Lilacmoon

This is something I wanted to do for awhile. I’ve seen lots of grosgrain ribbon headbands in stores these days and thought they should be really simple to make. So I finally got around to trying to make one today and here is the result:

The one on the left is from J.Crew and the one on the right is hand-made by me.

I know, the way I just sewed on the elastic band on the ribbon is messy. I’ll have to refine my methods as I make more. This is just a little practice

The problem with elastic headbands is that they never stay on my head. I always need the help of at least three hairpins. Is it just me? I prefer the plastic headbands to the elastic ones but these are so easy to make, and with all kinds of grosgrain ribbons available, it’ll be hard not to make another one. Well, till next time.

I finally got done what I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, ever since I started drinking lots of tea: decorating/labeling the tea containers. We (Matt and I) buy loose-leaf tea from Samovar a lot, and they come in very clean-looking, black-and-white containers. Nothing wrong with them but when we try to reuse them for other teas once we are done with them, things can get pretty confusing! So, I’ve been wanting to label them properly and, at the same time, decorate them a little more to my taste.

This is what I ended up doing with the containers:

I had some Japanese papers lying around, and you know how much I love all things patterned… I simply glued them on the tins, and stuck labels on them. Now, the labels took some time. I printed the borders and the tea names on 2″x4″ address labels and then added little icons with my hand-made rubber stamps. I admit, the whole project was an excuse to do rubber stamping. And boy, was it fun!

Here is a closer look at the labels:

I have way more tea but since they’re still in their original tins, I won’t re-label them just yet. I need more variety of Japanese papers, anyway. Sounds like another excuse to go shopping, no?

I love wrapping gifts. I have fun concealing the present and imagining what the person receiving it will think about it.. But I also like it because it is one of the things I think I’m good at. ^^;; Here is a pic of some small Christmas presents I wrapped for my coworkers:

I found that tissue papers can make a great wrapping paper, as long as I use them in multiple layers. The ones I used here are from Anthropologie.. you know they always pack away the stuff you buy in tissue papers.. I thought it’d be a waste to just toss them away, and I’m glad I saved them! I used some cream yarn strings to wrap around a few times and then attached a Cavallini & Co. holidays sticker in the center.

I’ve never wrapped presents like this before.. I don’t know how I ended up wrapping these like this. Anyway, a whole new world has opened up to me. Next time, I think I’ll try using thinner strings, maybe metallic? Maybe I can make my own labels, with rubber stamped images. Possibilities are endless.

It’s been awhile since I last posted anything.. Sorry!
I’ve been busy lately, with the holidays and whatnot. But I managed to do some craft projects. Here is one of them:

I made these for my friends, and the intials are for their first names. They are basically fabric-covered buttons glued onto a pice of grosgrain ribbon. Hot glue gun rocks. What do you think?

I have tons of stuff to blog about, so be sure to check back soon!

Craft time!!
My latest project is called “Use What You Already Have.”
I collect and keep so much stuff (like pretty papers) that I decided it’s about time to use them.
This is that project Numero 1.

This is my bedside table. See how boring the IKEA lamp and storage box are? (Btw, all the furniture are IKEA, too ) Need some splash of color!

Well, check this out:

You like?
(I’m not feeling like writing much, so all my sentences will be short.)
I used some nice floral-patterned paper on the lamp and a map of Italy on the right.

Here is a shot with the lamp on.

It’s a good thing the floral paper is semi-transparent. And that you don’t see the back side of the lamp because the paper doesn’t wrap all the way around.. I had to stop myself from buying more of it. The key was to use what I already have!
See the tiny sewing machine trinket box? It was a nice gift to me from myself. ^_^;;
Yay! That was fun and easy!
Measure, cut, paste!

Laforet Harajuku, a trendy shopping mall in Tokyo, is having an event called Laforeco, where you can join Team Minus 6% and get a canvas bag for free and have it personalized with various stamps designed by participating stores in the mall. I’ve learned, with the help of a Japanese dictionary, that Team Minus 6% is a national movement you can join to help prevent global warming. Nice cause, it sounds like. Too bad I’m here. -_-;;

Heh.. the real (selfish) reason I’m blogging about this event is because of the stamp designs. Lately, I’ve gotten interested in rubber stamping, so when I saw the stores’ stamp designs, I was very excited. Aren’t they neat?? I bet many of them are store logos.. My favorites are Olive des Olive, Algonquins (love the skulls!), Transit Lounge, X-girl, ysh (on the 2nd page), and Osmosis (on the 3rd page).

Hopefully, I’ll start designing my own rubber stamps very soon.

Heh.. I’ve been so preoccupied with work that I haven’t been keeping my promise of creating an artwork everyday. But that’s just an excuse, of course. Anyway, instead of an ‘artwork,’ whatever that may be, I present you my latest experiment in crafts! Ta da~

It is a pin cushion! I made it using a tiny copper pan and some wool fabric I salvaged from Matt’s old slipper bag. I knew I wanted to embroider it somehow, so I learned how to make French and German knots. Cool, huh. And don’t forget to check out the beads! They’re from my mom… What do you think? I think it turned out great! A little messy around the edges because I was a little inexperineced with the hot glue gun.. But that’s okay.. I’m happy with the results. Now, I have to actually start using this thing.. Maybe I’ll make some embroidered buttons. Stay tuned!

Finally, I uploaded some pictures from our Katamari release party. They are found here. (The page is password-protected. If I know you and I haven’t sent you the password, then email me). The party was a success, I think. Even Vijay showed up! Woot!
The new game was as fun as the first game, and we unlocked lots of stages, except after hours of playing, we turned off the machine without saving it.. Doh! But all’s well now. I even beat the game! But there are still few more cousins to find, and, of course, the King of All Cosmos isn’t too impressed with the stars I created. Must work even harder to impressive the King!
Anyway, I was particularly happy that people enjoyed the katamari cakes I prepared.

I had a blast making them too, even though my initial plan of making the whole body failed due to lack of structure. It was my first time icing, too. It was a little challenging at first, but all that matters is I had fun.
And check out the cup markers!

Aren’t they cute? ^^

Am I a katamari fanantic? Proudly so.

Only two days left!! And Matt finally bought an extra copy of We Love Katamari from EB Games, just in case the other copy from CD Universe doesn’t arrive on time. It pains me that it can’t be opened.

Instead, I kept my hands busy last night by making an origami of the prince. That’s right!

I found a link to the PDF file for the template here. I believe the original came from here.
It was not easy to make. My regular glues weren’t good enough, so I had to resort to my trusty matte medium. It was very frustrating.. I had to curl the papers often so that they would stay in shape and want to attach to other parts. For sure, I would not make this again.

The countdown continues. 3 days left! And we don’t know if the game will arrive on time!

Well, in the meantime, I present you my first attempt at making a drawstring pouch. It is all handmade! No sewing machine! I had lots of fun making this, although embrodery at times was very frustrating. Lesson learned. Use the right tools, like embroidery needle.

The iPod mini belongs to Matt, and he originally wanted the face of King of All Cosmos but I suggested that the Prince would be better because the iPod mini is also green. It is an afterthought, but I think it would’ve been cooler if the Prince was wearing headphones, one of his royal presents. But I’m pretty proud of this creation. The face is a little off center and asymmetric but darn it, isn’t it cute? Of course the King of All Cosmos would say, “It’s just okay. Make it better next time. If it were ours, it’d be much better.”

iPod mini + earphones packed in!