My Favorite Fanning.

Make Your Own Furoshiki.

Furoshiki is a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that was used to transport clothes, gifts, or other goods during the Nara period. Now, it can be used to wrap almost anything. Furoshiki can be made using a variety of cloths from silk to cotton and even nylon. Although there is no set size, furoshikis usually come in 45cm and 72cm sizes. Since they can be used again and again, furoshikis serve as a great and "green" alternative to using plastic bags and wrapping paper. Below is a diagram of some of the ways to wrap using furoshiki.

I recently participated in a package exchange and instead of wrapping my gifts with wrapping paper and tissue, I decided to wrap it with my own furoshiki. Since they are reusable, the furoshiki that I used to wrap the gifts with becomes a gift itself! Furoshikis are so easy to make. For mine, I used a basic table napkin tutorial. Click the link or the image below to check out my easy tutorial!

Jo Lyn Alcorn's 3-D Paper Collage.

I first encountered Jo Lynn Alcorn's work while browsing through the pages of More magazine. Her flowers were so pretty, it was hard not to fall in love. Jo Lynn Alcorn's technique is 3 dimensional paper collage. Like Yulia Brodskaya, I like how both artists turn paper, something so flat and plain, into something so intricate and amazing. Works of art out of paper! For flower lovers and brides to be, Jo Lynn Alcorn's bouquets of custom made flowers may be ordered. Please visit her website for details and to read more about her and her unique technique.

Slow Days.

Photos by Grace. Thanks, G!

PEP: Package Exchange Project.

* UPDATE *

The sign-up is now closed.

If you are one of the participants, please check your email.

I have sent out partner information this morning, Aug. 23rd.

Thank you!

It's quite safe to say that I enjoy old school snail mail but with all the technological advancements and conveniences, snail mail is "slowly" dying (No pun intended!). Having said just that, my mailbox has been deprived of a good package lately. I'm sure other mailboxes out there are feeling the same way. My mailbox's diet has mostly been weekly flyers and credit card offers. We all know that junk is bad for any diet so let's help each other out by signing-up in...

Through my other blog, Old School Cool, I organized a small group of people last year who were interested in exchanging packages and feeding mailboxes with awesome random goodies. I thought it was a success. Well, I definitely had fun! This year, I'm opening our mailboxes to International participants! Here are the details:

1. Interested participants can sign-up below. Sign-up is open until August 20, 2011. Should you change your mind, please send me a note or leave a comment before the sign-up period ends.
2. After the sign-up period, everyone will be randomly matched up with their P.E.P. partner. You will receive information about your P.E.P. partner on August 22, 2011. To keep things fair, please note that once you've been matched, you are "committed" to send out a package. No one wants an empty mailbox!
3. The theme for this package exchange is... THE SECRET GARDEN! This is definitely open to interpretation! You can send out garden/floral themed accessories, clothing, candies, paper ephemera, handmade crafts, kitschy knick-knacks... Anything! You can even send items that are connected to the actual book. 
4. Packages should have at least 5 different items. Total dollar amount doesn't matter but please, as a courtesy to your partner, send things you yourself would want to receive!
5. Packages should be sent out no later than September 5, 2011. Should there be any delays, please contact your P.E.P. partner immediately. 
6. Once you have received your package, take tons of photos to share with the rest of the group. You can email me your photos or links and they will be posted here. (This is optional but I think it would be fun to see what everyone got)
7. This is open to EVERYONE! International participants are welcome!
8. Lastly, help spread the word by grabbing a banner, tweeting or posting about P.E.P. on Facebook. There are also share buttons below this post.

Those who are interested in joining can sign-up in the form below:

PEP: Spread The Word!

Now that you've joined the Package Exchange Project, grab a banner below to help spread the word! Just cut and paste the code and you're ready to go! (Please use Ctrl C to copy the code) Remember, the more participants, the more fun we will have! Please feel free to share this blog post too by using the dandy little share buttons below. If you haven't joined yet, you can sign-up here.

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Relisted and Marked Down.

My Sweet Toofs.

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Images cannot be used without my written permission.
© Copyright 2010 Pretty Dandy.

My sweet toofs (Yes, I have more than one) have been rather demanding lately so I dropped by the local grocery store and scored me some "kawaii" sweets. After perusing the aisles, I ended up getting the yummy items pictured below.

Growing up in Asia, I'm absolutely addicted to Yan Yan and Hello Panda. Chocolate in/with cookies? Who wouldn't love them? I also got me some Lucky Charms for their yummy fake mallows. (Fake mallows = mallows that are mixed in with cereals) Fake mallows are DA BOMB! I'm OBSESSED with fake mallows! They're so tiny and sweet and crunchy, I'd buy boxes just to eat the fake mallows. Hehe!

I have tried leaving jet-puffed marshmallows out in open air and even tried freezing them but I can't seem to get the fake mallow effect. I'm sure I'm not the only one addicted to these super fantabulously sweet things. Does anyone out there know how I can replicate these yummy fake mallows? My sweet toofs (And the poor mister) will be forever grateful.

So, what's your sweet toof guilty pleasure?

In Bloom.

I have been away (again) for quite some time. So much has happened but I will not bore you with the details. The flowers in our garden have finally bloomed. It was so lovely to see color! We are still trying to figure out what plants are growing in our garden so it was a real treat to see that we have some flowering plants. Such natural beauty can really inspire someone to get into gardening. Who knows? Maybe once I get everything in place, I just might try it out. Right now, there are just way too much ducks running around to get them all lined up in a row, if you know what I mean.

In other flower related news, I recently acquired 2 vintage floral skirts. I just love how pretty the floral designs are. It has a psychedelic-tapestry-mod vibe to it. I hope to be wearing them soon. I haven't really "dressed" up recently. Sleep usually gets in the way.

Outfit Post: Stripes Ahoy!

I had to wear shorts today and thought it might be a good opportunity to wear my Aldo flatforms. That's right! Flatforms with an "f". They're basically wedges that are flat. I have to say, I'm loving this whole flatforms thing! They are so fantastically awesome! They give my that extra boost without the aching tootsies. I saw some really cute flatforms by Celine and Michael Kors too but they were a bit out of my price range. (Ok, they were REALLY out of my price range). The Aldo ones are just so cool! I hope the come out with more styles.

Anyway, I had my hair cut 2 weeks ago. It was getting hotter and having that much hair was really not helping. I got my bangs trimmed too. Of course, I had to cut a little more of it when I got home. I've seen so many YouTube videos that I'm ok with cutting my own bangs. They make anyone look younger instantly!

Else than that, I'm still just waiting for some shoes to arrive in the mail. I ordered some dress patterns too. For some reason, I feel like making a dress. I just wish I was really good at sewing. I hope to get back on track with my Etsy shop too. I was going through my bins and I still have some lovelies waiting to be posted. I'll keep you guys updated. I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

• Shirt: H&M
• Shorts: Old Navy
• Belt: Target
• Sandals: Aldo