My Very First Crafternoon Session!

This is part 2 of my "going-out-of-the-comfort-zone weekend". After last Saturday's solo gig at Boho Sarapsody Bistro,  I finally attended Mansy and Alessa's Rubber Stamping Crafternoon Session at Fully Booked yesterday!

I've been stalking a fan of Alessa and Mansy's work for quite a while now and I was really looking forward to learn from them in this session. The venue was almost packed when I arrived, and the participants seemed like they knew each other already. It was like going to school for the first time. You enter a room not knowing crap about anyone and then you start going with your intuition in identifying who seems to be the least intimidating set of people in the room and sit next to them. I ended up sitting with Melay, Tatin and Espie. The three girls at my table know each other (Melay and Espie are sisters and Melay and Tatin are friends), but I didn't feel left out coz they were so nice.

When I registered at the venue, they gave me a kit which included carving tools, rubber blocks, a sponge that could substitute as a stamp pad, sheets of paper and a cutter. These are the basic things that you need to start your rubber homicide.

Clockwise from Top Left: (1) Stamped Cards we shared to our new crafting mates! (2) The Rubber Stamp Carving Kit that was included in the workshop (3) Support The Hand Makers by Mansy (4) My new crafting mates Espie, Mela and Tatin

Mansy gave a bit of trivia about rubber sole carving during the second World War. Apparently, prisoners at the concentration camps carved the soles of their shoes to make art. It's amazing to think that even at a time of hopelessness and fear, people still managed to stay creative. 

In the middle of the carving festivities, we were asked to introduce ourselves one by one--what we do for a living and our art background. Ladies from different occupations and industries were there to attend the workshop and it was awesome to find out that there are I.T. Consultants like me who were also eager to pursue a more creative life. I told the class I'm a Systems Analyst, and my art background is that I draw/doodle and that I play music. To be honest, I get sucked into all sorts of  things--running, frisbee, lomography, writing--and my mom describes me as "ang batang maraming gustong gawin". But if you ask me what are my true passions, I can really say with conviction that it's visual arts and singing. 

When Alessa shared her thoughts about stamping, I could tell she's so passionate about it. She's a graphic designer and a restaurateur by profession.  She's been teaching and organizing crafting workshops since she was seventeen (GOOD LORD, ANONG GINAGAWA KO WHEN I WAS SEVENTEEN?!) and I admire her passion and courage to really pursue what she wanted to do. I'm amazed how she can balance creativity with business. Ang galing!

Mansy and Alessa sharing their carving process and techniques

Intricate print made by Mansy. I want to make a large scale print like that! (Ambitious ako, bakit ba? Haha)

More cards prepared by the crafting class

For my pattern, I made a flower stamp inspired by the previous watercolor painting that I did last month. I wanted to make a stamp out of it, but apparently it's more difficult than I had expected so I made it more simple. I think it turned out well. 

My pattern inspiration

My actual stamp!

The next stamp that I carved was less inspired and more spontaneous. Since I realized mahirap pala mag carve with curves, I opted for a pattern with straight lines. I love this one coz I can make it look more seamless than the flower stamp. 

Christmas theme ang peg! 

I'm planning to make tons of these to give to my cousin from NY coz she loves handmade stuff too!

Next in my creativity bucket list is to attend Fozzy's Calligraphy Class. She attended the same stamping crafternoon session last Sunday but I didn't get a chance to say hi and have a chat with her. We were talking about it on instagram the other day, and we both wished we had time to exchange a few hellos. But then again, even if the crafting community is already growing, I'm sure we're bound to attend similar workshops in the future! It's still a small world, after all.

You can check out and sign up for more crafternoon sessions with Alessa and Mansy! Check out their blogs here and here!