Chocolate Tutorial!

As I had previously promised, here is my (sad) attempt at showing you how I make chocolates! I hope it is easy to follow for anyone who stumbles upon this tutorial. I have to say it is a bit time consuming (a good couple of hours if you want them to turn out well), but so worth it because of how unique they are and how delicious they come out to be!

** click for larger views **

   

   

Dollarama mania

Lets start at the beginning.. many years ago, at the tender age of 7, I discovered the dollar store.. a place where I could actually afford to buy things, because everything... was a dollar! And my weekly allowance was 2.50 (twas only for a short while, but I felt very independent bc of it!) I used to buy random chocolates, small gifts for family and party favour rings to "marry" some of my friends at school (cheeky). I remember declaring to myself at that age that I would buy everything I ever needed from the dollar store, bc it had EVERYTHING. Of course my opinion has slightly changed due to ethical reasons, and questions of waste... I'm not too entirely sure if people are being paid well to design, manufacture and pack the products we buy from the dollar store, or if they use hamful materials.. I do know that I have cut my purchasing to a minimum, but every now and then, I will pop by for a bit of nostalgia, craft and 1.25-1.50-2.00 goodness.

A super useful-cute elephant phone stand!

Something I wish the dollarstore had when I was younger, this is nuts!

squeeeeal....

And lastly, A set of impressively illustrated stickers after my own heart.. I wish there was a name to the person/s who did this!

Second Etsy purchase!

Alright, so I imagine I might be posting about my Etsy purchases in the future just because I am so incredibly pleased with them and they are made by other people who also like to craft and so it is that much more special..

Also, you can learn a lot about how to be a good seller if you gain experiences as a buyer..

That said, LOOK AT MY JooSweetie PRETTIES!

p.s: I recently re-discovered Napolean Dynamite and the Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy, and you should too ;)

O_O

In less than 5 minutes, I've..

...possibly made the mot amazing dessert EVER.

p.s: ok more than 5 minutes, the mini bunt cake and heart shaped minicake were made earlier.

First Etsy order, shipped!

Here she is! The very first of the many (I hope) to come. It is an upcycled sweater, designed by the researcher I am working for. Its final destination will be the UAE. The person who ordered it was incredibly nice (and patient!!), the whole experience is really amazing. I am essentially learning how to run a small online business (very VERY small!). I hope I'll get to the point where I am sick of getting too many orders but then feel incredibly happy at the thought that that means I am self-employed *dreams*.

And! Something to look forward to... I just got a bookmaking commission but this won't be just any book, I will have to create the book layout, print it and design the cover, all of these I am REALLY looking forward to:)

A simple thank you card.

Brooches made from the cut-off waste of the upcycled sweaters.

A lavender pouch with a hand-felted and hand-beaded embellishment.

This was painstakingly hand-stitched (and could have been slightly large but oh well..) I hope to have a few of these machine embroidered if it isn't too expensive, should be fun :D

Homemade scrapbooking paper tape! DIY!

I am so stoked about this mini DIY project. While browsing through the blogs that I follow on my blogger dashboard I noticed one that caught my eye : DIY Custom Patterned Paper Tape by Aunt Peaches. Such an inexpensive and innovative way to create your own tape (or stickers!!). I didn't expect to have a go at this tutorial so quickly but today when I went to the dollarstore and saw some double sided tape, I had a little EUREKA moment and realized this is totally do-able. And boy is it ever. I have been keeping the cut-offs of the scrapbooking papers I use for my bookmaking knowing that one day I will find a use for them and this is it!

It is so easy..

step 1. stick double sided tape onto the back of a patterned paper.

step 2. cut off the end of the double sided tape to the length of the paper.

step 3. rub the backside of the paper with a bone filer or your fingers to make sure the tape adheres properly.

step 4. cut strips, following the edges of the tape.

step 5. Voila! Pretty paper tape! Now just cut the desired length for your projects!

First Etsy sale and first Etsy purchase!

This is a HUGE deal for me. I feel so independent being able to purchase an item online and have it delivered to my door. That is a crazy notion to me and was such an alien concept, until I was (let's say) forced to acquire a credit card (prepaid mind you, and I am digging it) and have an Etsy presence. Now I can say I have received a payment for a purchased item I am about to ship tomorrow to the UK and just today I received a package from Australian artist and illustrator Mel Stringer (girliepains.etsy.com) of a zine I bought from her Etsy. I can't believe it! This is way cool. Also, she included a small print and the tiniest tooth. For a moment I thought it was real!!