DIY: wire and lace ring

When I don't make things for a long time, I suddenly get random late-night craft ideas. This is dangerous because I get super excited and can't sleep until I've completed my spontaneous project. Anyway, this particular inkling of inspiration came while I was blogging about my Medusa costume and how I made snakes using felt and wire... and then my mind started wandering to the different kinds of jewelry I could make using wire. So I immediately started gathering up random fabric scraps like a crazed, sleep-deprived vulture and came up with this quick DIY wire + lace ring.

All you need is:

-wire

-ribbon

-lace

-thread

step one. start wrapping the wire to create a circular ring.

 *note: make the circle a little larger than the finger that you want the ring to go on.

 step two. take some ribbon and wrap it all around the wire. when you get to the end, use one end of the wire to wrap around the ribbon and secure it.

 step three. take some lace and tie a knot around the ring.

step four. bring both ends of the lace towards the centre of your knot. use some thread to tie (or sew) the lace down. this should make a lace bow.

 step five. you can just leave the ring as a simple lace bow, or you can add some other decorations (beads, buttons, etc...). I found a pearl bead and decided to add that to the middle of my lace bow.

 Here's the finished product! I'm pretty happy with it but I think I can make nicer rings if I invest in more materials. haha. I was literally scrounging around my room for scraps and barely had enough ribbon to make this one.

 I hope my instructions were clear - if you have any questions, just send me a message! =)

DIY: making medusa

So this past weekend, I went to a costume party! I originally intended to make a hamburger costume from scratch, but I had absolutely no time to even get fabric and attempt such an impossible feat. So I went to the Salvation Army and found a greek goddess dress for a couple dollars. Now in previous years, I've dressed up as an old grandma, a telletubby, a hobbit, and a power ranger, just to name a few. I despise generic cute/pretty costumes, so I hated to settle for such an extremely boring costume choice and felt the need to add some kind of DIY element to it.

So when my friend suggested that I go as MEDUSA, I instantly started looking for rubber snakes to put in my hair. Unfortunately, the rubber snake market in Hong Kong is either so popular that they were all sold out, or so obscure that no store would even sell such a thing (it's probably the second one). So I decided that I would have to make my own head of snakes. 

I bought a hairband, some thin green wires, and some green felt. I went home with the intent of sewing some snakes together and then I realized I didn't even have a needle. Luckily, I ended up not needing a needle and this little DIY turned out fine without any sewing at all.

All I did was just cut the green felt into strips, and wrap each one tightly around a wire.

I ended up adding a few more wires onto the hairband and twisting my own hair around them. So in the end, this is how it turned out. Here's Medusa creeping on the cutest little red riding hood EVER!!

By the way, my friend's red hood was made by a seamstress in Hong Kong for less than $10CDN! It's ridiculously cheap here to get things tailor-made. I should just commission someone to make me a hamburger costume. haha.

 Anyway, even though this Medusa get-up was not one of my better costume attempts, it was a quick/cheap/easy one to make since I was pressed for time and put it together a few hours before the party. Unfortunately, when I got to the party a bunch of people took one look at me and thought I was either "THE STATUE OF LIBERTY" or a "TREE WOMAN". HAHAH. Costume fail.

Ohwell... I am STILL set on making a hamburger costume one of these days... even if I don't have another costume party to go to. That's one thing that is definitely TOP PRIORITY on my DIY To-Do List.

DIY: from shirt to skirt

I bought a shirt.

The first time I put it on, the whole top part ripped off.

I guess you can't really expect much from a shirt that cost the same as a McDonald's meal.

It was very sad because I couldn't wear it like this anymore.

So I took some scissors and cut it in half.

And now I can wear it as a skirt.

Okay so the "before and after" shots don't look that different because in the skirt picture I'm wearing a black top so it still looks like the original shirt. But it actually is a skirt and I belted it at the waist so it would stay on. haha.

You can do this with all kinds of shirts (I'm already surveying my closet to see if I can turn any more shirts into skirts...). Just make sure you use fabric glue or sew the hem at the waist so the fabric doesn't fray. I would suggest sewing a ribbon or a band of fabric at the top of your shirt skirt so that you can adjust the waist size and wear it comfortably.

Have fun cutting up your clothes!

strawberry jelly ice-cream

Here's another mindless doodle inspired by this jellyfish I got from Ocean Park. I always thought it looked like a strawberry ice-cream scoop. Her name is Gummy by the way, and she misses her blue counterpart, Jell-O who is currently living overseas.

By the way, I know the giant tissue paper pom-poms in the back are hideous but I'm still experimenting because I intend to make a whole bunch to hang in my room. I'll show you when I finally succeed in making less demented-looking pom-poms! =)

songbird

 This bird wants to fly right off the page of my sketchbook.

I want to sing all day long.

tissue paper flowers

Tissue paper flowers are so easy to make and I think they look gorgeous. I should post a tutorial soon when I have the time, but for now, here are some pictures of the finished flower garland I made. I'm planning to make a whole bunch and hang them all over my room!

 

Hamburger Hunting

I've been craving burgers a lot lately. So on Sunday, I actually had TRIPLE O's (with a lardy poutine to go with my mushroom burger) because I desperately wanted a taste of home. Random fact: did you know that White Spot/Triple O's is only in two places in the world - Western Canada and Hong Kong? I thought that was a bit strange, but anyway, every time I see the Triple O's logo in Hong Kong it's like a comforting reminder of Vancouver.

 Today, my burger craving still hadn't gone away. So after a tiring day at work, I went alone on my very own HAMBURGER HUNT, in search of a Japanese fast-food chain called MOS Burger. After about half an hour of wandering (and almost settling for McDonald's instead), I finally found it. I promptly ordered two burgers: a Saku Chicken burger and the original MOS burger. The one below is the Saku Chicken... that's my favourite so far and I've had it a couple times ever since I discovered this burger joint.

I got take-out and then found a quiet spot by the side of the road and ate by myself like a creeper. But it was heaven - just me and my burgers. A man who passed by gave me a really weird look - but I was too busy gorging happily to care.

After the two burgers though, I still wasn't quite satisfied. The second burger had been a bit cold which was slightly disappointing. Actually it was so disappointing that I determined to go back and get a piping hot burger. So I walked all the way back and bought a third burger. I wanted to try something new so I ordered a "Rice Burger"... which didn't turn out to be a real burger at all - it was actually a meat and vegetable filling wrapped in two giant rice patties (instead of burger buns). I have to say though that it was actually good...

And of course, a triple burger run isn't complete without DESSERT. I can never resist ice-cream!

So in the end, it was a very happy little solo adventure indeed with two of my favourite things in the world... burgers and ice-cream!!!

I just wanted to share my wonderful food escapade with you all because it made me very happy indeed. So I wanted to share that happiness... and possibly pass on my hamburger craving to you all. haha. 

Happy Hamburger Hunting!

DIY: lace shorts

One of the easiest DIYs ever is lace shorts. All you need is a pair of shorts, lace, a needle and thread... and it's pretty much self-explanatory.

 I think adding a touch of lace to the bottom of shorts makes them more feminine and delicate-looking. I have another pair of teal shorts that I think would look good with some cream-coloured lace.

By the way, can you tell I like taking hazy, out-of-focus pictures? I don't know... sometimes I prefer being blurred into obscurity. Anyway, I probably won't be wearing these shorts till next year, since I can sense the impending chill of winter just around the corner.

smile.

I was feeling a little off today, so I wanted to sing a little song to cheer myself up.

Hope you enjoy.

=) 

hilarious happenings: shoe shopping

Okay... too funny. The other day I was shopping with my friend at Mong Kok and I wanted to try on a pair of boots. So the salesgirl brought out the shoes and I was about to try them on... but SUDDENLY, she took out two flimsy-looking plastic bags...the kind that you put groceries in...and told me to put my feet in them before trying on the shoes. I started laughing and asked her if I had to, and she said yes. She then proceeded to kneel down, forced my feet into the bags and started tying them around my ankles. The whole time I couldn't stop laughing because I totally wasn't expecting this kind of intimate foot service and of course my friend had to whip out her iPhone and document the evidence. Although after she had her laugh at me, my friend also wanted to try on a pair of boots so in the end, there were two of us sitting in the middle of the store, laughing, with our feet in bags. HAHA.

 Anyway, here is the picture evidence. I'm not even sure why I'm posting this but I think it's too funny and has to be shared. I'm pretty sure other customers and people walking by the store were laughing.

I did end up getting the boots though... they were like $20CDN... and I'm glad I got them because two days later there was a typhoon and the rest of the week was rainy. It was worth being publicly ridiculed during the purchasing process. =P

simple things

Just a quick post today of a doodle I drew. I actually had a quote written in the heart before, but I screwed up the words so I cut it out. I'm actually glad I messed up though because the heart looks simpler without anything inside. Sometimes artistic mistakes add a little something different and can make the final product look even better.

fatty foods: the dessert edition

Here is yet another edition of FATTY FOODS that I've been eating. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, these were eaten before I got sick (*cough* possibly from eating too much McDonald's *cough*) but they were delicious and I thought I would share. I really don't know if you guys are even interested in looking at my food pictures but I shall flaunt them shamelessly anyways haha. All you fellow food lovers out there will appreciate it! 

Anyway, I love it when my food has personality. So I was especially ecstatic when my little ice-flake dish (yes that's what it was called on the menu) came as a little angry monster whose rage-face screams: "EAT ME!!! RAWR!!!"

Another super delicious dessert is this egg pudding which I only ordered because in the image it showed the pudding in an actual egg. But when it came it was in a glass eggshell. It was really good though - the only complaint I had was that it was too small. But I guess there's something called "portion control" and not being too gluttonous... something I still have yet to learn...

Later, I ordered another 6 for takeout and they came in REAL eggshells!

The last awesome dessert I wanted to show you was in this small little cafe where they served French Toast Cubes smothered in condensed milk and butter. I actually never liked french toast until I tried the type served at asian-style cafes and now I can't stop ordering it.

I happened to bring along my guitar and ended up writing a song called "Cafe", in the cafe. If I have the guts to post it sometime I might, but realistically I probably won't. haha.

Okay last food-related thing. Can you see what restaurant that is below?

Yeah... it's PIZZA HUT... I don't know what kind of Pizza Huts you have where you live but where I'm from, they're actually huts... like shady, dirty, creepy, old huts. But Pizza Hut here is actually sort of a fancy restaurant, which I thought was hilarious. All of the ones in Hong Kong are nicely-decorated, clean, and the food is decent. I was shocked and amazed. hahaha. Anyway I just thought I'd let you Canadians know what you're missing. And don't even get me started on KFC... I think it's much better here too - the first time I went, I felt like my eyes and tastebuds were opened to a whole new world of the deep-fried chicken variety. There are so many more options and flavours here that every time I see Colonel Sanders' jolly old face I am tempted to buy a bucket of spicy fried chicken, waffle fries, and portugese egg tarts. It's dangerous I tell you.

Wow, I really could talk forever about food but it's really just not the same as EATING some. So that is what I'll do. bye!

Fried chicken awaits.