I love tomato sauce. I love pasta with tomato sauce. I particularly like Del Grosso’s Tomato Basil.
I know I should start making my own tomato sauce but basil is such a rare commodity that I would rather just buy this jar for less than AED 10 monthly. Less hassle and much cheaper when you calculate the overhead cost. However, I end up with a lot of empty jars once I have finished and my husband wants me to throw them away.
But the jars are big and nice and the craft voices in my head are just too loud to ignore, so I hide them for future crafting purposes.
The other day, I saw that my stock of sugar (brown and white) are just sitting in the plastic bags they came with and decided to use the jars. I was thinking of making paper labels but then I thought it would be more convenient if I could erase the label if ever I end up wanting to use the jars for something else. So I decided to paint a part of the jars with chalkboard paint.
masking tape, jar (should be empty) and my reliable chalkboard spray paint
I used masking tape to cover parts of the jar that I didnt want to paint.
I messed up some parts of the jar because I was so eager to remove the tape even if they weren’t entirely dried up.
It is currently the Dubai Shopping Festival and that means there are a lot of shops on sale. I have been avoiding going out lately because it is just difficult to go out with a toddler, especially my Aria who enjoys letting everyone hear her high pitched shrieks. and also because I don’t have any shopping money (to get a job or not to get a job, that is the question).
However, after breakfast with my parents the other day, we passed by Bath and Body Works and so many things were on sale. My mom and I particularly like their stuff, so we stocked up on some hand washing liquids (on sale for AED 10 from AED 35), lotions and a bunch of air fresheners.
I usually just buy their aromatherapy oils once a year (coz they last me that long), but this time I got two for a really good bargain.
Eucalyptus Spearmint Antistress and Marshmallow Fireside Fragrance oil from Bath and Body Works
We also got a bunch of those perfume bulbs that you put in diffusers for only AED 6 that DH wanted to put in his car, so I decided to make him a pouch that he can attach to the car AC vents.
wallflowers perfume bulb from Bath and Body Works
I used felt (around 7 cm x 4 cm), garter and a button for this project. I folded the felt and stitched two sides into a pouch and shirred the top so that it would enclose the bulb like shape of the bottle. I made a loop out of the garter and attached it to one side and added the button at the bottom of the garter.
Now DH’s car smells a lot better thanks to Bath and Body Works and some crafting!
I love those IKEA boxes- the color coordinated cardboard ones with the metal trims and metal tag holders. I bought a couple to store/hide my crap in. However two pieces were not enough and they were a bit pricey for around AED 29/pc. (Man! Ive become really stingy!) They are so easy to recreate so I thought I’d try to make them using A4 sized boxes that are usually discarded by most offices.
I asked my DH (dear husband) to get some from his office. He got home one afternoon and got me these.
A4 boxes from the office
There are tons of ways to cover the boxes up, from craft paper to paint. I decided to cover the lid with chalkboard paint so I can easily label and relabel them. For the bottom (or bulk) of the box, I decided to cover with paper.
I had tons of brown envelope lying around and decided to use that. You can use any wrapping paper, or even leftover wall paper. I had chalkboard spray paint lying around from an old project. You can get this at ace hardware.
First, I dissassembled the bottom box so that the flap will be inside. I wanted a smoother surface for easy covering.
Then, I reassembled and covered the boxes with paper. I added Washi masking tape trim for additional design.
I spray painted the top cover last. Make sure you do this outdoors.
My storage boxes with chalkboard paint lids
Voila!!! Your personalized boxes! 🙂 Perfect for knick knacks, craft stuff, clutter or other things.
i have a small collection of postcards from friends all over the world, and some postcards i got from my travels (i havent done much travelling but still…). i tried mounting them on the wall above my computer and work area, but after a week or two, most of them have fallen off. I used my washi masking tapes (from japan) so that i don’t really ruin the writing side, but i guess it’s not strong enough… i need something stronger.
this looks so inspired but so messy
homelife.com.au recommends using blue tack (image from homelife.com.au)mammoth.go.com recommends clear scotch tape. i feel that will ruin the back of the postcards (image from mammoth.go.com)
apartment therapy has tackled the question before but for easily changeable postcards. the problem is, i would have to drill on the wall again…
postcards on pegs from apartment therapy.com
i really want somethng simple. just like madison in june but my postcards are not all the same size.
properly aligned postcards from madisoninjune.blogspot.com
ali in a bubble seems to have the problem all figured out on how to arrange the cards, but what i would really like to know from her is how she got them on her wall.
one word- AWESOME! photo from ali-in-a-bubble.deviantart.com
this irregularity is more of what i am going for.
image from hulaseventy.blogspot.com
looked through the web for a bit of inspiration and found this post in one of my fave blogs – young house love–
postcards on the wall from younghouselove.com
but this would mean boring holes into the wall… something DH might not approve of…
henihoo, if anyone has suggestions i would love to hear it from you.
yes, i have dreams. i have dreams of having billions of dollars stashed up in different banks across the world… i dream of being able to afford to leave my job and do something i really like… i dream of having the best stuff and being able to afford to travel…
ok, this post is not about my dreams. its actually about a list of the coolest stuff i know that are out there that i would really really appreciate someone would give me. ofcourse, that is wishful thinking coz i barely know anybody who are THAT RICH and THAT GENEROUS. although i do know a lot of generous people, but anyway, i am going to blog only about 8 things… some expensive and some just out of reach in Dubai.
8. An IMAC.
yes. i want one. the latest one. i already own a macbook pro (which has one defective fan) and it’s still working great. However, an IMAC has a big screen, the latest one has a faster processor and it would really look COOL on my messy desk.
current working area
7. An organized work area
a place for everything and everything in its place. yes. i need storage. a storage with doors. my stuff are everything and it’s getting on DH’s nerves. and when it does get on DH’s nerves, he gets on my nerves… so to prevent domestic violence, i need a desk height storage cabinet (or two), a bunch of those green boxes from IKEA (i already have a couple but i need more) and a trash can. i don’t have a trash can.
7. Letterpress metal stamping set.
I want one of those small ones. i want one from etsy with a sans-serif font. something like this.
letter stamping set from cantonbox company from etsy
although this is something i can get for myself, there are no stores in Dubai that sells this… atleast none that i know of.
6. a YUDU
i love screen printing and ive never done it. so i want a small machine that will help me screen print. that’s it. i can make my shirts, my bags, other stuff. this is soooo cool!
Yudu machine from provocraft. image courtesy of provocraft.com
5. An epic tool and the letter press kit.
i was once at this store in dubai called paperlane, and the attendants asked me what kind of crafter i am, and i had no idea what they were talking about… anyway, the story has nothing to do with this next item, except that i liked that store and i believe they sold this EPIC tool there.
i love paper. i do. all sorts of paper. especially the textured ones. the ones with the nice prints. the really thin light ones. i love letterpress stationary. and it would be so cool if i can make my own… and these tools are what every letterpress junky would get high on.
letterpress and epic. image courtesy of lifestylecrafts.com
4. new silhouette cameo
it cuts your paper into any shape you want! wow! and its also SLEEK!
the silhouette cameo. image courtesy of silhouette america
3. Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
my SIGMA wide angle lens is broken. i need a new one. i’m travelling soon so i need one.
the grand mosque in Abu Dhabi. panoramic shot taken with my kit lens.
2. the LYTRO
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!
the LYTRO in red
ok i want the blue one with 16 GB of memory… red is not my color.
1. CANON EOS 7D
my 400D is more than 5 years old. my camera needs a lot of tweaking and camera maintenance. it needs cleaning. sad. i love it, but i need something new, something heavier, something more pro… although i’m not pro and probably will take 20 years before i turn pro but i would like to have that feeling of being pro.
CANON EOS 7d
And there ends my story. its quite long but i like the feeling of finally getting it all down on paper and maybe down the line, not necessarily before the end of this year, preferably in 5 years, i would be able to cross the items off of this list one by one.
I messed up some parts of the jar because I was so eager to remove the tape even if they weren’t entirely dried up.
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