DIY : easter surprises

For Easter, I made a carton of surprises for two little cuties. I filled each egg with stickers, rubber balls, cheerios, candy, tiny cute animal & fruit erasers. Instead of getting a separate basket, I used the egg cartons left over from all the eggs I used for making Easter dishes (hooray! to green crafts). Darker colors will probably work better on covering the writings on the carton, but I picked white and gold, because of what I believe Easter symbolizes (celebration of defeating death = hope). Hope this will help you to see egg cartons in a different light. :)

BITA DIY_Easter Egg Carton_01.JPG
​2 to 3 coats in area with text will be needed. So start with those areas and go back to it after each coat dries.

​2 to 3 coats in area with text will be needed. So start with those areas and go back to it after each coat dries.

​dots are so easy with the eraser, but feel free to carve other shapes out of the erasers.

​dots are so easy with the eraser, but feel free to carve other shapes out of the erasers.

​washi tapes are easier to work with on plastic. i used the shape that matched the shapes on the exterior.

​washi tapes are easier to work with on plastic. i used the shape that matched the shapes on the exterior.

dots were stamped with paint and squares were wash tape.

dots were stamped with paint and squares were wash tape.

BITA DIY_Easter Egg Carton_06.JPG
BITA DIY_Easter Egg Carton_07.JPG

green crafts

Don't throw away those egg cartons!!!
ow that you've had many eggs cooked & decorated, you are probably left with many empty egg cartons. They can be up-cycled to many creative uses. Let's get crafty and be green all at the same time. 

* little note: You can totally leave out the egg shells. 
* little reminder: Succulents need very little water.

 

www.duitang.com

www.duitang.com

bita update : getting ready

For crafters and designers all over the world, spring brings the excitement of craft fairs. And this year, finally, I'm full of butterflies to say that blooms in the air is getting ready for it as well. It's a first and as for anything that's a first, I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. It's always been the simple joy reflected through a smile that I desire to witness through crafting and sharing these paper flowers. And what better place is there other than craft fairs where the personal interaction blooms in real time. Therefore, it's as if I've been getting ready for craft fairs from the time when BITA was just a dream.  Every time I get nervous about prepping for craft fairs, I imagine the various reaction and the all the smiles I'll see and get excited all over again. Here are traces of the progress (also many more on my Instagram to the right). Hope it leaves you wanting to see in person...

swoon : cakes

I'm not a baker... I hardly buy large cakes... but then I stumbled across Half Baked : The Cake Blog and I was overwhelmed with the desire for cakes. Enjoy this with me. 

​speckled egg cake

​speckled egg cake

​mottled ombre fills cake

​mottled ombre fills cake

DIY round-up : easter

Easter is just around the corner and it's time for kids to get excited. Easter is like Halloween in spring. We get to hunt for colorful eggs filled with goodies that they collect in a basket or many baskets (lol). Personally, I think it's much better than Halloween, because it's full of bunnies and pastel colors (much more filled with hope). Here are some awesome DIY sure to bring smiles. Happy Crafting!

​Easter Egg Surprise Balls : Cakies

​Easter Egg Surprise Balls : Cakies

​Confetti Egg Game : Oh Happy Day

​Confetti Egg Game : Oh Happy Day

​Carrot Snack Bag : Armelle Blog

​Carrot Snack Bag : Armelle Blog

yumiko higuchi

Yumiko Higuchi is an inspirational embroidery artist I recently discovered. Her work and designs are simple, yet so full. My favorite part is how she turns her embroidery into a "patterned" fabric to make clutches. Enjoy!

endless inspirations

Oh my... I'm enjoying embroidery so much. As a friend of mine (Rachel from Lupa & Pepi) has put it , it's my form of yoga. Yoga is not my first choice of exercise, it's just too slow for me (nothing against all the yoga lovers). I just personally prefer spinning, kick boxing or running (not that I'm doing any of it). Please laugh with me.  :)
Anyway, embroidery is allowing me to slow down. It's totally meditative and creative all at the same time. So, naturally I created a Stitch & Knit pintrest board and it was so easy to fill it with inspirations. Here are some I would like to share with you.

crafty adventure

Using my hands to create something beautiful fulfills a part of my heart & soul nothing else can. I grew up dreaming to be an artist and only to be an artist. My favorite childhood activity was always drawing and coloring. I fell in love with architecture because of drafting (by hand) and committed to my marriage with architecture because of my lust for model making. Now, I sustain my drive for architecture with the simple joy of crafting. I still love architecture, but because for anything and everything in architecture takes sooooo long to become tangible... I craft as a reminder, to myself, that I am a creative being. And with anything I love, I consistently look for new adventures in it. Whether it's a new tool or particular material, I can't help but walk into new crafty adventures. My latest adventure is embroidery. This phrase "drawing and coloring with thread" is what got be excited. I took a Creative Bug Embroidery Workshop by Rebecca Ringquist. It's so much easier than I ever expected and Rebecca is totally informative and inspiring. Here is the progress of my adventure.

cities calendar and tags

I'm sure you've all seen and may even own the beautiful Cities Calendar by Rifle Paper. One of my dreams is to travel around the world and I'm hoping it will remind me never to loose sight of that dream. I loved it so much that I had to use every bit of it. I used the colorful tags kit from Paper Source (mainly because the color palette worked so well with Rifle's colors). I'm debating if I should promise myself to keep these around until I actually give a gift I get from these cities... hmmmm. I'll let you know what I decide. :)

calendar collection

I consider calendars a collection of artworks you can change every month. I get the ones that I can cut the dates (once the month is over) and frame the art work or make cards with. Enjoy!

The South Illustrated

The South Illustrated

Rifle Paper Co.

Rifle Paper Co.

Orange Beautiful

Orange Beautiful

Linda & Harriett

Linda & Harriett

diy : advent calendar

Today is the first day of December... one of my favorite months. It's perfect that it starts on a saturday. So here is a collection of advent calendars you can make to decorate your home with the holiday spirit & anticipation. 

hello sandwich : use the" year long saved" collection of scraps. 

hello sandwich : use the" year long saved" collection of scraps. 

Hey Look

Hey Look

A Merry Mishap

A Merry Mishap

old & old = new

Designed by German artist Cordula Kehrer and commissioned by fair trade NGO Preda, this whimsical wastebasket is made by the indigenous Aeta people of the Philippines using traditional basket weaving techniques.

This basket, which combines hand-woven and sustainably harvested rattan with colorful plastic, asks us to consider larger questions about the nature of design, the role of the hand-made, and the place of craft-based cultures in a globalized economy. - Areaware

I love the marriage of old & new and even better is marriage of old & old giving birth to new. This is truly inspiring.