Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

These strawberry cheesecake bites are a must to try. There's a great recipe (actually a lot of great recipes) on food.com. I used this one. So quick to make!

Floweruffles

Not surprisingly, one of my new year's resolutions is to blog more often. I've been making it a point to write more, especially when I see or think of something inspiring. And lately, I've been finding a lot of inspiration on sites like Pinterest, Behance, Coroflot, and of course CommArts. There are so many ideas floating around, it's hard not to get up and do something about it.

So I got up and made a pillow cover. Doesn't sound very exciting, but it was fun! And pretty simple. Ever since I discovered how to create fabric flowers, it's been a case of can I put a flower on this, or would it look better on that? But I've toned it down and decided that I'd like to have my own flower embellished pillow.



This picture looks quite ominous with that bright blood red hue, but below are some friendlier ones. I enjoyed this mini photo shoot, especially when the sun came out for a minute and shone its graceful rays of light.

I left the edges of the fabric frayed, but if you use a craft hot knife like this one, it will seal the edges. So cool.

Fabric flowers are a great way to decorate many things... as I should stop reminding myself. Here is a great link to learn more about how to make your own!

A Simple Cup of Tea

There's something about a simple cup of tea that can effortlessly transport you to another place for a few moments.

It works for me when I'm looking for ideas, and also when I'm avoiding them. :)

If you've never tried chai tea, here's a nice recipe.

Somewhere Only We Know

I'm delaying watching the last Harry Potter movie until next weekend. It kind of makes me feel like I have another week left before my childhood officially ends (forget the fact that I've already graduated...from college.) 

In the mean time, there's the Winnie the Pooh movie that just makes my nostalgia go way up. When I saw the trailer, I thought the song Somewhere Only We Know, by Keane, was such a strange choice to pair with a movie that's so full of happiness and carefree-ness of childhood. And yet it makes so much sense. 

Oh simple thing where have you gone
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on
So tell me when you're gonna let me in
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin

And if you have a minute why don't we go
Talk about it somewhere only we know?
This could be the end of everything
So why don't we go
Somewhere only we know?

Hats

I had saved a bunch of magazine ads from a Marie Claire I bought in Sydney, and it was at the time of the Melbourne Cup so of course, the focus was on hats - big, bold, and beautiful ones. My favorite is the one in the middle because it's so lively and still elegant. Plus I thought it looked great in the middle of the collage :) And since November is the transition from Spring into Summer in Australia, most of the ads were very summery and bright.

I first put these ads up in my dorm in Sydney and they bring back awesome memories of summer days in the city. So now I'm using them to decorate my room again instead of leaving them in a pile in my drawer. And while I was putting them together, I remembered my collection of tags, and found a use for them as well!  So now I've got a collage of work by some really great art directors and photographers :)

Happy Father's Day!

"Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a Dad." -- Anne Geddes

Even being the silly little kid I am (even now), my dad's always looking out for me. So many things I could say, but I'll keep it straightforward: Thank you, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, especially you :)

New Strengths

Barakat Walk for Literacy 2010

This post is long overdue. It's partly because I have been so lost in my work that for a bit, I've forgotten to stop and revisit why I started it. So I'm taking this chance to write about my experience as a graphic designer at Barakat Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides education for women and children in its 5 schools across India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Barakat's education is valued in a whole new way. Without the things that most of us take for granted, people with more challenging living situations have to learn how to deal with everyday circumstances. Things like being able to read a newspaper and keep up-to-date with current events, prevent illness and stay healthy, and deal with post-flood situations allow them to live a step higher from their current conditions. And these are just a few examples.

It's similar to the students at the blind school in India who took their knowledge of Braille and of operating their laptops and expressed confidence in their ability to learn and be just as educated as a student without the disability. Their inability to see was not a weakness because they had the opportunity to learn how to work around it. This opportunity is what Barakat strives to give.

There is so much more to say about the organization, such as its focus on educating women and children and allowing them to be one step closer to breaking the stereotype of being one less when compared to men, especially in the culture and environment they live in. The word education itself is full of life; everything from reading and writing to health and work life fall within its umbrella and each area is an important aspect of Barakat's influence on its students' lives.

As a graphic designer, I have the opportunity to go through our stock of photographs (click here to see some from our flickr account), which are taken by amazing photographers that know how to capture a moment. Being able to use these photographs and create marketing materials that convey Barakat's message is something that I think is powerful. I'm just lucky to be able to be working with a cause I respect, and a job I enjoy.

Slinkachu

Ever come across the thought of how minute we are in the larger scale of things? 

That's the kind of idea that I think street artist Slinkachu puts into visuals very nicely.

More of his amazing street art is here:
http://little-people.blogspot.com/
http://slinkachu.com/home