More Creative Possibilities

Countless possibilities for your egg-shaped Lady's Choice jars. The only limit is your imagination...(for more possibilities, see www.ladyschoice.ph)

Bangued: the vibrant town up north

ONE look at the town plaza in Bangued, Abra and one could just see how its people value so much the meaning that Christmas season brings. A landmark that symbolizes the love for country, hard work for their endeavor, and compassion for one another nestles majestically at the heart of the town sending across the message that the celebration of Christ's birth is truly remarkable in this side of the world.

The townspeople of Bangued have discovered that with their innate ingenuity combined with the true spirit of bayanihan, they could produce an outstanding masterpiece to represent their community. Their Christmas landmark, which showcased a cowboy on his horse with a wagon carrying a gigantic lantern, is heralded as a top contender in the Lady's Choice "Christmasterpiece: Bayanihang Pasko 2005," the country's first inter-town/city landmark-making contest.

"I personally believe that this Lady's Choice project truly reflects our rich cultural values as Filipinos especially during the Holiday season. It is really an opportune time to gather our act and make something creative out of it to bring forth a positive message to our nation and the rest of the world," said Mayor Valera.

Aside from bringing out the creativity and sense of volunteerism among Filipinos from different regions, Christmasterpiece also aims to help promote unity for the country in this time of disunity via a community-building campaign that showcase the pride, creativity, tradition and community spirit of the participating towns and cities.

The people of Bangued has built a landmark standing three levels high in front of the Abra Provincial Capitol, made from indigenous materials and about 2,500 empty egg-shaped Lady's Choice jars. A bigger-than-life cowboy is flanked by a lighted tableau made of more empty Lady's Choice jars, giving it a candle-like glow.

The landmark has become a visuial feast to townsfolk and visitors alike, reflecting the mayor's vision of bringing with her the cart of her province's dreams.

Bangued's entry has also become an early favorite in the competition. " We're deeply honored for this recognition because we believe this product our people's hard work, patience and creativity is a contribution in bringing about peace in our country," said Mayor Valera.

Bangued is just one of the over a hundred cities and municipalities who joined the landmark-making contest.

The winning entry, Naawan in Misamis Oriental, was named “The Most Creative Town” and brought home a P1 million in grant for the building of a creativity center plus P100,000 for the winning team and another P100,000 for the sponsoring civic group. Eleven finalists brought home P25,000 each. Aside from these amazing prizes, the finalists will automatically be included in the Lady’s Choice 2006 Commemorative Calendar.

Surfers can now also view the outstanding entries at www.ladyschoice.ph.

(Photo by Al Cruz)

Step-by-step: Make your own candle holder

We're going to do a simple yet elegant candle holder from materials found in every home - Lady's Choice jar, japanese papers (different colors), glue and of course, a pair of scissors.

You need to peel off the label of your Lady's Choice egg-shaped jar.

Cut out small circles of japanese papers.

You may put shape in some of the cut-out japanes papers. But be sure to leave some as it is.

Now on the cap of your bottle, pour some amount of glue.

Mix the glue with a very small amount of water.

Spread the glue mixture on the bottle.

Stick two or three round-shaped cut-outs on the jar. Then apply some more glue mixture.

Then stick some more of the other cut-outs on top of the round-shaped ones.

Apply some more glue mixture and let dry.

Voila! You now have an elegant candle holder.

'Kuya Robert's' Bottle of Cheers

Necessity could bring out creativity. Forty-one-year old Robert Alejandro has known this fact since when he was only knee-high.

“I remember that when I was a child, my siblings and I did not have many toys,” Alejandro said in Filipino. “So we would always make our own. I had a sister who loved paper dolls.”

In the environment where creativity was advocated, Alejandro thrived as an artist. He became a children’s book illustrator and a computer graphics artist.

His cheerfulness and vivacity earned him a spot in a television art-workshop show titled “art is-kool,” where he came to be known as “Kuya Robert.” He candidly admits that he was not comfortable to be in front of the camera, but he loved to share his knowledge with the kids.

“My motivation then was my producer saying to me, ‘it’s for the children,’” he said.

The best part of his job was when he gets letters from the children sharing their joy of art and art-making.

As he himself started young, Alejandro likes to nurture this excitement in them. He remembers how he used to make something out of things that was meant to be thrown away. This soon became his trademark.

“I like to use inexpensive materials,” he said. “I use materials that you don’t have to buy especially for the project.”

He prefers it if people sees his project and say to themselves “Hey, I have materials just like this at home. I can replicate this.”

Otherwise, he says, what’s the point? After all, he wants to encourage people to be creative not repel them. He strongly believes that the more the materials are available to them, the more they would want to try it on their own.

Of late, Kuya Robert has become enamored with the new egg-shaped bottles of Lady's Choice Sandwich Spread, turning them into elegant jars of art. Obviously, he’s one guy who doesn’t stop at recreating available materials. And how he does it in style.

With colored cartolinas, art papers and a few illustrations, the new Lady's Choice jars became containers for marshmallows, candies and cookies with animal heads, Christmas trees and even Santa Claus.

“The most important thing is that you have fun. As long as you have fun, you can’t go wrong and you can’t commit mistakes,” he said.

One of his more interesting pieces is the jar-o-rama or a diorama inside a jar. He drew the trees and birds inside the bottle with a bumblebee on the outside.

He said such pieces could easily become a family activity that even children as young as four-year–old could participate in the project by drawing. While cutting it into shapes and hanging it inside the bottle could be performed by the parents.

He emphasized that such undertaking is a perfect time to bond with the whole family. He’s one firm believer that a good person is formed during the childhood stages. And the main part of being a child is the parents.

“Children will not forget such moments ever in their life,” he said.

More than your average arts and crafts teacher, Kuya Robert is also a builder of good memories.

Pinoy par excellence

The Banaue Rice Terraces began with a pair of hands molding the soil to save precious rainwater. The whole village saw the logic and soon joined in, unknowingly creating a wonder that would inspire all those who see it.

From Juan Luna to Lisa Macuja, our talents are recognized all over the world. We are known to be the artists, the creators. We are the workers, unafraid to toil for an honest income, as proven by our OFWs and local blue collars.

All these are landmarks of being Filipinos. They show and prove that we have the knack of rising above the ashes; setting aside differences to achieve a bigger, greater goal.

Our people are innately resourceful. We are a nation battered by storms and flood but could still come up with uses for lahar. We can turn an ordinary sardine can into a jeepney toy.

With Lady’s Choice’s Christmasterpiece contest, communities, towns or cities are challenged to turn empty bottles and indigenous materials into Christmas landmarks. Participants must create a 15 ft. high landmark on the center of their community.

Imagine this scenario: a landmark in each city, from Batanes to Jolo -- lighting up in time for Christmas. Each of them different in designs and form, each of them beautiful but with one intention—to make people around it look up and find something to feel good about this nation.

That’s a reward worth more than the P1 million grant for the Most Creative Town or City; the P100,000 for both the winning team and sponsoring civic group; the P25,000 each for the 12 regional finalist

Indeed, what could be better than showcase everything this Christmas what other nation have known all along? That we’re a nation of remarkable resiliency.

Lady's Choice Christmasterpiece is supported by the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, League of Cities of the Philippines, Soroptimist International, Department of Tourism, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Quota International and Girl Scouts of the Philippines.

New look, same goodness

What’s in a bottle?

If it comes in shapely curves, it connotes abundance. If it stands out from the rest, then it must be Lady’s Choice.

Like a mom who adds a twist to a handed down recipe, Lady’s Choice reveals a new look that breaks away from the traditional straight contours of other dressings and spreads that consumers have been used to.

With the new bottle, class meets function. It’s chic enough to be used again as containers for other things, without looking like, well, a mayonnaise bottle. Use it for storing buttons, trinkets, and other whatnots. Fill it with colorful polished stones, candles, or potpourri, and voila, instant centerpiece. The only limitations with what one can do with the new Lady's Choice bottle is the imagination.

And if there’s anyone who could understand all the repackaging, it’s the Filipino women who are no strangers to makeovers and innovations. For they, too, constantly reinvent themselves to keep up with a world obsessed with changes. They are ready to get out of their comfort zone and take on challenges.

We’re talking about women who go beyond what is expected of them. They’re the ones who juggle a career, being a wife and a mother and still have the time for herself. They’re same ones who are able to make both ends meet and still manage to prepare her family’s favorite merienda, without fail, every Sunday.

Lady’s Choice recognizes such feat. That’s why they too, try to keep up with the resourceful Filipino women by constantly improving already tried-and-tested products. Because they know, every Filipino woman always deserves something better.

What’s in a Lady’s Choice bottle? All the same goodness that the Filipino family has associated the brand with for 50 years. And, a testament to the spirit of creativity of every Filipino woman.