In the weeks leading up to our mini home wedding, Ian built this 10-foot wooden table!
We were only going to have 8 people, including us, for our dinner party, but we didn’t have a big enough table to seat us all. We were going to borrow my parents’ dinner table but it’s one of those really nice heavy ones and we didn’t want to truck it over and accidentally nick it. Plus we were going on our honeymoon trip the very next day so we wouldn’t have time to truck it back to their place for Thanksgiving weekend. Thus, we decided to DIY our wedding table!
We bought some plywood from our local hardware store, and Ian did pretty much everything himself, I just helped with the planning process. I worked on painting our wedding signs while he built the table. I forgot to take progress pics, so these are just mid-progress.
The frame had been built, and was super sturdy, and the top panels were cut and fitted but not yet screwed in. It was Halloween and as the afternoon turned to evening, we had to hurry to quickly make last-minute costumes (we went as Princess Leia and Han Solo) and head out to meet up with friends, so we ditched the project for the evening and resumed the next weekend.
After a few coats of stain and varnish, it looked amazing!
Pics to come 🙂
Bonus pics of Ian and Yodi girl being so cute that day on the couch.
Snapped some pictures of these canvas photo prints outside a few weeks ago, just before I parted with them — donated the large 20×30″ Matafao canvas as one of the raffle prizes at the Pacific Roots Open Mic Showcase, and sold the four 12×12″ canvases at the art corner. Other than getting a canvas print made for my best friend, these were my first canvas photo prints made available to the public. I’m still buzzed about selling all these canvas pieces, and to get so much support from everyone has me stoked. Thank you guys. I actually kinda feel validated about my work now lol. I can’t believe some of you actually want to buy from me. So so so cool of you. Thank you. Now I’m itching to get new canvas prints made!
Just wanted to leave the photos on here for documentation. Can’t wait to stumble on this again in the future and remember all the good things.
Hello hello! I know it’s been a hot little minute… Social media has been on the backburner for me the last couple of months. Plus, I watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix (I highly recommend), and since then, my online presence has been more intentional — I disabled most of my social media notifications — rather than the mindless scrolling. So lots more reading, home improvement projects, and time spent in the present.
Even though I haven’t really been taking any photos this month, I’ve been wanting to get on here to share some memories from the last few months. I have a trove of Manu’a photo journals I want to archive (soon I promise!). A friend actually suggested I write up a post, kind of like a guide to Manu’a, so I just might do that — at a later time.
Something exciting though… for the last two weeks, I’ve been busy working on another part of my website: setting up an online shop for my stickers!
I MADE STICKERS!
If you follow me on instagram, you’ll know I illustrated a set of stickers and started selling them at the Pacific Roots Open Mic Showcase, along with a few select canvas photo prints. It was really exciting getting an opportunity to showcase my work for the first time (huge thanks to the PROM team for making it happen) and seeing all the other talented artists doing their thing.
Each sticker has its own unique story so if you’re interested, check them out on my online shop!
AVAILABLE ON MY ONLINE SHOP
Yup, you read that right — I did the thing! It’s taken me a couple of weeks to get all the settings, payment options, shipping details, and page designs all figured out, but my online shop situation is finally all sorted, and I’ll be soon be announcing that it’s “officially” live.
Over the last few weeks since the PROM showcase, a lot of people both on and off-island have been asking how they can buy stickers, and so since then, I’ve been learning more about how to run a small online store, how to fulfill orders, ship them, and even test out a “cash on delivery” payment option. I’m learning a lot, but most of all I’m super super stoked about all the interest and the nice things friends and strangers have said about it. I’ve wanted to open up an online shop for agessss so this is a bit of a dream come true, even if it’s just stickers for now. I’m still learning as I go, and if anyone has any tips or suggestions for me, I’d love to learn how to improve.
NOTES — I use a NutriBullet, but you can any blender you have at home. — You can substitute oat milk with your milk of choice. — I like my milk a tad sweet. I’d recommend adding 1-2 tsp of honey if using unsweetened almond milk.
Here’s a quick video of how I make my iced matcha turmeric latte at home.
I love it so matcha, I love it a whole latte!
In the morning, most people I know tend to go for a hot cup of coffee. I, on the other hand, can’t drink anything caffeinated too early because it upsets my empty tummy. So I like to hydrate and sip on room temperature water first, and then after my typical morning routine movements, I’ll make my preferred version of caffeine — a delicious iced matcha turmeric latte. I’m also sensitive to caffeine, and coffee makes me jittery which feels so unnatural. Whereas matcha green tea gives me a more smooth and sustained boost of energy.
It’s so easy to make, is high on antioxidants, helps boost your metabolism, and provides fiber and nutrients like chlorophyll, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
If you’re working from home, are quarantined or practicing social distancing, or if you simply want to save money normally spent at cafes, AND you enjoy a good ol’ iced matcha… this one’s for you. It’s almost ridiculous to think I used to spend so much money on buying this at cafes.
How I make it
Pour oat milk into NutriBullet blender cup.
Add matcha powder, ground turmeric, lemon pepper (to activate the turmeric), ground cinnamon, and ice cubes to blender cup.
Close lid and blend for about 10 seconds.
Pour into tall glass, and enjoy through a metal or bamboo straw.
Yay – I’m so so so stoked on the newest addition to my slow fashion wardrobe, this wrap crop top! It can be worn both in the front and the back, and I love that it has clean french seams.
For this project, I followed a pattern for the first time ever. And thank goodness, because it was so easy! It’s a PDF pattern called the Morning Glory wrap top. You can download it as a freebie thanks to Sarah Kirsten – visit her site here. I also watched this YouTube video (which was how I found the pattern) by Hemmed by Em that was super helpful in visualizing how the process of following the pattern.
What you’ll need
Medium weight fabric (I’m using 100% white cotton)
I won’t go over how to make it since you can easily find out how by following the pattern on Sarah Kirsten’s website, but here’s how my cuts turned out, and after about an hour of sewing, the finished product!
Here’s how it turned out!
I love it both in the front and back! I wore it all day today, and I’m excited to wear it out for whatever, grocery shopping or hanging out with friends… at a safe social distance, of course. I feel like I could even wear it to work… or is that too spicy? Haha. It turned out pretty much exactly the way I wanted it to, and I’m so excited to make more with the other fabrics I got!
Please don’t mind the hair tangled in my necklace chain haha, I’ve been shedding like an old dog!
stay home, drink water, and make your own clothes 🐚 〰️
Ever since I was a very little girl, my sister and I would drape blankets and sheets into gowns and have mini fashion shows in our shared room, with a table as a catwalk and everything. I taught myself how to sew and crochet in high school, and asked my parents to buy me a sewing machine. They gifted me with my first Brother sewing machine, bought at Costuless at the time. I’m so grateful that my parents were always supportive of my creative pursuits, whether it was my sticker collection, diy scrapbooking, digital collaging, photography, crocheting, and sewing. Now that I think about it, all my hobbies back then are still what make me happy and fuel my passion for creative work. I owe my inspiration to my Nona (my grandma on my dad’s side) though. She was a very crafty woman, and I still strive to be like her.
Anyway, I’m still an amateur sewist. I can still barely sew straight lines, especially on thin twice-folded edges. I’m still learning, but as you may know, I love learning! I’ve mostly done easy sewing work, like pillowcases, curtains, and tote bags. I’ve made a couple items of clothing over the years, but I’ve always kept it super simple, and I avoid buttons and zippers at all costs… The hard part is putting a pattern together for clothing. I’m slowly getting the hang of conceptualizing and piecing together pieces.
I also loooove fabric and textiles. My dad used to have a swatch book of furniture textiles, and when I was a kid I loved pulling it out and touching everything, observing the fabric weights, textures, and knits. These days, I enjoy taking my time and touching all the different fabrics at the stores. We have limited options, but the selection has definitely gotten way better since I was in high school. I always gravitate towards sustainable, naturally sourced fabrics such as cotton, rayon, mull, and linen. We only have certain types of cotton and rayon, but I’ll take what I can get. The soft linen on island is usually a polyester mix, so I avoid those.
Here’s my most recent fabric haul from the Manu’a Store in Tafuna. So excited to be picking up sewing again, slow and steady. Hoping to make more of my own clothing this year, as it’s been my goal to have a fully sustainable versatile and repeat-worthy wardrobe.
My Haul
I personally love the Manu’a Store fabric aisles! These are the fabrics I picked out:
Elastic gold crepe – 4 yards at $1.99/yd — This marigold color has been a recent fave, and I’m obsessed with it! It’s actually one of my main colors for my wedding, along with other favorite colors, green and blue. The crepe isn’t really elastic even though it says it is, but I love how thin this crepe is and the value for the fabric is amazing so I bought the last 4 yards. Thinking about making a dress that I could wear at my wedding party… we’ll see!
Yellow spun rayon – 2 yards at $2.99/yd — I love how soft and flowy rayon is, and this color is a winner. I can’t wait to make something flowy with this.
Gray/black cotton with Polynesian tribal print – 2 yards at $3.99/yd — already have about 2.5 yards of this fabric at home that I used to make seat covers, but needed more to make a matching cover for our papasan chair.
I also bought:
Assorted plastic needles – $1.50 — got this because I’m going to try using them as loop turners, because I’m over using safety pins to thread a loop through. Hopefully this works.
Elastic – 10 yards at $0.40/yd — I avoid buttons and zippers, so I use elastic a lot haha. I also need it to make the seat cover for the papasan chair.
