Tea for Thought

"Yes, this sudden transmutation in the order of things seems to enhance our pleasure, as if consecrating the unchanging nature of a ritual established over our afternoons together, a ritual that has ripened into a solid and meaningful reality. Today, because it has been transgressed, our ritual suddenly acquires all its power; we are tasting the splendid gift of this unexpected morning as if it were some precious nectar; ordinary gestures have an extraordinary resonance, as we breathe in the fragrance of the tea, savor it, lower our cups, serve more, and sip again: every gesture has the bright aura of rebirth. At moments like this the web of life is revealed by the power of ritual, and each time we renew our ceremony, the pleasure will be all the greater for our having violated one of its principles.

Moments like this act as magical interludes, placing our hearts at the edge of our souls: fleetingly, yet intensely, a fragment of eternity has come to enrich time. Elsewhere the world may be blustering or sleeping, wars are fought, people live and die, some nations disintegrate, while others are born, soon to be swallowed up in turn -- and in all this fury, amidst eruptions and undertows, while the world goes its merry way, bursts into flames, tears itself apart and is reborn: human life continues to throb.

So, let us drink a cup of tea."

- from pages 90-91 in The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Indulge in a good book and a nice warm pot of tea today.
xx Mandy

DIY Travel Sewing Kit

Whenever I travel, I like to carry with me a few emergency essentials, one of those being a needle and thread. The little kits hotels give out come in handy, but inspired by one I found online, I wanted to create my own.

Using some recycled felt and a large fabric scrap, I began designing the layout of my kit. I wanted to have a little pocket for different colors of thread, a secure button pocket for loose items such as buttons, and space to put needles and safety pins. I also created 2 little pockets for tweezers and nail clippers, though the pockets could easily fit other goods such as miniature scissors.

The pouch folds up easily and can be buttoned closed.

Happy travels this summer!
<3 Mandy

p.s. Here's a secret little pocket perfect for little papers or fabric scraps!

 

Avocado Cheddar Quesadillas

Now that summer is coming up, I am in the mood for eating summer fruits and berries and other delicious vegetables in season. The farmer's market has begun selling avocados, and I wanted to try out a new mini-recipe.

Whenever I'm hungry for a little snack, a tortilla heated and slightly toasted over the stove and sprinkled with some grated cheddar cheese always just hits the spot. I tried slicing a bit of avocado over the shredded cheddar and jalapeño cheddar cheese while on the stove, making for a delightfully creamy melted quesadilla.

Looking forward to more tasty summer recipes.
<3 Mandy

DIY Worm Piñata

For a compost club I'm part of, I was assigned to come up with a fun activity for the week. I made a piñata shaped like a worm by using old cardboard food boxes, cutting them into the shape of a worm, and covering them with fringed red crepe paper.

I filled the piñata with a bunch of composty puns.

With some extra crepe paper, we made flowers for Cinco de Mayo.

<3 Mandy

Recycled Rings

Inspired by everyday materials, I wanted to put them to another purpose and make some jewelry.

I bought a few stones on link chains and an old notebook spiral from the school Reuse Store, as well as some hot glue, to make a simple yet bold ring. I cut one stone-link from the chain of five, cut one ring shape from the notebook spiral, and hot-glued them together into an adjustable ring.

  

Using four mini gold safety pins and a pair of pliers, and with the idea from this project, I bent into place a little ring. While three safety pins are actually visible in the finished product, I cut the fourth safety pin into a few little pieces to make my own jump rings (of a color that matched the rest of the ring) to connect the remaining three safety pins.

 

I plan to make more jewelry and continue reusing everyday materials for uses other than they were meant for.
<3 Mandy

P.S. Today marks the second year anniversary of this blog!

Stuffed Felt Totoro

I love Totoro, and so does the girl whose name I drew for Secret Santa. I didn't know what to get her, and I didn't want to get her something boring that she would rather just buy herself.

My sister has a stuffed Totoro that she bought, so I used it as inspiration to make a stuffed one out of felt. Originally, I was going to make one with a needle felting tool and wool roving. I watched a YouTube video tutorial on how to make one, and I bought a needle and used some grey felt I had at home. But I guess the felt that I had was too thick, because the pieces would not bind together properly.

 

I have more experience with sewing, as I have made fabric flowers and hair bows and a collar and detail on a collar. Using a few pieces of colored felt, I drew out a pattern and sewed together a little stuffed Totoro. I added a heart to the back, along with a tail.

<3 Mandy and My Neighbor Totoro

Photo Slide Lamp

 

At the Reuse Store at school, they sell old photo slides from different classes. They are really cool to look at, but you can only really look at them by holding them up to a light source. I bought a bunch of them and decided to use them to make a lamp shade. We need more light in our apartment, so an extra lamp would be really useful. Online, I saw some really cool-looking projects that inspired this one.

I found an old lamp my cousin had - it's really ugly, with a fabric Spiderman shade.While the projects I looked at online used circular-based lamp shades, the Spiderman shade is square. It actually worked out better than I anticipate it would have with a circular base - the slides fit almost perfectly, with 4x4 slides per side.

After removing the Spiderman fabric from the base, I used a pick tool to poke holes in each corner of each slide. The cardboard slides were slightly difficult to pierce through, but I managed to make holes if I pressed hard enough. I had a bunch of plastic slides, too, but I couldn't poke a hole in a corner without cracking the slide. So I heated the metal pick tool on the stove until it was red-hot, and it easily melted holes through the corners. I bought a few packs of jump rings to connect the slides to each other and to the lamp base. I decided not to removed the dangling Spiderman pull, so he adds a little bit of character to the lamp.

 

 

I am really happy with how this project turned out. It's nice to sit in our living room with the lamp turned on, and with Christmas lights still dangling on the walls. The colors on the slides reflect off the white table and on the wood wall, which are pretty to look at. With the light on, I like to look at all the slides side by side.

<3 Mandy