DIY | Easy Chic Desk Accessories

Acrylic and lucite desk accessories are making their way into many homes and hearts lately. Their modern, sleek look work so well especially in small spaces. I love how they make my desk look more open, providing homes for my stationery and reduce clutter. Since I spend a lot of my time working in my home office, I was thinking to refresh my desk and have a beautiful desk set I will enjoy during working hours.

I especially love Kate Spade's Strike Gold acrylic desk set but the price runs pretty steep. I especially am fond with the gold accents that gives off glam touch without being tacky.

Kate Spade Strike Gold Pen Holder

Luck was on my side because I found acrylic boxes at Mr.DIY one day and so, I decided to do a simple DIY inspired by the desk set and gives my desk a fresh look.

These acrylic containers are actually stackable. They come with lids and the lids just made the refresh so much easier! I bought a roll of metallic gold craft paper from my local art store and get to work (barely any work though..)

Basically I just trace the paper according to the lid size and fit it inside the rim.

Once I get the perfect fit, the next step is just to put the container on top of the stackable lid.

DONE!

If your containers do not have lids however, don't fret. You can easily use PVA glue, spread it thinly on the back of the craft paper and stick it down at the base of the container. What I love about this DIY is not only it is super simple, you can easily change craft papers for a totally different look! You can use rose gold for a trendy look, or floral paper for a shabby chic look. What about marble or wood grain contact paper? The possibilities are endless.

Since acrylic and lucite containers are so versatile, they belong to other parts of your house as well. As a catch-all trays, toothbrush holders, honey sticks container, as a vase and so much more.

I also found the acrylic tape holders at Mr.DIY if you are interested.

I hope this will inspire you to refresh your desk so it can be a space you enjoy and love. 8 hours a day, you might as well be in a beautiful place. Have a great day!

LIFE | It's Happening

It's happening.

2015 was one of the worst year in my life. I failed a lot of times in my life, so failures do not shake me. I started many businesses that failed to take off, but it did not sway me. Perseverance has been one of my strong points, which made my husband first fell in love with me. But 2015 beat me down to the ground, covered me in mud (or lava, i think it was lava) and pushed my head under the dirt.

Not only my previous business failed, I had three miscarriages in a single year.

I won't go as far as saying a woman is considered successful when she bears a child, because that is untrue and I personally don't agree with the statement. But my husband and I personally being trying to conceive, and having a hope planted in my womb and ripped off was something that lived with me. It was hard, and there were a lot of tears in the shower, when I was driving, or in the middle of the night. It sucked the life out of me, and I lost a lot of happiness. 

Some people certainly did not help by giving uncouth comments or asking when am I going to actually have a child. Not only it wasn't anyone's business, it was hurtful. But amidst all these ignorant comments, there were people who held my hand and told me "it's okay".

It's okay.

You are not defined by your ability to conceive, or to produce a human being. Your journey, the story of your life, and your destination is different from others. You don't have to be pressured into doing something just because the people around you seem to be doing it effortlessly.

I remembered my sister told me, rezeki (blessings) from God won't miss you if it is intended for you. There is no use to cry for something that is not intended for you. Your story will paved itself rightfully at the right time. After almost a year, instead of continue to dwell over my losses, I chose to accept what happened and embrace the pain as part of my story.

And so after a conversation with my husband, we discovered that both of us were not ready to have a child at all at that time. It was a surprise to both of us (communicate more, guys!). We were trying to conceive just because it was what was expected of us. And so we went on our merry ways and enjoyed the rest of our lives!

But it's happening now. We did not plan this. We weren't pressured. We lived and let live. Nevertheless, both of us certainly want this to happen this time around. It's a serendipity. We weren't pressured, we did not succumb to others expectation, it just happened. And we are thankful.

Another couple of months till I see you, little one.

PLANNING | How I Organize My Day

Photo by STIL on Unsplash

Life can be hectic and sometimes you may feel lost. I personally have been there a million time. In my early twenties, I held the "live fast, die young" motto quite close to me so I did not plan anything. While it sounded like I had a carefree, non type-A lifestyle (a misconception!), it caused me to have a mountain load of stress. Being in a uni and started my first business while studying, the stress was beyond my control as everything was not organized. I'm talking physically and mentally.

This habit continued when I started my first job. It wasn't pretty. The key to my job as an executive secretary was to be highly organized, which I was not at all. The first few months were disasters. I did not have seniors or superiors to refer to, and mind you it was my first career. After wading through what I can describe as a disorganized nightmare, I decided it was time for a change.

I'm glad it happened.

Having the ability to organize my day is something that I learned for almost a decade. Some people learn faster than me, and that is amazing! Nevertheless, it has given me a solution for unnecessary, avoidable stress and generally help me to achieve a better mental health.

HOW I ORGANIZE MY DAY

The first step for me is to realize there is no perfect solution for everyone, and that is okay. As long as it works for me, it is good enough. It is important to experiment and stick with the ones that you prefer, no matter if it doesn't work with most people. Here are ways I organize and ensure I have a productive day ahead:

1. Having a Planner

There are variety of planners available in the market now. I am happy to see that the current planner market is booming and there are different styles and systems that can fit almost everyone. From the structured ones like Franklin Covey to the more open and fun ones like Erin Condren. Choose the one that you are comfortable with!

My current 2017 Portly Planner in Blushing Dalmatian

My planner is from Portly Paperie, and it was designed by me to suit my style of organization. Since I am running a few businesses, I need a planner that can organize my goals, thought processes, keeping track of my life and to plan my daily routines.

2. Set a Daily Goal

Setting goal everyday giving me a sense of achievement

To organize my day, I set my daily goal first. For me, having a goal each day will give you something to look forward to, and give you a sense of accomplishment when the goal is reached. Your daily goal should be the priority of the day, and you will work towards completing this priority.

After setting my goal, I will mark any reminders for the day. Whether to pick up dry cleaning, going to the post office, or anything that I know might slip off my mind.

3. Mark your Events & Appointments

I mark the events first and allocate the time frame

When I'm not busy, I use stickers to mark events and appointments

And then I will make sure to mark my events and appointments and state the time frame. This can be an important meeting with my clients, birthdays, weddings, and all sorts of important events I have to attend. Having the allocated time frame will give you a clearer look how your day is going to be.

Sometimes we overestimate ourselves and "book" ourselves to too much tasks to complete in a day. Keep in mind that a simple meeting can take about an hour, not including travel time. With a good overview of how my daily events are going to be, I am able to plan my tasks better.

4. List your tasks

This type of simple to-do list is sold everywhere! Very handy if you are more visual.I stick this pad to my fridge.

I think everyone agrees that having a to-do lists will make you a more productive person. And it is fun to tick off all those items in the list! You are more likely to complete tasks that has been written down, than just listing them mentally. If you are a more visual person, having a task list displayed is a great solution. I personally love the dry erase boards for this purpose, especially those DIY ones made from old frames.

I'm loving this idea found on https://brightnest.com

Or this beautiful acrylic board made by Gladys Warden from http://www.steeltoesandstilettos.com *swoon*

My Portly Planner has a section for daily to-do lists, so I use it as I carry my planner everywhere. It's easy for me to refer to even when I'm outside the office. If you own a planner, try to integrate the to-do list together with your events.

Also function as my grocery list!

5. Prioritise

Now that you have your events and tasks listed, it is important to prioritize. Sometimes you can't have everything done within a day, and it is always good to know which is more important at a glance.

I used to stick post-it notes in different colors to mark my priorities and stick it on the wall at my office. Generally I used hot pink (or red) for extremely important, orange or yellow for items with medium importance, and green for things that can be rescheduled.

Now that I have everything in my planner, I color code my priorities using colored gel pens. I discovered Paper Mate Inkjoy and fell in love with them! They are easy to write with, doesn't bleed through my planner papers and dries pretty quickly! I always restock them especially in black because they are, hands down, my favorite pen in 2017.

Color coding your priorities will give you a visual track at a glance without you having to scan your events and tasks over and over again. This works for me because my days can get very busy and I tend to forget things within 5 minutes time frame (not going to pretend I am not absent minded)

Using pens and washi tapes to color code my priorities.

So friends, that's it. 5 steps to organize your day. This is what works for me, and I hope it will help you gain some ideas to have a better organization of your time. Hope you have a productive week ahead!

DIY | Chalk Paint & How to Paint

Hi everyone, Hope you had a wonderful week! I am so excited to share with you an amazing way to paint furniture, especially laminated ones. Now usually, I'd rather stain a good piece of wood because wood grain is naturally beautiful. BUT. If you love your painted pieces more and it works with your decor, YOU DO YOU BABY. Since I am on Pinterest 90% of my life,it is quite obvious that I'd encounter chalk paint. At first I was skeptical, looking at the price and the special brushes etc. But let me tell you, this stuff is legit. No prime,no sand, just brush it on, seal, and you're good to go.

The most popular chalk paint on pinterest

Annie Sloan chalk paint seems to be the holy grail of chalk paint for Pinterest crafters. But I've seen other brands coming up with their own version of chalk paint like Rustoleum and Valspar. Choose any you'd feel comfortable with and experiment!

Since I want to try chalk painting but not willing to pay the price for one plus shipping to Malaysia, I decided to try to mix my own. There are a lot of recipes on Pinterest, but I found that this worked for me best.

HOW TO MAKE CHALK PAINT

As you can see from my previous post, I painted my old wicker chest to a warm gray taupe-y color that looks a bit like Annie Sloan's French Linen Chalk Paint. So to achieve this color, I went to the art shop (I went to section 2 Shah Alam) and bought these:

1. Raw Umber Acrylic/Latex paint

2. Mid Gray Acrylic/Latex paint

3. Titanium White Acrylic/Latex paint

4. Plaster of Paris

Of course you can buy any colour you wish (Go bold! Go pastel!) but as for the paint, I recommend you to try Marie's Acrylic ones because the coverage is amazing, the texture is soft but not runny and is at an affordable price point. I bought mine at RM6.50 for 75ml.

After testing a lot of mixes, I found that the ratio worked for me best is 3:1:1

- 3 parts of  latex paint

- 1 part plaster of paris

- 1 part water

1. To achieve a taupe-y gray color, mix mid gray and raw umber color. I eyeballed the measurement but it is almost 70% gray and 30% raw umber.

How my first paints ratio look like.

2. Mix the colors. Assess if the color is as what you desire. Mine turned a bit too brown so I add a bit more gray and titanium white.

3. Mix, mix, mix. If you're happy with the color, add plaster of paris and water, keeping in mind the ratio should be 3 parts paint, 1 part POP, and 1 part water.

HOW TO PAINT WITH CHALK PAINT

 Believe it or not, it is super easy to use chalk paint. People rave how you can just dip your brush and go to town straight away. However, for me there are general rules you should do to make sure your painting looks great.

1. Use a good quality brush. A good brush not only will save you a lot of money in the future, but also will deliver amazing results.

2. Check your furniture for peeling, knots, holes etc. This is especially important if you are painting laminated furniture as they are notorious for peeling. Little fixes will make all the difference.

3. It is always better to do a thin coat of paint, wait for it to dry to touch, and add another layer of paint than slapping a goop of thick paint.

Test your color at a inconspicuous area. If you're happy with the color, proceed to paint.

The first coat's coverage will give you a bit of heart attack. You can still see the original color peeking through. Wait for the first coat to dry, and add another layer of paint.

Swoon at your ability to paint without primer. Go you!

SEALING CHALK PAINT

Sealing your chalk painted furniture is crucial. Chalk paint is not as durable as gloss latex paint, but it will give you a matt, flat, rustic kind of look. If you are looking for this look but want to protect the furniture,you'd have to seal it properly.

For high traffic furniture that will get a lot of dings and spills like kitchen table, you can use polyurethane or polycrilic finish. With chalk paint, almost everyone say you should wax the furniture. While waxing will give you a beautiful hand-rubbed sheen, it is not as durable and you'd need to reapply wax every couple of weeks.

Since the only traffic my litter box will get is from my kitten, I decided to try acrylic clear spray paint to seal the furniture. This is an experiment and I will update you how it is holding up after a couple of months.

They spray motorcycles with this. So why not my wicker chest??

After you finish sealing, let the furniture cure for about 4,5 days to remove all the VOCs. This is important if you have kids, pets or love yourself. As I am carrying a baby :) and this chest is for my kitten, I let it cure fully before using.

After all the hard work and agonizing curing time, it's time to enjoy your rustic painted furniture! I hope you will give this DIY a shot and share your creations at the comment section!

Have a great week ahead!

DIY | Hidden Litter Box

Hi friends, welcome to my new blog. I have decided to give a blog on lifestyle and organization another shot so here it is!

To start this new blog, I'd like to share with you my latest DIY project. If you're my friends or follow me on instagram, you'd probably know that my husband, A and I rescued a kitten, named Limau a couple of weeks ago and decided to adopt it. Truth to be told, we had zero idea how to raise a cat! But after a lot of reading and googling, we pretty much adapted to having an accidental cat living with us, and we're glad it happened. He brought us so much joy and new things to learn!

Little ball of destroyer

One of the new things I have to learn is to seamlessly blend the kitten's items into our household. Also, THAT CATS NEED PRIVACY WHEN DOING THEIR BUSINESS. We learnt this the hard way after he peed behind our TV console. So, we needed a litter box in the living room since Limau spends most of his time there. But I didn't want the litter box to be an eyesore, because we live in quite a small house, so everything is laid out in the same floor! So after going through pinterest, I found just the right idea!

I remembered my mom had an old and now ugly wicker chest she desperately wanted to get rid of. I drove to Selayang and picked it up and started my plan.

The wicker chest in all its "glory"

Comes with a broken handle

First thing I did was to clean the whole thing. It was dusty as heck and somehow there were pieces of playdoh stuck on the top part (???).

After the whole playdoh nightmare was gone, it was time to add a little door for Limau the cat to enter. the measurement of my door is 15cm (h) x 14.5 cm (w), supposedly this matches with a medium size cat flap door. In case we decide to add the flap door later, it will be a breeze.

Using a wire cutter, I just cut through the wicker based on the measurements i did. Then, I sanded the edges with 180 grit sandpaper to smoothen them.

I cut the handles first

As the wicker chest is in golden, aged, dingy color, I decided to give it a nice coat of paint. The color I chose was warm gray to match the rest of my decor. I discovered chalk paint and decided that to try it. ( I homemade the paint *wink* ) It was so easy and looked amazing! I will share with you how you can do the same in the next post.

See the difference?

Two coats of paint and a protective sealer afterwards, the chest was ready to be used! I didn't paint the insides but you can do so if you wish!

I love this color!

As for arrangement, I laid down a huge paper at the bottom to catch litter sand, and topped it off with a rug to avoid litter tracking outside the box. We add some newspapers and Thirsty Hippo to combat the odor. So far, this litter box is doing great in catching the litter and basically hide the unsightly yet necessary "cat toilet" from view!

So that's it. It's a pretty simple DIY and you don't have to see the litter box in the open everyday! Plus, by using wicker, your cat can still observe the outside perimeter while giving him the privacy he needs. So it's a win-win. I hope this is helpful to you and will give you ideas how to hide those litter boxes.

Have a good day!