. It didn't take long before my brother decided to celebrate his 35th birthday here. Without much planned for the day, we ended up staying here from lunch down to their closing just so we can accommodate guests who couldn't make it for lunch, as a result we ended up tasting almost the entire menu. The place was so cozy that while I decided to leave after our lunch, some of our friends chose to stay in for the entire eight-hour duration of the party. The place is so low-key that we had the place to ourselves practically the whole day, save for dinner when a couple came in to dine. 

The place if full of artsy vibes done about by their custom furniture and specially crafted tableware. Their restaurant is apparently also their showroom as they have industrial designers who can custom-make seats and tables for you. All are locally made and is predominantly made out of wood. Their colors are neutrals and kinda reminds me of Scandinavian designs with a pinoy twist.  

Polymer Food Things

I just wanted to make sure I post something for July right before it ends and my birthday month begins. Sooooooooooo excited for what's ahead! <3

These are some of my new handcrafted creations that I did for our bazaar at 98B's Saturday Future x Market in Escolta, an awesome place for independent artists to sell their creations. It was our first time to sell in the location and despite the really humid weather that made us sweat icky stuff, the turnout was actually better than bazaars in malls. I personally love it there, if it weren't so hot and far from my place.  

I'll be posting more about it soon, but for now I gotta rush out to meet up with friends to work on a new project that we hope to release by next month! 

BCG Art Mart (Sept 27-28)

Bottled koi pendants with ball chain.

Last September 27 and 28, Teacup Ideas participated in its first-ever bazaar--and it was exhausting!!! The preparation of our products took at least a month, and I had to juggle between my 8-hour office work, daily chores, social life and finalizing things for the event--hence my temporary hiatus from blogging. 

Was it a success? The event was, but our products didn't sell like hotcakes (except for our hand-painted greeting card that is,) still, it was a good experience despite the setbacks.

Anyway, I took a photo of what's left of the products that I made for the past few weeks:

Yummy food magnets for your notes. About 25 cents to 1-peso coin in size.

Lifestyle themed dangling earrings.

Bottled food pendants with brass chain.

Bottled elixir and poison pendants.

Fruit Loops dangling earrings and pendant set.

Various animal dangling earrings.

Bottled poison pendant with brass chain.

Set of Luna Lovegood's raddish earrings with necklace for Potterheads.

The group is yet to figure out how we'll be selling these online, plus I am still unsure how much I will be selling them online, so I can't put a price tag here just yet. But what I can guarantee is that we'll be hitting the bazaars soon enough.

Our product line includes other artsy stuff, including tote bags, tees, pouches, accessories and other whatnot products that we can manage to whip up within a given time-frame. I'll be updating the blog for announcements on our next ventures, but until then I invite you to like us on Facebook to get the latest updates about our teacup group.

https://www.facebook.com/Teacupideas

Teacup Ideas

Me and a couple of friends will soon be presenting our products. It's for the quirky and the artsy folks who loves to express themselves through minute details. 

Please Like us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram for updates:

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Teacupideas

INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/TeacupIdeas/


G-MAIL: teacupideas@gmail.com

Thanksies! <3

The White Temple of Chiang Rai (Wat Rong Khun)

When I realized that our Indochina trip was a go and that we were going to Chiang Mai, I couldn't help but insist going to this place. This wasn't initially in my bucket list, but it immediately became a must-see after I saw photos of the temple online. It's in the province of Chiang Rai, a three-hour ride from Chiang Mai, Thailand. Despite it's modern-artistic-white-washed exterior it's actually a place of worship and is a Buddhist temple. It was such a disappointment that we weren't allowed inside the temple when we got there, but I love the place nonetheless. There's more to Wat Rong Khun than just the usual pictures being shown online. There are museums and wishing areas for visitors. Chalermchai Kositpipat started the project in 1997, but the earthquake last May has resulted into bad damages that they needed repairs in certain areas. Creating a detailed marvel like this cannot be rushed, I just really wish I could have entered the temple when we were there.

Rain and Coffee

True story.

Hetalia Toy

I love my new toy. Not sure if he's a videogame, manga, or anime character, but I luuuuuuuuuuurve him for being adorably kawaii! And since I don't know his name, I'll just call him Cloud as a default name I use for any kawaii boy character. :3

It cost me Php150.00 from the 2014 Toycon in Megatrade hall...I wanted to buy them all but I didn't want to spend more than 200...so yeah, I'll wait for the next time I come across this toy to add to my new supposed collection of anything-I-like. 

WH Hostel, Bangkok

After shamelessly plugging my blog on their review wall the least I can do is recommend them for being one funky-cosy hostel. And I’m saying that because it is rightfully so. It’s a quirky urban hub smack in the middle of a supposed busy street, about a hundred meters from a 7Eleven and 200 meters from a red light district. The BTS is also “close” enough to walk, about a 25-minute walk should get you to Phloen Chit Station, a station not far from Asok Station where you will find Terminal 21, a must-go-to mall in Bangkok.

Desk Update 2013

This is my new more-cluttered-bigger-table-bigger-mess work table now. I've been using it for a couple of months now and I absolutely adore big desks...one of my dreams is having a work room where I can have a HUGE table to do my drawings, crafts, writing, and other art stuff. Anyway, it's been a year and just a comparison from my first post, this was my desk back then:

Almost everything has changed, even my laptop and my mouse...the only thing that remained is my cork board, mouse pad and the wall which I had planned on repainting but changed my mind when I saw the decals the other day--OHHH--and of course Sheepig is still there! 

Now here's a detailed description of-sort of my new work area in lieu of what I did on my first ever blog post: 

Pinto Art Museum

If there's ever a place that I can say worth the effort, it's this one. The travel time and the effort to get here by commute is quite a ride that by the time you get here you can't help but smile at the sight of what you're about to venture through. You enter through a small iron gate and will immediately be greeted by a lush wide-open garden and a small white chapel. To describe the whole vibe of the place, I can say it's Mediterranean in style as it is evident in its architecture and landscape. With the entire complex built on a sloping terrain expect a lot of climbing up and down various staircases. Among those that I've noticed is that there's an awful lot of CRs and bells scattered throughout the place, each unique from the other.

And note the challenge I had to go though deciding on just posting 25 photos out of the lot I got from the picturesque place. So after screening the shots and carefully selecting my choices, this is all I could offer--a partial glimpse, simple snippets of the place. I wanted to see the lights illuminate the walls, but when my friend paid manong driver he told her, "Maganda yung lugar na yan, wag lang kayo magpagabi." And for whatever reason he meant about not staying there after dark, we made it a point not to prove him right. We were pretty much in a hurry to leave before sunset, though reluctant, we had to because we were starving...the ate turon and gulaman was not there to save the day. We had to share a single plate at Siraulo Cafe (a subsidiary of Bizu, so you have the price range of an Php80.00 mineral water to Php550+ entree.) One thing I will ask you to bring besides your camera is water, lots of it. Water will always taste good after an endless walk and stair climbing.

The artists featured are mostly contemporary as seen obvious by the pieces shown. Every now and then the museum would hold in exhibits, but there are also permanent pieces on display. Since the place was so huge and we were more giddy about taking pictures and exploring the place, I unfortuneately missed out on some of the artworks...most of them actually. Thus, I have every reason to go back there--I am especially looking forward to the completion of their new wing. But seeing those pieces, without even absorbing every sense of it, you will feel your Pinoy spirit being moved by the art as most subjects tackle our cultural and social issues. This theme is evidently shown in the titles of the pieces like Ondoy, Phuway-huway (resting), Alibangbang (butterfly), and Lolong and Loleng. To see different visual renditions be it in a form of a painting, a sculpture, or installation, it gives you a relieving sense of freedom living in a country with people who can express deep sentiments without external restraints. And to see such works displayed in the beautiful space sends out a lot of message in being a Filipino. I'm glad we have such people who do their part in adding color to our  society. 

The chapel, the first thing you spot the moment you enter.

It's pretty small, but there's a lot of antiques to see.

It's the first time I saw Jesus on a contemporary bed.

This is one of the first galleries you can explore.

Some art pieces are available for purchase, while some aren't.

There are a lot of nooks where you can hang out and read a book.

Even the tree is a work of art.

Obviously created by a new breed of artists.

There's so much greenery that it reminded me of the being in the province.

Using Kat as a scale, you can see how huge the paintings are.

This is a view of Siraulo Cafe. Pretty and pricey.

You can just see the beautiful Antipolo landscape beyond the wall.

We hung out in this hall-gallery for a while since it rained real hard.

These are some of the pieces that amused me.

This courtyard is one of the recent addition in the museum.

White-washed and bell towers, kinda like Santorini. 

There's just so much open spaces available that it almost seems private.

I liked this life-size green man staring into a puddle of dirty water.

"We are the kids that your parents warned you about." - love it!

This is my favorite room of all because of the colors: brown, aqua, and white.

This was one of my favorites because of the level of detail and realism.

Seeing this at the end of the wall seriously made my day. I had to smile.

Known as "The Room" it reeks of dried bamboo and the only thing you
 will hear is the water dropping off from the rock and into the pool of water.
Using the light, the ripples reflect on the wall and the effect is pretty.

No wonder the order took a while, they made it into a work of art with syrups and nuts.

1 Sierra Madre St., Grand Heights, 1870 Antipolo, Philippines

Watercolor is Love

I love watercolor 

Seriously, I do

And you should too

The effect is beautiful and fluid

The colors are pastel and easy on the eyes

Versatile and unlike any other medium

Fresh and never loses its trend

I love watercolor

I LOVE IT!!!

No, this isn't poetry

Legend of Mana is one of my favorite games. The world was rendered entirely out of watercolor. I wish I could find another game with the same visual effect like this. Exploring the world was a treat for the imagination.

Disclaimer: Most were taken from Pinterest,
and some have watermarks on them. 
Unfortunately I own none of the above photos.