Hello, It's me. WOW. Where has the time gone? When did we all get so busy? It is not a Thursday, but I just watched Zoella's "A Very YouTube Christmas" tag, and I thought it would be fun to answer the questions as if we were having a NotablyNotable Christmas Party! Here's the video for anyone interested:
Questions - Who would bring the best dessert? Monica! She's the Pinterest Queen <3 Who would carve the turkey? I'm going to go with Jayme, lol. Would we have turkey, though? Probably not. Who would take the best photos? Brian, hands down. Have you seen http://instagram.com/unicornhairflips ? Oh look, a shameless plug.
Who would look the most glam? Our own little Beauty Guru, Sharmaine. Who would have the tackiest Christmas jumper? People would get on my case if I didn't say myself for this one. Who would make the worst Christmas jokes? I think I'm the winner for this one as well. Worst jokes in general. Who would fall asleep first? No contest. It would be Jayme. Who would be the last one dancing? Sharmaine. She's the youths. Who would bring the worst gift? I would bring the worst gift on purpose. Who would be in charge of Christmas music? I'm going to delegate this task to Monica. She picks all the jams. Who would be in charge of Christmas dinner? If it wasn't me initially, it would probably end up being me. Who would make the best snowman? It doesn't snow here, but I'll give it to the boys. Who would win at all the games? Not Jayme! lol. I don't want to jinx it, but I have a history of winning party games. Who is most likely to knock over the Christmas tree? Sharmaine, if she's had one too many drinks lol Who would be the best Santa impersonator? I want to say me just because I think I am the one with a Santa jumper, but it would have to be one of the guys. We promise to be up and running again in 2016! I hope you enjoyed this quick, cheeky little post. We hope you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year! Look out for a Motivational Monday post on January 4, 2016 :)
I’m so so sorry I missed last Tinker Thursday! I don’t know if it was because I just could not get adjusted to being back at work, or if the first week of summer session #2 completely caught me off guard… but a post never happened… and I truly apologize.
That being said, I am back with a fun little post. I recently went online shopping and figured I should take a look at my closet to see what I can rid of. Curse you Fall Fashion! My favorite fashion season… hence the new clothing. ANYWAY. On to the meat of my post: How-To Sort Your Closet!
Disclaimer: I am not a closet-cleaning expert. I am sharing a few tips and tricks that work for me and my cleaning/purging style. Some of these may not work well for you.
Make it a recurring theme - Sure, “Spring Cleaning” works for some people, but for me, spring is the busiest time of year (work and school-wise). I find it easier to handle when I look through my closet periodically. We usually do two balikbayan send-offs per year, and I find this the perfect opportunity to send some clothes to my family in the Philippines.
On that note: Have a destination for your unwanted clothing - I think it’s easier to get rid of something when you know it will end up somewhere it is really appreciated. Sending my unwanted clothes to the Philippines not only gives my relatives “new” clothing to wear, but they are so incredibly thankful for anything I send. It warms my heart to know that I can give them things that make them happy; simple things like clothing. Whether it be handing down articles of clothing to relatives, donating to a local shelter, or selling them online to buy new clothing - having an endgame is a great motivator.
Take everything out - Yes, you heard me! Take everything out of your closet and place it on the bed. It doesn’t matter if you do it all at once or by sections, physically removing clothing from your closet makes you more conscious of what you put back into it. I remove sections at a time and sort things out on my bed.
Make different piles - Whenever I clean out my closet, I sort things into “Definitely Keep”, “Maybe/Maybe Not”, and “Definitely Not Keep”. There are times when I’m doing a random sort through that everything remains in the “Definitely Keep” pile, but hey, at least you had the intention of sorting things out, right?
Be honest with yourself - Are you really going to wear that article of clothing again? If you’re like me, you hold on to a lot of things because they’re attached to some sort of memory. I’ve gotten better at letting go of pieces of clothing. If you can’t remember the memory without the clothing as a trigger, was it really that memorable?
Rearrange your clothing the way you see fits best - I go through phases where I want everything arranged by color, then switch it up to type of clothing, then back to color. I usually place batches back into the closet and then inter-arrange (is that a term?) newer batches into the initial set.
Here’s a little trick I learned from YouTube: Flip your hanger hooks so they’re hooked on from the inside of your closet. Whenever you take an article of clothing out, you can place it back into the closet with the hanger placed “normally”. When it comes time to do your periodic closet sort, pull out the articles of clothing whose hangers weren’t flipped over first. You obviously did not wear them for a reason. Don’t put any of these in your “Definitely Keep” pile. Sort them into your “Maybe” and “Do Not Keep Piles”.
As with any advice, there are exceptions to a rule. Of course you’re not going to wear your wedding gown within 6 months to a year. Of course that’s a memorable article of clothing. I am the queen of sass, so do not attempt to sass me on this. =P As previously mentioned, these are just a few tips that work for me and my lifestyle.
Let me know if you have any tips on cleaning out your closet! I know I probably missed some crucial steps, but I think this is generally how I go about sorting through mine. Hope this post was somewhat helpful! I’ll be back in two weeks with something new!
Hello friends! It's time for another Tinker Thursday! This week, I
decided to try my luck at a fun little 4th of July project I found onPinterest. I made it a little more fun by not actually reading the instructions and just winging it based on the final photos.
I had a big pack of Mason Jars I bought
at Costco a while back just chillin in my cabinet, so I figured painting over
two of them wouldn't be too heartbreaking. I went to Michael's to grab the
material I needed, and went to town.
You will need
Mason Jars
Acrylic paint (for glass surfaces)
Paint brushes or paint sponges
Painter's Tape
Optional
Star stickers
Decorative flowers
A lot of the 4th of July decor was 60% off at my local Michael's,
so I decided to take advantage of the deal and purchased a few extra things :)
I actually completed the blue mason jar first to see if this
project would even be feasible, given my skill level. I think it turned out ok,
not amazing, but pretty acceptable for a first try :)
For the blue mason jar, all you have to do is stick star stickers(say that five times fast)all over the jar, and paint over it
with blue paint. An alternative method could be to paint the entire jar blue and
add white stars after via a star-shaped sponge. The great thing about this
particular project is that instructions are only a suggestion for how things
can be done. You have the artistic freedom to create whatever you want with
your mason jars. I did a basic Stars and Stripes pattern, but if you're able to
paint a bald eagle, why not? Mount Rushmore? Go for it! Do you want your jar to
be clear with red, white, and blue hearts? No one is going to stop you :)
The striped jar takes a little more time and effort than the blue
stars jar, but it's still relatively simple. As you can see, I've already
painted the jar white. This is about two thin coats, but paint however many
layers your heart desires. I was going for a bit of a rustic, imperfect feel.
After that completely dries, go ahead and mark off where you want
your red paint to go with some painters tape. Make sure there are no bubbles or
wonky edges, but if there are, it's ok! Makes it more authentic (I know I
definitely messed this step up).
Once your jars are dry, go ahead and decorate it however you want.
Below are different suggestions, but again, this project is exclusively yours.
I tried flowers, twinkle lights, and even candles. They all look great, in my
opinion!
Level of Difficulty:2.5/10. I think the most difficult part
of this project is figuring out what to do with them after they're done! I
personally prefer having flowers in the blue stars one, and a candle or twinkle lights
in the sriped jar.
What Would I do Different Next Time?I would definitely look for paint that
is specifically for glass. I purchased standard acrylic paint and while it did
work, I found it difficult to apply additional layers, even when the first
layer was already dry.
Would I do this project again?Definitely! There are different holidays you can do this
for. I even saw a halloween one where they made the mason jars Jack-o-Lanterns.
Less mess! :)
I hope you enjoyed this quick little
DIY inspired by Pinterest! Let me know what you'd like to see next!
As for the future of Tinker Thursday,
let me just say, that this blog day is starting to get a little expensive,
haha! I think I'm going to have to re-evaluate how I want to go about Tinker
Thursday. I definitely want to continue re-creating DIYs, but I might cut it
down to a big DIY project once every two months. I have other ideas for the
additional days I have to post, such as "Plan With Me" Planner
Decorating posts, Dress-it-Yourself fashion-type posts (without stepping into
Sharmaine's territory and expertise, of course), and a lot more. I'll see you
in two weeks with a new post!
Hello friends! It's Tinker Thursday again! I'm finally done with my first summer course and boy was it a doozy. I'm still attempting to catch up on sleep so hopefully these next few weeks do the trick. I'll be starting up again in about a month, so I'm definitely going to take advantage of this time off.
This week, I decided to change it up a little and bend my own rules. As mentioned in my introductory post, if you can "do-it-yourself", it's fair game for Tinker Thursday. I'm going to continue with the theme of "Choosing Happiness" from Monica's Motivational Monday last week, and offer my tips and suggestions to creating your own happiness.
Smile and Laugh
Yes. My first tip for creating your own happiness is to smile. We've all heard of the benefits of smiling: it releases endorphins which can help us feel happy and less stressed, an increase in endorphins decreases cortisol, etc etc. Laughing helps release emotions that you might have built up, whether good or bad. I know when I'm stressed out, I find myself laughing and I instantly feel better, even if it's just temporary. I can go on and on about the importance of smiling and laughing, but the most important reason (at least, in my opinion) is because it's contagious. What's better than seeing someone else smile or hearing someone else laugh because of pure happiness?
Breathe
I know, yet another tip that should seem pretty obvious, right? I can't tell you how many times I found myself so stressed and tense that I nearly forgot to breathe. When things are starting to feel a bit overwhelming, step back and take a few deep breaths. Oftentimes, I take a deep breath and just yell as I exhale. It feels really nice to let those emotions out.
Think of a Wonderful Thought! (alternatively titled, "Look on the Bright Side")
Not only is this a quote from Peter Pan, but I remind myself of this every time I am in a slump and just feeling very negative about things. It takes a lot of effort to turn something negative into a positive, but it can be done. Wouldn't you rather be thinking about things that make you smile or feel good?
Unfortunately, we can't always find a way to twist a certain negative situation or feeling into something more positive. Most of the time this is done in retrospect, but at least from then on you'll have a positive correlation to that memory!
In the event of trying to avoid making this a "how to de-stress" post, I'm going to fire off a few more suggestions:
Make your all-time favorite meal/comfort food. You know how good it feels to sit down and eat your absolute favorite meal. Think about how much more satisfying said meal would be if you made it yourself? You'd be enjoying the fruits of your labor and feeling good about your culinary skills.
Talk to a friend or family member you haven't spoken to in a while. If you're close to that person, chances are you'll have a lot to catch up on. Share the latest news in your life. Talk about plans you might have in the near future. Make plans together! It's always nice to see a familiar face and spend quality time together.
Binge watch your favorite TV show(s). My Hulu subscription keeps renewing and I currently don't have any new shows to watch. I've re-started Parks and Recreation from the first season, and in case you were wondering, yes, it's still pretty funny. Watch a show you know will make you laugh or feel good. Binge watching is always so satisfying, until you run out of episodes to watch. But hopefully by then, you'll be feeling happy enough to do something else.
Put on your favorite playlist and dance like no one is watching! Sing to your heart's content, and simply just have fun with it! Slide around your hardwood floors aka Risky Business, sing into your soup ladle, and jump around (safely, of course). You'll get your blood pumping and get a nice cardio workout out of it as well.
Think of a new project or challenge you've been wanting to do... and just do it. Want to learn how to knit? Purchase a ball of yarn and knitting needles at Michael's (with one of their coupons, of course). Want to bake a cake? Let's head on over to the grocery store and get what we need. Find a new workout regimen that looks promising? Put on your workout gear and go for it! You'll feel so wonderful knowing you started AND finished something you've been meaning to try. And if you're wondering, you can do it and I believe in you 150%!
Take advantage of free events in your local community (especially during the summer)! I know San Diego has a ton of things to do for little to no cost. We have a handful of beaches and wonderful hiking grounds. Balboa Park is an amazing place to just hang out and you can check out their many museums. Residents receive free admission to a select group of museums every Tuesday. Be sure to check your local community for any fun events that might be going on. San Diegans, be sure to check out the San Diego Reader. This past week in particular highlighted "Fun Things to Do: From Beach to Backcountry".
I could go on and on with more suggestions, but everything will eventually start sounding the same. The key takeaway from today's post is to figure out what makes you happy. We all have at least one thing that never fails to put a smile on our face. Whether it's cooking or dancing or even cleaning the house, find something that brings you joy. You know yourself better than anyone else, so think of these tips and suggestions as just that: suggestions. There is no set list of "this is what you need to do to be happy".
It's important to remember that it's okay to put your happiness as a priority. It's essential for your overall, long-term health, and it just feels way better than being sad all the time, right? :)
Hello friends! I had this awesome blog post planned for this week, but I mistakenly thought taking a 3 unit class in 3 weeks was the best idea ever. I have never been so swamped in my life. Readings upon readings upon papers upon projects upon readings. Did I mention readings?
Anyway, that should not be an excuse, but I’m using it as one this week. I’ll be done with this course next week, so I should be back to regular postings where I actually attempt a project.
For this week, I decided to share my planner decorating essentials. I don’t know if I’m just late to the game, but there appears to be this sudden phenomenon in planner decorating. I usually think of planners as simply a place to jot down any assignments, meetings, bills due, or appointments you might have. Prior to last fall, I never thought to spend money on things to decorate a booklet I would be rendered useless once complete.
I have fallen victim. Here are my essentials.
WASHI TAPE. When I first saw washi tape, I wasn’t quite sure what its intended use was. I probably still don’t, but I have found them very useful in planner decorating. They come in different designs and sizes. I usually buy mine from Target or Michaels. I have seen really affordable ones at Walmart, but I have noticed they are not typical washi tape quality, but for less than a dollar, it might be worth a shot! You have been warned.
STICKERS. I’m a sucker for stickers, especially cute, seasonal ones. Target and Michael’s have a great array of stickers. Etsy also has a wide range of stickers specifically for planners! I have not bought any (yet), but they all look super cute. You can have little reminder stickers that let you know when your bills are due, when your next exam is, or even place a bunch of stickers as accents. No sample link here, but you all know what stickers look like, right? :)
COLORFUL PENS THAT DO NOT BLEED. This is crucial, especially if you have a planner with really thin paper. I like the Sharpie Pens a lot for planner decorating. I’m thinking this is pretty self-explanatory. You need some sort of writing utensil!
POST IT/STICKY NOTES. I can’t begin to tell you how often Post-Its save my life. Sometimes there’s just a lot going on and you run out of space to write! Post-Its make it easy for me to add onto my planner. I honestly don’t know what else to say about Post-Its. If you don’t want to use them for your planner, you can use them for so many other things.
Of course, there are other items you can use to jazz up your planner. Paperclips, ribbons, die-cuts, planner cards, stamps, etc. The list is endless. These are just the things I think are essential in at least getting started. I might do a blog post on how I decorate my planner, but it won’t be until I purchase a new one. I can’t decide which one to invest in just yet.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post. I’m sorry it’s very lackluster; I wasn’t expecting school to take up this much of my time. See you in a few weeks with another post!
Happy Thursday my little Tinkers! Welcome to my first “official” post for Tinker Thursday :) This week, I wanted to share my experience of baking and assembling a Mother’s Day Rose Bouquet, inspired by the lovely and talented Rosanna Pansino of Nerdy Nummies.
I wanted to do something special and unique for Mother’s Day for all the mother figures in my life (of course, including my amazing and wonderful and beautiful and did I mention amazing mommy), and when I saw this video, I knew I had to give that rose bouquet a try!
Of course, this DIY project did not come without challenges. One of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome was my lack of time and availability to dedicate to this project. In addition to working full-time, I am an evening MBA student, so you can already imagine how scarce my time is in general. Pair that up with final projects and research papers being due the first few weeks in May and, well… You can see where I’m going with this.
The demands of both work and school got the best of me and I essentially gave up on this project before I even got started. It wasn’t until after Mother’s Day Mass where I decided to go ahead and give this project a try. It was the least I could do to show my mom, aunties, and grandmother that I appreciate all their love and support and thank them for raising me and molding me into the woman I am today.
If I thought I didn’t have time to do this project the days leading to Mother’s Day, I definitely did not have a lot of time to start this project hours before our small Mother’s Day gathering at my grandmother’s house. So naturally, I had to take shortcuts in the form of boxed cake mix and ready-made/colored icing. Use your favorite cake recipe and icing mix if you have the time to do so. Personally, I think homemade is always the way to go :)
Side note: Luckily, I live near a shopping complex that houses both a Target and Michaels, so I was able to save time in purchasing all my items. Take advantage of the mobile coupons from Michaels! If you’re buying multiple items, see if you can ask a friend or loved one to come with you so they can make a purchase as well. Utilize all the ways you can save money!
-What You'll Need-
For the cupcakes:
Boxed Cake Mix and the ingredients needed to prepare (You can’t go wrong with Funfetti) -OR- Your favorite cake recipe
Icing
Food coloring (Whatever you want the color of your roses to be)
Prepare the cake mix according to the instructions on the box. Preheat the oven to the recommended settings and bake for the recommended amount of time.
While you’re waiting for your cupcakes to bake, go ahead and start arranging your flower pot by placing empty cupcake liners (I used the other colors that came in the set I purchased) around the styrofoam ball and sticking a toothpick in, leaving about half or one-third of the toothpick sticking out. I tried to keep them about a half-inch to an inch apart, but honestly, just see what looks right. There is really no “right” or “wrong” during this step. Just be sure to leave enough space for you to place tissue paper in between.
The most difficult part of this project was getting the tissue paper to stay put! I don’t know how Ro did it, she made it seem so effortless (but then again, don’t all YouTubers? haha). I cut them into small squares, just like the video shows, but I just struggled. Every time I felt as if the tissue paper was secure, it would somehow warp and fall off the styrofoam ball.
Anyway, this is how mine turned out after a few different arrangements.
Remember to let your cupcakes cool before you start putting icing on them! This is probably the number one mistake people make when trying to replicate a YouTube video or Pinterest post. The warmth of the cupcake will obviously melt the icing, causing everything to look like a big, goopy mess. I know, I know, you’ve come this far, and you’re short on time! Trust me, this rest period is crucial. I usually clean up my mess during this rest period. It keeps my hands busy and my momentum going.
Once your cupcakes have cooled, you can start to create the rose designs with your icing. I neglected to photograph this part of the process, but the video has a very in-depth tutorial on how to get that perfect petal-like finish.
My roses did not turn out as beautiful as Ro’s, but I think I did a pretty decent job. What do you think? :)
You’re going to hate me for saying this, but once you’ve completed your beautiful cupcake works of art, you have to let your cupcakes cool down in the fridge for a while. I know! I keep making you wait! Allowing the cupcakes to cool in the fridge will help solidify your rose design, not to mention make it easier to stab the bottom of them with those toothpicks you so thoughtfully laid out. No one wants a slumping rose in their beautiful bouquet. I recommend leaving them in there for at least 15-20 minutes, more if you can afford to.
All right, now comes the fun part: putting your masterpiece together! Remove the cupcake liner placeholders and carefully place your cupcake roses in their place. If you have extra hands in the room, they can hold the flowerpot in place while you work your magic.
And there you have it! A wonderful cupcake rose bouquet! Mine is definitely not perfect, but I was happy that I put my doubts and fears aside and just tried. All my family members loved seeing the bouquet, so much they did not want to eat it! I eventually convinced them to enjoy the cupcakes (after a million photos and picture messages, of course), and we had a happy Mother’s Day, indeed.
Let me know if you decide to give this project a try! I know it’s not my original project, but I would still want to see and hear about your experiences!
Level of Difficulty: 7/10; mainly due to the assembling of the bouquet and how tedious it is
What I would do different next time: Don’t put it off until the last minute :) You can prep everything in this tutorial pretty well in advanced, and leave the final assembly to the day of.
Would I attempt this project again? Definitely! It is such a cute and thoughtful gift!
That's it for this week's Tinker Thursday! Have any projects you would like for me to try? Let me know in the comments below, and I'll make sure to document my experience just for you. Thank you so much for reading my post. You are a beautiful baby unicorn. I'll be back in two weeks with another fun project!
Hello, everyone! I hope you have all had the chance to meet Monica, Sharmaine, and Jayme by now. If you haven’t, please click their names and visit their Introductory Week Posts! You’ll get the chance to meet Brian tomorrow, but for now, it’s my time to shine.
My name is Rox, and I would like to be the first to welcome you to Tinker Thursday.
Merriam-Webster online defines the word “tinker” as “to work in the manner of a tinker; especially : to repair, adjust, or work with something in an unskilled or experimental manner : fiddle”
Now, if that doesn’t describe me perfectly, I don’t know what will.
Aside from being unskilled and experimental, I’m a pretty bland person. I work and I’m pursuing my MBA. I enjoy binge watching shows and YouTube videos in my spare (albeit rare) time. I often find myself drawing inspiration from everything around me, and I particularly enjoy baking sweet treats.
My blog posts will consist of DIY Projects. If you know me personally, you know I’m all about experimenting with activities revolving around arts & crafts, baking, makeup, styling, building IKEA furniture, etc.
I know that is a broad range of possible topics to cover, but as long as you can “Do-it-Yourself”, it’s fair game for Tinker Thursday.
My purpose in this collaborative is to celebrate creativity and not being afraid to try out new things. We shouldn’t hesitate to begin a new project or journey in fear of failure, or wear a certain item of clothing just because we don’t think it will look nice. You never know how awesome something could be if you never give it a chance.
I hope you enjoy the adventures all five of us are about to embark on. It’s been a very… very long project in the making, and I’m so happy and so blessed to see it finally come to life.
We hope to provide you some light entertainment at the very least.
