Refashion a Belt into a Bangle

I had a minor wardrobe malfunction a couple of days ago.

Thank God, it wasn't something disastrously embarassing that I couldn't share here. The belt that I was wearing got torn into 2 pieces. Although the belt only cost me a only a few hundred pesos (probably why it tore in the first place)I loved how it gave a simple, boring outfit a hint of attitude and character. So what's a frugal gal such as moi to do? 

Refashion the damaged belt into a bangle!      

 

 

For this you'll need a leather punch,

scissors and

heavy duty glue.

 

 

Step 1: Cut belt into desired length or at least a length long enough to wrap around your wrist (I wanted it to go around twice)

Step 2: Eyeball the area where you want the belt hole and mark it with a pencil

Step 3: Punch the hole

Step 4: Cut a small piece of belt material (just enough to go around the strap plus a little more to glue the ends together) to make an "anchor" or the part where the belt strap rests against)

Step 5: Glue the ends together, let it dry and insert through the strap

 

All done!

 

Simple Joys

I know I don't usually blog about stuff other than my crafts and projects but while browsing through folders and folders of photos to choose for this year's appreciation wreath I couldn't help get nostalgic and even teary-eyed as I somehow re-lived the year through our photos.

 

This may sound so cliche but I'll still say it, time flies unbelievably fast. How can the year be almost over when the Christmas-themed throw pillows borrowed from Mama last year, I thoughtlessly only now realize, remain unreturned and are actually still on display. But what can I say, it has been a wonderful year. We had a couple of bumps but we definitely still consider ourselves incredibly blessed that deciding on which photos to include for this year's appreciation wreath is a challenge. There are so many things to be gratefull for.

I, therefore, thought of sharing now and then some of what I consider the little joys of my life.

 

And I'll start with this...

 

 

Watching my boys as they sleep

 

DIY Personalized Mugs

 Here's a project that's been all over pinterest lately. Draw over your mugs, bowls, cups or whatever with a Sharpie marker and bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Baking makes the ink permanent. I don't know if a different marker may be used because I haven't tried any other brand.

 

 

Obviously, you could draw any image you want. I chose to write the first letter of our names using some sort of freehand 3D font. These, by the way, are the mugs that I recently bought for P12.00 each at our latest trip to Uniwide. We found cheaper mugs selling for P10.00 but I really love how the insides are colored yellow (I have been into yellow since 2006!).

 

 

 I feel kind of iffy about the marker coming into contact with food or beverage so I wouldn't use it for the insides of mug. I cannot deny though how i love this easy project is so much. Had there been any more plain mugs left I would have used them all!  

Have fun! 

 

DIY "Tingga" Choker

My husband loves to stroll along the aisles of Mr. Handyman or Ace Hardware and could spend some time just going through corridors and corridors of stuff. It used to bore and annoy the hell out of me at first, especially during the early years when we were still dating during collge. Things have changed over the years. I now can spend quite an amount of time "window shopping" and searching for potential materials that I could use for my projects and crafts. Most of the time I couldn't identify what a certain hardware item is for nor what it is called so it is always best to bring hubby (who is always willing to come)along.   

 

The hardware nutty bracelet made out of hex bolts has been a favorite acccessory that I wear often has received lots of compliments from friends (those guys already know what they're getting for Christmas).

 

 

 Here's a recent project that I made for Yahoo! She made out of washers or "tingga". On a trip to Mr. Handyman I was pleasantly surprised to know that they are available in larger sizes. I was there only to get the usual sized ones, the kind that we used to play sipa as kids. Believe me, I was like an excited kid in a toy store. 

 

 Do check out Yahoo! She for a simple tutorial. 

 

Frugal Finds at Uniwide Part 2

It's been a while since we've been to Uniwide. Although hubby and I were happy with our last visit we were never able to go back until last weekend.

 

What can I say? Uniwide is a very dangerous place. Not in a negative way, though. It's just that hubby and I ended up with (multiple) random, unplanned purchases. The original intention was to make a quick trip to purchase about 70 pieces of covered  plastic drinking glasses -- an errand Mama asked us to do for the feeding program organized in church. SM was on our first agenda but surprisingly, they didn't have what we were looking for. Uniwide has them but there weren't enough and we couldn't leave empty handed...         

 

 

 

 

These rubber alphabet cut-outs used to be sold by the kilo. I already wanted to get Alonzo a pack the last time but hesitated because I thought that I had to get a whole kilo of these. If I remember correctly, they were sold at P250/ kilo. I mean, what would I do with a kilo of alphabet letters??? What I didn't know was you could purchase just one pack and have it weighed and pay accordingly. Silly me. Anyway, they are now sold by the pack at P29.00. I made a mental count of the number of kids that I could them to and almost ended up getting everything in the crate!

 

Now, aren't these ceramic owls adorable?

 

I was already picking which of these little guys would go home with me until this charming piece caught my eye. Wouldn't you agree that it looks so Anthrologoly-esque??? I super love it and for only P59.00 I couldn't resist.

 

I also couldn't get these porcelain balls sold at P39.00 for 2 pieces off my mind either as I toured around.

 

These are just a few of our purchases that day. I got ourselves several pieces of coffee mugs (for a project that I have in mind), a bundle of barbecue sticks, a wooden board puzzle for Alonzo and a Santa hat. And would you believe that hubby was able to finish off his Christmas list all in one go on our visit to Uniwide?!!

 

I'm now regretting not getting the pastel-colored, polka dot serving plates and coral shaped candle holders.

We'll have to go back there soon!

 

Pallete Drawer/ Crate

Last year I purchased several slots of pallete sold along the main road of our village and commisioned a local carpenter to make wooden crates out of them (my carpentry skills -- sawing, in particular, isn't something I could brag about). We use the crates in the kitchen to hold plates and bowls. 

Mama loved the idea and asked the same carpenter to make more for her home. But instead of leaving the crates unpainted, like ours, she painted them in different colors and attached ceramic knobs which she bought at her favorite thrift store in San Francisco.

 

Mama keeps the colored crates (they actually look like drawers) under the sofa to store some of Alonzo's toys. The little guy spends most of his time in my parent's house in the living room where he plays and this is a great and attractive way to hold his toys while keeping the clutter  down (a bit, at least).

Can I just say that I love and adore these knobs! Mama bought them for 10 pieces for a $1.00!!! That's 10 for only P41.00. I immediately asked her to get more for me but when Mama went back to the store they were all gone :(

Oh, well.

Christmas Mode

Hubby set up the Christmas tree and lights a few days ago.

We used to decorate for the holidays right after Halloween when we get right into Christmas mode and are all gung-ho and energized for all the holiday decorating. Things were a little different last year when we didn't seem to be in the mood for setting up the tree. We even came to a point of justifying not having a tree for fear of our toddler toppling over it! Lame, I know! Perhaps all the energy we had was spent on our house painting project? Anyway, hubby seemed to have a surge of energy last week and decided to take advantage of it by setting up the tree as well as the Christmas lights in the garage. He figured procrastination would get us no where and he didn't want the little guy to miss out this year. Hubby started working on it just as soon as Alonzo slept and finished everything to surprise the little guy with the lighted tree in the morning (our son is an early riser and wakes around 5:30 a.m.).

 

 

So here is the little guy, marvelling at our tree (a hand-me-down from sister-in-law!). We now spend a few minutes in the early morning just staring at it. Sometimes he asks his Dad to turn on some music -- no, he does not ask for Christmas songs but specifically requests for Chris Daughtry's song, "Home" (don't ask me why but this song is his current fave).     

 

Unfortunately, I still have a long list of things to do to get ready for Christmas! I haven't even started shopping yet -- as in not at all. Oh well, so much for the idea of giving out all hand-made gifts this year...

Alonzo's Halloween Costume 2012

I'm back!

Whew, after my uber hectic schedule just prior to the long weekend holiday i'm back to blogging! Yey!

 

We dressed the little guy as a monk this year. This was the original costume idea that I had for his 1st Halloween but I thought his Starbucks barista costume was too cute of an idea

for an eight month old.

So this monk costume was put on hold for a while.

 

 

 

 

 Anyway, the brown cotton fabric is from Cotton Exchange

and costs only P60 per yard!!! One yard was enough to make this so that's just how much this costume cost me. Yup, it doesn't take that much -- even with the hood. The canvass cord used as a belt was just left over material that I used from the hex nut bracelet that I made a couple of months ago. The a small canvass pouch around the belt was a bag used to package coffee beans. So that didn't cost me anything either.

 

Let me also share with you some of the cute Halloween decor at the Sta. Elena Halloween party:

 

oblivious of the party activity
-- he was just too happy about all the candy!

Cute loot bags!
Vertical slots were sewn on at the front
where crayons where inserted.
The crayon tips seemed like the monster's teeth

 

 

 

So now that Halloween is over I'll have to switch to Christmas mode and get ready for some fun and festive holiday crafting!