Hungry Anyone?

Since you guys have been so sweet and patient with me... here's a little sweet treat! i know i promised to announce something soon.. but the computer's been down the whole day today. and i still need a few hours to compose myself and compose the news before i could share it with you lot! (dont congratulate me yet guys!)

This was my cupcake theme gift set - it includes a card, a gift box and a magnet. i adore them and i enjoyed making them so much! i almost couldnt stop! (actually. i'm still making somemore!)

I made 7 of these magnets and i'm now left with only 1 at home. will make more of them soon. if any of you would like to have a 'taste' of it, feel free to drop me a line and i'd be happy to give you a quote and make them for you!

I'll let you savour the cakes now... i'm off to bed and hopefully the computer will be better tomorrow... good night everyone... hop by again soon!

On Aidan's Wall

Aidan had a good day at playschool today and he is now napping. i've just finished all my Hari Raya cards (will get shots of them later) and now preparing myself for Aidan's 2nd birthday this 21st. i'm gonna make some favours for all his friends at school and i'm gonna give a small gift to all the carers, bake some cookies for the kids and a cake for us.

Speaking about Aidan, here's a little project i did for his room - a wall deco.


Eversince he was in my tummy, i could picture the things i'd do for his room. and this was one of them! i used some blank canvas and added textures on them, creating his name.

I ate a lot of ice lollies when i was carrying him 2 years ago (my favourite was this one called raket - ais krim roket in malay!!) you know... the one with red, green and yellow!! anyway.. just to be reminded of that, and that one hot long summer aidan was inside of me, i used some ice cream sticks for this one.


I am so loving fabrics these days and used some dark blue denim for 'i' and frilled the edges. and since i have tonnes of papers and buttons, i used them both for the next 'a' (this was my favourite!).


and as for the 'd' i used some soft frilly thing (wired) - sorry i dont know what its called, i got at the craft section at one of the shops. and last but not least, i painted the 'n' using some acrylic olive paint.


And there we have it... A-i-d-a-n... in all textures - wood, fabric, wired frilly thing, paper and paint! good for his sensory!!

I must go now.. have to make use of my 'free' time as aidan's still napping... have to shoot those raya cards... till my next post!

**********************

the announcement will be soon... promise! (am i killing you with the suspense yet or not!?!)

~ Just For Girls ~

I've just realized that i have tonnes of emails (and comments) to reply. no wonder i've been missing out on a lot! somehow they're all in my 'spam mail'. so to those who have emailed me and still waiting for my reply, please bear with me!

I got all worried when i havent heard from Aida.. she ordered 2 cards for both her adorable daughters Farhana and Fariha. i posted the cards before i left for Czech and the girls birthday bash was last week. i got all worried... until today.. when i checked my spam mails!


Farhana turned 7, and she LOVES pink and strwarberries! anything strawberries! so i did this one for her. sewed some white beads on the paper and tied a red polka dot ribbon on the stem. Aida wanted to put a photo inside the card and so i added a frame.



Farhana's cute little sister, Fariha turned 5. she loves butterflies, flowers and all other sweet things (so do i!)... and so i did this one for her.


I did a pocket and added a tag and wrote her initials infront of the card. scattered some butterflies, small and big and used everything pastel... oh! and a dragonfly too!

Pure sweetness!

Happy Birthday Girls! Wish i could join the Limbo! (Thank you Aida, for trusting me!)

Love,

************************************

Everyone, just to let you know, I am announcing something soon.... very soon!

Chicken Balti

Its fasting month and we break our fast slightly later than previous years, our first day of fasting, maghrib was at 8.30pm! we just have to have rice (me especially!).

Dad cooks most of them time since he's here (arent i lucky!?). His dishes are fine dishes, he is one fine cook. by fine i mean fine from chopping, to actually cooking and to cleaning up! everything was so in order! (helps when you are an ex RMC maybe!). But anyway, i still cook! but my cooking session would only take about less than 45 mins!

Here's one to share..

I might be wrong, but as far as i know, the word "balti" means bucket, referring to the shape of the cooking pot. this is a very easy simple dish to make. a little bit on the heavier side, but it's ok once in a while (especially during fasting month)...

Chicken Balti

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder
1 garlic clove - crushed
230g chopped tomatoes
water
500g chicken breasts cut into small pieces (i used thighs)
150ml sour cream
50g creamed coconut
salt
a handful of chopped corriander

1. heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion until soft. stir in the spices and garlic and cook for 1 min.

2. add the tomatoes sugar (if needed) and water. bring it to oil and simmer for 10 mins.

3. when curry is cooking, heat the remaining oil in a wok and stir fry the chicken in batches until golden brown and cooked through. remove the chicken and add to the sauce.

4. stir in the cream and add to sauce along with the creamed coconut. stir until the sauce is boiling and the creamed coconut has dissolved.

5. add in chopped corriander 2-3 mins before you serve with rice.

{Sew Sweet}

If i have a baby girl, i'd probably paint her room with these 3 colours- pink, white and aqua. i think they are a perfect match. incredibly sweet!


I got these trimmings from my favourite haberdashary supplier Harry and Sonja. i meet them almost every week and they often ask me, why do i buy so much! they wrote me an email, telling me they like my cards and its nice to see where their products go to. you simply cant go wrong when you have these beauties. they have a wide range of trimmings and ribbons, good ones, really good ones! and to top it all, both of them are sweet as well!

Stitched the small squares and added a little chipboard flower in the middle. i absolutely love this one!


Have a great friday everybody! enjoy your weekend, i'll be making Hari Raya Cards... but do drop by for a cupcake or two soon.... ;)

In One Night

Good morning everyone!! here's something i whipped up in just one night. the first card was the cupcake sprinkled with fun card, and by the time i finished it, i got carried away with baby pink and baby blue and decided to make another one with the same theme!


Love how simplicity sometimes saved the day (or should i say saved MY day!) as i wasnt so productive the whole afternoon that day. i normally craft when Aidan's napping, but somehow that afternoon, my mind went black, and all i did was stare at the papers!


I must admit that the most challenging part sometimes is not creating them, but taking shots of them. i am by no means an expert in photography (sadly i did not inherit that side of talent from my dad!). i dont even know the name of the techniques! so when you ask me what techniques i use in taking shots, i'm sorry i cant give you an answer except for i used it all on macro! haha.

Thank you, thanks for dropping by! more cupcakes for you to indulge... soon...

Have a fun day everyone! and dont forget to sprinkle it with love! lots of love!

Helping Out

Ramadhan's a very special month for me. i've just finished writing at my other blog and how i miss those days where Ramadhan used to be the busiest time of the year.

And as i mentioned there, i am helping out a couple of people who are dear to me. one of them makes hampers, and the other one makes the best coconut, bangkit kelapa cookies!

I am helping them from far, trying to make a difference in this holly month.

Hampers

I no longer make them now that i've moved here, but this one very special person has just recently started to embark herself onto the hampers and gifts business.

Auntie Rubi is one of the nicest person i know (and she's so full of ideas too!). this is all new to her, but i have every bit of confidence that it will all go well. i'm giving her my full support in this, and so decided to publish this in here, in my blog. she makes contemporary ones, and a few modern ones, breaking away from the typical Hari Raya Hampers.

Should you be interested, you can reach her via
phone:012 7870 507
email: rubinatawfik@gmail.com

Coconut Cookies

If you're interested, let me know so that i can pass on the contacts!


I wonder if they sell baju kurung and baju melayu online these days? aidan, hardy and i could do with one!

Ramadhan al mubarak!

My Findings in Czech

We're back! i think in total we have travelled more than 3000kms, and took more than 1000 photographs! what a holiday! We stayed at the Southern Bohemia Region in Czech and travelled to Vienna, Austria and Bratislava, Slovakia.


I am always on the lookout for local crafts and little little things that catches my eyes. that part of Czech where we stayed is most famous for its semi precious stones and porcelain. mum and i went absolutely crazy over the stones. (she knows more than i do, i just love their colours! she'll probably make better use of the them than i will! - i'm just gonna display them in a clear bowl!) We went to the same shop 3 times!!! we went mad!


I opted to buy these cute porcelain buttons instead of a Bohemian bowl (which is SO not me!). I have buckets and buckets full of buttons, but these will remain my favourite for now!


I was missing my ribbons and my papers so so much. almost 10 days without them! and as soon as i went into their haberdashary shops, i headed straight towards their ribbon section! if you're a craftaholic like me, your trip to Czech wouldnt be complete without at least a meter (or more) of Czech laces, threads and such!

I had a wonderful time... hope you guys been keeping yourselves well!

{Sweet Treats}

We're still in czech! we're leaving for Sittard tomorrow and what a week it has been! weather's been awesome and the sights are simply breathtaking. its a totally different feeling, to be in this part of the world! i almost forgot i promised you lot that i'd blog from here... but anyway... better late than never!

Just before i left, i managed to make a few cupcake designs on a few stuff. this was a couple of them - a notebook and a few tags, or some can use it as bookmarks. before i could even publish it on the blog, Ninie (whom i met recently during her balik kampung to the netherlands!) swept everything! i showed it to her and she wanted to have them all.. and more!


She wanted 20 of the bookmarks. i then rushed to make more of the bookmarks so that she could have it before i leave for czech. hopefully they are now safe and in good condition in Dubai, in Ninie's creative hands! will be making more cupcake stuff...


Anyway, this is it for this time. will write again once i'm back in Sittard! i'm now gonna enjoy the rest of my summer holidays here! wish us a safe drive back to NL! take care everyone!

{BerrySweet}

I've always loved materials, textiles. we used to get them rolls and rolls from a factory in JB. mum turned them into curtains and cushions. back in school (during my years), most people label those in science stream as 'smart kids' and those in the home sciences/art or ERT as they call it in Malaysia as 'less smarter kids'. (which is totally not true by the way!). but i was always proud of being in the non sciences, happily swinging my bag on the way to sewing classes and always thrilled to go for cooking lessons and see what we're going to bake and cook that day. somehow or rather, i feel that whatever we did in the past had helped me into this person that i am today, every bit of it has its relevance!

I have been working with a lot of textures lately. i've decided to put my papers and cards for a rest (but just for a little while) and venture out on other related crafts. made quite a few already but i think i'll showcase this one first. my craze now is fabrics!


Turned this one into magnets so that i can put them up on our magnet wall (or should i say radiator!)

Well, i'm sure glad i wasnt in the science stream! at least i've learned some basic sewing and cooking!

I'm off for another short holiday. will be away for a week-ish. but i'll try and blog from Hardy's new toy (lets see what the big fuss is all about!). till my next post, have a wonderful weekend everyone. wish us a safe trip!