Christmas 2011

It's been weeks since my last blog. True enough, Christmas season is the busiest time of the year! Shopping for those perfect Christmas presents for family members, friends, relatives and godchildren can really take a day or two, maybe three! Reunions with classmates, friends and relatives can go almost everyday as well. Then there's Christmas eve, Christmas day, New Year's eve and New Year's day! Such a very hectic schedule, but despite that, Christmas season is still the most wonderful time of the year!

Each year, I also give myself a Christmas present and for this year, it's more for my arts & crafts hobby. Late this year, I got so interested with Tim Holtz inspired craft projects, but I cannot find his products on local craft stores. With thorough search, I found a local store that sells some Tim Holtz products and what luck, they sell online!

Here's a photo of it:
Cardstock cut-outs, craft cut-outs in vintage theme, stamp ink pads, embossing powder, glitter glue, stickers, brads, stencils, foam stamp and scrapbooking tips and tricks magazine featuring stamps & inks and journaling.

Tim Holtz distress inks in Aged Mahogany and Wild Honey. Zing embossing powder. Brilliance pigment inks in Graphite Black, Coffee Bean and Galaxy Gold. Glitter Glue. Clear acryllic inspired by TH's fragments. Papemelroti craft cuts in vintage theme.

From my niece!

Love them all! Can't wait to play with them and create something beautiful!

New Art Journal

I recently got so interested on Tim Holtz inspired art and it got me so busy the past couple of weeks researching about it. I enjoyed looking at some awesome projects so much and I am so inspired! I am making my 2012 Art Journal and I decided I will make the cover Tim Holtz inspired. I do not have the proper tools and supplies yet, so I just made the most of what I have. I am now looking at the local online store we have here in the country for supplies and so far, all they have of Tim's products are distress inks. So, I'll be ordering soon. I am also gonna look around craft stores for rubber stamps!

Here is my 2012 Art Journal cover.

Handmade Label Printables {Free Downloads} & Giveaway for 15 Readers!

A cute Handmade Label Printables and a give-away of those for 15 Everything Etsy readers are going on. Please check their website Everything Etsy

The labels are from WorldLabel.com

Papemelroti Give-away!

One of my favorite specialty store here in the Philippines is giving away this awesome plaque. It is open worldwide, so please check their website (just click on the image).

I Love Snail Mail!

I love sending and receiving letters via the post. I exchanged letters with my cousins, friends and a couple of penpals. I just love looking at the mails and seeing one with my name on it! I love reading what they have to tell me and I enjoy writing back. But due to innovative technology, specifically emails, social networking sites and text messaging, our via the post mail exchanges got lost in the process. Well, you might add the busy-ness of everybody to that! Thus, making these techies more easier.

I got active in snail mails again when I joined a group of keychain collectors (I used to collect them). There were trading activities and I enjoyed it a lot. Then, I discovered Swap-bot and oh my goodness, how I love it!

I was taking pictures of the mails I am sending out and then I thought of giving a special post on my love for snail mails and swapping!

This is the only contrast in my frugal living goal, as these would cost me a lot for postage but sending them will give me an equal amount of happiness too. Just like this quote I saw, "You can't buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream. And that's kind of the same thing"!

Fulfilling My Watercolor Artwork Dream

I love to draw, eversince I was a kid. Just paper and pencil drawings. I don't excel in it, but I feel that I have a passion for it. When I was in college, I really wanted to take art lessons. How I wished to learn painting with watercolors and oil pastels back then. But sadly, money wise, I got no opportunity. After a few years, the desire to take painting lessons came back when I get to pass by an art studio everyday on my way to work. I took the time and effort to inquire, but schedule won't permit and for practicality reasons, it was not on the top of my financial priorities. So, I had to force myself to just let it go.

Recently, as I was buying some craft supplies, I decided to buy a watercolor palette and some brushes. I really do not have any background on watercolors, but the desire to do it and do it now was so great that I finally found myself doodling and coloring. And here is my first ever watercolor artwork. It is now a page in my art journal.

The following day, I made another one again. I framed it and it is now hanging in our wall.

Hopefully, with more practice, I could make a better one and can directly paint without pencil outlines. Hmmm... how do you do that? I really wanna know!

Embellishing, Recycling, Thrifting

Embellishments can really bring life to something (in real life and crafting). It does not only make it beautiful, but it also makes it become more interesting and fun. I realized this when I was embellishing recycle-able materials like boxes, various cans and empty beauty product containers. I am organizing my little craft table/area, so I need storage for my craft supplies. Photos below are what I have made so far.

This box is for my postcards and used postage stamps collections. I think that using stamps for the decoupage is just perfect for the project. Like, if I need a postcard or a used stamp, I will just have to reach for this particular box.

Next: The orange one is a Royal Tru-Orange soda can. Just a couple of ribbons, a brad and a scrapbook paper were all it took to transform it. It is now my beautiful glitter pen holder. The tall one in the middle hold my bookmarks. The plastic container was from a set of underwear. It looks like glass from afar and it's so pretty beside my books! The third one was a can of flaked sardines. I love the print of this scrapbook paper, so I just added a little trim to accent it. This one holds all sorts of clips (binder clips, paperclips, etc...).

This is also a tin can and it now stores my adhesive tapes.

Adding this:

It turned out so lovely!

Some more! These ones are not related to my craft supplies organization though.

This is an empty facial cream container. I am always hesitant to throw these kind of things because I know that they are still useful in some ways. This, I recycled to be my talcum powder puff container (and the puff fit perfectly)!

Finally, the simplest of all! I am using this as a tea light candle holder, which I placed in the window above our kitchen sink. It was also a facial cream container and it was so plain that everytime I look at it, it seems to blankly stare back at me! So, I looked at my sticker stash and found some plastic transparent ones that has quotes on them. The quote is nice and the sticker fit just right!

So, from this:

To that!

They are all very simple projects, but I love them!

Linking to these parties:

Measuring Spoon & Cups Holder

I am very new to baking and I feel the need to surround myself with little notes about important details related to it. When I need some measurement conversions, I had to use the conversion application in my phone (I even use it for the timer since my timer broke down). It is really fine though, but sometimes, when I need to check something and my hands have flour or batter, I feel its inconvenience.

I had this measurement conversion printed when I joined a swap in swap-bot and the lady I had to send to love owls. It was cute so I printed one for for myself too.

Now that I need it, I want to hang it by the wall for easy reference. My first plan was to frame it in a wooden frame. I wanted a wood frame so that I can attach some hooks to hang my measuring cups and spoons. Since I don't have that frame on hand and I am practicing frugal living, I searched my recycling stash for something that will make do. And this is what I found. A cheap plywood wall hook and some wooden sticks (from the Desiderata scroll... the one I framed).

I just covered the board with a patterned paper and decoupaged the printed conversion on it for a laminated effect. The piece of cork was once a stand for a picture frame (I had the frame up in the wall so I took off the stand). I also covered the stick with a different paper for emphasis. Then screwed some hooks on it to hold my measuring cups and spoons. I used a wire to hang it. And this is how it turned out!

I also have this small temperature conversion (I really need it!) that I clipped from a food magazine and some stickers with baking theme.

Since the clipping is really small, I just decided to attach it to a scrapbook paper, stick the stickers around it, then brushed the whole thing with a transparent glue. The clip stand has not been used since a long time ago and now it has found its new partner!

Linking this project to:

Wrist-rest!

I saw this onesie in a rummage sale a couple of days ago. It caught my attention because of the image of the sailor bear peeking out from among other clothes, I immediately thought that maybe there is a lighthouse image along with it (I collect anything with lighthouses on them) so i picked it up, and viola the lighthouse said hello!

Back to the onesie, it was really really cheap so I bought it. A recycling idea came to mind and it was to cut the square image and maybe make it as an applique to a throw pillow cover. Then I remembered I saw a sample of a wrist-rest for the computer mouse and the size of the image would be perfect for the size of a wrist-rest. So, I decided to make it. I stitched a border around it in a red thread to add a little more style and color.

I should really get myself a portable electric sewing machine! I have so many projects in mind that needs a lot of sewing.

Linking to these wonderful blog parties:

DIY Neck Pillows

I am having a stiff neck! At first, I thought it was due to my sleeping position or my pillow. But then, it may be due to my recent crafting activities, which was A LOT of decoupaging. I think I kind of strained my neck! I searched for some home remedies in the internet and it brought me to this suggestion, the rice therapy bag/pillow to relieve neck pains.

A couple of days ago, I bought this curtain for kitchen doors from a second hand rummage sale. I don't need it for that purpose but I like the print and I thought of making a throw pillow cover out of it since the idea of throw-pillow-cover-making has been hovering at the back of my mind for quite sometime now.

Anyway, I already cut the fabric in half before I saw the rice therapy bag project, so I decided to make one throw pillow, a small rice therapy pillow and a neck pillow. I'm still going to work on my rice therapy pillow (but I have used it already and it was very effective). I want to embellish and prettify it with ribbons but I ran out of ribbons at the moment (because all of it are still in my hometown). Good thing I got a couple of ribbon scraps on hand for the other two pillows.

I made another neck pillow. This was a table napkin that I bought from a thrift store about six years ago. I bought it because of the design. I just love the girl swinging on a tree branch!

I don't have a sewing machine so I hand sew all of them. Yes, it was so tiring because I did a lot of backstitches! But they turned out alright and I am loving them!

DIY Decoupaged Coasters

Still in decoupaging mode! This project was also inspired from another blog hopping day (I am so sorry I cannot recall from which blog). I bought this set of wooden coasters for DIY projects. My original plan was to wrap them with different scrapbook papers since I don't have similar designs enough for the four of them. But when I saw this project, I thought it looked better to leave a small portion on each sides blank (like a margin) and I can just use one scrapbook paper for a matching coasters.

Decoupaged Bin Trays

I found this great recycling idea from blog hopping and it kept me busy crafting for almost a week! I also realized that this project is what I have been saving those boxes, milk and cereal cartons for.

Take out one side of the carton...

Decoupaged cut out magazines and seal the top with an electrical tape...

So, where and how will I use them? Hmmm... (tapping fingers on the table)... yeah right, here! Oh my, this is embarassing! But yes, this is my vanity area and they are so cluttered! I am still waiting to have a dresser or a vanity table so, I guess, I am still letting this area on a free style mode. Maybe until then.

I think this project is just perfect for now. The bin trays made a perfect organization solution. They grouped similar items together and made everything neater. What a great recycling project! I was so into it that I made another and another and another! I think I strained my neck!

I also made this cute little box!