Holiday Treats

Oh yes, it's the season for shopping, shopping, shopping! But why is it that I feel a lot better giving out gifts I made by myself? It's not cheaper than store-bought gifts, but it sure darn feels more special. This holiday season, yummy lemon curd is my holiday/thank you gift to friends.



This easy-to-make lemon curd is so simple and super delicious, it's genius. I modified an allrecipes.com recipe and published it here.



Surprise your loved ones with something you made with your own two hands. Happy holidays, all!

Must Love Dogs

No special effects, no elaborate costumes -- just some dogs, ikea stuff and a bunch of creative minds.

You Can't Hear The Clock Ticking

It's been ages since I last used my Gocco. I had this terrible drought of ideas and the very thought of Gocco-ing the paltry designs in my head didn't seem worth the trouble.

Good thing a friend's birthday came so I just had to make her something since she's the type who values and appreciates most things handmade and straight from the heart :) I made her some notecards with a line from one of Jens Lekman's songs, Gocco-ed on pale pink cards with white ink:

every heartbeat...

all doilied up

Cookies, cookies, cookies

Sharing a link from my other blog, Domesticity in the City:

Made some Cook's Illustrated's Perfect Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. Chewy indeed. Yum.

Too Cute for Words

by Maya Rota Klein

What If, Indeed?

Astounding stuff:

Taking Things Too Far

photo from inhabitots

That, my dear and mellow readers, is a bear made out of placenta.  And a handmade one too.

I really don't know what else to say.

Check this out for other fun things you can do with placenta.  Ummm, enjoy!

Notebook Fever

I really, really like notebooks and I have a modest stash in my house of filled, partially filled, empty and still shrink-wrapped notebooks waiting to be browsed, admired or written on by me.



I have this tendency to skip from one notebook to another, however, I'm currently curbing that because, hey, save the earth and finish all the paper in the notebook, right?

But then, I saw these pages:

Marc Thomasset's Inspiration Pad from here

And I know that life will never be the same again.

Handmade Wedding

Aaah, it's June once again and the smell of wedding bouquets is in the air. I stumbled upon this amazing DIY wedding brimming with spring and greens and everything lovely.

a carefree boutonniere

a nest of seed-y favors

personalised neckties

the unicorn and the fox

wedding guest i.d.s

More photos over at design*sponge.

Making Mochi

Some cool beans right here:



It's forbidden to lose your rhythm -- sadly, losing rhythm happens to me all the time :P

Lacey Lamps

I was stunned when I saw these handcrafted lacey lamps:


From Designsponge

Money Well Spent

Brilliant Brooch Bouquets

Oooh, I swooned when I saw these lovely brooch bouquets. I wish I'd seen them before my wedding -- I would've totally made something like them.




These and plenty more lovelies over at Amy Atlas' blog.

Hibernation

Help me, I'm sluggish in both body and mind.

Manmade Handmade?

Lights over Norway. What was it really?

UFO, Russian missile, whatever. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Bobbin Lace

I first heard of Philippine-made bobbin lace from a designer friend who had the opportunity to see these handmade confections at a bazaar. She wanted to include some bobbin lace pieces in my wedding dress, but time was our enemy and there just wasn't enough time for the lace to be made in time for my wedding.


That piqued my interest because I have recently realized how much work goes into handmaking lace. I looked closely at some pieces in dresses and in spools and I can't get over how intricate and beautiful they are. My ever reliable Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework book has the basics of making bobbin lace and some simple patterns for small projects. Now I'm not a slave to tools and gadgets but I feel that embarking on a bobbin lace making project requires, at the very least, proper wooden pegs to produce good pieces. I have yet to find the appropriate peg nor the dexterous courage to start this project.

Bobbin lacemaking essentials from RD Complete Guide to Needlework

pattern for bobbin lace from RD Complete Guide to Needlework

I did however, find myself at the International Bazaar last weekend where I found the booth of WUTHLE (Women United Through Handcrafted Lace and Embroidery Inc.) with a breathtaking display of exquisite bobbin lace and quaint embroidered pieces. A lady was quietly demonstrating how bobbin lace is made at the corner of the booth. WUTHLE is a livelihood program that was started by a Belgian nun who taught ex-Hansenites and their relatives how to make bobbin lace and helped enhance their embroidery skills. At present, there are 50 women who depend on these crafts for a living.

Lady demonstrating how bobbin lace is made

I got some coasters for Php 140 each (about $3), not bad for something beautiful made by simple hands and an earnest spirit. WUTHLE also accepts orders for all sorts of decorative what-have-yous, from appliques for Barongs to placemats and pillowcases.

Bobbin lace coaster from WUTHLE. Sure beats my crocheted coasters!

If you're interested, you may contact WUTHLE at wuthle@yahoo.com, or snail mail at P.O. Box 153 5000 Iloilo City Philippines.

Silver Twigs

It's amazing what imagination and eager hands can make.

I'm loving this handmade silver bangle:

Woodsland Bracelet by Lealandeve.

Books

I came across this article about arranging bookshelves. This got me thinking on how I arrange my own books so I trooped over to the reading area and this is what I saw:

Old magazines I find interesting together with Terry, Harry, Sir David, A.S. and a snapshot from a friend's wedding...

my precious Make and Craft zines, my precious Bob Ross, Bill, Haunted (best gross-out book EVER), old organizer notebooks, button making machine, excavation toy...

Relic from a Spanish class I took, boy books, girl books, etc...


Lovely rocking zebra, colorful cocoa tin I got in a Bangkok grocery, Jules Verne and other mindprickling books...

children's books, a Wedgwood, polaroid from a friend's wedding...


my favorite Gocco print, art and science, a college class picture...

hardbound and heavier books, a wooden box from Thailand...

my Neil Gaiman shrine smooshed with project notebooks and journals -- sorry, Neil; and the box of a murano glass pen I dropped (sob)...

graphic novels, wedding candles and soon to be posted posters...

craft receptacles...

Egypt books and other what have yous...

my good friend, Sherlock and other interesting friends.

Hmm. I'm trying to be more organized, but I love how haphazard my bookshelf arrangement is; with the first couple of shelves arranged by genre and slowly getting unhinged as you go down. How about you, how do you arrange your books?

*Poladroid is love

Hibernation Over

After months of running around like a headless chicken at work and a weary week in an internet-less home, here I am, back and (hopefully) raring to put more stuff in this poor neglected blog.

It may have been quite sometime, but nothing much has changed save for some new-new stuff and new stuff from old faves:

Luxirare - she. is. amazing. I could live in her brain and swim in her creativity and eat her gorgeous food.


Eliza Frye - Still awesome as ever. Sale over at her website!



Martha Stewart - I got into her a bit late but now I understand why she's THE ultimate domestic diva.


Gastronomica Magazine - is addictive. Now if only I can find a steady supplier here in my neck of woods.


Craftzine and Makezine - My own personal wondertwins. I wish I could buy each and every issue.



Neil Gaiman's Library - W O W. Read the full feature in Shelfari.