Still here...

... and still project-less :( I finished a refashioned blouse for my niece last week when she and her mom visited us at our house last week. But they went home with the top before I had a chance to take pictures! I made it from an old toddler long-sleeved shirt and my mom's old pajamas. Next week, when I visit them, I will demand for a photo shoot. It was the only project I finished last week. 

We were hit by a storm last week and that is not news when you live in the Philippines and monsoon season starts. It doesn't get so bad where I live but I saw on the news that some areas in Manila were flooded. The thing about me... I get lazy when it's raining. It's like I can't get anything started because... well... it's raining. Do you get like that??? I wanted to get some decorating done because since I put away my Easter decor, my tables and vignettes have become junk piles. 

But hey! I started work on a few things... 'started' being the operative word.

No... I don't drink much, but I did find these 2 empty bottles in one of our kitchen cabinets. I think these were from my husband's early 20's days. Isn't it great how he keeps junk stuff like these for years? You should see the closet in our guest bedroom! Or wait... rather... you should NEVER see it. Anyway, these 2 will be on my living room vignette... when I finish them.

I'm into bottles and jars recently. This one is pretty small... only about 1.5 inches high. I found it in my beading supplies drawer 2 weeks ago. My project using this bottle is almost finished so maybe I will be posting about it this week.

Bargain Finds

Last night, I started cutting some fabric to make a dress for my niece. So while we wait to see how that turns out, I will share some of my thrifty finds here in Manila.

My mom and I went shopping for accessories last weekend. I took her to Quiapo, where I used to buy my materials to make jewelry before and accessory pieces at really, REALLY low prices. I limited by shopping budget for this trip to P1000 (US$23). Please excuse the quality of my photos... my SLR camera went on vacation so I had to use my camera phone for these photos.

Stainless steel Dragonfly pendant, P160 (US$3.75), 18-inch stainless steel chain P120 (US$2.80)

A closer look at the pendant.

Let's start with my favorite purchase... a stainless steel Dragonfly pendant. When I saw it, I fell in love with it immediately! Stainless steel is a cheaper alternative to silver. They do not tarnish and when they do... they are easy to polish. In the past couple of years, I began seeing stainless steel jewelry being sold at malls for around P400 - P700 (US$7.00 - 16.25). Although still cheaper than the price once it hits the international market, nothing beats the price of getting it direct from the source. Sophie Fashion Jewlery, a store in Villalobos St. in Quiapo, has a wide array of stainless steel jewelry (bracelets, pendants, rings, bangles, chains) at affordable prices. The catch? They're a wholesale store, you need to buy at least 6 items (any item) from their store to be allowed to purchase. But once you're there, it's actually not hard to find 6 items you WANT to buy. I always hit this store first when I go to Villalobos and I blow half of my budget on this first stop. Luckily, since my mom was with me, 6 items was a breeze. There were other pendants there, like the puppy and the elaborate butterfly... I didn't buy them because I didn't want to spend a lot of money on accessories... I already have enough, but now, I can't get them out of my mind! I also bought gold-plated stainless steel star studs for Andrea but forgot to take a photo. I think they were around P120 (US$2.80).

Jewelled Peacock cuff in emerald green, P100 (US$2.32)

details of the Peacock

My second favorite. I forgot the name of the store I got this from... but it's about 2 or 3 stores away from Sophie's. They have several designs for chunky cuffs like this and I had a hard time choosing just one. All cuffs from that section cost P100 (US$2.32).

Pucca stud earrings for Andrea (she loves Pucca!) P20 (US$0.50)

I bought 2 pairs of these Pucca earrings: one for Andrea, and one for my niece. I got them from the same store where I bought the Peacock cuff.

Carved Coral Roses bracelet, P180 (US$4.20)

This is another favorite... ok I seem to have a lot of favorites but seriously, I just love everything I bought last weekend! I was shocked when I saw this. Because I've been looking at necklaces with one carved coral pendant at a store selling Filipiniana items at the mall and the cheapest one was P1400 (US$32.50). Maybe because those necklaces use real silver. But still, I just wanted the pendants anyway so when I found this bracelet at Pot of Gems with lots of carved coral roses, and at that price, I got really excited. I plan to pry them out of their silver-plated metal parts and use them in some accessories I plan to make. This is also available in cream... and I am now kicking myself for not buying that too.

By the way, my mom wanted me to add that she still thinks those roses are made of plastic and not coral *rolls eyes*. I asked the store owner's son who was assisting customers and he told me they were made of coral but my mom doesn't believe him. When I got home, I compared the texture of the material of the roses to the texture of some carved coral bangles I already have and they feel the same... I'm no expert though. You know, maybe I'll just sacrifice one of those roses tonight and hit it with a hammer to see how it looks like when it shatters.

Necklace made of wood beads and beads made from coconut shells, P50 (US$1.15)

Elastic cuff made of wood beads, P25 (US$0.60)

I forgot the exact store in Villalobos where I got these last 2. I just remember my mom bought several bead necklaces and I was enticed to pick up a couple.

Brass tone cage pendant ( pack of 2 pieces), P40 (US$0.90

I also wanted to buy some materials for making jewelry but my favorite store to buy those things from was closed on Sundays. I visited another store, Chains, Beads and Components (store name is so specific don't you think?), and was able to buy these the bird cage pendant. The bird I just included in the photo... I already have it :)

Total cost: P815 (US$18.95). I did not exceed budget!!! :D

By the way, Villalobos Street in Quiapo is a great place to buy accessories and beading components when you want to buy in bulk.  I don't think it's worth the effort to go if you only plan to buy one or 2. You have to be ready to brave this:

Villalobos Street in Quiapo. Photo from Metro Manila Revisited . To see more photos of Villalobos, click here. Go on, check it out before you go if you are planning to go.

The stores I'm talking about are on both sides of this street which also doubles as a street market where vendors sell fruits, vegetables, shoes, dried fish... and a whole lot of other things. The crowd is worse on Fridays (because of the Black Nazarene mass at the Quiapo Church? I'm not sure... I'm not Catholic... but believe me there was a time I didn't know and went there on a Friday. Never again) and Sundays (because of Sunday Mass).

I found a map of stores in Villalobos Street from Bead Snob:

To get there, if you have a car, we usually park at Isetann Recto. And then we walk to Quiapo church. Behind Quiapo Church is Plaza Miranda and Villalobos Street is the street directly in front of Plaza Miranda. If you have to commute... I usually take the LRT, purple line and exit at Recto Station. Recto Station is directly in front of Isetann Recto.

Nothing Finished o_0

Oh no... I have been dreading this for a while and now it actually happened... I have nothing finished to post this week.

TRIVIA: "Bakit"  is Filipino for "Why";)

Drama aside... I have several projects in the works piled high on my work table. I mean this literally. I need to organize in there. And aside from all the 'in-progress' projects, my mom asked me to make dresses and shorts for my niece since my niece loves everything I made for her (sweet kid has great taste don't ya think? *wink*). Great opportunity for me to practice my sewing and try out those free patterns I see online (and my mom bought Andrea a toy scooter, gave me a lot of nice clothes, and took me out for lunch yesterday so I'm kinda obligated to prioritize her requests :D).

I'll be posting my finished projects soon! Hope you all have a great week!

All Things Pink: Shoes, Clip, and Bird's Nest Necklace

I had a post for today drafted last Monday and ready for posting but I decided to scrap it and write another one to add a few things. From my blog title, you would guess that I love pink. I do! But for some reason, I don't wear a lot of pink. Yesterday... I decided to pass by the mall before going home. And guess what I found??? The perfect pair of pale pink peep-toes!

I haven't worn high heels since I got pregnant in 2009. And after that... high heels are just crazy high! What's with the 4? 5? 6? inch heels anyway? Do shoe designers have a thing against walking? Anyway, I love peep-toes and the heels on this baby are only are only about 3-inches high. They're quite comfortable too.

And when you find a good thing, you know what you should do? Buy it in every color available!

Nope, I didn't wear it like this :) Just showing you the other color.

The lady at the store said this also came in black... only when they checked, they don't have it my size anymore :( If I have these shoes in black, silver, gold and red... I can live in them forever! And I would probably buy 2 pairs of every color so I'd have a spare. These are totally my style!

I wanted to wear the pink one today. I decided to whip up a hair clip real quick before I left for work to match my pink shoes.

I saw something like this at Papemelroti and have been considering just buying one from them since they weren't expensive... but I think about all those ribbons, glue stick and clips I have at home and what the heck. Let's make life a little harder and just make one, right? I still just might buy other colors from them later. I really like this clip. It goes so well with my wavy hair.

And the last thing on my plate today... I'm also wearing it in the photo above... the bird's nest necklace. I've been seeing a lot of these on other blogs but wasn't really thinking I was going to make one. But... I've been following Amy at One Artsy Mama for a couple of months now and she recently discovered the joys of jewelry making. I remember, when I first started, it was addicting. But through time, and since I am concentrating more on learning how to sew, my interest waned. But reading Amy's posts... her enthusiasm is viral! You can't help but catch it. She made this pretty bird's nest on her first attempt at making jewelry:

Pretty isn't it?

And since then, I've been thinking of giving it a try. So I looked for tutorials online and found one I liked at Can't Stop Making Things. Last Monday, before I left for work, I decided to try it and here's what I have:

You know how some people say "This looks better in person" about some thing in photos? Well, this is just the opposite. I can honestly say that my bird's nest looks much better in the photo! ;) You can't see it from the photo but the nest is just a little lopsided. I only put one 'egg' in the nest for the one pretty little egg in my nest: Andrea. the nest looks a tad empty after I was done but since I wired the egg in there, it was a little difficult to add more. So one egg it is.

I want to make one for my sister too so we'll see if I get any better at it. If you're not into DIY or do not have the patience for it (because trust me, this requires patience with a capital 'P'), Amy set up an Etsy shop where she sells these pretty nests. I think she also customizes the color and number of eggs you want. She even made these into earrings and rings.

I am linking up to the following link parties:

Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Hoo's got Talent at Night Owl Crafting | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Creative Juice Thursday at Momnivore's Dilemma | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | Thrilling Thursday at Paisley Passions | A Glimpse Inside at Catch a Glimpse | A Crafty Soiree at Katie's Nesting Spot | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge | Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations | Saturday is Crafty Day at I Am Along For The Ride | Free for All at Young and Crafty | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | K.I.S.S at The Tattered Tag | Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime | Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming | Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around | CraftOManiac Monday at CraftOManiac | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Making Mondays Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Take-a-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts | Handmade Tuesdays at Lady Bug Blessings | Tuesday To Do Party at Blackberry Vine | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog |

Butterfly Pillow from Ruffles and Stuff

This project has been in my 'to-do' list for a while since I saw it on Ruffles and Stuff last year.

Butterfly Collection Pillow

I have these pillow covers:

I only realize now that they look a little retro. But I bought them because they're really soft and they fit my color motiff of blue, yellow and yellow green at the time. I wanted to make the yellow green match the blue pillow so I decided to use Disney's butterfly patterns to make butterfly appliques.

And here it is after I finished:

I'm not really happy with the colors... and please ignore my faded sofa. I plan to make pastel-colored pillows after I get my sofa re-upholstered (or if I manage to make a cover for it).

Click here for the tutorial and the butterfly pattern.

I am linking up to the following link parties:

Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Will See It Wednesday at Fabric Bows and More | Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Hoo's got Talent at Night Owl Crafting | Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Creative Juice Thursday at Momnivore's Dilemma | Thrilling Thursday at Paisley Passions | A Glimpse Inside at Catch a Glimpse | A Crafty Soiree at Katie's Nesting Spot | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge | Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations | Saturday is Crafty Day at I Am Along For The Ride | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | K.I.S.S at The Tattered Tag | Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime | Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming | Not Baaad Sundays at Lamb Around | CraftOManiac Monday at CraftOManiac | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Making Mondays Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Take-a-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts | Handmade Tuesdays at Lady Bug Blessings | Tuesday To Do Party at Blackberry Vine | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog |

Anthro-Inspired Interchangeable Voluminous Scarf

It's been a while since I last checked Anthropologie's website. When I was browsing last week, I saw that they have a lot of new stuff.

I love this:

I don't usually wear scarves, but this one is interesting so I give you:

Mine was a little short  because the scarf I used was a little short. And I made mine interchangeable... you can remove the beads and replace it with another necklace. Let me show you how.

For this project, I used:

• A scarf (mine measured 60 inches by 20 inches... preferrably use a longer scarf)
• 4 jump rings
• 2 clasps
• beads
• 2 large jump rings or 2 chains, 1.5 inches long.
• jewelry pliers
• jewelry wire

(Please ignore the cord in the photo... I didn't get to use it).

Step 1: On one end of your scarf, take both sections near the corners and tie into a double knot.

Step 2: Take both corners over the knot until you have something like a small ball at the end of the scarf. Then gather the edges of the scarf and secure tightly with the large jump ring. If you don't have a large jump ring use the chains... wrap it tightly around the edge. Open one chain link and attach to the other end before closing to secure.

You should have something like this.

Step 3: Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for the other end of the scarf.

Step 4: On one end of the scarf, attach a small jump ring  to the large jump ring/chain.

Step 5: On the end, attach a small jump ring and a clasp.

Step 6: If you already  have a multi-strand bead necklace, you can attach it to your scarf and you are done. Since I don't have one that matches the scarf, I made strung 2 strands of beads and attached jump rings and clasps on both ends.

I made one just a little bit longer than the other one by attaching an extra jump ring at the end. 

Step 7: Style! I will admit that I had difficulty trying to get the scarf to look right because as I mentioned, I am not used to wearing scarves so I had no idea what I was doing.

I had to work last Saturday because 2 (not just one... TWO!) of my projects at work... both of which I had been working on for a year... went live! So I came in at the office in the morning, and stayed until around 11PM in the evening. Anyway, I wore my new scarf to work and look what we had for lunch:

Me wearing my scarf and posing beside our 36-inch pizza ;)

There were 12 different flavors of pizza in that one big one! And we actually had 2 of these giant pizzas. And in case you're wondering... no, we didn't finish the pizzas. And I think I will not be eating pizza again for a while.

I am linking up to the following link parties:

Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes | K.I.S.S. at The Tattered Tag | Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming | CraftOManiac Monday at CraftOMania | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Making Mondays Marvelous @ C.R.A.F.T. | Made By You Monday at Skip to My Lou | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Made With Love Monday at Sew Chatty | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts | Handmade Tuesday at Ladybug Blessings | Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios | Tuesday To-do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Will See It Wednesday at Fabric Bows and More | Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Hoo's got Talent at Night Owl Crafting | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Creative Juice Thursday at Momnivore's Dilemma | Thrilling Thursday at Paisley Passions | A Glimpse Inside at Catch a Glimpse | A Crafty Soiree at Katie's Nesting Spot | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge | Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations | Saturday is Crafty Day at I Am Along For The Ride |

Yellow Rose Bracelet

This is another bracelet I made:

I love that yellow rose... I don't remember anymore where I got it... and I don't understand why I didn't buy more of it! I have 4 of these roses... 2 gray ones, and 2 yellow ones. I think I might have bought them a long time ago to make earrings. One of the gray roses I used in my Rocker Chic Brooch.

Back when I made and sold my creations online, this is type of bracelet I usually make: different types of beads (usually faux pearl or stone), crystals and bead caps and spacers. This one is made of green jade beads, yellow Swarovski crystals, spacers, and that yellow flower.

I'm not posting the tutorial here since it only involves stringing the beads and adding the closure on both ends. But next week... I have a couple of great tutorials for you! Can't wait to start working on them!

Linking up to the following link parties:

Link Party at Tea Rose Home | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Creative Juice Thursday at Momnivore's Dilemma | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | Catch a Glimpse at A Glimpse Inside | A Crafty Soiree at Katie's Nesting Spot | Weekend Wrapup Party at Tatertots and Jello | Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge | Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations | Lovely Crafty Weekend at Lovely Crafty Home | Saturday is Crafty Day at Along for the Ride | Show and Tell at Be Different Act Normal |

I can not access Blogger

Is anyone else having the same problem? I can not access the dashboard since this afternoon :( Posting this through my email.

My Thoughts on Word Verification

I was having problems with posting on Blogger last Monday until yesterday so I went to check my settings to change my editor preference. While checking the settings, I decided to check my other settings as well. This is something I haven't done in a loooong time. And guess what I found?

Eeeep!! Sorry about that! I don't remember ever having turned this on but I guess I did a long, long time ago after I first set up my blog. So after seeing that yesterday, I selected 'No'. I figured it would be more convenient for my readers.

I don't really mind encountering word verification (or Captcha) on the comments section of some blogs I visit. In fact, in the kind of work I do... we (my team) recommend using word verification when designing web forms. It's a security feature that prevents spam bots (automated programs) from sending junk information to your database using any web form that is accessible by the public. On the other side of this issue, we have people who stress about  the 'customer experience' and they point out that having this extra step to enter word verification is annoying for some people and present negative customer experience. 

I've read some blog posts about this... that they find it annoying and wish other bloggers would just turn the feature off. After all, how much spam could you possibly get?

Well, yesterday, I found out. 

I turned off my word verification in the afternoon... and a few hours later, when I checked my email in the evening, I already have 3 spam comments. This is the first time I experienced spam on Blogger. Fortunately, even with the word verification turned off, Blogger still detect spam and does not display it on your blog. You can find it under your Comments tab in your dashboard.

Then on the upper left corner, click Spam to display all comments that Blogger filtered as Spam. From this view, you get the option of publishing a comment or deleting it.

So... no harm done after all, right? However... my account is set up to send an email to my personal email address every time someone leaves me a comment. It's how I know someone left me a comment on which post. Those spam comments might not have been displayed on my blog, and I just needed to make a few extra steps to remove them permanently... but the moment they are posted, Blogger sends me an email anyway. It adds to the emails I have to go through. I work for a company that offers internet security products so anything spam means... Ggrrrrrrrrrr!!! X( (just kidding).

After giving it some thought... I decided to turn my word verification on again. Practice what you preach I guess. Sorry guys, I hope it doesn't irritate you too much. When I get more free time (which would be soon I hope!) I will experiment with turning the word verification off for a longer period to see how irritating spam comments are going to be. Maybe if there aren't a lot, I'll turn it off permanently.

NOTE: Ok I got 2 more spam comments while I was writing this post... *sigh* Time to turn that word verification on.

Circle Skirt Dress for Barbie

Last Sunday, amidst all the rush to finish my Mother's Day projects (i.e. the Satin and Tulle flower for my mom's blouse, and the matching rosettes headbands for Andrea and me) before we had to leave the house, I decided to squeeze in a simple dress for Barbie. 

I used the leftover jersey fabric from my Kimono Dress that I turned into a skirt. I made a Circle Skirt from Dana's tutorial at Made. And then I made the top using Delia's tutorial for the Paper Bag Dress... only you know... I made it shorter because it will only be a top and I tapered toward the waist because I wanted the top part loose but not too loose. And then I attached the skirt to the top. I sewed this by hand... I have no idea how to sew something so small using my sewing machine.

After I sewed both halves together, I cut a slit at the back of the top so that Barbie can put it on and take it off easily. I sewed on a sort of flap on one side of the slit so I can attach the Velcro. But since the fabric is small and a little flimsy, things went haywire when I tried to sew it on using the sewing machine...

Please don't be jealous of my sewing skills.

I was in a hurry at the time so I didn't fix it... but I will *sigh*. The belt is actually a black piece of satin ribbon tied at the back. 

And we have a conservative dress for Barbie (why do all Barbie clothes sold at the mall have to be clingy and tight fitting???). I wanted to make the skirt a little longer but I didn't have enough scrap fabric.

Paired with a woven doll's bag I bought somewhere for around P40 (or around $0.50)

Linking up to the following link parties:

Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Designs | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Hoo's Got Talent? at Night Owl Crafting | Will See It Wednesday at Fabric Bows and More | 

Mother's Day (Last Minute) Projects

Aaarrrggghh!! I'm having issues with Blogger. I can not post anything using their editor so I'm doing this via email. I'm not even sure how the photos will appear on my post (if they will appear at all). (Edited 05/09/2011 Evening, At Home: I went back to using the old editor and I can finally edit! This is such a hassle though.)

Anyway... Andrea and I got the chance for a little Mommy-and-Baby bonding time a day early for Mothers Day. Last Saturday, Daddy had to attend a meeting and the Nanny went out so Andrea and I were left at home. I had planned to stay there all day but it was HOT! Like I-almost-fainted-from-the-heat HOT! The only areas in our house with airconditioning are the bedrooms so we tried to hole up in there all day... but well... it got a little boring. So I packed Andrea's stuff, hailed a cab, and off to the mall we went. And I took Andrea to the kiddie salon to get her first hai

rcut!

The seats are small cars which Andrea loved... and there was a tv screen and DVD player in front of each seat. I requested them to play Dora the Explorer to keep Andrea occupied. And while the stylist cut and blow dried her hair (yes... they blow dried her hair!!), Andrea just sat there quietly, playing and watching TV. Good girl! We also get a "First Haircut" Certificate with a Before and After photo and a lock of hair which I can claim after 2 weeks. When Daddy saw her later that evening when he came to pick us up... he didn't mind so much *wink*.

So yesterday was Mother's Day... and when I went downstairs to get breakfast, I heard the pitter-patter sound of rain! YES!! It rained! (Sorry SUMMER, I still love you but you just get so intense sometimes). And then... we were hit with a signal number 1 typhoon later in the afternoon. But anyway... while the rest of my country was glued to the TV to watch Manny Pacquiao's fight, I was holed up in my craft room busy finishing my Mother's Day gift for my mom.

I bought the shirt from Mosssimo and just added a Satin and Tulle Flower pin. I remember a few months ago, my mom asked me to find a black, sleeveless top she can use with her blazers. I didn't find one at the time so now... I hope she still wants one.

With little time left before we had to leave the house to go to my grandmother's, I decided to make matching headbands for me and Andrea. I like mommy-and-daughter matching, have you noticed?

We couldn't get Andrea to stay still to take a nice photo *sigh*.

There, you can see the headband more. I made the headband by sewing black elastic to a strip of satin ribbon, and then I made 3 rolled flowers for each of our headbands using cream-colored satin ribbon. The flowers are attached to the headband using clips so they can be removed.

Here's another shot of my cutie. If it weren't for her, I won't be celebrating Mother's Day :)

To all the moms out there... Happy Mother's Day! (sorry, my greeting is a day late)

Linking up to the following link parties:

Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Made with Love Monday at Sew Chatty | Made By You Monday at Skip To My Lou | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple | Craft Couture Monday at Craft Couture | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | Manic Monday at Sew Happy Geek |  Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts | Tuesday To-do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog |  Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Designs | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Hoo's Got Talent? at Night Owl Crafting | Will See It Wednesday at Fabric Bows and More | Weekend Wrapup Party at Tatertots and Jello |