DIY Gift Idea: Paracord Bracelets

From my experience, it's a lot more difficult to come up with gift ideas for men than for women. So for those of you who, like myself, are struggling with gift ideas for their brothers/dads/boyfriends/husbands, especially this holiday season, here's a gift idea for the outdoorsy/adventurous men (and women) in your life: Paracord Bracelets!

A couple of paracord bracelets I made for a friend.

Paracord, also known as parachute cord, is a type of thin nylon rope that was originally used for, well, parachutes. It's composed of a outer sheath with 7 core strands and typically has a minimum breaking strength of 450 or 550 pounds. Paracord bracelets also go by the name of "survival bracelets". The cord in these bracelets are woven in such a way that one bracelet can contain around 8-14 feet or paracord, more or less, depending on the type of "weave" you use. During emergency situations, like say for broken straps, or a water rescue, or a tourniquet (okay, morbid example, I know) these can be unraveled and you have several feet of cord at your disposal.

Raw paracord with the core strands exposed.

I first heard of paracord bracelets from Dax. I think he saw it on either The Awesomer or Reddit. Now, Dax and I have this thing for giving each other bracelets (we make a lot of those embroidery thread friendship bracelets for each other). When Dax said he wanted a paracord bracelet, I really wanted to get him one, but at that time we couldn't find it in any of the outdoor or sports shops. Once again, I turned to my friend Google and I was able to look up a local online shop that sold paracord by the foot. They also sold ready-made and made-to-order paracord bracelets plus some other paracord creations. But I thought it would be nicer if the bracelet was hand-made by myself, too.

Paracord bracelets are usually woven using macrame braids/stitches. You can make it with or without a buckle. There are a whole lot of video tutorials now on YouTube so I don't think I need to post my own. I do recommend checking out TyingItAllTogether's YouTube channel for tutorials on how to do various knots and braids.

BTW, I get my paracord from The Para Shop Manila. They have quite a selection of colors, too. I made myself a hot pink and electric blue one. Hahaha.

Making my hot pink and electric blue paracord bracelet. Hihi.

Here's another one using a different kind of weave.

Made using half hitch knots.

Recently, a friend asked about Dax's bracelet and after explaining what it was, she thought it was a brilliant idea and asked me to make a couple for her to give as gifts. She says I should make a business out of it. Haha.

Of course, I highly recommend making them yourselves, especially if you're giving them to someone. It just makes it more special.:) But if you don't have the time or patience to do so, you're more than welcome to order from me. Just comment/text/email jika(dot)macachor(at)gmail.com/Facebook or Twitter message me.:)

Mine and Dax's.:)

- Jix.

XL-C Image Plate.

No, I did not free hand these nails. Hehe.

The answer to how I did that design is nail art stamping. If you're not familiar with stamping, it's a method of creating nail art where you apply nail polish to a design etched on metal plate, pick up the design with the stamper and transfer it on to your nail. You can do a Youtube or Google search for "nail stamping" if you want to learn more.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you guys this image plate (the metal plate used for stamping) I acquired recently. The XL-C image plate. It's the most be-yoo-ti-ful image plate I have ever seen. Ever. I am so in love with it. Just look at it!

See the detail on that?? The designs look Indian/Thai/batik/tribal-inspired. I'm so excited to use all of them! One of the neat things about this plate is that most of designs come with mirror images. So if you're OC with symmetry you'll have no problems with this plate. Also, some of the images have these curved bottom edges which you can use to make patterned french tips. Cool, right?

So you can better see the designs, I stamped all of them on a piece of paper and scanned it. I couldn't get the whole of the design images though. Apparently, each design is too big to fit on my stamper. That's a good thing, IMO. No worries about the design being bitin for your nails!

I got this plate from a stall at 168 Mall in Divisoria for Php 500.00. But I'm so sorry, guys, because this plate I got was the last one in the store and I wasn't able to find it in any of the other nail art stalls. I've tried looking for it online but the local online nail art shops that do sell it are out of stock, too.

If you really want it, I would suggest doing a Google search for it. But be prepared to pay international shipping fees. My plate doesn't really have a brand but I know these kinds of plates also go by the name of Cheeky XL plates. Try searching "XL C image plate" or "Cheeky XL C image plate". Good luck on the hunt! Hehe.

- Jix.

DIY Framed Accessory Holder

I used to hang my accessories using these hooks with adhesive backing because I hated poking holes in my wall. But the problem with adhesive hooks is that they would eventually lose their stickiness and fall off, never to stick again. Now my wall is scarred with ugly adhesive residue.

I needed a method of hanging my accessories that would hold up well and be able to cover the adhesive stains on the wall. So I made this:

I can't take full credit for the idea, though. I've seen similar projects on Pinterest and other blogs. I just had to figure out how to DIY it.

This was made around two weeks ago. I've already hung it up, but there was still a section of wall with adhesive residue that was still exposed. So I decided to make a smaller version to cover it up. I also documented the process so I could show you guys how I did it, in case you want to make one yourself.:)

What you'll need:

• A nice picture frame. 
• A sheet of cork. Just plain cork. Make sure it doesn't have any backing like wood or hard board or else you won't be able to cut it.
• Adhesive. I used my spray adhesive for this but I think using rubber cement or wood glue would work just as well, if not better.
• Box cutter, ruler, cutting mat, and old newspaper (to protect your work area).
• Fine gauge sandpaper

Where I bought my materials: 

• Picture frame - My original idea was to find one of those cheap, gaudy, carved, gold frames and spray paint it with a matte white. Surprisingly, those frames were hard to come by. But then I found this one. Though it's made of plastic and not quite as big as I wanted, it was exactly the look I was going for and I didn't even need to do any painting. I got this at the home section of SM Department Store. The bigger frame was, I think, Php 179.75 and the smaller one Php 129.75.

• Cork - I found the cork in the office supplies section of SM Makati Department Store for Php 64.75. It came in an approximately 12"x18" sheet and was enough for the two frames.
• The spray adhesive was something I already had from my thesis days. You can get it at National Bookstore or in hardware stores. Rubber cement and wood glue, of course, may also be found in hardware stores.

Instructions:

       1. Remove the backing and the glass from the picture frame.

       2. Trace the shape of the backing onto the cork and cut it out.

       3. See if the cork fits into the back of the frame. If not, trim it with the cutter or sand it down. If you're OC like me, you can sand the ragged edges of the cork (it usually gets ragged when you cut it) to smooth them out.

       4. You'll notice that the cork is a bit thicker than what the frame allows for so what I did was cut little notches in the corners so I could slip in the plastic tabs that held the backing in place.

       5. Apply adhesive on the flat side of the frame backing (the one without the stand and the hanger loops) and stick it on the cork.

And you're done!

I took a cue from my sister and Anj's comments on my Instagram about using earrings as pins for the cork.

I got this set of earrings from AI Online Shop for Php 18.00. I also got bigger ones for my necklaces at Php 21.00 per set. The earring posts were a bit too long, though. So I trimmed them down with a wire cutter and voila!

You can either choose to let the frame stand or hang it up on the wall. I hung mine up using these small plastic hooks with tiny nails in them. (In the photo, you can see the adhesive residue I'm trying to hide)

This is what my accessory "corner" looks like now.

I'm so happy with it! Looks so organized and pretty! Now, for rest of the room.:p

- Jix.

Personalized.

How do you guys like my new layout? Is the text readable? Hehe.

I realized last night that, without meaning to, my blog design turned out extremely similar to a plate I did for Arch 144 (Color Dynamics) back in college. Look!

Ayayay. My tastes are so predictable. Not necessarily a bad thing, I guess? At least, I'm consistent. Haha.

On a side note, that up there was the very first 3D model I created on Sketchup. I used the plate to practice. Apologies if it seems rough and kitschy. Hehe. The rendering was done by Dax, BTW, using VRay.:)

Anyway, to give credit where credit is due with regards to my layout:

• My header was created using photoshop brushes from the tropical brush set by Mel of Mels Brushes
• The wooden background was originally white. I just colorized it on Photoshop. I found the background image through a Google image search which took me to this page. I don't know who exactly to credit, though. Sorry.

I'm still trying to get the hang of designing this blog. I know it's not much, but I think I actually like the simplicity of this layout I came up with.

Blogger friends, what Twitter widget do you use? I'd like to add one to my sidebar. What other blog widgets would you recommend (i.e. Pinterest, Instagram, etc.)? Help me! I am such a n00b. Haha. Would appreciate your comments/suggestions.:)

- Jix.

Braided Nail Design Tutorial.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram have probably already seen this.

As I've said, this is my first manicure in over a month and I wanted to do a design that would 1) showcase how pretty Orly "Luxe" is, 2) be in line with the "Pink October" theme (October is breast cancer awareness month for those, like Dax, who don't know -_-) , and 3) look good on short nails (since I've been cutting my nails to the quick to get rid of any unhealthy nail asap).

So I thought, what better way to tie that all together than to do a braided nail design! Heh. See what I did there? Eh? Eh? *nudge nudge* Tie it in... Braid... Get it? Aaaanyway...

This is actually a pretty popular design, as of late. It's been making its rounds on the nail art blogosphere. I think it's because it looks intricate but is fairly easy to do and you don't need any special tools to do it. I'll show you how.

First, pick three colors. The colors that I used for my manicure were Orly "Luxe" (of course), Caress "Pleasure" and Caress "Rose Beige", pictured below.

Orly "Luxe", Caress "Pleasure", and Caress "Rose Beige"

Now, on to the design tutorial. Just use the brush that comes in your nail polish.

Braided Nail Art Design Tutorial.

See? Pretty simple, right? Just keep applying the colors in sequence. You don't need to follow the exact number of strokes I made. Then, clean the edges and apply topcoat when you're done.

BTW, please excuse my crude methods, but that's really how I do my concept and practice nail art -- on acetate.-_- Methinks I should get some of those fake nails if I want to do more of these nail tutorials. Hehe.

Just some tips for this design:

• Wait for each color to dry before applying the next color. This is the only drawback to this design -- it takes time. I would suggest doing one color on all of your nails, then do the next color, apply on all of your nails, and so forth. That way the polish will have semi-dried on the first nail by the time you move on to the next color.
• As much as possible, choose polishes that are opaque in one stroke so you don't have to go over them again before moving on to the next color. In my case, it took me a little more time to do this design since the pink colors needed two coats for opacity.
• This is just my opinion, but I think selecting one pearly or metallic color to go with two creme colors really accentuates the design. Three cremes is fine, too. But more than one "bling-y" color may be overkill. Hehe.

That's it. I hope you guys liked this. Show me if you decide do this design on your nails! And if you see any of my nail designs you'd like to learn how to do, tell me and I'll post a tutorial here.:)

- Jix.

Orly "Luxe" + Comeback Nail Art.

Orly "Luxe".

Such a pretty gold, don't you think?

I spotted this while looking for a nice gold polish color to use for stamping. I wanted one that wasn't too yellow or too bronze, and I think Orly "Luxe" was just that. It's a shimmery metallic gold with some silver micro glitter mixed in to "cool down" the color. It has a foil-like finish when applied.

I didn't purchase this right away since I was holding out for China Glaze's "2030". But since I couldn't find 2030 anywhere, I got this instead.

It had been sitting on my dresser for weeks before I finally got to use it. Not that I wasn't excited. In fact, I was just itching to do some nail art with it. But I was giving my nails a break from polish. They were becoming unhealthy and started getting the equivalent of split ends where the top layer of nail started chipping and peeling. Yikes.

After a little over a month of naked nails, I finally deemed them healthy enough to be painted again and here's what I came up with:

Braided nail art with Orly "Luxe".

Of course I had to reserve one whole fingernail to be painted gold. Hehe.

I bought Orly "Luxe" at SM Makati for Php 349.75.

Oh, it stamps pretty well, BTW. You might still be seeing this in my next nail art posts. I have the most beautiful nail art stamping plate to show you!

I've also prepared a tutorial for how I did that braided design above. If you're interested, check back in a few hours.:)

- Jix.

Recent online shoe haul.

So I went a liiiittle shoe crazy a while ago. Remember I mentioned in a previous post how my obsession comes in waves and that, at that time, it was shifting to shoes? Yeah. I bought four pairs of shoes after that. Two pairs of flats and two pairs of heels. All in the span of less than a month. Yikes.

Clockwise from top: Hot pink peep toe pumps, rose pumps, cream captoe flats, pink ballet flats

I got all of these online. I'll post links to the shops where I got them. You'll see the prices when you click the links. I'm kind of afraid to admit how much I spent on all of these.T_T Each pair is actually relatively affordable, though. Let's just say, collectively, the lot of them cost as much as a decent pair of running shoes.

Hot Pink Peep Toe Pumps

Photo credit.

Got this pair from FashionCookie ShoeAvenue. These are probably the highest heels I have. Almost 6 inches high!o_O They'll definitely get uncomfortable if you stand/walk in them for long periods of time, but they don't pinch or rub anywhere. Which is why I like suede shoes. They're so easy on my feet for some reason. However, with the weather lately, I've been having a hard time finding the chance to wear these babies. I'm scared they'll get ruined by the rain. >.<

Pink Ballet Flats

Photo from Suelas.

This is Suelas's Llanura in "Tutu Pink". They're foldable and come with a pouch you can tuck the shoes into. Actually, I already owned the exact same pair before this recent purchase. They were my most used and abused flats. And I loved them so much I just had to get another pair when they finally gave up on me. I hope Suela's doesn't stop producing these. I will be heartbroken if they get discontinued. Hehe.

Cream Captoe Flats

Photo from Satchi Store.

These are Satchi Store's Vivi Captoes in cream. I bought these to use alternately with my Suelas Llanuras so I don't wear them out too quickly (yes, that's how much I love my pink flats). Satchi Store boasts of "unbelievable sneaker-like comfort" from their shoes. Yes, the shoes are very soft, buuut the lining is a bit scratchy. I'm quite sensitive when it comes to the itchies so this was kind of a disappointment. What's even more disappointing is that I think all of their shoes are like this. I own another pair from this store (the Kochi Loafers), and I had to line the front part of those shoes with Leukoplast cause I couldn't bear the scratchiness. Thankfully, the construction of the Vivi Captoe makes the lining more bearable. 

Rose-colored Pumps

Photo from Shoe Goddess.

When I saw these pumps on Shoe Goddess (aka HighStyleFancy), it was love at first sight. But I'd already purchased the three previous shoes I mentioned so I told myself I really didn't need another pair. But I kept going back to the site just to look at them and sigh. I made a little bargain with myself, that if the shoes were still there by the end of October, I'd get them. And then Multiply held one of their "Discount Frenzies" for shoes. All that bargaining went out the window. I snatched up those shoes with the discount code and got Php 500.00 off. Mwahahaha! I fail the Marshmallow Test.-_-

I'm pretty much over my shoe phase for now. Sana naman, diba? Hahaha. My current obsession has shifted to organizing. I'm on a mission to de-clutter my room. I've been buying containers, holders, and organizers, left and right. Ayayay. Progress is slow and I still have a long way to go, but I'll show you the results once I'm all done.

- Jix.