So Cute It Hurts

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.

1:12 dollhouse miniature scale. air dry clay. workshop.

I was feeling under the weather (migraine city) last two days. It was bad. I'm feeling much better and in catch up mode.

I finally got around to snapping a couple of photos of one of my latest project ~ Cupcake Deli Case workshop by my sweet friend, Pei Li, the 1:12 dollhouse miniature scale guru. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from her.

I've always wondered how dollhouse miniature cupcakes are being created. Finally, i had the pleasure of learning how to make these mouth watering miniature cupcakes! In this workshop, i've learned to create 4 different types of 1:12 scale miniature cupcakes to fill into an adorable deli case.

As with any first time project, there was a learning curve and some uncertainty at times. Pei Li was very patient and encouraging. Her knowledge and sharing personality made me feel confident and relax. I had so much fun crafting with air dry clay.

There is definitely a bit of wonkiness here and there, but i actually really love those parts. The best part though is starting a project i've been thinking about since last year ~ that and knowing i have gotten much more confidence with miniature crating using air dry clay. 

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. Thank YOU sweet Pei Li for helping me to fulfill one of my dream on the first day of 2013. A wonderful start to the year indeed.

I still need to finish the rest of the cupcakes, deli case and photo frame to be painted and decorated.
I plan to show some photos of it as soon as this project is complete.
Looking forward to sharing it with you.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend out there, friends.
Happy Sunday.
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!

nice to meet you

Happy mid-week.

Sorry for the silence. I'm still here, just feeling a bit quiet lately. But before i say anything more, i must first say Thank You Thank You Thank You to all the lovely ladies who so graciously left such sweet and kind comments in this space during my time away.

I finally got around to snap a couple of photos of my two girls together and Kuroo's new wig. We certainly had a few good laughs over here styling Kuroo's new wig and these girls are such fun to photograph. I couldn't decide which photo to post today, so i picked a couple (well, make that all).

They look like sisters, don't you think? Finally, Coco and her only sister (for now), Kuroo, were in the same place at the same time. Coco did her part of not freaking out and Kuroo did hers by sharing her toys. Seeing the two babies together was sweeter than any candies!

I am head over heels for the sweet creations by Carrie of Sleeping Elf. I know some of you have seen Carrie's work before, but i found it recently and was so happy i managed to land a custom order for one of her gorgeous handmade wig. This wig is so well-made and maybe it's just me, but i think it's too cute for words. Truly.

Taking it easy this week.
Be back soon.
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.

Her little zakka dress

It has been pretty quiet around here but i'm hoping to find a nice balance soon.

This simple project has been on my to-do list for a week or two now and over the weekend i finally managed to check it off.

It has been quite a while since i made something for my girls, so i'm pretty pleased with this zakka dress. Don't get me wrong, it has a few flaws, but it fits well and it matches my new Kitchen roombox that arrived last week.

This dress is created with light weighted cotton. In my opinion dresses are essential ~ almost an every day occurrence around here. I think my little kuroo loves her new dress. I used a pattern from Satomi, the pattern guru for dolly dresses, i had a little trouble with the sleeves due to my rusty sewing skills. Either way, the dress is done and i'm back to sewing stuff, which feels really good.

Speaking of my little girls' kitchen roombox, check out this gorgeous ranunculus bouquet sweet Pei Li made for the girls. The little details are just so precious and it matches the kitchen's color theme perfectly. More of this kitchen projects are on the horizon.

Hope you had a great weekend. I certainly did. Not sure how i pulled it off, but i managed to be social, restful and productive all in one weekend. I took two-hour naps each day and went to this movie on Saturday night. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Happy Monday to you!
Love to you.

carry all.

I still haven't totally recovered from what i now refer to as "coming down with the funk" (congestion, sore throat and headache), however i had quite a productive day yesterday. Pretty proud about that...

These are some of my newest miniature tote bags, one is a custom order for a dollhouse settings and some others are Coco's goodies. She needed a few more (okay, i needed her to have a couple more).

These tote bags are definitely a great way to use up some fabric scraps, and i always like it when i find projects that work for that.

This is a new bag design. I made a pattern out of a paper and tweaked it along the way. I really dig how it turned out. Very spring. I finished it with some raw edges and Coco seemed to be down with that. I love it's raw edges and that vintage shabby chic rose print paired with the linen.

This new bag pattern is easy to sew, and it's cute ~ sometimes something being easy doesn't necessarily mean it's cute, not the case here. I love it so much, i made another one bigger in size. This time i used my all time favorite vintage cross stitch pattern and finishd it with some tinny small gathering stitches. Cute, eh? I am filled with total giddiness.

I'm looking forward to...
Taking it easy this beautiful Sunday.
Afternoon Sunday tea.
Sunday nap and reading this new book.
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.

a weekend dress and tote bag...oh my

Weekends are so nice ~ especially nice on long mornings with nothing to do and nowhere to be.

Here's one project i finished that pleases me to no end. I made a weekend dress and tote bag for Coco. I didn't use any ready made pattern but rather i made a pattern out of a paper and tweaked it along the way. Very satisfying.

I'm not that skilled at making dresses yet, so i made a very simple pattern in order to refrain from getting too frustrated. I wouldn't want to take the fun out of it now would I?

The front section of the dress was a little challenge to make. It took me a bit time to figure it out but my love of seeing my little Coco in a beautiful weekend dress helped me to move forward and try, try again. I'm glad I did. Honestly, i like this dress so much i left it on Coco.

Something else that's satisfying is making a weekend tote bag to go with this dress. It's just a simple tote bag but the thing i love most is the vintage natural tea print paired with the linen. The fabric makes up for the simplicity and the little leather strips were a perfect fit.

Can you tell i'm pretty psyched about it? I think more dresses for this little one might be on the horizon...

I hope you are having a lovely weekend. I'm staying close to home and have plans of making a few new weekend tote bags (the ones offered in the shop are sold and it's due time to restock), watching this movie, and taking plenty of naps.

Stay tuned...more to come.
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.