So Cute It Hurts

I struck gold...

when it comes to friends. Happy lunar New Year. I know i've mentioned it here loads of times, but i really do have the most wonderful friends. It makes me a little misty just thinking about it.

I'm just going to say that i REALLY scored in the friend department. The rattan handles above is just a gift from one of my lovely friends who happens to be amazing and so talented, i could gush about her for hours.

I found talented Maho Kaneko's creations via her book "Handmade bags and pouch CITE" ~ became a big fan and fell in love with her handbags and rattan bag handles. I am so LUCKY that my sweet friend, Mie Horiuchi, from Tokyo took the time and trouble to gift me one of her handles! This rattan bag handles is so well-made and maybe it's just me, but i think it's too beautiful for words. Truly.

I am head over heels for the sweet creations by Maho Kaneko of CITE. She sews such beautiful and colorful bags and accessories out of gorgeous fabrics and handmade bag handles. Here are some of her creations (Photo's courtesy of CITE).

Happy Snake Year sweet friends.
May it be full of joy and peace!
I left town driving home to celebrate and spend some time with family and love ones.

hello sunshine

Saturday was kind of a bust due to migraine city, but the lovely weather all day Sunday made up for it in a huge way.

Three words for this special Sunday morning: Ruki. Macarons. CottonCandy.

This is my submission to ~ TinyWhispers *New* RedBubble Store Giveaway. It's an amateur quality but i am glad i joined! Please come vote for me : Here.

Happy Sundaying,
I apologize for the lack of posts lately.
I'll be back soon enough.
Love to you and yours!

i like good paint with cute name

Hope your weekend was nice. Mine was. It passed a little too fast for my taste but i'm feeling pretty refreshed and ready for whatever my busy week dishes out. Well, at least i think i am?

I usually show items i've made from fabric, i thought today would be a fine day to show a work in progress i painted over the weekend. Although i certainly feel more at ease with my foot on the sewing machine petal working with various textiles, i had a really nice fun time.

Having not pulled out my brushes in so long, I forgot how relaxing painting can be ~ sometimes it can get very tedious, but yet very relaxing. Also, if you mess up, you can just paint over it. I like that part.

In case you are curious, i used a creamy white paint named Wedding Cake by Martha Stewart Satin Acrylic Paint. I was introduced to her range of paint by sweet Pei Li. I am so pleased with the result especially with that sheen of satin glow!

Martha Stewart Satin Acrylic Paint has a whole range of soft shades ~ extremely beautiful with really cute names. I'm pleased as punch about finding them at a local art and craft shop. I became an impulsive shopper and bought me a couple of different shades in sweet pink, green, blue, white and beige. I hope someday i will be able to collect all of her beautiful colors.

Hope your Monday is off to a good start.
Have a beautiful week.
Love to you.

it was a good year

Happy New Year!!! Well, almost.

Another year is coming to a close. It's hard to believe. So much has happened in the last 365 days. It was such a wonderful year and full to the brim for me. 

There were ups and downs, as with any year. There were BIG moments, like a change in job, found love and venture into making miniatures. I made new friends, took lots of photos, cooked new recipes, created some art, and rambled about it here.

It was a good year. Thank you for stopping by this silly blog to share it with me.

May 2013 bring you and your loved ones much joy and peace!
Love to you and yours.

a tradition...

I don't know how i managed to get sick, but i am and all i can hope for is to be healthy and back to normal pronto. Being sick is not my idea of a good way to spend the exciting holiday season. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my self-prescribed combination of warm tea, movies and many long naps taken will contribute to a speedy recovery.

It's a miracle that i actually finished putting up Christmas decoration at my little creative space ~ i cut it very close ~ but  they are done, and the last ornament was hung on my little new Christmas tree. I love a nice tradition, and i'm getting quite skilled at creating my own ~ to add a little something each year to my Christmas decoration collection for my little space.

This year, besides this adorable Mr Nutcracker, i manged to find a tinny little tree for my space. I wanted the tree to have adorable macaron ornaments with traditional Christmas colors of red and green. So my dearest sweet friend, Pei Li, whipped up half a dozen of yummie macaron ornaments just for me!

My little creative space is starting to shimmer and twinkle.
Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent.
Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Happy merry Christmas with a little twinkle in it.
Happy happy!

Let the countdown begins

This week was full to the brim with holiday prep and merriment. I was able to apply the finishing touches to several gifts and get my share of standing in a post office line with a bunch of other holiday crowd. Good times indeed.

The above photo is my holiday card this year. I got around to snap a couple of holiday photos with my girl this bright beautiful Saturday morning. We certainly had a few good laughs over here with her new friend, Mr Nutcracker. I couldn't decide which photo to post, so i picked a couple (well, make that all).

Coco is such a special doll to me for so many reasons, and the fact that she is my first Lati doll is definitely high on the list of why. A little birthday treat to myself ~ and that was where it all started. Sometimes you gotta treat yourself, right?

I want to take this opportunity to THANK YOU for reading, for commenting, for emailing me to ask questions or 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 2012!

Have a merry happy weekend with a little twinkle in it.
Happy holidays to you and the ones you love.

little by little

Surprise. Surprise. Sorry for the absence. After a little unplanned hiatus, i'm back to say hello. Things have been a bit hectic around here and it made me want to hibernate a little. Two months got away from me, i've been meaning to post, but honestly, i could not seem to find the time to photograph a single thing until today. 

Remember the shabby chic cottage kitchen project mentioned a while back? Well, i'm slowly adding kitchen furnitures, accessories and decorations to my collection. Some funitures are waiting to be painted in a lovely creamy white shade, to be gently distressed to look vintage and shabby chic and to be lined with beautiful vintage style, shabby chic paper or fabric.

Here are a couple of funitures i picked for my kitchen. There are still a lot of work in progress...

After months of procrastination. I have a pretty big to-do list i'm in the process of working through. November is almost out the door (2 more weeks). December is really a pretty spectacular month. I look forward to it. 

Happy sundaying.
Keep warm sweet friends.
Love to you and yours.

time flies.

Sorry for the silence. Man oh man, i fell into a rabbit hole. The photo above shows (or maybe not) how much i have been able to climb out. Yep, not too much, although, i am working on it. 

On a different subject entirely, i can't resist posting photos of my newest dolly member, Ruki. My girls and i love her to bits. I'm positive you will be seeing her lots more hopefully with some of my new dolly projects.

Ruki, the Donkey (sorry i couldn't resist having her post in a sheep hat), is Lati's limited collection from the Town Circus of Bremen series based on The Bremen Town Musicians, a musical cartoon.

She is so beautiful and maybe it's just me, but i think she's too pretty for words. Truly. I hope the photos tell the story.

I hope you are having a lovely weekend. I have plan to see a movie, catch up on chit-chat with all of you on blogland and sew (i've been in a sewing slump for a while now), or at least start sewing, a little dolly dress is waiting for me.

Happy weekending.
Love to you.

take a peek

It took some time, but i'm finally getting around to show my little girls' kitchen roombox. Although it isn't furnish in there yet, my girls and i do seem to enjoy looking around in the space.

Photos courtesy of Danielle from Joyful Girl Gypsy Heart

I have always been a fan of dollhouses and roomboxes. After some serious hunting (i was discouraged for a week or so) i found a lovely miniature roomboxes and dollhouses creator at Flickr. Score! still can't believe i was able to land the last slot for her custom order list for April. That was a lucky day.

Photos courtesy of Danielle from Joyful Girl Gypsy Heart

I am head over heels for the sweet creations by Danielle of Joyful Girl Gypsy Heart. She makes such beautiful and colorful roomboxes and accessories. I was lucky enough to have my dream shabby chic cottage kitchen put together by her and there isn't a visitor that comes by that doesn't compliment me on it or ask me where it's from. Danielle also has a nifty blog, check it out for posts about her recent projects and new additions in her shop.

The kitchen is done in pale pink, slightly darker pink, mint green, cream, and it's trims are in antique white. I love the shabby chic wallpaper choice and working french doors and windows. This roombox comes with two full walls and a removable third wall. Everything is very romantic and soft ~ i'm over the moon! 

The kitchen roombox is a little larger than my girls but gives me a lot more play room. I also really adore the gorgous staggered plank floor boards and the wainscoting walls (not very visible in the photos above). It is so well-made and maybe it's just me, but i think it's too beautiful for words. Truly. I'm still wondering around trying to find the perfect place to display my roombox.

I am beginning to toss around ideas for my girls' kitchen. I love country and shabby chic styles, so i think i'm settled on doing a shabby chic theme in there. Still working out the details.

So far i know i want:
Some Color ~ pale blue and antique white for furniture and kitchenware
Lots of flowers ~ ranunculus and roses
And fabrics ~ shabby chic fabrics for curtains and tablecloth

The lovely dinning decoration from A Rosy Note and the gorgeous Mermaid's Cottage from Lovejoy Minis make for some wonderful inspiration.

Have a lovely weekend.
Whatever you have planned, i hope you enjoy yourself.
Love to you.

pleased as punch

So happy Sunday has come. It is such a good day for supreme laziness! 

But before i say anything more, i must first say THANKS a million for the kind words and support about my first week at the new job adventures. You guys are so sweet. If you want to know the truth, the week went pretty alright but the pace of all the reading and learning the new business and functional processes are making me a little nutso and a little overwhelmed. I'm doing what i can and, trying to stay calm and carry on. I think i am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel in that department, though. Just a glimmer.

I treated myself to one "surviving the first week" gift in the form of a beautiful shabby chic Cherry Cupcake table clock from a local home decor shop. Not sure why it took me so long to find a table clock for my creative workspace, but it was worth the wait, though.  Love the shabby chic feel and the size of it. I can't seem to stop looking at it. It makes me happy.

I also like the fact that the Cherry Cupcake clock is made of metal. I couldn't resist adding one of my favourite magnet to it (the love birds are my favorite!).

Happy weekending.
Have a beautiful week ahead.
Love to you and yours.