How to Make a Yoga Mat Bag (and make a friend happy) =)

One year and four months since my purchase of a sewing machine, cloths of different patterns and other sewing needs, I finally had time to sit down and make a project out of it. I made my very first yoga mat bag! I think I did well. Here it is…

Of course I cannot do it without my online tutorial. Thanks to Meream of boredandcrafty.com.

It will be my Christmas gift for my very good friend and yoga buddy, Maddy. I hope she likes it!:)

Say Thanks, Make Someone’s Day!

Yesterday, 24 November 2011, is the fourth Thursday of November. Friends in the United States sent over their greetings of Happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone and wrote about what they are thankful for in their Facebook statuses. I do not usually bother about their celebration as I haven’t been to the US yet, and Thanksgiving is not celebrated in the community that I grew up in.

But don’t get me wrong. I do say my thanks to God… everyday! And in every opportunity, my gratitude and appreciation also goes out to the people around me.

After reading Jeff Goins’ blog on 10 Reasons to Be Thankful & Why You Need a Gratitude List, I anyhow became inspired to make my own list of things to be thankful for. One day late is better than not doing at all, right? So, I am, and will always be, thankful for:

1. My crazy family who loves and always believes in me. I don’t see them everyday, but they always make me feel special and missed. I am thankful that now that we are older and far from each other, we have grown closer to each other. I miss them everyday and I always look forward to seeing them whenever I come home to Manila.
2. The one and only love of my life — my husband, Jojo — who always thinks of my needs before his own. He is my motivator when life is being too hard on me. He is the reason for my four years and one month of happiness.
3. My parents-in-law who accepted me to be part of their family. Sad though that Nanay had to leave so soon
4. My job which I have a love-hate relationship with. My boss can be unreasonable and crazy at times, but he is the reason why I am here in Singapore and have been surviving life here for 5 and 1/2 years now. Because of my job, I can travel and buy the needs and luxuries of myself and my family.
5. My friends who have different ways of inspiring me and caring for me.
6. Yoga and nature walks which prevent me from being a couch potato on weekends, and my friends who do these activities with me to make it more fun.
7. My blogging teacher and inspiration, Jeff Goins. It has been my lifelong dream to learn how to write well as I have always been bad at essay exams during my school days. I am still working on it, with the guidance of Jeff’s blogs.
8. Budget airlines — Jetstar, Cebu Pacific, and Tiger Airways — for providing cheap airfare going to Manila.
9. Facebook, for connecting me with old friends and relatives, and for updating me with what’s happening around. It also saves me from boredom on bus and train rides.
10. And lastly, my God who has given me nothing but the best things in life!

There are thousands of things to be thankful for everyday, from waking up to a beautiful sunrise to resting to get ready for another day. What is important is that we know how to appreciate what we have, and be thankful for even the littlest blessing that has been given to us.

Say Thanks, Make Someone’s Day

Singapore is recently promoting its aim to make the country the best home for its people, by encouraging Singaporeans to make a positive commitment to gracious living through simple acts of kindness in their daily activities. It is such an inspiring move by the Singapore government to give importance to issues like these which other countries may just ignore.

To read more about the Singapore Kindness Movement, please visit http://kindness.sg.

Christmas Projects

For Filipinos, Christmas time usually starts when the -BER months come—SeptemBER, OctoBER, NovemBER and DecemBER. People start to put up their Christmas trees and decors, and to go to the mall for Christmas shopping.

Since we will be spending our Christmas in Singapore, I thought of decorating our place (our small bedroom at least, since we don’t have much space in the living room), on a budget though. I went to Daiso (S$2 shop) and found all the things I needed there.

Here’s what I made:

Project #1: Christmas lampshade

These are stencils sold in packs of two. They are sticked inside the lampshade with clear tape. Cost: S$2.00.

Project #2: Little Christmas Tree

Things I used:
- cone-shaped plastic megaphone
- garlands made of colored foil
- small Christmas balls

The garlands are wrapped around the megaphone and the balls are tied to the garland. It’s that easy. Only thing is I’m not sure how long it will last as the garlands are sticked only with clear tape. I don’t worry much about it though coz I might change the design of my little Christmas tree next year. This is how it looks like now:

And since I have no star or angel to place on top yet, I let my drop-of-blood-shaped Christmas squeezeball (or humpty dumpty, as my friend calls it) sit there for the meantime. Isn’t it cute?

Total cost of the tree is S$8.00.

Making up your home for the Christmas need not be expensive. By using your imagination and creativity, you can create something to brighten up the holiday spirit.