Crafty Hubby

Someone in the house has been super crafty lately and it isn't me! For Christmas, Ella got me the awesome kit pictured above. After attempting the bunny which turned out to be quite deformed, Marc decided to challenge my piece. After a quick sewing lesson from me, he was on his way to making the puppy which turned out to be a lot better than mine. I'm glad someone has the patience to create these because I certainly don't. When I came home from work the next day, I found random drawings of patterns that he thought up himself. I couldn't help but chuckle and ask him "Are you seriously going to make these?" He answered "Yes." Here we are, two weeks later and the herd is continuously growing. To add to the collection, there has been a happy ninja, a bat/cat with wings, and my personal favorite a two-toned owl. So I guess it's not me who will be starting an Etsy store soon. :) Marc has always been one to create things. One of his first 'gifts' to me was this whimsical character he carved out of wood from one of his classes in high-school. With that said, I can't wait to move to a bigger place so he can start building some furniture!

The weekend went like this...Part II

Marc was kind enough to accompany me to this year's Unique LA handmade craft show. It was his first time going to a craft show and I was relieved to see him amused by some of the merchandise. We had a fabulous time perusing over 300 booths of independent sellers. They even had a 'green room' where eco-friendly and re-purposed items were sold. It was a huge event and we quickly went through it as fast as we could before the crowd swarmed in. Let me tell you, there was a pretty big crowd!

That's me in front of the Unique LA banner inside the California Market Center.

Plush organs by I Heart Guts are the perfect gift for a medical student, wouldn't you agree?

Know of anyone doing internal medicine? It's too good to pass up!

Each of these Kauzbots had a name dedicated to a specific Kauz (cause). A 10% donation went to a particular organization supporting a particular Kauz from each purchase.

Plush/felt items seemed to be a big hit this year. Every corner I turned, there would be a something stuffed whether it was an eggplant or in this case, stuffed thunder clouds! These were made by V is for Violet.

I forgot to grab this seller's card even though I fell in love with the peacock embellished tote.

ChocoVivo is as pure as chocolate can get! Being the dark chocolate purist that he is, Marc insisted we grab a few bars. I'll be honest and say that the consistency is like dirt but the flavor is amazing. Pictured above is a Shangri-La which consists of goji berries and roasted sesame. My favorite is the Mayan which has chilies in it.

Beautiful succulents!

I couldn't resist these pins from Paul and Kat. I've been battling some crazy career crisis lately and the two buttons on either side of the owl were so reassuring that I just had to have them.

I'm proud to say that I walked out of there without spending my entire paycheck. But I did get most everyone's cards so I will be doing some online shopping in the near future! I'm so glad this took place indoors as it was freezing cold in LA that day. I truly enjoy visiting these craft fairs because the merchandise is so unique and it gives me a chance to meet and greet the artists themselves. I was fortunate to meet Nina of Tacos 'n' Eggrolls at this fair. We ended up conversing after I made a purchase from her shop and she asked for my zip-code. Turns out, we're pretty much neighbors!

Since my brother wasn't able to make it to Marc's birthday lunch, we went out and had lunch with him after the fair. Our lunch destination was Palms Thai in Hollywood. The food coma was pretty bad after this meal. See for yourself.

The boys are discussing strategy on how they plan to eat all the food that was ordered.

Probably the best chicken panang curry I've ever had!

Hello pad see ewe!

The aftermath of it all. Oh and there are more plates on the side that are not pictured.

That concludes my eventful weekend! It has been an eventful week as well. Gotta love December for being one of my busiest months ever! Hope you all are doing well and getting your Christmas shopping done.

Homemade Holiday

Thank you all for your sweet comments and wishes. It was a tough week with my strep throat and incessant cough but I am happy to say that I'm close to feeling 100% again. I had quite an eventful weekend so stay tuned this week as I have lots to share. The crafting bug came upon me as I was stuck at home for most of last week trying to recover. Since we have no room for a real Christmas tree in our little apartment, I went ahead and devised my own "wall tree." I had lots of fun making it and it is the perfect little tree to go with our little place. Best of all, I made it myself!

My homemade wall tree

Gotta love these colorful $1 felt stockings courtesy of Old Navy.

Up-close detail. I basically cut out circled patterns that I found and printed from the Internet, glued them on and glued ribbon to them.

Now our presents will have a place to rest-underneath the paper tree!

Patchwork

Gypsy Den, Sana Ana

Coffee bar inside

I met up with my girlfriends Ella and Jane for brunch at Gypsy Den on Sunday morning. It is the most adorable little cafe and , a vegetarian's paradise. Having grown up in "vege-land," (aka Loma Linda) meat substitutes have become part of my life. We had a wonderful time chatting over "stripples" and "sausage" before heading over to Patchwork. It was definitely hard to keep the wallet in the bag with all the beautifully crafted things there were for sale.I have so much respect for the crafting community especially with all the 'up-cycling' and 're-cycling' that is being done to create un-imaginable works of art.

A shop called The Road Less Traveled hosted classes throughout the day. We were fortunate enough to participate in a finger knitting class. While my friends had gorgeous finished products to take home, I had nothing but a ball of yarn! It was great to try but honestly, I don't think I'm cut out for using my fingers as a loom! Although I must say, that I am even more inspired to continue to craft after attending Patchwork!

Patchwork lined the sidewalks of the space where the event was held

I wanted to take all of these critters home!

A cute little donut Christmas tree ornament

I love how Oh, Hello Friend displayed her necklaces. What a great idea!

Adorable flower rings

More rings and hairpins

I want to make a cute bib necklace just like this!

Jane is trying her hand at finger knitting

Ella with her self-made yarn necklace

For those of you who missed this one-of-a-kind craft fair, there will be another one in Long beach on November 29th. Trust me, you'll want to go!

The Yo-Yo

A few weeks ago, I ordered a super cute yo yo necklace from dandeliondog for a birthday present. When the item came, I almost kept it for myself as it was so adorable! I took one more look at the pretty necklace before wrapping it up and made an instant decision to learn how to make these cuties. They are so easy to make! I just followed the directions on the yo yo maker's I purchased. Now, I have quite the collection of yo yo's which I made using scrap fabric. I can't wait to go shopping for some nice solid and printed fabrics to make more! Perhaps I can turn them into necklaces and brooches. We'll see how far I get on this venture.

These trusty yo-yo makers made by Clover are indeed one of the neatest contraptions ever made! The round ones come in 5 sizes: extra small, small, large, extra large and jumbo. You can also purchase ones that make hearts, butterflies and a simple flower.

I have another project I'm working on but haven't quite perfected it yet but I hope to share it with you sometime soon.

Craftiness

I received these books as a birthday gift from my partner-in-crime, Ella. (Thank you, friend!) It only took me about 2 days to read through all of the material. These are great references for both business and non-business savvy people who are looking to start a business. It doesn't have to be a craft-related business but any business in general. While reading these books, I asked myself why our textbooks in business school were not written in such a clear and understandable manner. People have been telling me that I need to start my own Etsy store but I keep coming up with multiple excuses not to. One of them being, "I'm not creative enough." I have to say that these books have inspired me to at least dream it up and try, some way or another. I highly recommend these books and you can read more on the author here.

Here's to long-term business planning!

Indie Craft Show in OC!

I keep hearing that it's not one you would want to miss!

Update: Lovely Package Exchange

A few weeks ago, I participated in the "Lovely Package Exchange" hosted by Danni of Oh, hello friend.

I was fortunate enough to be paired up with Melissa from Utah. Melissa is into paper scrap-booking and I put together a package for her containing scrapbook supplies such as rub-ons, pretty paper, stickers, buttons and ribbom. I also sent a pair of earrings made by Eldwenne from Etsy. I also sent a cute pocket mirror from Flirtbuttons-one of my favorite Etsy shops. I realized that I didn't take pictures of the contents of the package I sent but here are some shots of the items that comprised the package.They're quite blurry as I took them with my phone.

In return, Melissa sent me a ton of craft supplies including textured string, lace, rubber stamps, handmade paper and a bag of vintage buttons (my favorite!). I also received a cute set of crocheted doilies.

Below are pictures of the loot I received from Melissa.

Melissa-I hope you enjoyed your treats as much as I enjoyed yours! Glad to have met you through this swap.

Danni, thanks for hosting the Lovely Package Exchange. Nothing can be better than having "Christmas in the summer." : )

For those of you who missed out, word is that she may be hosting a Christmas exchange in December so be sure to subscribe to her blog. She also has frequent giveaways and contests. I promise, you won't be disappointed!

Hobby-esque Findings

Just ordered one of these on Amazon last week. I couldn't resist the vintage pink & gray one for only $15.
Thanks to Polapremium, Polaroid film still exists.

I feel that this awesome keyboard will help me navigate Photoshop with more ease. I've only found one place that sells this so far: http://photojojo.com/
Do you know of any others? I will hold off on this for awhile.


I definitely want a full-size sewing machine one day but these are just so adorable; esp. for little crafty projects. Needless to say, I do not know how to sew but I plan to take it up in the near future. Tempting but maybe not now.