The One About the TSM Class

Last November 12th, I held a washi tape crafts class for Trade School Manila at the Midnight Owl Snack Cafe in Teacher's Village, QC.  It was a small class but I still made sure that it was loaded with opportunities for the students to let their creative juices flow.  I also made it a point to provide crafts that made relatively new purposes for washi tapes aside from simply sticking it onto notebooks or cellphones.

 My students at work

 I taught them two ways to use washi tapes for giftwrapping considering the holidays were upon us.  We made washi tape bows!

 

 Washi gift wrap #2!

We also made washi tape pendants. :)

Since Trade School Manila operates using the barter trade system, instead of receiving cash, I got barter items in exchange for the crafty knowledge that I imparted to the participants.  I received MRT stored value cards, calligraphy inks, teas, and a few small surprises too.

I prepared a lot for this class and now that it's over, I'm devoting the rest of December to my personal craft projects and I have never felt more serene and calm as far as crafting is concerned.  I now have regular dates with my sewing machine (Hon-some watches me with an amused look on his face every time I - as he puts it - "unbox my toy.") and I can't wait to pick up my knitting needles again soon.  

Before I go, class picture muna!

Happy crafting! :)

The One Who Barters for Crafts

Barter is a system of exchange wherein goods or services are traded for other goods and services without using a medium of trade such as money.  I first learned about the barter system in my history class during my elementary school years.  The system was used by the early Filipinos who traded with the Chinese before the Spanish colonized the Philippines.  Apart from bartering, gold or metal gongs were also used as medium of exchange.

In time, "progress" came into play and money is now used in all kinds of trade.  Two of my Singapore-based friends, Pia and Dindean, reintroduced me to barter when they came to visit last April.  Dindean was raving about barter and how it still exists today and, more importantly, how it can eradicate the evil that money seemingly entails (Janet Napoles suddenly comes to mind).

If you Google barter stories, you'll find how some people exchanged everyday common items like mattresses and grocery items and luckily received a car or a house in return!  While I can't quite believe yet that that kind of luck will present itself to me, my friends got me intrigued about barter and, by another kind of luck, I'm going to get to try it out. :)

Trade School Manila is an independent community that runs on barter.  People who want to teach a class can sign up.  Individuals who are interested in learning can sign up for the classes and barter for knowledge.  The teacher basically gives out a list of the goods or services he/she wants in exchange for instruction and the students pick an item or two to bring from that list.  I find it very interesting and timely, just when I was being reintroduced to it.

Photo source here

And so,  I now come to the most important part of this post (hahaha!).  I am offering a "Washi Tape Crafts" class at Trade School Manila on November 12, 2013 (Dindean's birthday!) at 6:00-8:00 pm at the Midnight Owl Cafe in Mapagkawanggawa Street in Teacher's Village.  I know it's kinda early to be blogging about this but there are only 10 slots and as of this writing, six of those slots have already been filled.  So if you want to learn how you can use washi tapes to wrap gifts, make jewelry, and create stationery, join me!  The items for barter are super easy!  Hehehe!  Click here to sign up and find out what they are.