Happy Birthday

Today would have been my Papa's 65th birthday. Happy Birthday Papa! I know that you are most happy celebrating your special day with the Lord. I will see you when the time comes. In the meantime, I hope that you are glad of the person I had become now. Happy birthday Papa! I love and miss you.

2 Wins for November

Together with the legend Manny Pacquiao is a teacher in the person of Efren Penaflorida. Both gave our country prestige and honor. Both made every Filipino proud.

Manny Pacquiao recently gained his 7th belt, WBO welterweight title last November 15. He gave every Filipino an early Christmas gift. Manny at the forefront of success, each of us had been inspired to make good in our craft, we now dream big and we make all things possible to get our dream. From there we try new things to further perfect our crafts and make good in all the things we dip our fingers in. Manny not only touch our lives but also the lives of so many people around the world. Panalo ka Manny! Saludo ako syo!

Now here comes a very inspiring story of a person whose dreams of serving others became a reality. Teacher Efren Penaflorida started his dream early on in his teens. He established the Dynamic Teen Company an organization who provides free tutorials for underserved Filipino youths via the "pushcart classroom". Kuya Ef as he is fondly called by his students recently received a CNN Heroes Award. What a selfless dream he had. What a selfless person is he. What a selfless organization he has. Panalo ka Kuya Ef! Saludo ako syo!

Valle Verde 5 Mega Christmas Bazaar 2009

It had been three years since Creative Outlet joined the bazaars held at Valle Verde 5, Pasig City Philippines. Three fruitful years of selling, meeting new friends, new clients and having new things to learn. The last two bazaars was with Red Golden Events managed by friends JR and Malou Tiu and Rishi and Jovan Lee.

Let me share with you some of the things I learned/observed from last weekend's event.

• The management of Red Golden Events are very visible during bazaar days. I often see them taking photos of booths and talking with sellers. ---As a seller I feel very much at ease when organizers are always ready/visible to assist us in our questions/needs. Open communication is always fostered.
• As always the booths are properly named and numbered.---It was not a difficult job for us to locate our booth. Though before hand we always review the floor plan and layout and remember our booth number, still this gesture from the organizers is a great help for sellers like me who becomes a bit crazy before a bazaar. Haha!
• Be ready to have ample change.---Maybe it had become a routine but it helps a lot when I go to the bank a day before the bazaar and have them change my bills into smaller denominations. This way I do not bother anyone if a client hands in a large bill.
• Have a mini tool kit with you.---This will make life really easy in a bazaar. Things like scissors, paper, ballpens, pins, extra packaging, pentel pens, and other paraphernalia needed to help you make a sale.
  
• Always bring a big smile and a positive attitude with you.---This simple gesture of smiling and greeting your clients will make a huge difference on sales. A positive attitude will exude from within and be felt by clients. Clients will feel comfortable and will most often give you some of their precious time and money as well.
• Make friends with other sellers.---You will never know if you will be meeting them again or if you will become one of their client one day. Having contacts is not bad...increase your network- they are there for us to explore and discover.
  

I hope you will are able to pick some tips which you can apply. Please do share some of your bazaar tips with me too :D

I have been holding on to this words of Ken Tan of Entrebuff.com- "It is about having the enterprising character to DREAM, CREATE and make great things happen for yourself and others". From these words I have formulated my entrepreneural strategy for the next year. I hope that I will continue dreaming and most especially continue on creating something for all of you.

New Moon: Opens Today

New Moon the second book of the Twilight series is opening its doors at Philippine cinemas today! I cant help wonder how the movie will fair with its book content. How will Bella, Edward and Jacob make their audiences feel the "love triangle" involved. And how will Dakota Fanning portray the vampire we dread to be with. Well, lets watch and decide for ourselves. :D

Enjoy the weekend. Watch New Moon!

Valle Verde Christmas Bazaar

See you all this coming weekend at the Valle Verde 5 Christmas Bazaar. It will be a fun filled weekend for all of us. Bazaar starts at 9am till 9pm. Wear you most comfortable shopping attire and go shop for your Christmas give aways. :D

Aluminum wire vs Copper wire

Will I be playing with aluminum wire or copper wire today?

This question have always been a big dilemma for me every time I decide to work on a project. Like any beading material, copper wire and aluminum wire have its ups and downs. Let me share with you some of the things I have encountered so far.

Aluminum wire

• In the beading store I frequent they have aluminum wire gauges 16-20, their wire gauge availability may be enough for some people like me who works with G-16-18 but it may not be for some serious wire workers.
• Sometimes the wires are marred though I always wipe my wires with a terry cloth and follow it up with a kitchen scrub then again with my terry cloth.
• You can get your wires per kilo basis. 1/4 kilo will go a long way.
• Not all beads could fit in a G 16 wire which is my wire of choice when making beaded home accessories.
• In time (about 2 years or so) aluminum wire looses its luster especially when the wire is subjected to frequent washing and scrubbing.
• Wires are easy to twist and turn, very ideal for free form designs.
  

Copper wire

• In the store I frequent there are lots of wire gauges to choose from and a lot of copper shades too.
• Copper wires, in my opinion has more aesthetic appeal in terms of material to use when making jewelry.
• You can also get your copper wires per kilo basis. I could make approximately 30-40 pieces of rings in a 1/4 kilo wire.
• My first copper wire ring was in late 2007 and until now its still looks the way I got it.
• I havent used copper wire to make free form designs though but I have been using it as base for my bead weaving ring projects. They turn out to be perfect with the help of my wigjig and my hilarious ideas and color matches.
  

Well I guess I didn't make enough comparison of both wires. I think it might be best if you could try them out and share your experiences with me instead. :D

Here are some of the projects I made using both wires.






Now, will I be playing with both wires today? Yes I am!

PsorPhil- Psoriasis Philippines

Congratulations to the members and participants of the WPD (World Psoriasis Day) this year - Fun Walk and the recently concluded Hug Me Campaign 2009. Both activities were a HUGE success. With the many movie celebrities and some political figures gracing both events, it were really bound to be a big hit. It was a great honor that one of Manila's prime actors in the person of Robin Padilla supported the Hug Me Campaign together with other celebrities like Jake Cuenca, Robi Domingo and Nancy Castilione. The Imperial Palace Suites in Manila was jam-packed with psoriasis patients, their relatives and friends. Though I was not there to be with my "brothers and sisters", I am so happy for them and the team's success.

Thank you to the people behind both events, those who selflessly contributed - without your love of the community, both events will not be able to reach out and help people to be aware of what psoriasis is and that this disease is NOT CONTAGIOUS.

I have psoriasis and I'm not contagious.

Saludo ako sa inyong lahat mga kapatid!