Candy School Diary 2014-2015

The Candy School Diary for the coming academic year is out! I couldn't be happier about my first book project coming to life. It's a cute little tome with lots of pages for planning, taking down notes, and words of encouragement and inspiration. I made the illustrations for the book, which Steph of Candy did a wonderful job art directing!

It's made for young girls still in school, and follows the Philippine academic calendar that begins in June. (Future editions of this planner will most likely change, as schools and universities gradually adopt a September calendar). But if you've been out of school for a looong time now (like I am!), though still regularly use a physical planner, don't let that stop you from getting a copy!

Each month begins with an illustrated opener, followed by weekly diary pages. Inspiring blurbs pepper the pages every now and then. Apart from the openers, the patterned backgrounds (as below) were really fun to make.

Here are a few more of my favorite spreads!

And then, at the back... Stickers!!! I was pleasantly surprised that Candy printed out not just one, but two pages of these! I don't really consider myself a calligrapher, nor do I specialize in handpainted type, but playing around with letters and coming up with this page was really fun to do. They turned out so nice!

Apart from the illustrations, I also made textured watercolor washes for Steph to use as she pleased. I love how these were applied on the spine, and continued on the back cover. It's always a good idea to use actual handmade details to enhance printed paper, and to create dimension and texture when printing processes are limited. (Speaking of--you'll notice that the typewriter and flowers on the front cover have been nicely laminated. Another nice surprise! It's all the little details that matter!)

The Candy School Diary 2014-2015 is available in all major bookstores, newsstands, and wherever Summit Media titles are sold.