Labor of Love Gift Suggestion: Handmade Beaded Jewelries

Beads! Beads! Beads!

I have a cousin from San, Jose California who visited the Philippines about two years ago. I went to see her at her place in Quezon City to catch up and was surprised to see beads and strings all over! Even the household helpers were so engrossed in it! I said hey, what are you up to? Knowing how enterprising my cousin is hehe. True enough, she said she'll make lots of beaded jewelry sets and bring it home with her to sell to friends, neighbors and colleagues! In fact, she averred, she already have tons of orders and sure buyers for it as we are speaking because she just uploaded on FB the pictures of her new designs! And I went hmmnn okay, teach me!!!




So she handed me the two basic tools: The round nose pliers used for bending wires and making loops and the flat nose pliers which is very useful to hold still your beads and rings and also for fastening and cutting wire, I prefer the flat nose with serrated insides for better grip. There are other kinds of pliers but you may already start a project with just these two. Don't use the hardware store pliers because they're not for jewelry making. They're too heavy and big, you might end up breaking your materials or injuring yourself. Buy the right tools, you'll be surprised that they don't really cost much.




Then she gave me the standard measurement of strings for  necklaces and bracelets. I was not too ambitious and confident so I opted to play around with a choker length necklace around 13"-16" length of wire then mixed and matched beads of different sizes and colors. I found this experience very enjoyable and actually easy! And the end product was the most beautiful bead necklace I've seen (remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder), which I didn't get to take home with me but it's okay because she gave me many pasalubongs instead LOL!




I enjoyed my first experience at bead making that I decided to do many more! I found all the materials I needed from Quiapo. I just Googled the best place to buy beading materials and Wellmanson was on the top list so off I went to Villalobos Street in Quiapo. Do not be afraid to go because it's not as if you're gonna be mugged and held up at the place! My trip was actually safe, with no untoward incident. Wellmanson was just a small store but it's a haven for all your beading needs and the prices are reasonable. I also bought some of their finished beaded jewelries and headbands to use as my guide and model for my projects. I set a budget of P3,000 but the beads and other materials in my basket amounted to P5,000 plus! But it's worth it!

Cuz so happy with her present, she danced for joy! :P

As an outgoing person, my friends sometimes couldn't believe it once they find out that I'm so into handicrafts making like crocheting, cross stitching, paper tole cutting,  sewing, scrap booking and now beading! I'd like to show my finished projects for each but for now, I'll showcase my beading creations worn by the lucky recipients...who else but my relatives and friends! I purposefully bought the raw materials and labored with love to give it to them as Christmas presents 2 years ago and they seemed to be genuinely happy about it that I'm thinking of giving them new sets this year haha! Notice how they're all making the peace sign! I wonder why?

Oh sis was so, so happy! She even had a matching swarovski headband!

Bejeweled Cousins: Is it just my imagination that their smiles looked a little forced? Maybe their earrings and necklaces were so long and heavy... hehe

Chilling on the Hilly Metro East Side, Antipolo City

I went to party at Antipolo for my sister's birthday bash last night. There's a tropical storm up so the temperature on the hilly east side was extra chilly. I wore a dark pink race back top and an old pair of jeans, my bad! Good thing I had a bonnet on (Brrrr!).

The food as expected were heavenly delishhh! My special favorite was the authentic laing (Gabi/Taro leaves with pork cooked in coconut milk with lots of red chili peppers) prepared by her mother-in-law who

Spicy Laing

is a Bicolana. The creaminess of the coconut milk and the chili's "bite" were just perfect for the cool weather. The embotido (steamed pork roll or meatloaf with hard boiled eggs, sausages, raisins, pickles and cheese filling) was also a hit with my nieces and nephews. My mom seemed to favor the native chicken caldereta (tomato based stew with potatoes, carrots, red bell pepper, green peas, chicken liver and cheese) over the spareribs afritada (boiled then sauteed with laurel leaves and whole black pepper much like the famous adobo, only this one is also tomato based)  and the chicken curry. The celebrant's signature recipe, the creamy

with the celebrant (rightmost)

macaroni soup with mushroom, corn, sausages and cabbage was also served along with the other birthday staples such as the pancit bijon guisado (birthday noodles), cake and ice cream! Sadly, there were no seafoods served at the party due to the recent fish kill scare. Too bad 'cause I was hoping for some grills that would have been a perfect beer match while chillaxing in their kubo (Nipa hut) at the roof top. But hey, who's complaining :)

Then it's booze time! Up we go to the kubo to enjoy the cold Antipolo weather and the sight, overlooking the city lights of the metropolis. My dad opted for some red wine while my bayaw (bro-in-law) had brandy with his friends. Me and my siblings upon the recommendation of my other sister (not the celebrant) tried the new Tanduay Ice instead of the usual beer.

It's a premixed alcoholic beverage that has an alcohol content of 5% per volume, just like my regular favorites the San Miguel Pale Pilsen and the San Miguel Super Dry. It comes in a clear, slender bottle similar to San Mig Light's. It's color was milky or hazy white, like a Guyabano juice. The texture was a little fizzy and bubbly that reminds me of Cali. It tasted  sweet and citrusy like a sour cocktail of gin, pomelo and sugar. I had three bottles but it did not give me the usual kick I get from my beer faves. What I got was a slight headache and a 2-minute gas pain haha I'm not sure 'though, if the laing was to blame for this part. Nevertheless, we finished 24 bottles because the company was awesome!

Thanks for a great party, sistah! 
Cheers to another great year ahead!

Top 10 Ways (Not) to Sleep Early

I really can't understand my body clock! It's like I'm living on the wrong side of the world and constantly jet lagged! Mind you, it's not insomnia because I can sleep full ten hours without interruption.

So how am I suppose to correct this sleeping pattern? Here are the things I've done so far to address this bad sleeping habit which started from birth (my mom said I was a bundle of joy who gave her bundles of eye bags):

1. Early to bed, early to rise - uh oh, early to bed only to rise after twisting and turning and singing in my head. Not effective.

2. Skip night sleep until the next - Very dangerous! I tried this and I became like a cranky zombie. I skipped one night of sleep and slept at 7 PM the following night then I woke up at around 5:30 PM the next day. So naturally I was again all up and about on the third night and my facial pores were so big they're all screaming for their night cream! Bad idea... very bad.

3. Cut on coffee intake - I'm a big coffee drinker so I thought this must be the culprit. So I limited my coffee cups from 5 a day to 2 and made sure I don't drink any at night. I did this for a week but... nada.

4. Drink a glass of hot milk before going to bed - I have proven my long suspicion that this is actually a myth! Grrr... mother!

5. Read a book - This will really not work for me because I'm a book worm and I don't let go 'till I finish all the leaves and hear the cock crows. Oh Peter!

6.  Listen to music - My mind keeps wandering about and day dreaming in the night as I listen to jazz instrumental music. It calms the nerves alright but does not put me to sleep.

7. Work out before bed time - If anything, it just made me hungry for another full meal (not even a midnight snack but a real full and heavy meal with 2 cups of rice!). This is a no, no!

8. Refurnish the bedroom - I had my room repainted into a more subdued hue (grayish blue) and installed dim lights  then bought new sheets and curtains to match the darker room. I also bought those therapeutic neck-ease pillows that promise to give a goodnight sleep. Well, I got the effect I wanted, it became a cozier, dimmer room but not the result I wanted. Oh, what a waste, tsk!

9. Sleeping pills - I'm too chicken to try this so don't (even if you're brave)! Studies say it has many ill effects and could lead to a much worse habit.

10. Pray and meditate - Of all, I think this is the one that works best for me. In between my Hail Mary's though, I pray for it not to be an all night vigil

Well, late sleepers are not really insomniacs and actually do not suffer from a sleeping disorder. We just each have our own sleeping pattern, some are looong sleepers while others are short or light sleepers. Some are morning people while others are night persons. Whatever your sleep pattern is, just make sure to get at least a good 6-8 hours sleep each day to get enough rest so that it would not affect your daily activities, responsibilities and good health.

Good Morning! Rise and shine! (Yawn)