crafty friday

One of my Etsy orders finally got claimed at the post office today. Hooray! (Although I am wondering where the other one has gotten to...)

I did say in a previous post that I will be knitting by February. Well, it looks like I am!

I plan to learn and practice with cheap yarn first before using these beautiful ones. (Uh-oh, I just realize I will need a storage for my knitting stuff. Maybe I could make something up from old empty boxes -- and yes this is such a perfect excuse to craft tonight after I come home from my Artist Date.)

Have a fabulous Friday everyone!

knitting, step one

I bought these from Etsy:

And I might get these:

There is actually a knitting lesson offered in one of the malls in the city but when I visited, the store personnel were not helpful, friendly, nor warm. It was pretty disappointing. And when I checked the prices for the knitting products they were pretty high.

So I went to Etsy and found even better looking knitting needles at competitive prices, sold by people who are passionate about knitting and who ooze warmth even through their store pages. I really just can't feel comfortable paying my money to a store that does not seem to care. I'd rather wait for my purchase but feel good about it.

And for learning, I just might get this book:

I should be knitting by February. :)

second day, more happy

It's the second day of the new year and the first day back to work for most people.

I do have a research project to do (my original business) for the first couple of months of this year but I am pacing it better this time. So today I only checked emails and did updates to my partner supplier and my accountant. I will slide in slowly into project mode by tomorrow afternoon.

Today I did a few errands to the bank and then I went with my mom to visit my grandma. It's actually a new year visit plus I just had this urge to see her. She was so happy to see me and we had a long conversation during which she told me about how she amazed everyone at the Senior Citizens' Christmas Party by dancing the cha-cha. She also gave me and my sister a lot of fabric scraps, buttons, beads, and a belt hole puncher for our craft projects. Then she gave me chocolates and an apple and an orange, and a pair of pink slippers -- I actually felt like a child as my arms grew fuller with all the goodies and I felt very very happy.

Since she has given me so much already, I insisted on buying and paying for one of the handmade decors she has for sale. She insisted in turn to sell at a ridiculous price. I got this very pretty decorative container which I placed on my entrance table.

Made from recycled softdrink bottle, plastic flowers and a very cute doll. The doll's dress is also handmade by my grandma.

My grandma made me think about maybe having a very small birthday party on my birthday next month. If ever, it will be seriously small, like really close friends and family. And it will be vintage-themed so my grandma can dance her cha-cha. We'll see. :)

On the way home I dropped by the supermarket to pick up cat food and was literally overjoyed to see that the supermarket has shifted from plastic to paper bag. The supermarket personnel are also encouraging customers to buy reusable eco bags. I already brought mine so the supermarket person actually pointed to my bag which was being filled with my purchases to illustrate the usefulness of the eco-bag.

Things are looking good. ^__^

a happy new year's day

My first day of the new year had been full and happy.

My mom and my sis visited me in my newly redecorated home and they stayed until dinnertime. My mom was coming down with a cold and the threat of a fever but she really enjoyed the visit and appreciated the conversations. I also loved the fact that I didn't have to spend the whole new year's day by myself.

my mom, my sister, and being-difficult-Mogget

In addition to making my first craft of the year, which was a love vision board, I also designed the covers of my new journals for 2012 -- my idea notebook and my life list notebook -- which will be filled with inspiration and goals and the raw materials of all the happy stories and events that I look forward to this year.

I also received my copy of Toffee magazine which got me really excited to craft and make wonderful, pretty, and useful things with my hands and my imagination. I discovered this magazine through my crafty sister.

Before I went to bed last night I did a final check on my Twitter and saw a post by Neil Gaiman sharing his wife's blog post. His wife, Amanda Palmer, wrote this very long but very nice post about their wedding and there were a lot of things she wrote that I could relate to. The post also showed a side of her that I was happy to see because I am such a Neil Gaiman fan and I want him to be happy and blessed in his own life especially with all the beautiful stories that he has shared through his books. I went to bed feeling warm and inspired and hopeful. I believe that the old year has taken with it the worst of things because I feel light-hearted and optimistic when I woke up this morning.

How was your first day of the new year? 

first craft for the year : a love vision board

Ten years ago this will probably be the last thing I would ever think to make. Fifteen years ago you would not even be able to make me come near anything pink, hearts, or romantic. Well, I guess we all went through our own versions of emo in our much younger days. Did you ever celebrate an anti-Valentine day on Valentine's Day?

It's quite funny because I was actually born on Valentine's Day. I resented that fact for quite a number of years. I was a wallflower. The unchosen nerd-girl. The weird girl. I didn't have a boyfriend until I was almost thirty.

I fell in love with and pursued a handful of guys (yes, I was brave that way and I paid the price in too many heartbreaks). All were unrequited until one, and then another, finally stopped long enough to take notice.

But two boyfriends later I am now again single. Took me a while to learn that there is only so much I can do to make anyone fall in love with me and be a true partner and the best way is actually not to do anything! Just focus on becoming your best self and be true to what makes you happy. When your real self shines then the real right person will recognize you and before you know it -- happily ever after.

So I start this year with a love vision board. Out of a piece of illustration board, some decorative papers, and print outs of happy inspiring photos of real happy couples from the internet (yes, it sounds a bit stalker-ish but it is only for personal positive use), I created a vision of love and partnership. More than the beauty of the images I also chose them based on the stories and values they tell me. A main feature of the board is the love life of Elsie Larson of A Beautiful Mess who is currently my number one inspiration on so many aspects of my life.

I have also added touches of my dream wedding theme. Just to make it clearer and to remind me of what each element represents for me.

So call me corny or mushy but I still believe in fairy tales and happily ever afters.

lucky indeed : 365 days of inspiration

I am very much inspired by the art and craft of Lucky Jackson of 365 Lucky Days. She creates beautiful things with embroidery hoops -- she comes up with the most amazing themes and subjects. My favorites so far in her work are the Domestic Bliss series.

Vacuuming

Ironing

Washing the Floors

Sweeping

Laundry

Dinner's Ready

tick tock thursday

Time felt fast but it actually flowed syrupy. I got a lot of things done but I felt like I have not done enough.

Got a nice working lamp for the craft and sewing space. Got sturdy pretty containers for supplies at 50% off. Found out that thread is a rare commodity in modern stores and malls - didn't find any for proper sewing, only those that came in emergency sewing kits. Swam in the cold pool. Got my mail. Sorted through the scrap fabrics and segmented them by size (big ones for big projects, small ones for practice). Spent time with my family. Spent time with the turtles.

Did my first practice sewing project all by myself -- a small pouch. Mainly got the hang of working with the sewing machine, threading it and fixing gnarled thread.

Repainted an old wooden container. Now it's ready for use in the craft space and in the shop.

Felt like dressing up my makeshift bedside tables with lace doilies.

I will be grateful. I am grateful. Thank you, Universe. Please send me peaceful dreams tonight.

the ultimate organizing challenge

We have begun to acquire a lot of materials and supplies to get us started on the whole crafting and vintage shop we are dreaming up. After the shopping spree there is now that task of organizing every little bit so we can monitor consumption, supply levels, and pricing. When we were finally unpacking things from the shopping bags we realized how challenging it will be to set up and maintain order with so many little pieces and types and colors.

We are on a small investment budget so we bought many things by piece rather than by pack. We bought ribbons and trimmings by yard not by roll. For starters we used empty cardboard tissue rolls to keep our ribbons, ric rac, laces, and other stringed trimmings. We got inexpensive plastic organizers for the buttons and beads. For wrappers and cartolinas and felt papers we got a trash bin to hold everything together. We also have a very small crafting space so we need to consider that as well.

We are not yet done taking stock of what we have so far. Any suggestions on organizing crafting supplies and materials will be most welcome! We have not yet even begun to think about how to store our fabric!