So Cute It Hurts

there's a first time for everything

Woot! Somebody got a new blouse and skirt this weekend! This bakery french maid uniform project is for a dear crafty friend and it has been in my head since this little one arrived home. So...over the holidays, i found time to turn my fabric into a blouse and skirt using simple patterns i created last December 2011. And let me be honest, i had so much trouble. The patterns were not the problem. Nope. The problem was me. It was my first time designing and making tinny wearables.

There was a learning curve and some uncertainty at times. This book and this tutorial were both very helpful when it came time to do the sleeves and collar. There is definitely a bit of wonkiness here and there, but i actually really love those parts. The best part though is seeing the whole look slowly come together.

The next thing to work on will be the apron. I'm thinking ruffles and gathers. :) We will see....

Today is the seventh day of Chinese New Year and it's also Renri (人日, literally Human Day). According to Chinese customs, renri was the day human beings were created.
Once again, Happy Dragon Year. I'm so lucky to be here.
Love to you.

welcome Dragon year

This weekend is full to the brim with Chinese New Year prep and merriment. It's a tradition to take a drive to Chinatown during this festive season. As anticipated, the trip to Chinatown was full of good times ~ with hours of wandering around selecting Chinese New Year cookies, lanterns and a few goodies for the little apartment. My sister and i even managed to soak up some sunshine and some exercise.

I'm looking forward to wonderful lazy days, naps, a goodly amount of tasty food and drink is also definitely on the list. It's a good opportunity for me to THANK YOU for reading, for commenting, for emailing me just to say hello, and most of all, for reminding me that so much good exists in the world. May you and yours have a wonderful Dragon 2012!

Happy holidays to you and the ones you love.
Love to you and yours.

Hamburger size macaroons, anyone?

Thanks so much for all the birthday love. It was full to the brim with dim sum for brunch, two beautiful gifts from my family, a delicious dinner out with my two lovely sisters and brother, and lots and lots of sweetness from friends and family. It was fantastic.

The mail man made a quick stop on thusday late afternoon and dropped off my late birthday package! I am now an official Lati doll collector. Sometimes you gotta treat yourself, right? Honestly, i could not put her down. She is so well-made and maybe it's just me, but i think she's too cute for words. Truly.

I adore both of her gorgeous wigs. Each wig gives her a totally different feel and look. I'm really looking forward to make some adorable dolly clothes for her ~ a French maid outfit might be the first one i go for. I'm very intrigued.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.
Love to you.

woke up this morning and smiled at the rising sun...

Happy New Year!!! Well, a tad bit late. Sorry things have been so quiet around here. I am just finding it a bit difficult to get back into a routine after the holidays.

But i think today's a good day to get things back on the groove. Just because, today's the day i entered the world. It's also a new found appreciation for all my mama did to get me into the world on this day so long ago. It has been a beautiful adventure. I've had the privilege of traveling to faraway places, eating great food and laughing a lot, getting a wonderful education, made some wonderful friends (like you, yes you) and finding the sweetest man.

I can't resist, i have to show you a recent gift made for me by a very creative and thoughtful friend, Pei Li. These handmade life size and miniature size macaroons are just so beautiful and yummilicous. It came with a really beautiful french style container. This surprise gift is so wonderful i can't even begin to explain how overjoyed i am about it. Thank YOU so much sweet lovely friend!

What a beautiful day to get to celebrate, too. The weather is perfect and i see all kinds of good things in my immediate future. Here's to a year older. I'm looking forward to it.

May 2012 bring you and your loved ones much joy, love, prosperity, health and peace!
Be back soon. Until then, love to you and yours!

Sincerely Yours

I'm keeping the holiday decorations extremely simple this year. I put out a few new things with a little table-top tree in my little creative space. I'm looking forward to Christmas breakfast, a tradition to watch this Christmas movie and bust a move or two to my favorite jingle tunes.

Even my little shy girl is dress for the occasion with her adorable brown reindeer hat. Feeling very bright and cheery around here indeed.

Merry Christmas and God bless us, every one!
Love to you and yours.

The little angel sings

Hello friends.

I've been slacking on saying hello. Sorry about that. If you want to know the truth, i took ISTQB software testing certification exam last week and the pace of all the reading and assignments made me a little nutso. The exam result was released on friday and a big sigh of relief that i passed! I'm completely DONE and i can't tell you how excited i am.

Now i am free to get busy doing some of the fun winter projects i have been planning. For starters, i've made another version of a french rustic pin cushion tray. If you remember, it's a special on-going collaboration project with my very creative and talented friend, Pei Li.

This adorable pin cushion is made with Pei Li's beautiful and chic pale pink french rustic tray. An adorable sweet little miniature angel with little peals embraces the side of the rustic tray. The sweet lovely ribbons, crochet lace and peals add a romantic finishing touch. I can't tell you how psyched i am with the result.

I've used a natural linen fabric for the square cushion and finished it off with a beautiful linen fan lace trim.

I really love how it turned out ~ such a simple and sweet project, and a perfect size for storing any adorable pins! It even looks good by itself as a home decor and would brighten up any room this holiday season.

Let the good times roll...
Wishing you a cosy festive holiday season.
More soon.
Love to you and yours.

I am here because of you

Hope your Thanksgiving was full to the brim. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my sister and brother this year. I cooked, we ate and more eating the next days.

In honor of thanksgiving, i want to take this opportunity to say Thank You. Thanks for making my creative journey a great one, and more importantly thanks for all your love, support and your generosity in sharing with me. I am here because of YOU.

I want to start my holiday season off on the right foot; in gratitude, mindfulness, joy and of course, love! I hope to be able to slow down and savor on the simplicities life this season. I still have a few large projects to wrap up before December but for now let the holiday cheers begin!

More to come, friends. More. to. come.
Have a beautiful merry happy week.
Keep warm
Love to you and yours.

learning as i go

Hello there.

I don't know how i managed to get a migraine attack on Saturday morning while i was out shopping for some photography accessories, but i am sick and all i can hope for is to be healthy and back to normal pronto. Being sick and stuck on bed is not my idea of a good way to spend the exciting weekend. No sir. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my self-prescribed combination of medications, movies and many long naps taken will contribute to a speedy recovery.

Today is day number two and i managed to will myself to get around and do some assignments from my Divas and Dreams workshop. One of my assignment is creating a fine art photo. I made a simple flower arrangement and i played with the light, the depth of field and the composition. I have also used a reflector and a white form board. This is what i came out with. I know they are not the best and i think they are not even close to being fine art photos. Nevertheless, i have some fun creating these photos and it was worth it.

Okay, back to bed.
Hope you are having a lovely time doing whatever you do.
Be well.
Love to you and yours.

loveliness. just because.

Hello friends.

I'm taking Divas and Dreams workshop this month and the following month. Just because, i feel that it's time to take my photography to the next level, to explore my creativity, develop my own style and conquer the fear of using Photoshop. Christina's content is absolutely fabulous so far and not to forget all the talented and interesting classmates i am meeting. Very uplifting and inspiring indeed.

My first assignment is to put together an inspiration vision board of images that inspires me and evokes my creativity. I have a huge collection of images that pulls my heart strings and make my heart sing. It's about time to take some of them out and display them to feed my creative soul.

I'm a huge fan of Leslie's (a Creative Mint) work ever since we met in Blogging Your Way back in 2009. On October 2009, i wrote an email to sweet Leslie asking for permission to use her images on my personal board and she said YES. Ever since that day, i've been collecting her gorgeous images and safely keeping them in my inspiration folder. Honestly, i'm a little embarrassed to admit that this vision board didn't materialize till this day...yes after 2 years.

So here is my board for So Cute It hurts inspiration 2011. A collection of images mostly from sweet Leslie of a Creative Mint, an image from Pei Li of Dollhouse Miniatures by Pei Li and a beautiful image of a Australian home designed by Gardener Marks.

I've toss around ideas for my board. I love patterns, fabrics, sewing notions, lace, tapes, flowers and i'm drawn to the color pink, so i settled on doing a color me pretty with a hint of pink theme.

I had the old one up since June, so it's a good time for a change. My inspiration board now sits back on my sewing table. It makes me smile each time i see it.

Have a beautiful sweet weekend.
I hope it's everything sweet and nice.
Still more stories to come soon.
Love to you and yours.

all things handmade

It makes me really happy to say that i finished that unexpected huge order and delivered it to a happy customer. Now i can come up for air and breathe.

While at Pipit wonderful market 7, i had the pleasure of not only meeting wonderful crafty ladies, but i managed to score some nifty handmade goodies. Purchasing handmade creations by others is one of my favorite things ever. EVER. They make me happy.

Loving my new plush from the super talented lady of Pocoleizi. I love each and every one of her plushes, and she has endless designs which made it terribly hard to choose. I Can't wait to sew a little dress for this little one! I even bought a little chair for her to sit on ~ an Evangelione collection.

A lace ribbon rack for all my loveliness! What a score. This is designed and handmade by the super talented folks at LazyboneHandmade. I plan to make a little cover for it.

I've also used my camera a great deal and i even had the pleasure of meeting readers i knew and i never knew were out there reading. I really appreciate those of you stopping by to say hi. I'll be back with lots of photos and a complete play by play next week.

But for now i wanted to show you some of my newest tote bags. Tote bags with handmade button closure, leather handles and lots of inside organization (very much needed). To be honest, i've been hoarding all of these fabrics for a while now. It must be the bold illustration and the colors. Yep, I'm definitely a fan of the colors.

I finished putting my first batch of holiday totes and handmade journals in the shop. I'm feeling sorta like patting myself on the back for finally meeting this crafty goal. Now i am going to get started on a couple of Christmas projects ~ limited edition holiday goodies. Not sure what my plan is just yet, but i have several ideas in the works.

Hope you're having a lovely weekend.
Stay warm.
Love to you and yours.