Made It Myself: Pastel-Colored Roses On Cupcakes

Ever since I learned how to frost cupcakes with my Wilton 1m star tip, I've been making my icing look like roses on top of my cupcakes.

When my friend Marla asked me to make cupcakes for her little sister's 18th birthday, I was wondering how to "dress them up nicely" for the debut. While I was mixing three different bowls of icing into pink, purple, and yellow, I tried to think of a way to achieve a sort of gradient effect on my frosting roses.

I scooped a tablespoon each into my Dessert Decorator Pro (the BEST thing EVER!) and continued until I filled it. When I started piping onto the cupcakes, I got exactly what I wanted! A purple-pink-yellow gradient magically appeared. So so so happy with how it turned out and now I can't wait to experiment more with colored frosting!

And because I hate storing leftover buttercream (and eventually forgetting I kept it in the first place then having to throw it out, anyway), I made just enough frosting for the 18 cupcakes with a few tablespoons left for the remaining 6. I frosted them Iced Gems-style and I have to admit, they still look pretty cute.

If you want to order cupcakes, cookies, or pies (I make an awesome Turtle Pie!), please like my Page on Facebook. (:

Made It Myself: Paracord Bracelets

I've been on a workshop streak with Mikko's I Try DIY. This time around, I learned how to make bracelets out of paracord. These bracelets are more stylish than functional, though. (:

Each participant gets a bottle filled with enough materials for six or more bracelets.

There's also a "buffet" that participants can "steal" from in the course of the workshop. So if you want to save some of your paracord for projects you want to do at home, go ahead and practice with the ones here.

This is what came in my bottle. 5 bundles of I Try DIY paracord (you can actually order these from Mikko's site!). Plus different types of closure.

We were taught how to connect two different colors (with a bit of Mighty Bond and a lighter) together. I didn't want to touch the heated glue so I used the pliers to join them together. If you do get some glue on your fingers, acetone will get that out easily.

Not the neatest, but good enough. Here's how you start the bracelet.

Learned two styles: the cobra knot and this braided style that makes a flatter bracelet. We were also taught how to close the bracelets two ways. One involved a bit of sewing, but you don't need to be a pro to do it!

Came home with these two new additions to my arm party. I still have tons of paracord left and I'm excited to make more bracelets.

If you want to learn how to make these too, just sign up for the next one happening on September 14 in BGC. More info plus sign up sheet on I Try DIY.

Made It Myself: Handmade Stationery

Last weekend, I spent a rainy Saturday afternoon at a cozy cafe with some fellow crafty people making cards and envelopes with my brand new Martha Stewart punchers.

My friend Mikko has the biggest collection of craft punchers. I'm not even kidding. So when she opened up a craft huddle that came bundled with a free puncher, I didn't even think twice about signing up.

Here she is at Cordillera Coffee along Xavierville Avenue with the busy participants handcrafting their own stationery sets.

We were free to use as much paper as we wanted and had unlimited borrowing rights to Mikko's tools just for that afternoon.

Funny how it was my first time at Cordillera Coffee when I pass by it every single day. This was the super yummy tuna pesto sandwich I had paired with Tableya coffee.

Merienda break! See that paper garland strung across the room? Mikko made that too!

My punching skills aren't perfect so you'll notice one of the loops got cut off, haha! But I'm mighty proud of this pretty little envelope I made. I didn't use a template and just eyeballed the dimensions using the card I made. Didn't realize it was that easy to make an envelope until I did it. Ha!

This was made using a template Mikko cut out for me. Next on my things-to-buy list? That envelope template maker! Sooo convenient.

Our class picture after an afternoon of making. Now I can't wait to sit down and get to work on my stationery sets for the swap next week!

Made It Myself: Braids and Seed Beads Bracelets

Spent all of Sunday afternoon finishing up my handmade gifts for my friends in the office. I originally wanted to make my own version of these morse code bracelets, but I got reacquainted with this necklace I pinned a few months ago. Instead of necklaces, though, I made bracelets. I used silver seed beads, but ran out in the middle of the 11 bracelets I was making so I alternated some with gold ones.

I used mostly pink, peach, yellow, and greens from my mom's stash of string. I made sure to include green in all of the bracelets because 2013's year of the color is emerald. (:

And because I wanted to go handmade all the way, I made these pillow boxes out of an old paper bag. They're not perfect (because I missed a step!!! Hahaha!), but I'm pretty happy with how they look. You can make your own by following this tutorial on Mikko's website.

* Made It Myself will be a section I'll update regularly with all handmade and DIY projects. (:

Local And Handmade

I love being around creative people. There's something so inspiring about seeing handmade things.

After the baby shower, I headed to Hip Pinoy along Katipunan extension with Mikko to check out her booth. I ended up saying hello to some of the crafters I met at Alessa's First Craft Soiree. Also, I couldn't resist getting a few things from the booths. Self-control, what's that?

Mikko shared her booth with her cousins, Aki of The Girls Room, and Dina of Wired Charms.

Mansy of Hey Kessy had all sorts of prettiness on her table.

From April's stash, I picked up this pack of Artisan cupcake toppers. Still thinking of what to do for my birthday. Maybe I can finally have that Pushing Daisies tea party I've always wanted to do. These would be perfect for that! She was also selling pretty accessories and dateless journals.

Got myself two rolls of washi tape (for what, I really don't know. I have a bunch of tape from my trip to Singapore that I still haven't touched. Hoarders alert!) and a free sticker and yellow heart. Hehe.

Love the color combo of this craft lace keychain. Thinking of attaching it to my multicolored Yakpak.

Sweet surprise of the day: Wired Charms earrings! Dina let me pick a pair and even wrapped them up in lovely packaging.

I've been told a few times to join bazaars during Christmas time, but I always think I can't handle the work. Maybe sometime soon would be a good time to try. We'll see!