my last post was about me being resourceful & making a cute thing for my friend using what i had. well here's another DIY kind of thing that i did today
i had this glass clock thing that didn't work so i took out all of the mechanical stuff & the hands of the clock. i was left w a glass disk w a hole in the middle, so i wanted to do something cool w it. recently, i had bought chalkboard paint but never used it yet so i figured i could try it on this
supplies needed:
something to paint on/decorate
chalkboard paint
chalk
so i had my sister paint the glass disk w the chalkboard paint & the next day (when it was finally completely dry) i started the design. it's hard to draw neatly & cleanly w chalk but i did my best. i did another henna-type design bc that's all i've been doing lately but i really like how it turned out so yay
hello hello hello. i wanted to share this artsy thing i did bc i'm happy w how it turned out. so. i wanted to do a cute/thoughtful thing for my friend's birthday so i figured i'd do a box w little things that she would like. however, i didn't have any cute boxes so i decided to be resourceful & decorate a box
supplies:
small box
large paper bag (from abercrombie)
scissors
tape
spray adhesive glue
permanent marker/black ink pen
steps:
cut the bag so that it can be laid out flat
find a section of the bag big enough to cover certain sections of the box
cut it out so that it can fit on the side of the box (it can be a little larger- you can always trim)
spray the adhesive glue on the box (use tape if necessary)
put the plain/blank side of the section of the bag onto the glue & let dry
continue to wrap/glue bag until it covers the outside of the box
trim any extra edges & tape down any loose flaps
decorate the box w the pen/marker
after finishing the exterior of the box, i decorated the inside. the first thing i did was paint over anything in the box that i did not want (there were words & decorations already). then i cut out paper balloons & glued them on. i wrote "happy birthday" & put stickers to spell out her name
then i found put the little gifts inside
included in the box:
mickey & minnie mouse tsum tsums
pink beaded bracelet
dreamcatcher necklace
little homemade keychain
pins: harry potter, tangled, the beatles, pink floyd
card/note explaining stuff in the box
she went gaga over the hand-designed "henna" on the outside of the box & absolutely loved the little gifts. she really likes hand-made/thoughtful kind of gifts so it was pretty perfect for her
so recently, i watched this trailer for a new netflix original bc lily collins is in it. then i found out the movie was about anorexia & i'll admit, i was a tad bit worried
we all know the backlash & controversy about 13 reasons why so i just had this feeling that people were going to attack this movie for trying to talk about anorexia (which they are). so i tried to look it up to find some information on how lily collins prepared for the role- we all know the media would latch on to any news of her starving herself for it
what i found out was that lily, & the director (or producer?) of the film both have suffered w anorexia & lily even realized that it would be a thin line playing this character. but she identified so closely w it & has recovered well enough to play it smart & safe. she lost a lot of weight for the movie w medical supervision/help from a nutritionist. she lost the weight as healthily as she could to be able to play the role as it was meant to be played
as i mentioned before, the controversy about 13 reasons why was a really big thing but i thought it was important to educate people on the problem, show them a different side, & get rid of the stigma around mental illnesses & such. & i feel the same about this movie- erasing the stigma around talking about anorexia. i feel like this will give kids someone to identify w, someone who can show them that they've been through the same thing & have had help & recovered
so i, for one, am excited to watch this movie. i love watching movies like this & i love lily collins so it's a win-win. plus the movie comes out on my birthday which is a nice little gift
over the past weekend, i was volunteering (as a photographer) at Our Lady of Lourdes' 2017 Youth Day. it was a faith-filled weekend w games, music, food, talks, & entertainment.
check out the video my friend Ben made about this year's youth day:
so youth day is an annual event & this year, the theme was "focus on your innergram"
what is your "innergram"? that's a good question. i wasn't really listening when the speakers talked about it (oops) but i think it's kind of obvious- it's right there in the theme: focus on your INNERgram
kids these days are so obsessed w their technology & w social media (not gonna lie, i am one of these people) & their online image. they can't put their phones down, they try to make themselves look a certain way & project a certain image/look online on instagram, blogs, snapchat, tumblr, etc. & sometimes, they don't even realize that they're doing it. during one of the talks, the speaker (a nun) mentioned how kids see a commercial for a product & may be influenced to buy this product. the media (television, ads, commercials, the internet) subliminally influences us. & the speaker said they do this for money, they don't really care about us. & that's so true- the media does not care about us. they care about selling things, even if it's bad for us. so how does this relate to our innergram?
well, one thing that the media sells is an image, an idea, a look. this look tells girls that they'll never be skinny enough; it tells boys that they need to have abs & big muscles. it tells us that we have to do certain things to be "cool" like smoking or drinking or having sex, etc. it tells us to be everything but ourselves, so that others can see us as cool & like us. should we be doing things just to get people to like us though? NO. so why do we focus so much on the image that we project on social media?
why don't we focus on the image that we project on our innergram? why don't we make ourselves beautiful on the inside? why do we think that we are ugly when God created us in his own perfect image? why don't we do things that will make us the best versions of ourselves for our innergram?
so that's the idea right? to make our innergrams look as good as we want our instagrams to look. to make ourselves as beautiful on the inside as God sees us on the outside. & instead of focusing on getting likes & getting people to share our posts, we should like/love ourselves (& others) & share that love, share the gifts & talents that God gave us w the world. #likeandshare
group photo of the participants (blue shirts) & volunteers (pink shirts)
so, along w focusing on our innergrams, we focused on God through adoration & praise & worship- my favorite part of the weekend. with the live band- gifting us w the talents that God gave them, & the enthusiasm of the kids- singing & dancing along, how could i not feel God's love?
youth day isn't just ALL about God & praying & worshipping though; after adoration, the older kids had more praise & worship while the little kids did smores. then they swapped & the older kids did smores while the little kids did arts & crafts. i went around taking many many pictures
we also had sports & games. the kids were split up into groups (the younger kids & the older kids) & had their own activities. the kids had t-shirt relay races, "quidditch," tug-of-war, hula hoop games, & many more
the older kids had interesting games (i forget the names) such as trying to get a ping pong ball from one soda can onto another, trying to pick up & carry skittles using a straw, trying to knock over cans w rubberbands & other obscure- but entertaining- activities
after a hot day outside in the sun, the kids had lunch, then free time where they would be free to go on waterslides, get ice cream, cotton candy, etc. then they got dinner & cleaned up before going to mass. after mass, there was a variety show w a couple of performances, including one from TNTT called "Broken Vessels" (which my sister is a part of). & after the whole day & a half of sleep-deprivation, it still wasn't over
the youth ministry's band ended the night by holding another praise & worship event for the remaining kids (mostly the older ones who have been confirmed or are getting ready to be confirmed)
honestly, i had about 4 hours of sleep from that friday evening til saturday night but it was worth it
there is so much excitement inside of me rn. do you remember one of my past posts talking about a shirt design that i did for my friend's shop/site (thinksweetpea)? well as of today, it's also mine!
amalia's products consists of some black pride shirts, a lot of caps, & DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) influences but now, there's a new collection. the "stay weird" collection is my baby. it's all of the designs that i have created for the site, including some of my drawings
check out the collection if you're interested in purchasing any of these t-shirts (& use discount code TEESFORME for $16 tees or SWEETTHANG for $5 OFF of your cart)!
last night, i was going through old facebook statuses which led me to rediscovering old songs that i used to listen to back in 2009 & 2010 so i just thought i'd share them w ya'll!
in the second reading, it says "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ & the love of God & the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." i feel like this was the perfect verse for the occasion.
in catholicism, your parents baptize you as a baby to promise God that they are going to raise you to be catholic. confirmation is when you're older, old enough to make your own choice about your beliefs, & you "confirm" that, yes, you do accept the ideas & beliefs of catholicism & promise to be a catholic. this is your choice- your choice to accept God, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit.
another part to this whole confirmation thing is choosing a sponsor. this is, ideally, someone that practices their faith & will be able to guide you in your faith journey. Christi chose the same sponsor that i did, 4 years ago, when i got confirmed, thus making her my Godsister.
now, you can have the same sponsor as someone & never even talk to them but i already know Christi- she's my sister's friend & a member of TNTT. i see God's work in her every weekend at church & i know that she will be able to do great things through Christ. i'm very excited to have her as my newest Godsister & i hope that i will be able to help her in her faith journey as well.
when spring semester ended, megan, david, & i talked about going to Typhoon Texas together sometime. we finally planned out a day & it was such a great time
first, david picked me up then drove us to megan's house to pick her up. we were there for 2-3 hours bc 1. megan had to get ready 2. she was trying to make us some food before we left & 3. we kept distracting her w funny videos & harry potter posts from tumblr
we finally got in the car & were on the way to Katy around 12 when david said he wanted to show megan the guitar he wanted for a quick second. so we stopped at guitar center
while david played the guitar for a bit, megan & i went around exploring/messing w drums. after a while, they wanted to go see the acoustics (there was a room w acoustic guitars & ukuleles). david grabbed a guitar & megan picked up a ukulele & they strummed a bit, played little bits of songs. eventually david would play & megan would sing the song, which was really cool (tho it made me feel even more musically challenged).
when they were done, david asked this guy (who was in the room too) what song he had been playing earlier. they started talking about black sabbath & pink floyd (david made a new friend). the guy played some pink floyd song & asked megan to sing it, which was pretty cool (but again, it's like everyone could play instruments & i'm over here recording them bc i can't do anything)
finally, we got back in the car to go to Typhoon Texas. first, we had to take pictures before our hair got wet (duh) then we headed for the Lazy T River (which we stayed in most of the time). we went on the Texas Twister (3x), the Typhoon (1x), & the Lone Star Racers (2x)
it was such a great day full of laughter, tanning, swimming, screaming (on the rides), & good vibes. it's always a good idea to get out of the house & hang out w some good friends & i'm so glad i got the chance to meet megan & david, & to have spent the day w them at typhoon texas.
when i'm on instagram or tumblr i always save the pictures that i think look really cool or good or could be ideas for artwork. i found this picture of a girl that i, personally, think is very beautiful & that aesthetic tho. so i saved it but never got around to drawing her until today.
i've never been good at drawing people that look like the actual people that they're based off of, but the drawing itself is pretty good (if you don't look at the original). i'm not the best w proportions or details but i really like this drawing. i did it in pen then i went back in w markers (where there's color) bc i wanted to add a little something to it.
this drawing took me 3-4 hours (bc my dad kept interrupting me) & usually i don't like working on things too long but i'm happy w this one.
