The One About The Quietly Cool Book

After months of planning, designing, sourcing, and producing, look what our small toyshop has made…

It’s Joujoux’s newest plaything & teachable product; our version of the commonly known quiet/cloth book.  We thought we’d add “Cool” to it because ours is interactive and, like any cool buddy, it can be relied upon to teach and entertain your little one all on its own!  So it’s like having a cool teacher and a best buddy in one tome!

The Quietly Cool Book has 5 pages of teachable concepts and skills.  Page One has a paint palette for learning numerous skills:  color identification, color matching, and buttoning skills.

Page Two is the robot page for teaching shapes.  Kids simply refer to the basic black shapes at the bottom of the page and locate the corresponding shapes on the friendly Joujoux-bot!

Page Three is all about numbers…and pizza!  Kids will have ooey gooey fun identifying the numbers and matching the pizza slices with the corresponding number of pepperoni slices!

Page Four is for little ones to learn all about the parts of the face.

Page Five is Mr. Jellyfish introducing youngsters to various textures:  smooth, soft, rough, fluffy, etc.

Isn’t it super cool and kid-friendly?  What’s even cooler is that we will be launching this product at the 15^th Global Pinoy Bazaar happening this weekend at Glorietta.  

We’ll be selling a limited number of this book along with our felt food sets and lacing beads (at special bazaar rates!).  Our products make the perfect holiday presents so make sure to come by…and buy!

Meet Quaintrelle

If there's one thing (or two) that creating things has taught me, it is that producing beautiful things does wonders to the soul.  It is calming, it eradicates self-doubt (almost completely), and it makes you believe that everything is possible.  And so after the initial collection of tunic dresses that I produced, I am back with another albeit a smaller collection but still lovely nonetheless.

As I was in process of producing this new collection, I knew I wanted to do it right in terms of the label.  Little Miss Pinay Crafter is my virtual identity and while it was nice to be known by it, it didn't feel right to use it for my clothing line because I make other beautiful things...including in the kitchen.

And so, meet Quaintrelle.  The first collection under the label still has the whole tropical vibe even as we bid summer adieu because, admit it, the summer warmth still envelopes us all.

Plus, the pieces can still be worn year-round, making them your new wardrobe staples. They are all made from soft cotton.

Say hello to these lovelies...

Another good thing I did this time was I created each piece in SMALL, MEDIUM, and LARGE sizes (well, most of it anyway).  Here are the size charts.

Are they calling out to you now?  :)  One last good thing I'm doing for this collection is that, since it's a initial once under the Quaintrelle label, I'm treating all of you lovelies price-wise!  For a limited time, all of the dresses in the collection are priced at PhP 799 each!  What an incredible steal!

 Tunics from the previous collection are on sale too!  PhP 799 each!

Shoot me an email at wickedcrafts2012@gmail.com for orders and inquiries!  Let me end this post by saying that this is just the first installment; a second installment is coming but for petite women.  :)

The One About the Furry Friends

It's been awfully quiet around here.  I remember a conversation I had with a fellow craftpreneur several months ago.  We talked about how keeping one's blog updated would prove to be a crafter's problem once he/she succumbs to the call of entrepreneurship.  As you can see, it has never been truer than now.

I hate the silence!  Let's fix that!

Several months ago -- and blog posts ago -- my husband and I started Joujoux, a line of handmade toys for children.  We are starting small and so far, the response to our handcrafted playthings has been encouraging.  I do all the crafting myself and so while fulfilling orders may take some time, we are grateful that customers have been understanding of our situation and appreciative of the charm of handmade.

A colleague of mine scored an animal cloth book from a garage sale.  Thing is, the animal pieces from the cloth book were no longer included.  And so she approached me for help...and I guess I came to the rescue. :)

I came up with my own versions of the animals, created the patterns and all, and came up with these furry, velcro-backed friends.

And that's how the furry friends found their homes...or rather, how the homes found some furry friends to house.  :)

Should you have customized soft toy requests, let us know here or shoot us an email at joujouxplay@gmail.com.  We'll do the best we can to give you the gift of play. 

The One About Joujoux

When I first started teaching preschool, there weren't a lot of instructional materials available that were of good quality.  I remember the first teaching material I made then was a felt jacket with a letter "J" patch (J for jacket).  I had sewn it using our old sewing machine (it was de-padyak pa!  I still love that oldie, though, and had my mom swear never to dispose of it.) and I punched holes on it so it could be a lacing activity tool.

When I developed a deep love for making beautiful things, I would find myself browsing websites for toy and learning materials projects.  I had a long list of To-Makes which is still long, by the way, but I would always promise myself to getting around to making them.  

It could be the serendipitous marriage of my job as a teacher and my passion for crafting that led to the preference for toys and learning materials that are well-created and of great value.  Toys that are open-ended and provide hours of endless entertainment.  Toys that children love so much that they treasure them until they reach adulthood and pass them onto their offspring.

Hence, the birth a new "baby" for me and my husband -- Joujoux Playthings & Teachables.  Joujoux is French for toys and it is a very lean startup born out of love for well-crafted toys and educational materials.  We are starting off with the felt food sets that were sold last November at the Cebu International School Bazaar but we already have a lost of ideas brewing in mind for the next products.

Manila-based people can finally get their hands on these lovelies on February 28, 2015 at 3rd Mom Pop Up at Fully Booked at Bonifacio High Street.  Apart from the playthings, we'll also have our tunic dresses, kimonos, and a few wrap skirts to sell (our next clothing collection is in production!!!).  The clothes are still under the Little Miss Pinay Crafter label.

And so, here's to love for teaching and the handmade goodness that transpires from it.  Here's to Joujoux, to the old-school kind of entertainment it brings, to its educational value, and to treasured memories that it will bring forth to the young.

The One About the Valentine Candy Huggers

It's Valentine's Day!  Yesterday in school when my students and I were gathered for Meeting Time and updating the calendar, we talked a bit about this celebration.  Not a lot of them had plans because as one of them put it, "There really aren't a lot of stuff for kids to do on Valentine's.  It's really more for adults."  While there is a grain of truth to that, there's no reason for any of them not to feel the love!

A few days ago, I managed to carve out some time to make these Valentine candy huggers for my students.  Oh, how I missed crafting with paper!  I got the idea from Lia Griffith and it was so easy to put together!

What can be more perfect than candies hugged by sweet animal paws?  Enjoy this lovely day and be kind, lovelies. :)

Little Miss Pinay Crafter: Name that Tunic

My last post shared my experience at the Cebu International School Christmas Bazaar 2014.  I sold tunics, kimonos, and wrap skirts.  After a couple of weeks, they are finally live online for online claimants!  

Well, the tunic dresses for now, at least.  I put them under the banner collection "Name that Tunic."  Haha!

They're all made from cotton-blend fabric so they're super buttery soft on the skin!

 A stunning black tunic sprinkled with white stars (a refreshing take on white polka dots) spliced with red trimming

 A floral piece of navy, green, and pink spliced with pink trimming.  Sweet without being overly saccharine.

 A citrus take on florals spliced with white trimming

 Dainty pink florals spliced with pink trimming

 A lovely floral piece spliced with dark green trimming

 An interesting combination of blue with minute white dots made zesty with apple green trimming

A floral red and blue piece with red trimmming

Each tunic retails for only Php 1050!  

Free size.  Fits small to medium frames.

Shoulder:  16 inches

Bust:  39 inches

Hips:  42 inches

Length:  33 inches

For inquiries, shoot me a PM or email me at wickedcrafts2012@gmail.com

The One About Taking a Leap (CIS Bazaar 2014)

If you follow my Instagram or Facebook account, you'd know immediately why this blog had been neglected for some time now.  When I started this craft and lifestyle blog, its main purpose was to simply be able to document all my inspired projects and creative pursuits.  I figured the blog was also a way to continually push me to tap into my creative side from time to time.  For years, people close to me have expressed admiration for my work and nudged me to try selling them.  I put them off for various reasons:  not enough time, not enough capital, etc.  However, during one of my solitude moments - when I'd think and ponder best - I visualized the kind of life I desired.  A passionate creative individual living a creative independent life.  I simply had to pursue it.  To this day, that vision continues to drive me and is the reason for taking the entrepreneurial plunge.

I had to stop making excuses and start making things happen.

So that's exactly what I did.  The idea for selling my stuff was born last summer.  Since I had two months off from work, my time was spent doing research, making samples, and sourcing materials.  I came up with a minimum viable product (wrap skirts) which received good feedback from people.  After that, I came up with a small line of clothing articles.  The whole time I was planning this, I knew there was only one place I wanted to start selling at -- Cebu.

So - again - that's exactly what I did (or where I went).  The months leading to the Cebu International School Christmas Bazaar was a frenzy of rejecting, tweaking, and approving samples, fabric sourcing, sewing, budgeting, more sewing -- it was crazy!  But I was very happy and inspired.

So last week, I debuted my products at the bazaar and the experience was nothing short of wonderful.  I had people checking out my stuff, purchasing them, asking if I had an online shop, taking a calling card.

I sold kimonos, tunic dresses, and wrap skirts in new prints.  And my handmade toys.  Fun!

If there's one takeaway from my trip to Cebu, it's that to trust in the magic of beginnings.  It may be scary and risky, but it's also worth it.  Plus, it gives you the motivation to keep moving forward and permit the magic to take you to further heights.

Cheers to new beginnings!