Today, I am loving...

The kids are back in school so my new year officially begins today. Am back to "work" on my errands & projects today. The date & days of the week are again important to note unlike during the Christmas break when it really didn't matter what day it was (it just seemed to be one loooong happy weekend!).

So today, I am loving... these free 2013-calendar printables! Just click on the colored links below...

Love the cheerful colors of the letters of each month, especially against the gray typography of the spelled-out 2013 of The Tomkat Studio.

These polka dot calendars from The Twinery are pretty too!

You can even download them in a mini-calendar size!

Here's a gray & yellow (remember this combo from here?) full-year calendar from L@u's Notebook.

Notice the washi tape holding up the calendar? :)

Here's a whimsical option from The Ink Nest.

If you adore owls, try this one from My Owl Barn. 

You can customize your calendar with artworks of owls from many different artists.

My favorite of all is this candy-themed mini-calendar from Eat Drink Chic. Of all the printable calendars in this post, I chose this set and had it printed at Kameraworld for PhP7.75 per sheet (you just need to convert the pdf file into jpg).

Am not really sure what I will use it for (Perhaps a desk calendar? Eeep! Should I have just printed the other polka dot calendar, the one from The Twinery? But...) I loooove the pretty striped & dotted patterns of this sweet calendar!

Plus, you know how I love candy here & here.

Isn't this the most adorable calendar set?

Today, I am loving... these free 2013-calendar printables all over the web. I am amazed at the generosity of the artists who designed these pretty calendars and made it available to everyone for free! 

Not all, but most of these, I found via deliciouslyorganized.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am loving... series.

divi finds

My friends M & C went to Divisoria a few months ago to buy stuff for M's son's 7th birthday party. So I tagged along and stumbled upon these pretty & uber-cheap finds in 168 Mall.

These stamp sets were being sold for less than PhP200 (less than US$4.50)!

I got lowercase stamps in typewriter & handwriting fonts. Love the wooden box with a clasp!

Can you believe these nesting dolls were only PhP70 (US$1.70)?

Was of course delighted to see the flower design made out of dots on the smallest doll. I immediately found a spot for the dolls on my shelf between my photo box here and scrapbooks here.

These fabric tapes were a steal at 5 for PhP100 (US$2.45)! Notice the bume-Burberry tape?  :)

I didn't really know what I'd use them for when I grabbed a bunch. But I was killing time one day and dressed up my blue Pilot ballpen with my polka-dotted tapes!

Isn't it much prettier now than a regular ballpen? 

Then my friend C brought us to a giftwrapper store. Minimum wholesale purchase is 25 pieces per design to get these glossy wrappers at PhP2.25 (US$0.06) per sheet.

And thanks to this (non-Divi-find) tape dispenser that automatically cuts tape into small even strips (which I discovered via Jen of Next9Baby. See reviews of the tape dispenser by 101gramsofeyecandy & ocmominmanila.), I'm almost done wrapping Christmas gifts with my Divisoria-bought striped & dotted wrappers!

Oooh, I just looove my purrretty Divi finds!

Photos are all my own.

Click here for a previous post on Matroyshka dolls.

collection art

The COS website features the Inspiring Art of Collecting with extraordinary collections of some very ordinary things, stunningly captured by Maurice Scheltens & Liesbeth Abbenes' photography. The first is 24-year-old Manon Grootendorst's collection of over 225 soap bars. She started collecting these pretty bars of soap when she was eight years old. Now, she either receives them as gifts from friends and family or buys them herself.

This is Hans Mes' collection of light bulbs. In 15 years, he has accumulated over 3,000 light bulbs, mostly from the 1930s to the 1950s, when the variation in shape was at its greatest. I never imagined light bulbs could look this amazing!

This I can imagine having, being such a fan of washi tapes: a collection of tape rolls. Joep Pingen collects them on instinct, on impulse, and has gotten into the habit of buying two rolls - one for use and the other for his collection.

This next one is my favorite of these four extraordinary collections of ordinary things. This is the Joker playing cards collection of Leonard van Munster, who is said to be quite a joker himself. I think the art at the back of the cards - the different colors & intricate patterns look even more dramatic together.

Don't you agree that these collections are indeed art, worthy to be displayed on glass shelving like these?

Photos from cos.

Click here for previous posts from the Art series. Click here for previous posts on washi tapes.

some polka dots i spotted...

Patricia of patricialoves is right! Washi tape is happiness. I was so thrilled when a friend of mine gave me a polka-dotted roll a few months ago. But I haven't used it because I'm afraid to use up my one and only roll.

Though I've been wanting to "waste" them on this adorable DIY racetrack.

It would be perfect for family vacations (like the one I was just on, hence the absence of posts the past week) so I don't need to pack Noah's whole toychest! Just a couple of toycars & these Japanese tapes and I can transform our hotel room into a playplace for hours of fun! 

Patricia was just partially right. One washi tape is not enough. Loads of them would be utter happiness! Thanks to Patricia, I discovered Hey Kessy, a site that puts these happiness tapes within reach in Manila! Now I can stop wishing I knew someone from Japan. I can hardly wait to get my rolls of the chalkboard numbers, the gingham ones and of course, the dotted ones! 

Soon, I can use them for anything. To adorn wooden clothespins or boxes or jars. To make pretty flags with a toothpick to decorate cupcakes or dress up twist ties to package baked goodies like eyecandy suggests. Click on the many photo sources of this previous post on washi tapes for photos of these washi tape uses. 

Or make pretty invitations - and without the need for glue at that!

And if I'm too busy (or lazy) for all the crafty possibilities, I can use different tapes to quickly personalize water goblets or wine glasses during dinner parties at home. Even easier to do than attach those tiny wineglass rings. Or I can use them to color/pattern-code my kids things. Blue washi tapes for Noah's pens & crayons and pink for Isabella's. No need to write or type their names anymore since as long as they know their color, they won't end up using their sibling's things. Or simply just use them to tack things prettily on the wall!

I am soooo excited to get my hands on bundles of these happy tapes!

Photos from patricialoves, acupofjo and here. My source of this last photo should be found on my first washi tape post here.

Click here for previous posts from the Some Polka Dots I Spotted series. Click here for previous posts on washi tapes and here for previous posts on chalkboard things.

Color Obsession: easter colors

It started when I saw these whimsical frames here. Trisha of Playtime Break called them yummy easter colors. And while periwinkle has been my all-time favorite color (not to wear though), I seem to be gravitating towards these creamy (brights mixed with milk) colors since then. I seem to see them everywhere nowadays...

On washi tapes... Yes, am still obsessed (see related post here).

And even in the bags from the Prada Resort 2012 Collection...

As Trisha said, don't they look absolutely yummy?

Photos from playtimebreak, 101gramsofeyecandy and vogue.

Click here for previous posts from the Color Obsession series. Click here for a different post on the Prada Resort 2012 Collection.

Today, I am loving...

Today, I am loving... these washi tapes. I first learned about washi tapes from 101gramsofeyecandy here, where I learned that "The use of rice paper or washi is what sets Japanese masking tapes apart from their Western versions. It allows the tape to be delicate yet strong and gives it an unmatched translucent quality." But when I saw these striped, gingham and polka-dotted washi tapes, I just fell totally in love.

Wouldn't it be great to jazz up notebooks, gift tags & gift boxes with these (check out my picasa photo archives or the photo credits below for samples of jazzed up clothespins, jars, notebooks, party buntings & even twisty wires)? Or simply use them as pretty labels & tape to tack things on your wall? 

I sooooo want these!!! Today, I am gushing over these washi tapes!

Photos from lushlee, eyecandy, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I Am Loving series.

office supplies = home decor

Who would have thought that masking tape could be a rug?

Or that chalk could serve as wall moulding?

Imagine what these tapes and (dustless) chalks could do to your home!

Photos from heritage and thediplomaticwife.