yoonie-at-home

November and all there is to remember!

2011-12-06T12:06:00.000+08:00

This post will be a torrent of past news. I'm back dated on my posts again. Life got busier and time is really moving ahead fast. So between special visits, mug rug exchanges, some super bargain shopping and crafting...I've discovered the joy of baking!

Baking for my relatives. That's a cheesecake underneath there.

Debra posing for a shot on her phone.

The girls came right in time to help me decorate these yummy coconut cuppies.

My nieces and their grandma posing for a pic. They all travelled to the City from Bagan Serai, Perak.

I was showing off 2 quilts my friend made for us the last 2 Christmasses. Aren't they just gorgeous.

I love this 3-D one.

All handstitched. Thanks POOI LIN!!! You're such a talent!

The mug rug I made for Margaret of NNC. The requirements for the exchange requires you to make 2 types of mugrugs for 2 recipients. This is the English one.


I used the same template for both themes. It looks like a Victorian tea tray and a chinese oriental lantern too. LOL!


Added a little bloom on the corner. It's pinned, so you can remove it when you wash the mug rug. The cotton linen is actually an upholstery sample, roses of the season.

This was for Paul. I made a crocheted rock for the centrepiece.

Love the oriental pattern on this one.

So between crafting and baking, we went on a shopping adventure. THE BIG BAD WOLF BOOK SALE!!! What an experience. Must definitely mark my calendar for the next one. It's the biggest book sale in the Country.

The cheapest ever. Book prices ranges from RM5, RM10, RM15 - RM25.

SO CHEAP!!!!! Must bring trolley next time.

There were cookbooks. JAMIE OLIVER'S Book costs only RM25!!!

Children's books. Design Books for RM15. Novels for RM8.

Crafting books from RM10.

Lot's of children's books.

These were design books Stan bought for RM15

Couldn't help myself. Got some Jane Austin books too.

We made some cuppies for an old folks home as well. Mom's koinos made a special visit to the old folks home in Cheras so we decided to make them some yummy cuppies. Old fashioned goodies!

Classic chocolate fudge cupcakes.

I love the colours on these fondants.

All packed and ready to go.

We made two boxes and I hear they were all gone right away. LOL!

A Sleepless Sleepover : Nigel and cousins!

2011-10-23T00:57:00.000+08:00

When we were their age we too had sleepovers and at Shen-ni's house in PJ. All of us, all my cousins will be picked up by my Uncle and Auntie and the first treat will be at the A&W drive in, a thrilling car wash ride (yep, before there were handheld games and digital entertainment it was super fun to be inside a car being auto-washed! LOL!) and we'd play boardgames before we all sleep in Shen-ni's room. And I remember dearly, that when we leave the next day, my Auntie Josie will slip us some pocket money! She's the coolest!!!

So Nigel's recent sleepover with his cousins brought some really sweet memories. Unfortunately, for this bunch of kiddos...SLEEP were not part of the plan.

All smiles even without sleep!

Get-set-ready-CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP!

French toast drizzled with honey for breakfast. We woke up very early despite not much sleep. I think we need sugar sprinkles for fuel!

Feed the fish time. The fishies must be glad to have such an early breakfast.

We did these while waiting for Stan to wake up.

Ruun Jan with her paper lantern. They twirl really well!

Some fooling around.

HOPE TO HAVE ANOTHER SLEEPOVER SOON! But this time, you guys have to promise to SLEEEEEEP! Hugs! Hugs!!!

A WHALE OF A TIME | Eiji's 1st Birthday

2011-10-18T08:27:00.000+08:00

Yep! I'm a GrandAunt. We celebrated my grand nephew's 1st birthday in August and I wanted to surprise him with something really cute. A cupcake tier with a cute little paper whale. I'm not brave enough to make a fondant figure of that size and I wanted something I can keep for awhile too. Here's a mini tutorial and if you want the whale template, please drop me a note and I'll send you the template.


Building the tier was like playing with building blocks. I bought a few cylindrical styrofoam blocks from Artfriend, The Gardens, Megamall. I think they costed a few bucks, but before you go buying the whole tube, you have to make sure you have a styrofoam cutter big enough to cut them into the size you want. I recycled & mixed a few pieces from my previous projects. Also take note of the amount of cupcakes you want to display and have a few cups around for placing when you assemble the whole entire thing. I took a snap shot to judge how tall and how many tiers I needed and made sure they were stable enough. I must say, I was pretty accurate. LOL! So once you have the tier assembled, Step 2 is pretty relaxing. Wrap the pieces in coloured paper of your choice. Use double sided tape to secure. Glue all the pieces and assemble with any white crafting/styrofoam glue ( PLEASE DO NOT USE UHU or ANY SOLVENT BASED GLUE Styrofoam will melt!!!) Have someone help you judge whether it is centralised or not. No worries, you can still push the pieces around, the glue dries overnight.

I found the coolest whale template online and decided to make one for the top of the cupcake tier. E-mail me for the template.

The instructions are in Japanese, but no worries, It's as simple as matching A-to-A, B-to-B. I printed the template onto fine photo gloss paper. Oh, yes, I even changed the colour of the template to match the entire baby blue theme. So if you have adobe illustrator you can do this with a click of the mouse. To really secure the entire mobile, I had to use super glue for this, but any good quality paper glue will be sufficient. Do the pieces slowly, so that the glue dries in time before the next step. The 3D effect comes when you piece the head and the tail together. And depending on how strong the bond of the paper when it was earlier pieced. So be patient! Wait for things to dry.

Finally done! There's a hole at the bottom so you can secure it to a base.

Left this to dry for a day or two. I lacquered it with shiny modge podge! Love the shiny effect on the paper mobile. A few layers in between drying time.

Baking the cupcakes and the assembly. Close-up shots of some of the fondant toppers I made a couple of days earlier.

Sunshiny days! and Yummy Caramel cupcakes.

Little whales on cream cheese icing.

And of course, one special cupcake with Eiji's name. Made these with cookie cutters. Had to layer the fondant, believe me, popping out the letter E is a 'skill'. The icing had to be more so that the letterings will stick nicely on top.

Close up of the cupcake tier. I used wide ribbons for the edges. Asked a few friends if the whale should be facing east or west. LOL!

I used foam sheets and cut out waves and swirls for the water spray.

Pictures! Lots of pictures were taken.

More pictures of the cupcake tier.

Eiji's family.

The foam sheets really looked like fondant, isn't it? I prefer using this than fondant. A lot gets thrown away if you use fondant, with this method, you can actually recycle the tier. All you have to do is replace the mobile and mix and match some of the pieces.

Oh yes, always have extra cupcakes, just in case.

I love how sparkly little whale looks after the modge podge lacquer.

Me and my niece. She''s a cutie pie and she just won a beauty contest.

Eiji in a daze!

HAHAHAH! My brother in law having a blast. It's actually funny how Mcdonald's can bring out the kiddo in all of us.

Kenneth & Melissa's Wedding : Part 2

2011-09-30T09:51:00.001+08:00

The backdrop insignia.

I've never been this late in blogging... so here goes. Some random photos on that special day and all the crafty details we put in.

Flower girls running everywhere.

The beautiful bride. I made the silk flowers for her hair. She looks gorgeous. Miniature white roses in full bloom.

Best men in a row. Lovely boutannaires.

Had henna drawn on my hand by this special lady. Yep, we have a sketch cartoon corner, cotton candy counter and face painting booth as well. Very fun day!

Nigel given a helping hand over the fence.

Best Men Entourage.

He looks sleepy here. But he told me he had the time of his life.

Family portrait.

The Ngs and the Newlywed.

The ring pillow I made.

Very nice photo of all of us.

The cake topper.

The huge wedding cake.

Nigel received ang pows for his valiant acts that day. Thanks Melissa and Kenneth!!!

Individually printed menu cards with the lovebirds. Congratulations Kenneth & Melissa for finally tying the knot!!!! HUGS AND KISSES TO BOTH OF YOU.

Kenneth & Melissa's Wedding Prep : Part 1

2011-08-04T07:51:00.000+08:00

A glimpse of the cake topper. Wait for the reveal post next!

This is really a marathon of a post. And like my cousin Grace, I'm doing a triathlon LOL! A crafting post in 3 parts. (Go check out her blog if you're into the real thing. She's very inspiring!) Anyways, this post actually began in April, or rather way back in March. See, this is a long overdue posting. Happy reading!

Keys! We've got to have keys. The wedding theme had a subtle notion to "The key to my heart". We (Nigel helped out with these.) gold painted some chipboard keys we found at a local scrapbooking store.

I made around 35pcs of bouttonaires. Miniature red roses and gold twigs. The ends are unfinished here. It was like factory on my dining table.

More corsages. Oh yes, these were for the groomsmen.

Prepping the lace piece for the flower girls. I've to apologise for the dark pictures. After all, the prep work are mostly done in the evening and sometime till late at night. I don't like to be interrupted midway so nite time is best crafting time for me.

Bought some fabulously inexpensive headbands to attach the laces.

Prepping the base for the cake topper. I bought some pegs from Artfriend. Did a cute arch out of some branches. Love the architectural supplies corner at Artfriend. They have tiny tiny miniatures of people, trees and props for building models.

More keys for the corsages.

Headless cake toppers! LOL! I've to assemble this in stages. The dress, the tie, the suit are all made to the exact replica of what the newly wed will wear on that day. Ask me how I got the lace?

The mess on my dining table.

The little white flowerish name plate on the front is from the scrapbooking store as well. It's foam like and rubbery frame and space/window in the middle so you can place a print right underneath. I can't remember the brand. Sorry. I threw away the packaging. Clean as I go. I bought the moss and some scenic glue (you must try this glue!). Did a nice job on the ground. Love the grassy feel of moss at the feet/base.

Heads! Hahahaah! It took me awhile to get the hair right and the spectacles in the right shape too. It was a challenge to get the glasses in the same shape. I used a Korean dry fast clay for the hair. You can buy these at bookstores and in black too. I prefer this than drawing on the wooden balls.

Decorated the buckets for the flower girls. Roses and a little birdie at the edge. Guess what we put inside to give out? Instead of the usual flower petals, we filled the little pail with candy and had the girls pass them out to the people sitting at the side as they walk in.

Ready sewn to the headband. I didn't want to risk the lace falling off midway and probably safer for children if I don't use any toxic glue chemicals on these. So....

They were handsewn all the way!

A special boutonnaire for the groomsmen - day use.

A bucket of hummingbirds!

Will post about the wedding day itself next and then...more cupcakes! Hugs!!!!

Good Things PART 2 | More baking!

2011-06-21T16:57:00.000+08:00

We celebrated Hayley's full moon 2 weeks ago. Here she is at almost 2 months now. She's a bubbly little princess and Nigel loves Hayley like a little pet!

I baked cupcakes for the dinner party.

3 flavours : Macadamia Honey, Chocolate Fudge and Orange and Poppy Seed cupcakes.

These were strawberry & vanilla ones. I made these a week earlier to practice on the swirls.

They were really pink. Even the batter was pink! Looks like out of Bakery Story?!

Nigel : My official Tester.

Yummy!

More cupcakes for the fullmoon. Looks a little wonky. Sorry, but was rushing like crazy.

AND THESE, are Nigel's Teacher's Day pressies. Got the apples the very last minute.

Was frantically sewing up the buttons and attaching the labels until midnight.

All this while watching American Idol. LOL!

Love the blue one a lot.


Made Lasagna for dinner the next day. YUMMY!

Good Things PART 1 | To A Great Baking and Crafting Month!

2011-06-07T15:52:00.000+08:00

I went through my photo albums and found so many good things I've done this past 2 months. Here's only half the lot. Have to tell myself to remember to blog as I craft now, or the load of each post is going to be super duper long. Happy reading and Happy Crafting!

We celebrated Elizabeth's 21st Birthday. This is really before Hayley was born. So you can imagine how far back I am on blogging.

I made this especially for Elizabeth since I found out that she was getting a netbook from her family. She is a special girl all ready to explore the world. Bon Voyage Elizabeth!

Netbook bag made with a beautiful print I found at Kamdar. They have the nicest heavy upholstery fabrics nowadays.

I added a special pin for Elizabeth.

Crocheted a cosy for her netbook too. In mathing shades of lavendar and pinks.

Embellished with layers of bitty buttons.

I thought I should add a clasp inside for holding on to handphone pouches and such.

A close up of the layering and the variegated mix of yarns I used. You can always experiment with different shades to get an extraordinary range of colours. I'm always surprised by the effect. I used 3 colours, grey, beige and lilac.

Sorry, can't help snapping a few more photos of these.

AND on a totally different subject... CUPCAKES! My sister in law recently ordered some cupcakes from me. She wanted to give them out to her colleagues together with her son's wedding invite. What a great idea.

Double chocolate fudge cupcake without the fondant.

I did these a few days ahead. Need them dry and ready to use.

Hearts for the chocolate.

Nude mocha cupcakes. Oh yes, I made 4 flavours!

Caramel cupcakes cooling off.

Boxes and more boxes all stacked up and ready for some assembly.

I made these also a few days ahead. Using magazine pages really help with the form.

They dry wonderfully like this.

Close up of the caramel cupcakes with the cream cheese and fondant butterfly.

Hmmmmm!

Mocha cupcakes with cream cheese and flower fondant!

I love this shot! So yummy!

Heart confetti on Orange and poppy seed cupcakes.

My kitchen smells heavenly!!!

The petit four cupcakes in the box. I found these perfect boxes from our local cake shop. Aren't they great!

Close up.

The beautiful mess on my kitchen table.

Box and packaging.

All ready to be delivered.

Watch out for my next post on Kenneth's wedding preparations! Hugs!!!!

CRAFT CADDY or PVC TOTE : Template & Tutorial

2011-05-22T16:50:00.000+08:00

Prepare the heart embellishment and sew on the front body of PVC. Layering of felt and fabric. Sew across right in the middle, making sure you backstitch at the end. Using a needle, loop the top loose end of the thread and tie a knot on the other side securing the top thread with the thread on the other side from the bobbin's thread. Do the same from the top of the heart where you first started.

I made this incredibly simple craft caddy out of PVC for our Yahoo Group Anniversary Exchange this year and I thought I should post about how fuss free it is to sew this simple and easy tote. The template will be send via email, so just drop me a note at duodesigns_2004@yahoo.com and I'll send you a pdf format of the file.

Enlarge the template according to the size of PVC you have. Making sure you have enough material for 2pcs of the body, and 1 base of the bag. This pleather material should have a fabric mesh on the wrong side of the material. The mesh helps with the strength of the handles and it prevents fraying on the sides. As there are no seams and fussy bias tapes used here. Print the template and cut out as show above. Trace on the wrong side of only 1 pc of the body. You do not need to trace on both sides. Sandwich the 2 body pcs together, right side facing each other.

Cut the sides only of the bag about 1cm from the outline. The top part of the bag where the handles are located are left as it is, uncut. I used cellophane tape instead of pins to hold the 2pcs of body together. You can use butterfly clips but no pins, pin holes do not recover well on PVC unlike fabrics.

Sew the sides together, don't worry if you sew through the cellophane tape, it will tear and disposed off easily. End with a backstitch. Tie a knot once you are done to secure. I used a scalloped pair of scissors to trim the edge to stop fraying.

Now, you have to be bold to do this. Using a shearing pair of scissors, or a scalloped one like above, cut the top part of the bag following the outline. Make sure you use proper shearing or scalloped scissors meant for fabrics. The paper cutting kind will not cut at all. This takes a bit of meditation and a deep breath before. Visualise first, then cut! Leave the handle hole for later.

Secure the base of the bag with clips. I used a wooden peg so I remove them as I sew.

It's important that you measure your base first before cutting the piece out first. I fused a matching fabric onto the base with fusible web. The base should fit the bag's botton all round. See the finished base sewn onto the body of the bag.

See the right side of the bag. I like the material on the outside of the bag.

Trim of excess thread, now flatten the top part of the bag and make sure the top is aligned for the cutting of the handle holes.

The base can be lightly folded at the bottom.

Use cellophane tape to secure the top two pieces together. And with a sharp cutter cut the marked handle holes with one swift cutting motion.

Make sure the blade is a new blade and to cut both the pieces at the same time. Hold the blade straight and not bending, angles will make the cutting very uneven. If it's too thick, you may have to do this separately and on the other side of each piece.

I told you I was good at cutting! LOL. Now for the best part, Invert the bag right side up. Careful you do not crease the base when inverting. You need to be quick and swift. Admire your handiwork!

With the original paper template, I cut out 2 felt pieces for the handles and glued it to the handle on the wrong side of the PVC. Spread the glue like jam on both sides, let dry for a little before securing them together. Repeat for both handles.

The handles all ready for the next important step.

Use some heavy books and sandwich the handles overnight. Or until the glue is dry.

Ta da! Isn't it oh so sweet!

Close up of the heart embellishment. I also fused some scrap fabric onto some felt to to the layering.

Added a thick piece of felt for the inside of the base. To hide the stitching.

I love the pattern on this base.

This bag is really sturdy and I'l already planning to make another one for my crochet kits!

Some of the crochet bags I've made so far.

This purple one is waiting to be lined!

Love the shell effect on this.

SO do email me if you want the template for the craft caddy. Email me at duodesigns_2004@yahoo.com Thanks for reading, have fun trying this, I will answer all emails if you have any question with regards to the process of making this craft caddy. HUGS!!!

The Lunch Book & Bag: A Guide to Making Delicious (And Nutritious) Lunches

HAYLEY AVRIL TAN : MEET MY GOD DAUGHTER

2011-04-27T17:13:00.000+08:00

This is one of the reasons why I'm not posting as frequently as I want to. Meet Hayley, the most adorable baby you'll ever set your eyes upon. Congratulations, Victoria & Melvin, this is truly the labour of your love! She's perfect as one can be. Praise God!

NNC 4th Anniversary : A Great Time With Friends!

2011-03-29T08:40:00.001+08:00

I began baking the cheesecake a day before. I've loaded it with strawberries and cream cheese. The hostess favourite!

We celebrated our crafting group's 4th anniversary recently and it's one of the biggest highlights of the Group every year as we make it a point to gather and have some crafting fun together. Here are some of the photos I took from my friends' blogs and postings.

Special request by Paul, Double Fudge Chocolate Cupcakes. This is why they call it double fudge....the fudgy pecan brownie is topped with a stream of melted dark chocolate before the icing!!!

Cream cheese frosting and fondant buttons.

Don't they look so cute! Made the buttons a couple of days before. Fondant takes a really long time to dry in our humid country.

The cupcakes at the hostess house. We had a fun and bumpy ride there, thanks Jackie for graciously driving us there every year!

Me, behind a table of goodies. We have an annual exchange between all the members at NNC.

Everyone enjoying the food. That's Rose (the hostess) on the left and Radha (our in-house Doc!).

We love food!!!

We love the company!

We ate and laughed together.

We celebrate together too. Happy Birthday Usha!!!

Nik gave us a special hardanger demo. It was so well-prepared, we thought we were in one of Nik's crafting talkshows.

GIFT EXCHANGE FUN

Anna received my gift!

Part of this year's must do project is to include a heart shaped gingham in your exchange. Look at all the gingham hearts! We are one creative group.

That's my gingham heart that coordinated with the craft caddy I made. It's filled with all sorts of buttons!!!

The big box of goodies is made by Nik. Check out the embellishment & The embroidery! That's lots of work there.

More gifts were given out by Nik.

Happy As Can Be!

We had Sally set up shop too. I bought a few straps and charms.

We also have some really generous members who gave extras throughout the day.

THANKS NNC for a wonderful day. Can't wait for the next one already! Hugs!!!!

It's Great To Be Eight! : NIGEL'S PARTY REPORT

2011-03-13T16:54:00.000+08:00

We celebrated Nigel's 8th birthday 2 weeks ago and here are the pictures of that BUZZY DAY!

Building the centrepiece. Nigel wanted a Phineas & Ferb theme birthday party. Now in Malaysia, that's almost impossible to look for any merchandise or party stuff on that comic theme. Looks like everything have to be handmade. I wrapped a styrofoam core with waves cut out of corrugated cardboard. You can buy these by the rolls from Popular Bookshop.

I used crepe paper for the base before double sided taping the waves onto the stryofoam core.

Made coloured buntings by sewing rows and rows of triangles. I bought a box of memo pad that came in a myriad of colours and have them cut into triangles.

The centrepiece taking shape.

A little banner with the theme ' It's Great To Be Eight!' Printed on my Epson and assembled together. I used 3D dots stickers for a layered effect. Can't see much here, but makes a lot of difference.

Had to anchor a stream of ribbon with a curtain rod around the air-cond. Stapled the buntings across. See the buntings growing in size? LOL! I LOVE IT!!!!

A little platform for my Marshmallow pops! Yep, there were marshmallow pops!

Made these a few days in advance. Same method as the rabbit ones I did last Chinese New Year. Just coloured candy melts, piped into dolphin shapes.

Broke some while placing them on the cupcakes! Yikes.

Look how they swim!

Caramel cream cheese frosted cupcakes! Totally YUMMY! I stayed away from putting any nuts. Kids just hate them. I don't know why???

The banner all up.

So cute!

My table with all the goodies. We had bubbles, marshmallow pops, harmonicas, chips, drinks, ham sandwiches, pasta & pizza. Lot's of candy and goodies everywhere.

Played some games.

This is a cool game. Kids are to build the tallest toothpick tower. We used peas and toothpicks. The peas harden when air dried! That's so cool!

Some were struggling.

Some decided to eat some peas!

Some had strategies.

Some just waited for the elder brother to do the whole job! LOL!

Worried look, checking on the time.

Some went crazy! Tallest tower, my dears, not the weirdest!

Oooooh! So structural.

So cathedral like.

The winners of course!

I'm so proud of my eight year old. He's a natural when it comes to performing for so many people.

Thanks to Unca Meow! He did some ballooning.

My mother inlaw joined in the fun. We must have scared her with the noise level and mess!

Pretty girls in a row.

Unca organised some games outside. They all had so much fun!

The gang having pizzas and pasta. Mind you, all were home made!

I want! I want!

Gentle girls seat on the dining table to eat. Some of the kids were just well mannered and good behaving little souls!

Immanuel munching down pasta!

Ooooh! Bought this at the big apple doughnut store. They're called donashis! Doughnuts that look like sushi!

Who better then dad to serve these!

Marshmallow pops!

Cupcakes on the centrepiece.

Unca Meow Loosing his VOICE.

Boys playing tops.

Girls learning the piano.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING! (Why that face? LOL!)

Awwwww! So cute!

Love this photo!

Mom giving out the marshmallow pop. I was crossing my fingers and praying...spare my couch & walls!!

I know Ruun Ann had a few.

Rachel's little sis too.

The First Exchange of The Year : NNC VALENTINE'S EXCHANGE

2011-02-17T07:33:00.000+08:00

Here's the first exchange of the year. And it's all the way from Portugal! Thanks Maria. I love the cute little things you've sent to me, I hope you like the things I sent you too.

There's a cute little box with a tatted embellishment filled with red hearts buttons!

Maria made this beautiful crocheted pin. She knows I love crocheted flowers. I'm pinning this to my latest tote bag I made. Will show you guys later!

Invites have been sent out for Nigel's big 8th birthday bash.

This cheeky fellow here wants to invite the whole world! (Headache! Headache!)

Off To A Hopping Start : A BUSY NEW YEAR!

2011-02-09T08:33:00.001+08:00

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR Everyone!!! This chinese new year has been one of the busiest I've ever had. We hosted a family reunion dinner on chinese new year's eve and I was on a baking frenzy throughout.

Santa's little helper doing some pompoms. I've got the clover pompom gadget that does a wonderful poofy one in a jiffy too. See even Nigel could do it lying down. LOL. It's quite addictive.

He's such a pro at this. You can even add googly eyes on a pompom, add a long trail of yarn as a tail and see them launch across the living room. It's pretty fun. More for Nigel's motivation to make some for fun!

All the yarn on the floor. You're probably wondering what are all these pompoms for...

THIS! A pile of bunnies ready to be stuffed.


Want the template?


HERE IT IS! Download an enlarge as desired, print and trace onto fabric of choice and start a frenzy sewing this for spring! Don't forget to attach the poofy tail. You can easily make pompoms from all that acryllic yarn extras you have in your stash.

I did. I made around 20 of these and gave them out to family members who came visiting.

Cotton on one side and comfy fleece on the other.

Pink ones especially!

Don't they just look adorable.

Added some ribbons for a cute finish.

Made some chocolate embellishments from the bunny template as well. Melted some orange flavoured white chocolate. I have rows of bunnies on a A4 sheet printed, place a non stick wax paper on top and traced along the line.

This is also very addictive. Make sure the lines are connected so that when you lift them up, the bunnies will stay intact. Broke a few but when you place them on icing, just have to place them back together. No fuss.

Leave to dry for a day. This works better then royal icing. It won't melt as much as royal icing. But you can use that too if your country's humidity is low.

Works best on buttercream or creamcheese. I baked poppy seed orange cupcakes for the new year and place a bunny chocolate on each cupcake. Had to give it a little fondant flower for a little pink!

White chocolate bunnies in a row. YUMMY! My kitchen smells divine!!

I made these for the reunion. Passion fruit cheddar cheese cupcakes and Little Pecan muffins.

Close up of the cupcakes.

The heat during the Chinese New Year is just somewhat hotter than usual. So you'd expect a little meltdown.

I have flowers everywhere!

Here...

here....

And everywhere! LOL.

Three little felt bunnies on my stairs.

This was a last minute request from my Aunt Josie. It's a charity project for her agency.

Something about a poofy filled heart. For a 3D effect I just double sided the edges of this heart and stuff with tissue.

All the stationery shops are closed during the new year so I've to work with scraps. Don't ask me why I have styrofoam extras in my store.

The letters were cut with my Old faithfull styrofoam cutter. This thingamajig has been with me for more than 10 years now! Best investment ever.

I was building this as I go. No plans, just a print out of all the elements I need in proportion. This is the box that will house all the donations. It opens at the bottom.

I stuck the heart to the box. Stood around it and stared at it for awhile and decided that it should look like.....

THIS!

Tada!

Makes me one to hug this giant paper scuplture.

Now..Guess what time is it when I finished!?

3AM!!!

Nigel was pleasantly surprised when he came down in the morning to see a BIG HUGE HUG on the dining table.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR FROM THE NGs! And as Margaret puts it...Koong Hei Fatt Choy, Sum Seong See Seng, Sun Tai Geen Hong and Peng Peng Onn Onn"!! (Literally translated to mean A Happy Chinese New Year, May all your heart's desire be fulfilled, A Healthy Life and Peace Be With You!) Hugs!!!!

FLASHBACK 3 : Nigel The Artist | Our Christmas

2011-01-24T12:10:00.001+08:00

This is how far back my postings are. Forgive me for the long overdue posts. This is my final one for year 2010. Such a belated New Year to you all!

Sketching has become his best pastime hobby. Nigel has become quite an apprentice.

One of his many many many drawings I kept aside.

Trying out some figure drawing. He still draws stick man once in awhile.

Our Christmas Tree this year is a 7 footer!

Thanks Margaret for the lovely cross stitched ornament. It's a beautiful and meaningful housewarming gift!

My Christmas tags for this year. I had pictures of the recipient printed onto film and mounted on silver cardstock. Love the snowflake brads.

A little Christmas deco on my stairs. I had too many baubles so had them bunched up into clusters with a little floral wire.

More tags and gift wrapping to do.

The wedding ring pillow I was making for Melissa & Kenneth.

Completed but not stuffed yet. I ran out of fibrefill and got it done the very last minute. I guess we will have to wait till the actual wedding post to see it again.

Snowflake fondant all over my table.

Honey Macadamia cupcakes cooling off.


A little frosting and chocolate drizzle won't hurt. Right?!

Hawaiian Coconut cupcakes anyone? Our annual Christmas party at popo's house begins with a lot of prep. From the food, the gifts and the annual contest we organise.


Macadamia cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Seems to be everyone's favourite.		"Hi, ya folks!" My grandad waving and greeting all his guests.

This is only but one bag of the many many many gifts under the Christmas tree.


The two pregnant 'aunties'. LOL!

There were quite a big number of people this year, so our dining extended to the back of the garden too. Yes, before we play, we EAT!

Listening to yours truly about the rules and regulations of the contest.

This year's contest started on the red carpet. Totally awesome experience! Only wished everyone could be back to join us. This is Nicky with his cool top hat and paper tux!

We literally had the red carpet. Thanks to Victoria for loaning us this cool carpet for the Red Carpet Challenge! That's Victoria in her Maternity designer wear.

Lady Gaga strutting down the red carpet. If only we took photos of her high heels.

Melissa in her fancy coat and tie ensemble.

Nigel the Brave Samurai. I asked him to run out there and chop someone's head down but he refused. He said that's impolite. LOL!

Spencer in a dress! Who would have thought that he could strut like that too. ROTFLOL!!!!! My grandma laughed until she cried when Spencer walked in with a dress complete with a hat and purse.

Justin the PIRATE! ARRRRGH!!!! Very skinny I am!

Ancient warrior of some kind. HAHAHAHAH! Doing the Saturday Night Fever.

Ms KLCC! Faith in a barbie doll outfit complete with earrings.

Alistair and his snow ball costume.

Rolling out into the audience. Looks more like hail to me. LOL!

Prize giving ceremony. This year everyone is a winner.

The grand prize goes to 'Auntie Spencer'! hahahahah.

Nigel thought he was the last 2 to win since it was announced before Spencer. He only knew when we were on the way home when I asked him how he felt when he won the 2nd prize. He was such a sport.

RM200!!!! That's the grandprize.

We also celebrated Alistair's birthday with a gorgeous cheesecake!

I gave Victoria a line of baby clothes. I pegged them to a line and had it tucked into a box. So cute right!

More fooling around!

Thanks! Everyone for being such good sport. I've been reflecting on all the years of organizing these contests and have to realise that without your generous contribution, sponsors and participation this wonderful evening will not be possible. Here's to another year of fantastic craftsmanship & friendship! CHEERIOS!!!!

FLASHBACK 2, 2010 : A Whale Softie Tutorial & Template

2011-01-17T01:23:00.000+08:00

I found this wonderful whale softie template here. This is definitely for an intermediate softie maker because it involves darts and a bit of piecing together. But the results is a wonderful whale soft toy with a cool curved tail. You'll find that the darts actually help with the structure of the body. This has opened my eyes to adding darts for a dimensional structure. Best softie template ever! I did this in a jiffy too.

Download the template here. http://smalldreamfactory.blogspot.com/2009/04/free-pattern-softie-whale.html

I used a stash of Ikea fabrics. Love the blues and the greens.

Trace along the template. Seam allowance have been given.


To make it easier, I cut off the seam allowance after tracing so that I can trace the actual body for easy sewing later.

Cut the fabric on the seam outline. Don't forget to cut the flippers out as well.

Pin the darts together.

Sew the darts. There are 2 seams on the 'head' that has a curvature. I couldn't do that so I just went straight ahead and sew a straight line instead. Have to learn how to do that later. I would advise you to iron your darts after. I skipped that and ended with not very neat darts after piecing them altogether.

Sew the flippers and before inverting, snip on the edges.

Invert the flippers. Don't they look adorable!

Pin them as indicated on the template on the right side of the fabric. Thank God I used stripes, they kinda helped alot with the placing of the flippers.

After a hundred pins or so! LOL. Piecing the upper and lower body was quite challenging for me. The lines traced out from the cut body pieces really helped a lot. All you need is to align the lines together and voila! The template was very accurate, so not so much tweaking.

Sew around the body leaving the tail section open for inverting and stuffing.

Snip all around so that when you invert, the curves will be smoother.

The inverted whale. Now, Wally looked a little deflated.

Bought these eyes for softies from Artfriend for real cheap. They come in a variety of sizes and colours. I had round pieces of felt for more drama. All you do is poke a whole through the felt and punch through with the upper piece of the eye.

Mark and punch a tiny whole on the fabric where the eyes should be. Place the felt and eye ball piece and ...

...add the under cap of the eyeball in the underside. It should lock with a simple snap. This is to lock the eyeball in place, so little children will not be able to pull the whole eye out.

Wally needs some fibre!

Stuffing Wally was a breeze. Ladder stitch to close the opening.

Tada! Wally is now Nigel's bedside companion!

FLASHBACK 1, 2010 : Hong Kong Trip

2011-01-02T15:16:00.000+08:00

I know I've been away for awhile. But I'm back with lots of photos & crafts to share. My year ends are really packed and as always have kept me busy as a bee. Here's a just glimpse of what we did last year.

We met up with Meli and her colleagues in Hong Kong early November. She was on a China exhibition tour and was on her way home to Kuala Lumpur. It was really a nice week despite the rainy season. It drizzled and rained the whole entire trip, but lucky for us, Hong Kong is such a developed place, everything is covered or is underground. Part of the reason for us to meet in Hong Kong was to visit Disneyland. I know, we all sound so kiddy, but I'm sure we all enjoyed ourselves totally, although it rained mouse, cats and pluto!

Mom and me on the Mickey mouse train. The journey there was really pleasant. Lot's of sight seeing and memorabilia on board the train to Disneyland. So load up your digi cams and be trigger happy.

At the entrance. Let's look at the bright side, even with the drizzle, there were less crown, less queues, so it really felt great to be there. Of course, don't forget to buy a few disposable ponchos before going in. We got ours from good old Watson back home.

On the tramride going around the park. Mom says that this Disneyland is small compared to the original one. But as first timers, it was just perfect. This Disneyland is half the price, of course it's smaller, but we hear rumours that Shanghai is going to have their own Disneyland soon. Hmmmmm.....Another trip perhaps.

Meli and Nigel posing at the exit of the tram station. Here you can see the castle at the foreground. Before entering into the playarea, you SHOP at these cute little stores. Ahhhhhh...What is a little shopping therapy before all that excitement.

Meli and her favourite Disney character.

We were the first group to take photos.

Chhhhheeeeeze!

It's a happy place. Makes you want to skip and jump, right Malcolm!?

All the little shops looked like they jumped out of a Disney storybook. Every shop is unique, you can spot your favourite as you go about shop to shop. Meli has this happy grin throughout the trip. And a Disney song in her heart.

Michael braving the rain.

Trigger happy. I like this place, you can snapshot anything, anywhere.

I'm sure with a little more coaxing, Michael would have bought that hat!

The shops inside were stocked up with everything you need to remember your first trip here.

Even paws and a Stitch hat when you want to play pretend. LOL!

Put down that 500 calorie lolly Meli!

All the shop front is decked out in cute little displays. This was in the cafe/bakery shop we stopped for a snack.

Tea, coffee or Us??? Our first ride at Disneyland.

We all had fantastic seats, thanks to our 2 bodyguards.

We watched very good shows throughout the trip. Broadway in all its glamour. I must say that we all had perfect timing. Michael was our lead tour guide, he's the one that navigated us to all the shows. We watched it all and had the best seats!

This was the first. The Golden Mickeys. Although the story telling was in Cantonese, songs and captions were kept in originally in English. So it was pretty cool.

Beauty and The Beast

Toy Story and the Gang

The Grand Finale.

Outdoor rides even with the drizzle.

Michael had the whole world in his hands.

Nigel giving a try at lifting planet pluto.

Pooh even has his own little shop!

A try at Excalibur!

The best 3D show I've been to! We could smell apple pie bakin, water splashing, electrofying moments and a flying duck!!! The ride on the magic carpet was just phenomenal. With the wind on your face, you'd feel for a moment that you were flying alongside Aladin!

Nigel on the carousel.

2 very grown adults on the carousel.

Meli on her handpicked horse. I was actually right behind. But I'm not showing. LOL!

Went on a ride to look for Honey!

Went to a spectacular show featuring LION KING.

Fantastic costumes, animatronics, hi tech stages, aerial performances, fire stunts and lots more.

Look at all the pomp and glory!

It was storytelling at its best.

You can even catch an all grown up SIMBA.

Stages rise and dip, dancers are all around!

Drama and action

Fun and jesting

Our meal at Disneyland. Western food, sorry no pics, too busy eating.

That night we met up with our cousin Nicky and Karen for dinner. He took us to Alley of the Stars. It was drizzling, so we rushed home as soon.

The boys were best friends from the very beginning. Some of these photos come from different cameras, so the sequence are a little out.

Our first stop at a animation exhibition. Here they explain to you the many many many processes in making an animated Disney show. The turning wheel of this animated Toy Story was just mind blowing.

Happy to take a snapshot with this very very old camera.

More fooling around with the merchandise.

Malcolm on a sugar high.

Love the signages around. They are all so perfectly Disney.

It's a small world!

On the Carousel, everyone is seven!

Thanks Nicky & Karen for taking us out for dinner and desserts!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! You've been great, do come back to visit. HUGS!!!!!!

MY POPO's 80th BIRTHDAY

2010-11-20T13:09:00.002+08:00

Finally, the photos from my grandmother's 81st birthday celebration. Be warned, there are over 50 photos here. I know it's too many photos for a blog post but nothing says more than these wonderful shots my brother and Nigel took on this special day. Happy browsing!

Soon to be parents! Meow and Vic.

The birthday gal! My grandma looks really good in pink.

Some fooling around. This used to be Nigel's favourite ride. I think he's gotten heavier since.

Longevity noodles a must. Our special lunch was held at the Noble Banquet Restaurant, a very fancy chinese restaurant.

Family portrait of the Lims.

Auntie Josie & Uncle Peter.

Our first Entree. Really delicious. Deepfried prawns in a wasabi sauce and scallops on the side.

My dad and my Grandad

My grandparents.

Mini photographer taking shots of everyone - closeups!

The piglet! The piglet!

Funny faces that kinda scare me too.

Weird dish! You actually eat the bones too.

Dad serving the folks.

Birthday girl enjoying her birthday noodles.

Auntie Chris having a good laugh.

Uncle Anthony - having a better laugh!!!

Uncle Johnathan & Melissa.

Auntie Josephine - who flew in unexpectedly for a good surprise! Thanks for joining us on this special day.

Wine tester?

LOL! Admiring a Rolex!!!???

Here you'll see the effects of alcohol on my kung-kung!

Mom and Grandma.

Another traditional must have dish for birthdays. Chinese lotus pancakes and lotus buns.

Sneaking in for a hug! That's Nigel for you.

Uncle Johnathan.

I'll do this when I turn 70??? LOL!!!!

Victoria and yours truly.

All my aunts and my grandparents.

We had a grand lunch and then we adjourned back to my grandparent's home to more celebration. Here are some flowers for all the mothers in the family.

A little arrangement for the cake.

Auntie Josie and Me prepping the cake. She baked my grandmother's favourite corn custard cake. All I had to do was wrap a ribbon round it, prep the cake stand and add flowers.

Say Cheese!

The bowl which everyone received. This is also part of a chinese tradition. You'll receive a oriental chinese bowl with matching chopsticks and a ceramic spoon. This signifies that my grandmother is giving out and sharing her good blessings to all her children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren!

Dad and his phonecamera!

Another photo potrait.

The cake.

Popo cutting her cake.

Making a special wish.

Everyone in a photo!

Another tradition - The tea serving ceremony.

I love this potrait!

We all sat down to watch a video I prepared for this special day. I collected videos from all her grandchildren and compiled it into a short presentation. Will find a way to put that here one day. It's so big, I don't really know how to downsize the file.

YEAH! SEE MY DAD SO HAPPY!!!!!

PREP WORK for My Grandmother's Birthday

2010-11-10T23:56:00.000+08:00

We celebrated our grandmother's birthday 2 weeks ago and here's the prep work from a few days before.


The cake topper. I made the little platform out of 2 oval shaped styrofoam wrapped in ribbons.

I bought these beautiful paper embellishments from Bangkok. Mulberry paper flowers in summery shades.

All I do is pin them to the edges of the styrofoam platform.

It's a simple arrangement for the sides.

I added The final touches to the styrofoam

I wanted to give my grandma flowers for her 80th birthday. So I made a trip to the flower wholesaler in Chinatown and bought roses, imported country roses and orchids too.

I had a lot of flowers leftover, so I decided to fill her living room with more flowers.

Meet my nephew/niece! My brother will be a dad soon. This baby will be due in April next year!!! Yippeee!

More photos on my next post! The actual day and all the happy memories coming up next.

Whatever Happened to September???

2010-10-10T22:33:00.000+08:00

The frangipani tree in our indoor courtyard bloomed

The whole of September went by like a breeze! Shooosh! Just like that. I suppose it's the busiest month I've ever encountered. Let's see what I've been up to...

Blackberry lillies in a row outside of our little garden. The cat has been running around the bed!!!

Nigel is a few inches taller.

I've been cooking a storm. I think cooking is definitely becoming my next favourite craft. Seafood egg noodles anyone?

Black Pepper Beef Udon Stir-fry

I even made Lamingtons. I think classic bakes are making a comeback.

What are Lamingtons? Well, they're decadent chocolate blocks soaked in melted chocolate...

....and rolled in desiccated coconut!

Apparently Stan's favourite.

My sister in law, Victoria made this classic dessert, Jello in an orange. We were guessing how she did it, but she said the watermelon one her mom made when she was younger is even more of a wonder!

Received a special package I ordered from Etsy. Stamping tools.

With a pack of washers I bought from the DIY store awhile ago awaiting my parcel I decided to gather my guts to finally try the stamping tool on 'made-in-Italy' washers. They're so shiny!

Aaaaargh! After a whole pack, I finally figured out that I need to stamp them on hard floors, not carpeted. So after a whole entire pack....I finally got 1 right! GEEEZER!

BE BRAVE! I was, really, after the ruckus and the hammering, I finally got one done.

Coloured it with an Artline. Polished away the excess and...

Voila. Now to thread this with leather and make into a cute bracelet for Nigel.

I was back at crocheting. This time, it's a classic scarf by a classic pattern my pal Paul translated for me. He's a wonderful guy who crochets and knits as well. He's fantastic at reading the patterns and drafting them out in patterns for me to do.

I made a Lychee Custard Pie.

Cookie base, chocolate coated, lychees and peaches all round and a generous sprinkle of croquants!

Made breakfast with bacon and eggs in a muffin tin. They're so cute. These were easy to bake. Line the muffin tray with bacon. Bake a couple of minutes, crack egg into cavities and tada! Breakfast for the champions!

Made macadamia cupcakes for a family gathering up in Gentings.

Played with fondant.

Tested a snowflake mould. These were tiny and fragile.

Caught up with family

Nigel and his cousins!

What do you do with leftover creamcheese frosting? You make French Toast and have it together for breakfast! I discovered that you can actually keep excess frosting in the fridge for some time and use it whenever you feel like dessert. But in our case, breakfast!

Mine had toasted macadamia.

Nigel had to add a drizzle of honey on his. YUMMILICIOUS!

More cupcakes for Sunday


A simple orange poppyseed cupcake, cream cheese frosting drizzled with dark chocolate. That reminds me, I need to get a drizzle fork!

Wow! What a month. And it's already going to be mid October. Thanks guys for the lovely comments and the beautiful emails. Hope to hear from you again. You keep me going, going, going!!!