Back to beading

This blog is being overrun by toys pretty quickly, I know. So I've set up TinyToy, a Tumblr blog where I'll be posting my toy pics.

I was able to work on a few late Christmas gifts this week - a necklace for my cousin and a stretch bracelet for my neice.

I love the charm on the stretch bracelet. You can place a SS09 Swarovski flatback on one side, and on the other side it says "Play". Perfect for little girls. Too bad Hopey is skinnier than I anticipated and the bracelet is a bit big for her. Well, at least she'll still grow into it.

Christmas!!!

Last minute activities

Been pretty busy this Christmas season despite being out of work. With what you ask? Mall-hopping and bazaar combing, meeting and greeting, mini-toy shopping. Not that I have any presents left to buy. I just want to get into the Christmas frenzy.

I spent last night making a tiny Christmas tree and a garland of sparkly stars for a Lalaloopsy Christmas photo. I used strung 4mm czech rounds as decor for the tree - quick and easy!

making the tree and garland

Setting up the scene was trickier, with lots of teeny tiny parts to assemble.

setting up the Christmas scene

And a little one always checking out what I'm up to.

taking a peek

Minis on my messy desk

My desk is a mess - all the time. Now it has a few more inhabitants: Mini Lalaloopsies! I can't help it, they're just too cute! And they put my Sylvanian Families furniture to good use too. I tell you, Sylvanian Families + Mini Lalaloopsies = addiction to rival my nail polish purchasing sickness. Not a good idea. Not good at all.

{Spot Splatter Splash, Marina Anchors, Tippy Tumblelina, Pillow Featherbed}

I have a couple more of these little ones waiting in my closet, ready for Christmas morning. The dining room chairs won't be enough for them soon.

{having some pizza}

Meet Nina

I loved sewing outfits for my Barbie dolls when I was a kid. And for the longest time during my adult life I've wanted a doll that I can dress up. I thought of getting a Blythe doll a few years back, but they're so crazy expensive so I shelved the idea. But that nagging need resurfaced when I saw a few Blythe dolls some weeks ago at a local toy store. I came close to deciding to buy one when I saw a Lalaloopsy TV ad just in time. They were just so cute and perfect! A few days after, I got myself one.

So, I'm pleased to introduce Marina Anchors. Wally christened her "Nina", as "Marina" proved to be too complicated for him to say. She's one of my top picks among all the Lalaloopsy girls, mainly because of her blue hair and blunt bangs...

... and slightly because her nautical theme reminds me of Flapjack... I absolutely LOOOVE that weird cartoon - from the artwork to the off-kilter sense of humor.

She comes with her own tag, complete with personal info..

... and a pet whale which I aptly called Bubbie.

{named after Flapjack's Bubbie}

An auspicious day

11/11/11 - "the most auspicious day this century"

It kicked off a good long weekend filled with laid-back walks, arcade games and eating. I'm glad I wasn't stuck in the office - that wouldn't have been auspicious for me at all.

A step in the right direction

Two things made me happy today. First one is this:

{ A gorgeous wall of polish in Rachel Zoe's office, each given for free. Lucky! }

Second one is this: I've made it official. In roughly a month's time, I will no longer be tied to this 9-to-5 job I've had for years but just recently developed a hate/hate relationship with. Things have evolved in so many ways in the past few years and my current day job no longer fits into what my life has become. Now I only have to wait a few more days before I am able to focus on my new priorities.

Photo from www.whowhatwear.com

Halloween

It was Trick or Treat day at Ninang Zami's neighborhood last Saturday. We all had a blast and Wally Potter even won the "Best Costume" award in his age group! His Hogwarts robe was sewn by Tita Imbay and I must say she did a very good job. She finished it in a day too! The patch was bought from a store in Divisoria and actually had the word "FASHION" on it. We just magically made it disappear with a black permanent marker. A nitpicky little Jedi girl closely examined his patch and asked "What house is this? It starts with an F!" Haven't you ever heard of Fryffindor?

Sweet Treat

Finished Piece: Tin's Wrap Bracelet

Another sort of productive week for me. I finally finished the wrap bracelet I was working on here for my friend Tin. Hooray!

It's about 24 inches long, made with czech fire polished rounds and czech druks, greek leather and a mega-watt Swarovski crystal button.

Too cute

I just recently discovered that a new Saizen branch has opened in Market! Market! Beware, it will suck you right into a timewarp! I swear that store will be the death of me and my wallet. Since all of the stuff is about P85 each, it is tempting to just dump anything I want into a basket and end up with a big bag full of potential junk. That brings me to my useless but absolutely adorable find of the day ...

{ self-explanatory.. or maybe not. yes, you put milk teeth in there! }

This branch not as big and spacious as the one in Galleria, and the shelves are a bit cramped together. That is probably why I came out of the store with a bit of sensory overload from gawking at all the Japanese goodies at a very close range.

But of course, the real reason I went into the store is - glue. Really.

{ craft loot justifies everything }

Sunday

{at a favorite weekend hideout}

Sneak Peek: Wrap Bracelet

What to do on a rainy day

It was raining last weekend and so our plans of a Sunday spent playing outdoors was foiled yet again. We settled for our usual weekend fare - a trip to the mall. My loot proves how much of a sucker I am for anything colorful. Who needs more bottles of polish? Certainly none of the girls in our house.

 {happily ever after, for audrey, bon bon}

To add to my ever growing collection of colorful craft pretties, I got a bunch of embroidery thread. I will most probably be making bracelets out of these soon. 

{DMC embroidery thread. so pretty, right?}

I got some tools as well.

I've been interested in Kumihimo, a Japanese form of braiding, for some time now so I was happy to find a small loom in a local craft store. I gave it a go last night, and all I can say is that it's very tedious and not simple at all. After 15 minutes of systematic braiding, all I had was a jumble of thread.

{small kumihimo loom}

I did learn how to knit back in school, but I'm not about to pick up knitting any time soon. I got this pair of needles for a future wirework project.

 {knitting needles}

Wally picked up this set of plants from his favorite shop. Here are they are striking a pose in my makeshift desktop photo studio.

{plants vs. zombies. Wally is obsessed with this game!}

Well, it was a fun weekend in spite of the rain.

DIY Weekend

Project: Wally's Playroom

Wally's toys have taken over much of our house, to the dismay of the "grown ups" who often need to tidy them up. So another major DIY project of mine will be transforming the spare bedroom/junkroom downstairs into Wally's play area. Here are some ideas I've rounded up from the interwebs.

I'm pretty much leaning towards this room, which echoes our upstairs bedroom - with the combination of light blue and white paint. Mostly because I want to make use of the left over blue paint from my bedroom makeover.

I like the retro touches on this room.

The chalkboard and shelves here are great ideas.

Sit n' store. I like the idea of a multi-purpose storage space.

Adorable! I'm fighting the urge to make something like this! I just keep on reminding myself that Wally's a boy.

* All images from Ohdeedoh

Holiday vs. Babysitting

Having three leisurely days in in Shangri-la was just what I needed to unwind but I wish I could've stayed longer. Considering I was lugging around a very active toddler all by myself, it was still a very enjoyable holiday. I know it's weird to see the words "unwind" and "toddler" in the same paragraph. And true enough there were times when it felt like it was more Wally's vacay. So I just held on to the baby reins loosely and looked for activities we both enjoyed - which there were plenty of. We'll do this again next year, for sure. I'm savoring the years while he still thinks hanging out with mom is cool.

 {early stroll along the beach}

{even Perry had a blast}

{free ranging}

 {enjoying breakfast and the scenery}

New stash

A bunch of supplies arrived before I left for vacation. They're mostly stringing material, as you can see. I haven't been able to play with them yet. I'm probably going to make a few hemp bracelets soon, keeping the beach holiday vibe of my recent vacation.

Hello from vacationville!

Taking a very much needed, semi-spontaneous vacay to keep myself from going crazy at work. :D

Project: Workstation

I've picked a space in the house that would make a good workshop - the library. It has ample space, shelving, and a nice big window. Problem is, right now it houses not just books but a big mass of clutter that we've accumulated over the years.

{check out the vintage piggy bank}

So far I've been able to sufficiently sort my materials but am still constantly looking for ways to organize my tools and bead stash.

{I store my beads in clear jars that I buy by the bulk at a perfumery/cosmetics supply store}

{messy work table}

{more beads}

It is pretty hard to work when your area is in a constant state of mess. My goal is to finish my workshop in the coming months. Lots of organizing and tidying up to do. Maybe I can do some DIY decorating as well. Looking forward to that.

Pasta vs. the Creepies

I had been wanting to watch Insidious for a few weeks now. I heard from my sisters that it was a total creepfest. Both of them had trouble sleeping for a few days after watching the movie, and so I became really curious about it. I finally got to watch it today. I made sure to watch it in broad daylight, following my sisters' advice. Being easily freaked out myself, I took extra precaution and watched it in the most unconducive setting - in the living room, where I could hear Wally watching Spongebob Squarepants a few feet away.

So after what could have been a mild heart attack, I went off to look for something to take my mind off the disturbing visuals. The solution: comfort food in the form of Italian sausage macaroni.

Wally helped me whip this up, him being my cooking "student" and all. He learned all about chopping onions and boiling pasta today while I fine tuned my cooking show host skills.

Me vs. the laundry

I finally finished doing my laundry.

The weather was friendly today, just long enough for me to finish washing a hamper-full of chiffon tops and last week's batch of cardigans that didn't quite dry up nicely because of the rain.