[Bag] I Love Paris!

Paris Cosmetic Bag

There is one place that I want to visit and that is Paris!   Yes, it's in my bucket list of "things-to-photograph" and my husband and I are dreaming making plans to go there one day.  My friends who have gone there fell in love with it, especially when the Eiffel tower was twinkling with lights at night.  For now, I will sing this song by The Frank Sinatra that my Dad would always sing to.

"I LOVE PARIS"

I love Paris in the spring time

I love Paris in the fall

I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles

I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles

I love Paris every moment

Every moment of the year

I love Paris, why, oh why do I love Paris

Because my love is here

I love Paris every moment

Every moment of the year

I love Paris, why, oh why do I love Paris

Because my love is here

She's there, she's everywhere

But she's really here

I've been seeing a lot of Paris-themed fabric in the craft stores lately and this particular one caught my attention.  I love the design that features Paris' main attractions including the Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Sacre'-Coeur Basilica.  I also like pink-green-black color combination.  This cosmetic bag is available for purchase in my ETSY shop.  It is lined with 100% Kona cotton in grey and a sturdy fusible fabric.  There are no raw edges and the bag is finished well.

It comes with an off-white muslin tied with raffia and is ready to be given as a gift for a wedding party, a birthday or to keep for yourself.  More details HERE.

Au revoir,
♥  michelle

[Celebration] Giving Thanks Today and Everyday

Pumpkin patch

Hello, November, the season of pumpkins, pumpkin pies and thanksgiving in the U.S.  The history of thanksgiving dates back to the early 1600's when the Pilgrims gave thanks to God and celebrated the bountiful harvest after all the hardships that they experienced.  Pumpkins were a very important food source for them because it is very nutritious, delicious and has a good shelf life.  Nowadays, pumpkins are being used mostly for halloween decorations.  Many families with children visit different pumpkin patches and make carving an annual activity.  I just hope the children don't lose the real  meaning of the thanksgiving.

Pumpkin patch

One of the perks of taking public transportation is that you get to see and experience things that you'd otherwise miss when you're driving.  This time a year ago, I saw a pumpkin patch in one of the local churches in our area.  I wanted to check it out but by the time I had the chance to, they only had a few pumpkins left.  This year, I promised myself that I'd go before they were gone.   

Who said that pumpkin patches are for kids?

I would like to end this post by sharing with you the verse that we have in our dining room:

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

His love endures forever."

1 Chronicles 16:34

Be blessed!

♥  michelle

[Tools] Mod Podge Mod Melts and Molds

I am a fan of Plaid Crafts, particularly their Mod Podge line of products, decoupage art and all.  They have another product line called Mod Melts and Mod Molds that have been around for a couple of years but for some reason, I only took notice a couple of months ago.

I bought a bag of Mod Melts in milk glass white and the Ornamental mold from my craft buddy, Michaels.  The sticks resemble that of a glue gun stick but it is thinner and uses a hi-temp glue gun. If you're familiar to using a glue gun, it's basically the same so be careful not to burn yourself and keep your working area clean and free of dust and lint.

There are Youtube videos by Cathy and Steve demostrating how easy it is to use.  Yes, it looks nice but it takes practice to squeeze the right amount of glue in the mold and making sure that there are no air pockets.  The piece cools pretty quick and it pops out quite easily.  Then you can add color or paint and incorporate them in your projects.

I tried to use a cameo mold and compared using the Mod Melts vs using Premo Sculpey Accent Pearl Polymer Clay.  I wanted to compare the details and ease of use of the different mediums.

The photo on the left was done using Mod Melts in milk glass white and the cameo on the right was with Premo Sculpey Accent pearl polymer clay that was baked according to manufacturers specifications.  Which one do you like?

I had difficulty in squeezing the mod melt into the mold vs the polymer clay where I conditioned and rolled a ball of clay.  I also noticed that the details using the mod melt are not as distinct as when I used polymer clay.  Perhaps I used a "difficult" and too detailed mold for my mini experiment but I wanted to push its limit.  The mod melts harden faster and is ready in no time whereas polymer clay has to bake for about 20 mins.  The Mod Molds are very nice and detailed as well.  The quality is excellent!

Have you ever used Mod Melts or Mod Molds before?  How did it go?   Please share your experiences with me.

See  you soon!

♥ michelle

[Project] Hello, October!

Hello, October!  What?  Where did the time go?  It was this day last year when my parents and sister came to the US, yes, on the day of the government shutdown.  The memories are so fresh in my mind.

Well, I wanted to start the month making jewelry hence I made earrings!  I saw this article by one of my Bead soup blog party partners, Melissa Meman, in the April -May 2011 issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry.  How cool is that?  I used peridot teardrop glass beads and copper wire.  It is not quite finished yet but it's a good start.

Melissa Meman's Article

I wanted to share with you this pair of Faux Stone Earrings that I made during my Integrated Earring Design Class with Ms. Kathleen Dustin.  These were made several months ago from polymer clay beads but I didn't know how to design and make use of them.  I added sterling silver wire that I oxidized and wow, I love how it turned out.  I'm planning to make more of these.

Faux Turquoise Stone made from Polymer Clay
Sterling silver earwire

I hope you enjoyed your first day of October.  Take care and see you soon!
♥ michelle  ♥

[Challenge] "Miniature Sweets for My Sweet"

"Sweets for My Sweet"
Philippine Polymer Clay Guild Miniature Food Challenge

The latest challenge of the Philippine Polymer Clay Guild was "Food for your Eyes" where they asked us to make miniature models of our favorite food.  I immediately knew that I wanted to make a dessert spread.  I made a croquermbouche drizzled with chocolate, Orange chiffon fondant cake and assorted cupcakes.

Whenever I make my crafts, I keep the computer one while I watch different TV series or movies. The latest series that I watched is MasterChef USA where in Episode 4 they were challenged to make Croquembouche which is a French dessert made of choux pastry, creamy filling and topped with threads of caramel.  I love profiteroles or cream puffs and this is the mother of it all.

The next is Orange Chiffon fondant cake and vanilla buttercream decorated with purple flowers.  Yum!

Finally, I made an assortment of cupcakes:  Purple yam, Vanilla and Caramel cupcakes.  Decadent!

So, who's ready to party?!

♥ michelle ♥ 

[Sewing] I'm Sew Addicted!

Hello August, you surprised me!  I wasn't quite ready to leave July behind and now, it's just 4 days til we hit the 15th.  Geeeeez.  Welcome back, friends!  Thank you for taking time to come back and hang around with me.  Let me tell you what's keeping me busy these days.

See this?  Oh yes, I got me Singer sewing machine a month ago and I'm sew addicted to sewing! Really.  When I was young-er, my Mom and my Aunt taught me how to sew using a needle and a thread to mend hems, buttons and what not.  Then they taught me how to use our manual Singer sewing machine.  We made dresses for my Barbie dolls, skirts, pillowcases and comforters.  When I was in high school, our teacher asked us to make a smocked sundress which was quite challenging at that time.  

Since I came to the States, I discovered that my dear mother-in-law also had a Singer sewing machine. I tried to fix and use it but I think that it has to be brought to the sewing clinic for a more thorough examination.  Two months ago, the thought of buying one haunted me.  No kidding.  

Enter Google... 

Just like any buyer these days, I did my internet research which turned out to be overwhelming.  There were different brands to choose from but I chose to get a Singer since its the brand that I trust and for sentimental reasons.  Upon checking their site, I discovered that there were so many machines to choose from:  basic, very basic, electronic and embroidery.  Whew!  So, I wrote down the features that I wanted:  durability, good motor, price, enough stitches, and 1-step buttonhole among others.  In the end, I bought the Singer Heavy Duty 4432.  You may have your brand or machine preference but so far, this works well for me.

[via]

The first project that I did was a throw pillow cover.  This 1 yard yellow and blue outdoor fabric was enough to make a couple.  I measured our throw pillows and cut  a 1-inch seam allowance all around. To avoid fraying, I added a narrow zigzag stitch on all the edges.  Stitch the wrong side of the three (3) corners, leaving one side open.  Insert the pillow and close the opening using whatever you have available.  I used small button fasteners.  You stitch a ribbon on both sides, add a button and buttonhole, etc.  Get creative.

Blue Floral and Yellow Pillowcase

 Here it is.  Not bad at all.  I was able to make three covers.

Blue Floral and Yellow Pillowcase

There will be a new feature in the blog starting today.  You guessed it right!  We will be adding topics on  SEWING!  Wooohooo!  We will talk about tools, patterns, projects, bags and everything about sewing.  Stay tuned for that.

Sew you soon!
♥ michelle

[Crafting] Recycled Streamers Deluxe

The cost of craft and designer paper has gone up these days and I feel bad to just throw scraps away. I love to recycle paper, extend its life and multiply its purpose.  We had a lot of decorating to do this month wherein we used blue streamers that I bought from the dollar store.

This was the backdrop for the dessert table during our Sunday luncheon for our Pastor.  I made paper rosettes using bright, colored pattern paper and my Martha Stewart scoring board.

Streamers and DIY Paper Rosettes

We used the same bright decors to decorate one of the rooms for the Vacation Bible School.  Doesn't it look fun with the twisted streamers?  Well, it was my husbands Bible Adventure room so I guess there's a little bias in saying that.

VBS Classroom Decor
Streamers and DIY Paper Rosettes

 We didn't throw the rosettes and streamers after VBS.  As always, I thought that it could be used for another day.  Well, that day did come.  Our church volleyball team was one of teams who competed for the championship.  They played last year too and they placed 2nd - remember THIS tutorial using blue tissue paper last year?

This time, I used the streamers to make these pompoms.  I folded, cut 1/4 strips and wrapped it with tape.  Simple.  Dirt cheap.  Clean fun!  Did they win the championship?  Yes, they did. It was neck and neck, very exciting game!

Volleyball and DIY Pompoms

Congratulations, team 1st Phil!

Do you like to recycle decor and craft supplies like I do?  Cool!

Have a wonderful day,
♥ michelle