Michi Photostory

I love making DIY stuff because this is a good way to reuse, recycle or repurpose some stuff at home. I can save money because DIY is cheaper than buying Christmas decor. All I need is a little creativity, use available materials at home, and buy only the things that we need for the project.

I have shared a lot of DIY and Craft on this blog but if you have just stumbled on this post or a new reader, you can check my DIY post below.

How to Make Polymer Clay Christmas Ornaments
Handmade Gingerbread Ornaments
DIY Advent Calendar in a Box
DIY Salt Dough Ornaments
DIY Paper Christmas Ornaments
DIY Santa Card
DIY Paper Christmas Wreath
DIY Advent Calendar
DIY Christmas Envelopes
Christmas Angels
DIY Homemade Gifts
DIY Christmas Wreath 

I have a blank canvas at home, I’ve been keeping it in our house for so long. I even had this before we experienced our first painting class at Sip & Gogh. Ganun na katagal, hehehe! So I decided to use it and paint something that I can use this Christmas.

Read: Painting at Sip & Gogh


My son saw the canvass and paint and he asked me, “What are you going paint, mommy?” and he told me that he also wanted to paint. So I asked my husband to buy a small blank canvas and additional paint. My son and I painted last sembreak. I was teasing my son that he just copied my painting. Hehehe! We bought a painted candy cane.


I have one remaining blank canvas and I painted a snowman yesterday. And now, my DIY Christmas paintings are hanging at our door. I put my son’s painting on our wall since I have no plan to remove it even after the holiday. We haven’t put up our tree yet but little by little, I’m starting to decorate our house.


How about you? Pasko na ba sa bahay niyo?

I love making palitaw for merienda because it is so easy to make. All you need is glutinous rice, water, shredded coconut, sugar and sesame seeds. You can check here the recipe. Since we are just a family of three, I only make a dozen of palitaw and because of that, I have a lot of leftover shredded coconut.



I really don’t know what to do with the leftover. If I will make a meal with coconut milk, masyado naman siya konti. So last month, I made my very first homemade coconut oil. I watch some YouTube videos to give me an idea. Some use blender but I only use my hand to squeeze it. Anyway, here are the steps. 

1. Boil water.
2. I place the shredded coconut in a strainer then pour the warm water.
3. I let it rest for few minutes and I squeeze the coconut milk. Repeat the process. 
4. I place the coconut milk in a bowl with cover.
5 .Refrigerate the coconut milk until coconut oil solidifies.
6. The following day, I remove the first layer (solid coconut oil) and put it in a pot and cook in low heat. 



7. Check from time to time. It is done when you see some toasted coconut bits. 
8. If you want a clear coconut oil, strain it using paper towel or cheese cloth to remove the toasted coconut bits. But since this is just for personal use, I did not use any cheese cloth. I transfer it in a jar.
9. Store and use it for cooking or beauty regimen. 

Not bad for my first time try. I’m planning to use it for hair or body. 

I always make homemade pizza at home because it is so easy to make, I only need a slice of bread or store brought pizza dough + my choice of toppings. I know I can make my own pizza dough but I’m so scared when I see the yeast in the list of ingredients because I tried making bread before and it was not successful.

Read: Homemade Pizza



But few months ago, I attended a Bread Making Class so it gives me the confidence to try baking with yeast. Last month, I tried making pizza dough from scratch, I just look for recipes on the internet. It was my first time so the shape of the dough is not round and I put so much cheese so it overflows. My husband likes the dough because it is so soft even it is no longer warm.



Read: The Day I Learned How to Make my Own Bread



Last weekend, I made a homemade pizza again but this time, I tried a new recipe and I was happy because I was able to make a round dough. Hehehe! I did not put a lot of cheese to avoid overflowing. Ending, kulang sa cheese ang result. Hehehe! The dough is on the chewy side so my husband prefers the first pizza dough but my son liked this pizza compared to the first one. 



Update October 2019

Our family loves pizza and it is one of our comfort foods. I’m glad that I can make my own pizza dough from scratch. I’m using the recipe of Sallys Baking Addiction “Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe”, the recipe only needs 6 six ingredients so if you have warm water, yeast, sugar, olive oil, salt, and all-purpose flour, you can definitely make your homemade dough. The steps are easy to follow too and you can make two pizzas in one recipe. If you only need one pizza, you can store the dough in your freezer which I did.



What I like about homemade pizza is you can use whatever toppings that you like, whatever is available in your pantry or fridge. Since my son likes Pepperoni Pizza, I bought a pack at Landers and nakadalawang pizza na nga ko, hindi pa rin ubos so I have reasons to make pizza again. I like the taste of my pizza dough but I need to improve its shape and thickness.Since the pandemic, I’ve been watching Chef RV’s video and over a month ago I tried his pizza dough recipe. What I like about his recipe, you just need to mix everything and put them in the fridge overnight. So the following day, you can already make your own pizza. This is now my new favorite pizza dough recipe. My only mistake was, I did not put a lot of cheese but my two boys love it.

My son had fun when I printed play dough mats last month, you can check my post here.  So just this week, I printed another set of play dough mat and while covering the mats with plastic cover, my son saw it and requested to have a yellow play dough. 



I cooked play dough yesterday while he was in school and he was really surprised when he arrived and saw the play dough in our table. He hugged me and said I love you mommy! #cheesy 



Anyway, we played with the new play dough mats last night. 

Apple tree and Snow Tree

Cactus + Sun

This is my work! :)

Click here for the homemade play dough recipe. 
Click here to download the play dough mats. 

The first time experience of my son with play dough was three years ago, I bought Play-Doh Cars 2 Mold N Go weeks before his third birthday. He loves Lightning Mcqueen so he really enjoyed his toy but he stopped playing because he ran out of play dough. I checked the play doh in the department store and the price is expensive for my budget. 

Thank God for Pinterest because I found recipe for homemade play dough and my son started playing with his toy again.  You can check the step by step here.  



Inspite of the mess, there are several benefits of play dough like developing the fine motor skills, it enhance the imagination and creativity and it calm and soothe even adults. Honestly, I love playing play doh, I wanted to have this when I was a kid but no money for that. 

If you remember my post last year, we had fun with clay modelling in Nuvali.  



My son received a gift of clay set last Christmas and I bought this book last summer to entertain him. 



Last week I printed this play dough mats from Pinterest. You can print it in regular paper and paste it in old folder or print it in cardboard paper to make it sturdy. You can laminate the paper but I just cover it with plastic cover. I've made homemade play dough again.



We had fun in making dinner, ice cream sundae and cake. 

my work

my work

Click here to download the file. 

A repost from my old blog Michi's Home Sweet Home