Saturday, September 11, 2010

Our Divilandia Experience: Ready, Get Set, DIY!

Dear Online Diary,

Yesterday, H2B and I spent one whole day at Divisoria, Manila, aptly called "Divilandia" because it is considered by many as the haven of everything you need at very affordable prices.

The night before, I listed all the items that we need to finish all our pending projects. Then, as early as 8 o’clock in the morning, H2B and I were on the road leading to the two most popular streets in Divilandia -- Ilaya and Tabora streets.

It was raining when we reach Divilandia but even the rain did not ruin our excitement. We decided to check out a few stores inside the Tutuban Mall while waiting for the rain to stop. We got a few (wedding and non-wedding related) things, including two Beatles shirts for H2B (oh, he’s a huge fan of the Beatles, that I can tell you.)

At 11:00 AM, we were on our way to Ilaya St. to look for tulles, particularly, French netting. It was a bit disappointing to repeat myself a couple of times because ALL vendors gave me a puzzled look when we asked for it. Honestly, I was dumbfounded to know that they do not have any idea what French net, Russian netting and Birdcage Veil are. Most of them showed me tulles for petticoats after I described what I was looking for. One of the vendors even corrected me, rather impolitely, that the tulle I was looking for is FISH NET and not FRENCH NET (quite honestly, it’s ridiculous!). Another vendor directed us to another street to get a birdcage. H2B and I laughed our hearts out when we heard her convey to her friend what we were looking for. Turned out, she directed us to the street where most pet stores are located (for us to get a cage for birds [pet]). Next time, I will definitely bring a sample and/or a photo of the fabric or tulle that I'm looking for.

Since our Ilaya St. visit wasn't as fruitful as what we expected, we went to Tabora St. and visited two of the trusted craft stores – Morning Glory and Wellmanson. We FINALLY found French netting in Morning Glory (Thank God!). We bought feathers, more tulles, and faux crystals from Wellmanson.

I should also mention that Christmas season had begun at Tabora St. because of two things – there are many Christmas décors to choose from AND I noticed that the prices of the items increased considerably (around P10 to P20).

On a happier note, we did get ALL the items that we need for our wedding. I’ll start with the fascinators and head dresses for our female entourage next week. Here are some of the raw materials:

{Different types of feathers, felt fabric, headband, faux flowers and crystals}

{Different types of tulles, ribbons, lace, silver thread, pins, needles, glue sticks}

I love that I've finalized the design for each of the girls. Meanwhile, here are some of the inspirations I've found from etsy.com (please click the photos to follow its source):

{the perfect (color) combination}

{simple yet elegant}

{she's the cutest I've seen today :)}

X.O.X.O
.,

10 comments:

  1. Wow! Shopping! :-D Pero nakakatawa nga ang mga vendors na nameet mo, how they didn't understand the materials you needed. I imagine how frustrating that was, but ganun talaga, part yun nga wedding planning adventure. I'm excited to see the results of your new projects. :-D

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  2. hi there sis marikoy,

    true. pero, valid naman siguro yung sinabing reason ni H2B, baka daw hindi sila nago-online. :))

    yun nga lang, nakaka-drain ng energy kc after mo i-explain, ang ibibigay pa rin sa yo is yung tulle na pang-petticoat. pero carry lang. we got what we wanted. 1st batch of my diy coming very soon! :))

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  3. Wow! I simply adore your DIY style as I've a DIY mom of 3 as well. :) I love etsy.com and have been getting gread ideas for my kids there.

    Just want to ask, though. Since, I'm also in need of some tulle (not the craft tulle like for petticoat, as you mentioned) :D. Would you know if they sell spooled tulle (http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=7d278659-4d9e-4edb-90c9-bc39c45b1ec7) in divisoria? :)

    Around how much was the cheapest (by the yard) of tulle that you bought? :)

    Thanks soooo much! :D - Mia (miamissary [at] yahoo dot com

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  4. Hi Mia! Thank you for your kind words and for visiting my blog. :)

    the tulles cost around 50 pesos per yard. as for the tulle spool, i think meron naman although don't take my words for that. haven't check divi for that specific type. sis if i may, it can be mistaken as an organza ribbon(?) so based on our experience, vendors kc aren't familiar with "specific terms", you might want to bring a photo of it to show them during your next visit. :))

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  5. Thanks, sis for the tip. :) I'll definitely do that. Kasi just recently, I called one of the stores at divi and asked if they have spooled tulle. Like what you said, they say they only have what they call "horsh hair". Which I think it is Horse Hair and they sell it at P650/roll! :D hehe

    Will go there sis, this week. I'll be your regular follower here. :) I really adore your DIY creations. :) Advanced congratulations, sis! :D

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  6. Hi sis Mia,

    Thank you for being one of my blog followers. mejo price yung 650/roll. hope you'll find what you need. enjoy your divilandia trip :))

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  7. thanks super informative tong blog kahit hindi pang wedding..

    i know what you feel..
    grabe they would correct you pa pero mali rin naman pala.. okay lang sana if they correct you politely.. minsan mas okay pa bumili sa mall pero mas mahal..

    i want to ask lang po if kung saan niyo na bili yung headband (metal) cause when i went to divi ang nakita ko lang is plastic..

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi KJoyce,

    thanks for reading my blog. :)

    We got the metal headband from one of the stores along Tabora St. If you're near Quiapo or Carriedo (LRT Station), stores along Villalobos St. are well supplied with these goodies. These 2 streets are what I call "DIY haven". HTH! :))

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  9. thanks po for the reply..
    i want to know lang po the specific store name..
    is it wellmanson??
    i really can't walk around anymore in divisoria
    this yuletide season... and i miss some shop when i'm there..
    :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. hi sis kjoyce,

    sorry, i didn't get the name of the store where we got the metal headband although it's near welmanson along villalobos st. (carriedo). i'm sure you'll not miss the store as it's just 2 or 3 doors away from wellmanson. HTH! :))

    ReplyDelete

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