{ for the love of sewing }

so this is my christmas slash birthday present.
these pictures were taken last january, the night i got my sewing machine.

our dining table has not seen much dinners since then.
kj and i eat our dinner in front of the telly. *gasp* don't tell our mem.

excuse the wonkiness, i'm still learning the works.
i finished a big lunchbag for kj, a journal pouch for me, and another pouch for kj's small electronics and headphone.

this is the lunchbag i made for him, and it's wide and big enough for his breadbox, fruitbox, a coffee mug, and a cup of yoghurt. a banana will fit in nicely on top too. it's made of sturdy canvas on the outside, and dotted cotton on the inside. it closes by folding the flaps to one side and tying with the ribbons from the same cotton fabric which i then sewed on the flap.

i finished all these the week we bought the machine. i've also done one big shopping bag for my mother-in-law with a patchwork of her initials, more wonky pouch bags, and a pretty tote bag for the birthday giveaway.

more sewing projects soon!

{ shop update::a new bookmark }

{ let's make a personal organizer }

i have ditched off my big bags for good, because i left them in pilipinas ang bayan ko. i had wayyy too many important things to carry and there was just no room to squeeze them in anymore. the downside of that, i only have a small messenger bag here in dublin, which couldn't fit in my notebook on top of my daily must-haves like my gloves, hat and extra scarf. i'm one who is not comfortable listing my agenda on my mobile phone because i even barely use my mobile phone. i think i've used it to take discreet pictures more often than making calls or sending sms.

good thing for my to-do lists, i've stumbled across this recyclable personal organizer, the PocketMod, which you can personalize and print for free! you will only need one sheet of paper, your computer and your printer, and voila! a quick answer to my need!

you can make it a book with several features in one - shopping list, address book, conversion table, calendar for the day/week/month/year/whatever, morse code, 13 virtues of benjamin franklin, a page of grids, or lines, or music staff sheet, a food diary, even a page of soduko and tic tac toe! cool eh?! you would only need to print it on one page, so you can recycle unwanted office papers as long as they're blank at the back.

so, what're you waiting for? go now and make your own, and stash it on your purse! as for me, i've had my all-important conversions table and 2009 calendar plus a checklist of benjamin franklin's 13 virtues stashed in my messenger bag's pocket. let me know what ideas you can come up with your new pocketmod!

this is not a paid ad by the way. i just loooovvvveee it.

{ a book for crochet hooks and more }

i got a new toy as a christmas-and-advance-birthday-present-in-one from my husband. i was soooo thrilled with it that i've been busy whipping this and that since we bought it in january.

this was one of my first projects, as i tried to get the feel and rhythm of working with the new machine. presenting my crochet hook holder in all its wonky glory!

i made the cover from a thick canvas fabric which i scored from a charity shop. i love felt and i love hearts, so i can't resist sewing on my trademark heartie.

i folded the bottom part to make a little pocket, and it can hold spare needles for my machine.

this is the page that holds my crochet hooks. the set of hooks by the way i got from jen through caryn's creative swap. they're from the susan bates line, and they're in lovely metallic colors. on the other side is a pocket holding my yarn needles. J, the girl with a curl, made something like this last year for her swap partner jen - the same jen the needle queen who gave me my crochet hooks! what a happy twist! ^-^

there's also a little pocket in the back cover and can fit in several button cards as well as a card of embroidery floss. i bought this check/polka dot linen fabric online from an etsy seller, matatabi. she sells japanese fabric goodness that are just soooo good to resist.

the book measures 8" x 7", with a big button and a loop to close. really useful to organize my crafting tools and sewing notions! i might whip up something like this for my shop too, by next month or so.

thanks for reading, have a great day!

{ handmade notecards }

these notecards are now available in my shop.

these birthday notecards are simple, light, no-frills, and yet sweet enough to inspire writing on warm thoughts and wishes.

keep a set of these cards to send your birthday greetings to friends and family. you can doodle in front of the card, and even on its blank back, there won't be rules to limit you.

keep a set of cards to send quick notes to friends, to cheer up a colleague, or even just to surprise your own mother. you can doodle in front of the card, and even on its blank back, there won't be rules to limit you.

on these sets ::
~ 4 hello notecards with a variation in flower designs and pastel colors (see pictures)
~ 4 handmade envelopes made from thick, brown linen sheet with scalloped flap edge
~ notecards measure approximately 5" x 4" with rounded corners
~ printed on off-white matte cardstock

{ tree print, postcard size }

a photograph finds its way to my shop!

i always pass by this big tree in the woods close to my home. i think it looks really grand and regal even without its leaves, so one wintry day, i took off my gloves from my freezing hands and snapped this photograph to pay tribute to my favorite leafless tree.

~ write a postcard to send to your friends who love trees and nature
~ enclose it as an add-on surprise with your letters
~ pin it on your inspiration board

* postcard-size, 4.25" x 5.5"
* grayscale print at the back
* glossy print in front, matte at the back

* quote from kahlil gibran printed in front:
Trees are poems
that earth writes upon the sky,
We fell them down
and turn them into paper,
That we may record our
emptiness.

{ handmade ribbon and felt bookmark }

now available in my shop!

this bookmark will make a sweet present to someone you love, or even for yourself!

i love to sew by hand, and it's a diversion every time i feel burned out, frustrated or nervous. something about the slow pace of hand sewing that i find comforting, bringing me a sense of peace and calm. i've made lots of these bookmarks already, and most i've sent for friends' bedside books.

this handsewn bookmark ::
~15" long from both ends
~12" polyester ribbon with pink running stitch in the middle length
~felt heart is 1.5" wide and 1.25" long from bottom tip to peak
~felt flower with red button on rectangular red and pink felt, sewn back to back and measures 1.2" wide and 1.5" long