I remember as a kid how often I would create cards for my parents for special occasions. As I grew up, these turned into card-hunting and I would spend all night thinking about what to write. Years passed and then it turned into sending GIF’s & stickers into our family group chat.
Occasionally, I would create cards with my calligraphy / watercolor / brush lettering on it but recently, my schedule has just been a blur while attempting to juggle my life as a mom, worker, wife & daughter.
Last Mother’s Day though, I gave my mom and mother-in-law cards and together with the Googly Toblerone sleeve we designed. They had their photos taken with it and it was only then I realized how much they appreciated the gesture.
Fast-forward to our workshop last weekend with S Maison, as much as we designed the workshop in such a way that it’s easy for moms & kids to enjoy the activity, I still had a mini mini question mark in my mind if the mall-goers will actually enjoy this. Looking at the photos now, we’re just so happy that we had several families gather bonding while crafting. So proud of the dads who joined too! 
The workshop was initially designed as a craft buffet where participants can assemble their own card with pre-cut leaves, flowers and dots. They were also able to customize messages on the cards with stickers and art materials from Faber-Castell such as connector pens, Ecco Pigment Markers (which doesn’t smudge by the way even if you write on your 4″ x 6″ Canon photo paper) and colored pencils.
One of the things we usually enjoy at workshops is that we get to see adults enjoy crafting and creating as much as the kids. My personal favorites are the people who say “I’m not artistic” but end up spending an hour creating their cards anyway. Initially, we wanted them to have space for their personal letters inside the card. But, we also though, if this workshop is about making memories, why not include a photo printing station too?
We brought our trusty Canon G3000 printer with us and printed family photos from our mobile phones thanks to the Canon PRINT app. Yep, you can download it from the Apple Store / Google Play for free and it’s the one with the orange triangle on the upper right. We printed several photos (at least 170 pieces x 1-2 pcs. per person) but we didn’t even have to worry about running out of ink because this printer is really meant to print in volumes. 
Hint, hint…You can probably set-up your own photo printing station at your next party too!
As I get older, I noticed that life is all about learning and unlearning and thanks to papercut projects, I’m starting to embrace the significance of darker colors especially as backgrounds since it brings life to brighter hues. (Well, it’s kind of like life…The unfortunate events help us appreciate the lighter side of it.) *There she goes again with her metaphors.* We’re happy and honored to have been invited by S Maison again for a workshop. The first one we did was last Easter. (Easter Crafts, Cookie Painting and Cupcake Decorating Workshop) We’re also so amazed how the place was styled. Just look at those pink pineapples and flamingoes plus the camera-friendly writing.
Okay. Why am I writing with the collective pronoun “We”? Well, I couldn’t really have done everything alone. On a day-to-day basis, there’s the hubby, Riley’s yaya, Tita Anne (Macachor) who always helps out with all things Googly, and this weekend we’ve got Sarah Ybanez whom I met at a Canon workshop & Eunice Panopio who invited me to her school talk. Thanks for their effort, we were able to pull this off. I’d also like to think that’s just half of the team because Riley’s grandparents, aunties & uncles also have a role in this too. Speaking of kids, I always look forward to having them at workshops. I know I may have mentioned this several times already but kids’ minds are just so malleable! They’re not afraid to break the rules so I’m happy to see how they’ve layered the flowers and leaves.
I was also happy to see how our lucky participants got to enjoy their Toblerone bars and Oli’s Box Ship Slime kits! To those who have been asking, Oli’s Box Ship is subscription-based. Kits can be ordered from their website. (www.olisboxship.com) Just like us, their objective is for kids to get to explore and learn while creating. As you can see, the elements in the kit are properly labeled and there are also step-by-step instructions for them to follow. They also have upcoming workshops by the way. Check out their Instagram page for announcements. Given the nature of kids, I don’t usually expect kids to follow all the rules at workshops like this. For one, I saw a kid who was busy working on caricatures of famous historical figures.
I sat down with him & I shared with him some tips I knew. While we were talking about drawing, he can’t help but share with me how he’s being bullied in his school every day. When his mom left the table, I told him that I too was bullied exactly when I was 12 years old. I told him that maybe his classmates didn’t understand that he was different or that people are different in general so that’s how they react. I told him that this experience will make him stronger. I know because I shared with him that my dad told me the same thing when I was crying to him during that difficult time in my life.
I shared with him other things and I thought we were talking in private but when I left their table apparently, his dad heard our convo and gave me a silent nod and grin. I was suddenly teary-eyed. I don’t know why. I do love being able to do workshops and helping people with their art projects but maybe moments like this just give me more purpose with what I do.
Having said that, thank you so much to S Maison and the Googly team for such a meaningful and purposeful weekend! ‘Til the next workshop! 
P.S. Thank you to all our collaborators for making this workshop happen:
