$1 DIY Gift Idea | Secret Message in a Bottle

* Download the label print at the end of the post*

Making a wish jar for your boyfriend or girlfriend is like a "must do" in a lot of asian cultures. Today, I'm going to elevate it, and show you guys how to create your secret code and turn your wish jar into one that can communicate secret messages between you and your boyfriend or girlfriend. If you are not familiar with what a wish jar is, you basically make a wish, then fill a jar with stars, and the more starts you have in the jar, the more likely the wish will come true. Or you can fill a jar with stars, and give it to someone else for them to make a wish. It’s also just super pretty as a room decor. 

Here are the instructions

1. Buy or make star origami paper. To make origami paper, cut a sheet of paper into 0.5 inch by 11 inch strips. 

2. Folding the perfect 3D stars: 

* Tie a knot on one end of the strip to look like a pentagon. The key is to keep it a little loose and not press it flat. 

* Wrap the strip around the pentagon. When you get to the end, slid it into the fold.

* Then press in at the edges using your finger tips to form the 3D stars. Repeat the process for any many stars as you want. 

3. Create your secret code

* Write down the alphabet on a sheet of paper, then randomly assign a number to each letter. Make sure there are no repeats. 

* When you are done, write the letter on one side of the star, and the random number you assigned on the back. Do it for all the letters. 

* (optional) Created more than one set of the alphabet since some letter tends to appears more than once in a sentence. 

* Toss everything into a jar

4. Sending a message

*  send a message by writing down the numbers corresponding the letter and only the person who has the jar will be able to crack the code by find the numbers and flipping the stars over to reveal the message. 

You can use it over and over again, and no one else will know what you guys are saying.

Here is the label I used to decorate my Jar~ 

Click on the image to download the full size image

2 Room Decor DIYs Using Paper Bag - Upcycle DIY

Hey everybody, my name is Sunny. This week I will be transforming used paper takeout bags into these lovely room decors. Not only will you beautify your room while saving some money, but also doing a great deed for the environment.

Save one of your clean paper bags you get from take outs, and cut it open along the seam, then cut out the bottom. Paper bags are usually made from craft paper that have high elasticity, high tear resistance and are designed for strength and durability, which make them a great material for DIY projects.

Once it is opened up, you get a flat sheet of paper with endless possibilities.

I am going to cut off seam because it’s a tougher area than the rest. Now we are ready to cut it into paper strips. Fold in the paper on the longer edge for about an inch, and cut it off with scissors or an x-acto knife. Please be careful not to hurt yourself.

Now I am going to twist the strip into a twine like rope. I see a lot of twine being used in room décor from stores like anthropology, and I really love the look, which is what inspired my upcycle DIY project for this week.

The rope It does not have to be neat at all, but twist it tightly. You will need several strips, it’s a great activity for when you are just watching TV or Netflix.

Ok, let’s make the heart shaped twine coaster.

Harvest a piece of plastic from an old package, and cut out a heart shape, or any shape you want. This is the time to get creative.

Next, take your hot glue gun, and outline the edge with glue. You might want to lay down a sheet of paper to protect your work surface. Then quickly place the twine like rope we made along the edge. I recommend using a low temperature hot glue gun because it wouldn’t melt the plastic and is less likely to burn your hand if you accidentally touch it. Glue it in sections so the glue does not dry out before you get there.

Continue to follow the outline and circle the rope inwards. When you reach the end of one rope, just continue with another one. Try to glue the rope as tightly to each other as possible so there are no gaps.

When you reach the center cut of the excess rope, and you are good to go. The paper bag material is durable and water resistant.

The next DIY is super easy



Keep one of your plastic drink cups, or use any container you want, and start gluing the rope around the cup, gradually wrapping it around the cup upwards.

Again, glue it in sections so the glue does not dry out. Wrap the rope tightly next to each other so there are not gaps, and after a little while, you just transformed a plain looking plastic cup to a gorgeous room decoration.

  

I hope I have inspired you to get creative and upcycle.

Chinese Eggplant Side Dish - 蒜茄子

We are told to eat more colourful food all the time, so today I am going to show you a side dish made with the purple vegetable, the eggplants, called 蒜茄子, meaning garlic marinated eggplant. It’s a very traditional side dish from the north eastern part of China, which is where I am from, and I grew up eating this stuff. I hated eggplant as a child, but I loved 蒜茄子. The eggplant is salty and is infused with a mild garlic taste, but the garlic looses its bite from the marinate. Let’s go make it.  

The ingredients are very simple, it’s just eggplant, garlic and salt.

The ideal eggplant to use are these long and thin Chinese eggplants.  But it’s not readily available to me, so I will be using the round and chubby kind. 

The first thing we want to do is to get rid tip part that’s connected to the stem since the fiber is too hard to eat. Then let’s cut the eggplant down in size. I am going to cut it in half, then again in quarters, and once more, until it’s about 1 inch in thickness. I am also going to cut it in half lengthwise so it fit my pot. 

Place everything in a steamer, I am going to use my rice cooker, and we are going to steam it for about 15 minutes.  If you steam it for too long, it will be soft and mushy, if steamed too short, it wouldn’t be cooked enough.

While we wait for the eggplant to steam, let’s chop some garlic. You will need about 8 large garlic gloves. The easiest way to peel garlic is to smash it down really hard, and the skin just separate by itself. 

We want to finely mince the garlic, so a food processor will help, or just run your knife through it back and forth, then place it into a bow. 

We are going to add one table spoon of salt. Mix it well with the garlic. You can adjust the amount of salt to taste.

After 15 minutes, take the eggplants out of the steamer and allow it to cool to room temperature. Handle it gentally because it’s very soft

Once it’s cooled, take the eggplant and rip it open in the middle, and spread a generous amount of the salt and garlic mixture in the middle. I find hands work the best. Close up the eggplant, and do the same to all the rest. Compared to just rubbing the marinate on the surface, more of the salty garlic flavor will be infused into the eggplant by stuffing it in the middle. If you run out of the garlic and salt mixture, you can always chop up some more.

Once all the eggplants are stuffed, cover it with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for at least a day.

To serve, tear up the eggplant into threads. you can sprinkle on some green onion and sesame seeds for texture and flavor. Since it’s a side dish, you eat it along with rice and other dishes.  Or it’s great to eat with congee all by itself.

I hope you will give it a try, I will post more Chinese recipes soon~

Health Breakfast Egg Pancake - 家常蔬菜蛋饼

I love to cook, and homemade food is always the best. So I want to share with you some of my favorite dishes. Today, I am going to make health breakfast egg pancake fast food. I call it fast food because it literally takes 7 minutes to make the whole thing. It’s flavorful, it’s healthy and it’s delicious.

The ingredients you will need are:

½ cup of flour

½ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon hot sauce of your choice, but I do recommend using 老干妈 hot sauce, you can find it in Asian supermarkets and some local grocery stores.

1 egg

1/4 cup of frozen peas and corn or any vegetable of your choice.

And lastly you will need some water.

Throw all the ingredients to a bowl, and I added to it about a 1/3 cup of water. 

Mix everything well using a fork or a balloon whisk. Add a bit more water if the mixture is a little thick, it should be runny consistency.

If you are not using a non-stick pan, the trick to making any pan nonstick is a hot pan, hot enough that you drop water into it, it forms a droplet and rolls around. At this point, turn the heat down to medium-low and add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and spread it evenly.

Pour everything into the pan, and spread it out evenly. Let it cook on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes.

When you see the edges are cooked, flip it around in one swift motion and cook for another 3 minutes, and it’s done.

You can add more of the hot sauce to taste, and sprinkle on some green onions for color and texture. My secret to make it extra tasty is to drizzle some mayo.

The pancake is soft, the peas and corn give a pop of texture and flavor throughout, the green onion adds a bit of crunch and freshness to the mix, and the "Lao gan ma" hot sauce gives it great flavor. I hope you will try it out, and I will be back shortly. 

Girly 3D Diamond Room Decor Idea

I am back with another DIY~

You probably do not know, but I have a Youtube channel where I post cute DIY videos every week. Feel free to check it out Here to gain some inspiration for you next creative, simple, and most importantly, budget friendly DIY project.

I am a big fan of upcycling DIYs. Not only is it great for the environment to turn useless stuff into something that's useful, it's also easy on the wallet.

This week I have another upcycle DIY project for you all. It's a decorative 3D diamond wall art I made with straws, string and some paint. I am 100% sure you can do it too.

Click HERE to subscribe to my Youtube channel~ Thanks for the support!

Click HERE for more DIY inspirations