Search This Blog

Featured Post

Christmas Crafts: Diy Elf on a Shelf with Outfit Tutorial

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks! For my first project for Christmas, her...

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Lace Rosette Tutorial and Kitties!

Finally, the next project on my list is done.  It's a video, and another one.  I meant to make one video but ended up making two.  Not exactly a bad thing right?

The first video is sort of a recap of a previous video tutorial I made (see Lace Applique Brooches: A Tutorial). 

Lace Rosette Tutorial and Kitties!It shows simply how to make these lace rosettes, something I find myself constantly making and using for several different projects.


And the next video is just for fun, a kitten playing.

I found a kitten years ago while staying with a friend.  We took care of it until we could find it a home.  I took photos and video of it playing and napping, and I finally did something with that footage.

 
Enjoy!
Here’s the updated list:
Five down, just two more to go.  The next one should be up soon.  Look forward to it.
Read More »

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Super Cute Shopping! AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening

It would come as no surprise to many that I like shopping at Asian supermarkets.  Love them actually.  Yesterday one of my favorite stores, Mekong Supermarket had the grand opening of their new sister store, the AZ International Marketplace.  Yay!

Super Cute Shopping! AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening

I had heard about it weeks before hand from flyers at Mekong and checked out the Facebook page for the new store.  It was like every type of ethic grocery store combined into one ultimate super store.  Yep, I was definitely going.

Super Cute Shopping! AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening

They were giving out free gift certificates for the first 500 people, so of course I tried to get there super early.  Like 6 am early.  There was no one there except for a nice elderly woman whom I didn’t see at first because she had gone to find a restroom.

Super Cute Shopping! AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening

I got to see what was left of the sunrise over the parking lot.  The place was decorated with little flags of several different countries.

Super Cute Shopping! AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening

I was there to watch them set up the balloon arch in front of the doorway.

Super Cute Shopping! AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening

And to watch them later set up for the opening ceremony, I even got to help them set up the table cloth. 

On the table here is a plate of exactly 10 pieces of fruit, an urn full of rice, a plate of pork buns, and several large candles and torches to be lit up during the ceremony.

Super Cute Shopping! AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening

Here they have the candles going.  Behind the table you can see the head of the whole roasted pig, I spared you the view of the rest of it.

Dragon Dance at AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening

I was the second person in the store, and by the time I got my gift certificate and my raffle tickets the fireworks display was over. :(

I did of course get to see the dragon dance inside the store with drums to accompany them.

AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening Sale Flyer

Once inside, I didn’t really get anymore photos because I was too busy squealing at the cute stuff and all the great deals.  Here the sale flyer.  At the top it says you get 10% everything that isn’t already on sale, I think that’s what brought most people in to the store. 

AZ International Marketplace Grand Opening Sale Flyer

Funny thing is that Mekong Supermarket had the same deal for their grand opening, but never actually got rid of it. Even now, years later you still get 10% normal priced items.  So I’m hoping since this is the sister store, that they will do the same thing.

We were there all day, not entirely by choice though.  The sales and such brought lots of people in and sent them straight to the registers to check out with fully filled shopping carts.  This lead to hour plus waiting times just to check out.  When I got home all I wanted to do was sleep.

What I Bought at AZ International Marketplace

Well, sleep and gush over what I bought, want to see?

Cute Pink Shopping Haul

Behold!

Cute Bear Wastebasket

First up is this cute wastebasket.  It was advertised as $3.58, and I somehow couldn’t resist something so adorable and actually useful.

Pretty Flower Wastebasket

The lid is shaped like a bear’s head but the rest has this pretty flower design that kind of clashes with the bear.  I’d be tempted to just use it without the bear lid, but I think it’s more useful with a lid.  Plus it is somewhat amusing to me.

Cute Pink Plastic Drawers

I found this cute set of plastic drawers with the office supplies, normal price is about $5.  They are probably meant for things like pens and stuff, but I could easily use them for storing accessories or craft supplies.  Like the craft supplies I still need to sort through. :|

Pretty Pink Plastic Drawers

What really sold me on this was the soft pink color and cute plastic bow shaped drawer pulls.  They also come in other pretty colors too. :)

Pink Bento Box

Speaking of cute pink things, I also got this pink bento box.  They had square-ish shaped ones like this and round ones in pink, blue, or green on sale for $2.99.

There is a third piece inside that comes out to form two separate compartments for food, and yes it does come with a spoon.  This was part of a serious discussion I had with another shopper who was purchasing one as well.

Super Cute Pink Cup

Another serious discussion was where I found this adorable pink cup.  It was actually with the bathroom accessories.  I think it’s intended to use when brushing your teeth to rinse and maybe to keep your toothbrush afterwards. 

It was about $1.50 regular price and it says “Dream, Love makes the world go round”.  I love it when cute things from Asian countries have little English phrases on them like that, especially when the English isn’t very well translated.

Pink Hanging Laundry Drying Rack

The most useful pink item I got?  A hanging laundry drying rack thing.  I already had three of these and use them almost constantly. 

Air drying is better for clothes and for the wallet as well as the environment.  Plus you can hang a surprising variety of items on these things.  Sock, undies, bras, tank tops, knit shorts, t-shirts, small kids stuff, etc.  Naturally when hanging larger items you need to use more than one clip.

Close up of pink clips on laundry rack

Anyway, this rack was about $2.50 normal price and came in other shapes as well. 

What really sold me on this one was the cute heart shaped clips.  I’ve had problems in the past with these racks with the clips breaking off, but still being useful as clips for household stuff.  So I think having cute sturdy looking clips is a good thing to look for with drying racks.

Super Cute Kawaii Pink Comb

And the cute pink parade ends with this adorable comb.  They had several different colors and patterns, all of them were 89 cents each normal price. 

I’m not sure if I actually want to use it for my hair or just hang it on the wall and admire it.  At the very least, I want to save the packaging to decorate things.  Decoupage anyone?

Since this place is a grocery store, I had to actually buy something to eat.  So I bought…

Canned Quail Eggs

…Quail eggs?

I love them, they taste really good if you season them and dump them in pasta dishes, stir-fries, etc.  And I’ve found that it’s actually cheaper and easier to buy them canned instead of fresh.  You get more than twice as many eggs for about the same price and they are already hard-boiled and peeled for you. 

This is one of my favorite brands of canned quail eggs (mostly because of price, about $2.20), but the last few times I went to Mekong Supermarket they were sold out.  Imagine how happy I was when I found them at AZ International Marketplace.  So I immediately grabbed two cans and wandered off.

Sample of Parle-G Original Gluco Biscuits

Along with the great assortment of foods to buy, there were plenty of samples available, like these biscuits that were handed out at the door on the way out.  I also got to sample various cheeses, seasoned fruit, and got little bags of Takis chips.  I would have gotten a picture of those too, but I ate them all.

My New Sunglasses

While I was there I noticed a display for sunglasses, specifically I noticed the 40% off sign for the sunglasses.  I really had been in desperate need for a new pair (Summer in Arizona, enough said), so why not take a peek. 

The normal price for this pair was about $10 with many other pairs for about $8.  With the sale I only paid $7, not too bad I think.

Pretty Fans

The last thing I got were these fans.  They are similar to a fan I bought at SAS last summer that was a godsend.  They were the same price too, about $1.99 normal price and tons to choose from.  The white one is for me, and I have other ideas for the other two.

Close Up of Pretty Fans

These fans, like much of what I brought are made in China.  I noticed and found it rather interesting that on the red fan this fact was incorporated into the design. 

Overall, I had a great though exhausting time, but the fun isn’t over yet.  If you couldn’t make the grand opening, this Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24th, AZ International Marketplace will continue their celebration from noon to 5 pm.  They will have a BBQ and music, bounce house, raffles, etc. and of course sales. 

So another chance to enjoy this new store.  And if you aren’t local, why not check out what you have in your area.  Got any great ethic grocery stores or restaurants you love?  Please share. :)

Read More »

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

2016 Resolutions Update: Round 2

It’s now over four months into the new year and I'm long overdue for an update on my resolutions (see 2016 New Year's Resolutions).

Make more tutorials - I think I’ve done a decent job with this one, making video tutorials is super fun.  Total so far:

Two out of twelve, and the third will be coming up soon and possibly a fourth.

Reduce craft stash – I caved on this one a little.  I had a gift card for Joann Fabrics and Crafts and they had a $1 sale on Simplicity patterns.  I only bought 2 as well as some Velcro and some clearance winter gloves.  You will see them when I start sorting out my stash.  The basket trick will work greatly for that too (see 2016 Resolutions Update: Round 1).  I also ended up buying some fabric for Easter, and some impulse craft items (see Just Several Pretty Lace Accessories...and And Now...The Dress).  Oh the shame.

Exercise – Because of how busy I've been at work and how miserably I been doing on my goal, I've decided to put this on hold to focus more attention on my other resolutions.

Stretch –  Same as with the exercise, it's on hold for the time being.

Save money – After much thought, I decided to change up my goal for this one. 

I've realized it matters very little how much I've been able to save if the interest on my credit card is eating a good chunk each month.  So the new goal is to reduce the balance on my credit card to under $1000 by the end of the year, and I have a stretch goal of reducing it to 0 if I can manage it. 

So far my strategy is to pay at least $220/month on it.  The $200 is because that's double the minimum payment amount and the last $20 is because that's how much I usually set aside to save for stuff for crafts/hobbies.  If I'm trying to reduce my craft stash I probably don't need that $20.

I have also been splitting the $220 and making two payments each month instead of just the one.  I’ve read that this affects the way the interest is calculated (Here's a good article on it). 

Clean out my closet – This one I'm quite proud of.  I continued using the basket trick and finished sorting out my closet.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Here's one ambitious basket full of clothes to sort.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Now all sorted.  The basket is full of the keepers, the pile on the right is stuff that needs fixing/mending, and the pile on the left is the stuff to get rid of.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Now all bagged up.  Two more bags of giveaways, and the mending has been added to the ever growing mending bags.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Now this is the final basket and the one I saved for last for a reason.  It's full of all the pretty dresses and skirts I have sewn myself over the years.  Extremely difficult to part with any of them as you can imagine.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Difficult, but not impossible.  Again the basket is full of the keepers, the bottom pile is the fix/mend pile, and surprisingly the top pile is all the ones I am giving away.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Now here’s the three completely full bags of mending with another bag of giveaways on the left and a basket full of keepers on the right.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Now to deal with the mending.  I had decided to re-sort them before attempting any sort of fixing.  No sense in keeping all this if I’ve lost interest in fixing them.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

First bag, fixing the stuff on the left, goodbye to the stuff on the right.  The top right will be cut up for rags.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Second bag, top keeping, bottom left giving, bottom right will be used for other purposes.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

The third and final bag.  This is the one full of pretty handmade dresses and skirts, but I’m still only fixing the top ones.  The bottom pile will go to good homes.

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

Now here’s the full bags of mending sorted from left to right in order of difficulty.  Guess which one I will probably get to first?

2016 Resolutions Update Round 2 and More Sorting with the Basket Trick

And of course two more bags full of stuff to give away/donate. 

The closet is fully sorted.

Goal completed.

New goal: Deal with each bag of mending, preferably before the end of summer.  Wish me luck!

Read More »