Life/Book Update:

I’ve mentioned earlier that the reason I haven’t been updating much is because I’m working on a book project and that’s so true, so much so that last week, I injured my shoulder from too much drawing and photoshopping. HUUU! :(

Last Wednesday, I could hardly raise my right arm but thankfully, I was able to go to therapy and now I’m 80% better. Will be going back late this week and praying it will be 100% better after! Please pray for me! :)

But about the book, I’m so happy because I’m still currently in the process (yey, I’m not giving up!) and as proof, here are two drawings that I’ve done for it. The book’s gonna be about travel and love (of course, what else?) and these two posters will go at a scene in Times Square. What do you think? Still a long way to go but I’m getting there, by God’s grace!

I’m sorry I can’t post any sample pages yet, because I still want it to be a surprise! Hehe! So instead I’ll post as sneak peeks things like backgrounds, props (like these!) and the like!

Do you have any suggestions as to what Broadway posters, Times Square “musts”, should I include in the scene? What famous places do you think should I include in the book?

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Sometimes, it’s hard to keep hoping when we cannot see the big picture. But this is where faith comes in. Never forget that you have a big God who has great plans for you (see Jeremiah 29:11).

Life isn’t always fun and games, but know that there is always hope when you put your trust in God.

Congratulations Paula (http://tinevillano05.tumblr.com/) for winning the contest! Please email me at hello@sheenalovessunsets.com with your complete name, address and contact number. 

Thanks to everyone who joined!!

Happy Mother’s Day! Hug your mom today! :)

Moms are truly one of God’s most wonderful gift to us. She’s our best critic and our number one fan. Sometimes our enemy but always our best friend. She’ll give you curfews and rules to follow but will kiss you and hug you still even after you’ve broken them for the zillionth time. :)

This drawing is for my lovely mom, my best girl friend, who I will always miss for the rest of my life.

A collaboration between Sheena Loves Sunsets (drawing) and Ink Scribbler (gorgeous calligraphy!) 

Life Update: On being MIA & working on my “book”

Hi everyone! Again, I haven’t been updating as much and I apologize for that but I feel that I owe you all an explanation as to why, so here it is! 

If you’ve followed me for a while now, you might remember that I occasionally talk about this “book project” (click here to see my latest post about that) See, I’ve always wanted to write and illustrate my own book but over the years, I never got to finishing any of them since I either 1. begin to hate what I’ve already done so far and/or 2. decide that I need a totally new concept. I have four (yes, 4!) unfinished books. So sad, yes. :| 

One day, I just got fed up with myself and realized that if I really wanted to make this happen, I had to devote time and effort into it. So I decided to once again work on this project, which hopefully will finally, be worked on to completion! Yes, it’s a new concept again (arrgh haha) but I’m feeling really good about this so hopefully, this will be it, finally!

Another reason why I’m feeling very good about this is because my husband has been encouraging me a lot on it. He’s now acting as my manager; giving me deadlines and tasks (such as to finish 3 pages a week! AAAKK!) and it’s helping me a lot. Discipline is good if you want to achieve things, I realized. :)

So there, that’s what I’ve been doing recently. Mostly drawing when I’m done with my other commitments and wifey duties. Hehe. I know a lot of you are probably not interested about this, but for those that are, I just wanted to give you guys an update.

Now you might be wondering about the photos I posted! Haha! Well, those are some of the Instagram photos I took related to this project. Aside from working on a lot of sketches (hey, donkey!), I’ve been using a lot of my art, comic & graphic novel books as references. My weaknesses are drawing backgrounds and animals so I’m currently practicing a lot. I want to stretch myself for this project! :)

So thanks for reading, thanks for keeping up with me, thanks for the support. Sorry for this long post! I’ll try to blog still, of course, but not as often. And lastly, I really hope that by God’s grace, I’ll be able to finish this book soon so that I can share it with all of you. :)

THE BLACK BEAUTY x SHEENA LOVES SUNSETS CONTEST IS EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER 7 DAYS! Join now by clicking here!

Save the date card for Aldwin and Che with a drawing based on their actual proposal! How cute, right? Complete with little candles and the floating lantern! :)

Sorry for not updating so much lately. Been busy making drawings for clients (not complaining! hehe!) Also, I’ve finally gotten around to working on my long time dream of making my own book so please pray for me! Really hope this works out! :)

For inquiries, email hello@sheenalovessunsets.com :)

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll remember that I recently got this glam pack from Black Beauty! Here’s your chance to get one too! ;)

MECHANICS:

• Follow sheenalovessunsets on Tumblr
• Reblog this entry together with your answer to the question: “Why do you deserve to win this glam pack?”

That’s it? Just two steps? You bet! Open to all Tumblr users in the Philippines!

Multiple reblogs are accepted but remember that you can only reblog a maximum of twice per day! This contest will be running from April 29 until May 6 so you have an entire week to reblog! ;)

* IMPT: Do not edit or delete any part of this entry when you reblog.

People sometimes ask me who my favorite travel buddy is and without hesitation, of course I say it’s my husband!

With my immense love for traveling the world, I was already expecting (a.k.a. claiming by faith, haha!) that God would give me a husband who shares my enthusiasm. And ta-da, God really did!

Mor loves traveling as much as I do (or almost!), but as ironic as it sounds, traveling brings out so much of our differences too! See, Mor and I travel differently; we like to see different things and we like to experience different places.

He’s more of a beach person. I’m more of a culture/city girl. My next travel wish is to sleep under the stars in the deserts of Mongolia. Mor’s next travel wish is to go on another cruise. I would love to explore places that are off the beaten path (countries like Kazakhstan and even North Korea are on my list) but Mor would shake his head every time I would mention those places. 

Mor loves food and would always be on the lookout for the top-rated places and I’m just glad to eat whatever is served on my plate (I really don’t enjoy ordering food! Confuses me! Haha!) I love going to cold places and Mor, well, did I mention he was a beach person?

But despite our differences, there are things about Mor that I’m so thankful for, like the way he’s always game to make wacky poses in photos and the way he’s always game to participate in things (like if someone asks for a volunteer, I will point at him and he would be forced to go up! Haha!) I also love how Mor always wants to try new things and that’s always a good adventure!

One of my good friends pointed out that in a way, Mor and I balance each other out; he keeps me from doing crazy stupid things I will later regret and I help him experience new things. I guess it’s true, if you put it that way! 

I really believe that God gave us each other, even though (or precisely because) we are so different, so that we can live life the fullest. Both of us need to adjust and do things that the other would want and this often results to so many fun (and funny!) memories in the end.

And so, I just wanted to write this cheesy post because I’m currently feeling very grateful. I am truly blessed with a wonderful man and that’s all I can say. I don’t deserve anything and it’s all by God’s grace.

I married a man who would take silly photos with me with a camera on timer mode. What more can I ask for? ;)

Everyday we meet all kinds of people; people we know, people we don’t. Sometimes we engage in small conversations, sometimes we simply pass by them. We meet people who are overworked, people who are lonely, people who have lost a loved one, people who have traded their dreams for someone else’s.

Everyday we encounter all kinds of challenges. And so do they. We all have our stories, our heartaches, our battles. People smile on the outside and go on with their lives but that doesn’t mean there are no scars.

So, be kind.

It’s easier said than done and even harder to remember sometimes, but when you do, try. Try to be kind. Say a prayer for them. Everyone’s fighting their own battles. It’s not just you. It’s never just you.

Everybody needs a little kindness and you can never have enough of it.

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

This is one of the Bible’s most famous verse and quite understandably so because it is such a powerful reminder of just how much God loves. It is cliche already to hear that “God loves you” but He really does; He loves you so much that He cares about all the little details in your life. 

God wants only what is best for you. When He says “don’t do this”, it doesn’t mean that He wants to spoil the fun and keep you on a tight leash. Like a good parent, He just wants to protect you from heartache because He wants you to experience only the best. So reserve yourself only for His best!

So when God says “no” to this wonderful opportunity that you didn’t get, or when God says “not yet” when it comes to giving you a boyfriend, know that God isn’t doing that to make your life miserable. He knows what He’s doing and His plans are perfect! You’ll see! :)

Once in a while, I make a new batch of gift tags for our use. It’s always fun to make different kinds for different occasions! I’m currently making one for one of our friends too. I’ll post that soon. ;) 

Do you want one too? Hee. For inquiries, just email hello@sheenalovessunsets.com :)

“God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God and God in them.” (1 John 4:16)

Personalized coasters made for Justin & Gilainne’s wedding; a couple who lives in Sydney, Australia! I always have a good time drawing for cute couples! Heehee!

For inquiries, email hello@sheenalovessunsets.com :)

Are you proud to say that the God of Israel is your God? 

Sometimes, it’s still hard to grasp that the God who moved mountains and parted seas is the same God who loves and cares about me and my everyday life. It’s overwhelming to think that this same God is the one who is changing me every single day for the better. 

I know I am so undeserving of His love and I know that I can never ever do anything that can fully express my gratitude. But I also know that one way I can bring Him joy is by sharing to others boldly about what He has done in my life so that others will know that they can also experience the same with Jesus.

So for me, this blog is my way of sharing about what He has done in my life. It’s my way of reaching out to people with the hopes that they can also find the same peace and happiness that I have found in my God. My life is far from perfect, but I will always cry out and shout about the Lord because He is with me. :)

And that is really all I need, actually.

I realized that I wasn’t able yet to share about this place that we visited during our honeymoon last year so here’s an attempt at showing you guys the beauty of Kelowna! If you like quaint towns and are very outdoorsy, you’ll enjoy this place!

The highlight of our daytrip to Kelowna was a visit to Summerhill Winery. Kelowna is famous for having a lot of internationally-acclaimed wineries. Summerhill’s one of them! The scenery is so pretty, right?! *u*

Humongous wine fountain! They prepared a free-tasting session for us, which was cool! Learned quite a few things like how to tell if a particular wine is “good” or not. Not really much of a drinker (!) so I’m not really sure when I’d be able to put that skill to use! But anyway!

Their ice wine was really really good but way expensive, so the free taste was all I needed and I was off… :|

…off to explore the place, that is! The area was beautiful. And the cool but sunny weather made exploring the vicinity such a pleasure.

It was my first time to visit an actual vineyard, if my memory serves me right (because I remember we visited a winery in Germany but I’m not sure if I saw a vineyard there!) My husband absolutely loves going to places like these (wineries, olive farms, etc.) and I have to admit, they’re quite fun and interesting to see!

And to end our post, here’s a photo from a wharf in Kelowna. No connection at all to the winery and everything else we talked about at the start of this post, except for the fact that they’re all in Kelowna, I guess! I just really like this photo!

Oh, and I know I looked super pissed here, but I really wasn’t. I was most probably just shouting “TAKE MY PICTURE HERE!” at my husband. Oops. :| Haha!

Have you guys been to Kelowna? What did you think about it?