Taking the Leap~! Opened my Etsy Store for Digital Products--- XiaoMeibyMilish

At very last! Last Sunday, I finalized the set up of my Etsy Shop, I have been wanting to share and sell my sketches--- digitally. Since the quarantine started, I have been reflecting on how I can maximize my potential. Thought I'm not new in joining, posting and sharing my works online (Spoonflower, Society6, Zazzle, Red Bubble, VIDA and etc.), I've also posted in other various websites. But I thing Etsy is one of the platform out there that is selling effectively, when it come to digital products, and I was thinking to firstly focus on this product as it has potential in the market. 

I started with postings some of my previous hand sketched works just for preview, though I'm continually working on some new products to post in the next few weeks. Hoping someone would notice and would appreciate my works.

Etsy Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/XiaoMeibyMilish

Hoping to continue posting an update here in my blog. Just need to schedule everything. 

Love, 

M

Getting it out of myself--- frustration

It has been long since I have been staying at home due to this pandemic. It started 2nd of week of March until now. At first, it did not bother me so much that I will be staying at home and doing all the work at home. 

I like being at home, I consider myself as an introvert and likes being inside the comfort of home just reading and working. But due to having 2 work responsibilities, 1- managing our family business and 2- teaching at a university, somethings are getting out of hand. 

One, that having a responsibility of managing our family business. Recent changes in the society and down turn of the world economy does affect our business. I needed to think ahead and prepare everything at hand to protect our business, our employees and our family. Balancing everything frustrates me, as to it is not what I learned and prepared myself to. As of the moment, I don't have the right skill set on how to really manage a business. I took Interior Design during college and worked 4 years in a small Interior Design and Furniture company. Though I did learn many helpful things about business in my short stint work in a small company. I still don't know the right fundamentals and proper management skills in business. 

Online Purchase Review: POPCULTCHA from Australia

It has been a while since my last post... again! Having a lot more time now to do some reflections and re-assessment of all the things that I have been doing. I have decided to revive this blog again. 

So to start off, I will be introducing a new website where you can buy toys, toy vinyl collection, board games and etc. I live in the Philippines, so giving my personal insights on websites from overseas on how the order process, packaging of items, how it is shipped and its condition after receipt; I think would be very helpful for those who are planning to buy the same items or related that I bought. 

POPCULTCHA.COM

Website: https://www.popcultcha.com.au/

Italian Coffee: Second Chance and Healing

 Before I went here in Italy, I thought that I can't enjoy the simple things to enjoy here like drinking coffee and wines because of my hyper acidity in my stomach that sometimes would lead me to experience excruciating heartburn.

Coffee time at La Menagere, Florence, Italy

Which I got when I exactly turned 23 years old, after having a drinking party out with my college friends. Since then I swore off drinking coffee, alcohol and even softdrink at the same time.

But it all changed when I tried the coffee (caffe latte- a more safer choice because it is more milk content) here in Italy, at first I experience mild LBM but the good thing is that my stomach doesn't react to it anymore. They say like an allergic reaction, you can train your body to slowly get used to the things that your body is rejecting. So that is what I did and it worked!!

God's Better Plan

It is just now that I realize what is the plan of God for me, bringing me here in Italy instead of UK, which was my first choice for further study. My mom is right, there is always a good reason why things doesn't go the way that I want it.

Just now, I was scrolling through Facebook and saw the news yet again another terrorist attack in London, UK. The second time in the same place within the year. Whenever I see these kind of news, I immediately message my friend, Jen, who is currently studying there for a year. She told me just these past few weeks that the situation there is quite hard to grasped and uneasy ever since the first terrorist attack had happened. Praying for the families and the people of UK for them to be able to get through this hardship and be able to feel safe again within their own country.

I'm thankful for my mom, who didn't given up on me when I was already giving up on my plan, and for always telling me that there is a greater plan that God has prepared for me.

Until next time,
M

My 100th day in Italy and Start of Summer Break

Time flies so fast, I'm already here for more than 3 months. It seems like just yesterday that I arrived here in Florence and even now our summer break had just started.

@ Piazzale Michaelangelo; Neha, Nhi and Me (L-R)

I'm still dumbfounded with how long our summer break would be, it would be more or less 3 to near 4 months long 😅 I didn't even prepare or listed down anything to do for my summer break as to I was expecting it to be just 2 months long. But thanks to my summer companion- Neha, we will be doing various educational activities and visiting many places. We will hopefully be able to spend our summer well :)

Here are some pictures of our earlier week summer day out:

1. Urban Sketching at the Piazza della Santissima Annunziata

 

 

New Life Chapter

Hi! I know it's been a while since my last update in this blog, I've previously been busy in working on and pushing my papers. For me to be able to pursue my further studies, like in what I have shared in my last post.

Good news is that I'm here now in Italy, pursuing my further studies after long and tiring months (3-4 months) of going back and forth the Italian Embassy. It has not been an easy road for me to be able to go here and I even got depressed at some point, because I got rejected in my 1st application, few days before Christmas of 2016. During that time, I even thought of giving up my plan and dream of studying abroad. But I'm thankful for my family and friends that pushed me to think positively about it (after I submitted my 2nd application, because I was given a chance to be able to submit again) and supported me along the way.

A Year After I Decided to Pursue my Study Abroad Plan

Deciding to study abroad is a big step and would eventually change once life and ideals. I have been looking forward to be able to get a chance to  further pursue my study in Interior Design since I graduated last 2013. Then last March 2015, me and my best friend "E" decided to attend the Great Britain Fair at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, and there it all started and that I decided to apply to study abroad.

Magnetic Bookmark

Just recently I stumbled upon a Instagram account that sells this super cute Magnetic Bookmarks. The artist and online store is @craftedvan, the store idea is making their own version of known characters like Harry Potter and his friends, Up, , and even Sailor Moon and the Sailor Warriors (actually this is the set that I want to purchase).

Unfortunately, the problem is their online store is based on Canada. Though they have an Etsy store for international clients. But calculating it and knowing the price of the item and also adding the shipping cost from Canada to Philippines, it would be too expensive just for a Magnetic Bookmark. 

That is why I decided to make one for myself, I also search the internet if there are other online crafters in the Philippines, who makes and sells this kind of bookmark. After looking into it, I found that there aren't any seller magnetic bookmark here. So I decided to make one, being a crafter myself.

This is my first collection sketch. 

Inspirational Business eMentor

I stumbled upon a website that blogs about online business tips and guides, at that time my online business had just started. I was searching for tips and guides for my online business to be more productive and to be able to give my customers good service and product. So  I naturally subscribed to his blog to get up-to-date tips on online business.

My Cup of Tea

My background on tea drinking:
Being brought up in a Chinese family, drinking tea is more of a usual thing more often when eating in a tea house and eating dimsums. Though I didn't notice it at first, I came to like drinking strong bitter tea flavors, because most tea that were served in tea house had very strong and distinct taste like black tea, oolong tea and etc.

I got used it the strong flavors and bitterness of the tea. The more bitter it is, the more I like it. But recently, I'm more obsessed with tea, due to the fact that I can't drink coffee anymore because of my very acidic stomach huhu... *crying inside*.

Never the less, whenever I see a shop that sells different favored teas and in a very cute packaging (must be eye catching!) I confess that I always make it a point to buy at least 1 box. Certified Teaholic! I also make it a point to try various tea flavors for variation and also to really know what tea that I really like to drink.

CLIPPER TEA

Organic Chamomile (left) Organic Green Tea (right)

My Funko Pop Girls

Since I'm a total fan of Game of Thrones, my Brickhead (a.k.a my boyfriend), had gave me a Daenerys Targaryen for our Anniversary last year. I super loved it. Now I'm looking for Khal Drogo for her to be partnered with. The thing that we didn't realize is that looking for a Khal Drogo Pop! would be that difficult. Here in the Philippines, there aren't much seller of Pop! figures and that Khal Drogo is more of a limited stock here. So up to now we are still looking for his husband...... Hopefully we'll find him soon, for them to be reunited (even just in my collection) Savage Love

Khal Drogo" Moon of My Life" to Khaleesi

Khaleesi "My Sun and Stars" to Khal 

"You are the moon of my life, that's all I know and all I need to know, and if this is a dream, I will kill the man who tries to wake me." -Khal Drogo to Daenerys Targaryan a.k.a Khaleesi

Stamp Carving Bonanza

Been doing stamp carving out or rubber materials since December last year. I started this hobby to help me relax myself from my regular work and freelance works. Stamp carving had helped me soothe my stress away and had help me to concentrate on doing one thing at a time since by nature I'm more of a multi-tasker. My intricate designs were inspired by Ms. Cynthia Arres, a Filipino Illustrator, I was looking for a tutorial using Xacto knife, when I stumbled her very useful and practical step by step guide in her blog.

 Since then I have already made maybe more than 20 stamps from easy to complicated design. Hoping to practice more to be able to carve lettering and intricate works more defined.

Here are some of my recent works and some commissioned works

 

Mini Workshop: 1 on 1

Last week, my best friend told me that her mom is interested in learning how to carve a rubber stamp; because I gave my friend a personalized rubber stamp (made from simple eraser) as a gift last christmas. She (my best friend's mom) was thinking that it would be a good hobby to do, so I accepted and said that I would be very delighted to be able to share my knowledge on rubber stamping. 

So we arranged to have our mini 1 on 1 workshop at their house yesterday, at first I was a bit awkward because it is the first that I would teach other people about my knowledge and thoughts on stamp carving. Truthfully, I'm still not an expert on this hobby because up until now I'm just using Xacto cutter and box cutter as my tools and not the usual Speedball Linoleum cutter, because for me it is still expensive and I still need to save some money to buy it; also here in the Philippines, Speedball products are still not readily available in the market. But hopefully in the future I may be able to buy one and be able to make a rubber stamp design out of it (fingers crossed....x x). 

Wanted: Organization....

Have you ever wondered how other people manage to do their works smoothly and organized? How other students finish their homework on time or even ahead of time? or even how others seems to remember all the things that they needed to do in so little time?

When I was in 3rd year high school, a guest speaker from one of the seminar had given an advice regarding on this topic; on how to organize or even improve your management skills. The only thing that he suggested is to have a PLANNER, start writing down things that you want to remember to do, it is like a to do list. 

Thinking of blogging something worth reading... what can it be?

After watching Julie and Julia the movie, it had occurred to me that I wanted to revive my blog again and that I wanted to contribute something worth reading for a change. Blogging for me felt like it is somewhat my stress reliever. I have read an article one time saying that writing something that makes you feel good in a diary or blog can help relieve stress and can even help in LOSING WEIGHT!? Can you even believe it! 

If this is true, it is worth a try. I'll start writing good stuffs here in my blog, and hope to be able to eventually captivate and help other people in someways. 

Till next time... be able to Hope, Love and Inspire!

M