On the Day of Love and Friendship

Today was one of those days when classes seem longer, more boring, and more exhausting that usual. I had not been to my room all day since Tuesdays are actually pretty long and busy for me. However, when I got to my room this was waiting on my door 
 

No, it was not from a secret admirer. A really good friend of mine left it there for me. These flowers brought the biggest smile to my face for three reasons. One, because the flowers were beautiful. Two, because the message was cute. And three, because it was a sort of response to my previous post about Vday. It made me really happy to see that real people read this, however, it also helped me realize that people can be positively or negatively affected by what we say. Knowing that someone is there to listen, and that our voices have the potential for so much, doesn't it encourage you to think more, talk more, listen more, do more for others? Words are a very powerful tool and I want to learn to use my words in a way that can positively affect people, or at the very least I want to be able to provide comfort when needed.

On another note. I want to share the cards I made for two of my dear friends.

Totoro

The first one was an attempt at mocking lace with paper, and the second was simply an acrylic ode to Miyazaki's Totoro.

Here are a few pictures of the process.

First look up a design for some lace pattern and draw it on a piece of light colored paper. Then using the best cutting tools available cut out the design. I used scissors and a very sharp blade. However, blades can be dangerous. So be careful if you do decide to use a blade. 

I cut thin pieces of paper to fake the lace effect. To make it seem like all the pieces are attached together. You can add more connecting pieces as you see fit. The idea is to have fun making this!

For creating the Totoro card. First you need to draw with pencil an outline of his body. Then apply acrylic paint. Apply as many layers as you see necessary since at the beginning the paint will look too uneven (think nail polish, the more coats you put on on the better it looks).

After you color all areas of his body you will then need to do an outline to his body and eyes. You can do this two ways. You can try to use the finest of brushes you can find (a liner will work best), or if your hand plays tricks with you when using thin brushes, use a good liquid pen. It should not make a difference. I used the liner since I have had a bit of practice creating really thin and steady lines.

 

After you outline his body he is pretty much all set. The beauty of working with acrylics is that it dries pretty fast! 

Both of my friends loved their Valentine's Day cards. Today was a pretty successful day after all!