Today is TADA!

Hello Everyone! I am back after several weeks of computer failure...totally blah! I missed you guys! I missed sharing ideas. I missed posting. But I'm looking on the bright side and crossing my fingers that my computer stays in good shape.

I'm so happy to be back, I brought out some balloons to celebrate!

I owe you a few TADAs! featuring branded bags -- those free carryalls with not-so-subtle corporate logos. Here they are:

A little purse that's quite blah.

Cover the logo with felt and fluffy pompoms...

...Tada! So much more purse-sonality!

A navy blue tote that needs a make-over.

Take away the logo by adding a pocket.

Not just any pocket, but a pocket made for pencils!

Fill the bag with coloring books for toddlers or
a sketch pad & drawing pencils for older kids.

And finally...

A blah lunch bag that tells you where it's from.

Dress it up with some ribbon, and...

Tada! Lunch is cool inside & out!

Hope you are all having a great weekend!
See you Monday!

What a BLAH! There's something wrong with my computer & my photos are held hostage in my hard drive thus my inability to post:( Hope to fix this ASAP!

Free & Fun

Do you have some bags or pouches with company logos
as the main design?

Take for instance this pouch from an airline.

It came with a lanyard and inside, a pair of socks,
mints, toothbrush & toothpaste.

I wanted to use the pouch again, so I thought,
"Time for some blah to Tada!" magic.

I covered the logo with a row of multicolored buttons.

Then I replaced the lanyard with a shorter ribbon
that can go around my wrist.

Now the free bag is also a fun bag! I'll use it to hold my keys, some cash & a cellphone for quick trips to the supermarket. I can store a camera or iPod in it, too.

Wishing you a Tada! Tuesday!

Branded Bags

Hello and Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend. It's been pretty cold where I live so I tried to stay under the covers and enjoyed some hot tea & warm soup. But today I'm up and about, ready for a fun week of crafting! With my title "Branded Bags", the names Louis Vuitton and Chanel may have crossed your mind. Sorry folks, I'm talking about these kinds of brands:

The bags splashed with company logos that you get as a freebie on airlines or conferences. As you can see, I have quite a collection! We'll turn these blahs into Tadas! this week.

This is a pouch from an American Airlines flight. I like that it's bright red and the logo is pretty discreet.

I simply covered the old logo with a patch (I chose a nautical theme).

Tada! Nobody would suspect that I got this bag for free!

I can use it for kids' art materials. Or to store phone chargers & adapters when I travel.

Have an awesome week ahead!

Special Occasions

Let me cap "Calendar Week" with another blah to Tada! idea.

I'm not only using one calendar...

...I'm using two kinds to make a brand new calendar:

Tada! A birthday/anniversary calendar
that I can use each & every year.

I used the tent-style calendar as the base and covered the pages with construction paper. From the wall calendar, I cut out the months & dates then glued these on the blank page. I embellished further with magazine cut-outs.

Then I filled in the dates with my loved ones' birthdays & anniversaries. This special occasion calendar sits beside my current calendar so I'll never forget to greet these important people a "Happy Birthday" or "Happy Anniversary".

I added a pocket at the back of the calendar to hold greeting cards, envelopes & stamps that I can send out a few weeks before the special date. While it's easy to send a text or an e-mail, nothing melts the heart like a hand written-sealed with a kiss-postman delivered birthday card!

Have a happy Tada! weekend!

Twelve Little Journals

Happy Thursday Everyone! I've been sharing some ideas on how to reuse 2009 calendars.

Instead of tossing this away, we'll turn this blah...

...into a Tada!

I cut out the "month" from the calendar and
glued them on the cover of these
little blank notebooks (I got them at Muji).

I assigned a date on each page of the notebook
by gluing the "dates" from the old calendar.

I did the same on all pages of the journal,
depending on how many days each month has.

Now I can personalize the journal based
on how I'd like to use it; for example:
(1) daily schedule for appointments
(2) headings like "A.M" & "P.M." or
"Morning", "Noon" & "Night"
(3) leave it blank for quotes, ideas,
gratitude & doodles

I made 12 notebooks for each month of the year.
Now I can't wait to fill up each one!

This One's for the Cook

This week on my blog, I'm breathing new life into last year's calendars.

I'll turn this blah 2009 tabletop calendar into a Tada!

Once the month by month pages are removed,
all you have left is this sturdy tent-like structure.

Simply dress it up with some scraps of colorful paper,
add some clips (these came from old ID tags) and...

...Tada! It's now a recipe card holder!

Keep it on your kitchen counter as an easy reference.
It also leaves you with an extra hand to measure,
mix and taste.

Happy Cooking!