A Binary Interlude

Be Dzaltastic in 2014!

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 16:39:00 +0000

It's been about a year since we last wrote in this blog. Would like to express our deepest regret for putting a hold on writing to concentrate on our little boy.

It also took sometime for me to realise that I (personally) missed writing and I appreciated the personal space of a blog. However, I've never fancied the idea to change the concept of a wedding blog to a mothering blog. So yes, ashamed to admit it, but it took me about a year to decide to move to another blog to retain our wedding memories in Binary Interlude. So we'd like to invite all our family, friends and readers here to continue on my personal journey as a mother, a sewist and a crafter in Be Dzaltastic at dzaltastic.blogspot.com.

Looking forward to creating more beautiful memories in the new blog in 2014 and leaving footprints of the past in this tiny little time capsule we made. Insya Allah.

See you there,

Little Aidi at 5 (ish) months

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:51:00 +0000

Gosh, Aidi's already 6 months in 2 more days and I just realised I missed his 5 month milestone. Been so busy with educating myself on baby signing that have missed updating. Dzal Aidi, Ibu loves you nonetheless! 2 more days till you turn 6 months and he's already rolling and scooting around the whole house =O May Allah bless you with strength, courage, wisdom and love, my son.

Motor Development

Tries to feed himself. More...
Rolls from side to side, onto her back or tummy, and back again.More...
Sits with assistance. More...
Sits without support (of her hands, a pillow, etc.) More...
Transfers objects from hand to hand. More...
Uses raking grasp. More...
Attempts (and maybe achieves) crawling. More...
Scoots on her bottom, knees, or tummy. More...
Assumes hands-and-knees position. More...

Visual Development

Seems to notice even subtly colorful objects. More...
Notices items far away. More...
Can closely track (even distant) moving items. More...

Language Development

Babbles and pauses, waiting for a response. More...
Responds to "no." More...
Responds to sound by making sounds. More...
Babbles chains of consonants. More...

Social/Emotional Development

Recognizes familiar faces. More...
Enjoys social play. More...
Is interested in mirror images. More...
Appears joyful often. More...
Laughs out loud. More...

Cognitive Development

Shows preferences for certain toys More...
Shows preferences for specific foods or feeding times. More...
Clearly exhibits feelings about change. More...
Uses toys in more ways than they're intended. More...
Can find partially hidden objects. More...
Explores with hands and mouth. More...
Struggles to get objects that are out of reach. More...
Drops toys and expects you to retrieve them—over and over. More...
Wants to explore food. More...
Responds to own name. More...

Checklist from www.babyzone.com

Little Aidi at 4 months

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:38:00 +0000

What to Watch for: 4-7 Months

Motor Development

Tries to feed himself. More...
Rolls from side to side, onto her back or tummy, and back again.More...
Sits with assistance. More...
Sits without support (of her hands, a pillow, etc.) More...
Transfers objects from hand to hand. More...
Uses raking grasp. More...
Attempts (and maybe achieves) crawling. More...
Scoots on her bottom, knees, or tummy. More...
Assumes hands-and-knees position. More...

Visual Development

Seems to notice even subtly colorful objects. More...
Notices items far away. More...
Can closely track (even distant) moving items. More...

Language Development

Babbles and pauses, waiting for a response. More...
Responds to "no." More...
Responds to sound by making sounds. More...
Babbles chains of consonants. More...

Social/Emotional Development

Recognizes familiar faces. More...
Enjoys social play. More...
Is interested in mirror images. More...
Appears joyful often. More...
Laughs out loud. More...

Cognitive Development

Shows preferences for certain toys More...
Shows preferences for specific foods or feeding times. More...
Clearly exhibits feelings about change. More...
Uses toys in more ways than they're intended. More...
Can find partially hidden objects. More...
Explores with hands and mouth. More...
Struggles to get objects that are out of reach. More...
Drops toys and expects you to retrieve them—over and over. More...
Wants to explore food. More...
Responds to own name. More...

Checklist from www.babyzone.com

Should also include that Little Aidi has been signing 'milk' at the age of 4 3/4 months :) Been teaching him baby sign language in hopes that we'll be able to communicate sooner

Little Dzal Aidi at 3 months

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:56:00 +0000

Motor Development

Raises his head and chest while lying on his stomach More...
Supports her upper body with her arms when lying on stomach. More...
Stretches her legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back. More...
Opens and shuts his hands. More...
Mouths objects brought to her face. More...
Can hold a rattle. More...
Reaches and grasps for things with both hands. More...
Swats at dangling toys placed near him. More...
Pushes down on legs when feet are placed on a firm surface. More...

Visual Development

Watches faces intently. More...
Follows moving objects with his eyes. More...
Turns head toward direction of sound. More...
Recognizes familiar objects and people at a distance. More...

Language Development

Begin to babble. More...
Begins to imitate some sounds. More...

Social/Emotional Development

Reacts when you sing, call his name, or attempt to play. More...
Imitates you when you stick out your tongue. More...
Enjoys playing with other people; may cry when playing stops. More...
Becomes more communicative with face and body. More...
Imitates your movements. More...
Smiles! Grins! More...

Cognitive Development

Stares at her hands and fingers. More...
Plays with her fingers. More...
Brings his hands to his mouth. More...
Has accustomed to regular eating and sleeping patterns. More...

source: http://www.babyzone.com

He hasn't gotten his 3 month's vaccination yet. Hope it goes well just like the previous ones, InsyAllah.

Wedding badges & corsages

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:30:00 +0000

How time flies when you're having fun. The little has been occupying my time but there's always been projects along the way. Check out these wedding badges I custom made.

I so like this last photo. She's cute isn't she?

Only RM2.50 a pop. Interested? Email me at

akmal (dot) ff (at) gmail (dot) com

Little Aidi at 2 months

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 11:55:00 +0000

At 2 months, this is Ai Chan's milestone checklist. May Allah grow you into an obedient Muslim with brains to differentiate what's right from wrong. Amin.

Motor Development

Raises his head and chest while lying on his stomach More...
Supports her upper body with her arms when lying on stomach. More...
Stretches her legs out and kicks when lying on stomach or back. More...
Opens and shuts his hands. More...
Mouths objects brought to her face. More...
Can hold a rattle. More...
Reaches and grasps for things with both hands. More...
Swats at dangling toys placed near him. More...
Pushes down on legs when feet are placed on a firm surface. More...

Visual Development

Watches faces intently. More...
Follows moving objects with his eyes. More...
Turns head toward direction of sound. More...
Recognizes familiar objects and people at a distance. More...

Language Development

Begin to babble. More...
Begins to imitate some sounds. More...

Social/Emotional Development

Reacts when you sing, call his name, or attempt to play. More...
Imitates you when you stick out your tongue. More...
Enjoys playing with other people; may cry when playing stops. More...
Becomes more communicative with face and body. More...
Imitates your movements. More...

Cognitive Development
Smiles! Grins! More...

Stares at her hands and fingers. More...
Plays with her fingers. More...
Brings his hands to his mouth. More...
Has accustomed to regular eating and sleeping patterns. More...

P/S: 2nd month vaccination taken with bravery! Good job, Aidi! Just like the 1st month injection, screamed for a short time during when the needle went in and took a nap right after it. Slight fever afterwards but Dzal Aidi (possess strength) inded :)

"Surirumah je?"

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 18:45:00 +0000

I felt compelled to write. Lately, there've been too many slanderous comments about school teachers. But what I feel strongly about writing this time, is not about defending those education heroes. There's just too many admirable people out there to back them up. It's a career I once loved, still love and have the utmost respect for. However, this time, I have decided to write about those unsung heroes, the house makers. All these bad remarks about one single profession has lead to more finger pointing, stereotyping and over generalisation of other careers and the "housewife career" seems to be an unlucky victim.

"Oh, surirumah je."

A few decades ago, being a housewife was the norm and widely accepted as a noble occupation. Mothers did house jobs and took care of the kids, full on right after finishing school or completing a certificate. Not everyone could afford to continue their studies or it was probably due to the famous saying "ala, belajar jauh-jauh pun duduk kat dapur jugak". Hence, mothers encouraged their kids to study hard and to make a name for themselves.

Later on, when universities become over flooded with educated women, being a "surirumah" was then deemed (to some) as being weak, unsuccessful, not career minded and having low intelligence level by merely lazing at home and watching soap operas. Women were shoved into a feminist ideology trying to fight for gender equality and prove that women were also able to work in an office scenario but failed to realise, that they themselves had created another form of gender prejudice.

But now, with the stronger hold of technology, more and more people (men and women alike) are able to work out of the office, trying to balance work and family because basically, people are starting to realise that the family institution is as important, or even more important than your day job. A job or career might not be there for you at the end of the day but your family will.

Yet, with the increasing cost of living and finance burden, both parents feel the need to work to ensure a comfortable life. Not every family is able to have only one working parent. In fact, it's a luxury for a woman to be working (ever heard of the term "women of leisure"?). Some families are lucky enough to have entrepreneurial mothers (WAHMs) who find other means to help support the family (thank god for social media!) whilst being there for the children's education and upbringing . Meanwhile, SAHMs are not just sitting at home doing nothing, but updating themselves on nurturing tips through the internet, taking up education classes and even bringing their kids for music, art and play lessons. It's not easy taking care of a kid full time. People assume it is. But when you're at home, you have to entertain them 24/7 as compared to going to work and able to take the kids of your hands for a bit.

So, people should really stop being stereotypical. Being a housewife no longer means soap operas and lack of education, it means being at home to educate your child. A job so few are willing to take. A job some are leaving to the teachers at school or tuition to do for them. It's unfair to say that teachers aren't doing their jobs when some parents aren't doing their's either. I'm not saying working moms aren't doing their job. There are numerous ways they do theirs. They, on the other hand, are a different bread of Supermoms. So if you're parent, be it as a stay at home mom or a woking mom, try to reflect back whether what you've done so far is the best way in taking care of this responsibility entrusted upon you by God (I take this as a reminder to myself as well).

From experience, I've seen so many working parents neglect their children for the sake of work and know only to blame teachers for not doing the job they themselves are suppose to do. I used to be upset knowing parents who want the best for their children but aren't willing to sacrifice the time to check on the kids' homework or to personally coach them. This is probably why, more educated mothers are willing to leave the work life, take on smaller jobs, start working from home or even working half day (like becoming a teacher) to be there for their children.

I am a SAHM, WAHM and WOHM. I work the fine lines between these acronyms and glad to say I'm happy. I'm lucky to be able to work in the family business (a small yet stable company) and it doesn't require me to be at the office all of the time. There are days where I'm able to concentrate 100% on little Aidi, some days where I have to be virtually online and there are even days where I'm needed at the physical office (which is just about 15 minutes away from home).

I was an English teacher in a government school before I turned in the towel and decided to join the business full time. Don't get me wrong, I loved teaching, still do, but wasn't a big fan of the administration, the red tape and it's external goals (which does not include educating). I am an overseas TESL degree holder and was nearly completing my masters before facing financial constrains. The local university wasn't too accommodating of my request to defer a semester thus was kicked out of the course.

"Eh, penat belajar susah-susah, duduk rumah jaga anak je?"

No, I too see the importance of education. But it is because I took a major in Education and because I was surrounded by little school kids, that has made me realise that too many parents have been neglecting their children. I wasn't forced into being a housemaker, I chose to be, in my case, a half housemaker despite having a qualification. When I was small, my parents were mostly at home and only worked as trainers in the weekends (or whenever required). You could say they were already "working from home" before the popular term existed in the country. We had a small room converted into an office and every weekend was a holiday when we followed them to hotels around the country to conduct training. Mum was with us through out primary school and secondary school making sure she was around when ever Sesame Street was on TV or an algebra question seemed too tricky. She always made Math seem easy, and yes, she was also a major of Education before she had me. Up until now I'm glad she was around when I was growing up.

See this face?

How can you not wake up to this every morning and not want to watch him grow as the days pass by? By the time you realise it, he'd have grown into a young man and you'd wonder where'd all the time have flown to. I quit my job when I was pregnant and when I received little Aidi, I knew I had made the right choice. So SAHMs and WAHMs out there, be strong, InsyAllah, He will open doors to those who make sacrifices for others. Amin.

Pumps fumps and other bumps

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:57:00 +0000

Ever since Aidi came into our lives, breastfeeding (and other baby related topics) have become an issue of great importance to us. So, it's no surprise that we've been Google-ing for the right breastpumps to ensure that the little one continues to get his daily supply of mother's milk. Ever since being a WAHM, I assumed that it's not a necessity to keep an extensive supply of expressed milk (EBM) until I had acid reflux during my pantang period. Imagine having to pump while being attacked with acid reflux which came and went like labour contractions. So yes, even if you're a stay at home mum and can direct feed your child, I suggest getting at least one of those manual pumps and keep some ebm supplied for those rainy days.

Image taken here
Before giving birth, we bought a First Year MiPump at a baby expo. It costs only RM300+ (single pump) and we considered it to be way cheaper than one of those Medela pumps everyone's been raving about. Yes, Medela memang berbaloi, quite a good investment, but honestly first baby and all, we were willing to try something at a lower price and go for a "test drive".

But after less than 2 months, we started browsing again for a new pump and switched to the newly talked about Rumble Tuff Duo Pump. This was bought at a great offer of RM319 (during member's promotion) and they also included a botlle of fenugreek enrich. So here goes my personal review of these two brands (since I couldn't really find personal blog reviews on these two).

Image taken from enjoybreastfeed.com

First Year MiPump (single pump) Review

The First Year MiPump is an American brand (TOMY) and the feature which attracted us to it was the silicon breast shield, the size of the motor and it's overall design. The shield looked like it would be more comfortable than those hard shelled ones and true enough it was. Suction didn't hurt despite having it at the highest suction level. I found the pump to be so portable cause it was so small. The noise from the motor wasn't annoying and wasn't too loud. I loooooveee the bag that came together with it, looks uber cute and we didn't have to spend extra on a carry bag. When it came to washing the pump, there are only 4 parts to each pump (excluding the bottle), so it saved me so much time having to wash and rinse. Plus, less chance of missing parts!

Was quite sad when the suction strength decreased in less than 2 months of use. I was using the 5th level (over 7 levels) and was increasing the suction strength. Was using the highest level before it went coo-coo. Couldn't gather that much of milk in a short time though. Spent up to 30 minutes just to get 3oz of ebm (was already drinking the kurma cina/halba drink, so it wasn't a problem with my supply). What I found most annoying about this pump was the waste of precious milk dripping/pouring out of the breast shield after I was done using it. But managed to solve that problem by making sure the shield was facing upwards when taking it out.

Besides that, at one point, I had milk flowing back into the tubes and into the motor (I've seen some pumps having like a small clip to avoid milk flow-back. Not sure whether First Year sells this as a separate product). The electric source could be plugged directly into the pump motor or into the stand. Wasn't so sure why I could plug it into the stand (where the batteries could also be inserted), unless, of course, I used rechargeable batteries. Oh, and finally, Aidi chan just seemed to be gasping for air when we used the BreastFlow 2-in-1 nipples (which was included in the set), so we stopped feeding him using it and switched to Pigeon glass bottles. He's quite flexible and doesn't get nipple confused, or anything like that.

Image source here

Rumble Tuff Duo Pump Review

Found this US brand while surfing online trying to find a new pump. Still quite new in the Malaysian market. What's awesome about it, is being able to use it as an electric pump, a manual pump, a battery operated pump, a lit-ion batt pump, single or double pump. That's how flexible it is! For a pump with a decent price tag, this thingamajig has some pretty nifty functions. Like, a lit LED display, which tells the time. It tells you when you should pump next and even has a memory function to save your preferred pumping style. It comes with a separate expression button which you can press after stimulation mode. I could easily pump 4oz in 10 minutes, so I'm extremely happy.

I had less milk spillage from the breast shield after I was done with it. Most probably cause of the additional layer of silicon cushion. It helped trapped the milk from spilling out. It is by choice, however, to use the cushion or not. If you find the shield passage to be too small for your nipples then take out the additional layer cause it is entirely up to you when it comes to the Rumble Tuff. I've read somewhere that you should rub some lanolin or olive oil around the passage so that the nipples don't hurt when they rub against the wall. Hmm...haven't tried that yet. What I do is just put the pumps at an angle so that they don't rub against the wall. But it can be painful sometimes so I just have the suction at the lowest strength.

What I don't quite like about the Rumble Tuff pump would be its many parts. I find it so time consuming to wash the parts that I got myself a small basin and rinse them in warm soapy water (using those special dishwashing liquid soaps that help get rid of milk stains) after every use. Even putting the parts together required additional time compared to the MiPump. Not a fan of the noise either. A bit too noisy compared to the MiPump but haven't heard other pumps in it's range. This one is said to be one of the quietest. I just bundle the motor up in layers of cloth and put it in my carry bag to silence it. Or I just stick to the manual pump (which I'm able to collect 3oz of milk in 15 minutes) when Little Aidi is sleeping beside me.

So there! Quite a lengthy post but hope this helps most of you. Happy pumping!

Breastfeeding Supermoms!

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 08:46:00 +0000

I quote myself from twitter:

"I have a heightened respect for #breastfeeding mothers. It's not as easy as it sounds. You guys are supermoms!"

Pantang saya sudah habis. So here I am dedicating an entry to supermoms out there, who've dedicated their time, effort and energy to provide their kids with the right nutrition. I admit to thinking bf was easy despite having done read ups from forums about support groups and dilemmas. I was wrong.

When I gave birth, my milk did not come out as how I had expected. My milk was insufficient and all sorts of suggestions came flying around from family members. Some supportive, while some just put on the strain. Those who failed to see its importance saw it as simple as adding in formula milk. Not that I'm saying it's wrong. It's my preference. You see, I was born a sick baby and am still living with asthma, eczema and sinusitis. So obviously, I do not want my kid to have to go through what I went through.

So after trying out tips to increase breast milk from relatives, we found that boiling chinese dates (kurma cina), fenugreek (halba) and rock sugar (gula batu) helped a lot. So there you go, petua menambahkan susu ibu. Just boil it until half of the water remains. MIL served me this drink during each meal and it was really a yummy treat!

Right now, Alhamdulillah, am supplying the little one with enough milk and have been googling around for suggested ebm containers. Found ones like plastik ais krim, yogurt containers, milk liners and bottles. But the one I found most interesting was the Sensible Line Milk Trays.

Picture taken here

If I had the budget, I would have bought them. But they're too expensive for me and I really needed more space in the fridge -___-" So when I dropped by Fabulous Mom, Taman Melawati, I got exited about these:

Jingle Jungle Freezer Tray for breastmilk and baby food. Made out of silicon and is stackable! And the best part, it was cheap! RM12.90 but with the current PWP offer, we got it for only RM10. Walla! Should have bought more, but we decided to try out two first. So here's my review of it:

I found the freezer tray really useful to store milk in small quantities and as a space saver. I could just store the ebm cubes into dated zip lock bags and put them in a big storage box in the freezer. This way, I can easily store milk vertically in the freezer rather than horizontally. I used Reynolds sandwich zip lock bags which cost me less than 20 cents each (RM8 for 50). I luuuurve how the cubes look in those bags and each contains only 0.5oz, totalling to 6oz each tray. I could defrost the right amount of milk and top up if needed. Before this, each time we defrosted frozen ebms and fed little Aidi, we always had small amounts of excess milk sitting in bottles in the fridge and it took up space.

As suggested, the tray is not used to store the milk but rather to freeze the milk before transferring it into a zip lock bag. To me, this took a bit of time cause there's an added step when it comes to storing ebm. Having to wait for the ice cubes to freeze and transferring them into zip lock bags. Probably not for those working mums on the go.

I was also a bit sceptical about the tray lid. Despite claiming that the lid avoids freezer burn and odour, the flimsy lid did not properly close the tray, leaving gaps which may expose the milk to freezer air. I overcame this by putting the trays into a zip lock freezer bag (this bag is much bigger than the sandwich bags).

I would still recommend and use these milk trays cause I really don't have much space to store more milk bottles around the house. Then again, I'm a semi SAHM, a semi WAHM, and a semi WOHM, I might have more time to do this and my freezer isn't stocked up with bags of ebm to give babysitters. Either way, here's a salute to those bf mothers who are doing what ever they can for their babies. Including seeking for the right ebm container =D

Welcoming Dzal Aidi to the world.

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:26:00 +0000

My baby was due on the 12th July 2012. Due to having gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or as they call it in Malay, "kencing manis" (a term I totally hate cause my pee is not sweet ok and it's caused by the pregnancy hormones, so the nurses at the government clinic should seriously stop blaming me for having it), I had to admit myself into the hospital on the 11th July. They wanted to observe me before making a decision whether they should induce me or not.

The baby had to come out on the 12th cause there were risks if the baby stayed longer in me.

But Allah, all-willing, gave us signs that the baby was coming soon when I started bleeding at Subuh on the 11th. We wanted to go to HUKM later in the morning but decided that with the bloody show and the morning traffic jam, it was probably best that we pushed off earlier to the hospital. Hubs even had the time to fry food to bring to the hospital and I packed whatever that hadn't been packed.

We were off to the hospital, registered myself at the O&G emergency, went through the heartbeat machine, had breakfast (we requested to have our brekky first before I became prisoner of the hospital and was not allowed out of the wards), and got me into the patients uniform at about 9.30 in the morn.

Nothing much happened that day except being visited by swarms of medical students wanting to interview me about my pregnancy and at one occasion, a medical lecturer and her students turned me into one of their subjects. I was the belly subject...haha..HUKM should be giving me free service for making me their subject. I'm not free ok!

I dilated from 1cm to 2cm later that day and I was ecstatic when they gave me the good news that I might be able to deliver normally and not induced.

I was relieved.

Yet, at about 5.30 am the next morning, they checked the baby's heatbeat and contractions again, said I dilated to 3cm and took out their amnio hook and broke my waterbag. They wanted to induce me.

Image source

I rang the hubs up and he rushed to the hospital. He was only allowed into the labour room even though they had already pushed me into one of those labour prep rooms. My contractions got closer and stronger but for me it was all still bearable. It was not until they inserted something to make me go to the loo and they dripped in the Pitocin that the contraction pain kicked in and the feeling...unbearable.

Luciky, the epidural expects were available during office hours, the doctors recommended it and I took up the offer (despite before all this wanting a drug free labor). After minutes (which seemed like forever), the expert arrived and administer the injection and I was pushed into the labor room at 9cm dilation at 12.30 pm. We were in the labor room for about half an hour and after all the pushing, our little boy arrived into this world.

Our baby, Dzal Aidi ("possess strength/greatness") was born on the 12-07-12 at 1312 hours. May Allah protect him and let him grow into a good muslim, an obedient son and a healthy individual. Ayah and Ibu loves you very much, Little Aidi :)

My nesting phase

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 11:27:00 +0000

I think I'm addicted to using the sewing machine. I went out again to get fabrics for a tablecloth and pillow cases. Despite coming along, I swear the hubs was shaking his head through out the whole ordeal (I made him scout for matching fabrics for the curtains..haha).

My finished table cloth (and my packed bags at the back, in case we need to rush to the hospital)

Now for those matching pillows cases. Hope I have time for them. Baby's due this Thursday. If he doesn't want to come out sooner, the "eviction" letter's already signed and I'm suppose to "check into" the hospital this Wednesday. Pray for our health and safety please =S

More acrylic case ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 07:57:00 +0000

Just found a wedding planner who plays around with wonderful acrylic for weddings: http://www.qarmasutra.com/. Memang cantik, but I can bet you harga die pun mesti cantik. But if you're a DIY bride and really keen on searching for something similar just for rental, email me and we might help you make something just as beautiful (just cause we love crafting acrylic *sigh*)

Image source here and close ups

Image source here

Acrylic stands. Image source here

Image source here

Beautiful Wedding Website

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 12:49:00 +0000

One of the most beautiful wedding websites I have ever seen. I think I shed a tear of happiness right at the end of their love story.

http://jessandruss.us/

Rainbow Crayon Curtains

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 11:18:00 +0000

Right after finishing my Hawaiian Curtains, I spent another whole day sewing 2 panels of these uber cute Rainbow Crayon Curtains. Perfect for the baby's room. They make the room all cheery and colourful!

Wedding Photos updated!

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 04:12:00 +0000

After much kemalasan, took the time to update the blog with our wedding photos. Please check out the Photo and Videos link on our blog menu =D Self made video will be coming along soonish...dumdeedumm

Official Photo Credits go to SweetPictures. Thank you so muchrudyazwan!

Bantal Akad Nikah for rent

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:15:00 +0000

This is not your typical bantal akad nikah. It's more of a nikah mat, but it's fluffy and so comfortable to sit on. Plus it's nice! It looks like those elegant sheepskins but it's square, so it's more appropriate for your akad nikah. Renting both of them at RM40. If you're interested, please email me at

akmal (dot) ff (at) gmail (dot) com

Hubby sitting on the comfy mat. Sangat lembut and selesa :)

Curtain Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:14:00 +0000

Oh the horror! I was let loose in a fabric store! And came back with plenty of goodies to entertain myself in the next 2-3 weeks of waiting for the baby to come out.

Oh the juiciness of those colours. I also ordered scrap bags from myBotanG (all the way from Japan) and now I'll have to start thinking of a place to store all my fabrics in our new place. Talk about being fabric addicted!

Currently using my mum's vintage electric sewing machine which is probably about my age (waiting for the hubs to get me a new one, but for the time being, it's self sufficient). So equipped with 3 and a half meters of fabric (make that "Hawaiian RipCurl" fabric) and the trusty sewing machine, we had new curtains for the new crib. Aloha!

Here's what I did : Cut out 2 big pieces of fabric (Measuring about 150 cm in length)

Next, I cut 2 pieces of strips (these will be the backing for my hoops), measuring about 5 inches thick.

Then, I cut about 16 pieces of 5 inch x 8 inch squares. These will be the hoops for the curtains. I made 8 hoops for each curtain panel. But its really up to you how many you'd like.

I sewed the sides of the big pieces of fabric (Yes, I pinned, ironed and hand sewed them so that the outcome would be better. I was taught to sew by my mother who taught me old no-short-cut sewing methods which I found were a bit of a hassle and time consuming but produced better outcomes).

Now for the hoops: I X-stitched the frays of the fabric just so they wouldn't unravel and leave me hanging with loose tread as curtains.

Fold the rectangles into halves and sew them with a straight stitch.

Flip the strips inside out and you'll end up with 16 tubes

Iron the tubes into strips (I made sure the seams were in the center rather than at the sides. They seemed neater =D )

I used a similar method for the backing. I folded the long strips into halves, sewed them together, flipped them inside out and ironed the tubes into flat strips.

Then I pinned the hoops and the backing onto the curtains and sewed them all together.

Tada! My finished Hawaiian curtains. Mahalo! Now I may need new tangerine fabrics for new pillow cases to match my curtains -_____-"

The final stretch!

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 06:32:00 +0000

Less than a month till the due date and am getting a little bit restless. Opted to work from home for this final month and (sad to admit) my laptop and tv have been valuable companions. Being the workaholic me, sitting still can never be an option, so have been crafting back again and doing all sorts of DIYs just to entertain myself.

Found my unfinished cross stitch project which I hardly think I can finish cause I lost the customized pattern. =( Started this before my wedding

On a separate note, one of my girls is getting married! Tazz and Kevin, I hope the events go well and sorry the both of us can't make it for the akad and the reception. But we'll be thinking of ya (even if I end up in the labour room on those dates.). Glad you loved your 'Big Day Out' we had done especially for you, Tazz =D and InsyAllah, the plans will happen smoothly and the hiccups will be something the both of you'd cherish for the rest of your lives. Amin.

Custom Acrylic Case for Dulang

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:18:00 +0000

UPDATE (16/11/12): Sorry B2Bs, we need to apologise for not being able to supply these acrylic cases any more due to my motherhood commitments. Mintak maaf ler sangat2 :(

Photos taken here

Cantikkan casing dulang kaca ni? Haish, wish I had found these somewhere when I was preparing my dulangs for my wedding. My hantarans would have looked so nice in these glass casings. Didn't know that my own brother could make these casings out of acrylic. Tengok, Gundam pun derang buat jadi barang perhiasan!

Imagine if you could decorate your dulangs with these acrylic casing. Sigh...cantiknya.Ni size standard acrylic case kami:

Acrylic Case standard: 1 kaki x 1 kaki x 1 kaki

Bile browse, memang boleh sampai RM200-250 mende alah ni. But since we make it out of acrylic, it's lighter and cheaper! so takde la dulang you berat sangat orang nak angkat. But we also custom make the casings, but when it's different size, it would also mean different price. So just email me at

akmal (dot) ff (at) gmail (dot) com

Pre-loved car seat for sale

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Sat, 19 May 2012 11:25:00 +0000

SOLD

We're letting this Fisher Price Infant car seat go. Bought a pre-loved one but before we could even use it we received a stroller which comes together with an infant car seat. Condition looks like brand new and price is only RM290. If you're interested, email me at the akmal (dot) ff (at) gmail (dot) com

Customised Baby Keepsake Frames

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:18:00 +0000

More of our laser cut products on the market! With a few more months left before the baby's due, with the help of the family laser cut business, I came up with this nice framed handprint and footprint keepsake for parents with a new member in the family. We have 3 sizes, so if you're interested, browse through all the photos and descriptions and just email me at the akmal (dot) ff (at) gmail (dot) com

Baby Keepsake Frames (Large)

Size : 21 x 30 cm

Frame Colour : Black, Pink & Blue

Price : RM 45 (with frame)

Baby Keepsake Frames (Small)

Size : 10 x 15 cm

Frame Colour : Black, Pink & Blue

Price : RM 25 (with frame)

Baby Keepsake Frames (Medium)

Size : 13 x 18 cm

Frame Colour : Black, Pink & Blue

Price : RM 29 (with frame)

To purchase:
Email me these details:
1. A photo of your baby's handprint / footprint / both
2. Your baby's name
3. Your baby's date of birth
4. Your baby's time of birth
5. Your baby's weight at birth
6. Your baby's place of birth

7. Your name
8. Your address
9. Your contact details/phone num

akmal (dot) ff (at) gmail (dot) com

Smaller easel for rent

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:53:00 +0000

Image is by BungaStudio and the easel is ours. We also have a smaller one to rent. The small easel can be rented at only RM35 and a deposit.

Bro's wedding and Baby booming

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:42:00 +0000

Ya Allah, lama nya tak lawat blog sendiri ni ye. Finally had the time and self realisation to actually start writing again.

First, the good news, we are currently 4 months preggers! Alhamdulillah! So am putting up a new counter cause the family's growing so more space needed on the blog. We went through the first trimester like a breeze. Didn't go through morning sickness (alhamdulillah for that) and hubby's been wonderfully patient, understanding and caring. Not much demand for weird food so it's only understood that reality only hit us once movement could be felt in the tummy.

And doing this for the first time and all, only recently that we found out that we needed to get a 'kad merah' from a government clinic to help ease us when the time comes to register the baby. So mak buyung 4 bulan ni pun pergi la ke klinik desa (ibu dan anak) terdekat untuk dapatkan kad merah. All this while we've been getting our check ups at private clinics. But once we did the government check up, we're more satisfied with the thorough and informative sessions. Sila pergi klinik kerajaan untuk check up ok, mum's to be!

We just got over the hype of preparing for my brother's wedding. And also happy to declare that a lot of DIY stuff were prepared for the event. He had a lot of friends to help with the event and he even helped promote a lot of people during the process.

Going to share pictures and if anybody needs advice on who to contact please feel free to email me at

akmal (dot) ff (at) gmail (dot) com

Wedding invitation : DIY

Cantik kan? This was personally designed, DIY-ed and laser cut by our family company. So if you're interested to get unique, personalised wedding cards, feel free to email me for a quote. Bro had this card colour for his side and purple for the other side. Memang cantik and if you'll email us, we'll give you the best price we can offer.

Pelamin : This time pun pelamin (ala-ala maroccan) pun banyak idea from the bridesgroom but with help from a new wedding planner, Aril. Most of the designs on the pillars were pre cut using our company's laser cutting service (so ended up helping one another) and it turned out splendid.

Regret not taking images of the table deco. They were jars from my wedding and painted into beautiful moraccan lights. Sayang tak amik gamba -__-"

Doorgifts : Gorgeous Chocolate
We've ordered with them before and their chocolates get better each time we made an order. Now they come with their own wedding labels. Nice touch!

Clothes : Azura Couture
This was also a friend who gave them a wonderful price for their clothes. With the beadings and all, I'd say it's worth the price tag. Email me if you need a contact number.

Taken from their fb page

Photographer: BungaStudio
Family friend and hasil diorang memang awesome. (Will put up photos from our side once they're ready ^.^)

How Groupon can help cut your wedding cost

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 06:30:00 +0000

Not sure how many people and B2Bs know about Groupon in Malaysia or their other competitors (eg. milkadeal, mydeal, dealmates, streetdeals, jackcow), but I believe its seriously catching on. So here's me finally taking the time, after the wedding, the relatives visits, the house cleaning, furniture buying and year end work closure to actually type out an entry on these discount websites.

Seriously, I saved a quite a bit just cause the craze came at just the right moment, just months before our wedding. Had a lot of time to browse through the offers. Go through the discount offers daily and you can find practically anything good related to a wedding. Spa and facial offers, honeymoon or travel packages, photographers and videographer deals and sometimes even cheap door gift boxes!

I saved about 90% on a videographer and only ended up paying RM120!

I got a great spa package for my girls from StreetDeal and Serene Beauty Palace, Wangsa Maju and would definitely recommend the place now. Saved about 87% from the printed price at the spa. Only RM69 for a RM499 treatment. Now this is believing!

They have good honeymoon packages as well. We'll probably try a trip to Bali next year since we've already spent on flight tickets to Tokyo.

And I missed out a pretty good offer on Milkadeal. Cheap door gifts! If you managed to get this offer, lucky you!

Just wait for it and keep a look out for deals just right for that big day of yours. You don't really have to splurge to get good quality things! All the best B2Bs, I'm off trying to find more deals for the new crib!

DIY flower bouquets for rent

noreply@blogger.com (Akmal F.) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 02:53:00 +0000

I have 1 big DIY bridal bouquet for rent. Only RM35 for 3 days! This was carefully done by my friend and I, and made out of ribbons and buttons. The pink and peach colour can suit a lot of outfits. Seriously love the outcome on the day!

I also have about 4 bridesmaids bouquets which I'm renting out for RM25 each. They're smaller and have maroon beads at the end of each flower. If you're looking at a smaller budget, these flowers could also become your bridal bouquet!

Email me for enquiries