Intergalactic! Galactic! Galactic!

Behind the scenes of an Etsy store

2012-01-25T00:45:00.000+08:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

I've had a wonderful time back in my hometown spending top notch quality time with my parents. Things are a bit different this year because my grandfather passed away last year. But it's ok. I guess things will never remain the same forever, and over time new family traditions are born, although some do still remain.

Since my last entry here, I've taken up a new chapter to my life of working from home. I've been writing and photographing tutorials for a craft site and it's been so fun thinking of new ideas and executing them. Sometimes I'll just stay awake in bed thinking of ways to execute an idea, and I'll ask my husband for ideas and get his opinions on my proposals. He's been very supportive although most of the time I'm working pretty long hours and rarely get to spend much time with him, even on weekends. Thanks for the support, Mr Husband :o)

Anyway, I've been backing up my photos and came across these pics that were taken when I was working on items for my Etsy store, and just thought I'd share them with you here.

I think my current favourite tools are the art knife (or what most people call the X-Acto, but mine is actually a Tamiya+Olfa that belongs to the husband hee hee), and glue (I have at least 7-8 types of liquid adhesives on my desk right now as we speak, and perhaps 2-3 more in the storeroom-- they are all for different materials and strength... I just get giddy looking at glues in shops sometimes). Most underrated tool that I like would be the single hole paper puncher... nothing like a perfect "o" to make my day!

Feel free to visit my Etsy store L.A.R.K :-)

Fresh from the ovenna: Handcut pleather accessories

2012-01-02T04:07:00.001+08:00

I had so much fun making these! Cutting the individual strips were a pain and assembling them together was time consuming. I think I shall take a break from jewelry-making and get back into sewing :-) .... although err, I'm really not sure if I can do it.. my mind's constantly thinking of accessories to make, even when I'm in bed! *_*

Accessories available at my Etsy store L.A.R.K

Ground rules, missy!

2011-12-29T23:20:00.001+08:00

Our house does not have any white fluorescent lights because my husband is allergic to them. Ok maybe not medically like the kids on The Others or like vampires in True Blood (let's not even talk about Twilight and their sparkly bits because they are not real vampires), but yes his inner mental system rejects all things white light and fluorescent.

He loves incandescent orange-tinged lights, so our lighting system in the house mainly consists of standing lamps and pendant lamps. They do cast a more romantic and cozy glow over the house, and a simple thing like having a cup of tea while watching tv seems so much more cozier than doing it in white light hahaha. I believe that with some strategically placed incandescent orange-tinged lamps, you can make almost any room look beautiful.

Which is a big problem when you're working with colours, or detail work. When I was still working in a full time day job, I only sewed at night. But now that I have the daylight to splurge on, GOODNESS ME! There is nothing like sewing in daylight. NOTHING. It's like I've gotten a new pair of x-ray glasses that gives me power to see sheen, luster, fibers, and colours like I've never seen then before.

Sometimes I try to work through the night like I did before, but there is no substitute for daylight. I am also usually tired by then, and coupled with the lack of daylight, it's a wonderful combo for horrible success in getting good work out. So I've decided to split my work tasks by grouping them according to how much the presence of daylight (and alertness) would help them in becoming good work. A quick breakdown:

Day

Sewing

Jewelry-making

Crafting

Pattern drafting

Night

Blogging

Marketing

And I made myself this poster to remind myself of the ground rules. It's for the best of the work, and for the good of me eyes. Feel free to print one for yourself if you echo my sentiments :P

Download the full A4 printable PDF here!

Comfort over style

2011-12-24T00:04:00.004+08:00

I was sent to a seminar once where the speaker took one look at me and said "If you were asked to choose one over the other, you would pick comfort over style."

SO TRUE ZOMG.

"Does it smell like old lady?"

2011-12-21T20:55:00.003+08:00

.... that's what my brother in law asked me when I told him that I bought this at RM5 from the thrift shop: a gigantic dress with a gigantic dartless bodice and a low pleated skirt. Anything gigantic from the thrift shop is a win for me; more fabric to work with! :D

Anyway, check out my Vogue pose below. Super high fashion, I know. Forget the smize, I think awkward ogre arm poses are going to be the next big thing. And you know you heard it here first ;-)

I took apart the whole dress and ended up with 3 pieces to work with-- the front bodice, back bodice, and the pleated skirt. To make the new dress, I drafted a V-neck bodice (something I've been wanting to try for a while now), kept the side bust darts but eliminated the front darts for a more casual look.

The neckline and sleeves were finished with some coral satin bias tape... not a very nice job on the inside though :-( I will need to practice working with bias tape more so I can improve!!!!! YAAAARRGHHH!!! :D

*that's not the sound of frustration, it's how I psych myself up / freak myself out / wake myself up

So anyway, back to the dress-- there's an elastic sewn to the waist to keep its shape. I love it when dresses are nipped in at the waist, just a personal preference :o)

I love how comfy this dress is! And it doesn't crinkle easily too. Yay!

Here's me looking at me being a fashionable ogre. God bless my husband for marrying this ogre.

L.A.R.K on Etsy!

2011-12-19T20:32:00.000+08:00

etsy.com/shop/LARKnow

Charm bracelets, hand cut pleather rings, and OOAK finds. Remember to enter the discount code too!

Tutorial: Super quickie Christmas ornament in a fizzy!

2011-12-18T20:32:00.000+08:00

Please raise your hands if you forgot that Christmas is a week away. Err.. nobody? It was just me? REALLY?? Heh :P

I was on the phone with my mom and I thought she was crazy when she said Christmas was only a week away. Clearly I was the crazy one instead

-___-"

I'm not much of a decoration person when it comes to Christmas, but this time around I decided just to do something simple. Bought some fairy lights, made 3 Christmas stockings with some red flannel I had in the stash, and this super simple glitter ornament to hang by our lights switch box (how glamourous, I know, stop it you guys lol).

You can make these in whatever shapes you want, and hey, who says it's only for Christmas aye?

All you need is 15 minutes, glitter, foam board, white glue, and a clear spray paint to seal it at the end. I found all these at our local stationery shop.

1. Trace your shape onto the foam board

2. Cut it and pop it out

3. Paint white glue onnit

4. FUN ALERT: Shake your glitter all over it!

5. Dust it off and you'll be left with a s'wonderful layer of glitter sitting on your glue!

6. Spray it with a clear spray to seal it in, and decorate it if you want.

7. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Sneak peak: L.A.R.K

2011-12-14T00:55:00.001+08:00

We're almost there! Here's a sneak peak into L.A.R.K, my upcoming shop on Etsy for all my handmade items. We'll be starting off with a collection inspired by whimsical woodland critters.

Get the above ring (Eli The Elephont) for free by joining our giveaway!

WIP: Etsy store!

2011-12-09T15:59:00.001+08:00

What to expect: Whimsical, fun accessories, postcards, prints, and fun things. Watch this space for a giveaways and shanaynays! :D

Tutorial: Recycle your yoghurt cups!

2011-12-04T18:44:00.001+08:00

I loveeeee yoghurt! I'd usually get me a medium tub (not the single serving ones) from the grocery store to last me a few days. Before you throw the tubs away, THINK ABOUT CAPTAIN PLANET! He's got green hair and a weird tan, but above all, he needs YOU to save the planet by recycling. *wink*

So here's an easy peasy way to recycle that yoghurt tub into a twine cup for some pretty desk organization. Put your pens and pencils in it, or use it as a little bin to collect scraps from your craft project.

This project is wayyyy easy. Here's what you need:

- Empty yoghurt tub

- Twine rope (or any other type of rope/yarn you fancy your pants off)

- Scissors

- PVA glue or UHU glue

I love strawberry yoghurt. Slurp.

Here we go! First, cut out the label like a boss.

Spread glue on the outside like a boss.

Wrap the twine rope around the cup like a... uh, you get my drift.

Done! You're such a boss.

You may stop here and use your twine cup, but if you can do a simple braid, let's finish this baby off!

Braid three strands like so:

... and stick them to the rim of your twine cup.

Best to use a superglue like UHU for this :-)

Anddddd you're done! Tar darrrrr....

My twine cup sits with me on the table when I sew or work on DIY projects, and works as a little bin to collect stray thread, felt scraps, and little fabric remnants. Yes... pretty things make working fun for me :D

Waiting to see their mamas

2011-12-01T20:29:00.001+08:00

My first time sewing for clients. Nerve wrecking! But I also learnt a lot of things and tried my best to finish them as nicely as possible, like top-stitching and under-stitching and steaming interfacing before applying it on.

Today was my first ever fitting session with a client. It went well, thank God! Three more to go, hope they will go well too :D

Sewing Books Review (Pt 2)

2011-12-01T11:00:00.000+08:00

Picking up from where I left off, here's the second part of my reviews of 2 more sewing books. These books focus on pattern drafting.

Pattern-drafting may not be for everyone as it takes quite a lot of time and multiple muslin trials and errors to get a good fit. But it is very fun if you like to come up with your own designs! :D Here are the books I have on pattern-drafting:

5. Metric Pattern Cutting for Women's Wear 5th Edition by Winifred Aldrich

The first sewing book I ever purchased, one which I researched and pondered over for the LONGEST time too. It took me a longggg time to decide between this book and Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph-Armstrong, but because the latter uses the imperial system (inches) and I grew up studying in the metric system (centimetres) thanks to the British colonisation, I decided to finally go with Winifred Aldrich.

This book taught me how to draft patterns according to my own measurements. It has a lot of variations of sleeves, darts, collars, and basic bodice patterns for woven materials (ie cotton) and non-woven materials (ie jersey). Each diagram is accompanied by instructions on how to draft them. As you can see I've marked LOADS of pages, most of them are styles and variations that I like and can see myself incorporating them into my designs.

6. Modern Pattern Design by Harriet Pepin

This book was once available online at vintagesewing.info , but sadly the website is now down (I'm guessing due to lack of donations?). Rozy posted a link on our Sewing Buddies FB group to a downloadable PDF version at Michou Loves Vintage, which I read on our ipad. Now here is the interesting thing: I actually find this book a GREAT accompaniment to Winifred Aldrich's book above. While Adrich's book covers a lot of styles and variations, Pepin's book covers less variations but has rather in-depth in explanations about WHY those variations are needed (ie what type of dart works best for a large bust, etc).

You may notice that the illustrations and styles look very old and outdated, but to me, I am still able to learn about form and fit. Plus, fashion styles are always a cycle. Who knew shoulder pads would come back in fashion again? Michael Kors / Heidi Klum made a remark on an episode of Project Runway that went something like "That looks terribly 80s, and that's not something people would like", and I laughed because I watched that episode only a year later when the 80s fashion did make a comeback :P

So despite referencing "outdated" styles, both books do teach a lot about pattern making, and understanding how different positions of little things like darts can make a big difference.

And that's about it, hope this didn't bore anyone to the abyss of boredom.

Vintage-themed sewing

2011-11-27T11:18:00.001+08:00

Funny thing happened last week. A few days before attending a wedding of my husband's colleague, I suddenly find out that it's a vintage-themed wedding. Naturally like any other woman, I panicked and growled like a gorilla in heat: "I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!!!" Except that I was serious because I looked through my closet, and the vintagey stuff were mostly casual wear, not dinnerware (har har).

GREAT.

In panic mode, I decided to make accessories to go with a dress that I made earlier this year for Chinese New Year. I absolutely adore peter pan collars, what more the beaded ones which hypnotized me on Pinterest.

Megan Nielsen has a really pretty pattern of a scalloped peter pan collar up for downloads, which you can find at her awesome blog here. Unfortunately for me the pattern did not really fit me, maybe due to my stumpy small neck hehehe... so I ended up drafting my own pattern. After a few trials and errors and correction of the curves, I finally got a pattern that sat properly around my neck.

So I started beading the collar while watching Criminal Minds and NCIS and Bones on Fox. Then I watched the reruns of the same criminal investigation episodes again. Nothing like a good murder mystery and gruesome motives to motivate me to keep on and carry on beading. After a whole day of beading, I finally finished it! Yahuuuuu!

The next day I made a quick petal fascinator some felt pieces. I've made fascinators before, but somehow they never really sat properly on my head... I looked through more pictures on Google and realised that what I need was a little base that's almost like a bra cup to sit properly on top. Rather than putting an actual bra cup on my head (I've seen that on DIY blogs, ermm, interesting, but errr not something I'd wanna do in case people ask me "Oh you made that yourself? What did you use for the base?"; "My old bra. I totally washed it before using it though."), I shaped a base out of felt and started gluing petals to it. You can't see how the based is curved like a bra cup here, but it is, and trust me.. it sits sooo much better on your head and your embellishments will look beyootiful.

The wedding was at The Banker's Club, and I really like the venue because it's so apt for a vintage-themed wedding. Many of the guests supported the request of the bride and groom to dress up in vintage styles, and you gotta love fun guests like that at your wedding ;-) Saw some really fabulous vintage dresses and hairstyles that the ladies were sporting, and I was sincerely flattered when some fashionable girls said they liked my dress and asked me if it was real vintage. Naw geeee..

Some of the men were sporting bow ties, which were nice, but you know, nothing beats the real bow ties that are really tied by hand (not the clip-on types). I used to think that clip-on ones were good enough, but ever since I saw a real one on Vincent (he tied it himself, like WHOA) and we had that chat about bow ties, I'm a convert. I BELIEVE IN REAL BOW TIES NOW.

My husband wore his argyle vest. I LOVE THIS VEST, doesn't he look dashing in it! Nothing beats a good looking argyle vest, except a good looking husband in a good looking argyle vest. Hahaha. All he needs is a cigar in his hand :P

Latest projects

2011-11-24T16:55:00.001+08:00

More on my Tumblr: chiiiiing makes things

Sewing Books Review (Pt 1)

2011-11-23T15:53:00.001+08:00

There are many great sites online that provide tutorials and knowledge on sewing, but I've also learnt a lot from books. I tried not to splurge on sewing books before, but after buying one by one, my mini library of sewing books slowly grew and have become the foundation of almost all my sewing projects.

I'm quite a cavewoman when it comes to sewing, but reading these books and learning from tutorials online has taught me much about the benefits of little things like sewing with better thread, drafting proper patterns, etc.

Here are some of my personal reviews of these books, hopefully they would be useful to those who are looking to buy any of these books. Also, hopefully they won't be too long-winded :P

(Edit: It did turn out to be a super long post, so I decided to split it into different parts. Will cover the pattern-drafting and fashion designing books on the next round.)

1. Fabric Guide by Simplicity

I bought this in Kinokuniya Singapore, and I love it because it had large, sharp pictures of the fabric types to help me identify them (that's how I knew one fabric I was working with was dupioni). There are also little tips on fabric handling, and common uses for the fabric specified. Sometimes, after finding out the type of fabric, I look it up online to see if there are other tips I should look out for, ie the best thread type that matches with the fabric, etc.

The first half of the book is a reference of identifying fabric types, which is the section I'm using the most currently. The second half covers topics such as trademarked fabric types (ie Teflon, Lycra), types of linings, determining yardage, types of needles, etc.

I know that there are a few online databases on fabric identification too. I have not personally used them, if you have any please do recommend them! :D

2. Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing by Reader's Digest

This is a really good encyclopedia on techniques on sewing from garments to home items such as curtains. The book uses a couple of Simplicity patterns as examples, and each topic is very well illustrated with step-by-step, er, illustrations. I love the illustrations because they are so clear. Perhaps if you've sewn a TON of patterns using patterns such as Simplicity or other brands which always come with clear illustrations on each step, you might not need this book (just a very rough, un-researched guess though haha).

The book also covers how to make adjustments, hand stitches, assembling different types of collars, working with different types of sleeves, etc etc.. so whenever i want to find out how to do something, I always check this book first.

3. Vogue Sewing by Vogue Knitting Magazine

Another encyclopedia on sewing, but focused on garment production. I love it because it teaches me the couture way of doing things and helps me appreciate the beauty of couture sewing techniques. Sure it takes more time, but there will be a personal connection between the person who wears the garment and the garment. I would say that the Reader's Digest book above is an excellent guide for Ready To Wear (off-the-rack) garments, and this book just takes it one step further to create an experience for the wearer in couture versions of the garments.

I used to think it was such a waste to use beautiful fabric on the inside of a dress as a lining, but reading Vogue Sewing changed my mind. Sure, nobody sees it but the wearer, but it does give the wearer joy knowing the little secret that her houndstooth skirt is lined with an amazing pop of colour inside. It's kinda like how tshirts have intricate labels on the inside (even with a different illustration than on the shirt itself) that no one else can see, but it makes the wearer feel special, like he's onto a little secret that no one else knows.

I'm not saying that I will be using these couture techniques for all my garments though, because sometimes you just want a light airy tank top to wear on hot days and all those fancy linings might just take that simply, simple charm away. But it's definitely teaching me to consider these options for the more fancy garments such as evening dresses.

4. Couture Sewing Techniques by Lynda Maynard

This was my parents-in-law for Christmas, one of the first sewing books that I received as a gift :D Compared to Vogue Sewing, this book seems more "updated" and offers a lot of large photographs on the techniques.

Every 2-4 pages explains a couture technique, explained in step-by-step instructions accompanied by the photos. Although it doesn't cover as many topics as Vogue Sewing, each topic is more clearly illustrated compared to the above book.

The most important thing I've learnt from this book that really BLEW MY MIND was knotting the thread through your machine to enable sewing a dart without a knot on your garment at the dart point. Wonderful technique, great for sheer fabrics especially.

So that's about it for today! What a longggg post. Hope it's been helpful to you, if you're looking for sewing books to buy. Remember to check out The Book Depository for the books too, and take advantage of their free worldwide shipping policy. I <3 The Book Depository!

Paper romance

2011-11-17T01:42:00.001+08:00

OH TREES FORGIVE ME FOR I HAVE SINNED AGAINST THEE :-(((((((

Print your own fabric at home

2011-11-15T23:36:00.001+08:00

Some fb chatter about fabric printing reminded me of this project I tried once. Yes, your printer can (most probably) print fabric for you, right at home! A note of caution though-- the inks are not permanent unless your printer uses pigment inks. Oh and a 2nd note of caution-- use your home printer to print fabric at your own risk. Can't guarantee your printer won't break down and cry with all the culture shock going on. "WHAT ARE YOU PUTTING INTO ME?!? IT DOESN'T FEEL LIKE PAPER!!!"

Anyhoot, check out this tutorial and have fun :D
http://hazelruthes.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-to-print-on-fabric.html

Wake up in the morning and I...

2011-11-14T12:51:00.001+08:00

Every day, I wake up in the morning and I feel like P.Diddy. Only the poorer, less groomed, less black version of him.

After 4+ years of being in the advertising industry, I decided to take a step back and step out of the industry. It's just not me on a long term basis. I still love music a lot though, and I think I'm learning to enjoy it and somehow draw a line between loving music for the heck of it and critiquing music for work, and when to let those lines blur and mingle like they're sluts, I MEAN single.

With no steady income yet, I foresee through my Christmas ornament ball that I'll be slaving my ass off for quite some time looking for freelance jobs, and developing the sewing business idea with my mom further.

I've been working on wedding card designs (the pop up ones you see below, which are still WIP), composing music for a simple video, designing party printables for a little boy's party, recording some vocals and vo samples in our "home studio" (thank GOD for a husband who already has the equipment back from his band days, and btw the setup is nothing fancy just a mic, a preamp, and my computer haha), and the most challenging task was to draft out a design for a skirt for a couple of bridesmaids, based on a few reference pictures. In between all that, the days and nights were filled with working on revisions.

The one thing I find ironic is that I don't have time to cook a decent meal even though I'm working from home. SHEESH.

People think that just because I'm working from home, I'm sipping a cuppa with my pinkie in the air and listening to bossa nova while having a facial done. It's totally true, if you haven't been reading what I wrote above.

Every day starts with a 3-in-1 Nescafe Ipoh White Coffee (love that stuff, pictured above of course), feeding the guppies, doing the laundry, getting on the computer or sewing machine, working til I get hungry, eating a 10-min meal cause I can't waste any time, getting back to work again until I get hungry, possibly having a semi-decent dinner with my husband, getting back to work again, and finally sleeping at 3am.

Now back to the coffee. Coincidentally, I was an extra in the commercial for this coffee that I drink every morning LOL. It was... very hot. As in, the set's lights were very hot. My armpits kept sweating. I really don't want to know what hell is like.

Tutorial: Easy Peasy Cardboard Cubie

2011-11-12T01:00:00.001+08:00

Between my husband and me, we have a lot of cardboard trash. I order sewing books from The Book Depository and Amazon, and he orders car accessories from eBay. We're always happy when our purchases arrive packed nice and good, thanks to the good ol' sturdy cardboard material that's commonly used. If you have a bunch of cardboard boxes waiting to be taken out to the trash, DO NOT THROW THEM!! Captain Planet needs your help!!! Here's an easy peasy to way to recycle cardboard boxes into little cubies to keep things organized at home.

All you need are a pair of scissors, some tape, and your cardboard boxes to begin with.

Yes.... we have a Nerf gun in the house. FUN TIMES!!! :D

One thing I've learnt from my mom in being creative is to work with what you've got. Don't be too confined by instructions or measurements, sometimes you gotta think outside the box (har har).

So by eyeballing how much cardboard you have, trim them so you get 5 boards (1 for the base, and 4 for the sides) that will form a box when you put them together,....

.... like so! :D

You can make the box rectangular, square, or if you're super hardworking you can do an octagon one. Since we're eyeballing the dimensions here in order to make the best out of how much cardboard you have, do not be afraid to "make mistakes". Just line up the pieces together, and trim wherever necessary. Captain Planet never gives up!

Check out what my cardboard says. NP = No Problem!

(Or, Nana's Petunias. Or, Ninja Poo.)

Now to start taping the 4 side pieces to the 1 base piece.

I only had clear tape in the house, but you can use whatever tape you want (except cassette tape coz I hear it doesn't stick too well).

This is what you should have by now, all 4 side pieces taped to the base board.

Fold the side pieces upwards, and tape where the edges meet.

(Seriously, what is UP with clear tape. Takes me ages to find the edge every time -_-")

Tape all the edges until....

... you have this! A-HA! A BOX!!! Out of cardboard that would've been trash!!!

Do a jig.

Make as many as you like in as many different sizes that you like.

You can leave them as they are if you like the whole deconstructed look.

Or wrap them with some pretty paper.

Use ribbons, or lace, or pearls, or fake fur. Heck, just go crazy with it!

Enjoy your cardboard cubies! :o)

WIP: Pop up no.2

2011-11-10T21:54:00.001+08:00

I love it that I can talk to my mom about pop-up books. She even kept a gorilla birthday card that I remember having since I was a kid! So for this mockup, I decided to have a gorilla sit on the chair. hehehehe.

Tutorial: Revive your skanky dead pop filter thingamajig!

2011-11-10T02:51:00.002+08:00

I dusted ye olde mic stand and decided it was time it took a stand (har har) to be used by humans who need to record things with a microphone.

Unfortunately for me, the pop filter was in bad shape. And I mean baaaaaaaaaaad shape.

Look at her.

Skanky.

First step in rehabilitating a skank: Strip the dirt off!

Find some classy tights lying around your house (I used my Burberry ones but you can totally use whatever brand you fancy).

Tie a tight knot on one end so she looks like this. Like, you know, happy.

^_^

Then stretch the classy tights over and tie another tight knot.

Snip ends off like so and you'll end up with a cute little pigtailed girl.

"Hanuuu."

Anddd you're done!

Pop it back into your pop filter like any sane human would do.

Isn't she such a refined woman right now...

Sing on, darling, sing on...

Btw, just kidding about the Burberry tights. I don't own anything Burberry. Everything of mine is Prada, including my toothpicks.

WIP: Pop up

2011-11-09T22:18:00.002+08:00

First test. Really quite excited about this, hope it works out!

$$$

2011-11-08T01:14:00.002+08:00

I kinda freaked out when I saw my ATM slip this afternoon. Granted, I was withdrawing a bigger sum than usual for some electronics that the company will reimburse later on.

STILL. ZOMG.

Need to get busy with work that will actually draw some income in. I think, I can do it.

Here we go!

Summer song

2011-11-06T23:54:00.003+08:00

It's always "summer" here in Malaysia, but lately it's been raining a lot.

I'm not a big fan of the sun, but this song was written while thinking of the roadtrip my husband and I went on to Melaka. Somehow this is what it felt like sitting in the passenger seat on a long journey while the person you love is driving the car... having snacks, getting the sun on your shoulders, laughing, feeling sleepy, keeping each other awake, stretching your legs, singing to songs on the radio.

Hope you'll like it!

Sing another song by chiiiiing

Modging and podging

2011-11-02T21:33:00.003+08:00

Ever since I learned how to make homemade Mod Podge via Pinterest, I've been a teeny bit obsessed with covering things in fabric or patterned paper. I think the little chocolate tins from Hilton Hotels' weddings are my favourite items to cover hehe. They look so tinyyyy and cuteeeee.

The long box came with some cosmetics when I bought it, and I didn't throw it away because I liked the magnet on the cover flap. Kept it in the store room thinking one day I'll do something useful with it!!! (Ugh stupid hoarder)

I also lined the inside with felt. Now hmmm maybe I can keep some of my stray sewing tools in it! *points to self* Not such a stupid hoarder after all, are you? HA HA!

Uhhh.. okay.

Btw, let's be friends on Pinterest! :D

The art of fitting

2011-10-25T12:13:00.002+08:00

Besides collecting a bunch of free patterns on my computer, I have been drafting my own patterns based on my measurements. It's even more clearer to me why the tailor (Ah Loke) who make my husband's wedding suit is so amazing. Getting a garment made to your measurements is not that difficult, but it's the FITTING that takes a lot of work. Our bodies are all built differently by God, and therefore there are differences in the way the same garment can hang differently on each body.

I remember Ah Loke made a muslin/toile for my husband to try on, and he stood back to get a view of how the suit looked on my husband. He mentioned that one of my husband's shoulders is lower than the other, so he will slightly increase the padding to even out both shoulders. PRECISION!

I think I've probably gone thru 2 or 3 muslin fittings to get the fit right for this dress below. And even so, I'm not that 100% happy with it yet, but it will do for now. Being a pear-shaped creature, I feel that single dress blocks with princess seams don't seem to suit me as well as a 2-piece dress block that is divided into a bodice block and a skirt block. Also I couldn't make the dress that fitting because of my tummy pooch hee hee hee hee hee...... (I'm not pregnant btw, it's fats)

ANYHOOT. More on the project here :-)

Never sew when you're tired

2011-10-16T17:21:00.001+08:00

Yes. Lesson learnt for like the 100th time. Why am I so degil? I thought I could easily modify my high-waisted shorts pattern into a low-waisted one and was so confident that it'll work that I didn't make a muslin. And all of that because I was tired BUT still wanted to sew.

Needless to say, it didn't work. After a shower I got into bed and looked up a couple of sites on trouser drafting and of course, things were a bit clearer. Now if only I was thinking with a clearer and less tired brain earlier heheh.....

*slaps self*

Whore House Analogy on Falling in Love

2011-09-29T11:27:00.000+08:00

You walked into a whore house and mamasan presented you this really gorgeous whore. You spent a night with her, and that night was orgasmic. After leaving the whore house, memories of that night kept playing back in your head. You could remember every single detail because of her. You were really in love with her. She was amazing.

A few days later you returned to the whore house and asked for a new whore. Mamasan asked if you would like the previous whore that you so loved, you said no, I want to try something new, yet something that would make me feel the same way before. Mamasan then brought you a new whore.

So you spent a night with this new whore, she was good, but not as great as the previous whore that you had fell in love with earlier. What was wrong, you asked the new whore, why can't you be like the previous whore so that I can fall in love with you too and feel the same way as I did with her?? Would you please wear the robes of the previous whore so you would look more like her when she undress, would you please speak in a higher tone so your voice would sound like hers when she whispered, would you please cut off your locks so your silhouette would mirror hers when she moved??

The moral of the story: If you've heard a song a million times and fell in love with it, of course the song is memorable, of course nothing else would stand up to being as memorable as that track.

p/s: Whore house analogy was something I learnt from my good friend SJ. He has all sorts of whore house analogies for whatever situations you can think of LOL.

Relaxing

2011-09-20T01:26:00.001+08:00

It was relaxing a few weekends back when I was watching Primeval while sorting out my fabric stash. Horrible show, btw. Boarder line cult greatness.

Internet for Adam

2011-09-14T16:31:00.002+08:00

My mom has been teaching speech to hearing impaired children for many years, and she's always told me stories of her students. She also has tuition lessons at home and I gave them basic lessons on using computers to encourage them to have fun with computers. Despite not being able to talk, they were just regular kids, and like any other regular kids, they wanted to have fun, they wanted to tease each other, they wanted to be naughty.

I like this ad because it raises awareness. I don't know how much of it was scripted, but still it's a good message. But I wished the music was less sappy, and more happy. Right now the music sounds like it's trying to ask for pity, which is always the route taken when we talk about people with disabilities. And most of the time, these people do not want pity. They just want to be like a regular person, having fun, teasing each other, and being naughty. :-)

2011-09-06T00:06:00.002+08:00

Little yays

Yesterday, the husband and I bought some containers to store spaghetti and other pasta. We've been looking for the long spaghetti air-tight containers especially. I think I prefer using containers instead of loads of clipped/tied packets of pasta laying in a corner.

Then today, I was with Eileen at Daiso today and saw these stackable containers (right side of pic). It was sturdy and did not have any weird text like "Happy friend I miss you dearly" so I had to get it. Daiso I lup you!!

This corner of the kitchen used to be such a mess! I didn't take a before picture coz it's pretty horrid. Kept making excuses like "We'll organize it better after we renovate the kitchen".

WELL IT'S DONE NOW, SO WHO'S YOUR DADDEHHHHHH?? WHOOOO?? :D

Now... onto the other many many many many many corners in the house..... hahhahahhaaahha

2011-09-05T15:37:00.003+08:00

Tutorial: Stitch in the ditch

Ayu started a group on Facebook for her sewing buddies to share their projects and knowledge with each other to encourage each other to sew more. It's a no-pressure sort of group and I enjoy being a part of it :D

I made a tshirt for my husband a week back and someone asked how was the collar done. I used the stitch in the ditch technique, and here's a simple tutorial explaining how it was done. I think this technique is similar to attaching a bias tape as well.

I'm using cotton pieces for this tutorial, but this technique can also be used for the jersey material that the tshirt used.

The floral piece represents the collar piece, and the solid colour fabric is your shirt piece.
(Note: For tshirts, since you'll be working with stretch fabrics, your collar piece will usually be 2/3 (two thirds) the measurement of your collar hole on your tshirt.)

The colour of the thread should be as matching to your fabric as possible. That way, even if your stitch is not that perfect, it's hokay coz people probably won't see it heheh. I'm using a different coloured thread here so it's easier to see in the pictures.

Please click on the pictures for larger versions. Sorry for the messy pics, and hope it makes sense!

Ah kong

2011-08-29T14:02:00.001+08:00

My ah kong has left to be with the Lord. He was sick for a long time, and the cancer had spread to his bones.

He lived to a ripe age of 91 :)

Earlier this year during Chinese New Year he was still looking healthy. He had short term memory loss, so most of our conversations in limited teochew (on my part) would consist of him asking me the same questions every five minutes:

"Are you working in KL now?"
"Is Jontzen still in Shanghai?"

His long term memory of me is up til around 2005 when I graduated from uni and started work in KL, and that was also when my brother was already working in Shanghai. So to him, I was still the fresh grad who just moved to KL, just rented a room, with new surroundings to adapt to.

I never got tired of answering his questions though. "Yes I am working in KL, this is Sen Kiat my husband, we got married last year.." It was kinda cute yet sad at the same time.

His wife, my grandmother, had passed away many years ago. I always asked my parents if he would remember that she was no longer around, or would he wake up in the mornings startled at the disappearance of his wife from his side.

He got really sick a few months back. From the healthy man I saw during Chinese New Year, he had suddenly become so frail that it hurt to recognize him. Skin to the bones and cheeks sunken in, he was admitted to hospital a few times.

Ah kong. I wished I spoke more teochew. I told you I love you in English and I think you understand that right? Every moment spent with you then onwards was more precious than gold. Feeding you porridge at the hospital, wiping your eyes, putting on your socks for you, massaging your ankles and shoulders... Will it ever be enough to show you that I love you dearly?

I didn't cry that much when I found out that he had left. I guess we all saw it coming and it was just a matter of time. But as I write this my tears are rolling down.

Ah kong. I wished I was there to send you off to the Lord. Still, it would never compare to the welcome of the angels above.

Love you, ah kong :)

Priorities

2011-08-29T13:34:00.000+08:00

Looking at the way my Monday to-do list was written, clearly I've got my priorities lined up right from the get go. I had written all the non-important but fun stuff at the top of the list and the really important one right at the end. Upon realizing that I had to furiously mark in red to draw my attention to the most important item.

I suppose linear thinking is not my thing haha :)

2011-08-25T00:47:00.001+08:00

Dear Malaysians

Let's forget about being good Malaysians for a while, and just try to focus on being good people, on trying to have a good heart, and on trying to do the right thing.

That's how Malaysia is going to be a better country in the future.

You may be a school teacher, a stay at home mom, a student, a janitor, a politician, a rockstar-- it doesn't matter. Let's just start with this small seed in our heart. You want a better Malaysia, right?

p/s: I'm so, so, so, SO proud of my husband because he came up with this idea and together with the awesome team of creatives (in the agency, the client, and the production side), they came up with this viral video. You will see him in the video, holding a sign about apologizing for not returning a stranger's wallet he found in a taxi-- that incident happened to him when he was 14 years old. So yes, true story! :-p

2011-08-23T15:35:00.006+08:00

Tutorial: Recording your own vocals on GarageBand with the built-in mic

I wrote this for Jodi because she wanted to record her own vocals on GarageBand. She's a really awesome singer and I always love her performances! She is gonna be a megastar one day :D

This tutorial is a very simple one, using the built-in microphone on your Macbook. If you have a USB mic, it would be better, but the point of this tutorial is to show you that you can achieve pretty decent quality with the built-in mic by taking control of a few settings. Here is one song that I recorded with the built-in mic:

KSD by chiiiiing

On to the tute......... take it away, tute!

Setting up your recording area

Try to record in a small room so that there’s not so much echo
(Note: Apparently one of Kelly Clarkson’s songs, “Irvine”, that was on her album was recorded by herself with her macbook in her closet. The vocals were so emotionally charged that the producers decided to use it instead of trying to replicate it at the studio.)
Thick curtains and carpets are good because they help dampen some high frequency waves and also reduce echoes. (If you record in a bathroom, there will be a lot of echoes because the sound waves will be bouncing crazily against the bathroom tiles :D)
You can also try covering yourself and your laptop with a thick blanket/quilt but it might be a bit hot hehe
Turn off any electronics that might be adding noise to your environment (ie ceiling fans, CPU fans, mobile phone vibrating, etc)
Close any windows to reduce sounds of car honking noises, cats fighting, etc
Adjust your distance from the laptop microphone, ie if your song requires you to throw your voice loudly, place yourself further away from the mic. If your song requires a more personal and intimate delivery of the vocals, go nearer to the mic so that it’ll pick up the emotional nuances in your voice.
(Note: The built-in mic on the macbook is usually located behind the keyboard, under the left speaker grille)
Stand up if you feel it works better for your vocals; you can also sit down. Whatever works best for you :D

Setting up your macbook’s System Preferences

Click on the Apple icon on the top left of your computer
System Preferences > Sound > Input
See image below:

Setting up your garageband’s Sound Settings to record vocals

See image below:
You may then proceed to record your vocals

Enhancing your vocal recording on garageband

After recording your vocals, you can add filters to enhance the quality.
See image below:

That's about it for now. If this tute helped you, let me know. Have fun!!

Manual prints

2011-08-16T23:36:00.001+08:00

Experimenting with printing patterns on fabric tonight! Let's see how lasting this paint is.... :p

2011-07-20T00:50:00.000+08:00

Well, what?

I feel like I'm kinda equipped for something, but I don't know what that is yet.

2011-07-06T00:56:00.002+08:00

Smartypants

While we were in Bangkok, the husband bought me this book because I was reading the summary on the back cover and burst out laughing at the reviews (one of them said "Totally worth it." --TREES). I also really love Liz Lemon btw.

With every book he gives me, I always insist he write a note in there, so I'll have an aid to remember the occasion or reason for the gift. I'm a sucker for books with messages.

So after paying for it he borrowed a pen from the cashier and wrote this:

Yes. I married a smartypants.

2011-07-05T23:51:00.002+08:00

Better choices

Ever since I found out that I had cysts, I've been trying to be more conscious of trying to make better choices when it comes to the quality of life.

Sure, everyone makes their resolutions at the beginning of the year. Me, I'm a rebel you see, always living life on the edge, making resolutions in JULY. :o)

I'm trying to eat healthier. Less of eating outside food. Less of deep fried food fried in reused oil. Less MSG. Less processed meat. Less starchy carbs. Less sugar. When we cook at home, we try to keep it simple too, and I do like simple food where you can taste the ingredients. We never use MSG at home because we never found the need to.

I'm trying to not drink too much of coffee either. I started with 1 cup a day and last year I was getting used to 2 cups a day.. and I've now cut it back to 1 cup a day again. I do get sleepy after lunch but I have to consciously force myself to reach for green tea instead.

For the past 2 days, I've been taking a small breakfast in the morning (cereal and milk, my favourite!), followed by a juice of green apple, Sabah snake grass and lemon. My parents got the Sabah snake grass for me last week after I told them about the cysts. I know, what a weird name for a plant heheh. I'm supposed to take it every morning after breakfast.

I'm also trying to be a better person. Spend time with the people that matter. Be generous with encouragement. Trying not to fight over stupid things.

My grandpa is in the hospital now and I try to make it a point to see him on weekends just to try and feed him a meal or massage his legs or shoulders or something... anything! He has short term memory loss, but it seems that over the past few weeks while he was in the hospital, he seems to remember more than the usual. Apparently it's because he's now constantly being in the company of a lot of his family members, so it helps trigger and motivate his memory to work harder than usual (this is something Chak told me yesterday).

I'm trying to make better choices for leading this life of mine somewhere.

It's no mind-blowing manifesto.

2011-07-05T23:08:00.002+08:00

First look at my first shorts

I finally finished my first pair of shorts on Sunday!

Unfortunately it was dark by then, and weekdays it's always dark when I get off work, so I haven't gotten the chance to take any nice photos of it.

Here's a dodgy first look: sits at the natural waist, two mid-sized pockets, slim waistband, and fitted without elastic gathers. As previously mentioned, it took me 2 rounds of muslin tests to get the fit right. I still think it can be improved, but at the same time I'm also glad it wasn't a disaster.

And it really turns out that sewing shorts isn't that difficult after all! I'm looking forward to sewing more.

Right now, I'd like to get started on drafting a bodice block on the computer.. If only I could sew day and night!

2011-07-03T14:26:00.003+08:00

Dup dup... dup dup...

After skimming through Winifred Aldrich's patternmaking book, I decided it was time I start drafting them for real. I had always wanted to make shorts, but there were barely any shorts pattern available online for download (most of them were elastic shorts anyway, which were ok, but I guess I am looking for a zippered one).

Buying a good pair of shorts has always been a problem for me because my ass doesn't seem to want to fit in nicely into any shorts without looking weird (and bordering on camel toe offense). I suppose it's because of my child-bearing hips hehe.

Anyway.

So I tried drafting my own shorts using the book's instruction on developing a basic trouser block. Instead of using mahjong paper, pencil, the French curve and the other long tailor ruler I have, I thought hmm why not try using a program like Illustrator instead?

Unfortunately drafting a pattern on the computer doesnt necessarily make the whole process easier like you're using a patternmaking software where you'd input the measurements and wallllllla! Basically it's just manually drafting the pattern according to instructions but doing it on the computer with some aid from computer brains.

What it does make easier (to me at least) is:
1. Able to construct lines in exact measurement required (just click to create a line, specify how many cm you want it to be, and at what angle)
2. Able to draw and adjust curves without a French curve (or a round saucer)
3. Able to make adjustments on the same pattern after muslin test, erase old lines and reprint it as a clean new pattern
4. Able to keep backups of each version of the pattern, ie I have a basic shorts block saved with different dates denoting alterations, in case I want to rollback to a previous version.

After doing 2 muslin tests (which, embarrassingly, is the first instance I'm doing a muslin test despite sewing for a long time because I've always been too lazy), I've gotten the fit I want, and am sewing the actual shorts now.

Now, fingers crossed.................

2011-06-04T14:26:00.003+08:00

Back to school

Let's see.

I hated studying. I hated memorizing. I hated maths. I hated textbooks. After high school, despite scoring A's for maths and add maths (not really sure how THAT happened), I swore off at maths and was certain I'd never have to use it again. I mean, come on, do I really think I'd want to be an accountant?? Pffft.

Now let's look at what I'm doing now on a Saturday afternoon.

I'm reading a textbook.
On pattern drafting.
Which requires maths and accurate measurements.
I've been using rulers--huge ones, small ones, curved ones.
I've been whipping out my calculator.
It took me weeks to decide if I wanted to go with the Imperial measurement system or the Metric system.
After deciding on Imperial, at the very last minute I went back to the good ol metric system I learnt in school.
I'm bookmarking the pages with colorful marklets I "splurged" on at Jaseema's.
I'm having coffee and im focused (I hope).

Ok, you sonnuvagun named Sewing. You've got me.

I'll do whatever it takes to win you over.

2011-05-24T00:23:00.000+08:00

Awkward.

Omar: Hey... Ching... is it true...?
Me: .........that I have a third nipple?
Omar: What!?
Me: Wahahhahahaha!
Omar: ... coz I'll be jumping for joy!
Me: hahah--...ew, WHAT?!

2011-05-15T18:15:00.003+08:00

Work in Progress: In the Midnight I saw Blue

Saw this vintage dress a few weeks back and couldn't resist it because I've always wanted a blue polkadots dress! It was rather long and baggy with a full circle skirt that reached to the ankles (I'm not a maxi kinda lady), so I shaved off the length of the skirt (which took me forever to hem since I've never hemmed a circle skirt before). I also adjusted the bodice slightly (didn't want to adjust it too much because I liked how the bodice was slightly baggy without any major shaping darts), added an elastic to the waist to give it a bit more shape, and also replaced the buttons with gold textured ones from my stash. The material is slightly sheer as it's probably chiffon, and I guess with chiffon you just need to cinch it at certain parts to accentuate the shape, otherwise it flows really nicely.

I was lazy to wash it before working on it so now I got to wash it hahahaha... :p

2011-05-09T01:25:00.002+08:00

Her Treasure

The husband and I live alone in his family home, a place that is filled with quite a number of treasures left behind by his late mother when she passed away when he was a teenager. It was a sudden passing, something I imagine would be really difficult to live with. Because of that, the house still has furniture, dining ware, and decorative items that were handpicked by her.

These items all form a little window that allows me to sort of "get to know her". I know she has a soft spot for ducks, she's good at sewing, she's a bit of an English Rose and she loved cooking. Kinda think she and my mom would've got along well together :)
I found a beautiful deer ornament (very solid, fell in love with it at first glance), and also six brand new spice jars (the latter at the perfect timing when the husband and I started buying spices to make curry pastes).

I always wonder whether she would like me if she were still alive and we got to meet...

2011-04-19T02:00:00.000+08:00

The husband's diorama

HEART!

He made a diorama for his 1:18 cars and mechanic station tools, and I totally love it! It was so fun going to Jasima to get the corrugated plastic boards, car brand stickers, and at the same time I also got some sewing supplies there heheh.

I made a simple large checkered floor on Illustrator and we printed it out on glossy sticker paper. He designed his own workshop logo and put the whole thing together. Even though the diorama isn't dramatically complicated with caves and moss and smoke machines, I am so proud that he finished the project :D Told him that next time he can help our son build his.

Here are some pictures taken with Sen Hon's camera (thank you for letting us use it!!). I love shallow DOF-- guess I'm just shallow like that. HAH!

2011-03-26T00:07:00.002+08:00

Meatballz

We both finished work at around 8-ish today, I popped by Presto to pick up some groceries and we made meatball Tagliatalle. The meatballs were huge and smelled amazing even before they were cooked hahaha... A real yummy recipe by Jamie Oliver (the only thing we changed was to add one yellow onion into it).
This recipe would probably make a great burger patty too. Mmmm. When I told the husband "Hmm, must learn how to make the Ikea meatballs too", he looked at me like I was loco and said "What??! This is WAY better than the Ikea meatballs lar!"
Awwww. Monkey.

2011-03-24T13:02:00.003+08:00

Whitest King Alive

Spotted Adrian high up on the VIP balcony area at The Whitest Boy Alive's gig and the next morning I finally got to ask him the burning question that bugged me all night.

2011-03-17T23:33:00.002+08:00

You can be sweet, sweet, sweet

Last week my bff Jean had her pre-wedding photoshoot, and Lobak was the photographer! So excited because he's also shooting them on film... can't wait to see the photos :D I took some shots for fun on my iphone... trying to learn how to do video composition and editing. Originally I had a cute song by My Little Airport on it, but then upon consultation with Jo and Lobak separately, it turned out that song was about teenage heartbreak (Lobak said it was very badly written too hahahah), so erm, not suitable. So I ended up writing a song for the video.

Jean and Tung are like a TVB couple, and I find them cute in an unexpected way (they never show affection in public). I absolutely love them hehehehhehee :D

2011-03-06T23:50:00.002+08:00

Tutorial: Big floppy hairband

While watching reruns today, I made this big floppy bow hairband. It's huge, floppy, and er, kinda huge. And it cost me about a hairband I had lying around, some jersey scrap, and some time.

Super easy and you can make shitloads. You can make them in any size, any colour, and for anyone. Perhaps Jiggles might like one..... hehehehe.

Pin it

2011-03-05T23:12:00.001+08:00

I got this little leopard at Koh Samui, and the pretty bow brooch from eBay. It belonged to someone's grandma's massive collection.

2011-03-05T22:06:00.001+08:00

Made these elastic belts while watching Criminal Minds. It's a good Saturday :)

Auditors

2011-03-04T12:25:00.001+08:00

Audi walks into the office...

Audi: I forgot to zip this morning. (turns around and sees a stranger sitting at the desk doing work) Oh hello! Are you an auditor?

Auditor: (nods and goes back to work)

Audi: Ah... Well, the first four alphabets in the word "auditor" is my name, like A-U-D-I...

Auditor: (still hard at work, no response)

Audi: Hee. Hee. Hee? ........................ok obviously not the right crowd for this.

Like a G6... well, almost.

2011-03-03T14:28:00.001+08:00

Jhen: Who was that guy?
Me: Fariz.
Jhen: Fariz Movement??
Me: -___-"

2011-03-02T23:12:00.002+08:00

The Amcorp vintage lady has a permanent shop now, and i couldn't be happier. She's located near Popular. Love her vintage stock and the prices are way fab. I rarely shop online these days.

The belt is one of my favourite finds at an old tailor shop. I love this blue cardi. More on this next time :)

Wednesday

2011-03-02T23:05:00.001+08:00

Wednesday. Kinda PMS-ey, kinda dead-ey. Cooked halibut for the first time. And portobello too! The husband bought white wine, and we toasted. He asked me why I asked for white wine out of the blue, and I said "Happy mooniversary," and his eyes went @_@ and he tried to hide it by morphing it into a delightful face and said "Happy moonivesary babyyyyyyy" HAHAHAHAAHA. I don't even know if that word exists but at the beginning of every month we "celebrate" it whenever we can, whether it's a movie night in or movie night out or dinner or even doing nothing. I thought it was lame when we first started going out (especially those first few months when you don't know if the relationship is even gonna last hahaha) but I think it's kinda sweet now :")

2011-02-09T13:58:00.000+08:00

Thanonchai

Thanonchai directed this ad. It gave me goosebumps, and makes me want to live and chase my dreams.

I found an old interview he did with Agency.Asia, and absolutely loved how honest and humble he was. Here's my favourite excerpt from the interview that made me laughed out loud:

"I'd like to say that advertising is like a "shit". If we produce the advertisement that can do just advertising, it's like you put the shit on the concrete floor. But if we create the advertisement that can make highly sale for clients and can also change the way people think to be a positive way. Advertisement becomes an inspiration to the audience to do better thing in their lives. Then, that advertisement is like a shit that you put it on a grass field and it becomes a fertilizer and make the world even better. Advertising will not be just an advertisement."

Thank you, Thanonchai :-)

2011-02-07T02:18:00.000+08:00

The French did it again

YUHUUUUUU! I've been sewing again and boy does it feel good. I'm so tempted to just be a hermit and stay at home and sew all day and all night long.

Made this dress of little florals-- the fabric was purchased sometime last year, washed and was kept in my fabric corner, waiting for the right project to come along. I call this dress The Missus because this CNY I had to hand out angpows instead of receiving them, boohoohoo.. I suppose I might as well wear a dress worthy of handing out angpows like a married woman then. Hehehh.

Today we went out to the shops to look for a French curve ruler. I had no idea this ruler was useful in sewing until I read about it on Burdastyle. I want to draft my own basic slopers coz I'm kinda tired of taking in sides just to fit my tiny bust. SHEESH!

2011-01-27T02:45:00.000+08:00

My best friend

He's everything to me and I want to become a better person for us.

Here are our pre-wedding photos. I hate the term pre-wedding because it sounds so 'mainstream' but I guess that's what it is hahaha. I made my own proper dress for the first time (more on that later), the fascinator, his tie, the headband, and even learnt how to tie a bun properly for the first time. *pats meself on the back ngohohoho*

I love looking at other people's wedding photos... it stirs up a warm feeling in me, a reminder that I, too, lucked out because I got to marry this dude whom I would find it extremely hard to live without.

Thank you, God. I don't deserve this, but, thank you very very much :-)

Photography by none other than Lobak & Vincent :-)

2010-12-12T15:14:00.002+08:00

DIY Rope bracelet

Bought some rope from the sewing supplies shop last week and made this rope bracelet. Twisted the ropes around I was happy with the shape, hand-sewn the bits that overlapped so that the shape would stay, and studded it with gunmetal studs. The end has a giant lobster clasp (leftovers from my previous handmade accessories venture). Rewarded myself with some chocolate after that. Easy peasy! :D

2010-12-04T01:50:00.008+08:00

Scamper away!

I've been whining about wanting to sew a hat with ears for a week or so now, and I finally did it, thanks to jessyratfink's awesome tutorial! Oh I so love the Interwebz!

I didn't do puffy ears like the tut, but did softy ears instead. And instead of white, it's in PINKKKKKKK! (okay I happened to HAVE this piece of pink flannel lying around you see....)

My husband looked so amused and bewildered when he saw me sewing the hat, and he kept asking who am I sewing it for, to which I said myself and he kept thinking I was joking.

Anyway, it was past midnight, and I was walking around the house wearing the hat and I think I accidentally gave someone a fright. LOL.

I love this pattern. It makes me feel like I'm some lord of the flies.

"BOW TO MEEEE!"

"Yes, sire!"

p/s: Why oh why can't I change the font size of me title. This is so annoying.

2010-12-02T01:20:00.005+08:00

Oue Wehdeng: Part 1

Ok I have no idea why I spelled what was supposedly supposed to be "Our Wedding" like that. Maybe it's the unholey hour. Things just has to be spelled wonkily like Wonka gone wong.

So.... gosh. I really did marry this sakai huh?? :P

Well.. I don't know what I'd do without him. I'd probably just be a lost goat.

People who don't know him well usually think he's serious and solemn. He really cracks me up though. And when I crack him up, he laughs like a mad kid. And when I hear that laugh, it always feels like I unknowingly won a lottery.

Look at us appreciating art. We're so intellectual, aren't we? Hehehheehee

2010-12-01T08:39:00.001+08:00

I am happy when I am a sewing tenggiling

New projects uploaded to Burdastyle. Want to start on the Loretti or Simplicity patterns next!

2010-10-11T03:00:00.004+08:00

Organizing is so fun when ~~you~~ I have PMS, hurrah!

My closest friends and my husband know that whenever I start fussing about getting things cleaned and arranging things so they look organized, I'm PMSing. So it's no surprise that the beast reared its head again tonight.

The head was screaming "The room is a mess! We need a shelf thingy!"

So I walked up to my husband and said "We need a shelf thingy."

We got the shelf thingy (and also some basket thingy and an acrylic box thingy-- told you this was a beast we're dealing with), and after a few hours I suddenly had a sewing corner where my machine could sit comfortably (instead of always sitting awkwardly on the dresser) and all my sewing supplies were within reach, tucked nicely in basket thingies and box thingies.

And the beast's verdict?

"Two thumbs up, hooman!"

Phew.

Also, the wedding was so fun and tiring, I really wanna sit down and properly blog about it to do all the people who helped us out justice. It was an amazing party fer shizzle :-)

2010-09-02T22:15:00.002+08:00

The Lazy Person's Guide To:
Chili ~~Pan Mee~~ Maggi Mee

If you have the time, checkout this chili pan mee recipe that was made from scratch. It looks pretty awesome and I hope to try it someday.

But if you don't have the time, here's a simple shortcut to having some spice in your life when you're craving for chili pan mee inspired meal at home: Just use whatever noodles you have, vegetables and egg, and most importantly, buy ready-to-serve crispy prawn chilli.

Taaaa-dah!

This is supercheating and people might call you unorthodox but you should just go dudududulalallaalalacanthearyouuu

2010-08-22T18:10:00.002+08:00

It's coming!

We've less than 2 months to go til our wedding thingamajig, so yeah we're scrambling to get stuff done. When it comes to invitations, clothing, accessories etc my husband always gives me a @_@ face whenever I tell him, "We'll make that ourselves!" I think I'm kinda stressing him out :P

One of the things we did recently was to get our engagement photos printed by Photobook Malaysia. Our photos were taken ages ago by our friend Lobak, and we really love them to bits. They were shot on film, which I think made my father in law nervous about whether the photos would turn out "professional" or not, but after he saw the photobook today, he was really impressed and said "Wah your friend very good at taking photos ah!". PHEW...

There's a bit of us in every photo setup-- Jiggles because Senkiat used her to get me, notebooks of doodles that we drew for each other, our hobbies, our favourite place to eat at, and we wanted a shot with the helmets because that's what we had to wear when he took me to track day at Sepang.

We're halfway through getting our invitations done. Yay! Now I gotta get me a shower coz me is stink.

p/s Photobook is having a 40% promotion all month this August 2010.

2010-08-16T19:43:00.003+08:00

Hallo, is it me you're looking for ah?

Every time I call my husband on the phone while he's at work or in front of his friends, he answers with a flat, monotonous, macho voice tone. It's kinda annoying but kinda funny too (hope he doesn't read this and starts making it a habit).

*pinches nose and speaks on the phone*
"HELLO Can I speak to Mr Wong Sen Kiahahahhaa.. (cannot tahan)"

"Yesss?"

"What you doing?"

"I'm at work la."

"Working late ah?"

"No la, leaving soon already."

"GREAT! We go dinner together?"

"Ok sure."

"WOI why your voice so macho wan?? Can you please be a bit mushy?"

"Can't la, got people in front of me here."

"Fine, bye."

"Hehehh."

-_____-

2010-07-30T01:28:00.005+08:00

Coco & Stravinsky sitting on a tree......!?!?!

Dayumm. I never know Coco Chanel and Stravinsky had a thing together. Thanks to Suzie Bubble (and thanks to the great fashion guru Evevon who recommended that blog), now I know. I've watched both the Coco movies (thanks to Jess-- hmm this is starting to sound like an award acceptance speech), and yes I would want to watch Coco & Igor too.

I had to study composers like Igor Stravinsky when I was doing music theory (I really hated it-- I kinda hate studying in general heh heh). There were four main periods of music; Baroque, Classical, Romantic and 20th Century.

Basically Baroque pieces make your left hand and right hand work out really crazily on the piano, kinda like making both hands run a race to see who can go fastest and has the highest stamina. It was insane.

Classical pieces are a bit easier, where your left hand is mostly playing accompaniment and not fighting with your right hand to be the g-kwok. Maybe people learned to relax a bit more then.

Romantic pieces are... hou romance loh. HAHA. They'd have a lot of emotive chords and make you feel a lot of warm emotions and also make you feel like you want to do lyrical dance in So You Think You Can Dance. Hmm.

20th Century pieces are a nightmare to play (for me). Not only do the composers come up with their own unknown chords that make you go o_O, their piano notations are written for people with 13 fingers instead of 10. Pure torture. And they'll change tempo and keys every 2 seconds just for fun. Stravinsky was one of them.

But now when I listen back to those pieces especially from the 20th Century era, I appreciate them so much more for their avant garde psychotrocity. Those composers were doing what artists like The Knife is doing today-- making music a form of art and sometimes, telling a story and taking you on a journey without even saying a word.

Here's one of Stravinsky's famous pieces. It's MAD.

I would like to study music again one day (by studying I mean reading Wiki hahahha). Learn all those songs I learned before in theory classes last time and understand them again.

Anyhoots, here's the trailer of Coco & Igor. Kinda NSFW.

2010-07-30T01:10:00.001+08:00

I miss sewing.

Darnit darnit darnit :-(

2010-07-25T21:04:00.003+08:00

This year in music: Fembots!

Everyone's paying some kinda sci-fi homage in their music. I love Janelle Monae's and Kelis' albums. Unfortunately I can't say the same for Christina Aguilera's robotic mishap :-S

2010-07-21T23:12:00.001+08:00

I'm gonna kidnap you with the help of my family...

... you just wait and see, you'll belong to me me me me me meeeee

2010-07-15T16:08:00.003+08:00

Beeyotchmode

Sometimes people are talking but all I hear is bla bla blaaaaa

I just want to stud the whole world and then get octagon and subway tiles and have the happiest bathroom in the land.

In other news.... I love my brothers and sisters at work. We're one noisy idiotic bunch of bradies.

2010-07-14T11:35:00.004+08:00

Wedding schmeddings

To be honest? I'm not big on weddings with cultural customs-- the big extravagant lavish Chinese wedding where they play The Final Countdown when the waiters serve the first dish, and the bride doing 3 wardrobe changes during the dinner (this is a bummer because I doubt the bride gets to eat much of the food and in my book this isn't really fun).

If we could elope, we would. I always joke when people ask where will our wedding dinner will be held, saying that we're eloping to Vegas and getting married in a fake Elvis church. Only that I'm serious :P OKAAAYYY, half serious.

I'm not a fan of big extravagant poofy expensive wedding dresses where the bride has to make extra effort to walk one step and how much $$$ they cost, because I just want a dress that I can shimmy comfortably in and be able to do the robot dance without causing an unnecessary tear that reveals your rear (in granny underwear).

And, I'm not going to learn any proper ballroom dances just so that my husband and me can WOW the crowd by dancing the "first dance" (as if we never danced together before). We're just going to to do the robot dance, if anything.

And if my hair pins fall out and my mane looks crazy like a mad chewbacca in heat, then all the better for the pictures! You only get married to your beloved once, so let your hair down, have fun, and make monkey faces. One day you'll get so saggy nobody will notice you're making a monkey face even when you're making one.

Picture via Snippet & Ink

2010-07-05T19:16:00.000+08:00

Make it golden

Some nuttery happened with the gold spray a few weeks back. It was 1AM and I had a calling to finally do it! I have been looking all over for a pair of high tops to spray gold since last year. I searched in Bata and was told their largest size did not fit me because their high tops were made for guys (ptui!), in Kamdar's school shoes section too (no hep), and in Converse (ok got size but so expensive kns).

Then suddenly for my birthday my husband bought these Converse shoes for me to play with. My first reaction was "Acckkk why you go and spend so much money!?!?!?!" and I was so afraid to do anything to them because they were pretty expensive (probably the most expensive pair of shoes I've ever had)...

-_____-"

Long story short (too late for that, hah!), I finally did it. I also replaced the laces with bright cyan ones, coz you know, the gold ain't attention-grabbin' enuff, numsayin?

Now where's my rap soundtrack in the background...

2010-06-25T12:12:00.000+08:00

Escape room

I hope one of the rooms in our home will be a hobby room where we can do all the creative things that we like-- RC cars, a mini home studio, sewing, etc.

A home studio like Pomplamoose's would be awesome. Fill the place up with all sorts of instruments. But then again we might need a whole room for this. Hmmmmm...

2010-06-24T13:48:00.000+08:00

A star is a star and you'll shine regardless

Exile you are my hero.

2010-06-22T01:09:00.003+08:00

Saved by the seam ripper

After a disastrous start with the famous Coffee Date Dress, I was hesitant to try another Burdastyle pattern. I say disastrous because everyone else seemed to be breezing through the pattern, but mine never came to life and it was chucked aside eventually. Hrmph.

I was staring at the lowest rack in my wardrobe where I keep my finds from weekend thriftings, and dug out a vintage frumpy dress-- it had a classic pussybow, long puffy sleeves, droopy elastic waist, was probably several sizes too large, and the skirt was reaching to my ankles. Yes so I'm short, kill me.

BUT the saving grace of the dress was the print. Oooh I have no idea whether they were birds or trees or birds on trees or some marijuana leaf but the print was fun! So heck, I decided to try another Burdastyle pattern-- ripped the dress apart and cut out the sections according to the new pattern. After many mistakes and ripping out seams with the seam ripper and sewing again and again, I finally finished a dress using Miasu's Contour Bust pattern. Yay!

After finishing the dress, I spray painted my sneakers gold. I know it's not really logical but it was some kinda mad chain reaction.

2010-05-27T02:13:00.000+08:00

A wise man once said...

"Contrary to what most people think, your wedding day is not the most important day of your life. It's what comes after the wedding day that matters the most."

Amen, you wise, farty man you. (Yes you Audi)

2010-05-16T22:49:00.000+08:00

Project runaway

Finally got some time to spend with the sewing machine! :-D It's kinda therapeutic for me, watching the needle go through the fabric and joining pieces of cloth together. I just oiled the machine a week or 2 back, and it's sooo smooth now, wooot!

Here's a simple tube dress (gah, with that darned belt again! ~_~"), made from a thrifted skirt from Amcorp's Weekend Flea Market. It has a wide 2.5 cm elastic at the top (safer for boobage security I suppose), and a thinner 0.5cm elastic in the middle for the waist to help hold its shape.

I promise myself I'll make some new belts after this post. Grrr.

And here's a skirt, which is a slightly modified version of anywho's tutorial :-) The jersey fabric was from Kamdar SS2 (again), at RM2.50 per meter. It's not the greatest jersey (in fact I bought it thinking I'd use it for craft/fun/experiments), but it serves well :-)

I've been watching Project Runway Season 5, but Jess was right-- it wasn't as interesting as 4 or 6. Most of the time the garments made you think "Oh yea that's kinda nice I guess, but in a whatever way..." Season 4's Christian's designs would make you go "WOW, SHIEETTTT". and of course Season 1's amazing Austin still blows my mind with his immaculate tailoring. Season 4's Rami's draping is of course, CRAZY #$*&^#*&@^ amazing. Season 6's Carol Hannah is still my favourite and I am *still* rooting for her haha.

Dayumm, I must really like this show.

2010-04-22T01:10:00.000+08:00

I am so, so tireddddddddddd.

zzzz... Lord please help us get through this week... zzzzzzZZzzzZZzzzzzz

2010-04-08T01:01:00.000+08:00

Oh mai.

I think my dear friend Picibel might like this. All you need is a hammer and some metal scraps!

2010-04-04T23:02:00.001+08:00

Bilbobibs

Our dear friend Emelyn just had her 3rd baby, so I told the husband "Let's make her some bibs!!!"

Here he is, slaving away tracing the pattern. Hard at work ayeee. Heheheh. Spycam picture by my brother-in-law.

I modified the pattern from an existing bib pattern, and now I'm kinda wondering if the neck hole is a bit small. The husband said "Don't worry, babies have small heads anyway." -_-

The bib is reversible, so it can be used both ways.

This fabric was picked out by the husband btw. I was kinda dubious about it at first, but I think it goes great with the yellow that I picked out heeheheheh ;-)

2010-04-04T22:50:00.000+08:00

Never Never Land

Here are some pictures of the slightly-wonky-but-it's-ok Peter Pan collar long top thingy. I KNOW, I wear that belt so much right? I need to make more of these slim elastic belts since I like wearing this one so much -_-"

Here's a close-up of the fabric, it's a stretch lace fabric from Kamdar SS2 (again haha), it was from the clearance bin. I love it, it's really pretty against the light. Btw, Kamdar SS2's having a sale right now woohoo!

I had to take in the sides of the top a few times, because I had followed a pattern for the collar and sleeves that, unbeknownst to me, was a wee bit big for me ehehehehe. (Idiot).

Anyhoo, it can also be worn with skirts! Excuse the un-ironed skirt HAHA. The skirt was thrifted from Amcorp Mall's flea market at about RM5 or so. It's cream coloured, full-circled, and has pretty eyelet details all over it. And... pockets!!! WHEEEEE. It was originally really long, so I just chopped off a few inches from it.

2010-04-02T12:36:00.001+08:00

This rocks even harder than the OK Go video

2010-04-02T12:34:00.000+08:00

Almost done!

Am finally almost done with the Peter Pan collar experiment! All it needs is some ironing and some sunlight to take a decent picture I guess.

This tutorial was a great help in understanding the construction of a Peter Pan collar to fit a garment, and yes it does kinda make you want to put Peter Pan collars on every darn thing. Hehe.

2010-03-29T19:54:00.000+08:00

Erm. Why do people still think Macs don't have right clicks??

On another sorta related note, this song made us laugh hard today. Naiiise.

2010-03-18T15:44:00.000+08:00

Sonic accidents

Old article, but still an interesting read on the production for M.I.A's Kala album. Sometimes we get so caught up in glossy, perfect audio production that we forget accidents may be the best thing that ever happened!

"Taylor stayed especially alert for sonic accidents ..... we got interesting results, even finding accidental loops when someone dropped their drumstick. It’s having an open mind”."

2010-03-15T22:18:00.000+08:00

Why it's good to have a brother-in-law in the house

SH: "What are you doing"

Me: "Going to dye this cloth green. Do you think this fabric weighs 250g? The dye is for 250g of fabric."

"Let me see." (takes cloth and weighs on his palm while he thinks deeply)

"How heavy is it?"

"It's only like, 50 grams. You need another 200."

"Shiet. Hmm."

"..."

"Do YOU wanna dye one of your tshirts??? Nyeh nyeh nye-- "

"OK let me go check my cupboard."

"@_@... WOOT!"

2010-03-15T00:43:00.000+08:00

The sewing tenggiling

Thanks to more inspiration from other awesome sewing bloggers, here are a couple of projects I've been working on lately...

The outfit below is a bit 'formal' for me to wear to work, so I'd probably pair the jersey top with something more casual next time, like, a coconut husk skirt or something. The cream jersey top was a pain to make (but I swore on my thighs I'd finish it!!! Just not sure why I swore on my thighs...), but as with me and stretchy material, it's a good learning experience.

I bought the gold zipper from a sewing shop at Pasar Besar Seremban (the only place you can find the most awesome Seremban beef noodles!! droooool~~~), and when the aunty said it was RM1.20, I was like "HUH? SO CHEAP?" because my kiamsiap mind was racing like a hantu gila babi getting excited about making my own exposed zipper skirt/top/something. The black material is from Kamdar SS2, and was around 6 or 8 bucks for half a metre, which I used every bit of it. I like this fabric because it doesn't crease as easily as cotton when you sit down.

Still not very good with handling jersey, guess I should really do some research on it one day hehe. Felt the neckline was a bit plain, so added these stringy jersey strips on it. The nice thing about jersey is that they roll themselves up on the edges :-)

This evening, the husband was watching the first F1 race of the season. Hamilton fired his dad! Hmmm.. Anyway, totally unrelated to the race, but I decided to make a long wallet/purse thingy to replace my current one, which the husband got for me a year plus back. I still love the one he got me, but it's getting a bit 'chan' and I don't want to put it through anymore wear and tear :-(

So I sewed furiously like a tenggiling on a roll and came up with this:

I fell in LOVE with this material at Sham Shui Po, coz it reminds me of that BAPE! It's a pretty thick material, so I was worried that I might break my #13 needles, but luckily none died in the line of duty. I browsed a couple of tutorials online, but in the end just made up the pattern as I went along.. as usual, too lazy to follow people's measurements! -_-" Oh and this hearts fabric was only RM9 per yard! GOODNESS GRACIOUS! I think it was at that moment that I fell in love with Sham Shui Po.

The black and white material on the inside was also from Sham Shui Po. A tip for going fabric shopping in Sham Shui Po is to look out for a box outside every fabric shop-- they usually throw scraps into a box and sell it for real cheap. And by scraps I mean at least half a yard, or maybe just a little bit less than a yard! So this black and white fabric was purchased with 2 other designs, I think it probably came up to a total of 1.5 yards (at the very least), and it was only RM5.

RM5!!!! @_@

Here's all the jambalaya that goes into it! There's a polaroid in there of the husband and Jiggles :-)

2010-03-12T18:36:00.001+08:00

True, True.

This vampire dude really looks like someone I've met before. I'm not naming names, but you know who it is right?? :P

2010-03-09T18:20:00.000+08:00

Busybodi

WAH! So busy yesterday and today. But I don't feel like stabbing anyone yet.

So it's alllll guuuuuud.

In da huuuuuuud.

2010-03-08T15:09:00.000+08:00

Mesti client tulis sendiri

Today I saw the tagline for Kyocera printers on a taxi. It went something like:

"When choose printer... See cost... Not brand."

Ermm.. ok lor.

2010-03-05T19:36:00.000+08:00

Bhored.

I'm bored outta my wits waiting for some dingdong email from some dingdong client to come in. Grr. It's Friday night! -__- So I'm surfing Burdastyle, loading Ren and Stimpy, blogging, and checking out Mumford and Sons. Taking a bit of time to see if I like them or not... On a rather similar note, Everything Everything and Wild Beasts are SO DELICIOUS. And Delphic is so fengtau. Hehe.

I've been trying out a bodice sewing pattern from Burdastyle. Cut a size too big. WHOOPS. Will have to re-do it I guess hehe.

2010-03-05T18:18:00.000+08:00

Giant scary stuff

"Can I ask you something ah."
"Mm hmm."

"Erm.. will you be more afraid of a giant cockroach or a giant rat?"
"Hmmm.. Giant cockroach."

"Ok. Giant cockroach or giant snake?"
"Giant cockroach."

"Giant cockroach or giant... dick?"
"Errr... still giant cockroach."

"Hmm... interestingggg. Oo oo!! What about this: Giant cockroach or giant asshole that's pulsating and will suck you into it??"
"Hahahhaha... Giant asshole!"

"Giant asshole or giant piranha??"
"Giant asshole!"

"Why ah? You not scared of giant piranha ah?"
"You said the giant asshole will suck me into it mah, I don't wanna get sucked in by a giant asshole!"

"I see, I see."

2010-02-22T14:45:00.000+08:00

Hantu Haid

Evan Yan
eww the toilet got haid blood

woman
eeee

Evan Yan
like one dab of thick black thingy with red trails

woman
eeewwwwwwww
let the hantu haid lick it up

Evan Yan
hahaha
hantu haid

woman
thats the story my teacher told us last time
if u dont wash your pad yg ada haid
the hantu haid will go and lick up the haid

Evan Yan
haha
after that what will happen

woman
the hantu haid will get more and more power
and one day become godzilla haid
so if you dont want to be attacked by godzilla haid
dont feed the hantu haid

Evan Yan
HAHAHAHA

2010-02-20T03:05:00.001+08:00

Sew you think you can dance, dance, dance

Finally got around to organizing pictures of some stuff I've been working on. Phew! I've grown to love sewing more and more, and recently the sewing machine has become a permanent tenant on the dressing table. I told her I'd waive her rent if she just keeps sewing. So far I haven't collected rent. Yes I was talking about the machine.

Sooooooo anyway! My first adventure with jersey fabric is this braided green tank top. I haven't worked with jersey fabric before, so I was worried about the hemming of the edges... so I braided strips of the fabric and hand-sewn them onto the edges.

You can find jersey fabric in a variety of colours at Kamdar SS2, and when it's on sale you can get it for like RM6+ per metre. It's pretty exciting to find these stretchy fabric, and I wished they'd carry knitted and ribbed stretch fabric as well! Here's a close-up on the braids that took me forever to sew them on:

Next is a refashion project. I found this skirt at Amcorp Mall's weekend flea market for RM7.50 (it was purchased with another skirt at a RM15 for 2 price). The seller is a really lovely lady that sells a lot of skirts which are somewhat vintage stocks from Japan. I was drawn to this skirt because of the pastel floral prints-- a colour palette of pale pink and greys, something we've been seriously considering as our wedding dinner colour theme. As pretty as the print was, the skirt was too long and dowdy for me to pull off.

So, chop chop chop and here we are! A high-waisted skirt that goes perfect with my pale pink / pale yellow tanks and cardi!

Ooo! And the most exciting part was making these pockets! It's my first time making pockets other than the hidden kind, and they have a pale yellow lining. Yes I have a thing for pastels sometimes.

And lastly, here's something I just completed yesterday, also another refashion project. This "hospital gown" (as the husband calls it) was found in Amcorp Mall's flea market as well, for a bargain of RM5. The seller is a nice lady too (everyone in Amcorp seems nice in my little eyes hehe), and she carries a number of vintage items as well. If you like buying vintage items, you should make a trip to Amcorp Mall during the weekends! This hospital gown could've easily been sold online for around RM25 on the blogshops. So anyway, here's the before photo. Naise.

A lot of snips and a lot of worrying later, here's the reformed hospital gown:

It's no lie that vintage fabrics are actually made better than most of the fabrics we see nowadays. This hospital gown (maybe I should stop calling it that) is a really gorgeous shade of magenta, and wasn't faded at all. But, the fabric was a lil "furry" on the outside, so I used the insides out instead. No biggie, since the prints were still nice on the inside.

And the dress has a V-back! Yay! When I saw Zooey Deschanel's V-back dress in 500 Days of Summer (the scene where she's walking in the bus), I knew I really one of my own.

So yeahhh. That's about it. I'm really sleepy now, the flu pill is working its magic... zzzzzz

2010-02-12T11:28:00.000+08:00

Fabric fetish

This is one of my most favourite things in the room-- my fabric stash! Organized by colour palette! Well, sorta, anyway. Hahaha. Some of it were from Kamdar SS2, the other fabric shop near Kamdar SS2, Ikea, and a lot of my favourites in there are from Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong.

I can't even begin to tell you how EXCITED I was when Jess and I went to Sham Shui Po... basically it's a fabric market where you can get shitloads of awesome prints (especially retro inspired ones) at like less than RM5 per yard... and lace fabric for around RM10 per yard (which was what my registration dress was made out of :D)

Couldn't find much details on the exact directions so we were a bit lost here and there, but I've documented the directions.. will put them up soon in case any other lost lambs out there need it!

2010-02-10T15:27:00.000+08:00

Manpits

I thought my armpits smelt different yesterday.

Turns out I had used his deodorant instead. Heheh.

2010-02-09T13:11:00.000+08:00

Every happy home needs one of these