Making Progress: My Holiday Project

I'm happy to announce that I've made progress on the holiday project that I planned to do for this year. I bought a few supplies (just 3 yards of different colors each - Beige, Red and Green of felt fabric/cloth, a few packs of craft buttons and a few yards of satin ribbons) from the crafts store in SM Makati last week and started doing the handmade ornaments last Sunday while Tibs was setting up our tree.

I aimed to finish at least 10 ornaments in a day but I underestimated the hand-sewing that this activity entailed. Despite that, I'm really glad to report that I was able to finish 5 ornaments already! I've cut up a few more tree and star patterns last night and I'm hoping to finish at least 3 more tonight. I also need to get more supplies of lace, ribbons and buttons but so far, I'm really enjoying this craft thingy. I'm quite surprised to see that these hands are actually capable of creating something pretty. Maia also proudly claims that it's also her project and I'm very happy to be sharing it with her.

Anyways, without further ado, I present to you some of my handiwork :) I get my inspirations mostly from Pinterest but I was also able to pull a couple more cute designs and patterns from various websites in the internet.

These were the first 3 ornaments that I finished last Sunday.

Sorry I forgot to take step-by-step photos. But these are really pretty easy to do. Surprisingly. And I tell you, I'm really not the Martha Stewart-ish kind when it came to arts and crafts so if I can do it, you sure can too!

cardboard patterns at the bottom of the box and christmas tree cut outs
on top which are now ready to be sewn together.

The Basic Stuff - Felt Fabric and a print out of a pattern

Our Tiny Slim Tree (thanks again Marj for the inspiration)

Ornaments Up In The Tree! Yipee!

Saturday At The Dapitan Arcade

We were blessed with really good weather that day.

Last Saturday, Tibs and I seized the wonderfully nice weather and trooped over to the Dapitan Arcade in Manila. It was only our second time there but as always, the place was a treasure trove for people who love local handicrafts and ceramic wares. If I live close to that place, I'd probably be there during weekends scouring for some home decors. 

Festive, colorful candle holders perfect for this season

At this time of the year, Dapitan Arcade mostly showcases holiday items. And we were there for that same purpose. To get ourselves some dainty but cheap items to spruce up and make our tiny home more festive. We armed ourselves with a small budget of P2000 and off we went hunting for items on our list. 

We planned to buy -

1. a 5 to 7-ft slim tree frame (taking inspiration from another n@wie Marj who shared there tree project to the n@w community)

2. enough garlands to wrap on the tree

3. a christmas wreath to hang on our front door

4. extra decors to hang on our tree (since I'm intending to make the ornaments myself this year)

We went home with - 

1. a 5 to 7-ft slim tree frame - CHECK! We were able to score a 7-ft frame for just P500.

2. enough garlands to wrap on the tree - CHECK! We bought 6 packs of 8 ft garland (we used up 5 for the tree and now have an extra one that we can still use in the house). It only cost us P480 (P80/pack)

3. a christmas wreath to hang on our front door - CHECK! And it only cost us P100. It was made of dried grass and some recycled styro balls and ribbons. 

4. extra decors to hang on our tree (since I'm intending to make the ornaments myself this year) - CHECK! We bought tiny angels made of sinamay. I bought an extra pack to give to my American boss as well. Total of which was only P360.

We were able to add 2 dozens of tiny capiz star ornaments (that I have to take photos of) for P220 and a set of horsies made of dried grass for the little girl for P150. 

Total money spent was only P1810. I had to haggle for some of the items we bought and yes, the tinderos and tinderas were generous to give me some of the discounts I asked. Galing ano? 

If you're looking for Christmas gift items, I'd really suggest you visit this place. Your Christmas budget will definitely go a long way here and what's great is it's not as crowded as Divisoria or Baclaran. 

Sadly I wasn't able to take photos of most of the items we bought but here's a glimpse of our tree (Tibs already wrapped the garland around it), of the horseys that really won the little girl's heart and the tiny li'l angels. This trip was so worth it. And I'm planning to go back there for last minute Christmas gift shopping (I'm really a crammer, you see).

7-ft tree standing tall in our tiny living room

Two of the many version of Angel Ornaments that we came across in Dapitan Arcade

These horseys immediately won Maia's heart.

Stalls around Dapitan Arcade