Creative Origami Pop-Up DIY Videos

Recently, I watched a video in YouTube about Origami pop-up cards and toys and it inspired me to research some DIY videos where I can learn the basics of Origami.

What is Origami?

“Origami from ori meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper" (kami changes to gami due to rendaku)) is the art of paper folding, which is often associated with Japanese culture. In modern usage, the word "origami" is used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat sheet square of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques.”

Source: Wikepedia 

Now here are some simple and cute YouTube video tutorials where we can all learn the basic of this beautiful paper art called origami adding a modern twist to it with making it a pup-up card!

ORIGAMI BABY POP-UP CARD

RAINBOW HEARTS POP-UP CARD

CHERRY BLOSSOM ORIGAMI POP-UP CARD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP-UP CARD

MINI CAKE POP-UP CARD

Hope you enjoy the tutorials and let’s all try learning the art of Origami together.

(Video Credits to to owner.)

Thoughtful DIY Valentines Gift Ideas

Love is in the air as we slowly approach the month of February. Facebook timeline starts showing flower shop ads and guys are silently planning their romantic date. But you shouldn’t forget to give your lovvie a thoughtful gift that you can have even DIY it. 

Here’s a list to help you have an idea for a thoughtful DIY Valentines gift. Also let me make sure that you won’t break your piggy bank for this, because it’s really the thought that counts. 

1. REASONS WHY I LOVE YOU  CHOCOLATE JAR 

Let your partner know how much you love them in writing together with her favorite chocolate dessert. Truly, you'll win her heart over and over again every-time she gets to read one of your messages. 

2. PRE-PLANNED DATE NIGHT COUPON 

Every girl just wants to  be taken out on a date. Let your special someone know that you intend to make every date special and memorable with these pre-planned date night coupons.

3. ROOTBEER FLOAT BASKET 

Add extra sweetness in your date with a yummy rootbeer float. Simple  yet a must-have for every romantic date night.

4. BASKET OF HER FAVORITE TREATS WITH LOVE NOTES

Being thoughtful means knowing everything your partner loves, specially her food cravings. Grab all her favorites in the grocery store and make a special basket just for her. Then get creative by adding fun and sweet love notes to it. 

5. VALENTINE LIGHT BULB

Time to showoff your crafty side and make her this cute Valentine light bulb. A cute ornament that will remind her everyday how much you love her. 

6. PERSONALIZED LOVE MUG

Be part of her everyday breakfast by making her a personalized coffee mug. Get crazy and extra sweet with your design. Let her know she's your everyday Valentine.

7. VALENTINES DAY BREAKFAST

Every girl dream of enjoying a breakfast in bed date with the love of her life. Make it come true this coming Valentines day by making her a must try sandwich full of love.

8. VDAY CANDY MINTS

Something simple and cute will do as long as you get to make her smile. Personalized her fav candy fresh mint with a corny yet sweet line. 

9. SNOW GLOBE HEART

This one is my personal favorite out of the bunch. Get creative and imaginative while designing this awesome snow globe heart for your Valentines gift idea this year.

10. DIY VALENTINES PLANTER

Add something beautiful to her room or workplace with a diy vday planter you made specially for her. 

11. ICE CREAM DATE BASKET

Saving the best for last. This is my first Valentines day gift to my partner 2 years ago and it surely made her smile big time. Get your girl's favorite ice cream plus buy her best-loved toppings and put it all in a cute basket together with spoons & cups. 

Hope my list helped you out with your upcoming Valentines day gift dilemma. Remember that at the end of the day, the best gift you can always give your partner is pure love (but a thoughtful gift on the side won't hurt).

Advance Happy Valentines Day!!!

DIY Chocolate and Tulips Bouquet for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is one of the most celebrated season here in my country and probably around the world. Time to get romantic for some lovers out there, as they plan the perfect gift.  This year, as I celebrate the season of love with my partner it is important for me to put special thoughts in my gift. My goal is to make her a version of my DIY Chocolate and Tulips bouquet J

                  

This is really simple yet thoughtful since you put more effort into it. So let’s start with the things that you’ll need for this fun and romantic project.

• -          Green Wire 
• -          Hershey’s Kisses (almond and cookies and cream flavor)
• -         1 mini Toblerone, 3 mini KitKat, Lollipops and 2 mini Cadbury bars.
• -          3 tulips (I used red, pink and white in mine)
• -          Accent plants
• -          Red and pink crepe paper
• -          Pink Ribbon
• -          Scotch Tape
• -          Plastic Straws
• -          Plastic Wrapper

Now let’s start making this cute project for our sweetheart ;)
Step 1: Make paper roses using crepe paper.
Step 2:  Put Hershey Kisses inside the paper roses and tie it with your green wire.

Step 3: Bundle the Kisses roses together with your 3 tulips to add a touch of flower in your bouquet and decorate it with some accent plants.

 

Step 4: Get creative and add more sweets!!! Lollipops, Cadbury bars, KitKat, Toblerone and a Valentine greeting for a more colorful effect.

Step 5: Arrange everything according to your preferred design and use scotch tape to hold it together. 

Step 6: wrap it with crepe paper, plastic cover and tie with a bow.

 

 

Now time to plan on how you can surprise your sweetheart with this beautiful and sweet Valentine gift. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

8 Do-it-Yourself Gift Ideas for the Christmas Season

I am in love with Christmas, especially when you get to celebrate it here in the Philippines.  You can see beautiful lights along the road, Christmas carols playing in local malls and happy people buying gifts for their loved ones.

This year save up some money with your Christmas shopping and get personalized with your gifts. There are a lot of DIY gift ideas in the internet that are so easy and won’t be over your budget. Let me share to you my top 8 favorites that I hope you can try too at home.

BORING TO AMAZING MUG

Get to share your drawing talent and make a plain white looking mug to something artsy with the help of porcelain pen.

GO AHEAD AND CAN THAT IDEA!!!

Time to get eco-friendly and recycle your old milk cans and turn it into a fabulous looking vase for your friend’s cluttered work space.

GIFT OF BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES

Time to gather your favorite photos with your sweetheart or BFF and stack it in a cute wooden box. Nothing beats beautiful memories captured in a photo. HOW-TO

MERRY DINING ACCESSORIES

Turn plain looking coasters into something merry and fun with this DIY idea. HOW-TO

CHRISTMAS TREE KISSES ;)

Buy a bag of chocolate kisses and give it a Christmas makeover and you’ll get this budget friendly gift idea. Perfect for your friends who loves munching on chocolates. HOW-TO

JINGGLE BELLS IN A BOX

Gorgeous Christmas decoration that you can give to your family and friends this holiday season. All you need is a box and a pack of bells decoration. HOW-TO

NEXT ROUND OF TEA IS ON YOU!!!

Tea lover gets to receive a personalized tea wreath specially made for them. Don’t forget to include their best-loved flavors in the set. HOW-TO

WONDERFUL PHOTOS FOR THE WHOLE YEAR

Turn your precious Instagram photos in to an awesome calendar!!! Time to show-off your photography talent to your loved-ones and don’t forget your artsy side ;) HOW-TO

DIY Dog Photoshoot

Recently, I started a new project with a good friend of mine and my two dogs. I think I'm in the part of my life that many people called "QUARTER LIFE CRISIS" where we really want to discover the type of lifestyle or career path that we want to pursue. In my part, I started this passion project of mine creating dog apparels. Having limited budget and resources, I was eager to find things where I can save some extra bucks. I wanted to have good photo materials for marketing purposes but I'm not willing to spend a big amount of cash for studio photos. So I just thought, why not make it a DIY project instead! Having no strong background in photography I try to research some tips in taking photos of your pets. After days and days of researching in our ever trusted GOOGLE, finally I'm ready to start my DIY Dog Photoshoot.

STEP 1 | COME UP WITH A THEME

It's always easier to start a project when you know how you want it to look like once your done. Giving your project a theme makes it easier for you to come up with your concept for the whole shoot. In my case, I chose to go for SUMMER Theme and showcasing it's festive vibe since that's how we celebrate it here in my country. 

STEP 2 | CREATE YOUR DIY MINI STUDIO SET

Renting a studio can be really costly so might as well come up with an alternative. You can create a mini studio set for your dog in a very affordable price. All you need is an Illustration Board, White Cartolina, Double Sided Tape and Scissor.

a. Put together your white cartolina using the double sided tape to serve as your set back draft. Size depends on your preference since we have different type of dogs. 

b. Use the Illustration Board as flooring for your set. (White part should be the one exposed)

c. Construct your mini studio set where there is a roof but slightly exposed to natural lighting. (In my case, I chose the garage.) You can put together your set there and make sure to shoot during 10am - 4pm for natural lighting.

d. Add some props to showcase your photoshoot's theme.

STEP 3 | FIND YOUR FOCUS

One of the best advice I got when you want to take a good photo of your pet is to know where to focus your lens. Focusing in your dog's eyes gives the photo a soul and an added appeal. Also, a good doggy smile won't hurt too. You can get that smiling face from your dog by taking them on a walk before the photoshoot. 

STEP 4 | CHOOSING & EDITING

Choosing the best photo from the bunch is one of the key element of coming up with a good photo material. Once you're done choosing, it's time to do some photo editing. Having a DIY Dog Photoshoot may limit your final material due to lighting. Luckily, Photoshop is available to almost everyone who can use it. You don't need to be a professional graphic artist to edit your photo materials. Just adjust the Exposure of your photo, crop unnecessary elements and add your logo. 

Here are some of the final photos I come up with my DIY Dog Photoshoot project for my Fur Babies Apparels Summer Collection. 

The best part of my DIY Dog Photoshoot is that it only cost me Php 150.00 ($4) and one day to finish everything. I guess a good dog model is a plus factor ^_^ 

Hope you can try this out with your pets too. If I can do it, surely everyone can.