Happy 2010!!

Just wanted to wish every one a Happy New Year!!! :o)


Hope you all have a great evening!

PS: Don't forget about the lunar eclipse that's happening tonight around from 7-8 this evening, GMT!

Bina :o)

Lace Cuff Bracelet

I went to Hickey's and got a few bits and pieces (mainly lace) ... cos I've been quite bored over the Christmas break... and I knew that I had to do something to keep myself occupied! My creative juices got flowing and before I knew it, I made myself this little lace cuff bracelet in the afternoon...

I had been planning on making myself some sort of accessory. And when my friend saw all the lace, she remarked on how it all seemed quite garter-like! :o) Which kept me amused whilst I was doing this project!

So with my supply of lace, I went wild...



The tulle lace I bought which was already elasticated... which made this project a whole lot easier!

Sewed the fancy lace on top of the stretchy tulle and turned up my creative dial... added some pearls and chain to decorate, and ta-daaa!!

Lace Cuff Bracelet

This was such an easy project to do, that I decided to post up a little video tutorial. (Sending a little shout out to SecretLifeOfaBioNerd for empowering me and giving me the strength I needed to do what I've always wanted to do... be creative!)

If you're visiting here from Burdastyle... welcome!!!



Hope you guys enjoy! If you like what ya see, follow my blog! Comment if you have any questions...

Bina :o)

Merry Christmas 2009!!!

Apparently our sign worked! We had a mountain of presents around our Christmas tree...lol!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I hope Santa brings you lots of joy and happiness!

Bina :o)

N*RDie present

I was thinking of a Christmas present for my little brother, but I hadn't thought of any great ideas...

And I had this laptop case lying around, that I got as a college freebie! A company, trying to attract graduates for recruitment purposes, was handing out laptop bags that were branded with their logo[it's been blurred out in the pic below].

Normally, it's only pens and rulers that you get, but I jumped at the chance to grab something different...it's just what you do as a POOR college student! haha!

Before: Laptop Bag Lying around

Anyway, I decided to applique something over the logo and give it to my brother as part of his Christmas present. I had kept a bunch of socks that didn't have a pair... and I had a scrap of fabric leftover from other projects.

So I decided to applique the word, nerd on it. [Decided later to applique 'N*RD' ...kinda neat, eh!]

After: Laptop Bag with Applique lettering

Bina :o)

Feather Hairband

I have this fashion safety pin from a dress I got years ago for my debs.

I didn't think it suited the dress, so I took it off and pinned it on my curtains, and for the last four years, there it hung!
Until, I did my hair for a night out last night, and I felt like something was missing! And this feathered pin just happened to catch my eye! Don't ask me how... I hadn't noticed it for four years... Life went on, and I did not miss this feathered piece!!!

So I attached the pin to a gold chained hairband that I have and it looks amazing... like a hairband version of a fascinator!

Was a pretty cool idea to jazz up my hairstyle!

Bina :o)

Bunch of Roses

I made clay roses! Eeep! It was my first time playing around with Sculpey! I had heard of Sculpey and Filo but I wasn't sure where to get some! So I went to the local craft store and bought me some!

Beautiful Clay Roses

They're so gorgeous! I didn't have any proper paint so I used nail polish to colour them... They look very pretty! This was only the test run so I don't know what to do with them now!

But next time I think I might make earrings or punch some holes and turn them into pendants... Hmm... we shall see! Eeep! Excitement!!

Bina :o)

Expensive Taste? Not!

Who says you can't look good on a budget? Whoever said it couldn't be done, was clearly telling porkies! Because I just had the BEST shopping trip ever which inspired me to write this post!

I think I spent probably under €30, and I got three new outfits out of it and! Yay! Go me!!! So I thought I'd share my goodies with you... I've added these key pieces to things I already own to create my new outfits.

Below are pictures of the cute outfits! Can't wait to have an excuse to wear them out!! Eek!
[I have also labelled which items are newly bought, and which items have been lying around in the back of my closet! :o) ]

It's Christmas Time

New: X-Mas Jumper and scarf combo - €5.00 (Penneys)
New: Fake uggs - €6.00 (Dunnes)
Old: Leggings - €2.00 (Penneys)
Old: Hat - 40ZLN (Poland)

Floral Carpet Dress

New: Floral Dress - €7.00 (Dunnes)
Old: Tights - €3.00 (Dunnes)

Gold Member

New: Navy Dress - €3.00 (Penneys)
New: Handbag - €1.00 (Penneys)
Old: Tights - €3.00 (Dunnes)
Old: Cardi - €4.00 (MK One)

(pics will be up soon!)

Loose Blouse Dress

New: Dress - €5.00 (Dunnes)
Old: Shoes - €20.00 (Penneys)


Got such a good bargain! Thank goodness for reduced items! :o) The recessionista lives on...

Bina :o)

Goodbye boring plain hairbands!

Like every girl out there, I buy elastic hairbands in packs... They're plain and boring but they keep your hair out of your face! I have so many! And I thought I might jazz one of them up!! :o)

And I was having a bit of a room clear out, and I found a magical fairy wand I had from a dress up party! It had a cute cute butterfly on top and seeing as I was going to throw the wand away, I thought... why not do something with it...?

Butterfly Elastic Hairband

So I took it off the wand and attached it to my elastic hairband... looks cute, doesn't it? [The butterfly had a lot more feathers and ribbons and strings of pearls attached to it when it was on the wand... I just removed them, and put them aside for another rainy day! ;op]

I actually saw a tutorial a while ago on how to make wings for a halloween costume, using wire, and an old pair of tights. It seemed pretty easy so I figure a mini-version [like the one above] would be grand to do! Might try to do it from scratch when I have a spare moment!

Bina :o)

My very own zipper creation!!!

Finally went out to Hickey's Home Focus and bought myself a zipper to try out those zipper brooches!

Zipper Flower Brooch

And it looks exactly like the one in the picture from an earlier post!! Eep! Looks fab on clothes as well!!! :o)

I think next time, I might try to do something a bit more original, shouldn't I? lol! :)

Bina :o)

Raining Men? Uh oh! Didn't bring a brolly!

This week started on such a high! We were being pursued by men... and who doesn't love a bit of attention from members of the opposite sex!

It may seem silly, but honestly, I'm not exaggerating! It's the first time since all the girls are all single... that finally, we're all enjoying it!

It feels like after such a LONG DROUGHT of no action...

Humidity's rising, Barometer's getting low!

According to all sources, the street's the place to go!
... It's raining men!

But now, our high doesn't seem quite "high"... Guys are just not even worth the hassle! :(

I know for me, I haven't had much attention over the last year, and I was so flattered to find out that there was someone who liked me (this is beside the point... but he was so yummy, hottie indeed!) I turned to "giggley schoolgirl" mode and was so excited about it. I couldn't help smiling about it, and got slightly obsessed about it, ONLY SLIGHTLY. :o) (It really is the last thing I need, especially in my final year in college!)

But after finding myself getting so easily distracted, I called myself up on it. Why was I letting a man turned me all googley-eyed? Why was I being a total sap about it? The newfound attention wasn't as great as we thought it was initially... As a friend described so aptly, "I'm drowning in the flood".

So I took action, I did not want to turn into THAT girl again. (God knows that I've been that person before... I could not let it re-occur!) The same friend as above has a rule, you see... "Outta my phone, outta my life". I deleted all text messages that I had sent and received. I would have deleted his number but I thought it was best to keep it, if I ever needed to contact him.

After this, I felt like I got my strength back. I'll leave it to him to contact him, ball is totally in his court! :o) Until then, I can continue on, getting on with finding myself and focussing on me for a change, not another man! And I suddenly felt so empowered.

I still see him around now and again, and of course, there is still some mutual flirting and nice sexual tension. But now, I can walk away from it, without a feeling of anxiety! I am now able to separate that aspect of my life and not let it affect me as much as it would have.

Girls, it's so easy to say, "I'd never let a man change me" but when you're in that position, it's very difficult... I found myself change. I let my world revolve around my man... but next time, it won't be the same...

I can't say that I will never let a man change me... but I can definitely say that whatever happens, I will stay as true to myself as I can.

Bina :o)

Birthday Surprise!

I love my friends!!! <3

The girls have not been able to surprise me for my birthday for the last few years! So they've really got me this year... Before today, I had always spoiled the surprise for myself by walking in on them setting up the cake etc! :o) Whoops!

But this year... they totally got me! I was starting to suspect something was going on, because there was alot of texting and whispering going on! It was either birthday related OR they were bitching about me...thankfully, it was NOT the latter! :o)

I just assumed they were organising a present for me or something! I had been thinking of getting out of college early and just heading home and now that I think about it, the girls were being so good about it! They came up with great excuses about how it was just a waste of time, and I would not getting anything done, had I gone home. And to atleast stay for lunch with them... cos it would be nice to catch up etc etc! (I should have copped it then!)

Well I should have copped it the day before when one of the girls came over last night and picked an outfit for me to wear for today!? Yeah, I know... I'm slow! :o)

But I walked into the campus food hall! And... a friend was waiting there with my M&S cake and candles all alight! And singing soon followed! The girls were like; did you guess? Did you have any suspicions at all?

And I could honestly say that I HAD NO IDEA that this was happening!!!

They even managed to get a few old friends there too!


So well done girlies! :o) You got me good! Love you all!

Bina :o)

Laptop Shopping!

Finally found a laptop for my younger bro! He is one of the fussiest people I know! And has been laptop-less for months!

Initially he had decided on the HP PC tablet (which we got for my older brother for his bday last year!)... but my older bro advised against it due to the uber low battery life!

Then he wanted a Toshiba that was very similar in shape and design to the HP... but he didn't like the keypad... (when you pressed down on a key, it was as if the entire keyboard was about to collapse in!)

Finally, he settled on the HP Pavillion DV3 ...but the one I pointed out to him when he preferred the Toshiba had sold out! Grrrr!

In the end, he found the newest touchscreen version of the HP DV3 and bought it for €1200

...Finally!

Who said girls were worse than boys? Because they were lying!

Bina :o)

Necklace? ...You mean Brooch!

I got this necklace for about £2.00 last summer when I went to London! [Bought it in MKOne before it fell victim to the recession!] But it didn't really suit as a necklace... It just didn't seem to sit right or something...

Before: Necklace

So I had a brainwave... turn it into a brooch?!
I just re-used the chain links and found a pin... Looks a hundred times better as a brooch, doesn't it?

(Pics up soon!)

After: Brooch

Bina :o)

Happy Halloween!!

Halloween! ... tis a great time of year! :o) But this wasn't always the case for me!

It was hard to celebrate halloween when I was in my teens... when I was young, we went trick-or-treating. But as soon as I hit 11... I found it hard... my parents didn't really want me to be out on Halloween night on my own (and rightly so!). So for those years, I wasn't sure what to do... Do I tell my friends that I'm busy with my family? or should I just tell them, I wasn't allowed?! :o( How sucky was that!

But now, that I'm 20... I know how to enjoy it! For the last few years, we had been doing a family and friends movie night, which consisted of all the Asian kids on the street! We would just pick a house and pick a movie, and stay out till LATE watching movies!

But this year was by far the best... [not because of the quality of the movie as the girl who organised it this year didn't have movies!!!] but because it was the first time we all fit in!
Before, it was really awkward for us older kids to have the younger ones with us watching the scary movies... They didn't want to hang around us as much as we didn't wanna hang around them... Our parents forced us to.

But this time round...those young kids were young adults...all between 15-19... they faced the same challenges I faced as an Asian in a western world...and it became hugely apparent in the time we spent on Halloween night that we were not that different. It was great to know that finally we had a link, a connection. We belonged together as a group. We ended up having a blast on Halloween and talking about things that would have been spoken of before this night!
It's great to (finally) have a network friends in your family who understand!

As you can see from the above, we had a ninja, a molly dolly, a male hooker, a vampire, a nerd, a manga character, the joker, a pimp and smiling zombie at the bottom there!!

Hope you all had a great Halloween, as I did!

Happy Halloween!

Bina :o)

Graham Norton, anyone...?

I was watching Mock the Week on BBC one day [it was ages ago] and I was wondering how you get to be in the audience (because I just LOVE LOVE LOVE Dara O'Briain...such a funny man!)! So I went online and did a bit of research! And I found a website after a few minutes!

I signed up to it which emailed you free tickets for various shows! I'd been getting lots of random emails regarding new shows that had not yet been aired which I've been IGNORING so far...

But then randomly, the other week, I got an email for the

GRAHAM NORTON

tickets I requested for his chat show on BBC!!!

So of course, you do the maths...

four tickets + four girlies = FUN FUN FUN!

So I accepted the tickets, told the girlies, and now we're all flying over to LAN-DAN baby! :o) Yay! Flights and hotel booked! Eeeeeeek! Can't wait!

But jaysus, booking the flights was so annoying! Damn you Ryanair! >:( The people setting the rates for taxes and charges are just having a laugh! It was riduculous getting a flight for €9.99 then, ending up with a total of €50 each for the one flight over!!! And worse still, prices constantly changed! So we were trying to book the flights together but it was difficult when we weren't constantly together. At first Luton was cheapest to fly with, but prices soon SOARED! So I told the girlies to wait one more day before booking!

In the end, [screw you, Michael O'Leary in the same way you tried to screw us over...business is business, no hard feelings], we got our flights for under €30 each via Stansted (which was significantly lower than the day before!).

HIP HIP HOORAY!!

Graham Norton is gonna be FAB! Watch out London! The Irish are invading! :o)

Bina :o)

Wardrobe's Finished

So the fitters were a few days late... but the wardrobe is finally done!!! :) Yay! It looks so much better now, cos it feels more complete... I mean the top is no longer MISSING! :o)

The only problem I have is how they decided to solve the issue of the air vent... randomly popped holes really doesn't do it for me... but, hey! who am I to complain?! I finally have my room back with a great wardrobe!

It's now fully arranged! I feel so proud! I've got myself a casual every day section, jeans shelf, tops, hoodies, jammies and formal section with shoes and accessories! And most importantly, I have a CLEAN ROOM again... (I wonder how long it'll last this time!? lol! hehee!)

Bina :o)

For the girlies....

Girlies, this year has been difficult, especially in the last few months... Not only do we have the pressures of college... but then the added stress that occurs from members of the opposite sex...

We all had issues with boys, whether they are our bf's, or our ex's and even the potential bf's... argh! Boys... you don't know how frustrating you can be...

This post is not only for my friends, but also for anyone reading who's going through any boy trouble!!!

Girlies.....

It's time to stop looking for your perfect man,
Because, this time, he's gonna come find you!

Bina :o)

Projects so far...

Hi all,

I have mentioned that I have done a lot of projects already! So I thought I'd just post them all up... (just in case u thought I was all talk)...made a lot of random bits and pieces already... some pressies, some for me (hehe...I'm so greedy!)

Anyway, here they are... hope you like them!

(Pic will be up soon!)

Be Proud Of Where You Come From

This is the first thing I ever did on my own... it was a really loose boys tee ...we have tonnes of these! Don't know why, but we just FEEL the need to bring back loads of tourist-y stuff back from every visit home to Nepal, so I turned it into a fitted tank! I found that them straps are not as easy to do as ppl say! Maybe that's just me tho! I am often the ODD ONE! :o)

Purple Floral Print Blouse Top

This was my first proper official project on a sewing machine! I went to a sewing class and everything for it! Bought proper fabric, and ribbon, and a spool of thread! Ten weeks, for two hours of learning how to use a sewing machine properly and some good old girly gossip as well! And this was the outcome!!! Well worth it! :o)

Flower Denim Skirt

I made these from an old pair of skinnies that I absolutely loved!! I thought it would be easy enough... just snip off the legs and cut a straight line through! But then, when I started to do it, I realised, "not so much!"... I wanted a skirt, not a belt!!! So I cut it to the length I wanted... and then realised, it wasn't as easy as that... the crotch bit had to be sorted first! After a lot of pinning and rejigging, I did it!!! And it looks fine! And I added a little custom flower to it, looks uber cute on!

Knitting Projects

I made a few ventures into the world of knitting and crocheting... and I made these little bits and bobs... I've got quite the knack for it! I originally started to make the scarf first (sometime LAST YEAR, probably, summer '08!) and obviously, it took AGES so I got a wee bit distracted... But then I started to crochet this summer and I tried out the hat first, then I made the cute little baby booties!

I'll post up more, so keep an eye out!

Bina :o)

The MESS is back!

The fitters are BACK to try and fix the mess they left behind!!! We decided because of the LACK of space in my room, that I needed to get Sliding Wardrobes... Now, in fairness, it wasn't too bad. I actually like my new wardrobe! Actually I LOVE it! There's so much more space in my room, it's fantastic! And I'm also able to chuck in crap that I leave lying around so that my room is still "tidy"...hehe! (Just don't look in the wardrobe!)

But there were a few problems... like... Photos follow...!

1. they never finished it at the top, so we can still see the ceilings.







2. they didn't fit the frame of the sliding door properly so we can still see the floor







3. and the center isn't centered so... the pulley drawers hit off the sliding doors and have left a mark!

So they are going to HAVE to probably re-do the entire thing... so I have yet to see the damage! lol! ;op

Let see how it goes...

Bina :o)

Happy Tihar and Bhai Tikka

Tihar is the BIGGEST FESTIVAL in Nepal! It's like Christmas for us Hindus! :o) Known as the festival of lights, we worship the Goddess Laxmi, goddess of wealth! It's always a great time to be at home...cos it's just buzzing. And the house is decorated beautifully! :o)

Tonight is the last day of Tihar! And it's Bhai Tikka, where we, sisters, wish our brothers fortune and we pray for them to have a long, prosperous life! I am not only a sister to my two brothers, but also to two other young Nepali boys who live in the area but do not have a sister. So it's like I've adopted them as brothers too! Or rather they've adopted me as a sister!

We've grown up as one BIG FAMILY surrounded by love and care. I actually remember collecting him from school one day because his parents were going to be out so I picked him up from outside his classroom and brought him home to my parents to look after him. It was before his younger brother was born and he was so young that he started a little conversation with me about having brothers and sisters. He told me how he felt lonely in his house, and how he wished he had a brother or sister to play with... And then, looking up at me, with his sad eyes, he asked,

"Will you be my sister?"

... I remember my eyes welling up with TEARS, and I said "Of course, don't be silly! Of course I am your sister!"

And since then, we have always celebrated Tihar together as one big happy family, with a couple of new additions... My uncle and his family came from Nepal and now reside in Ireland, so we have a new "sister" and "brother" ...my cousins! It is quite the occasion, a nice time to spend with family.

So I just wanted to take the time to wish you all a

Happy Tihar and enjoy celebrating Bhai Tikka!

These are just some pics from our Bhai Tikka!Jai Nepal!

Bina :o)

First Day Back...

...after being SICK! Don't you just hate it when you've been out sick! ...Don't ask me what was wrong with me, I have no idea... but I have an appointment with the college doc at TCD on Thurs (first one I could get...). I felt ill on Monday, and left college early... I braved in on Tues... by Wed, I could only stand the one lecture... went home after that and I just haven't been in since... just feeling very weak and very flu-ey (don't worry! NOT swine flu!) I've been bed-ridden for most of these days...well, sofa-ridden! lol! We're having the wardrobes fitted at the moment, so of course, my room just HAD to be used for all the sawing/drilling/cutting/etc... :-(

The WORST PART of being sick... Just the feeling of all the work you have to catch up on! :o( I am dreading it! :o( Especially cos I know that I haven't done a tap of work for an entire WEEK! And I'm back on Monday with two tutorials that I have not prepared for! :o( Oh noooo! And the feeling of an exam approaching in less than a week, and the assignments that I have to start... :o( wah wah wah!!!

And you know the worst part of it, I have two ugly betties on my face!

They popped up overnight... and I'm gonna try do that toothpaste trick that ppl advise... I'll let you know how I get on! lol! :-( (I did go a bit overboard with the toothpaste a bit... but hey, just making sure I got it all! bahaha!)

Anyway, enough about the bad times, let's focus on the good times... I'll let you know when that rolls around... ;op lol!

Bina :o)

A Little Too [...what's the word?] Young (?) for me...

I made this top the other day from an old tee shirt I had when I was 11...

I actually found the instructions for it on youtube... and I thought it looked amazing on her! It really did...

But now that I've made it, I don't think it really suits me... It's kinda too young for me... I mean, maybe I can pull it off in the summer, when I'm out in the sun with a pair of shorts and some flip flops ...on holidays.... but not in Ireland!!

Yellow Rib Cage Tee

I might have another go, on a different tee that's maybe more suitable for the Irish weather (when I've a bit more time!) but the fear is that I might ruin another tee-shirt!!! hehe!

Should I just go for it?? ...we shall see...

Bina :o)

R.I.P. Stephen Gately

I was saddened to hear the tragic news of the sudden death of Stephen Gately :o( and I just wanted to pay a tribute to him on my blog...

My thoughts are with his friends and family.



His memories will not be forgotton.
Rest in Peace, Stephen.

"I know this love's forever,
That's all that matters now,
No matter what."
-Boyzone

Bina

Happy Dashain 2009

Vijaya Dashami 2066!

Dashain commemorates a great victory of the gods over the wicked demons, essentially a triumph of good over evil.

In the Ramayan, it is only when goddess Durga is evoked that lord Ram defeats Ravana, king of demons.

The main victory that Dashain celebrates is when goddess Durga slays the demon Mahisasur, who disguised himself as a brutal water buffalo.

This year, Dashain falls on Monday, September 28th, 2009.

May goddess Durga bless you in every step of life, as she blessed Lord Rama to fight the evil Ravana.

Jai Nepal!

Zippery-Doo-Dah

Found this little creation online...

When did zipper brooches happen? I feel like I blinked and missed it! Cos now, all of a sudden, everyone has them/are making them/wearing them/wants one...what the fudge?

How amazing does it look? It's being sold on etsy.com by designer playground...

I think it may be time I cut up an old hoodie and try to make one... it'll prob not work out so well, but...let me have my wishful thinking! :)

Bina :o)

Upcycled Gypsy Dress

So it's back to college time! And it was Freshers Week this past week and I thought to myself... I need new college clothes! But RECESSION equals no money for Bina...

So I created this dress on Tuesday night in just a few hours! :) I made it from an old tee and a skirt I got for a euro AGES AGO in the sales... it was an ugly skirt (well, it made me look frumpy and ugly)... and I turned it into a beautiful dress! :) it's the first thing I've made with the new sewing machine!

Snaps for me! *clicks fingers*

Something nice for me to wear into college!

Upcycled Gypsy Dress

I added a frill along the bottom of the collar so that the two pieces fit together better and used a belt to draw in my waist and make it look more fitted!Got myself a lovely new dress!
Bina :o)

Watch this space!

This blog contains all the creative things that I have done in the past and all future projects...

I am just exploding with ideas, I have an urge to create things! I feel like I was born with a bag of creativity and I'm just wasting it away!

Must create something...must create something!

Anyway, I have finally bought myself a sewing machine... but crap timing, cos it's now the end of the summer so all my free time is gone poof as I'm back in college and it's my final year... but sure, I'll make time!

Trust me... study will induce procastination... so plenty of projects to come...

Watch this space!
Bina :o)

Keeping up with the Jones

So it seems like the happening thing to do... So I've finally started my very own blog! Woop woop! I'll probably soon make it more interesting than its current state with future blogs, but for now... we shall see how it goes! :)

Happy blogging! :)