Friday, July 31, 2009

pink saturday :: buddy

when my seam ripper is nowhere in sight,
i rely on my trusted buddy - the pink cutter.
there it is, together with my other sewing buddies!

it was with me when i made my first shoe stuffer.

it was also with me when i made this for my youngest.
see... i made a mistake there *toinks!*
good thing my trusted buddy is always to the rescue.

yes, that was supposed to be a shorts!
as patterned from this little pinky .

that dyed blue cloth is from my shirt dress that i cut short.
i didn't want it to go to waste so i made it into a....
awww... she's happy with her new dress!
because...
we're the same!

thanks to my little pink buddy.
my sewing misadventures almost always come to life because of you.
i love your pinkness and usefulness!

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Want to see more pink ?
Please visit How Sweet the Sound for more pink goodies!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

OW #2 :: serenity

I was on my way to my son's school to fetch him.
I reached the village early.
The day was gloomy.
I took my time and slowed down.
I stopped and took this shot.
What a nice view!
That body of water is a large lake - Laguna Lake.
The largest lake in this side of the world.

After that shot, I went on and drove slowly.
While the car was moving, I took a shot of this model house.

Loved how it looked!
The effect.
The colors.

Want to see more outdoor beauties?
Hop on over Susan's Southern Daydreamer site.

Monday, July 27, 2009

great news... free ebooks galore!

if you're a fan of ebooks, this one is for you...


Friday, July 24, 2009

pink saturday :: quilted love

my first swap.
i was giddy and excited.
but it never came.
i figured... it was christmas season,
must have been lost in limbo
and landed onto somebody else's lap!

but ain't my partner the sweetest?
she sent a replacement!
it's not her fault,
but she wouldn't take NO for an answer.
she wrote... "I hope the recipients get it soon (one of these is a replacement and it had better get there this time!)"

well, i think the courier heard her, got scared, and delivered this to me...
















i can't believe that i actually have something from Simplicity. i frequent this site for free tutes and sewing techniques. and now, i have in my hands, one of their products because of her generosity. AND... can you see that pink fabric?




















it's actually this...




















it's a quilted tote bag in pink+brown on one side and orange+yellow on the other side. so it's like you have 2 bags in 1. she made it in my favorite color combinations. my husband saw me taking a picture of the pink+brown side - "nice"! then he went out. when he came back, he saw me taking a picture of the orange+yellow side. - "huh?! 2 bags?". me? i'm just so happy that i have a pink quilted bag from my partner! because i still can't figure out how to make a quilt. yes, i cant. maybe i will, one day.

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Please visit How Sweet the Sound for more pink goodies!

come... play with us

... in our humble playhouse. yay!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

outdoor wednesday #1

my first outdoor wednesday.
please say hello to my little friend.
























take a peek over Susan's Southern Daydreamer site and see more outdoor beauties.



a piece of this and that

look around, take a peek inside my world...

before anything else, can i just say that i "frosted" this sliding french door, for a little less than php20.00? been meaning to have it frosted when i started accumulating "junks" inside the room. i wanted to hide the things inside from everyone who comes in. it's the first room that visitors would see and what an impression that would be! sometimes everything inside is spic and span but with just a snap of a finger, everything returns to its normal state - chaos! (is that normal for someone who crafts?) one time, i tacked a cloth there so nobody would be able to see what's inside. but i got tired of it and got rid of the "curtain". sometimes, i keep the window blinds closed so it would be dark inside and the mess would be hidden. but closing it makes the foyer gloomy. in my mind, the best solution is to frost the glass to keep the room "mysterious" without darkening the room. however, every time i go out, buying frosted film sheet always slips my mind.

so, while waiting for that permanent frost to happen, i could use some temporary frosting. one saturday, after breakfast, i went inside and saw this white japanese paper that came with other junks that my husband brought home. an idea flashed! i remembered when we visited my BIL's brother somewhere in kawasaki, a looong time ago, one of their french doors is made of white paper (i don't know what kind of paper) instead of glass. i was surprised and amazed! i can't remember anymore their reply when i asked why it's made of paper but i'm guessing now that maybe because of frequent minor quakes in the area. anyhoo, you'd probably guess what happened next...
thank you for spending a minute there. now, let's get on... that french door leads to my first favorite space in our house - the craft/study room. i think it's pretty obvious why i love this room. i can't remember anymore how many curtains, slip covers, other sewing projects, school projects, and kid's activities were done here. i can stay here the whole day doing something or even doing nothing! just recently, this room went online. another reason for me to stay inside :D. though sometimes, once i'm inside, instead of sitting in front of the pc to surf, something else, a project , or a paper work, would catch my eye and surfing would take a backseat. i wish i could show you what's inside but it's a mess right now. two little "kittens" went inside and wreaked havoc while the "cat" was not looking! maybe some other time, when my dream craft table and cubby holes storage are already in place - then it would be something to brag about. but since it's a mess right now, let me bring you to...

... my second favorite place.
because...
  • ... this serves as an extension of my crafting mess!
  • ... more than the living room, this is where you can find us for the most part of the day. not because we are always eating but because this seem to be more airy and cheerful, aside from it being the center part of the house
  • ... this is where we sit to watch TV
  • ... a door leads to the lanai where i have a pocket garden, and
  • ... i love sewing covers for those dining chairs!
... if i want some peace and quiet, a quick break, i'd go up and laze around in our terrace. from there, i could see birds passing/flying by, my small front garden, our mini-vegetable garden and fruit trees, wild grass - nature!


this is where i jog (sometimes). i also love taking pictures of the sky/clouds from there, and sometimes fireworks too at night! the double rainbow and smiling moon were taken from there.


sometimes, when it is raining cats and dogs, you'll find my 2 boys there, taking a shower under the rain while playing catch, tag or water gun. they always have a blast everytime. this is also where we relax a bit after dinner, before going to bed... our little place of heaven under the sun (and moon :).

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

pocket size it!

first, i saw this over at swann&smerlin.
a pocket-sized organizer.


then i stumbled across this ...

Sample

a pocket-sized album!
(or maybe more like a brag album :D)

Friday, July 17, 2009

pink saturday :: chalk art


i'll let the pictures do the talking...
their favorite bonding activity.


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Please visit How Sweet the Sound for more pink fun!

sorry i've been very remiss in visiting you guys lately.
something came up and been busy since.
have a great weekend!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

tweet, tweet

been meaning to sew a coaster. i can use thick scrap fabric or old thick clothes. then my sister sent a box full of old clothes. some of it were sent to the province, and some, well, i saved them, for future repurposing. two small sized corduroy pants were included in the saved items. i saved them with this in mind. when i saw it, i made a mental note to make one. it's just sooo cute!

okay, so i went ahead and cut 5x5 pieces. the upper portion was saved for chiko's shorts when she gets older :D.

then i made a pattern for the tweet. not quite like the chirpy pattern but still a bird. traced it on to the fabric and sew along.
i fell in love with the bird! it's chubby and cute, yes?

i proceeded making the project, used poly fiber batting to give it some body and to add thickness to the coaster.

my plan was to have a bird on one side only but i was stupid, and sewn a gap when it was already done. of course the other side was sewn too! grrrr! so i ended up sewing the bird again. i was quite pleased though that it gave an embossed look.
here's the other side.

i did not stop with the bird. i made a flower pattern. but because of excitement, (or stupidity, again?) i used ballpen instead of pencil to trace it onto the fabric. and i used a different thread color and a different stitch. it came thin, so naturally, the ballpen traces were evident.

hmmn... never mind those boo-boos. more coasters came along. another flower was requested by chiko and the car (that looked more like a pig! :D) was requested by kuya .notice the bird? the first patttern was lost by the little one. i made another one but could not quite duplicate the original so i ended up with a pregnant bird with tails!

i was able to make 6 pieces.

Friday, July 3, 2009

pink saturday :: cutlery holder

amazing how these pink fabric pieces
when injected with creativity and love
turns out into something like this...
a cutlery holder
for my swap partner in her favorite colors.


Happy Pink Saturday!
Please visit How Sweet the Sound for more pink goodies!

Thursday, July 2, 2009

baby steps

... scissor
not quite 3, i'm a bit apprehensive to let her hold a scissor. but for quite a number of times, when she sees me holding a scissor, she'd run up to me, paper in hand and pretends to cut the paper with her fingers - "tsitsor, mommy". one time, i gave in. after a deep breath, i handed her a small tsitsor, more papers, sat down together and taught her how to use it. we both held the paper in one hand while her another hand maneuvers the tsitsor from the bottom going up, from right to left, until...success! a piece of paper! and i tell you, there's no stopping her!

she's cutting bits of papers in various random shapes. i'm trying to teach her how to cut papers by following a line or a shape but she's still impatient. so i let her be.
she's cutting scrap fabric

and she snipped her hair too! yikes!
i turned my back for a while and when i looked at her again, there were strands of hair on the table! goodness gracious! so far, after that hair incident, no accidents yet. hopefully none will come.


... sewing machine
when she's done "cutting", and sees me in front of the machine, she'd sit on my lap and touches everything she sees. she helped me do a project. she sewed with me, with both our hands guiding the fabric through the machine while sitting on my lap. I'd like to see the day when she steps her way to using that machine all by herself.

she even helped me stuff it.
our teamwork yielded this.
thank God, we made my swap partner happy.