Christmas: Gifts for family and friends.

"Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la, la la la la."

Hey peeps, so yup a few weeks more to my favourite festival which is CHRISTMAS! December is always my favourite month because school-age child like me have no school!! 

First, I am gonna list out what is the girls' preferable christmas gift. Girls are hard to understand, they said. I don't agree that statement (maybe because I'm one of them hahaha), girls just need your care and loves, as simple as that.

1) Candles

This is a lovely gift for girls, there are a few scent which girls mostly like it such as Lavender and Vanilla. They are very soothing. Mint or Eucalyptus is very good for people for struggle with flu every single morning *hands up*. I like citrus, berries or anything floral because they are refreshing especially during summer which means everyday here in Malaysia. Not only that, there are a few more flavour which are rare and nice. You can get candles in Yankee Candles. The first store opened at Great Eastern Mall, followed by second outlet at Sunway Pyramid and now they are available at One Utama. L'OCCITANE sell perfumed candles in tin, such a cute packaging. Others shops that sell candles include Crabtree & Evelyn, The Body Shop and so on. Ofcourse, my advice is DIY where you can learn new experience and it would be fun doing with a bunch of friends.

2) Skincare/Cosmetic/Perfume

These gift are perfect for most of the girls. Get it a or two week before Christmas, there will be lots of sale in shops like Sephora, L'OCCITANE, Crabtree & Evelyn, The Body Shop, Etude House, Sasa, Elianto, MAC, Lancome and more. (I can't list all of them down because it would take 3 days 3 nights to list all) Buy your mom a set, they would feel warm and loves you more.

3) Bath Bomb 

You can either buy it online from LUSH or make you own. 

To make your own, you will need: 

4 oz. baking soda

2 oz. corn starch
2 oz. citric acid
2 oz. Epsom salt
1 1/2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon essential oil (your choices)
1 1/4 teaspoon oil (I like coconut or olive oil here)
1-2 drops food coloring (optional)

A few capsule of capsule toy

capsules

In a bowl combine the dry ingredients (the first four listed above). Whisk to remove any clumps, corn starch tends to be clumpy. In a small glass jar stir together the wet ingredients (the last four ingredients listed). If you're using coconut oil, give it a quick melt in the microwave around 30 seconds first so it will easier to combine with other ingredients. Then, slowly pour the liquid mixture in with the dry mixture, whisking as you go. Once all the wet ingredients are combined with the dry, take a small amount in your hand and squeeze it together. It should stick together fairly well in one or two big chunks. If it's still too powdery to hold together, just add a tiny bit more water and mix until it does hold together.

Then fill each half of your capsule with the mixture until it's full. Press together iwth all your strength, then gently remove one side of the mold. Allow it to dry out (10-12 minutes) before removing the other side. Once 2 sides are dry out a little, gently remove them from the capsule. The key word is gently. If a bath bomb does crack in half while you're removing it, you can gently press it back or remove all the mixture back to the mixing bowl and start the molding process again. Yes, you are done until here. I highly recommend giving them a try!

Furthermore, here are some gift ideas for both gender.

1) Something sweet in a jar.

this is so cute, replace the content with whatever you like!

2) Box full of cookies.

I bought the gingerbread house DIY kit from Ikea last year, it is nice to decorate and also yummy!

Click here for some recipes.

gingerbread man 

festive cookies

3) Journal book/ Calendar of next year

For my opinion, the best journal book award belongs to Typo and Borders.

So here is some ideas for you to refer, hope you enjoy! 

Loves, meLodyyap.

Christmas: DIY Decorations Ideas

Hey there! Christmas is around the corner (56 days to christmas)! Hope this post imspire you and enjoy!

1) Perler Beads Ornaments
Perler Beads is my new hobby recently (to distress myself from #SPM2015), it is fun spending some time to play on this. What you need is a Perler Beads kit which consists of different colours of beads, different shapes of peg board, ironing paper and a iron (be cautious when using it). Some of the perler beads are transparent and glow in dark which makes the products look more cool. So, here is some idea to share with you.

this tiny mini ornament is so cute

different types of snow flakes

Q: How do you do it?
A: First you need to prepare a Perler Beads Kit (duh) and begin to create your design. After you have done with the design, place an ironing paper on top then start iron them till they stick with each other.
Cool it down and you are done!

Q: Where to get this in Malaysia?
A: You can purchase them online from etcy, amazon, taobao and etc. I bought the beads from Mr. DIY because it is cheapest in town. Other from that, you also can get these at Ikea and Spotlight.


2) Snow Globe
This is a really nice christmas gift to friends. It is very popular in other countries.

Q: What do you need?
A: There is two ways, both of them needs a jar, glue gun or super glue, any kind of ornaments that fits in the jar. You need water and glitter for the first way while the other way, you need to prepare fine sea salt for this.
Tips: A vintage jar look better.

Q: The steps to do it?
A: You need to glue your ornament of your choice on the LID of the jar. Then, add glitters and pour water till it reaches 3/4 of the jar. Close the lid tightly and apply glue to the outside seam of the jar to keep it watertight. You can shake it , shake it for me!!
Tips: You can add a few drops of glycerin to the water, it keeps the glitter from falling too fast.

reminds me of Olaf

A lonely tree in a snowy place.

A: For the other way, you also need to connect the ornament on the BOTTOM of the jar with glue. (In fact, ornament on lid is also work by putting your jar upside down) Next, pour some salt on it and close the lid tightly. Shake it now and let it snow~ let it snow~ let it snow!

Are you trap? Little poor reindeer.

Feel the christmas! <3

Q: Where to get the materials?

A: Anywhere. Ikea, Spotlight, Daiso sell those vintage jar. You can find mini ornaments everywhere even at Pasar Malam :P I am pretty sure you know where to get the others.

3) Bottle caps wreath

Wreath is a traditional christmas decoration, but this time we make it 'untraditional' way. You will need lots of bottle caps (drinker would have lots of beer caps), but if you are a non-alcoholic you can use bottle soda caps too. Unfortunately, it is very rare to see any places that are still selling bottle beer or bottle soda. In this condition, I advice to use plastic bottle caps (coca-cola and heineken bottle caps are very 'christmasful' because they are red and green colour).

Q: Things you need?

A: Lots of bottle caps, cardboard, scissor, glue and ribbon.

Q: How?

A: By hands. (just joking) First of all, cut a circle from the cardboard like the picture below. Then adhere the bottle caps on it with glue. Lastly, use a ribbon to tie it up on your door. 

shape of the cardboard

mini wreath

you can also create your own design

4) Hanging Snowflakes

What do you feel when you just woke up and there is some beautiful snowflakes at the window? (I'm sad because Malaysia only have summer) Then why not make some artificial snowflakes? This DIY is very easy. 

coloured paper looks fantastic too

All you need is papers, scissor and thread. Follow the steps below-

A.  You need a square piece of paper for a perfect snowflake. To make it fold your paper as shown. Cut off the section that is not overlapped.

B.  Open up the paper and refold into a rectangular shape.

C.  Find the center folded bottom edge and fold one side over from center mark.

D. Repeat on the other side – making sure all the edges are lined up.

E. Fold it over matching up edges.

F. Cut off the excess paper from the top to create a straight line making sure all the top edges are the same and you have a neat little triangle. Trim more if necessary to make sure everything is even.

G. Follow one of the designs in the diagram below and cut your folded paper using a sharp pair of scissors.

You have your paper snowflakes now, tie them together with thread. Hang it on your windows and TAA-DAA! You have your snowy windows now!

5) Christmas Tree by washi tapes.

Can't deny that washi tapes can make anything! I am so obsessed with them, especially those christmas themed washi tapes. You only need washi tapes of your choice and ornaments. Here is the tutorials: just kidding you don't need it, you are smart enough.

I did this on christmas card and it is wonderful

That's all for today! Hope you learn something today!

*photo credits to google*

Loves, meLodyyap.