Friday 19 September 2014

Michele's DIY Realm:Fall Cove (Maple Leaf Bookmarks, Doorknob Hangers, and Decorative Platters)

Hi, everyone! Fall is officially here and I'll be making THREE new DIY projects out of...MAPLE LEAVES!!! I know that it's a rare thing to see a list of DIY things made out of maple leaves but I'm gonna try to make bookmarks, doorknob hangers, and decorative platters (as I call it) or pictures out of colourful maple leaves. Canadians, I don't know whether you notice but when it comes to every fall, the maple leaves would wilt and fall out and they end up buried in deadly snow or being swept away by the sanitary workers. And that's just kind of sad because the trees produce leaves every year and the leaves are not able to stay in their branches forever. This gives me an idea to create something out of maple leaves so that I can experiment my creativity as well as save money to go shopping for decorations! My mom likes to buy paintings to hang on the walls all over my house and that definitely costs a lot of money! So I decide to turn the tables a little bit by using paper plates to stick maple leaves on it and create a pattern of colours. Sounds cool isn't it?

As for the doorknob hangers, I'm thinking of using giant-size maple leaves (there's one tree with huge purple maple leaves outside my house) to make the base and the curve-shape hanger out of cardboard before decorating it with smaller maple leaves. I'm still brainstorming on the appearance of it!

I'll also will be making bookmarks, which is pretty challenging because first of all, I have to press the leaves between pages of a book so that they can be hardened for at least a week. And then, I'll be using a stack of transparent file pages (you know, those transparent rectangles you find in stationery files) to wrap the leaves and close the edges and sides with something...I'm still working on the closing step. I've tried sewing but it doesn't work.
Result: FAIL
I don't know whether you can tell on what's wrong with the product above. The tips of the leaf was torn like graham crackers and the file wrap was cut unevenly, plus the sewing was definitely not as neat as a professional's.

I'll be doing more on these with cardboard boxes,manila card, magazine cuttings, or maybe cloths. I'm thinking of covering the back of the leaf with some sort of base before wrapping the leaf up. Anyway, I'm still experimenting with it! Hopefully my next trial will work!

So...anyway I'm sorry that you're expecting me to write a full tutorial post on how to make both of these things now but, I'm just giving you a heads up on what I'm planning to do this fall. I'm busy with my courses and I'm trying to balance up with my school life and my church life, but hopefully I'll find a little bit of time to focus on these two new projects. So I hope you're excited for fall, have a good semester so far, and I'll see you in the full tutorial below someday soon! <3 you all!

October 2 2014

Hey, all! So I've done a little bit of the maple leaf platter and it turns out well so far! Even though I use a weak kind of super glue, the leaves are dried up overnight so they're successfully glued on the paper. As for the gel-coloured maple leaf picture, I use my new gel pen set I've bought from Dollarama for 3 dollars only. I plan to buy myself a better glue at Dollarama tomorrow, hopefully...Anyway, what do you think of the sneak peek above? Can't wait to finish it by Thanksgiving! So stay tuned for this new DIY project as an idea to decorate for fall!

Maple Leaf Bookmarks
(coming soon)

Maple Leaf Platter
October 10 2014

Hey, all! How's it going? How are you enjoying the fall season so far? Thumbs up if you're excited for Thanksgiving (in Canada) next week! So I've finished my new DIY project called the Maple Leaf platter and it's basically a handmade portrait out of a drawing in the middle and maple leaves on the sides! Let's get started!

The things you need are:

  • A pair of scissors
  • Glue (I recommend you to use good quality glue that you can find in arts & craft's stores or maybe a super glue. I use my sister's school glue and it takes two hours or so for the maple leaves to stick on the plate! That's why I glue the maple leaves little by little each day these past two weeks. 
  • Pressed maple leaves (small and medium sizes) (Before you glue the leaves, you should press them between the pages of a thick book like a dictionary or a bible (I use my bible, it's pretty handy =P They are to be squished in your book for at least five days.)
  • A square plate (or a rectangular plate, a round plate might not have enough space for you drawing to be glued on the center. A drawing is optional, you can go ahead and cover the entire plate with maple leaves!)
  • Pieces of paper. This is to cover the sides of the plate, easier for the maple leaves to be glued on.
  • Colour pencils or any other colouring tools for your drawing (optional).
  • An unwanted bag handle or any material you can think of to hang your platter. 
To start with the drawing like the photo above, draw maple leaf shapes all over your paper. I use a blank card torn from a notebook while drawing this. Then, trace the leaf lines on each leaf before you colour them. You don't want the lines to clash against the colour! Think of leaving little gaps for the leaf's detail to show! As for the colours, think of the maple leaf colours (red, yellow, orange, and purple). 
Trace the lines first! 
As for the background, think fall! It sounds a little cliche (or cheesy) but the colour of fall has to be dark but inviting. So to me, dark brown is the perfect fall colour. 

Now you're done with your maple leaf drawing (or portrait as people call it), you can turn from an empty plate to this beautiful masterpiece! 


First, cut your papers into four strips that fits on the sides of your square/rectangular plate. Glue them off to cover the sides. Then, paste your portrait onto the middle of the plate. 

Take out your pressed maple leaves and paste them one by one onto the paper strips. I leave the first row of glued leaves to dry for a while before I cover the strips with more maple leaves so that there is no sight of the white papers. Be creative! Use leaves of all sizes to "design" your frame! It's okay if some leaves end up covering the edges of your portrait, it still looks like a great fall masterpiece!


For the last part of the project, I cut out the handle of a ripped Bath and Body Works bag and wrapped it with a decorative red wire as shown above. I also tie the middle of the handle with a ribbon so that I can stick it on my door instead of using a nail or a pin to drill a hole. You can experiment with anything to hang your platter!
To glue the handle, paste two small strips of cellophane tape together with the handle onto the top back of the plate. 

 And there you have it! Your handmade Maple Leaf Platter! It'll look great on your door or somewhere in your room this fall! I hope you'll enjoy this tutorial! I'll do one more of the platter at the end of fall but this time, I'll make it as a note board! Have a great week, happy Thanksgiving!

Maple Leaf Doorknob Hanger
January 1 2015
Happy New Year! I'm glad that it's finally done! This is something I've never done before, and I'm surprisingly glad by how it turns out!

The things you need: A huge pressed maple leaf with a long stem, a puncher, a stapler (optional) a ribbon to hang, papers (depends on what you would like to decorate the stem), coloring materials (I use gel pens to color the blank paper cutouts, a pair of scissors, and glue.


First, punch a hole at the top of the maple leaf and slip the ribbon through it.


Next, cut out several strips of paper and stick one edge of each strip onto the stem. You can either staple the edges or roll them round the stem before gluing them together.
Cut big bubbles or ovals/ leaf-like shapes out of your papers and glue them onto the strips. Pretend that you're making a tree with leaves on branches.

If the glue you're using is wet, let the paper dry for a few minutes before coloring them. The back of the cutouts can be colored first so that you can mark the colours after you decorate the front of the cutouts. Be creative with the front! Think about what you want your doorknob hanger to tell to others. For example, if your mother sees that you don't want to be disturbed when you are studying, she will leave you alone if you have the study notice on your doorknob hanger! Or if you're up to your personal projects that lead to your future career, write them down so that people can see that you're doing the things you love and they won't disturb you.
Be sure that your writings are big enough to be colored and to be seen. Leave a little space between the letters when you color the cutouts. You can trace lines around the letter as guidelines. When it's complete, you'll feel like you're creating your own font/layout!

By the way, I actually wanted to do a multicolor kind of decoration out of strips of papers that is glued together into a...kind of a flower at the bottom but since it's almost the end of winter break and I don't have much time to finish this project, I decide to cut it out and replace it with the dark green bubble as shown in the photo above. It stands out from the "leaves" of my hobbies and passions above it because it includes a little poem about my fear of being different but I'm telling other people that I'll be okay even though I sense that people are looking down on me (pardon me on my negativity).

And there you have it!
The back
The front

If you like this DIY, give this post a "+1" and stay tuned for another DIY coming soon! Or maybe in my next post! =P Once again, happy new year! 

Tuesday 16 September 2014

It's Just Me, So Deal With It (new post on body image/health)

Hey, guys! I know it's been weeks since I've posted a new entry on my blog! I've been really busy with my assignments even though it's not nearly midterm. I like the courses I take this semester so far. The second half of Basic Japanese course gets a little harder because of the new "Kanji" characters. It's like writing Chinese spelling homework back in elementary school all over again, but I know that I have to try my best to memorize those new ones. Another thing I struggle is the conversation lab. It seems that I've forgotten most of the conversation tips I've learnt back in Basic Japanese I. Hopefully I'll find time to catch up with my Japanese speaking skills...As for Creative Writing: Intro to Writing Fiction, I find it as challenging as the other courses I've taken. I'm surprised that I've finally found inspiration to write stories, thanks to Sailor Mon Crystal. So I've submitted my first fiction assignment, and I've posted a copy somewhere in my blog. If you want to read it, you can check it out on my blog archive on the top right corner. Anyway, I find this course an opportunity to set my imagination re-sparked. I'm looking forward to use my new fiction character (Phenile who idolizes Sailor Jupiter) in my future assignments. And finally, Intercultural Communication has been pretty interesting so far. The course offers chances to get to know various cultures in great depth as well as to allow us to explore ourselves in terms of culture.

Anyway, you might wonder why I post the picture above. I got this from Facebook and I know that I have to say something about this picture. Blogilates (Cassey Ho) shared through the photo that she was struggling with body confidence when she was young and she had the same reaction as the girl above, wanting to cut off her belly fat. This is something I can definitely relate to. If you've read my previous posts, you would remember that I, too, struggle with body image and I'm still doing Blogilates' workouts six times every week, Of course, there's no immediate result in my stomach but surprisingly, the workouts really help toning up my  arms and legs! I'm gonna work harder to lose belly fat, oh world, you just wait and see!

Same as the girl above, I have lack of confidence in my body when I was little. There were a lot of people including my family who called me skinny. Even my grandma who was "Miss Perfect" commented on my skinny-ness with a straight face. Trust me, when I was a kid, I was a girl with a small, weak frame. But as I reached puberty, my appetite increased dramatically and I began to grow taller. Unfortunately, an excessive amount of stubborn fat always got in my way. And yes, my grandma and other people ended up calling me fat. So yes, in my whole life, I've never received a single comment that I'e grown slim or pretty. Sometimes I wish I can just go for surgery to remove all that fat, but it's not possible.

As I follow Cassey Ho's Youtube Channel and her Blogilates community, I realize that it doesn't matter on what other freaking people think about me. Life is all about hard work and believe in change. Good moments will come and I'll find my happiness through my own skin. I may still don't have a perfect stomach, but I'm still going to exercise in the proud name of sweat!

Imagine that you are the girl in the picture. Would you realize that life is over or life is a new beginning for you to start a change? Kids nowadays are obsessed with body image, including mimicking skeleton figures from celebrities and fashion models. This has got to stop! Not everyone can be happy when they're being skinny! Why does it matter? To attract bad boys? You don't have to be scrawny or sexy or perfect in order to live your life! Think about what makes you...you! Think about the things, people, and surroundings that make you feel welcome. Body image is something we should not paying too much attention to. If you think Barbie doll figures are worth it and the picture above disgusts you instead of being sympathetic, then you should just move along. I'm not gonna judge. I just want to give a  message to those who face the same issues as I do in terms of finding confidence in physical appearance. You are perfect just to way you are. You don't have to hurt yourself in order to get the change you want. It takes time and love to find the life you want.

If you're jealous of the people around you who have beautiful bodies or America's Top Model figures, that is totally normal. I'm jealous of my sisters' and my girlfriends' hourglass figures too, but I learn that comparing yourself to other people is not too healthy. You just have to be you, and that's even more worthy! If you want change, find the time and inspiration to work hard. Eventually, your positive attitude and infinite hope will inspire other people too!

Sailor Jupiter Moves Out! (characterization scene for Intro to Writing Fiction class)

Sailor Jupiter Moves Out!
I feel like a needle removed from my heart. I am in my room, tyingmy long black hair into a high ponytail while hoping to look like the girl in green in the anime Sailor Moon. Then, I scan a list of things saved in my brain while folding some clothes. Suddenly, I spot an old green shirt. Slowly, I run my black-polished nails on the soft fabric and a flashback immediately appears in my head like a computer being switched on.
I was a twelve-year-old finalist at a national karate competition, and I was afraid that I might lose. My mother saw me practicing at our backyard the day before the competition, and she decided to take me to the nearest mall for a breather.
“Does Sailor Jupiter go shopping when she feels stressed?” she asked.
“I’m not sure…she likes girly things though. She feels excited when she sees a cute dress but she doesn’t have that much money to buy it.” I replied.
“Well, I believe Sailor Jupiter needs a little more than just looking at cute dresses.” she chuckled.
We passed by a department store and my eyes caught a mannequin wearing a green T-shirt with “Stay Strong” written on it. It was a perfect combination of tomboy-ness and girly-ness! I believe that green is a tomboy colour and sequins are a symbol of feminism. Mom seemed to read my mind instantly, because the next thing I knew, she walked to the shelf, chose one of the shirts with my size (medium), and walked to the counter to pay for it! Isn’t she the greatest mother in the whole world or what? I got a little teary when she presented the shirt to me. “I believe that you will kick butt tomorrow!” she said with her dark brown eyes twinkled with faith.And she was right. I felt Sailor Jupiter’s lightning power electrifying my adrenaline as I wrestled to glory.
Mom, if you can hear me, I want to spread my own wings and to build my nest in a whole new world. Not only I want to start a new chapter of my personal memoir, but also to start a journey that will remind me of you. Everything’s okay now. Don’t worry.
I realize that time is running out so I quickly fold the shirt up. After I put the clothes in my luggage, I seean orange feather lying on the floor. It must have stuck on one of my shoes in a cockfight matchtwo weeks ago. As I pick it up, I can smell a faint stench of chicken blood. It is a good thing the cockfight matches my stepfather hosted is banned for good. The eventstill haunts me like a horror movie, but when I move to Canada, I’ll have the guts to replay it.
Another flashback appears that begins with him saying, “A chicken is clueless enough to know when it will die.” I believe he referred this to my mother whom he had murdered the day after the match. My temper meter reached to its peak. I wished I could cry but I was fuming. I snapped back at him, “You’re wrong! My mom’s not the chicken! You are! You want all of the money to yourself and not us!” “Well, you can’t do anything to stop me,” he said, because you’re a chicken too!” He then pulled out a gun from his jeans pocket. He was about to shoot when I suddenly dodged away and grabbed hold of his hand. With a quick move illustrated automatically in my head, I kicked him in the stomach and punched his face with my fist. I then snatched the gun and pointed at him, “I bet you don’t know that I have a black belt in karate, asshole! And by the way, you’re no longer needed!”

Suddenly, my iPhone 5 rings its notification sound that startles me. The flashback stops like a freeze spell. Every part of my body feels like being surrounded by Sailor Jupiter’s “Flower Hurricane” attack, excitedly celebrating with my soul for escaping this place I once call home. The memories of my past may wake me up like a nightmare, but I vow to God that I will replace them with new ones, starting now. Before I get into my friend Solange’sLandcruiser, I throw the feather into the garbage can and watch it sink gracefully down, erasing away a piece of my stepfather.9