Author Archives: Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

Hi, my name is Gizelle Faye. I am an artist, florist, stylist, calligrapher, letterer, mum, and wife to Harry. I am a bohemian risk-taker who fell in love with an old soul. Three months before our wedding in 2012, I went cuckoo and left my corporate job to pursue my dreams and founded Cuckoo Cloud Concepts. For about a decade, I was the creative director of Cuckoo Cloud Concepts, dreaming up unforgettable and picture-perfect moments from a tropical island called Cebu. I specialized and honed my skills in photo shoot styling, product styling, floristry, calligraphy, and lettering. During the pandemic, I rediscovered my love for painting amidst the dark times. The universe proved a lot more cuckoo than me and sent me and my family on a journey that will find us in Camden, New South Wales. But I vow to always bloom where I am planted. Today, in this new city, I host art workshops and offer social media content styling and creation, and other creative services for small businesses. Here, you will find an archive of my paintings and other works of art inspired by nature, scenes, architecture, and BTS, as well as art events I run in different venues in Sydney.

special discount: what a girl wants!

what a girl wants is one of my favorite stores in the mall. i really love, not just the clothes they sell, but also their interiors and how they arrange all their items. i love their display window too. really smartly done.

what a girl wants will be having a big sale this october 15 to 31 and is offering all you lucky readers a special discount. just print the coupon below for a discount of P100 for every P1,000 purchase (and this is on top of the discounts they already have on display!).

what a girl wants is located in the following branches:

3rd Floor, the Gallery, Robinsons Galleria

2nd Level, Paseo Cuidad, Ayala Center Cebu

2nd Floor, Main Wing, SM City Cebu

1st Level, West Promenade, Limketkai Cagayan de Oro City

ps. regular outfit posts will resume once i purchase a new keyboard for our PC that has the adobe photoshop to resize my photos. my mac still doesn’t have photoshop sooo…..watch out for it though because i will be showing you my BLOG PET!

headache in style

so yeah, i’m totally copying vanessa east of one frozen margarita. i am just totally jealous of how she rocks turbans and scarves. don’t get me wrong, i am totally a scarves girl and have a dozen at home but they only get worn at home or at the beach. but today, with full conviction, i decided to wear them to work. sure i got a few stares from people coming into the office and at one point, when my sister came in, she joked and asked if i had a headache. well yes, a headache in style. *wink*

pardon me for the photo heavy post. this is what happens when the electricity has gone out twice in a day and all work is paused because everything we do is dependent on it. so we opened up the blinds and took advantage of the warm afternoon light. and yup, that’s armand at my back, totally posing as if he didn’t know i was taking photos of myself. haha!

polka dot scarf used as turban – thrifted

striped tee – thrifted

grey shorts – props

beaded sandals – gifted from harry

necklaces: key and fairy – props

bangles: wound brass wires – carbon find | white wood – chatuchak, bangkok

rings: white stone – props | butterfly – gifted from sweet

fashionably outdone!

so yeah, if you’ve noticed, this is not a post about my outfit but of my sisters’ and cousins’. i have been fashionably outdone. especially my little sister, aimee (on the 2nd photo) who stole my camera to take photos downstairs at the basement parking lot. this was taken almost a month ago on a random friday night with my sisters and cousins at the penthouse. this was also the night i kept stealing sips from vodka shots that are supposedly for my cousins, handed by aimee, and ended up so drunk, i fell on my hands while crossing the street at i.t. park. i also had to walk barefoot all the way from pent to a food place a block away because my shoes were killing me. saving enough dignity as i used to work in that building where the food place was located, i managed to put my shoes back on before crossing the street only to fall on my hands, causing my nails to get super dirty with mud. i haven’t gone drinking since then. i can still imagine the confused state i was in and the hell of that hangover. i want to go on a hunt for that drink that causes zero to less hangovers but then i would have to go on a lot of trial-and-error. and i’m not sure my being 26 can handle it anymore. oh well.

on me:

embellished LBD – maldita

black handbag – nine west

faux suede black peep-toe booties – celine (gifted from harry!)

stacks of gun-metal silver bangles – carbon finds

on aimee:

floral dress – thrifted

black wedge pumps – leaveland

black handbag – gifted from her friend

chained necklace – pratunam, bangkok

bangles – chatuchak, bangkok

Pre-Loved to Give Love: A Garage Sale for A Cause

For Cebu Residents only. For inquiries, please e-mail me at gizellefaye@yahoo.com.

style inspiration: longer than the usual

it’s saturday night and i’m supposed to be out but i’m not, thus my bad mood. so instead of the usual outfit post, i leave you with my obsession these days: maxi skirts + booties. i’m on the hunt for them and will be donning a few for the coming days. i recently paid the good old city market (carbon) thrift stands a visit and forgot how amazing stuff there can be.

images courtesy of style.com/trend report

posing 101 by armand | after hours

i feel like i have wasted the effort in dressing up for the the past few days because i tend to forget to take outfit shots. i love the late afternoon sunlight and its warm glow so i always plan to take photos by that time but due to the rush at work, before we know it, it’s already sun down. and for the past 3 days, sun down has been darker than usual with the consecutive power failures. apparently, our city is running low on electricity supply so they have to do rotational power cut-offs.

this time i made sure that before going home, i do an outfit shot. i simply love this shirt and i got it from the streets of bangkok for only 110 Baht. the doodles are just the perfect creatures and monsters inside my doodle-head. i did pair this shirt with a short floral full skirt but i failed to take a photo of that outfit too. despite not being a fan of my camera’s flash, i had no other choice and had to find an interesting spot — the washroom beside the office’s cluttered bookshelf. i had to ask armand to teach me how to pose so that’s him demonstrating a pose for me. i tried to imitate it but couldn’t resist smiling. do i look like i needed to pee??? haha! my favorite photo is the last one which is directed by my sister charm and mind you, my feet got wet here when i accidentally dipped it in paint wash water…oh the trouble we go through for a good outfit shot!

graphic tee – bangkok night market

denim skirt – thrifted (one of my faves)

grey vest – thrifted

grey flats with zebra-print bow – parisian, sm dept store

stacks of gun-metal bangles – carbon find

i always go back to you

i always go back to this dress. it’s what i call my fail-safe dress. it has mixed patterns and prints. it’s belted on the waist. it’s very comfortable. it’s breezy. it’s blue. and yes, it’s very forgiving. why? because it’s a tent dress and it can fit me when i’ve gained weight or lost weight. and this time, i’ve gained some and my mixed print dress is always there to catch me when i’m in an outfit dilemma.

i’ve mentioned this on one of my very few posts when i started my new job — a day job. i’ve had this heightened appetite and have been eating non-stop for weeks now. other than a new pair of shoes, food cheers me up. vanilla ice cream cheers me up the most. i would love to have a new pair everytime i get stressed or restless or bored but it’s an expensive habit. whereas, food is there..haha! so yeah, i know i have to control this appetite or else my clothes won’t fit me anymore (which will be such a waste of money) but for now, i’m going to enjoy actual lunch at 12 noon, afternoon snacks of turon (banana and nangka fritter wrapped in chinese wrapper, coated with brown sugar then deep fried to perfection) and ice candy, little munchy breaks of yogurt or crackers, dinner at home at 7PM and dessert with dark chocolate or ice cream.

mixed print dress – thrifted

blue embellished sandals – khaosan road, bangkok

heart and clock necklaces – carbon finds

brass tangled bangles – carbon finds

work watch – swatch

brown sunnies – carbon find

ps. i should learn how to pose like armand. isn’t he fierce?

not what i expected part one

turns out, i was super late in posting these as i wasn’t able to get the photos from armand’s camera until the middle of the week. this was during a fashion show / anniversary party we attended for one of our client’s, bong’s wedding essentials and more…lorymer villareal, our good friend and former cebu young designer’s winner and philippines project runway contestant, is currently the in-house designer for the shop. the night was not what i expected not the in the sense that the show didn’t go well or that the designs were unfabulous — because they were and i would love to don the tiered dress for my own wedding (if only i was taller), just that i didn’t expect the night to be an intimate dinner with their clients. it was still fun all the same.

armand and i also visited oxygen’s model casting call in penthouse just to check the folks there and yes, as you guessed, it was not what we expected too. we expected a fashion show of some sort or an event filled with activities and stuff but when we got there, it was just a party where everyone was awkwardly standing around. we were there for only 5 minutes then we bailed. armand and i ended up having green tea frozen yogurt at coffee cat — a perfect way to end an unexpected night.

tiered leopard dress – pratunam, bangkok

blue oversized blazer – borrowed from sister

navy blue embellished flats – parisian, sm dept store

grey bag – mongkok, hongkong

bangles – carbon find

rings: fox – platinum mall, bangkok | orange howlite – dane’s giveaway

leaf necklace – carbon find

such a tease

..life that is. small challenges or hindrances tend to show up just when the one thing i’m excited about is nearing as if i have to learn to be more patient than ever or that it’s some kind of test, determining whether i deserve it or not. i don’t know with you but i’m the kind of person who easily gets excited about something — like buying shoes, an upcoming family trip, starting a new job, waiting for harry’s home cooking or getting my new mac. i sometimes lose sleep over something i’m excited or anxious about and my mind can run like crazy. like when i’m about to sleep, already comfortable under my sheets and i suddenly think about potentially setting aside money for a pair of shoes or for plans of buying a new camera, i’d turn on the lights, pull out my calculator, notepad and pen and get going at the computation. i know, i know, i’m crazy. *wink*

what i’m saying is, a lot of things lay before me now that i am all too excited about. and if it weren’t for my past life-teasing experiences, i would have flailed my arms with desperation now with all that’s happening to me. something big is up and despite my little mess ups, i hope that in the end, life grants me this. after all, i’ve taken deep breaths, pulled myself back up to roll with the punches, firmly having faith that it is for me.

skirt used as tube top – thrifted

mustard cardigan – thrifted

skinny jeans – chillypapa

gold flats – sensini, bangkok

rings: blue stone and gold leaf – carbon find | orange howlite – dane’s giveaway

bangles – all gifted

cutout pattern necklace – gifted from ivy

work watch – swatch

brown sunnies – carbon find

we’re supposed to be in color

remember when david and mary-sue fought over the remote and they got warped into the black and white world of pleasantville? that movie has got to be one of my most favorites. not only are the era costumes amazing and fun to look at but i also loved the plot and message of the movie. i was and will always be amazed at how pleasantville slowly turned technicolor as they discovered and loved incredible things about themselves. fiona apple’s rendition of ‘across the universe’ made the movie even more memorable.

on to another awesome subject, i want to thank everyone who joined my 300 followers giveaway. it was really fun reading your questions and challanges and since i got so many interesting questions, i’ll answer them 5 at a time. here goes:

where do you see yourself in 5 years? (holly koochitt) whoa! just my first question and i all of a sudden feel i’m in a job interview! well, although it hurts to think, i’ll be 31 by then. if things go according to plan, i will have had successfully established a ready-to-wear clothing line while raising a 2 year old. i plan to still continue to maintain this blog and yes, i’d still do outfit posts in maternity clothes.

do you wanna go back to bangkok with me? (aisa ipac) yes! i would love to go back to bangkok with you…it would be amazing to have such an awesome shopping buddy especially since we have similar style choices and love finding cheap stuff!

how much did you spend in your bangkok vacation? (penny ilagan and ladawan) since we booked our flight 5 months prior to our trip and with a seat sale promotion at that, we got our round-trip tickets for only P6,700 ($149). with the help of my sister planning our trip to the tee, our hotel accommodations + tours (elephant tour, elephant ride, floating market, safari world and temple tours) + food and travel expenses cost us only P14,000 ($311). shopping expenses were only around P6000 ($111) and yes, i shopped til’ my feet hurt like hell that i had to give up walking to the street corner to taste these awesome, humongous crepes (biggest trip regret..hehe).

can you name top 5 cities you want to travel? (elle gomez) can i name non-cities too?hehe. if i had all the money in the world, i would love to visit ho chi minh city in vietnam (or all of vietnam for that matter), go back to hongkong and just enjoy the buzz, the food and the street fashion, lounge in santorini, greece because ever since i was a little girl i have always found that place to be so enchanting, be in constant awe in paris, france because who wouldn’t right? and of course, visit the most famous city in the world, new york city!

if you were to raid one’s closet, whose closet would it be (eunice) this is without a doubt mary-kate and ashley olsen’s closets! okay, okay, the question asks me to choose only one so i would have to say mary-kate olsen. here style is just amazing —- vintage and bohemian with a pinch of rock and she has this effortless bed-head look that i wish i can attain (but then sadly, i’d look like a dog who just got dried off from the rain). i love her shoes, her clothes, her oversized bags, her unexpected accessories (ie rhinestone curtain necklace over a worn-out vintage tee), i love her in the lace alexander mcqueen dress and that she and ashley have established such incredible clothing lines.

this is it for now. don’t want to bore you with more stuff about me. *wink*

polka dot fifties skirt – thrifted

sheer top – linea italia

beige camisole – borrowed from sis

braided camel belt – pratunam, bangkok

camel military booties – forever 21 courtesy of karla bautista

bangles: orange with splattered print – DIY | yellow wooden bangle – chatuchak, bangkok

necklaces: charmed + vintage car – carbon find

brown sunnies – carbon find

not what i expected part two | giveaway winners!

okay, so i need to grab friday night’s photos from armand’s camera but since i won’t get them til’ monday then i’m blogging backwards. it’s saturday night (actually, early morning sunday since it’s already 2 AM). came from dinner with my best friends and a quick stop at taproom, banilad with armand, his boyfriend derrick and philip of fashion toy gun. it’s philip and mine’s first time to meet and i thought it would be a perfect time to get together, what with a fashion show at taproom, banilad. philip and i talked about so much on the drive to banilad and it was refreshing to talk to someone mostly about fashion — someone who can relate to me and know other style bloggers and my need to have the jeffrey campbell ticks. disappointingly though, the night ended with our outfits smelling of smoke sans the chance to catch the fashion show. we waited for 2 and a half hours. nuff’ said, i was disappointed.

nevertheless, it was nice spending time with friends, both old and new. i wish we could have ditched the fashion show and just had some dessert at fudge. the cheesecake delight sure sounds better than 2 hours of waiting. this makes me resolve to only attend events that are highly publicized. but i don’t know, i’m all for second chances. will still visit taproom soon, only since ladies get free drinks.

white top with lace detail – pratunam, bangkok

brown denim acid-wash shorts – props

camel braided belt – borrowed from sister

gold ballet flats – sensini, bangkok

brown bag – platinum mall, bangkok

bangles: amber bangle – props | faux gold layered bangles – gifted | blue polka – hongkong

necklaces – props

ps. philip says his outfit is all thrifted. amazing. i think he’s way better than me in finding awesome stuff in thrift stores.

on a brighter note, here are the winners of my 300 followers giveaway both on the blog and in facebook:

congratulations guys! i will contacting you soon. thank you for your support for vanilla ice cream. hope to see you more here! mwah!

regrets over ample coverage

i don’t have too many regrets in life. sometimes i wonder what if, especially for unfortunate events like a falling out with a best friend or a tragic accident but i manage to brush them off, comforting in the thought that everything happens for a reason. one thing i do regret though is cutting off all of my maxi skirts for shorter ones to wear for the super sunny days here in our country and when i say sunny, i mean really really scorching hot. coincidentally, just as the weather here in the Philippines is getting a tad colder and i’m longing for my maxi skirts, the long garment has also graced a number of runways for fall/winter 2010. i have always loved the bohemian and feminine feel of maxi skirts. it gives me a reason to be lady-like but still be allowed to tuck a part of it in when i sit down, just like how we used to do in high school. those girls who went to an all-girl catholic school, admit it, we were taught social graces in classes but in classrooms when the teachers are not around, we sometimes sit with our legs apart or tuck in our skirts in between them. haha!

yellow floral-printed maxi dress – props

black cardigan – thrifted

black beaded sandals – people are people

brown bag – chatuchak, bangkok

long necklaces – carbon finds

rings: rectangle jewel stones – carbon find | round white stone – props

bangles – chatuchak, bangkok

a thousand years ago (in college actually), i made a maxi skirt out of a pair of denim jeans. it took a seventeen magazine DIY, a pair of strong scissors, a huge-ass needle and all the free time in the world. this is the end result. please excuse the scruffy face of a chinky-eyed morena who doesn’t know how to smile then. paired my denim maxi skirt with a pair of chuck taylors, a black studded belt, simple black tee and the used-to-be amazing hoop earrings. i was ghetto back then okay? LOL.

anyway, there’s two more days left for the 300 followers giveaway — a chance for you to win a denim acid-wash polka dress and a pair of multi-colored stone earrings. enter here!