One Sunny Afternoon

One of the few places I feel relaxed is at Isla Hayahay. My daughter liked it here better than any other resorts on the island because it has a pool. She doesn't like the beach that much because of the sand, the starfish, and the low tide. But I know someday, she'll appreciate the beach more, just as I and her dad do. ♥

Sampler Pack: Fabric Flower Bundles

Over the months, I've been thinking about other ways to sell my fabric flowers. Primarily, the shop only sells packs of the same design. However, it has limitations. Just like any item, we only use a single or two of the items we bought, but we have no choice because that's the only way we can have it - by 12s, 20s, or even 100s. 

Now the only solution for this is to sell them in bundles. Each bundle is carefully selected according to same color palette and color combinations as well.

The good thing with this is it helps you with choosing the flowers to use for your craft project and you don't need to buy packs of each flower. It's a lot cheaper this way! Because you're only paying for what you're going to use. NO extra pieces would end up being stored.

For now, the shop only has limited numbers on sale. But soon enough, I'll be adding more fabric flowers to include with the bundled packs.

So, please be always on the look out for Nia&Bella's new release.

Thanks!

Pantone Mood Board: Rose Quartz & Serenity

Starting this year, I'm going to share my favorite blog posts, pictures, and anything that I could think of on a weekly basis. It's going to be random, which is really exciting because it could be related to fashion. food, crafts, or places. And it's going to be personal, as I'm going to pick out my top favorites!

To start off with this week's favorite is this year's color of the year. 

Color experts over at Pantone just announced the Colors of the Year 2016! And this is the first time ever they come up with 2 colors! 

Rose Quartz and Serenity 

As for the reason why they choose to have 2 colors for this year, unlike the traditional 1 color, according to Pantone, 

"In many parts of the world we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has, in turn, impacted color trends throughout all other areas of design. This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumer's increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage." 

Brilliant! And this year's colors, must I say my most favorite one since 2010's color, which is Turquoise.

So now you know that shades of blue and pink are very close to my heart.

And to give you some idea of how these 2 colors are being used, I've created a mood board for this week's favorites! 

Enjoy! 

1. Shift Dress in Jumbo Rib from ASOS

2. Amazing fashion illustration by @shamekhbluwi

3. Embellished bridesmaid dress

4. Lovely flowers from this bridal bouquet

5. Floral interior that I'd love to have

6. Serenity palette resembling my dream kitchen

Holiday Travel: We Survived!

Today, as I sat here, I'm finally feeling the exhaustion from our holiday travel. Feels like I'm going to have a fever. But anyway, at least I get to finally blog about how we (I) survived our Holiday travel.

Every year, since I got married, we spend our holidays at my in-laws' hometown in Bataan - New Year to be specific. It was easy before when we were still living in the Metro because Bataan is just a BUS away from our home.
However, now that we're here in Bohol, this was the 1st Holiday travel we did, and we literally crossed the waters to get there. And since it was the Holidays, would you imagine the volume of passengers traveling - by land, air, and water?
Bohol - Cebu - Manila - Bataan - Manila - Cebu - Bohol
That was our itinerary. We spent our Christmas in Cebu, at hubby's place, because he works there. Then went to Manila for our Bataan travel and spent our New Year there.
It was the most tiring travel ever! 2-day rest is not enough to get all the energy back! Plus, the most dreadful post-travel part are the countless laundry waiting, the cleaning, and the organizing. I love packing things better than this! Argh!
But of course, everything is worth it. We get to spend the Holidays with our loved ones, my daughter enjoyed playing with her cousins, and she definitely enjoyed riding the airplane! That, alone, is enough to compensate all the stress and restless nights - and the gastos too! Lol!
And for all you travelers out there, here's a little tip from me which really worked and lessen the "baggage" - given that your destination is somewhere you are already familiar with or staying with a friend or a relative.
Tip #1 - Bring sachets of shampoo and conditioner instead of bottles. If there's a store near the house you're staying with, you can buy there instead. If you have small containers designed for travelers, use it. It saves space and weight of your baggage. Forget bringing big bottles of perfumes or colognes, if you have a smaller atomizer, then much better. Don't bring too much makeup, bring only those you constantly use.
Tip #2 - If possible, bring 1 pair of shoes or sandals that match your planned wardrobe (see tip#5), and of course don't forget to bring your slippers. Don't bring too many accessories as well, they may end up being lost or left behind.
Tip #3 - Don't bring too much gadget! You're there to spend time with your family, to catch up and to bond with them. But please, don't forget to bring your trusty digicam! You don't want to miss to capture those moments! *wink*
Tip #4 - Ask your host if they have spare towels for you, or if you've been going home yearly or twice a year, you can just leave your towel (and extra clothes) behind so you can use it for your next visit. But if you are an OCD, better bring your own towel but not the thick ones - your goal here is to save space on your luggage. For us, since we stayed at my in-laws, me and hubby didn't bring our towels, instead, we used the extra towels there. He brought lesser shirts too and just borrowed from his father. The only towel we bring every time we go home is my daughter's.
Tip #5 - Plan out your wardrobe for your entire trip or travel, including your sleeping wear. Pair it up, or mix and match. This is the first time I did this, which really was of big help because I only brought clothes we could use. On our 7-day stay in Bataan, I paired up 3 pambahays, 1 pantulog, 3 pang alis, 3 extra blouses, undergarments of course and the one we used for New Year's eve. My daughter had a few extra pairs, though, but still, I didn't end up bringing tons of clothes that ends up unused, which always happens to me before. Ever heard of "Dala mo na ata isang kabinet mo eh!" - yeah, that kind of thing. So this one's a success. The key is MAGLABA - wash them!
Tip #6 - ROLL UP YOUR CLOTHES! I know there's a science behind rolling clothes when you put them inside the bag, and it is effective! My daughter's clothes were rolled up and stored in a zip lock bag, then me and hubby's were used to fill all the spaces in the bag.

In the end, the 3 of us traveled with only one bag + my own shoulder bag of course! :)

Sorry for my little grumpy girl, we've been waiting for our flight in the wee hours - without sleep!

I hope, these would work for you. And I hope, next year, we could invest in one luggage bag - they're a bit pricey, though. Luckily, hubby is strong enough to carry our bag around. Lol!
And if you have any tips to add on, please please let me know. I want to learn how you travel light too. ^_^
Happy 2016 everyone!!!  PS If traveling with a child, don't get midnight flights. Puyat, pagod at nakakaawa yung bata! Plus, we've been kicked out from our original ETD twice! Maybe because of lesser passengers on that hour, so they need to transfer from one flight to another just to fill all the seats? I don't know. I'm just glad it's an hour difference only from our booked time. 
PPS Purchase tickets ahead - meaning months ahead! Be always on the look out of promo fares, and take advantage of it! What happened to us was, I was left with no choice but to book a 12:40am flight because that was the cheapest left. We were able to save a huge amount, yes. But I'd prefer morning flights instead. Lesson learned here!

No Letting Go

I just love seeing them together, walking side by side and holding each other's hands. It's a symbol of a father's guidance and assurance, and a daughter's trust to someone she looks up to. And to you, both, may you have the most wonderful father and daughter relationship ever. ♥

Planner Perfect with Pretty Paper Clips

Last year, I joined a wonderful community about planners. Even though I'm a planner user for decades, never in my mind had it crossed that you can prettify it with cute stickers, dashboards, washi tapes, and PAPER CLIPS.

And if you're really into pretty cute girly stuff, you would really gush over at beautiful planners now.

So here, knowing that I have another use of my small fabric flowers and bows, I tried creating a set of paper clips that I could use for my own planner.

I used ruffled fabric flower, a polka dot fabric, and some velvet ribbon for the first set I've made. It's sort of trial and error for me - how to stick it properly so it won't fall off, things like that.

Anyway, since the first set was a success, I decided to add a new creation for Nia&Bella. Thus, the born of Nia&Bella Paper Clips.

Check them out!

Each pack consists of fabric flower, bow, and fabric page flag paper clip. What I did was, I grouped them according to their combination of colors.

Paper Clip Set {PurpleLove}

Paper Clip Set {BlueParadise}

Paper Clip Set {Confetti}

Paper Clip Set {SugarCrush}

Paper Clip Set {Pumpkin}

Paper Clip Set {Pink&Dots}

Paper Clip Set {CoffeeShop}

All Paper Clips are available at my online shop. If you're interested in getting one for you or your friend, head over to Nia&Bella. 

A Glimpse of My 2015 - Happy New Year!!!

2015 was a very chaotic and crazy, yet FUN year for me. Here's how my year went through.. ^_^ 

Me, hubby, and my daughter relocated from the urban to my mother's hometown. 

The hardest adjustment ever with our current setup - hubby comes home every rest days. 

I have a preschooler now, which is fun by the way. She learns from school and I learn from her too - patience in teaching, reviewing, and helping her out with her assignments AND writing.. ^_^ 

Contemplating on how to sell my crafts considering the expensive fees of couriers here. 

Stopped joining giveaways for months, means lesser prizes won. But I'm joining again now! Crossing my fingers that luck is still with me. *grins*

Stopped blogging for months as well because of all the adjustments and stuff. Instead, I focused more on paid blogging opportunities. 

I found a new love in modern calligraphy. Practice, practice, and more practice! 

.. and watercolors 

.. and planners as well. Oh, just like the old days! 

That's it! I'm not gonna give details anymore because for sure it will be a loooooonngg post. But there's only 1 thing that I'm wishing for this year, and that is to have a MORE crazier and fun year ahead regardless of the bumps that I might encounter. *smiles* 

Happy 2016!!!