Adventures in Hong Kong: Part 1

Hello my dears. It's been a few days, but I've been busy relaxing and vacationing. I still want to keep you all updated though so I put together a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. Here are my thoughts on Hong Kong after being here for a week!

I think Hong Kong is a beautiful place.

The city is always bustling with taxis, cars, and buses...

...and many MANY people.

There are also huge malls everywhere...

with shopping from day...

to night.

During my time here, I've seen some beautiful designs...

and amazing scenery!

I've also witnessed interesting dim sum...

giant cleaning tools...

awkward mannequins...

...and hilarious advertisements.

Hong Kong also has its fair share of weirdos... like these ones here.

At first it was just me and my brothers...

...and then we got the whole family involved!

My Hong Kong escapades are just beginning... I'll be back with more soon!

:)

shoelace jewelry

I've been very busy lurking around Hong Kong malls during the past week, but I've also been itching to create stuff. So yesterday when there was a huge sneakers sale at a local mall, I picked up a few brightly-coloured shoelaces in the hopes of making something random! I ended up braiding some bracelets for my cousins and a necklace for myself.

Here I am working diligently and spinster-like in the corner of a doctor's waiting room.

And... here's my finished shoelace necklace! I dunno, it probably looks kinda weird and tacky but oh well... I was bored and braiding shoelaces helped me pass the time. At any rate, I think this would make a good craft for kids! haha.

Shopping in Hong Kong

Greetings from Hong Kong!

I've been here for about a week now and it's been AWESOME!!! This is definitely a trip of a lifetime and I'm so blessed to be on this vacation right now! I've been with my family and relatives 24/7 and so far, no one has gotten on anyone's nerves yet (YET... haha). My brothers and I have been kept busy eating dim sum every day with my parents' friends, but we've also been busy shopping. I think we've been to at least 7 different malls since we've been here... in Hong Kong, there's literally a mall at every corner. Most of the big malls here are actually quite expensive, which I have no interest in, so the only things I've bought from the extravagant malls are basic tank tops from H&M (it's a lot cheaper than the one in Canada!). I'm more interested in buying cheap clothes from shady alleyways and dingy side stores. What can I say, I'm a thrifter at heart.

I find that my style is REALLY different from the girls living in Hong Kong, so everywhere I go, I totally stand out as a foreigner. It's weird... they don't even have to hear my sad attempts at speaking Chinese to know. Everyone just takes one look at me and starts speaking to me in English. Anyway, I did find ONE mall that I am officially obsessed with... it's called ARGYLE CENTRE (at Mong Kok Station). My friend Amanda told me about this place and how it has 5 floors of all girls' clothing/bags/shoes/jewelry. PLUS, it's so cheap compared to all the other malls I've been to! Since some of you have been wondering what I've been buying, I took a picture for y'all...

All these things (aside from the fitted blazer) were under $15 CDN, and most of them are from Argyle Centre (the cheap place!). Seriously, if you're a female tourist in Hong Kong, GO THERE. The strappy black wedge sandals were $14 CDN at Argyle, when a more expensive mall one block away was selling almost the exact same shoes for $90! 

Shopping for ridiculously cheap clothes is fun but I'm excited for RANDOLPH to come join me in Hong Kong in a couple days so that we can do more touristy things and go sight-seeing. It's so funny, because my family is waiting and saving all the tourist attractions for when he comes, so in the meantime, we're just going to a new random mall every day. Anyway, I shall post some actual vacation pictures from my brother's camera soon... that way, you won't have to listen to me ramble about what I bought. There's MUCH more to Hong Kong than shopping! Talk to you all soon =)

-laura :)

travel time

On Tuesday, I flew to Hong Kong with my entire family. The plane ride seemed to last forever, especially since the radio station played Justin Bieber on repeat (help!), and the bad-quality TVs on the plane only showed weird random movies (like an Asian film set in the desert featuring gangster cowboys). To pass the time, I kept myself occupied doing other things like...

playing Plants vs. Zombies on my brother's computer...

teaching my dad how to play Angry Birds (which he thoroughly enjoyed)...

doodling my signature hamburger on a blank notebook cover...

and getting carried away until it became one MASSIVE doodle.

It was a longgggggggg day of traveling, but we FINALLY got there safely and I stepped into the humidity of Hong Kong (seriously, I feel like I'm in a sauna 24/7). Here's the view from my uncle's apartment where I'm going to be staying for the next month!

I've been extremely sleep-deprived for the past two days so I'm going to rest now. But I'll be back soon with more pictures of my adventures in Hong Kong! =) 

giant robin's egg ring

I made another ring today! It looks like a giant robin's egg (I had to google that to make sure I knew what I was talking about...). Here's a picture to show you what I mean:

image via the vintage moth

And here is my robin's egg ring! The actual robin's egg is a deeper turquoise colour, but my ring is more of a mint green + pale blue mixture. This ring was made from another vintage earring stud fixed onto a simple silver band.

Turquoise is one of my favourite colours so I like this ring a lot!

I have many more rings that are begging to be made... but right now I really should be sleeping. I'm leaving for Hong Kong on Tuesday, so I actually only have tomorrow to pack (hey... packing last-minute makes it all the more exciting)!!! I'll be gone for a MONTH but I'll still be posting (although it will probably be more vacation pictures than anything).

The last time I went to Hong Kong was 10 years ago, so I really don't know what to expect or what to do there. I'm hoping to find some places that sell jewelry supplies so I can make more rings like these! If any of you know where I could look for something like that, let me know! Or just leave me a comment suggesting touristy things that I should do while I'm there =) 

DIY: how to make your own ring

I LOVE rings. And I've always wanted to make my own. So for the longest time, I've been scrounging around thrift stores collecting all these vintage earrings and brooches that I think would look good as a statement ring. The problem was, I didn't know where to find the ring bases (just the simple circular part of the ring to glue the earrings and brooches on). Finally, I read on the awesome DIY blog Studs and Pearls that the best bet was to go online and buy some. I was also motivated even more to make rings by this Studs and Pearls post here.

After I finally accumulated all my materials, I was ready to start actually using all the thrift store trinkets I had found to make some rings! This is my take on how to do it...

For my ring top, I found an old earring stud that I liked. You can also use brooches, pins, pendants, buttons, etc. - whatever you can find! It's your own style, so be creative and choose something you think would look good as a ring! :)

I used pliers to twist off the earring post. You can also use wire cutters to make a clean cut.

The next step is optional, but I like to use a little bit of leather just to add another textured layer to my ring. Also, it does a good job of covering up the bump from the earring post that I tore off. I got a bag of leather scraps from a discount fabric store in Gastown called Dressew.

Then, I used scissors to cut a piece of leather in the same shape as my ring top.

Next, I used E-6000 SuperGlue to stick the piece of leather onto the back of my ring.

Since breathing in the superglue fumes is really bad for you, I usually wear a loose shirt while doing this and pull it up over my nose. And yes, that is Mr. Bean. My hero.

The final step is to put a dab of superglue onto the ring base...

...adhere the ring top to the ring base...

And there you have it... your very own ring!

You can totally tell from the lighting in the pictures that I did all the ring-making at night, let it dry, and took pictures of the finished product in the morning. Anyway, I made 3 rings in total! Here are the other ones...

I hope this little DIY tutorial helps you... happy ring making!

-laura :)