Q's So Cute It Hurts

Cookies, cookies, cookies

This is the sweetest season of the year, making your list ~ filling it up with holiday gifts ideas, packaging ideas and decorations ideas.

 

Handmade gifts are the best kind, particularly when they're edible and prettily packaged. This year, if time permits i would love to make holiday cookies as gifts and hope that they turn out as pretty as they are delicious. And although i am not a good baker, i do want to try something new ~ baking cookies and pretty them up with lovely packages, and offering them to family and friends. I think baking cookies is much more than a small gesture ~ it's a personal one, showing the best sentiments of the season.

 

I treated myself to a gift in the form of a cute holiday cookie cutter set from Wilton. I love the size of these cutters ~ really mini ones. I can't seem to stop looking at them. It makes me happy. I think im gonna try to keep my cookie recipe really simple. I'd love it if you'd share your most favorite cookie recipe.

 

Who can resist an attractive assortment of freshly baked holiday cookies? Set some out with a tall glass of cold milk, and tempt Santa. teehee  Wishing you a merry happy relaxing weekend. Good times and happy friday! Love to you and yours. 

What could be prettier

...than your initials, artistically rendered on a beautiful personalize gift or item?

 
These days, i've been playing around with monograms and initials hand-embroidery. It makes me feel an appreciation for something tradition. According to the encyclopedia Britannica, it defines monogram as "a design or mark consisting of two or more letters intertwined". To me, a monogram can be a combination of initials, intertwined or otherwise just a single decorative letter.

Monogram and initials are one of the best ways to embellish items we cherish and would like to hand down from generation to generation. I really enjoy experimenting around with different mediums of monograms and initials from hand-embroidery to stamps. There is simply something magical about it, it expresses the mystique and the beauty of letters, the joy of fine design and and my enduring fascination with names. Such a romantic process and gesture.

My monograms and initials inspiration comes from all kinds of text ~ printed materials, computer fonts, friend's lovely handwriting, books, clip-arts or vintage samplers. It's really crazy fun, i tell you. Here are just a few of my monograms and initials source of inspiration to entice you.

Wishing you a wonderful merry happy weekend. And for those of you out there getting all that snow, I must admit I'm kind of jealous ~ teehee. Lots of love to you and yours!

Smocked with a passion

Sorry for checking out bit early last week, several other projects {all at the initial designing stages} are consuming almost all of my carefree time. I'm hoping to find a nice balance soon. Hope you had a good weekend. I certainly did ~ lots of hunched shoulders sewing away.

 
As busy as i've been, i am happy to say i spent a good portion of the weekend working on and finishing my first ever "So Cute It Hurts" smocked sundress ~ admiring it in my little studio made this creative space even sunnier. Never before have i even come close to sewing something anyone could wear. THIS sundress is yet another very exciting accomplishment for me. Yippee and hooray!

 
 
I believe there is a mantra for all things handmade: "It's all in the details". Never is that more true than for this dress. A few ingenious details can transform a basic something into something truly special. Because so many of the different needlework techniques are subtle, they can be combined together to make a dress to look simple until the eye picks out those all-important details. I love, love, love this little smocked dress. The finished dress fits 12 months to size 4. Fasteners are out of the way, so curious little ones aren't tempted to toy with or nibble on them.

 
When this little sundress acquire history together with the other items that are too precious to give away ~ like the little blanket she came home from hospital in, the overalls she wore while learning to crawl, her pajamas she fell asleep in at night ~ there is a solution more creative and less cluttering than a box in the storage ~ a baby memory quilt that is sure to become an heirloom.

Sometimes, the most ordinary items can be used to create extraordinary result. Have a lovely merry happy creative week! Lots of love to you and yours

Smockin’ about

Happy Monday, friends!

It's good to be back after a long weekend. I hope you found some time to relax. I certainly did ~ sewing, comfort food, and lounging {i'm a big fan of lounging} in my comfy lounge pants.

 
A while back i talked about how i, in full adventure dorkiness mode, wanting to make something wearable. I've always had a thing for smocking dresses or blouses...well at least since kindergarten. Thus, when i found Jamie's Honey Girl Sundress pattern, i decided it was due time to reinforce this notion into my rotation.

Something that's satisfying over the long weekend is making my very first "So Cute It Hurts" toddler dress using Jamie's pattern. I'm not that skilled at it and it's always good to attempt very simple patterns in order to refrain from getting too frustrated ~ challenges are always good but i didn't want to select a pattern that is so far beyond me.

 

 
Although this little sundress is still a work in progress, the smocking is a very exciting accomplishment for me ~ i've also to credit Jamie's smocking tutorial for this one. I used fabric designed by Kokka Japan. I practiced and learned more to use the right tension on the thread and the right stitches. Really crazy fun and the satisfaction of being able to smock successfully just washed away any stress and wee bit frustration. I am looking forward to finish this cute little dress.

 
Making this cute little smocked sundress also makes me realize that even now, it seems unbelievable to me that by pulling together a motley collection ~ the different soft threads, the sharp needle, the pattern, the intangibles of creativity, and imagination ~ i can create something that will hold a piece of my soul. But i can and so can you.

Have a lovely merry happy week and love to you and yours!

Sunscreen? Check. Camera? Check. Parasol? Check.

I'm back from a lovely weekend in a little cozy resort, Avillion Village Resort, just about one and a half hours drive from this lovely city og brotherly love. Avillion was excellent... and a wee bit exhausting. The heat was no joke and this time, i did remember to re-apply sunscreen at regular intervals ~ learned after my last getaway that ended with a nice little sunburn to prove it. It was terrific and i hope to return again in the future. The sight of this lovely resort as i took slow walks embracing the smell of sea water... made me run back for my camera.

So before i launch back into craft projects and non-resort daily life in this city, i thought i would share some of my favorite photos i took with my little new slr. {My sincere apology if the quality of my photography skill is lousy}

 
  
 
  
  
  
 
  
 
  
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
If i had more brain power, i would love to send a note to every single one of you who commented about Bones with his new friend Hannah {they are going off soon to a lovely home}. Each and every comment made me smile. Thank you for your kind words. I will be announcing the winners to my lovely teaspoon giveaway soon ~ so stay tuned!

Hope you had a lovely weekend. Lots of love to you and yours!

How long has it been since you did a…

Pay it forward (PIF) ~ honestly, i have never and this will be my frist time. Before i officially give you the play by play on my PIF, i wanted to share a little more with you.

 
{A beautiful commission ~ "Jacqueline's garden" by my beautiful mentor, Marisa of Creative Thursday}

I had such a fantastic day, well, actually, days reading your wonderful e-birthday wishes, dear friends! You guys are too sweet and as silly as it may sound; you guys made me teary ~ in a really good way. Yes indeed. Hope you had a good weekend. Mine was perfect since i'm a huge nester that relished my time at home. It felt so wonderful to be home sleeping till late morning, lots of comfort food and crafting in my leisure.

Now back to some exciting news in this lovely month of October ~ PIF story. Lovely Pauline is one of my BYW friends ~ owner of this gorgeous bubble space mufn inc. A while back she hosted a PIF, and i jumped for it. I have never participated in a PIF and the idea of it just thrills me. It's unbelievable, and this amazing package arrived on my doorstep recently. Thanks for your overwhelming generosity, Pauline. I love each and every thing you sent.

 
{Perfectly wrapped}

 
{Unwrapped}

The parcel included a set of her beautiful hand drawn cards and a very dainty pair if handmade flower hair clips (she read on my bubble space that i adored hair clips). Pretty fantastic, wouldn't you say? I would. I'm over the moon.

So, for one of my many lined up special surprises i've prepared especially for you on this lovely month of October (yes i am working on a list of surprises for you) i'm passing on this lovely PIF! Here are the rules:

The special PIF gifts will be handmade by me. I can't guarantee that you will like it but i can guarantee that they will be made with lots of love. Currently, i have my plate full of projects, but i hope to make these lovely gifts in time for Christmas ~ please be patience with me. In return, you may wish to carry on this meaningful PIF by offering it to five of your lovely blog readers when you receive my PIF gifts. This PIF will be open until this coming Friday, Oct 9 midnight PS. Once closed, five random winners will be selected and announced Monday morning. All you have to do is just say Hello! :) Good luck and have lots of fun!

Have a wonderful week ahead and i hope this brings a little smile to you on this little manic Monday! Love to you!

1 is a magic number

{Silly little me teehee}

October is a very special month for me here in So Cute It Hurts land ~ the beginning of my story of stepping into this wonderful world of creativity, my shop and my blog. Today is my day to eat cake and wear a party hat, just because, So Cute It Hurts turns ONE! It's hard to believe ~ something i'm finding myself saying more and more. So much has happened in the last 356 days here in the So Cute It hurts world. There were ups and downs. There were BIG moments, like making my first sale, sharing my new creations and inspiration, learning (my e-courses) and being reminded of wonderful sentiments. I made new friends, supported (still continuing to support) fellow artisans following their dreams, took lots of photos, cooked new recipes (which i hope to share with you soon), created some art, my sweet Bernina, and rambled about it ~ or most of it here. It was a good creative year.

{Hope ~ photo by one of my best girl, Brenda}

I just wanted to gently remind you to always believe in yourself and your ability to create. Art, in all its form, allows a person to realize just what they are capable of. To create ~ is inspirational. It give you wings to fly, mind to reach up and beyond and a heart to share with others.

Thank you so much for stopping by this silly bubble space to share it with me! Lots of love to you and yours always!

Easy does it

Don't really know how it came to be Monday so quickly. Either way, i'm still here, although i'm not feeling all that chatty, which has a lot to do with this heavy pounding i am feeling on the right side of my head ~ migraine.

Hope your weekend was nice. Mine was full of tasty comfort food, a bit of socializing, as well as working away here, sewing and scheming (while taking lots of long break) with the wedding project ~ i'll definitely show you when it's done. Very proud to say that i've took some time to embark on a little adventure to a famous tourist spot here in this city of brotherly love ~ Batu cave, a limestone hill which has a series of caves and cave temples.

Things i learned during this little adventure:

• I should make it a point to do daily exercises.
• I am really afraid of heights.
• The warm sunshine can be an added bonus.
• Monkeys can be really scary when they are hungry.
• You can never have too many flip-flops.

Not sure how this week is going to look with regard to posting. In the meantime, have a good merry happy day and a good start to your week! Take it easy and love to you!

Color me pretty world

Hello there. Thanks so much for the kind words about my ribbon embroidery. You guys are so sweet! Wow my long weekend flew by, despite the fact that i tried to slow it down. I might have to keep trying...

It was a cozy couple of days filled with days spent hunched shoulder ~ sewing, searching for colors and having an excuse to pursue tons of nifty fabrics and craft supplies. I have been able to keep my camera close by and have seen things a little differently, perhaps in better focus.

~ work till ... well, i didn't manage to get my eyes hurt but my fingers are in pain.

~ searching for colors ... the mid-autumn (moon) festival is just around the corner, there are lots of beautiful pretty mooncake packaging and traditional lanterns up for sales.

~ fabric and craft shops visit ... so many loveliness to choose! I finally settled with butterflies and flowers in salmon color fabric, sweet shabby rose in beautiful soft cream and colorful checked fabric for my backing on my quilt (on going project).

Most importantly, i've used this long weekend to slow down and take time to look around me, taking in the world i walk around in ~ almost always in too big of a hurry. I hope your week is shaping up nicely! Have a lovely merry happy mid-week and lots of love from me to you!

wishing weekend like this could last longer...

Hello there... i'm still here and no, i haven't dropped off the planet. I apologize for the lack of posts. I've wanted to take some time away from the computer.

It's good to be back after a long weekend. I hope you found some time to relax. I certainly did. I was away ~ a lovely weekend trip near Kuantan, Pahang. It was such a great time full of beautiful nature (oh my so green!), blue water, and amazing blue skies ~ each day was perfect for some outdoor living. To be honest, it felt so good to finally get out of this city of brotherly love, into the nature and hanging out for an entire good couple of days catching up with family.

I managed to soak up bits of the sun with swims in the resort pool and the water park, some early morning bird watching and eating almost every meal outside. It was perfect in every way. Now i can say i'm truly ready for Fall.... if it's possible in this tropical country of love.

Below are some highlights of my lovely trip!

{My favorite ~ can't leave home without one}

{My favorite kid's ride in the water park}

{My favorite flip-flop}

 {My favorite kid's water slides}

 {My favorite crafting/sewing spot}

 {My favorite joyride ~ slow and steady}

{My favorite little fello ~ his very gentle}

Have a fantastic yet another September week, dear friends! More soon ~ lots of love to you and yours always.