For this year’s Bee Happy Anniversary Weeklies, I created a pop-up book of my creative journey - a collection of pages that quite literally bring my story to life. Each spread holds a memory, a moment, or a version of me that showed up and created.
This project is for Bee Happy Anniversary Weeklies 17, where we were challenged to tell our story through a pop-up book.
I have to admit, I was intimidated with the challenge and didn't think I'd be able to make it but when I finally finished my first 3 projects (will create a separate blog for it) and with 4 more days til the deadline, I messaged my friend and said if I should still make a pop up book. And being the ever supportive friend that she is, she said go! And tadaaaa! I was able to finish it with a few hours to spare. hehe!
Where It All Began
The first page takes me back to childhood.
A younger me in my room… with curtains that I once cut up to make a doll (and yes, I tried to tie them back so my mom wouldn’t notice but she did... eventually). There’s also a little nod to my wall-doodling phase… another thing that got me in trouble.
But alongside those memories is something more important - a photo of my mom and me. She loved creating, and more than anything, she encouraged me to do the same.
I also added my school, where I always signed up for Art Club and Needle and Thread Club. Even then, I think I already knew that I loved making things.
Trying Everything
Before I found paper crafting, I went through a phase of trying different creative outlets - jewelry making, wire folding, candle making, baking… All of them I turned ito a little side business too! I remember my husband and I not needing to shell out that much money for gifts to family and friends every Christmas because our earnings from these side hustles covered the gifts!
When I see something I like, 'll I automatically think that I can make this something - cheaper and probably even better!
The Start of Something
Then came the page (and phase) that changed everything.
A small crafting setup - just a roll-away trolley - but it was enough. During the pandemic, I fell into the rabbit hole of paper crafting. Because of lockdowns and everybody being stuck in their houses, there were many crafting online workshops available which I joined. This was when I started creating more consistently, joining communities like Craft Create and Swap Club, and sending out my first “happy mail.”
I added a little pouch in this page filled with tiny photos of those swaps - because that was the beginning of something I didn’t expect to enjoy this much.
Creating and Showing Up
Another spread is dedicated to my Bee Happy Weeklies projects - dozens of them, built over time. And mind you, these are just the published ones in their Social Media accounts. I have more that were not.
This part of my journey reminds me that creativity isn’t just about big moments. It’s about showing up, again and again - just like joining the weekly challenges of this community. Through the Bee Happy Weeklies, I was able to create, try and learn different crafts and techniques.
From Suitcase to Studio
This page is a reminder of our moving from the Philippines to Saudi.
Of course, I didn’t leave my creativity behind. I brought it with me - literally, in suitcases full of craft supplies. I arrived in Saudi with 2 large, 1 medium, 1 small suitecases, and a cat in a cat carrier - alone!
This spread includes waterfall pages showing how my crafting space evolved in both countries.
From one home to another, my creativity stayed with me.
Finding My People
Crafting also led me to something I didn’t expect - a community.
Friends who understand the joy of creating, the mess, the excitement of new supplies, and the happiness that comes with finishing a project. Oh and of course, hoarding and budols!
Moments I Didn’t See Coming
This journey also opened doors I never imagined.
From becoming a Bee Happy Guest Ambassador to being part of amazing creative teams, these milestones are reminders of how far this little hobby has taken me.
Still Creating
The last page brings everything back to the present.
A toolbox filled with crafting supplies, a photo of me and Lucky - my crafting buddy - and a simple reminder:
From one home to another, crafting stayed with me.
Still creating, wherever I am.
My Favorite Page
My favorite page - because as my creative journey continues, this is one thing that is constant - having my husband beside me, always ever so supportive. Plus, because this sealed finishing the pop up booked I slaved on the past days! (Medyo OA sa slaved though hahaha). But yeah, the hubby is the bestie.
A Part of the Story I Don’t Always Tell
This album is filled with happy memories - and it truly reflects the joy that creating brings me.
But like any story, there are parts that aren’t as happy.
And this is one of them.
Whenever I talk about how I started creating, I always mention joining Art Club and Needle and Thread Club in grade school - which is why I included a photo of my school on the first page.
But what I’ve never really shared (except with my husband) is this:
Back in second grade, there was a poster-making contest in our class sponsored by Del Monte Sweet Blend Ketchup. We were grouped together and asked to work on it after school.
I remember it was close to the deadline, and since my dad would pick me up after office hours, I often stayed late. At some point, I ended up being the one bringing our poster home to finish it.
I don’t remember everything clearly, but I do remember that it was mostly blank when I brought it home. My mom helped me think through the concept, but I did all the drawing and coloring myself.
I didn’t even have a ruler - I used a credit card to draw the border around the cartolina. I remember carefully moving it line by line.
The design was simple: the board divided in half, with a girl in the middle. One side was clean and bright, the other dirty. One side showed biodegradable waste, the other non-biodegradable - and how it affects not just the environment, but us too - thus, the girl that's half clean and half dirty.
We won.
I don’t even remember the exact prize, maybe ₱500 or ₱1000 - but I remember what came after.
We beat the group of a classmate who was known to be really good at drawing. She didn’t take it well. Theirs were a nice poster. I remember it to be a mountain of trash with Looney Toons characters all over. It was drawn well but I think our poster's message came in stronger.
There were comments. Doubts. Accusations that someone else must have done my work.
I remember being asked to redraw it in my notebook and even before I could finish, being told it didn’t look the same.
I remember our art teacher saying I wasn’t really good in her class. More than 30 years after, I still remember my teacher's name.
I remember crying one morning because I didn’t want to go to school, and my mom telling me that I couldn’t hide from things like that, and that I had to face it because I didn’t do anything wrong.
I don’t remember how long it lasted. Eventually, things moved on.
But somehow, that memory stayed.
I still remember that classmate's name.
And over the years, I’ve come across her work - she’s a very talented artist, with a large following and pieces that are beautifully made. I noticed her bio says “saved by God”, and that she has shared about surviving suicide multiple times, including mental health struggles.
And that made me pause.
Because while I remember how that experience made me feel back then, I also recognize now that we never really know what someone else is going through, especially at that age when life was just easy and the problems I remember having is just needing to wake up early to go to school.
There was a time I thought about reaching out to her.
Not out of anger, but to tell her how her actions affected me.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized… it wouldn’t really change anything.
The past already happened.
And I’ve already grown from it.
So instead of reopening something that’s long gone, I chose to let it stay where it belongs - in the past.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from that experience, it’s this:
If you can be kind, be kind.
I wish she had been kinder to me back then.
And now, I choose to be kind in how I remember her.
Still Creating, Still Moving Forward
At the end of the day, creating has always been something that brings me back to myself.
Through different phases, different places, and even difficult moments - it stayed.
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my story
