A Party of Pencil Cases

Good day everyone!

One time on Twitter I followed a thread that began with this tweet: "If there are adults out there, who like me, own a pencil case - make contact. You are my people."

The tweet garnered more than 15,000 likes, more than 200 retweets and more than 1,000 responses. Here are my favorite ones:

I could truly relate. I felt very understood. These pencil-case-loving-adults are my tribe! 

So if you could indulge me, I'm showing you the pencil cases that I own.

This skinny pencil case is a souvenir from a trip to London. It has the basics I need: a black marker, a highlighter, a sign pen (for letter writing), a black ballpoint pen, a red ballpoint pen, and a pencil.

This is my pencil case for writing and editing. The little wrestler figurine is my writing totem as I've described here. I got the canvas pouch from Michaels many years ago. 

This pencil case is reminiscent of elementary school. It doesn't have the bells and whistles like a pop-out sharpener or secret compartments but I found it too cute not to take home. I spotted it at a department store in the Philippines.

One side has ballpoint pens, a highlighter and a ruler.

The other side has a Hello Kitty non-sharpening bensia pencil, a glue pen (to seal envelopes or for simple scrapbooking and journalling), a retractable eraser, foldable scissors, and some tape flags. 

This pencil roll (given by a dear friend) holds all my watercolor supplies like brush pens, Micron pens, and pencils.

But sometimes I use this pencil case, too, to hold all the materials I need to create watercolors while traveling. The canvas pouch was also purchased from Michaels many years ago. 

This pencil case is for all my hand lettering supplies. It's really a vanity kit that I repurposed. I like that it has many pockets.

See how much it can carry?

This personalized pencil case (also given by another dear friend) corrals together all my Sharpie pens. 

When I was in high school, I owned something similar to this metal pencil case. 

Instead of pens, I use it for my crochet hooks. 

All these school and office supplies plus materials for arts and crafts may well be an addiction. But they help me create. The pencil cases help keep them neat and organized. I call that "blah to TADA!"  

By the way, if you have pens that no longer write/empty of ink, please recycle them responsibly.

I collect mine in a plastic bag and when I've accumulated a good number, I'll send them here for proper recycling.

Thanks for reading and see you again next week. If you haven't yet, please subscribe here for more "blah to TADA!" ideas straight to your inbox.

Let's Take Care of Mother Earth

Howdy folks!

Earth Day is on April 22. May this date remind us that we should take good care of Mother Earth not just for one day but each and every day. Forest fires, floods, and sharks swimming close to shore are just some examples of how climate change is endangering our home.

We're all in this together and if we each do our share, we'll make Mother Earth safer for years to come. Here are some of the little habits that I promise to do:

These are simple enough to incorporate in my regular routine, they're almost second nature.

A shoutout to companies all over the world that are doing their share for Mother Earth:

LEGO making bricks out of recycled plastic...TADA!

MATTEL's PlayBack program will turn materials from toys that have lived their useful life into recycled materials for new products...TADA!

Plastic bottles are being recycled to make clothes, eye glasses and sunglasses, sneakers, shoes and bags...TADA! 

Also, here are a few more ideas on what we can do for Earth Day that we can practice everyday.

Meanwhile, I'll keep crafting by upcycling cardboard, glass, paper, fabric and other materials that I can turn from "blah to TADA!"

Let's all have a productive week!

Handmade Easter Bunny Ears

Hello everyone!

This year, we're celebrating Easter on April 17. If you're having an Easter party, here's a craft that the kids will enjoy.

We're making Easter Bunny Ears...TADA!

All we need are a pair of pipe cleaners, a headband, a glue gun with glue sticks, and embellishments like paper flowers.

The pipe cleaners will be the bunny ears.

They're very flexible. Just bend them to the shape of bunny ears, twist the ends together and bend them to a 90 degree angle so this part lays flat on top of the headband.

With the glue gun, add some hot glue to the bent part of the pipe cleaner and attach this to the headband. Repeat the process for the second pipe cleaner. Allow the glue to dry.

Accessorize with some paper flowers, attaching these to the headband with more hot glue.

Make as many headbands for all the little bunnies you know. You can even put these in their handmade Easter basket, Easter bucket or Easter pail.

With very simple materials, we turned a plain headband from "blah to TADA!"

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Handmade Stationery and Envelopes

It's already April!

Did you know that April is "National Card and Letter Writing Month?"

I do love cards and letters. I love receiving them and I love sending them. This time-honored practice is my excuse to shop for stationery and also to make my own.

Similar to a previous post, I'm making my own stationery. To start, I made a template by tracing an existing envelope onto cardboard.

I'll use the template to make as many envelopes as I need.

I used gift wrap remnants for this one. Simply trace and cut.

Fold the three sides and glue the edges together.

Here's what the envelope looks like...TADA!

Add a card in a complimentary color -- just card stock cut to size.

Write a message and tuck it into the envelope.

Fold the flap and seal with glue. Now, it's ready to be sent or given away...TADA!

Here is another version:

Using the same method as above, I made another envelope but I assigned the printed part to be on the inside.

I'm using these cardboard cutouts (a few with hand-stamped prints) to decorate it. 

Glue them in place and add some stickers.

It's like a little scrapbook page. Write a short note on the blank spaces or you can even enclose a letter if you have much more to say.

Fold it up and seal with a sticker. Your friend will be pleasantly surprised with what's inside...TADA!

Using old stationery as a template to make new stationery...that's "blah to TADA!"

I hope we can all keep the art of snail mail alive and if you don't want to miss any of these crafty recycling projects, please subscribe here. 

How To Keep Embroidery Floss Organized

Hello friends!

One of my favorite crafts is embroidery and here are some of the things I've made with it:

I gave new life to an old pair of shoes...TADA!

I added color to a plain sleep mask...TADA!

I even joined the #stitchthisinyourstyle challenge on Instagram. A prompt was provided each month and participants embroidered their interpretation. The prompt for this piece is "drink" and of course I chose celebratory champagne...TADA! 

With all the embroidery that I do, you'd think I had a smart way to organize my embroidery floss. But all these years I just stuffed them inside this pouch. Even the loose threads and shabby remnants tangled with the new ones. So blah.

The amount of embroidery floss grew as I made new purchases. I got this entire bag at the thrift store for only $5.00! 

These ones I got for $1.99 each at Daiso (a Japanese dollar store). The cute colors made my knees weak.

I finally got my act together and bought this floss organizer at the craft store. I've seen many crafters use this and I might as well try it out.

It came with about 50 plastic bobbins on which to wind the embroidery floss on.

As an alternative, I would upcycle these bread tags instead of throwing them away.

Another option is to use the plastic bobbin as a template and trace it on sturdy cardboard.

Then cut them to size. I needed more of these bobbins to accommodate all my embroidery floss.

I transferred the embroidery floss to the bobbins. Winding the floss on the bobbin sure is meditative.

Then I grouped them by color...TADA!

I added other embroidery essentials such as scissors, a seam ripper (to undo stitches), needles, and a threader.

Here is my embroidery floss kit all neat and tidy. Now I can tell instantly if I'm running low on a particular color or if there's still a specific color that I need to add to the collection.

I feel so much satisfaction after completing this task. My embroidery floss has gone from "blah to TADA!" and I can't wait to start a new embroidery project.

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An Extra Special Pin Cushion

What's up guys?

This time of year seems to encourage a bit of spring cleaning. Last week, I organized my sewing corner with a D.I.Y spool holder and today, let's continue the sewing theme.

In a previous post, I gave you a peek at my sewing kit. It's very spacious. I can keep fabric, embroidery hoops, and also store current sewing projects.  

My issue with this sewing kit is the loose items that just roll around the box, like these spools of thread that I use for hand sewing.

But I turned "blah" to "TADA!":

I made this handy dandy pin cushion that has a built-in thread holder. There's a little pocket for each spool...TADA!

Would you like to know how I made it?

I started with some fabric.

I cut two squares, each measuring 6 inches by 6 inches with a 1/2-inch border all around. 

Then I cut two strips, the top one measuring 6 inches by 2 inches with a 1/2-inch border all around; and the bottom one measuring 6 inches by 3 inches with a 1/2-inch border all around. 

On the sewing machine, I sewed the edges of the cloth strips to keep them from fraying. Then I attached one strip on each side of the square fabrics to make the pockets. 

I flipped the fabric, right sides facing each other, and sewed the two squares together, leaving a two inch opening on one side.

I turned the fabric inside out, the edges now sewn together...TADA!

I stuffed the inside with fiber fill and closed the opening by sewing. 

This is one side of the pin cushion with the pockets for thread.

Just add the spools. I made the pockets a little tight to keep the spools from slipping off.  But you can make them larger and add more pockets to accommodate your collection.

This is the other side of the pin cushion.

There's enough room for other sewing supplies like a tape measure, seam ripper, scissors, and buttons. 

Before we forget, this is a pin cushion.

Add some needles on the other side, too.

A custom-made pin cushion is a crafty solution where I turned "blah" to "TADA!"

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