{Grab a Bite}

So here's my chocolate cupcake topped with a blueberry button! havent been baking lately (i'm no good in baking and decorating cakes), besides, the mood is still with crafting now that i've got my own work place. i can create cupcakes minus the oven and a mixer! one will need papers, scissors and a button! and there you have it!

Oh, and i did a slice of cake too! i found this box lying around and didnt know what to do with it until a couple of nights ago. it would be nice to have more than one, fill them up with cookies or sweets and display them on a platter for favors!

Go on.... grab a bite and a slice!

The Closest to the Real Thing!

I've tried, but i've failed misserably. so this is probably the closest i can get to making the 'perfect' looking cupcake. its now a craze, here, there, everywhere, cupcakes cupcakes cupcakes! you people out there who bakes and decorate your cakes, i envy you!



Anyway, as usual, i blog and craft only when Aidan's asleep or napping. i've just put him to bed and now will enjoy my free time playing with my new toys - stamps!


Oh, and i made myself a chocolate cupcake! will put it up tomorrow (once i can find the photos). But untill then, enjoy!

New In My Wallet

You know most people keep passport photographs in their wallets. i'm not one of them - until now! last tuesday or so, after complaining to Hardy that i've lost my Albert Heijn reward card, Hardy then was on a mission to search for it. he didnt go that far to find it. he opened up my wallet and "cleaned" it up. it was so bulky, full of receipts and unnecessary things (dont ask me why i still have my malaysian driving licence in there, my dutch licence should be sufficient! ). and i'm embarassed! his wallet was so neat, no receipts, no bits and pieces of papers, no business cards (all tucked away, filed!). He was laughing at me (and i was laughing at myself!), and all the things i had in there.




I then saw 2 pictures in Hardy's - one's Aidan's passport photo, and one's mine tucked neatly at a clear corner. again i felt embarrased for not having Aidan's photos and his in mine. the reason why i dont have their photos is probably because, Aidan's with me all the time. so no need to show pictures of Aidan, when i can show people him in real life! and as for Hardy's, well, he's always close to me and in my heart.. heheh ;) but now, since there's lots of space, i feel that i need to have both my boys in my wallet. and so i did this. an accordion book, a tiny one. fits perfectly in one of the slots.



Now my boys are always with me, in my heart, in my soul, in my mind, and in my wallet!

Blooming Beautifully

I posted this one to Astrid and Peter in Maastricht slighlty before Easter. They are wonderful, beautiful people who loves flowers and gardening. they have a beautiful home, very tastefully decorated and good hearts to match. both are garden enthusiasts, and their garden's just like those ones you see in the magazines.

I wanted to wish them a good easter and a beautiful spring and wish their garden will bloom beautifully this coming season (once the snow stops!). and this is just the card for the occasion! i'm so much in love with blue and yellow these days. they are such a beautiful pair - just like Astrid and Peter!

Happy Birthday Yoyo!

You know, they say best friends are forever, i believe its true, and i am so lucky to have one. she's been there for me through bad times and good. she's always there for me, she listens, she cares, we laugh, we share. i think she's an amazing person with a very good heart. she gives more than she takes, she's very ambitious, strong and full of fun. she knows me, and knows me well, and we read each other like a book!

As i am writing this, my tears are about to roll down my cheeks. i can get very emotional just thinking about her and the fond memories we've shared. this is one person whom i miss so terribly much. we go way way back and i just cant describe what she means to me. she's been an extremely good friend, like my own sister. today, the 23rd of March, she turns 31.

I wish i could fly her here and give her the best treat ever for her birthday. one day... i pray. but there's no other wish better than wishing her all the best, and only the best in everything. for she trully deserve it. i wish all her dreams will come true.

Here's to you Yo, on your birthday! love and miss you loads and loads! come visit us soon...

Happy Spring!

Spring is my favourite time to hunt for things. i love pastels, i love flowers, i love the smell of spring. colours! everthing's full of colours!

There's so much to look forward to this spring. we're going to do up the garden, plant more plants, buy Aidan his sandpit, slide and hopefully a swing, a trip to Keukenhof and hopefully we will get to travel again this spring/summer and see other parts of Europe.

I've been busy with cards and presents for the past week. 2 to JB, 1 to London, 1 to Maastricht, and i prepared a gift to be sent to Switzerland (you guys know who you are, so better watch for the postman!). i'm still doing up some more, to be sent to the states (finally, after a long wait for your address haha :) - you know who you are!), and a belated birthday card to the land of my favourite soap Home&Away!) .

My hyacinths were covered with snow yesterday! we had some snow showers, yes, in march! on Good Friday! weird weather. but anyway to those who celebrate Easter, here's one to you guys! and to all of us, hope our lives will be filled with loads of beautiful colours! enjoy spring!

There will be plenty more crafts, cards and cooking to celebrate spring coming up! thanks for visiting!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today, 19th of March, is dad's birthday. he's back in JB but i wish he's here today. i certainly hope the card has reached JB, if not, at least it's 80% on its way! (unlike my ever so efficient sister, i'm always the last to post it!)



I did this one last month. combined the three colours - brown, black and beige. the background of the card is black so i had to use a gold pen to write. it's trully a joy making something for your loved ones!

Dad, we hope you'll have a wonderful day today. we want you to know how much you mean to us, and we love you dearly. here's to you, to another year filled with only the good things, lots of joy and happiness and good health. we love you loads! (and we wish you were here to cook for us Arisa! hehe)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, With all our love!

Potato Bread

We love potatoes (Aidan too!). the ones here are really different. you can never go wrong with it. i'm going to try to grow my own this spring/summer (once Hardy has cleared the allocated lot in our back garden!), not that i have green hands, but we'll see how that works! should be interesting! wish me luck! anyway, i thought of making us a differnt type of kebab, but i didnt have any pitta. so i turned to one of my ever reliable cooking books, and searched for an alternative.


This is an easy alternative to conventional breads. you can serve them with your curries and kormas, you can serve them with your grilled chicken or simply salads. it's very simple to make. try it! oh, if you're making this for your todds, dont add any salt. and try to use just a little bit of oil/ghee.

POTATO BREAD

6-7 Medium sized potatoes, unpeeled

175g plain flour (extra for folling)

a pinch of salt

concentrated butter, ghee or vegetable oil for frying

1. cook the poitatoes in boiling water for about 15 minutes, until just tender

2. drain, leave to cool slightly, then peel and grate into a bowl.

3. add the flour and salt to the potato and mix to form a soft dough, adding a litte water if necessary.

4. devide dough into round balls and dust with flour.

5. roll out each piece thinly on a lightly floured surface, making rounds bout a plate size.

6. heat oil/ghee in pan and shallow fry the bread pieces, one by one.

{Gefeliciteerd Leon}

Last night, while i was busy with my computer on the table, and Hardy busy with his computer on the bed, he then said, "hey, its Leon's birthday tomorrow!" and these words came out from my mouth "ish, why didnt you tell me earlier!?" i then began to panic, and went straight to my cards to see what i've got. there's tonnes of them, all ready but nothing, not one that suits Leon. Leon and his fiancee Marianka, are both very special people to us. apart from being the nicest people that we know, wonderful friends to us, have great tastes in almost everything and very very cool, we also think that they are the most stylish couple here in the netherlands! (Leon and Hardy works in the same office.) i knew i had to come up with something chic to suit him.

And this was what i came up with last night before going to bed. layers and layers of papers, with Leon's intial. hope he likes it. so here's to our special friend, Leon, Hartelijk Gefeliciteerd! may all your dreams come true! with all our love.

Special Delivery!

Remember i wrote about my first order from a sweet heart? well, i told Hardy last week, since he's got some work and will be flying to the UK, please paste a first class stamp on the envelope and slip it throught the postbox at the airport before he leaves home. but to those of you who doesnt know, Hardy's full of surprises. what he did was, he did not post the card, he went straight to the address and handed it over to Salina! (he was in the same town as where Salina's staying).


Yellow is currently my favourite colour! besides, it's almost spring! it's always nice to cheer someone up, and congratulate someone for all her hard work with a bright colour like yellow, dont you think so?


As soon as Hardy reched the airport, after dropping off the card, he called me and said, "i delivered it personally!" and what he said after that was "such a nice young couple, very nice people". my guess was right. and what i got in return was 2 thick hardcover books on craft, from her (you really, shouldnt have, but thank you ever so much!). Hope we did not intrude your privacy Salina, by dropping by like that. i wish we could meet in person one day, both you and your husband.


Thank you again, for the 1st order, here's to a good start of a friendship!

{ Still Good Enough }

I received lots of emails saying they want a cricut but cant afford one. yes, it is a little bit too much for some. even for me! but what i'd like to say here is, the machine is good if you are really a serious crafter, who's really into paper crafting and scrapbooking. who doesnt mind spending most of your money on crafty stuff and forget about those summer dresses and sandals. bear in mind that you need to have lots of cardstock papers once you have the machine, and not to mention change the mat and blades too. so, study what's in the market. there are cheaper cutting machines for starters before you commit.

This card for example, requires no cricut. its just combining the colours and add your own creativity and softness towards it, you can still come out with good results without the expensive machine!

Oh yes, i forgot, another alternative for cricut is punches. paper punches. you can get them big, small, tiny, and mega ones! now, that's something you should really consider and worth every cent!

This can be quite an expensive hobby. but it's basically making do with what you have and can afford to at the moment. that's how it all starts. challenge yourself with your creativity and you'll be amazed!

Hope this helps.

My First Order!!

I've got my first order of 5 cards! yeyyy!!!!!

Apart from my super husband, i now have another customer! i've never met her, but we met through the ever so talented Wiz. I've never met Wiz as well but we've chat online a few times and from there, we became good friends.

The order came through via email. we then corresponded back and forth (and to be honest, i dont write much emails but i do read them, and one can certainly tell from the way one writes!). I sincerely hope we'll meet one day. she's gone through a lot lately, and since Hardy's going to Manchester tomorrow, i decided to make her something. hopefully Hardy will get it in the post with a first class stamp on it!

I dont know if she reads my blog regularly, so i shall not ruin the surprise. this is just the jist of it. i hope she likes the colour! will post the full picture once she receives it. this is one very special customer, who doesnt question the price of all the cards. people like this makes you want to give it your all!

Thank you salina. will get those cards ready before your big move to the land down under!

Anybody else interested in my cards? hardy's still helping me out with my new website to sell the cards, but in the meantime, if you've seen any of the cards that you'd like, or trust me with my choice of colours and judgements, do drop me an email at zaza_shah@yahoo.com. i need to fill up my tin to get Aidan his first tennis racket (or is it a golf club papa?) for his next birthday! hehe..

Crikey! It's My Cricut!

I have a super duper husband, i'm extremely lucky! hardy supports me in every possible way. he encourages me with my itsy bitsy crafty hobby. he persuaded me to go to craft fairs even when i didnt feel like it, he even bought me a cricut! the complete set to get me going for months and months and months! he's so positive and filled with enthusiasm. he understands my passion... and currently he's my only customer. i love him loads and loads!



I wanted to get a cuttlebug late last year, after seeing it at my local craft shop. but after flipping through the pages of my craft magazine one night, i saw a picture of cricut. i then and said to hardy, i might just get this really cool cricut. he then studied the machine online and then all of a sudden he knows more about it than i do! he then bid for it on ebay and a huge box came to the door a month later.



What it is is actually a cutting machine. looks like a normal printer. it has a screen and a keypad so that you can select your letters/patters. depending what catridge you have/bought, you can cut alphabets, patters, motifs. it can also make an outline if you have the cricut markers (which i havent tried them yet).



What you do is you place the catridge and the relevant keypad in the slot, switch the machine on, place your paper/chipboard on a cricut cutting mat, then you select your font/shapes, and then you are ready to cut! it took me a while to get used to the preassure and the size cause you might have to adjust different preassures of the blades to different thickness of your paper.



Cricut is by ProvoCraft. a really, really cleaver invention! some Cricut Expression prices starts at USD$230 (not including shipping).

It was just a dream at first, of wanting to get my own cricut. i wasnt too serious about it. i knew i had to save at least a few months before i can actually have it on my table. now, the possibilities are endless!

(p.s: please do not be put off if you dont have one. you can always download some alphabet templates online. i used to to that prior getting the machine. results are pretty amazing as well.. have a look at the birthday banners i made!)

The New Header

Ok.. so i've been wanting to put up my very own header on this blog for oh-so-long... and yesterday, i finally did it!

With my name cut out using my cricut. with my favourite papers and colours, with my favourite ribbon, and of course, not forgetting, my favourite buttons. yesterday, while Aidan was at school, i decided to give my scissors a rest and try out photoshop. honestly, i've never tried it before (yes, where have i been!?!) i hardly edit my pictures and yesterday, i braced myself through it! i dont think i have that much time playing with photoshop anymore! i'd rather sit down on my table and fiddle my fingers through real ribbons and papers!

The only thing is i dont know how to make it centred and smaller. i'll get there (with the help from Hardy, i know i will!). but in the meantime, hope you'll bare with me!

Hope you like it!