@franchescacruz / franchescacruz.tumblr.com
My mind's filled with clutter lately, and so is my room. And I feel like the art prints and photographs I placed on my wall seem more like clutter to me as time passes by. I'm not saying that I don't appreciate them, it's that I think I kind of got used to the decor and I just want to mix things up a bit. I need change.
What we remember most of the time are the highs and the lows. But the inbetweens are just as significant. It's the process to and from the highs and lows of life that complete a narrative, one's persona.
The path of turning our dreams to reality and the road to healing are some of the many things we set our hearts and minds to. We all know that we need to exert so much effort and hard work to get to where we want to be. But it's always easier said than done. The path to achieving such goals is already a challenge of its own, but there also lies a lot more sub-challenges and even hindrances along the way. But don't fret, it is a part of it. It prepares us for even bigger and harder situations that are yet to come. Some are much greater than what we are even after.
Here's an addition to my Adventures in Analogue series. This set was taken years ago but I only had the chance to get it processed last January this year. I remember kind of pushing myself to just get a handful of rolls processed just so I don't accumulate more rolls this year. This particular set was taken using a Nikon F70 and an expired Kodak Colorplus 200. It's too bad that there aren't much expired films available nowadays since everyone's been hoarding it.
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the set!
A few weekends ago, my family and I went to Tagaytay for an overnight staycation. It was a bit spontaneous but definitely no regrets. It's a break that everyone in the family needed. We rented an Airbnb for a night and spent our time wisely. It was located off-road from Tagaytay City proper which gave us enough privacy and quiet time from all the hustle and bustle. I really wasn't able to take proper photos of the place, but I did spend my time trying to take (semi) decent photos of the night sky. This is a pretty rare opportunity for me, so I just went out and used my gear after a few months of neglecting them. Below is a photoset and some thoughts to accompany them, hahaha!
Another quarter of the year has gone by and we're already halfway through 2019! I've never felt so scared of time passing by and feeling kind of lost in this world. But the past half of the year has been pretty good, comparing it with last year's. There surely has been a flux of emotions and a variety of events and experiences that made their way to me for the past 3 months and I'm here to share them through another batch of my monthly montage.
A new addition from the local brand Sunnies Face was revealed a few weeks ago. Luckily, I won a set with their acrylic case from their Instagram giveaway! It was such a surprise to me because I completely forgot about it until they tagged me in their story that I actually won the set. I'm so happy about it because I've been wanting to get one (or maybe three) for myself.
The Sunnies Face Airblush claims to be a "soft-focus cheek tint" that starts off as a cream and sets into a silky matte finish. It is also said to be buildable that can be used anywhere in the face. It comes in six different shades and includes warm and cool toned ones. The shades are: Doll, Peached, Biscuit, Moon, Razz, and Disco.
Being productive and making my own art has been a challenge lately. This is why this short visit to my alma mater made me feel inspired and left me in awe (of course, nostalgia aside). There was so much going on in the campus and I'm glad I paid a quick visit to really soak in all the art and to fuel my creative juices as well. So here's a quick blog post as a little visual diary that could help you take in the inspiration and motivation that you need.
Pretty clueless with how this post will turn out since I don't really have a proper vision or bullet points as to how I want to discuss this certain topic in public. But one thing's for sure: I will pour my heart out and I hope this will help you somehow. So, let's dive right in, shall we? A few days ago, I stumbled upon this little book slash journal on my desk. I totally forgot that this existed. This thing was a witness to some of my dark days since 2017 and it has definitely been a while since I last used it or even went through the pages to kill some time. This is Adam J. Kurtz's Pick Me Up: A Pep Talk for Now and Later. (Nope, this is blog post is not about this book.) It's a book slash journal that is made mostly as a little container of your feelings whenever you feel like using it. The way I use this is I randomly open a page and fill up or read whatever is in that page. It helps me get distracted from my breakdowns and it helps me calm down a bit. It keeps me grounded. Keep reading
so
how do y’all deal with depression? :-)
Truth be told, it has been a while since I last escaped the scenes of Metro Manila. To be able to leave the city for a bit has been one of my biggest wishes this year so far. I just find myself falling into old habits, and staying within my comfort zone for way too long. I just know deep inside me that I need to get out of my room, of the city I call home, and just roam around for a bit. Being in a different environment can really help you a lot. You will witness unusual scenes and find a different kind of comfort in the unknown. In such a short amount of time, other than being able to unwind, I managed to spend time on happy thoughts than the usual worries I have in mind when I'm at home.
One of the things that I promised myself is to work harder on my artworks. Truth be told, I'm not really having the best progress when it comes to working on art and spending time to learn new styles and mediums. This is why I thought of just trying to look into new materials to experiment with. I'd like to share some of my purchases!
Art-wise, I haven't been very productive and expressive with myself lately. My art journal's been untouched for months already and I know that I really need to get everything together to create art again. Being able to express myself in different mediums is such a blessing but sometimes, creating art tends to be hard when you're out of inspiration or even prompts. This is why for this year, I challenge myself to create montages or collages with how each month went for me. It will be an artistic representation and summation of the month's totality for me.
I'd like to share the first three artworks and months of my year so far.
Another beauty haul, no surprise here! I've managed to accumulate a few beauty items here and there and I'd like to share it with you guys. If you've tried some of these products out, please let me know your thoughts about them as well. I have a few products from 3CE and Colourpop for this small collective haul.
After such an adventure, I finally received the scans of my film rolls from years of backlog due to the whole I'm-broke-I-don't-have-money-to-get-my-films-developed dilemma. Yes, I finally had the time and extra money to get some rolls developed! I had 5 rolls developed with love thanks to Sunny16 Lab. For this particular roll, I used a disposable camera, particularly the Fujifilm Simple Ace 400. I asked a friend to buy two disposable cameras for me when a friend of hers was in Japan and a friend gifted me another one when he went to Japan. Yes, Japan is the place to go to if you need disposable cameras since a lot of local online shops sell it for much higher.
Anyway, I'd like to share with you some photographs from my disposable camera!
A big folder of low quality film negative scans are resting in my hard drive and I decided to put them to good use. Instead of just leaving them as is, I used them to create art. Now this is something I thought of doing before but never had a proper concept. This set of artworks is called Mediums. Before I let you know what the whole concept is for this, take a quick scan of the artworks and try to guess.
Despite being a Capricorn and having a Capricorn stellium, I still find myself failing at being punctual and accomplishing things according to plan. This is why I make sure I have a trusty planner with me. I've tried digital ones but they're not my cup of tea. For this year, I'm using a local brand instead of my usual Muji ones. I'd like to share with you more about this planner, how I intend to use it, and if it's worth its price.
Hi. I decluttered my makeup and skincare stash and I’m selling some of theeeem. :-) Feel free to browse and prices are slightly negotiable!
