July 19, 2014 – Pinay New Yorker

I could’ve written this post yesterday but I sort of felt bad that I had not much progress to report.

Here’s my list for the previous week:

1. Write the letters and mail them. The funny thing is I keep making the stationery. Time to write!

2. Keep posting in the Etsy Shop and keep the Etsy Group going! I’ve put this in the backburner the previous week but hope to do at least one post this weekend. You can read more about my creative pursuits in this post from my craft blog, Gotham Chick.

3. ~~Deal with Angelo’s leftover school supplies from the previous year and get rid of what I am not keeping.~~ This is something I enjoy doing every year. Unlike other moms, I don’t throw away his composition notebooks. I actually cut out the seam and take the cover off, and I cut the sheets that have not been written on. I use it for scratch paper and shopping lists. The ones I can’t use I’ve already thrown away. I always keep his old crayons and marker sets for use at home working with next year’s school homeowork.

~~4. Box the clothes that Angelo is no longer using.~~ While there are a ton of charities here in the US, I keep Angelo’s old clothes and send them with the balikbayan box I send home periodically for my mom to distribute to the poor families in her community in Bulan, Sorsogon. I don’t send it right away but box them when I can so that they can “compress” and become easier to pack when the bigger box is being assembled.

5. Write the introductory post about my Thank You Project. I’ve created the video channel on YouTube and have actually created a separate blog which is still private, but I want to do this right so I’m taking it slow. Over 100 + postcard backgrounds, 50+ flower embellishments cut and drawn, and other embellishments coming. I haven’t quite decided the tiers for the group funding project that will accompany it but I’m getting there. If you’re on Instagram or Twitter, this one will be #thethankyoupostcardproject .

So I guess I was wrong to think that I hadn’t actually accomplished much against last week’s list. Here’s this week’s list:

1. Write those letters. I must confess that one reason this is taking a while to get off the ground is that I like to write spontaneously but I feel like there is so much I’d like to keep out of those letters. I have never been one to edit myself but at this point, there is so much about what I think and feel that I need to keep close to my chest. I will still try.

2. Post those earrings! I do have three to four ready for posting — after attaching the earwires and photographing them. I also have two to three necklaces. The sun’s been shy this Saturday so I will wait for it to come out a little more just so I can have better lighting. I like the way that natural light plays with the pieces I have been creating.

3. Work on the Thank You Postcard Project page. One thing that I have found helpful is writing things longhand instead of waiting to be in front of my laptop or finding time to draft a post on the iPhone. And it helps me organize things better visually.

4. Send some test postcards out. I’m wondering if this should be part of #1. I have printed some of my own photos and treated the front with mod podge but I’m afraid of how the pieces will “travel” or deal with the wear and tear of handling in the mail.

5. Bake some polymer clay pieces this week. I’ve been trying to get back to polymer clay a while now but it’s always taken a back seat to everything else. Yesterday I started “conditioning” clay in the pasta machine and even worked on creating molds. One of two came out well which inspires me to keep going. The thing is working with clay and actually producing a baked piece can be quite a production, but I’m hoping to get moving with this this week.

A bit of the old and some new ones.. keeping it at five so that it’s not too overwhelming. Have a great weekend everyone!