pretty things

December 23, 2006

In inches, in miles, in laughter and strife.

Merry Christmas

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May all of you have the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of new years!

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And if you’re still stumped about what to give your loved ones this season, why don’t you check out Michael’s list of Christmas Gift Ideas from Filipino Graphic Designers ((Thank you for the mention, Michael and Merry, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!)).

December 3, 2006

Johnny played guitar, Jenny played bass

There’s an excellent feature on pop-up books and artists including paper engineer extraordinaire Robert Sabuda over at Pingmag ((One of my favorite online mags!)). I’m a big fan of his as I’ve been fascinated with pop-ups ever since I was a little girl. ((It all started when my parents bought me a Sesame Street pop-up book when I was 8 which I’ve kept all these years, never mind that it’s now all dog-eared and dirty.)) That fascination naturally manifested itself in our wedding invitation (have you seen it?) and my book collection which consists of dozens of children’s books, a fraction of which just happen to, you know, pop up.
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In case you want to build a pop-up book collection too, here are my three favorite pop-up books of all time for your consideration:
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Commemorative Pop-up by Robert Sabuda
Arn gave me this book as a gift while we were still dating so I keep it in its original plastic packaging for protection 🙂 The abridged text is true to Frank L. Baum’s original, and the pop-ups and illustrations don’t distract and rather enhance the unravelling of the story. The paper sculptures I featured in the above photo are, clockwise from left: (1) the glittering green and gold Emerald City (complete with 3D glasses!); (2) Dorothy meets Glinda; and (3) the launch of the hot-air balloon.
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Botticelli's Bed & Breakfast
Botticelli’s Bed & Breakfast by Jan Pienkowski
This is pure genius! You open the book a full 360 degrees, tie both ends of the book covers together using the attached ribbons and voila, it’s a 3D “bed and breakfast”. And mind you, it’s not an ordinary B&B but a fictitious inn supposedly belonging to the great Botticelli. Fifty-six great artworks are scattered throughout the ten “rooms”: try and find paintings and popular icons (like Whistler’s mother and Michelangelo’s David), and the masters themselves (clue: Vermeer is in Van Gogh’s bedroom). You can pull-out tabs, open secret doors, and unlock underground hideaways to find all hidden artworks; or you can take a guided tour courtesy of a little guidebook (but where’s the fun in that? 😉 ) This book was a lucky find at Strand Bookstore ((My favorite haunt in lower Manhattan.)) sometime in ’98.
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The Elements of Pop-up by David A. Carter and James Diaz
This book is for the aspiring (read: wannabe) paper sculptor/engineer. The title says it all: the book contains all the building blocks you’ll ever need in constructing whatever kind of pop-up you need or want. It lists the different types of pop-up techniques and “mechanisms” in pull-apart form in order for you to better understand how they’re made. Even if you’re not in the stationery business and simply just want to make cute greeting cards for your friends it’s a really good buy.
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By the way, I know I owe you a list of my web design heroes but for now, why don’t you check out BP’s list of The Best Designed Filipino Blogs for 2006.

November 4, 2006

The past is a parade of countless days.

Sigh, vacation’s over. Arn and I are back from Japan but it hasn’t quite sunk in yet ((I bowed and almost uttered “arigato” to the customs officer at NAIA. This is what happens when you spend two weeks in Japan. (You just gotta love the Japanese, they’re such a polite society.))). Our legs and backs still ache ((Ahh the signs of aging…)) from all the walking, hiking, and running after trains we did, but so what? At least we were able to bring home a lot of happy memories, pictures, and Crunky ((I love Crunky chocolate but only second to Melty Kiss, particularly the Matcha (green tea) flavor. Unfortunately Melty Kiss was late coming out this year so I didn’t get to hoard boxes of them like I normally do, hehe. (It only appears on the shelves during late fall and winter.))) to last us til… well, the next chance for another holiday ((Whenever that may be, sigh. Bitin!)). I’ll write a decent travelogue soon — there’s way too much I want to share about the trip but I have to finish unpacking first. Seeya later. 🙂

Japan vacation 2006