Wristwatch Makeover

I have just spruced up the appearance of this watch by applying a crafty clay touch from its old rusty and dull look to transform it into an exciting style.

But I am so sorry to tell that I forgot to have it (original watch) picture taken to reveal the “before” and “after” development.

Hope you enjoy viewing my new creation. Your comments are very much appreciated. Thank you.

April Fool's Day Miniature Cake

This April Fool’s Day, I’m not into throwing hoax but it is a chance for me to get creative. Again, I loosened-up my nifty hands so I have delicately handcrafted a delightful mouth-watering and lip-smacking sponge cake topped with peach and covered with dark chocolate using cold porcelain medium. But, be careful not to get fooled by this cake because it’s not real. I should say, that it was a success that I was able to make it appear as life size and authentic.

This tiny cutie ref magnet cake measures approximately 1.5” in diameter and the slice of cake can be used as charm for cellphone to add chic to electronic gadget, also, perfect for bracelet charm, pendant and key chain.


I intend to give the miniature cake to my very dear friend, Mher Daet as she celebrates her birthday on the 4th of April.

Let me know your comment on how would you like my creation. Thank you for viewing.

Trinkets for Summer 2010

The heat of the sun is already scorching because summer is officially here and school year has formally ended. There is something about summer. It is not only graduation time, long vacation from school, lesser school-related expenses, but it is a perfect time of the year to take advantage of the water and fruits in season.

In time for Ella Roman’s graduation (my friend’s daughter) on March 26, I found delight to create a watch bracelet covered with apple-inspired cold porcelain/air dry clay to go together with dangling summer fruits as a summery gift to her.

As I indulge myself to a summer fruits feast, there’s nothing quite like the refreshing, healthy, quench thirsting sweet taste of juicy fruits on a hot summer day. Whether you like the slices of watermelon, kiwi, banana, strawberry, apple and orange, there are plenty of seasonal summer fruits to choose from to add flair to one’s bracelet charms being the apple as the lead role and halves of the summer fruits as the supporting casts.

With this cool and cute one of a kind bracelet to enjoy, it is a best fit to jazz-up one’s get-up to complement with summery outfit.

Virgin Coconut Oil

Coconut cream from freshly squeezed coconut is an indispensable ingredient in almost every Bicol's cuisine aside from hot chili pepper of course. It is a staple ingredient for a Bicolana like me who can't live without for delicious, mouth-watering, and lip-smacking gastronomic treats. But wait, I will not share some of my coconut cream cooking recipes yet (in the near future, I will! lol).

With this coconut, I'd love to share it with you how to make a home-made "Virgin Coconut Oil" - the cold way absolutely without applying heat. Here's my how-to-do-it VCO.

Ingredients:
- 2 pcs. medium size quality matured coconuts
- coconut juice from matured coconuts

Materials needed:
- clean cheesecloth (as strainer and for squeezing)
- containers for coconut mixture and VCO
- funnel

Procedure:

• Place and wrap the coconut mixture into the cheesecloth.
• Press and squeeze the cloth to allow the coconut milk to flow out of the cloth.
• Keep squeezing for several times until all the creamy juices come out of the mixture.
• Set aside the squeezed coconut, it can be used as fertilizer.
• In a container, filter the coconut milk using a cheesecloth.
  
• Cover and allow the coconut milk to settle untouched in room temperature for 18 hours. Fermentation takes place setting the coconut oil to separate naturally in between the curd and white watery mixture (can be fermented and turned into vinegar).

• Carefully remove the curd (top layer)
  
• Gently scoop out the oil (2nd layer) and pour into ready container while filtering using a cheesecloth on top of a funnel for a transparent result.
  

Now you have your virgin coconut oil ready.

finished product

Some benefits of VCO:

1. Beneficial to the heart as it contains about 50% lauric acid (an essential fatty acid that is only found in high concentrations in mother's milk) which helps in preventing various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. The saturated fats present in coconut oil are not harmful same with other vegetable oil.
2. It helps boost the body's immune system.
3. It has anti-viral and anti-microbial properties.
4. It aids to regulate blood sugar.
5. Serves as basic ingredient for soaps, lotions and creams.
6. Helps in preventing premature aging due to its antioxidant properties.
7. Aids in treating various skin problems including psoriasis, dermatitis, eczema and other skin infections.
8. Heals & nourishes the skin, hair and scalp. A good form of moisturizer for the skin.
   
9. Helps maintain healthy thyroid function.
10. Serves as an effective insect repellant when mix with peppermint oil.
11. It heals animal wounds.
12. Coconut juice serves as refreshing electrolyte-rich drink and can be a good replacement for sports drink.

Do try it at home. I hope I've imparted something helpful in my own little way. Please feel free to share your thoughts. Thanks for the visit and hope you will keep coming back. :)

Polvorones de Malunggay (Moringa)

My husband went home from tennis bringing along with him moringa leaves. Undecided and mulling over what to do with them, I settled to delve the internet and dug more about Moringa. Take a look, you will be amazed by the wonders of this tree and the beneficial properties it can offer to us.

Moringa tree (malunggay in the Philippines) or known as "drumstick," is an exceptionally nutritious tree with variety of potential uses. The tree is slender with drooping branches, and grows up to 10 meters in height. The moringa tree grows very quickly- it comes into leaves at the end of the dry season, when other foods are the scarcest. It grows quickly in any tropical climate. Within six months of planting a seed or a piece of trunk, one can cut leaves from the tree to eat. It is considered to be one of the most useful trees since almost every part of it has some beneficial property. The leaf, which is the most potent part of the plant can be cooked or dried, pulverize into a fine powder that can be added to almost anything as nutrient supplement or to some dishes for added flavor.

Moringa is also known as the "miracle tree" and "tree of life", is a multi-purpose plant, as the leaves, pods, fruits, flowers, roots and bark of the tree can be utilized. For this reason, it has put moringa as the most nutritious vegetable plant around and has been used as fortificant in noodles, bread, biscuits, delicacies, burgers, hotdogs, porridge and as tea due to its richness in vitamins and minerals.

getting ready to be sun dried

pulverized malunggay leaves

Nutritional and health benefits:

1. Proven to increase the production of breast milk for nursing mothers.
2. It has rich supply of nutrients, super-antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, and anti-aging compounds.
3. It has vast health-promoting benefits on cardiovascular and endocrine.
4. Improves sleep, mental clarity, wound healing, digestion and detoxification.
5. Increases the natural defenses of the body.
6. Provides nourishment to the eyes and the brain.
   
7. Promotes the cell structure of the body, metabolism and natural serum cholesterol.
8. Lowers the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
9. Promotes the normal functioning of the liver and the kidney.
10. Beautifies the skin.
11. Promotes energy, proper digestion, and healthy circulatory system.
    
12. Supports the normal sugar level of the body.
13. Gives a feeling of general wellness.
14. The health benefits of moringa oil can be compared to sunflower oil and olive oil

Other benefits:

1. Its seed has the full potential of producing bio-fuel, cooking oil, industrial oil, and lubricants
2. Some parts of moringa tree can be used for animal feed, domestic cleanser, perfume, personal care products, cosmetics, dye, fertilizer, medicine, rope fiber, and as an agent for tanning hides.
3. The flowers of the moringa plant can be used in making herbal tea for they add a refreshing aroma to the tea.

The paramount thing I like in moringa is that the leaves can be crushed into a fine powder providing nutrition, zest, and aroma to some of our favorite dishes. In my case, I have brought into play the powdered malunggay leaves for my polvoron. Here's my own version of polvoron de malunggay that your family including the kids might definitely enjoy.



Ingredients:
3 c. sifted all purpose flour
1 c. ground peanuts (optional)
1 1/2 c. powdered milk
3/4 c. melted butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. pulverized malunggay leaves
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Cooking Procedure:

1. On a heavy skillet, toast flour over moderate heat until light brown while stirring constantly.
2. Add pulverized malunggay leaves, powdered milk, peanuts for another 3 to 5 minutes. Removed from heat and let it cool.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well until it has about the consistency of damp sand.
4. Fill the polvoron molder (use round or oval shapes according to your preference) with the mixture. Press the mixture well using the back of a spoon so it will not become crumbly when released.
5. Refrigerate in an air tight container until firm.
6. Wrap them with colorful Japanese 5" x 5" squares paper. (I prefer Japanese paper over cellophane for earth saving reason).

Everybody is welcome to share your cooking experience. Enjoy this simple but healthy dessert. Have some to share! :)

Reduce Reuse Recycle

I now begin to practice the three R's "reduce, reuse, recycle" to say goodbye to waste and keep discarded materials out of landfills. By putting together arts and crafts into recycling, we can keep down the amount of trash and turn it into treasure. With little creativity from our old stuff, it will not only reduce the impact on the environment, but it will also add life and transform it into a new adorable item.

Instead of throwing away unwanted materials, activate the arty-crafty sense in us. Rescue the reusable objects heading for the garbage bin and make over them into fantastic crafts. I'm putting my green back to environment by having my old denim pants created into functional bag and embellished it with beads and scarf as accents. Truly, one person's trash is another person's treasure - that's the beauty of recycling!


Let us stay green and healthy. You are free to share your greenie crafts' tips. I'd love to hear from you.

Buttons Up

Being inspired to let my hands play and explore what unlimited creations that I can generate out of loose buttons, the flame of creativity gets my candle burning to weave pieces of buttons and mixing them up with beads.

candy

tiny weeny kikay


mauve

As a self-taught crafter, I am captivated by the flexibility and unlimited possibilities buttons will produce. From my collection of buttons (vintage, resin and plastic), my imagination started to run wild and demonstrate some kind of my crafting geek by mixing and matching different colors and sizes and embellishing them with beads to add flair to an ordinary buttons. The seed beads were also weaved to create a toggle clasps.

tie a yellow

victorian

Stringing them was a great joy and fun to connect with my passion to experiment with buttons this time and threaded them into bracelets for a stunning look. These totally unique and adorable bracelets can be paired with any outfit and can be a perfect idea for a last-minute present for your loved ones.

mixco

victoria


alexia

So what are you waiting for, have fun stringing those buttons and get creative. :)

Personalized Crocheted Laptop Skin

To have a feel and touch of uniqueness, I just finished my personalize crocheted laptop skin which I painstakingly worked on for two weeks. Using 5 balls of tri-colored Canon crochet thread, this customized laptop cover will definitely protect my notebook against abrasion and damage. A great idea not only for protecting its internal functions but also an effective way to safeguard the outside casing as well. In so doing, scratches and small nicks can be prevented since it is mobile and often get banged when transferred from one location to another.

A personal stamped of my own personality. It fascinates me to have come-up with this unique hand creation that is enjoyable to use and carry around. A fun way of dressing-up my electronic for it fits securely and stays firmly in place.

As my contribution to my dear mother earth, I take part in using eco-friendly materials. Said cover is washable, can be used several times and can be easily removed and put on.

My Latest Additions to my World of Crafts

I'm into my creative mood and I feel the thrill to create miniature novelty figures. This time using seed beads. :)

poodle doodle (actual size: 1.75 cm x 1.75cm)

One great way to dress up one's cell phone is to accessorize it with beaded charms. These tiny weenie knick-knacks were intricately hand weaved to add some bling to mobile devices in an affordable means. A fun, cool and inexpensive way to give accents to your favorite communication gadgets that will definitely provide an added excitement, style, and sparkle according to your fashion options and unique personality.

casual bag (actual size: 5cm x 5cm)

Depending on your mood, you can change the theme of your cell phone charms as often as you want. The catch phrase is "dolled up your mobile phone" with these dainty trinkets to create a feel of distinctiveness on fashion staple when it comes to cellphone accessory. I am sure that young and old alike will certainly get fascinated even when their lovely gadgets are not in use.

evening bag (actual size: 3cm x 3cm)

witch me luck (actual size: 4cm x 6cm)

Have fun with these delightful and lovely charms!

My Timeless Cross Stitch Collection

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Cross stitch is a popular form of counted thread embroidery in which X-shaped stitches are used to form a picture. It is usually executed on easily countable even weave fabric. The stitcher counts the threads in each direction so that the stitches are of uniform size and appearance.

-->It is one of my hobbies, got hooked-up to it in the early 90’s and was a stitching addict when it was a fad in our country. I found delight and it was some sort of therapy for me the moment my hands touch the fabric. A friend once commented on my works saying "it is like having a painted portrait hung on the wall and a heritage to be treasured and can be passed on to the next generations." mmm... sigh.

Have a glance of some of my needle point designs displayed in chronological order as they were finished.

Materials used: weave fabric, DMC threads

Spring Flowers in the Vase

actual size: 48 x 37cm

This was my very first cross stitch creation. I did this while hubby was working overseas in Palau.

Praying Hands

actual size: 33 x 35cm

I have done this one when my mood was into spiritual. Took 1 month to finish. Occasionally loosening up my hands when schedule permits.

Fruits Galore

actual size: 49 x 59cm
 

Thought of something that can be beautifully displayed and hung in the kitchen that I, myself did.

Personalized House Clock

actual size: 30 x 43cm

This was given by my sister-in-law Cory. Just added our names (Ding, Ann, CJ Cucio) for a personalized touched finish.

Villas

actual size: 70 x 47cm

Got enthused when I saw the pattern resembled like a painting. Applied 3 strands thread half cross stitching.

Japanese House and Bridge
actual size: 87 x 54cm

Actually, the portion where the clock is positioned was an extra weave fabric. I was contemplating what to do with that extra space. I reflected the Bible and the message appeared before me was John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Put a clock for added value and use.

Lady in an Enchanted Garden

actual size: 96 x 68cm

This is my favorite. Used 6 strands of DMC threads double stitches and French knots. Embellished with few pieces of butterflies for accents. Spent 6 months of on and off labor to finish.

Fountain Spring Resort Clock

actual size: 91 x 37cm

This is being hung in our store. Customers especially the teens kept on asking what time is it manay? (Bicol word in addressing female older than you are). Maybe, they are reminded by their parents to go home early after a cool dip in the pool.

You may also would like to check out some of my handcrafted crystal beads' works. Please click here.

A Hobbyist's Mania

As a hobbyist, I am always enthralled working with my hands. I find bliss in cross-stitching, crocheting, quilting, sewing, beading, and anything that flexes my nifty muscles. Even when I was still a little girl, I got thrilled when my Home Economics teacher back in my elementary days would bring in and teach us new arts/crafts project. During those times, I can’t remember submitting any piece of my work that was half-baked and without displaying my keen eye for details attitude. If there was a need to start doing it again, I would painstakingly redo it entirely to come up with the finished products in almost great precision. Since then, the discovery for my fascination, obsession and passion to the world of craft began to burst.

Here are some of my hand crafted creations.



My addiction and crave for crafts learning grew more when my friend sent me a coin-purse made out of crystal beads as a gift. The moment I handed the beaded purse, I whispered to myself, hmmm, this is something I will really enjoy doing from our home and put my unexploited ingenuity into maximum use. For 3 consecutive struggling days, working until wee hours just to study the twists and turns how the coin purse was made, I was able to carry out the finished product well. From the beads making, I got a kick out of all the crazy designs I could come up with and each piece of crystal bead comes out differently producing cellphone case, bowl case-protection, jewelry, bag, flower vase holder, and even fruits/animals miniatures. I regret that I haven’t taken a snapshot of some of my handcrafted creations prior to giving out to friends as my personal-touched gift on a particular occasion. But from now on, I will and I must. Promise!




Although I have no formal education nor did I attend any short course on jewelry making, it surprises me to produce something which I really enjoy and finally uncover my newfound knack. Of course, if my budget and time permit, I would definitely love to enroll in special classes or crash courses on jewelry making or Gemology to acquire techniques and knowledge.

This hobby really gives me enjoyment in accessorizing myself; flaunting my designs and then got noticed by others and eventually accepting made to order jewelry.






You are welcome to drop me a line. Thank you.