Presents

Now that my mom’s birthday is long over, I can show off what I made. Using this tutorial on Burda Style, I made some pocket tissue holders. I vowed to myself when I started that I was going to be absolutely careful, tear out stitches when necessary, and go slooooooooooowly.

And I did! And they came out great! I had to tear out the stitches once because I didn’t read the directions properly, but really it all came down to careful ironing. I was utterly amazed at how easy it was once I slowed down and forced myself to do it right. I am definitely learning a lesson in patience.

I also made up some Chai Tea Spices for my mom’s tea (I had mentioned making this in an earlier post). It was messy but really fun. I made a batch for myself while I was at it, and we tried some in some Earl Grey, and it was fantastic – I can’t even describe how good it was. My mom, unlike the rest of my family, drinks mainly green tea, and she assured me it tastes just as awesome in green as it does in black.

Aside from the chocolates, this is the first exclusively handmade present I’ve given to one of my parental units, and I think it went really well. Too bad it’s not easy to think of a present for my dad, let alone a handmade one.

Making paper stars

I’ve discovered a few things about myself. One major thing is that if I don’t take breaks at work, I get stressed out and burned out more quickly than otherwise. Last week has been one of the worst weeks at work ever (EVER, in the history of ever) but I’m so, so, so glad it’s over. I didn’t do this last week, though I should have, but one week I took breaks here and there to make a paper star, and it was rewarding and relaxing to take my eyes off my work for a few minutes.

A month or so ago, a Going Postal member sent me a PHOTO TUTORIAL on making paper stars. Omg! I’ve never understood making paper stars until reading that tutorial. Actually, I’m really bad at origami in general, even when I HAVE instructions (how is it that all the instructions are fairly simple except one? There’s always ONE origami instruction I get stuck on ALL THE TIME). But this photo tutorial was super helpful!

Here was my first star:

You can’t really tell what that is in the photo, but it’s easy to believe me when I assure you: that is NOT a star. Anyway, after my first try it got a whole lot better. Now I’m making stars like a pro!

Here’s the question: what do I do with all my stars?