My Soon To Be Etsy Shop...

I know, blogging is nice and fun (and time consuming!), but what I really really like to do is crafting. And when I finally find the time for crafting, I sometimes just make a lot of the same item. If I wanted a headband for my daughter, I'll just make 10 of them... So now I have a box full of goodies (that I enjoy giving away to friends and family), but it's time to set them free :)
I decided that next month I'm going to finally upload items on that Etsy shop that I opened something like two years ago (and still standing there empty and lonely). If I managed to write a post a day (well, almost...), I can do that as well!
And since you guys are so nice to me, I'm going to give you a preview of some of the items. I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments about items, pricing, photos etc.

Thanks! :)

Ultimate Blog Challenge Week in Review

This has been the toughest week so far, I was a post behind most of the time (and even 2 posts behind on one day!), but I'm still here, and I can really see the end (only one more week to go!).

So here's a recap of the last week.

On Tuesday I showed you the DIY yarn lampshade I made

Then I showed you my talented readers (remember our Pinterest group board?)

Then we talked about link parties and how to track them (download your tracker here)

Then I showed you how to turn a simple cereal box into a fancy magazine holder

On Saturday I showed you our improvised lemonade stand

And for the finale we had the funniest post ever. A Chinglish post.

Next week I'll show you some of the items that I'm going to sell on my new Etsy shop, we'll have a pacifier clip tutorial, summer activity for the kids and of course - our giveaway winner ( only 2 more days to go, hurry up!).

Chinglish - Funniest Thing Ever!

Today I want to make you laugh. No tutorials, no sewing, no DIY, just laugher.

These are all pictures The Man and I took while living in China. Some were taken on the street, some in restaurants and some in factories, but they're all extremely funny. Enjoy!

Life is definitely not duplicate!

Have you ever been to that Beep Noodle Shof?!

?!?!?!

A sign in a factory

Do I have to mention it was taken in a factory (and NOT a library) ?

Welcome to China!

Googol anyone?...

Lucky Air. Kill me and I'm not going to board that plane!

Men toilet sign

See this piano? See the small sign? Scroll down to the next picture to see what it says

A talking piano!

One of the best

Please do not forget to LEAVE your belongings...

Now the next one I think is The. Best. Ever! I used to walk by this sign for about a year, day after day, at one of Shanghai's busiest subway station, and everyday I just couldn't believe it was still there.

Can you guess the meaning?...
Well, what they tried to say was something like 'let passengers get off the train first, please be considerate"...

Do you happen to have some Chinglish photos? Please share them in the comments. I'd love to see them!

The (improvised) Lemonade Stand

Remember this amazing lemonade stand by Daisy Mae Belle?

Ever since I saw it for the first time, I knew I had to make one too. Just a couple of days after I first saw it, The Boy decided he wanted to sell lemondae outside. Naturally, I immediately tried to convince everybody to go and look for wood palletes and build together a fancy lemonade stand, but to no avail. No one wanted to build anything. Everyone wanted to go and sell lemonade. And when kids want something, they want it right here, right now.

So Daddy offered to help and began squeezing the lemons.

The kids helped with water, ice and sugar-water.

And also made a sign, that I hammered onto 2 pieces of wood we found outside.

And so they all went out on a hot Saturday afternoon, with the lemonade, and stood at the bus station just accross the street. Luckily they sold a few cups and even got some tips, that really made their day... Later on, some other friends also joined the two and together they tried to stop each and every car that passed by.

At some point I was asked to bring them some popcorn and water (can you believe it? Two of them don't even like lemonade!) and when they ran out of lemonade they all went to the ice-cream parlor and spent all the money :)

A Cereal Box Turned Magazine Holder Tutorial

One of the best things I've learned in the past few years (mostly thanks to my kids, that bring home from school  these fabulous ideas) is to take something that isn't needed anymore and breathe new life into it. And so, when my cooking books and magazines shelf looked like this...

I knew I just had to find a solution to this mess. While I was thinking about it, I saw the cereal box that somehow found its way to this shelf and decided to use the empty boxes laying (for a couple of months already...) in our recycling basket.
But to put the magazines inside the box and call it a day? No way! For once I wasn't lazy... I prepared everything I needed (and a camera!) and began working. To be honest, it's a 10-minutes quick project, even if you add a cup of coffee on the side, so bring the stuff and get going!

Shall we begin?

Find a big, narrow box (it doesn't have to be a cereal box), nice fabric (not too heavy, not too lightweight), spray adhesive and scissors

Cut the box like that

See? Just like that

To measure how much fabric you'll need, place the box on the fabric and wrap around. Leave 1.5-2 cm (0.6"- 0.8") hangover.

We'll begin with the narrow tall side. This will be the back of the box.

Shake the bottle well, spray adhesive from 20-30 cm (8"-12") distance on wrong side of the fabric and on the box, wait 10 seconds and carefully apply fabric onto box. If wrinkles are created, lift fabric and apply again.

Paste the fabric onto all sides of the box from the outside, except for the bottom

When you get to the narrow tall side again (where we began working), fold in the edge of the fabric, to keep things clean, and then apply.

Now spray adhesive on the bottom of the box as well and apply fabric, then paste the edges of the fabric onto the inside of the box. That's how it looks now.

Now it's all nice and organized! You can also use it to hold kids activity books or magazines for the bathroom or you can even use it at the office.