After four short weeks, this blog is going on hiatus. -_- I should and will instead be devoting my time to:

1. some serious reviewing for the USMLE
2. looking for hospitals
3. seriously, I gotta start studying for the USMLE

Before I go, a flash review: The Face Shop's Lesson 01. FACEit Circle Face Brush. Been using it with both BB cream and powder. Sooo much better than using my fingers! A more even, natural look. More in-depth review later, but for now, just: loveit.

I feel the same way about Watsons as I do about bookstores: drop me off at any branch and I can spend hours browsing the shelves. Got some new stuff to try just last week. (Except the oil control film, that's a staple of mine.) Loving the Lulur body scrub so far, reviews soon!

I love online shopping. It's easy, it's convenient, and I can multitask while doing it. There's only a few things I will not buy online -- clothing with sleeves, bottoms, and shoes. (I have to try these out before purchasing because there is just too much ambiguity in sizing.) I've been dealing online since around 2003 (when most of the selling was done in forums), and these are the things I've noticed in my years of shopping online.

What makes a great online store?

1. An easy to navigate website. In sales, appearance is everything! I hate having to click on a lot of things before I see what I want. 
2. Ordering process clearly stated, including shipping options and fees. I cannot emphasize this enough.  Many sellers miss this point! If I don't know how to order from you, I just leave your page.
3. Contact information prominently displayed.  Always nice to know I can contact you if I have questions. Even just a direct message link or an email address, if you're uncomfortable giving out your mobile number.
4. Update on availability of items (i.e., if an item is sold out).  I hate placing an order only to find out that it's OOS!
5. Great customer service
6. Great product!

Bonus points if you

:

1. Never show your anger towards a customer. Yes, we can be fickle-minded and demanding sometimes, but don't post about how angry you are with a customer, even if it's a blind item. It says something about how you view clients -- negatively. I've never been the subject of such, but every time I see a seller's rant post I cringe. Remember that online shopping is new to many Filipinos so they're still getting the hang of navigating through a transaction. First-time shoppers will invariably suspect a scam and so will ask many questions to try to verify your trustworthiness. Be patient and answer and questions calmly and professionally. You'll have a repeat customer in no time. Tip: it also helps if you have feedback from past customers!


2. Keep customers updated across different social networking services (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram -- I love seeing photos of the products you're selling!). Also, don't be afraid to repost unsold items. New customers may not have seen them before, and old customers may suddenly realize they have to have that item.

I love paper. Plain paper, patterned, textured, glossy, matte, manila paper, scrapbook paper, all of them. Looove paper.

I also like stickers. Like many young girls, I used to collect stickers -- just for looking at! I never wanted to use them for writing letters, decorating notebooks, or whatnot. They were too pretty to be used. So they never fulfilled their adhesive destiny and now sit in a thick folder, slightly faded, no longer sticky, mostly forgotten.

But something has rekindled my love for paper and stickers: The Print Miss. Run by Ina Mejia, this online stationery store offers fully customizable paper goods and "printables," stationery you can print yourself. For now, paper goods are limited to note cards and gift tags. Printables include baptism invites, birthday invites, and wedding essentials like save the dates, bridal showers, and invitations -- perfect for the DIY bride.

I made a lightbox! I saved a moving box just for this purpose.

A lightbox is very useful for taking macro shots, pictures of small objects, and product photos. It provides even lighting and gives the illusion that the subject is floating. It's quick, it's cheap, it's effective. And it works well with both DSLR and point-and-shoot cameras! I just followed the steps from Strobist.

This is one item off my post-boards to do list!



I don't remember how I came across Alessandra Lanot's blog Life After Breakfast, but since I did I've been a fan of her watercolor and general craftiness. So when I heard she was holding another Watercolor Crafternoon, I immediately signed up! I didn't know anyone there but kebs; this is one of my last chances to join any workshop I please so carpe diem.

Theoretically, Watercolor Crafternoons are about people getting together to paint and engage in friendly discussion. In reality though, it's become sort of a workshop for watercolor beginners and enthusiasts. Alessa holds a brief lecture about brushes and types of paint, spends about two hours teaching us how to hold the brush and paint washes, and then spends the remaining 45 minutes on the formulated "activities."

Some new things I learned were:

• Tint is a color plus white
• Shade is a color plus black
• Tone is a color plus gray

Color theory is particularly interesting to me because it applies to web design. :p

• Also, when in doubt, ADD WATER. Heehee.

I've been meaning to order washi tapes ever since I found Hey Kessy, but I only got around to scheduling a pick-up a few days ago.

According to their tumblr, Hey Kessy "aims to democratize arts and crafts by making washi tape more affordable and readily available in the Philippines." Run by Mansy, Hey Kessy supplies such crafty materials as washi tape, paper straws, bakers' twine, and stickers to the Philippines at very reasonable prices. Their products are sooo adorable; I want them all! The ordering process was very easy. After being approved (because they have to check if the items are in stock), we set a meet-up date and time and it was done!

I chose a random pile of 11 tapes, and I'm delighted by the selection. I can't wait to make birthday and congratulations and just-because cards! I got some stickers too; they were too cute to resist.

This is my first customized layout in Blogger! After two weeks on the elegantly intuitive but frustratingly uncustomizable Wordpress, it was a relief to be able to play with templates (for free) again. I am fondly reminded of the days of happy experimentation with CSS on good ol' LiveJournal.

This layout is inspired by PuglyPixel's Strawberry Shortcake template, from which I also gathered some of the code for the sidebar widgets. Other credits are:

• Banner elements edited from Clkr.com and Shapes4Free.com
• Banner font: Reklame Script
• Social media icons from Carrie Loves

The body font may seem large for many of you; I chose 14px because I'm near-sighted. Tell me if it's odd or bothersome!

I also discovered my fondness rounded for rounded corners. Possibly because I'm round myself! Heehee.

I'm slowly migrating my more relevant posts from Wordpress. Please excuse the mess. :)