Upcycled Bottle Decor Turorial
Inspired by Matilda
I recently watched Matilda (the Musical) in England and was inspired by the awesome talent of the kids who starred in the play. One particular song stuck with me, and it became my inspiration for the poem, When I Grow Up.
I can almost picture this poem with illustrations and it gives me goosebumps just thinking of how it will look like! Maybe soon I can get someone to collaborate with me on the artwork for this =)
When I Grow Up
When I grow up,
I will invite the monsters
Under my bed
(and inside my head)
To have some tea.
I will tell the big bully
In my school
That it would be cool
If he’d sit a while with me.
I will eat the scary vegetables
On my plate
(even those that I hate)
Without a wince.
I will speak out loud
And raise my hand
I’ll take a stand
And will not flinch.
When I grow up,
I will surprise all of you
With the things that I can do…
If I grow up.
Customized Shopkins Part 2
Customized Shopkins Tutorial
A quick, very easy tutorial for mothers out there who have daughters who love Shopkins! My daughter got this as a party giveaway and requested me to repaint it because it had lost its eyes and most of the details of its body. I googled how it looked, painted the details on with some acrylic, and sealed it with glossy sealant. Not too bad for a first try! Took me about 25 mins because I wanted to make sure the acrylic paint was dry! I was surprised the acrylic worked very well on the squishy exterior of the Shopkins!Very easy peasy! Enjoy!
Craft Weekend: Cable Organizer
It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted a craft! And it’s not at all because I’ve stopped crafting. It’s really because I don’t have a decent place to take pictures of what I make. So, before I proceed, let me just apologize for the quality of my pictures.
Now, to my craft! I’ve always been interested in giving new life to disposable stuff. For this craft, I used bread clips. My friend gave me the idea of recycling these clips into cable organizers! Since then, I’ve been saving these clips to experiment on a design!
I used polymer clay to do my owl designs and then I super glued it to the bread clip. Voila! Very cute cable organizers! Hope you have a craft-filled weekend!
Happy Birthday Charles Perrault!
As I was using Google to search the net, I was enamoured by its beautiful fairy tale-inspired banners.
Inadvertantly, I clicked on one and it led me to the reason behind the banners–it’s Charles Perrault’s birthday!
I love Perrault, not just because he created magical tales, but also because he didn’t let age (he wrote Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals at 67) nor profession (he was a lawyer before becoming a writer) limit him from fulfilling his dreams! He is a constant reminder to me of what can be achieved when one has enough belief and passion.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLES! I tip my hat to you, sir!
Tooth Fairy Not Welcome!
David was a boy who loved taking care of his teeth. He brushed it and made sure it stayed clean all day. He didn’t eat sweets so as not to get tooth decay. Everybody complimented him for his perfectly white milk teeth.
But as with all milk teeth, one day, David found one of them loose.
“Mom!” David panicked. “There’s something wrong with my front tooth!”
Mom checked it out and smiled. “Oh David, a new one is getting ready to come out!”
“But I like this one,” David frowned.
“Don’t worry, when it comes off, the tooth fairy will replace it with a shiny new coin.”
“But I don’t want a new coin. I want my tooth to stay put!”
Despite David’s best efforts and most diligent brushing, the tooth came off. And just like Mom said, the tooth fairy left a coin under David’s bed, and his pearly white tooth disappeared.
Just when David was getting used to his growing new tooth, another one started wiggling.
Oh no! David muttered under his breath. I’m keeping this away from the tooth fairy.
When it came off, instead of burying it under his pillow, he hid it in his pajama pocket.
The next day, David emptied his pocket, but was surprised to find a coin instead of a tooth.
Stay away from my teeth! David grumbled.
Every time another tooth came out, he hid it! He tried hiding it in his toy box, in a bottle, on top of his highest shelf. He even hid it under lock and key. But the tooth fairy always found his tooth.
Finally, he was down to his last milk tooth. He was determined to keep this one. He thought to put it in the last place the fairy would check. He put it inside his dad’s tool box and locked it in the shed.
David was so tired and sad. He knew that no matter what he did, the tooth fairy would always find his tooth.
The next day, he dragged himself from bed, and expected another coin in his father’s tool box.
When he opened the box, he broke into a huge smile. Wrapped in a big bow was all his milk teeth arranged in a cast. Attached to it was a note sprinkled with glittery dust.
It read:
Dear David,
It was fun playing hide and seek with your teeth!
Thanks for taking such good care of it! As a reward, I organized it for you to keep!
Smile!
Denty the Tooth Fairy
ZsaZsa Goes to Benguet!
“We are going home to Benguet!” Mama announced over breakfast one morning.
“Benguet?!” I whined. “Do we have to?” From Papa’s stories of his trips there, Benguet was this faraway province on top of a mountain. I just knew the long trip was going to be boooring!
“Yes, we have to. We are going to visit our family, and our tribe–the Igorots of Bay-yo,” Mama said with a smile.
“Mama!” I wailed as I crossed my hands over my chest and growled. I didn’t like to be called an Igorot. My classmates teased me when I first introduced myself as an Igorot, and from then on, I stopped mentioning it to anyone.
“I’m sorry, ZsaZsa, but I don’t understand you,” she said patiently. “We come from a long line of native Filipinos. Before the Spaniards came, we were already here, growing our crops, developing our crafts, and caring for our families! You should be proud to belong to such a unique group.”
I sighed. Mama looked long and hard at me, as if saying that I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
I had lived in Manila all seven years of my life. I knew the noisy horns of our jeeps, the colorful billboards along our paved roads, and the people dressed in their uniforms going to work and school. But I knew nothing of Benguet, except that it was high up in the mountains and that we belonged to a tribe.
Finally, it was the day of our trip. Papa woke me up early. “It’s a long trip, honey. Pack your jacket because its going to be cold.”
“Why are we called Igorot anyway?” I asked, still cranky that I had been woken up.
“Well, our name literally means that we are from the mountains,” Mama explained.
“Ok, now I know what an Igorot is. We don’t have to actually go there,” I said, hoping to still change their minds.
“We can’t just tell you what an Igorot is. You have to see it for your own eyes. You have to experience what it is like to be from the mountains.” Mama raised an eyebrow at me.
The rocking of the car lulled me to sleep. When I woke up, we were by the road on the mountainside.
“Just in time!” Papa said. “Look at the zigzag roads we are passing through!”
Even I couldn’t help but stare at the roads we were passing. Beside us was the mountain, and we were going around it. The view of the pines trees and the clouds touching the mountain took my breath away. I opened my window slightly and felt the cold wind hit my face.
Mama pointed to me the sides of the mountains with what seemed to be carved flooring. “See those? That is how we planted. Even if it is very hard to plant on mountains, the Igorots were able to figure out how to do it. We call our rice fields kapayyew.”
“Wow!” I couldn’t help but smile. “It looks wonderful, Mama. Can we see it up close?” She nodded eagerly.
Finally, we had arrived! Everyone was dressed in colorful woven fabric.
“I’m glad you’re here!” An elderly woman approached us.
“Yes, it’s time for ZsaZsa to know her roots,” Mama said.
“Let’s get you dressed so that we can teach you how to dance the Bendian!”
Mama dressed me in the same striped cloth and wrapped a thin woven belt around my head. It was fun hopping and raising my hands together with the children of the tribe. Then we shared a meal of Pinikpikan and Innasin. I was excited to try everything. The elders told me stories of my parents and they were very nice in answering all my questions. I even took many pictures with them. When the day ended, Mama sat beside me.
“Did you have a good time today?” She asked as I smiled sleepily.
“I had the best day! Thank you for bringing me to Benguet. I can’t wait to show my classmates pictures of our tribe!” I said as I kissed her goodnight.