5 Last Minute DIY Gift Ideas

OK. If you're like me, every year you think you're going to be super on top of buying presents, but then you end up waiting till last minute. Am I right? Well.. I compiled 5 very last minute DIY gift ideas for you guys, each one should only take 30 minutes to make. Hopefully this will help :)

1 // scented coffee filter sachets

2 tbsps of baking soda and a touch of lavender, cinnamon, rosemary and mint can create cute sachets for your drawers and leave your clothes smelling fresh for months!

2 // sharpie mug

buy mugs from the 99 cent store and use a gold sharpie to personalize them for your friends!

3 // photo tile coasters

choose your favorite photos and create tile coasters for your family!

4 // quickbread in a bottle

these are pretty awesome gifts. my friend gave this to me once and it's unbelievable how much time you save when you don't have to measure out and buy ingredients! and it's super cute.

5 // dipped jewelry tray

every girl always needs a jewelry tray.. 

DIY: Marble Background

what you need:
a wood board - Plywood Sheet-12"X12"X1/8" 
 marble contact paper - DC Fix 346-0306 Adhesive Film, Grey Marble
scissors - Sullivans Tailor Scissors, 8-Inch, Gold

Remove one side of the protector and stick the marble paper onto the wooden board. 
Be sure to flatten the sheet and align the edges with the wooden board. Pull the bottom sheet slowly, while running your hand against the marble paper to smoothen and stick the paper onto the board.
Once the marble paper is covering the whole wood board, turn it around and cut the edges to fold down. 
Wrap the marble paper over. I put tape on the back to make sure the corners would stay down. 
Voila! You can even use this contact paper to cover pencils, table, and even walls!
inspired by a pair and a spare

Ribbons


For Erin and Tim's wedding, we decided to put together cute DIY wedding favors. They had previously bought mini baskets from Thailand, and all we needed was a touch of colorful ribbon. Of course, there's no place better to get it than Sham Shui Po! If you've never been before, it can be very confusing and overwhelming! So we wanted to share with you how to navigate through these crowded streets of SSP, and some of the stores that we went into! And if you're just visiting Hong Kong, this is a pretty neat area to walk around too! 

If you are going by MTR, you can exit through A2. Walk down Apliu St - an electronics market, and the ribbon stores will start at the intersection of Apliu St and Nam Cheong St. You will find ribbon stores after another. Stores are usually open between 11am - 6 pm. They are NOT open on Sundays (we made that mistake a few times).
Each store has its own unique set of ribbons, and you may not be able to find the same exact type throughout the street. One important tip is that, if you want a large amount of the same kind, you can pre-order from them! It's best to have a sample of what you want so you can save time browsing their ceiling to floor collection.
We stopped at a few stores, but bought most of our ribbons from Sang Hing Ho Webbing & Dyeing  (128 Nam Cheong St).
If you have more questions, feel free to reach out to us!
dress - cotton on | necklace - j.crew | backpack - log-on | flats - maude frizon

shop the look:
photos by Ryan Feng

Leather Clutch DIY Workshop

Had a wonderful time at the West Elm workshop hosted by Toni! We learned how to handle, stain, weave and stencil on leather and made ourselves an awesome leather clutch! I'm totally obsessed and now I just want to make more bags! If you've always wondered how they make leather goods, this is a great start to satisfy your curiosity! You can follow Toni and see when her next upcoming workshops are!
Tada!
Follow Toni on instagram and check out her site here!

five minutes with Tricia Ling

Super excited to introduce Tricia Ling of mydiylab - our newest sponsor of Hey Yeh! I met Tricia in college at a dumpling making party ..of course haha.. and immediately bonded over the love for our hometown, design, parties and food. We ended up hosting many events and parties together and kept in touch after college! I've been super inspired by her entrepreneurial spirit and her energy to continuously learn. 

Read on to spend 5 minutes with Tricia to find out what cool stuff she's doing and get the 20% off discount code below for some awesome goodies from her store!
My name is Tricia, and I am from Hong Kong. I graduated from Syracuse University with an Interior Design degree. After I graduated, I moved back home and worked at a vintage shop that focuses on mid-century design. I decided to quit to run an online craft supply shop called mydiylab full time.

What was it like to quit your job and start your own company? 
It was scary quitting my job. It was lurking around my mind for a while when I was still working, but you know how it is when you have a full time job. It's easy to just keep putting things off. So when I finally decided to quit, opening the shop became my first priority.
What were some things you were nervous about?
I was nervous about everything - like if I'm good enough, if I priced everything right, if the photos look OK… literally everything. The final push was when my boyfriend bought me a new mac book air to show his full support. I knew I had to start.

Before I started, I did a lot of reading. I read a couple of books about selling on etsy, and many blogs on running an online shop. Those really helped me guide my way and give me a starting point.
What is your goal for mydiylab?
I want to be able to bring a well-curated DIY supply store to my customers with a friendly price. I want my products to look modern, sharp and strong. Ultimately, I want to work from home and be able to juggle family and work life. 
What are you working on now?
In regards to mydiylab, I am expanding the collection to more than just paper products. I've been contacting a lot of vendors to test out new products and I am starting my own line of supplies. 

I've also been looking for another creative outlet outside of running the shop, and recently discovered my love for web coding. I dived in head first, and am getting better at it!
Do you have any advice for people who want to start an online shop or go freelance?
I just want to say to anyone who is thinking about it, it sounds a lot scarier than it is. There is never a better time than now. You will never be more ready than you are now.

The first leap is always difficult, so you can ease into it by starting at your full time job. Once you have a steady stream of customers and you are ready for irregular income, do it.

Use Discount Code: heyyeh at checkout for 20% off at mydiylab!