Spring, as Told by Things & Others

   No, I live near the equator. There are no such things as spring, summer, autumn, winter - there are only drought and rainy season - oh wait, durian season, mango season, holiday season, rambutan season, ...
   Well, as an equator person, I don't know much common things in spring, but I have some spring to-do ideas for your to-do lists!

1. Make Pom-poms!
  

   

   Making pom-poms is a fun thing to do! It looks a bit difficult, but it's not that complicated, trust me. Plus, there are many cute and unique pom-pom tutorials out there!

2. Paint Your Planters!

 

   Flowers usually blossom when it's spring. Make their planters blossom, too!

3. Make Mini Roadtrip Journals!

  

   Roadtrips leave us many great memories. Keep them!

4. Create a Caterpillar Farm!

  

   Keeping them - from eating your plants - uncontrollably.

5. Spring Break!

    Lucky you. 

So, what are you gonna do in springtime?

DIY Watermelon Pom-Poms by Miranda + #1 Guest Post!

   Hello everybody!

   So ... guess what? Heck yeah! Finally, this blog has its first guest post! It's from Miranda - you know that awesome The Reindeer Files blog? Yes, it's hers!

   Because she's awesome, why don't you just take a seat and enjoy her post?

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   Hi, I’m Miranda and I blog over at The Reindeer Files, Hana has kindly allowed me to guest post on her blog so I thought I’d share a little DIY with you all.

   You will need:

   ~ wool (red, green and black)

   ~ a pom-pom maker or a substitute 

   ~ scissors 

   I used a pom-pom maker for this tutorial but you can use anything of a similar shape. 

   First take the red wool and wrap is around the pom-pom maker

  

Then take the black wool and wrap it around twice in one or two places.

   Repeat steps 1&2 unit your ball of wool is quite round. Take the green wool and wrap it around the maker bellow the red until it is equally as thick.

   Put another piece of wool through the gap at the base of the pom-pom maker and tie it loosely at the top. Carefully slip the wool off the pom-pom maker and tie the wool more tightly.

Cut all the looped threads.

Then trim the pom-pom to your desired shape. I like making balls but you could shape it like a wedge. You can choose to keep the long piece of wool in order to attach the pom-pom to something later.

   Finished!

   I think I’m going to make a long watermelon pom-pom garland.

   If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check out my blog. Thank’s so much to Hana for having me, you can check out her post on my blog too!

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   So, yeah, that's it! Creative, right?

   And, if you are wondering what's happening on me - well, the National Exam is just some months away, and there are many tests at my school. I got bad grades for math, and, yeah, I think I should study harder. Keeping a blog active is a bit hard for me right now, so, maybe I will post 1 or 2 guest posts a month ... 

   If you want to write a guest post here, feel free to contact me!

By the way, have you try this tutorial?

P.S: You can send me a guest post about tips & DIYs!

START: A Starter Kit Jar

   Giving gifts is a confusing business, right? For instance, one of your friend is going to have a birthday soon, but you don't know what his / her favorite gifts! Sometimes not giving the right gifts can become a serious problem, you know - maybe they will think that you mock them, or whatsoever.
But, I can help you - I have an idea!
   How about you give them a jar full of things they'll need when they have their unique dream jobs? Like, if he / she wants to be a designer, fill the jar with drawing stuff, like pencils with different grades, coloring pencils, pens, coloring pens, rulers, etc. Or you can fill the jar with items they need for regular occasion, like travel-size bathroom things! It's okay as long as the jar can hold all of them.
   So, let's get started!

Here's what you should know about the one who will be the receiver of the jar:

1. You should know their unique hobbies / dream jobs / projects they want to make & things their dream job / projects required.
2. You should know when are their birthdays.

For the jar:

1. Choose big jars so you can fill it with many things.
2. Use plastic jars- just in case the receiver accidentally drop it.

   Ready? Let's make it!

1. Fill, Decorate!

    I fill my jar with mini stationeries - for writing on-the-go. And I decorated it with washi tapes - simple! For more jar-decorating ideas, take a look on my past post.

3. Give it.
    You can give it to your neighbor, your friend, your relative, your coworker, basically you can give it to anyone who interested with stuff in it / anyone who need the things inside!

   

***

   And that's all for this 'START' post! Do you have any unique gift-packaging ideas?

    

 

Inspirations & Others #1

   I have a compilation of inspirations for you today! To be honest, I post them in one post either because their tutorials are too short to have their own posts, or because I want to share it to you - but already made it without taking photos for tutorial, and don't have some of the materials to make another.

1.

Washi Tape Paper Clip

   All you need are a paperclip and a washi tape. Stick the tape on the paper clip, and ta-da!

   If you are curious what's my paperclip hold, they are free printables from Kesi'art! Check 'em here.

   *Website in French

2.

   DIY Notebook Cover

   You just need a note book, a glue, some washi tapes, some cute illustrations (I got them from National Geographic for Kids' Fun Stuff Pages), some markers, scissors and some cardstock papers.

3.

   DIY Calendar

   Cardstock papers, some markers, scissors, washi tapes, and a ruler - it's that simple.

3.

   DIY Washi Tapes Holder

   Not exactly a DIY, actually. It's an abandoned CD holder :D

   Okay, that's all I have now. Do you have any DIY inspirations or ideas? If yes, feel free to tell about them here!

 

DIY Painted Planter

   One, two, three ... Oh, don't mind me, just counting abandoned planters scattered around my house.

   Planters, are for plants. But are there any useful ways to get rid of your planters? I'll give you the answer, but first, prepare these materials:

1. An abandoned planter

2. Some poster paints (red, blue, yellow, white)

3. Some paintbrushes

4. A pallet

5. A glass of water (for the paint)

6. A glass of tea / coke / coffee (for yourself)

Ready?

1. 

   First, white paint!

2. 

   Second, paint it as you want!

   You can also paint the inside ... 

   ... and done!

What can the planter do?

1. An Mini Terrarium / decoration

    Place: Sittingroom , bedroom, bathroom, etc. 

2. A Pencil Holder 

   Place: Bedroom, Workshop/craft room, study room, etc.

Tips

1. If you want to place the planter indoor, paint it using poster paint. But, if you want to place it outdoor, use iron paint or wood paint - anything waterproof.

2. For brighter color, cover it with white paint first.

3. Wash it first before you begin to paint it.

4. Planters usually have holes, so either you can cover them or use the planters to hold things that don't fit in the holes

Okay, that's all for today. Hope you enjoy it, and bye-bye!

START: Your Own Private Library + FREEBIES

 

   The idea of a library is actually fun, y'all. Like, we can rent a book for FREE for a week. And we can choose which book we want to read. Okay, let's just forget those old, grumpy librarian, but without them, the library's a total mess! So thank them for taking care of those books you borrowed!

   I got an idea of my own library from Knock Knock Personal Library Kit. And from my book-lover friends. If you have the materials (and you are diligent enough), you can make it in one day! Here's what you need to make (or have):

1. 

A freakin' note book

    This is a wedding invitation, actually. But I use it as a library note book.

   You need to write the name of the borrower, the book's title, and when it should be returned. You can add 'when the book borrowed' or somethin'.

*additional: a list of books that can be borrowed.

2. 

Some 'return' cards

   So the borrowers know when they should return your books. I made the card out of cake boxes and the holder from flyers.

    Put the card inside its holder, and stick them to the book using sellotapes or glue. 

3. 

~additional~: Some Library Cards

   There are different uses of a library card at different libraries. Maybe you can contributing a review of a book for the library, can borrow 2 books at the same time, or ... anything.

   To make your own (handmade) library card, use a cardboard box.

   Btw, this is one of my library cards

4. 

A pack of stamps + stamp pad

   Libraries (always) have stamps, so why not? You can make your own stamps or buy one. SO FANCY!

5. 

~additional again~: A pencil case + pencils /  pens

   So you don't have to freak out in the middle of library's 'rush hour' because your pencil magically disappear.

5. 

~additional again and again~: A librarian glasses

   Either so you can see clearly, or intimidate your borrowers so they return the books quickly - while looking very professional.

5. 

~very important~: Books

1. Make sure your book is in a good condition

2. Have more than 5 books so your borrowers still return to you to borrow a book again.

*Update: FREEBIES!

   To help you make your own private library, I give you some 'Return Cards' Printables! You can download them here and use them as:

1. an inspiration for your own 'Return Cards'

2. a real 'Return Cards.' 

    Print them on some kind of cardboard papers (buffalo papers, etc.), 

    or print them on ordinary A4 papers.

   This is my first experience on creating share-able freebies, so, if my printables are broken/un-download-able, please message me!

   Okay, that's all for now. See you in my next post, and happy crafting!

Life Hacks #3: How to Make Loom Chains #1

   Seriously, I can't found any people write about how to make loom chains in internet! It was when I buy my loom kit (remember?), and in my head, I asked myself, 'how to make loom chains?'. Fortunately, some if my friends have loomband bangles, so I borrow one of them and tried to imitate the loom chains, and yay! My first loomband bangle is ready!

   Then, I tried to make my own version. But I think it's better to show you how to make the basic first. Okay, let's go!

Spoiler: This is the result

1. Materials

       Just take your loomband kit.

2. Make It!

    A. As usual, put a band in the form of 8 first, then put another two bands in the form of 0, to your loomband chain-maker (I forget its name, anyway).

   B. Using the hook, pull the '8' band and make it clamp the two '0' bands

   C. Now slip a band under the '8' band

   D. Slip another band under the previous band.

   Do them again and again until the chains are long enough for you.

   Okay, that's all for now. You can find this tutorial in my Instructables (aisyahana). Oh wait, next time I will post about my own loom chains. See you!