journal jacket exclusively F.A.R.M.

lovely gift for lovely people.

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merry christmas, everyone!

finding your inner artist

march, being the international women’s month found me teaching women, i.e., rural women, some skills which i believe will make them, not just exist, but be . i named the class:  "sew easy, sew simple"

it's been a really fun experience,   not only am i teaching people,  but i am learning some new things myself!  

i love seeing what develops,  from different perspectives,  color choices, and their own personal visions and how they approach things.

  

at each class i've had,  there have been at least one or 2 people that really were concerned that they couldn't do it,  they didn't feel creative enough,  or had no clue what they were going to do.    

 

they almost seemed panicked.   but in the end, they did it!

that's the one thing that i find most rewarding is how proud people are when the class is over,  they truly have a feeling of accomplishment,  you can see them beaming with pride over their creations.  

that seriously makes me the happiest.   these people tapped into their inner artist and created wonderful things that i know they were proud of.

 

so here, i show some images from my most recent class...patchwork cushion cover made from recycled fabrics, embroidered apron, embellished canvass tote. . .wonderful creations from people that never even knew they had it in them! 

i mean,  look at this super cool bag, Mabelle made!

lovette!

 

so if you too want to try tapping into your inner artist, think about signing up for one of my F.A.R.M. classes  where you'll meet new people,  figure out things about yourself you may not have known you were capable of,  and have a great time doing it!

 

and the best part is,  i take care of all the mess afterwards,  and  i'll even feed you

isn't that so nice? :)

labour of love

a couple of weeks ago i got this box from my sis which contained her vintage finds in Carmel and Monterey.   

while meandering around the heap and pile i created, after unloading, i spied some quilt squares of printed cotton, peeking out , like calling for my attention.  i pulled out a piece and realized it was quite a number of vintage floral fabrics.   

i immediately calculated the area it would cover, after making a patchwork out of ‘em and knew right away, it would cover the whole of me, but i don’t need to be covered.  some parts of me are better exposed.  bwahahaha!

i knew instantly what i would do with them. . . i could reuse the fabric in some other way.  i've always loved patchwork and crazy quilts...i relate to their sporadic, quirky nature.

it's a happy top, don't you think? the fabrics are so fun to look at and the 100% cotton is a substantial weight and because my seamstress Marilyn has her edging machine here at the shoppe, we did nice edges and i didn’t have to fix a lining for the beautiful patchwork top.  i don't know how old the fabrics are, but i'm guessing the 60s.

just the other day, another of the wonderful boxes arrived, again from my vintage-crazy sis.  and i am guessing what i may find inside.  i am definitely looking forward to working with it once i get to see ‘em and decide what to do.

ain’t this such a happy, crazy patchwork top?  i bet you would agree.

climate change

you hear it everywhere, climate change.  the Philippines certainly does not experience winter, although the winds last week were wintry cold.  one, however, cannot dismiss how erratic the temps have become - some nights are cold, literally. . .(stop that look), and some nights are hot, literally. . . and am talking about the weather.  

my closet is just not enough to accommodate wardrobe for this sudden changes, so i went on a purging spree. . .

i had always wanted to get rid of my sweaters, ones i have bought for winter, during my stay in London, and another was from Belgium, wow, i certainly have some emo attachments, i cannot just part with them so i figured on repurposing my sweaters, and voila!  

messenger bags and matching cellphone cozies.

ain't i just a genius?  bwahahaha!

F.A.R.M. goes English

it may conjure up images of tacky doilies or hippy-style waistcoats. . .

but crochet is making a comeback. 

crochet was developed in the 19th century, during the victorian and edwardian era, as an imitation of fine lace - the real thing was expensive, but women could produce crocheted pieces for pennies. 

it enjoyed a resurgence post-world war II and again in the sixties and seventies when crocheted waistcoats and dresses became fashionable with the hippy set.

 

and F.A.R.M. goes English. . .with its own line of bib necklace, made of crocheted colorful floral doilies.

for this line, F.A.R.M. celebrates the rural women of San Nicolas, Baao - my very own community here in the Philippine.

Ribbon Play

"to invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk" - thomas alba edison.  i have never met this guy, but we certainly share one thing in common - our love for piles of "junk".  bwahahaha! 

when i bought my pile of ribbons, exactly 5 years ago, i didnt really have anything specific in mind, as to what to do with them, i was just bedazzled by the variety, the colors and the textures.  i was dreaming to put up a flower shop and use my pile on to bouquets and wreaths. . .of course, fate has to have a hand on my life's paths and the directions i would take.  so, instead of having the flower shop, i put up a Cafe and used my pile to decorate and serve a purpose - a divider! 

the creation of F.A.R.M. certainly paved my way to turning my trash to treasure.  from discarded buttons, to recycled fabrics, to scrappy ribbons. . . i have to be literally immersed in piles of "junk"/materials/media, to create.  and for this entry, i present my latest line of F.A.R.M. Threads:  Ribbon Play - 

bags embellished with ruffles and rosettes, made of scrappy satin ribbons and recycled fabrics.  

dainty as they may seem, the bags are sturdy, lined and zipped and carries with pride, the F.A.R.M. trademark.  

F.A.R.M. never runs out of ideas. . .

little F.A.R.M. beings

i was always in a quandary when i look at the heaps of buttons i was accumulating - the smallest, cutest buttons one can ever find,  and when i say small, i mean just that, little, minute, tiny and seemingly useless diminutive gems.  

i didnt have the heart to dispose of them, so i just had them in ziplocks and boxes, and the last time i looked, i had several sacks of them,  bwahahaha. 
now isn't that hoarding? well, not in my vocabulary.  i have to be surrounded and sometimes literally engulfed with immense quantity of materials, media and be in the best of contrivances, to let my creative juices flow, hah, i know myself that much, so i didnt quite worry.  i know, at the right moment and at the right time, a new idea will pop up and a great product will be born. . .

so it came to pass, that Jam, my protege, asked me for our book of genius ideas, thoughts we play upon and entertain, and viola!  a star is born - the little F.A.R.M. being.

for Christmas, these cute  beings, adorned my beautiful farm tree at the F.A.R.M. shoppe.  and when friends, F.A.R.M.ers and non saw them, they just can't help it, they must have my cute little F.A.R.M. beings.  

certainly the star that lit my tree this season.