tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16900223858018752982011-07-07T18:02:03.370-07:00I like crafts of all kind and am willing to try something new. So here's a log of my experiences and experiments. Enjoy!Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-77406336538184547672010-04-07T12:58:00.000-07:002010-04-07T12:58:41.083-07:00

This is just a quick post...Record and music notes for my friend, Julie of Lot116's daughter's "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" 5th Birthday (Wow, that was a mouth-full!). She and her sisters throw such awesome parties and they're so well-planned! I really enjoy attending parties with a plan. Here are more party pictures from her blog. Julie is a VERY talented and popular photographer here in San Diego

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-63471076595622784982010-02-27T22:13:00.000-08:002010-02-27T22:30:24.737-08:00

I usually make sugar cookies for church events. One is a shamrock for a St. Patrick's day treat to go along with a fish dinner and another is a heart as gift for the dads on father's day (at a brunch). At a Valentine's event which I co-chaired and cooked for, one of the guests stopped me on my way out of the kitchen and asked if I made sugar cookies for the event. Of course, I didn't. I'm

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-29487871467137259242010-01-02T14:43:00.000-08:002010-01-02T15:23:25.530-08:00

I'll admit - I'm guilty.Guilty of stealing...Ideas.I'm one of those people who browse Etsy to look for craft ideas. I wish I had more time to be come up with original ideas but with work and kids, I don't have much time to think that way. It's kind of sad, really. In searching for something fun for a cupcake party, I came across a felt card table "cupcakery" on Etsy. It was so cute that I wanted

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-86360226792132462742010-01-02T13:54:00.001-08:002010-01-02T14:43:29.108-08:00

It's been quite a hectic end of the year with loads of work, Mya starting kindergarten, a few deaths in the family (so close together), a not-so-pleasant Mexican Riviera cruise, Solana's 1st birthday and Mya's 5th birthday. I did a lot of projects but wasn't able to document it as much as I hoped. It's one of those situations when you're under the wire and you just want to get things done so the

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-17756797859606963132009-08-18T22:34:00.000-07:002009-08-18T23:42:07.944-07:00

We have an annual block party around this time of year. We have 10 different nationalities represented just on our little cul-de-sac and the variety of food is just amazing. I struggle to think of what to bring that's not your typical Filipino dish like pancit, lumpia, or chicken adobo. Since most people bring savory dishes, I thought I'd go the dessert route this year.Turon has got to be one of

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-46227084471770685972009-08-07T17:36:00.000-07:002009-08-07T18:26:45.730-07:00

So many things!!I'm jumping the gun with this post as this project is for a future gift for someone. But I couldn't wait. Since my life has been quite hectic I would probably forget to take photos and give the gift away without one last memory except for the scraps that came out of it.I apologize for the grainy/fuzzy pics. I was losing natural light and my ISO was a wee bit high.So on with the

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-59550322723329088912009-07-14T23:46:00.000-07:002010-03-14T21:43:40.199-07:00

I am planning TWO birthday parties this year!! My baby's going to be one in October and Mya will be five. Mya had picked out a cupcake theme for her sister and has already planned her own party (ya think she takes after me?). Since we are going to be rather busy in the coming months I had to start planning early. I'm a fan of making inspiration boards. I'm also a fan of fabric. Lately my

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-82530152028658227482009-04-06T17:06:00.000-07:002009-04-06T17:58:25.843-07:00

It's almost Easter! Time for sweet treats. I'm bringing these bird's nests to Mya's class for her "Easter party #1." They're super simple to make. Mya even helped me with them.Ingredients:Chow Mein Noodles (the cracker-like stuff - not real chow mein)Butterscotch MorselsCadbury Mini Eggs (yes, we got into our bag before making this)Step 1: Melt the butterscotch morsels. I use the double boiler

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-22315714708204842162009-04-06T09:38:00.000-07:002009-04-06T17:51:07.875-07:00

When I first got my driver's license up until her passing, I used to take my grandma to Ortwine's (or as she would say, "Ornshwines") to get craft supplies and yarn. Ortwine's is a hardware/general/craft supply/sewing supply store that's been around since the 60's or 70's. It's located in an older neighborhood of South East San Diego. My friend, Phuong, found the store a few weeks ago and I was

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-69599533455800817332009-04-03T22:30:00.000-07:002009-04-06T17:51:34.688-07:00

Yes, I know it's been months since I've last posted something. But I promise you that more things are coming!! I've been on hiatus since having the baby, the holidays, then a crazy hectic schedule with some church events and work. But I promised myself that I'd find time to work on a project during my down time.I had little bits of down time last week and have been intermittently working of this

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-83284301775432304952008-12-02T23:54:00.000-08:002008-12-03T00:12:39.395-08:00

Do you remember when you were a kid, you had that ONE classmate whose birthday you looked forward to because her/his mom would bring a pretty cool treat to class? Well I think I'm turning into that mom. I always sign up to bring snacks for Mya's school parties. For Valentine's day, I brought nicely decorated heart-shaped sugar cookies, on Halloween, I brought Bakerella-inspired pumpkin pops. So I

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-66466610850330446682008-12-02T23:13:00.000-08:002008-12-03T01:13:39.754-08:00

Mya attends school for 3 hours in the morning. I picked her up one day realizing that I had some pizza dough sitting in the fridge that was one day past it's "use by" date. So we stopped by Fresh & Easy (my new favorite store) and picked up some pepperoni and mozzarella cheese to make a pizza for lunch.I pulled out the pizza dough and it was about to burst out of it's bag - they weren't kidding

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-50105204419882057152008-11-26T11:52:00.000-08:002008-12-02T23:09:31.735-08:00

As you can see in the previous post, Mya was a robot for Halloween. She also wanted a robot birthday party and has been talking about it since August. I have to admit, this was the least planned party that I've ever thrown. Usually I'd be up on every detail but I didn't get to most of the planning until two weeks before the party. The only thing that was ready were the invitations. Thom made the

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-5680874444676176042008-11-03T21:21:00.001-08:002008-11-03T21:35:25.388-08:00

Mya wanted to be a robot for Halloween this year. She's been talking about it since August. I was quite excited to hear about her costume. I've always wanted to do something with cardboard boxes.I made her costume out of a kitty litter box, silver wrapping paper, thumb tacks, circuit boards, dryer ducting, $2.75 worth of stretchy silver fabric, an old headband and of course, aluminum foil. I

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-76676374084701662302008-10-31T09:47:00.000-07:002008-10-31T12:38:55.144-07:00

As I've mentioned, I'm a graphic designer/web programmer and own a company with my husband. Recently we launched THREE websites within one month. That means we've been busy!!First up, Jakobe Furniture in Kansas City, Kansas.Overview and before and after photosSecond, Wine & Roses, a popular charity wine tasting event in San Diego.Overview and before and after photosAnd last, but not least, San

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-87981303462762870952008-10-30T13:08:00.000-07:002008-10-30T13:25:00.417-07:00

Microwave cookies... WHAT?!I had some leftover pre-cut chocolate sugar cookie dough from Mya's Halloween goodie bags for her classmates. There were only 5 pieces in the fridge that didn't make it in the oven (didn't want to waste energy for 5 cookies). So in desperation for a cookie, I threw one in the microwave oven on top of parchment paper for 45 seconds on high. I stopped the microwave when I

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-35565628056580411432008-10-25T09:24:00.000-07:002008-10-27T01:12:04.910-07:00

Solana Corrine was born on Sunday, October 19, 2008 at 2:02 PM. She came out weighing 6 lbs, 13 oz and is 20 inches in length.After many weeks of nesting, a week full of sporadic "real" contractions, and a false alarm last Friday, I decided on Saturday that I wanted to get this baby out. I walked the dog around the neighborhood (and up hills) in the morning, we went to the Linens N' Things

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-10866882884298723392008-10-13T00:03:00.000-07:002008-10-13T00:38:28.382-07:00

Ah, I'm finally caught up! This was one of my latest projects - a scratchpad and crayon roll.Mya got invited to a birthday party for a set of fraternal twins - a girl and a boy. So I racked my brain as to what to get them for a gift. We usually opt not to get toys for gifts (unless it's educational or promotes creativity) for the same reason we dread any addition to Mya's toy collection - it just

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-84073930991080003202008-10-12T22:49:00.000-07:002008-10-13T00:29:15.038-07:00

Ever since I took the quilting class, I've been planning on making a quilt for Mya's room. When I was pregnant with Mya, I designed her room so that she could grow into it and not have it be so baby-ish. I made all the crib bedding and matching curtains. Now that she moved on to a "big girl" bed, she didn't have any coordinating bedding. I did a search and found that comforters (especially quilts

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-1747154427774674082008-10-12T21:54:00.000-07:002008-10-13T00:25:34.597-07:00

Notice a theme here?Let me introduce you to my Vintage Singer 301a - a badass, all-metal, gear-driven, slant-shank, straight-stitch machine with a longbed and carrying case.I was on the hunt for a good sewing machine for many months when my friend, Pam, steered me towards this vintage machine. She said that Singer machines made in this era (1950's-mid 60's) were very reliable and were built to

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-86937866097500228422008-10-12T21:30:00.000-07:002008-10-12T22:46:55.228-07:00

My husband and I were invited to a Luau for an acquaintance of his in mid-August. While I had a few pre-pregnancy "tropical" outfits, I didn't have one that would fit my growing belly. So I did a search online and found a few shirred dresses worn by pregnant celebrities and was inspired to make my own.A few months ago, I was going through my stash of fabrics and found a cute white eyelet fabric

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-14336910715521819622008-09-24T20:44:00.000-07:002008-09-24T21:59:37.638-07:00

In August, I was commissioned to make a chicken-shaped cake. It was my first commissioned cake and I was pretty excited about it. It turns out that the cake was due the day before my friends' cake. So I had 3 days to make 2 cakes.That week, there was a heat wave with monsoonal moisture coming through San Diego and I feared that it might jeopardize the cakes. Fondant covered cakes plus heat and

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-25681139423482445382008-09-23T08:30:00.000-07:002008-09-24T22:00:19.408-07:00

Last September, I took a quilting class from my friend, Pam (who is, by the way, a very talented quilter and crafter). I put the blocks and sashing (the borders between the blocks) together last year and its been sitting on top of my sewing stuff for very close to a year. I've had the urge to finish the quilt so I could make another one. One thing that was holding me back was the lack of material

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-49453875657224931782008-09-22T19:45:00.000-07:002008-09-24T10:26:40.544-07:00

On April 26th, I threw my best friend from high school, Phuong, a tea party. It all started out as a Christmas gift. I treated her to a "Lady Anne Tea" at the Aubrey Rose Tea Room for a Christmas gift and she redeemed her gift at the end of January. Phuong works out of town for the majority of the week and I tend to get a once-a-month or once-every-other month visit with her due to both of our

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-7799706363446379182008-09-22T19:16:00.000-07:002008-09-22T19:43:55.075-07:00

Yes, I haven't posted in a while. A lot has happened since the last post. Let's see...BIG NEWS - I'm pregnant with #2! It's a girl and I'm doing fine. We figured it was a result of our anniversary month - which means she's due around Mya's birthday. (Mya was a result of our honeymoon. Hence the name "Mya" for the Mayan ruins that we visited.) I'm currently 34 weeks along, due on November 4th and

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-64864560160289106432008-03-09T23:25:00.000-07:002008-03-09T23:52:59.234-07:00

I did another batch of cookies. This time it's for my church's bake sale. Mya helped by cutting out the cookies. With little kids, you kind of have to guide them as to where to place the cutters on the dough with the least waste. In my case, I placed the cutters and Mya pushed them down and popped them out. She also helped me roll out the dough using my nifty dowel guide system. Usually, she

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-83952630387484539892008-02-25T10:13:00.001-08:002008-02-25T10:38:21.014-08:00

We had an expensive anniversary dinner at Humphrey's last Thursday. When Thom received his meal, he looked at the measley 5 sea scallops and laughed. He felt like the Visa commercial where their expensive dinner was a plate full of tiny food.The following weekend Thom was in the mood for some more scallops (to make up for what his dinner lacked). We looked at Costco where they sold it for $10/lb.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-66465535270413478652008-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:002008-02-16T14:38:03.663-08:00

I quickly put together this template in Photoshop, placed the images where I wanted them in Dreamweaver and inserted Blogger codes to make it work.Sounds easy, right?Well, Blogger recommends that you copy one of their templates and just modify it - rightly so. I didn't have enough time to actually learn how blogger works. Plus, I'm a "learn-by-doing" kind of gal. So this seemed like the way to go

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-12364639952967468082007-12-29T22:20:00.000-08:002008-02-10T23:49:14.143-08:00

Yes, I'm on a blogging spree today. I just downloaded a bunch of photos off of our camera and I need to do something with them before I forget about them.I'm part of a local online message board and one lady named Leslie asked if we knew of anyone who would make Clifford cakes in a small time frame. Apparently, Clifford items and cakes are hard to come by. Due to character rights, bakeries are

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-87487602878669221832007-12-29T20:44:00.001-08:002008-02-10T23:49:42.088-08:00

When I was a kid, I remember my Auntie Ebeng brought us a gingerbread house for Christmas. It was stuck together with marshmallow fluff and had spice drops on the peaks of the roof. I stared at it in awe, just imagining what lucky little magical people could live in such a house. Then the staring turned into hunger and my sister and I devoured the thing. Ever since then, I wanted to build a

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-64697020624089184492007-12-14T10:41:00.000-08:002008-02-10T23:48:12.336-08:00

This post is WAY over a month late but we've been busy with school, shoots, and traveling. Mya's Birthday was held at the Water Conservation Garden. The venue was perfect - it had pathways and interesting exhibits to look at and a covered picnic area for us to have our party.Remember the inspiration for my centerpieces (see previous post)? Well, here are the results. One week prior to Mya's party

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-72845682554636295482007-10-11T18:21:00.000-07:002008-02-10T23:47:49.798-08:00

I can't believe my sweet little girl is turning 3! It seems like it was just yesterday we were holding her like she was a little football in our arms. Now she's a busy little lady, talking, running and jumping... and planning her own party.My mother-in-law, Karen, got me a subscription to Taste of Home. The recipes are very down-home country, "that can't be good for you but I bet it tastes good."

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-640227264748773532007-07-17T10:37:00.000-07:002008-02-10T23:46:43.582-08:00

Oh Pecan, you big nut, how I love you...I'm not a "granola girl" as someone has asked me before. But I do like making granola!! Even my daughter loves it, asking for "more grambola please!" Someone had asked me for my granola recipe so the last time I made it, I actually paid attention to what I was putting in there instead of eyeballing it. I've tried a few experiments and I'm still working on

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-83185073827431963582007-07-06T07:33:00.000-07:002008-02-10T23:46:06.310-08:00

Ah, Friday... the two girls are with me again. I always think of what to cook for them since toddlers can be finicky and messy. I looked in the fridge and found some leftover home-made pizza dough from a botched attempt at making grilled pizza (let's just say it turned out very "rustic"). The dough was pretty good, though. In the freezer, there was a bag of chicken tenderloin. My mind starts

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-19327684224671918272007-06-18T16:31:00.000-07:002008-02-10T23:45:07.498-08:00

I watch my friend's daughter on Fridays. She is three months younger than Mya and they get along as best as any two-year-olds can get along—That means many squabbles over toys, pushing and grabbing yet they enjoy being around each other. But when I have something to occupy their time, they seem to be a little more calm during the day.One day, I decided to have them help me make Jello Aquariums.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-37182409702122249242007-05-08T09:09:00.000-07:002008-02-10T23:44:40.315-08:00

I was on the board of a charity event that I attended a few weeks ago and as usual, I struggled over what to wear. I have a few semi-formal dresses that I bought pre-baby. I never liked the way they fit before I had my daughter. Even now, they just don't fit right.I have this sparkly asymmetrical dress I bought 3 or 4 years ago at Macy's. I'm 4'11" so any dress that goes below the knees make me

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-41820688859256069322007-05-05T01:16:00.000-07:002008-02-10T23:46:57.348-08:00

My husband and I are attending a dinner tomorrow/today we are requested to bring dessert. I usually make desserts after my daughter has gone to sleep for the night so that I can have the kitchen to myself. So I usually end up watching (although it's more like listening to) Jay Leno and Conan while I make my dessert. It's quite relaxing.The dessert we are bringing is a berry tart made in

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-61613131548205532372007-04-29T22:20:00.000-07:002008-02-10T23:47:26.254-08:00

I enjoy making sugar cookies because it can suit any occasion, it allows me to be creative, it's portable and gosh darn it, people like them!! I've tried a few recipes but the one that I keep going back to is a recipe from Joyofbaking.com. I also use the Royal Icing recipe with Meringue Powder and substitute almond extract for vanilla extract.Every Easter, my sister and close family friends

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1690022385801875298.post-76629105784847168102007-04-29T22:12:00.000-07:002008-02-16T14:13:26.646-08:00

I've toyed with a few ideas with what I'd like for my blog. My mother-in-law calls me the "Martha Stewart of the West. " It's flattering but I cannot live up to that title. I can figure out how things work, how food is made, and how things should work. It's a lot of common sense and a little sleuthing that makes ideas come full circle.Here you'll find my recent projects - successes and failures.

Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04536947049381540268noreply@blogger.com0