My Tribest Personal Blender PB350 with Mason Jars! Pic heavy of the PB350 goodies! :o)

30th post for my 30th Birthday (last Friday)! :D

A few people told me that once I get to 30, it's downhill from there. It has already happened! I got really bad coughs from post nasal drips especially during night time and nosebleeds from severe hayfever. So I was home and watching the Nutribullet infomercial, I want one of those!! After extensive research online, I landed on the Whirlpool forum and someone suggested the Tribest personal blender. After some more extensive research, I bought myself a Tribest PB350 (because the PB350XL is sold out! Boohoo!). I purchased my Tribest PB350 from Raw Pleasure. They also sell extra cups and accessories!

It arrived today. YAY!!! :D

I have taken some photos of the products if anyone is interested in seeing kinda up-close pics of the products. I am the kind of person who likes to see pics of products that I cannot physically see at a shop. So here are the pics!

The full set of Tribest Personal Blender PB350 model with mason jars.

What you get:

• 200 watt blender base
• 1x 425ml (12oz) BPA free plastic cup
• 1x 250ml (8oz) BPA free plastic cup
• 1x 360ml Drinking mug with lid
• 1x 75ml (4oz) Mason jar with lid
• 1x 175ml (8oz) Mason jar with lid
• 1x 300ml (12oz) Mason jar with lid
• 1x Mason jar attachment
• 2x BPA free plastic cover lids
• 1x BPA free sippy cut lid
• 1x Blender attachment
• 1x Grinder attachment
• 1x Manual (with recipes!)

Here are the 2 BPA free plastic cups in sizes 250ml (80z) and 425ml (12oz). There are measurement markings on the cups. Visible when picture is enlarged.

Feels like thick durable plastic. Not flimsy at all!

Here are the 4 glass jars. The drinking mug comes with a BPA free plastic lid (360ml). 

The 3 mason jars with lids (Quilted mason jars - You can purchase them separately on eBay by searching for "quilted jars") come in sizes ~75ml (4oz), ~175ml (8oz) and ~300ml (12oz). 






To the left is the glass jars and drinking mug attachment for the blender and grinder attachment.

Then there are 2 BPA free cover lids and sippy cup cover.

The one on the left is the grinder attachment and the one on the right is the blender attachment.

Close up of blender attachment.

Close up of grinder attachment.

The backside of the blender and grinder attachments. It is made of durable rubber instead of plastic.

BPA free plastic cup attached to the grinder attachment and then placed on the blender.

Unlock: Good for pulsing

Lock: Running/Ongoing of grinding/blending

The blender! There's a little button to the right for activating the blender.











The mason jars and drinking jug attachment in action!

The grinder/blender attachment screwed onto the glass jars attachment that's screwed onto the glass jar. hehe

The grinder/blender attachment screwed onto the glass jars attachment that's screwed onto the glass jug. :D

Aaand another pic of the glass jar attachment with the blender/grinder attachment screwed onto the drinking jug.











Lastly, the manual. It also contains recipes! Yay! :D

Someone managed to poke holes through 2 boxes while on transit to me! :/

Hope these photos have helped in anyway! I have not made any drinks yet as it's 2.08am now... Don't think my husband would appreciate the noise! haha

I will try to post more photos and maybe a video of the Tribest personal blender in action very soon! :D

ENJOY!!

Insect repellent with essential oils

So summer is here in Australia. I absolutely hate spring and summer due to severe hayfever, anhidrosis and nose bleeds.

BUT that's not the reason for this post! Summer means mosquitoes, flies, and winged, unfriendly foes!

I did my research and came up with my simple mix of insect repellent with essential oils. According to the dosing instructions, 5 drops of EO to 10ml carrier (I used water):

• Rosemary essential oil
• Tea Tree essential oil
• Lavender essential oil
• Water

If you'd like to apply topically onto skin for bites, switch the water to an oil-based carrier such as jojoba (not oil-based but great for skin!) or olive oil or sweet almond oil. 

If you are confused between Essential Oils and Extracts, BUBBLE AND BEE's page have a really good explanation of both. Essential oils in my opinion are pure and more beneficial especially for the skin.

I would NOT recommend any Citrus essential oils (Orange, Lemon, Tangerine, Mandarin, Bergamot, Lime, Grapefruit, any citrusy essential oils!) to use on skin as they are phototoxic unless you are not planning to see the sun for at least 24-48 hours. There are some Citrus essential oils that some websites stated that it's safe but I do not use it altogether because I don't want to risk my skin! 

Anyway, I am sharing my super easy recipe for making a non-chemical laced insect repellent. Enjoy! :D

Photo image transfers onto canvas tutorial with Gel Medium (with pictures!)

Dear passer-by reader,

Thanks for stopping by my unfortunate, inconsistently updated blog BUT I do try!!!

For those who stops by occasionally to see what I've made, thank you! :o)

I've started playing with image transfers onto canvas and it can be quite fun despite the "finger fatigue", splits from rubbing off paper fibres and the waiting time for the gel medium to dry!

Here are a few of the canvases that I have done for my friends: 

For a friend/colleague/photographer who took this macro shot

 For a friend's/colleague's first granddaughter

 For my best friend's wall, a picture of Venice that I have forgotten to print as mirror image

As you can see, there are some bits that rubbed off due to: certain spots being rubbed to hard OR have not dried properly OR no gel medium contact OR bubbles.

Here's the brief!

Goodies that I used:

• LASER toner printed mirror-image on photocopy paper (don't waste your money on the good quality papers!) NOT INKJET
• Liquitex Gloss Gel Medium (Purchased from SeniorArt.com.au)
• Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish (Purchased from SeniorArt.com.au)
• Sponge brush/applicator (poly brush they call it)
• Canvas (Sizes entirely up to you! I use primed canvases only)
• Card (Credit card size) or bone folder (Not pictured)
• Spray bottle with clean water 
• A clean, covered work surface OR craft mat (I use the Ranger Craft Mat)
• Hands (Not pictured)
• Lots of patience! (Spiritually in the pictures! haha)

Instructions:

• Print your selected image (colour or blank&white) onto CHEAP-O-SKATE photocopy paper. Make sure it is a mirror image, especially when there are words/letters. My husband has been bugging me for weeks for a picture of our two furry children so I decided to make him one to take to work. He's a manly man but a big softie when it comes to our furry kids!
• Prep the printed image and canvas with the gel medium. I used the sponge brush to apply the gel medium onto the canvas and the medium instead of just one or the other. 

• The paper (picture below) is warped because of the moisture from the Gel Medium. Not too sure if you could see the sheen on the canvas... I applied enough to make the picture look translucent.

• Slap (not literally) the printed image side down onto the canvas

• Smooth out the paper with the credit card or the bone folder OR your fingers (I use my fingers on the paper side and credit card on the back canvas).
• Do NOT press too hard when smoothing out the paper because it will rip due to the gel medium softening the paper. Trust me. IT WILL RIP!!! Do NOT press too hard when smoothing out on the canvas backside because that will move most of the gel medium to the sides making it all lumpy and raised (if the sides have kinda dried a little bit). IT WILL BE LUMPY AND RAISED!!! 
• Gently smooth out the bubbles from centre to side with your fingers on the photocopy paper then apply a wee bit of pressure with the card/bone folder when smoothing from the backside of the canvas.
• ***DO THIS STEP AT YOUR OWN RISK!*** I learned this from the Golden brand on Youtube (may not be a great idea but I did it anyway because I'm impatient!!!) that I can leave the canvas to dry for a couple of minutes then SLOWLY peel off one corner to reveal whether the image have latched onto the canvas. If the image has been "transferred" or stuck onto the canvas, you can slowly peel back the paper DIAGONALLY. It will peel off a layer of the paper and leave another layer that's attached to the gel medium. Less paper to rub off later! ;o) 

**If the image is still on the paper, it is not ready. If you pulled part of the paper where the image is still on the peeled paper, apply a tiny dab of gel medium onto the image then slap it down onto the canvas.... then try to peel from another corner to avoid peeling the image off the canvas**

 See the layer difference after you peel off the paper from the canvas?

• THEN LEAVE IT TO DRY! I gave it a few hours to dry. I can't wait 24 hours!!! There's my patience!
• Now's the fun part but you have to be patient as well. Spray the remaining layer of paper on canvas with water. Enough to dampen until image is translucent then start rubbing the paper off. You have to repeat this process a few times because when it dries, there will still be paper fibres on there. So be patient and slowly rub them off! **Some crafters use soft sponge or rag but I prefer my fingers so I can "feel" when I have rubbed most of the fibres off**

 This was the first rub off.. May have to do this a few times to get rid of most paper fibres!

• Once you reckon that most of the fibres are off the image, let it dry then apply the Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish with the poly brush. Let it dry and apply another layer of the Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish as the final coat of protectionnnnnn.

***You may still see some paper fibres on the canvas when it dries. I tend to rub LIGHTLY (after a few wet, rub and dry sessions) until I could actually feel that no fibres will come off the picture, even if it dried with paper fibres still on it. Then I test a small area with the varnish to see if the image will come up clear. If it does, OH EXCITEMENT TO VARNISH THE WHOLE CANVAS!!!***

Done Done Done DOOOOOOONNNNNEEEEE! :o) Enjoy your proud handmade product! :o)

New craft to play with!! Wooden beads necklaces! :D

I am still playing with my sewing machine but have also found another new craft to play with.

WOODEN BEADS NECKLACES! 


20/7/13 UPDATE EDIT: I have found that Jo Sonja's Polyurethane Gloss Varnish works the BEST without the paint coming off the wooden beads and the gloss stays on when you rub really hard on it. Unlike the Helmar Acrylic Sealer gloss that turns matte-ish when I rub really hard (even after a few days of curing). The Krylon varnishes (satin and gloss) sprays are absolutely useless even if I applied a few coats. The colours rub off on each other.

I have always loved chunky jewellery but didn't really get into it until I bought a nice chunky acrylic beads necklace a few weeks ago... then I thought, I should make my own!! Had to finally decide on wooden beads so I can customise my own colours rather than go with the acrylic coloured beads, although they are super cute!!

I used a few coats of acrylic paint and then varnished them with acrylic sealer. Some tutorials suggested that just the acrylic paint will do but sorry I don't think that's enough! The acrylic sealer protects the acrylic paints from rubbing against the other painted beads and lasts longer, if that makes sense... I tested a necklace I made with just the acrylic paint on.. doesn't work too well for me! :( So I "acrylic sealed" the wooden beads, they look and feel so much better without the chalky/raspy feel of the dried acrylic paint. Also there's no fear when the beads get wet (from the rain!) without a bit of the colour coming off! The acrylic sealer makes the coloured wooden beads look like lollies! :D

**Tested with the Krylon Satin and Krylon Matte varnish spray (both are toxic fumes until the varnish is fully dry..!?), the acrylic paints still rub off each other even if the beads were sprayed with 2-3 varnish coatings. The only way it works for me is to paint the acrylic sealer with a brush! More work but more satisfying to know that the colours won't rub off on each other! Plus the acrylic sealer is acid free and non-toxic.**

The necklaces are stringed with either hemp or waxed cotton cord and finished with button closure.

I call this AUTUMN necklace that I made for my friend/colleague who loves autumn colours!

Hand painted individually (except the dark brown and light wood colour: dyed) with several coats of acrylic paint and varnished, double stringed with brown cotton cord and finished with button closure (sorry, didn't take a photo of it!!)

I made this one for another friend/colleague who loves red and green. My initial thought was to alternate the colours but thought that would be too "Christmasy". So I painted red colour on 8 beads and 3 different shades of green on 3 beads. 

Hand painted beads with several coats of acrylic paint, varnished and double stringed with black hemp, then finished off with button closure.. (Sorry again! No photo of that...)

 Please excuse my doggie's ear photobomb. He loves to hover when I take pictures!

Anyway, thank you for looking at my blog! I truly appreciate it even if you came here by accident... :)

Tote bag with front flap

So I tried to make a tutorial for this tote bag. It is so difficult to take photos of every step!!! I have missed a few steps, pic-wise because I got quite impatient and wanted to finish it as soon as I can.
2 external pockets
2 internal pockets
Front flap
Velcro sides (to make the bag look boxy)
Top Length: 14"
Bottom Length: 10"
Height: 8.75"
Width: 4" 

Here are the results, please excuse the toilet paper rolls!:

Below 2 pics, I added velcro to the top sides so it makes the bag look boxy (which I much prefer after taking it out for a spin today!)

 

All 4 pockets look like that. Unfortunately that is a bad call for this back pocket because it just open up too much when I hold the bag by the handles.... It's ok. Lesson learned!!

Cute little reversible lunch tote!

My colleague requested for a little lunch tote and gave me some rough measurements of what she wants it like + selecting the fabrics to go together so here's the result!

Approx. measurements: 10" x 8" x 4"
1 pocket (shown in 2nd picture)

 

I learned how to make the internal pocket via sewhappygeek.co.uk! Here's the link: http://sewhappygeek.co.uk/index.php/2011/10/27/guest-tutorial-katys-pocketed-cosmetic-bag/

It is SO MUCH EASIER for me to sew that than sewing a piece of fabric onto the bag to make the pocket for these sort of bags/totes.

Enjoy!! When I am better at sewing, I will start making tutorials!! :D

Cosmetic zipped pouch with lining

So I tried my hand at making a cosmetic zipped pouch with lining. I am so bad at it!!! Zips are not my forte, me thinks!

It came out ok but the lining at the end of both zips are... bad. :o( I used YouTube video tutorials but I just can't seem to make it as nice... If anyone out there could give me some tips, that would be great!!

Here are the links to the video tutorials that I took sewing tips from and tried to follow:
How to: Boxy Cosmetic Bag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A55wjGmOXtE
Zippered box pouch tutorial-How to install a zipper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BruF6Hk9NU