Tag Archives: art

DIY Project: Memories In A Bottle

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Now here it is. 🙂

I have decided to come up with this project of filling in empty bottles with memorabilia from certain special events. I posted just recently regarding flowers from my brother’s wedding last April and been contemplating what to do with them. I have been staring at them for quite some time now whether to throw them away or not as they are still beautiful and lovely to look at though they’ve been dried for almost a month already. I finally decided to do the latter.

So to make this project materialize, I gathered an empty bottle which was an old Hennessy bottle from Dad’s collection and my hair spray. Sprayed each flower one by one even the tiniest and I let them dry for a couple of minutes before putting them inside the bottle. Then for a finishing touch, put a ribbon, a straw or any piece of string that you have around the neck of the bottle near the rim.

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Preserving dried flowers essentials.

And this is the final output:

Tin Ginete

Brother’s Wedding Memorabilia

It is now my second bottle of another memory as my first preserved rose in a bottle was the first Valentine’s Day rose given to me by my bf last year and who is now my fiance. 😉

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Memories In A Bottle

So, how far will your sentimentality take you? 🙂

It Was His Birthday

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I only had the opportunity to share this special moment here just now and my reason for sharing is that this blog of mine might be the only e-memory I have of moments I make and will be making. I might have amnesia, short term memory loss or I might get into a car accident and lose all memories I have, etc….. well, we can never tell. 🙂

His birthday was last May 4th and last year, I made a pencil sketch of him as a birthday gift.

Brian Rome

“Mi Amor” (9″ x 12″ Pencil Sketch)

Tin Ginete

May 4, 2014

And for this year, I thought about doing something different. I just used the poem I made for him and gave him when we first met.

Tin Ginete

Blanket of Love by Tin Ginete

This is the link of the poem which is the acronym of his name:

https://thejourneymansmoments.wordpress.com/2014/01/05/blanket-of-love/ 

And here’s the finished output for his birthday surprise this year and biblical quotations about love from 1 Corinthians 13. Let the love begin…. 😉

Love Is the Greatest

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

When East Meets West

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How do you make opposite ends meet? A positive and a negative always repel. Same as good and evil. As with everything else that are opposites in this world.

Let’s say two persons coming from exactly two different backgrounds met and fell in love, how do you keep them together?

The only answer is this: only God can.

But what if God revolves at the core existence of one person and God is “just there” for the other?

Now this is where things get complicated. I have been with my spiritual family via the church for only about a couple of years. And I have seen how faith can bridge distances and cultural differences regardless if you are rich or poor, pretty or not, intelligent or not, educated or uneducated, etc.

And yet, as I go through my devotion and bible reading everyday along with the Spirit’s guidance, the thought that faith and hope indeed only come after love is always reiterated. It is love that makes every relationship work.

Yes, passe.

But I guess this is the part where I would stress out that the love I am talking about here is not the kind of love that everybody is familiar with. Nor is it even the ones that we see on romantic movies or we read in romance novels. This kind of love, as most Christians know, is love that directly points to God. The kind of love that is so hard to achieve.

This was the kind of love that God has been teaching me for this season. Not only for my partner but for his family and the other people I met through him. I do not want to judge. But for the sake of understanding where my point is coming from, I’d have to describe some characteristics that I have observed.

Being a Christian is not a name that you flaunt around. In fact, being a Christian entails deeper, bigger and heavier responsibilities. An unbelieving spouse, for one, can cause conflict in the relationship when persecution becomes present in the relationship because of differences in religious beliefs and practices even though both of you are Christians but only one is a believer.

Values, manners, upbringing, lifestyle – they all become factors affecting how a couple will run the relationship if God is not present. They become a baggage that both couple had to carry and only then can you realize that without God, you will lose hope in enduring the sacrifices you make, the consequences you had to face of a mistake that you did not commit, restoring relationships and facing persecution.

For example, how would you feel if on a Good Friday, you were invited by his family to go to a bar and grill such as Pier One instead of staying at home, praying and pondering on the sacrifices made by Jesus Christ on the Cross? I would’ve chosen the latter if I have the choice, but at that time, I unfortunately do not have that privilege. My heart screamed. I wanted to rebel, to cry out and say my “NO.” But I know all I can ever do is to pray for the Spirit’s leading instead of complaining.

I did not drink any alcohol though they tried to offer me some. I ate, I tried to listen to the band performing until came the moment I could not bear it all I contacted the first spiritual mentor I have – my brother. And his suggestion was for me to stand firm in my faith and endure it all. He told me that maybe that is the reason why God put me there in the first place. To let them see what it is to be a Christian not only by name but in action, in words and in faith.

And then the situation reminded me exactly of what Jesus did on the Cross – He endured everything not uttering a single word complaining or a word expressing His discomfort. Except only when He asked God why He had forsaken Him. Now a lot of verses filled my head such as this one:

“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.” – 1 Peter 2:21 NLT

And then you thought that is the only conflict you had to go through. Come familial attachments and values that are a barrier too high and too solid to break. I was on the verge of persecuting and judging others. Yes, I was beginning to feel hopeless and yet God never failed to remind me how it is to REALLY love despite the differences, the persecution, the suffering and the pain. I was led to verses and biblical quotations day after day supplying me the Godly wisdom that I needed. And sometimes the effort does not come from my own anymore but God supplied even the strength and the courage that I needed to muster.

This was one of the quotations that I felt God was talking to me directly at the time that I needed it most:

“Be as patient with others as God has been with you.” – Our Daily Bread

I know God will fight this battle for me. I was only a soldier and He is my commander. On my end, He requires me to be patient, to endure and to follow where He leads me. It is not for me to decide whether I win or lose. But I have the assurance that fighting a battle with God will surely end in eternal glory – something that this world can never define. God will never give something that will break you and your faith apart. For it was His plan to send His son on Earth and it is Jesus’ role to come before us and carry our sins, the barrier between man and God, so we can receive the gift of salvation and have a personal relationship with Him.

It is just amazing how God uses people, circumstances and resources to fulfill the mission He has set out for you. Indeed, they are all part of His much bigger plans that our mere mortal minds can never comprehend.

Looking back and pondering now, the only question that I remembered asking God so many times was this:

“Father, why is it so difficult to love people the way that You have loved us?”

And my constant prayer in this season was this:

“Father, teach me to have eyes that see the good in people and the heart that loves them the way You have loved them.”

The answer is always a personal encounter, a conviction or an instruction. One answer came through my hobby in sketching – my very first sketch on faith, Jesus and the crown of thorns accompanied by the following verses:

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” – Romans 8: 1-2 NLT

Tin Ginete

Jesus, My Savior

Getting It Done

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Discipleship is a lot like social networking in modern times except that the former is Christ-centered and the latter talks about anything under the sun. In social networking, topics could range from anything to anywhere whereas with discipleship, the topics could be about anything too except that the conversations all have one common major theme and everything is being related to God.

But what is most common between the two is that you establish a relationship with different people. This brings me to my current situation now. I used to wonder or let’s say I far too often wonder why circumstances have brought me to a position wherein I am not in a cubicle or a room doing an office work or I am not following a certain routine though I am and I consider myself a young professional.

Priorities and circumstances never went as clear and as smooth as they can be. There always are conflicts, heavy decision making and a lot of pondering. But then again, through all those myriad of swimming thoughts came the answer that I never considered before: God wanted me to do something at this point which would require me to be flexible in terms of time and commitments.

It was clear to me what my mission was: to share. If I am tied with an 8-hour job, I’d have no time to share all of these. And in my case now, I can only maximize social media. But then again, it was social media that brought me opportunities wherein the possibilities of networking is endless. It is like there is no stopping it once you get started. And I see those opportunities as a wonderful avenue to connect with people online and offline using my faith and introduce them to it.

Tin Ginete

Step 1: Choosing the subject/finding your mission.

Right now my water loo is in the area of relationships. It is the cross I am carrying daily and yet I know I cannot let it hamper the mission set out for me. I cannot let it occupy my thoughts 24/7 because I need to focus on my mission and get it done.

But I know too that my water loo was given to me for a purpose and this purpose is exactly this mission I am set out to complete in His perfect time. I want to give God the glory because if it is not because of Him, I will still be the Tin who is so generous in giving curses, the Tin who is so full of sarcasm, who speaks nothing else but mostly of insults, the Tin who is quick-tempered and the Tin who is nothing but a cynic.

My fiance knows this kind of person. And I know why God gave a person like him to me. My fiance would remind me that I am a completely different person when my old self would come back at times that there is a conflict. It jolts me back to reality, the Spirit convicts me using my fiance and it sets me back on the right track again. I repent, pledges a re-commitment to change by His help and I would tell my fiance that if it wasn’t for God, the person he witnessed is the kind of person he gets to deal with every single day.

Because I cannot change on my own. That is why I surrendered my life to Christ because I needed a Savior who will take me out of the darkness. I’ve tried it on my own but I failed. I needed someone who is powerful enough to overcome anything, even death and there is only one person who can do that: Jesus Christ.

Tin Ginete

Step 2: Do the actual sketch after putting the basic lines/in the process of doing the mission refining what needs to be refined.

I am just grateful I was already saved, my past no longer has a bearing and I am no longer stuck in it. I may slide back every now and then but the conviction is already there. And it is this conviction that made me seek for forgiveness instead of letting pride win. God uses people to change you and apply what you learned from Him. Without these people around you, there is no basis if indeed you have changed or not. It is only through God that the flames of the darkness within you can be extinguished.

Putting out that fire is the drive that you will now use to continue your mission and you now know that there is no stopping you from getting it done. And that is because of God’s love and your love for Him. You cannot go out in the world if you don’t have it in you.

I took the risk, I accepted the challenge, I signed up for the mission not knowing what will transpire nor having the assurances I’ll be successful. All I know is that God will prepare me along the way.

I just have to and I should always keep in mind the task laid out ahead of me and consider getting it done by all means. I challenge you too as my beloved readers to seek God’s mission for you and stand up for it, pursuing it by all means.

And I repeat. Getting. It. Done. 🙂

Tin Ginete

3. Getting it done.

Setting The Trend As An Avant Garde: Revolutionary

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TRENDSETTERS.

Fashion usually comes into your mind, right? It is a colloquial term commonly used in pop culture but on the discourse of historical, political and social studies, it may be equivalent to this – revolutionists. This only holds one meaning – setting up a benchmark.

I will name a few who are icons and heroes alike, bringing their own names to light by changing the world with their concepts, their beliefs and their ideals. There’s Audrey Hepburn in terms of fashion and feminism. There’s the late Nelson Mandela who died just recently (may his soul rest in peace) in apartheid and education, which are, but some of his accomplishments. Then we have Karl Marx who dealt with society’s taboos and introduced a discipline that, although oftentimes regarded as communist by nature, benchmarked most of today’s social and political ideologies.

Big names, great works they are. But you can also be a trendsetter in your own way with your own varied interests.

How?

Inspire your friends and your social network to follow suit with what you did/you’re doing. When you become a trendsetter, be a person of influence – that is, good influence. Empowering individuals, that’s how you change a nation for good.

BUT with the proper mindset – never for personal gain but for community development, to help others and by honoring God.

I have listed 3 character traits that are evident among revolutionists:

  1. Credibility
  2. Integrity
  3. Dedication

Keep in mind that your achievements are never yours.  They were meant to be shared to the many others so they, too, will reach their goals. But what may be good for others may not be good for you though. There will always be those who will be better than you. Because that is how God has planned them to be. But by the end of the day, it is never about you, never about competition and never about who’s the best but Him and knowing His mission for you. 🙂

THE Hat Fan

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Tin Ginete

The Lady and The Hat

I seldom post articles that are fashion related here in my blog, but what I am about to feature today is something extraordinaire. 🙂

My brother bought these lovely fans for me, my sisters, and Mom as souvenirs. At first glance you will think it is just an ordinary fan. But if you are to look closely, they are not like regular fans with its curved shape when folded.

Tin Ginete

Zambo Fans for The Ladies

When I opened it, voila! It is also bigger than the regular fans. I bet this fan is twice as big as the ordinary fans sold at the market.

Tin Ginete

Zambo Fan

Then my brother showed me why the fan was made with a curved form. It is for this: tadaaaa…..A HAT! Sorry, I oftentimes have the curiosity and enthusiasm similar to that of a kid. 😀

Tin Ginete

Zambo Hat (Photo courtesy: Abe Ginete)

I was totally amused and amazed at the same time how one simple item can be used for two purposes – a huge fan and a fashionable hat. If only I have an idea who invented this first. This might influence a new revolution in today’s fashion industry.

If you are wondering where to buy one, these are locally made and sold in Zamboanga City here in the Philippines.

Indeed, they are Fashionable Fans – simple treasures, rare finds. 😉

Some Photography Tips on Anything MACRO

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Tin Ginete

ILoveU

I particularly love macro shots. I believe it is one area of photography that I learned first before I even began learning all about the “rule of thirds,” etc. 🙂

My favorite would be this macro shot of Made in Candy‘s “I Love You” candy which is about 2 centimeters big in diameter. I only use a regular 32mm lens and if there is one item in my birthday wishlist that I would like to have, that would be a telephoto zoom lens. *wishful thinking* 😉

Tin Ginete

Cactus

I oftentimes use manual focus because I get to choose which part of the subject I like to highlight as well as the areas where I would put more emphasis on. Bokeh is also a favorite photography tip of mine when taking macro shots. It doesn’t completely blur the background and your background still has texture and patterns on it. Although a “clean” background does have its benefits too especially in pictorials and if you wanted to give extra focus on particular details of the subject like the texture of the fabric, intricate design of a piece of jewelry or to highlight the makeup of the model.

Just like in the photo below, I wanted to achieve a smooth progression of my subject and the background. The subject (keys) are detailed enough so to highlight them I opted for a soft blur contrary to a bokeh background. Always use your camera’s f-stop feature to change aperture settings and achieve a blurry background. I tend to do this manually as well.

Tin Ginete

“Keyboard”

But as for me, I don’t really follow rules in photography. And neither am I a professional photographer. I simply point and shoot and rely on my eye for the aesthetics. 😉 I cross-process my photos though using Photoshop but I only use it for color enhancements. And I watch tutorials re tips in capturing challenging photos i.e. moving objects, waterfalls, long exposures, etc. Keep in mind as well reminders from professional photographers you randomly meet during pictorials and events or even from a friend who is more experienced in this field.

If you love photography or just starting to love it, I suggest just go with what you enjoy taking photos of. In time, your shots will become better. Just keep on taking photos, keep on learning and keep on exploring. 🙂

Patent Unknown

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Tin Ginete

Chaos

Patent unknown….

As chaotic as that picture above. And you don’t have an idea what the image originally was.

Just to give you an idea, that photo was the result of my light textures experimentation with my camera. I took a photo of an oil burner that has a moon and stars design. Set to low light and long exposure, I just wiggled my camera back and forth, from side to side and achieved this – a state of confusion. Just like ideas.

A borrowed thought if not properly cited is plagiarism. And that is my dilemma now being a blogger. Because I honestly admit that my thoughts are not really my own. They are all a fusion of principles and theories influenced by the philosophers in my literary textbooks way back college days, by my former and current professors, by our Pastors and lecturers in church or even by a random jeepney driver ranting about life whom I happened to sit beside while commuting.

I believe the people who have every right to accuse anyone of plagiarism would be the philosophers and thinkers of the ancient times who have drawn their discoveries out from their own experiences and not from what they have already seen on a printed text or heard before from someone else.

But then again, a rule is a rule. 

UP instilled that fact to me. Expulsion or a grade of 5 (Fail) for those guilty of the crime. So, I think this will then prompt me to make an “Acknowledgment” page in my blog to thank the people either one by one or in general with whom I have learned the ideas from which are now being reiterated in my sites. Check it out every now and then ‘cos you might be surprised if your name pops up in there too. Yes, I learn everywhere from anyone, anytime. 😉

But my greatest learning comes from God. I assure you, it is less chaotic and it’s one-sided – all to glorify and honor Him. 🙂

My First Photo Shoot and Pizzeria Fun @ Leona’s

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Tin Ginete

3 Cheese Pizza

Yes, it was actually pizzeria fun before the photo shoot. 😀

I am into photography since 2010 but it was only now that I took the idea of capturing photos of people as subjects quite seriously. It was very challenging as it is entirely a different domain in photography that I am not quite familiar with. I was feeling lucky though that I didn’t have a hard time getting my desired shots. Of course, the model will be none other than the guy I spend most of my time with, the face I look at often and the image which preoccupies my mind most. (Really?) But it is God whom I love the MOST. Sorry about that, Hon. *wink* 😉

Tin Ginete

First Model, Mi Amor

Tin Ginete

Right angle, his best facial contours.

Tin Ginete

But he prefers this shot. 🙂

It was around 3 or 4 pm when we had the photo shoot and I chose the UP Diliman Lagoon as our venue since my college buddies and I spent most of our free time taking photos there during our college days and the greenery is just the perfect contrast for pictorials. It was really fun being the photographer this time. 😀

Now, going back to our pizzeria fun, Brian and I had a blast with Leona’s pizzas. They are soooooo DELISH! I am not sure if I am being bias at this point being a pizza and pasta lover, but oh boy, no other thin crust pizza have I tasted as good as theirs. Even Brian agreed that Leona’s pizza is the BEST pizza.

Tin Ginete

Leona’s Menu

Tin Ginete

Leona Art Restaurant

Tin Ginete

They are open from 10am-10pm from Mondays to Saturdays.

The crust was evenly baked. The danger with thin crust pizzas is that they could easily get overcooked ending up with a burnt crust but theirs is just right. Even perfect because the crispiness of the pizza lasted longer than we have expected (this gives you an idea that we stayed pretty long at the resto). 😀

Tin Ginete

The pizza that is like a chip. 🙂

Tin Ginete

Forks and knives on the spotlight.

Tin Ginete

Brian’s shot, Chili Flakes.

My particular favorite is their Garlic and Mushroom pizza. Actually it is Brian and I’s favorite among the three pizzas that we have tried: 3 Cheese, Pepperoni pizza and Garlic and Mushroom. The latter just had the best fusion of spices, cream and cheese. Well, aside from the fact that it is also vegetarian, you won’t realize that it has zero meat on it because of its rich taste which makes eating for us more enjoyable since we are on a diet. 😉

Tin Ginete

Garlic and Mushroom Pizza

Tin Ginete

Beef Taco

We also tried their Beef Taco which has a distinct “peanuty” flavor and very rich in other spices too, just the way Brian likes it. It was a perfect choice for a restaurant in terms of satisfying our taste buds.

And of course, since it is an art restaurant, our eyes were serenaded by art works here and there as well as trinkets and other collectible items that they are actually selling. A magnificent sight for me being an artist and an art lover. 🙂

 

Tin Ginete

The art corner.

Tin Ginete

Art and more art.

Tin Ginete

Collectible items for sale.

Tin Ginete

Porcelain bric-a-bracs.

Tin Ginete

Hmmm, I was wondering whose fingers are they?

Being a fashionista, my eyes gravitated towards the accessory section. I was adoring the workmanship of every bracelet when Brian chose this particular bracelet and bought it for me. *yihee* It has my birthstone too. Thank you so much, Honey. *tight hug* 🙂

Tin Ginete

The model for a while.

Tin Ginete

Trinket corner.

Tin Ginete

More trinkets.

Tin Ginete

Love gift from him, glass-beaded trinket with my birthstone – turquoise. ❤ 🙂

Tin Ginete

Trinket love, girly stuff, fashionista mode.

And to cap off the day, we had “isaw baboy/grilled pork intestines” and “isaw manok/grilled chicken intestines” at our favorite “isawan” in my alma mater at UP Diliman which is Mang Larry’s Isawan. We ate them ala picnic style at the Sunken Garden. Nature tripping for a date is always the best for me and Brian. Loving the simple pleasures, so to speak. 😉

Tin Ginete

He loved this most – his signature pose at the Sunken Garden. Go, Honey! 😀

Tin Ginete

The photographer and the model after the tiring day. 😉

P.S.

It is not the place that makes an experience worthwhile, but the person you are sharing that experience with. 😀

Little Shells, Little Shells

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Little Shells, Little Shells

A hanging lamp made of tiny shells. This is a common native ornament found in coastal areas like my hometown in Bicol here in the Philippines. The design is very intricate and weaving these delicate shells is quite a challenge as you have to make sure they won’t chip or break as you try to form them into different patterns.

This lamp is about 1 foot and a half long and we usually use a yellow bulb to light it up. The tiny shell used in this lamp is about the size of your pinky fingernail. Quite amazing, isn’t it? 🙂