Going into 2012

A quick greeting to all blogger friends and readers! Happy 2012!




And how are we going to celebrate our last night of the 2011??? Watching DVD at home with the kids tonight. Yes! Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked DVD. Always a fan of the chipmunks and I enjoyed their first movie. I am sure the kids will like it especially little gal who watched the first movie. Once a while, I still played the DVD for the kids to watch.




So, looking forward to the New Year with new resolutions and more challenges ahead of me. Thank you everyone for all the supports and comments given throughout the year. It has been a wonderful year; and I get to know more blogger friends and learn more from you guys. Happy blogging and see you guys in 2012! Cheers, everyone!

They came bearing gifts

With Christmas past I have presents to share. They are some of the most wonderful gifts I have ever received, and that even includes gifts from my childhood years. When people say a gift from the heart is the most precious of all, I think the saying needs to be rephrased to be a gift from the heart and hand. I was graced with three different gifts this holiday season that were made of Sheri Berry fabrics with the most amazing attention to detail and craftsmanship by all three seamstresses. These women are all worth bragging about, but each too modest to accept bragging rights. I’m going to brag on them anyway. :)

The first set of kitchen gifts was from my daughter, Shelby. She has become quite a seamstress and as you will see later, it is her grandmother who deserves some of the credit for that. She not only carried that gene over to Shelby, but spent three summers taking Shelby and a friend, Rachel, to sewing camp when they were girls.

Shelby and her dad amazed me with the very secretive gift of personalized, one of a kind oven mitts, hot pads and tea towel with fabric that they had specially made from some of my designs. They were able to have the fabric printed at Spoonflower, then Shelby researched and began sewing her very fist quilted fabrics into the over mitts and hot pads. I’m just in awe and I absolutely love the choices she made for the pieces. Now she and I are wanting to make matching retro styled aprons to complete the ensemble. Yes, I am one of those very proud, bragging moms right now.

The next set of handmade gifts were from my mom. She has also been Mrs. Clausing quite a bit the last few weeks and the entire family was lucky enough to be the recipients of the detailed and lovely pillowcases, each thoughtfully designed for each family member. Mom claims these were a breeze to sew, I can’t image that to be true. :) They all have three different fabrics per case and each is nearly too beautiful to use, but I promised her that we will.

All of the fabrics my mom used for the pillowcases were designed and produced for Northcott fabrics, some from the Chinese Takeout collection, some from the 12 Joys of Christmas collection and a few from the Child’s Play with Nate collection, both cotton and flannel. I believe some of those prints might still be available (try eBay and etsy).

Now my mom is starting an apron project. She makes aprons to take on her mission trips and one is coming up in just a few weeks, so my Mrs. Claus from the midwest will not be taking a break now that Christmas is past.

The third set of gifts was actually given to me a few months before Christmas, as I see my friend, Jackie only a few times a year, and those dates never fall around Christmastime. She is an amazing quilter, truly capturing fabric, texture, color and design into beautiful pieces of art. This is something I admire, as it is so different from the art I design and make in my line of work. This gift however, was not quilted, it is a set of four nesting pouches, and they are adorable.

The largest pouch is about 4" by 8" and the smallest is a mere 2" by 4" and they all nest together perfectly. Jackie used the 12 Joys of Christmas fabrics: the stripe, the skaters, the storybooks, the records and the Christmas tree print. Each pouch has lining of a coordinating print and of course zippers and pulls on each. They are absolutely perfectly constructed. Once again, Jackie very modestly acted as if these were simple little projects to sew. I will humbly disagree and will treasure them always.

I have another treasured gift that I was give a few years ago, bearing the Swell Noel fabric on a truly adorable kitchen apron. I will share that gift from the heart and hand in a future post, as it will always be forever treasured by me and needs to be shared with you.

While these gifts were not gold, frankincense and myrrh, they are better than gold to me and will always be handled with the loving care that I know each giver used while creating them.

Not so ABC

It has been raining non stop since 25 December morning, and only yesterday afternoon we were able to see Mr Sun out, and then the rain continue till this morning. It stopped but it began again. Sigh! Really gloomy and wet day. Expected it to be like this till this weekend.

I also recovered from cold. Had runny nose on Christmas Eve but that did not stopped me from going to a Christmas potluck gathering in our church. Did not have time to cook anything for the potluck so we "tapau-ed" a roasted duck. First time I joined a church potluck and I was surprised to see so many people there. Definitely more than 100. Luckily the food is enough for everyone. After the dinner, we proceed to the mass, but we did not finished the mass as Baby Jay grew restless. So we left half-way.

On Christmas Day I did not feel any better so we did not attend the Church. What a shame!! Some more the rain was so heavy that morning. So sick me craving for something light and soupy, so I dug into the fridge for inspiration!

Not so sure whether I should call it ABC Soup because I think it does not really contain all the vitamins. But anyway, for the pleasure of this post, I shall called it Pork Ribs with corns and carrots soup.

I am relying more on slow cooker to cook my soups nowadays. Easier and no need to mend the fire. If need to heat up, I just transfer the soup to a pot and warm up on the gas stove.




Ingredients

Few pieces of chicken feet
1/2kg Pork ribs
3 Sweet Corns break into 3 pieces each
2 carrots, cut into chunks
Little bit of ginger slices
Salt to taste


Methods

1. After washing, prepare all the ingredients accordingly.
2. Boil the pork ribs in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain.
3. Add water in slow cooker, put all the ingredients (except salt) and cook for 2 to 3 hours till ribs tender. Add salt to taste.

HK or Spore??

Out of sudden hubby told me that he is thinking of a holiday next year, bringing the kids along either to Hong Kong or Singapore. Wow! An overseas holiday? I know I know, one of my top 10 wish for the year! *wink* It would be either the Universal Studio or the Disneyland which I am sure the kids will enjoy themselves. But that is just his thought, see how things go next year.

My main priority for next year would be the new house. Got to finish the renovation and furniture, then we can move in and settle down in our new nest. Vacation can be later.

Top 10 wishes for 2012

A day after Christmas. Now it is time to list down your new year wishes.

Here are my wishes (where is the genie in the lamp to grant my wishes?? If not all 10, at least 3 wishes!).....

1. Money, money, money
No debts, no people calling and chasing you for payment and have extra money to do the things you love. Hmm, I guess hitting the jackpot would get rid of everything. Lol!
Image from Google Search


2. Travelling around the world
It would be a great dream to be able to travel, taste and see those beautiful countries around the world. I want to go to Europe, Canada, Australia and other far far away countries. Gosh! I need to have my #1 wish granted first! But hubby has promised me that we will have a family vacation may it be overseas or local at least once a year.

Image from Google Search



3. Have an online shopping website
It has always been my dream to own an online shopping website; catering to ladies and children need.

4. Be a homemaker
It means that I would able to do my wifey and mother duties to my family. It is not easy with having a shop as I juggle between the shop and family but hopefully I would be able to hand down the business affair to my staff. Then I have more times to attend to the needs of my children. I realised that my children are growing up each day and I would not want to miss out on their growing stage. Little girl is going to be 6 years old and Baby Jay is going to be 3 years old next year. Soon, my girl is going to be in her teen and how I wish then that she would be my little girl again. *wink*

5. Going back to Redang
Our honeymoon spot in 2005, so I would love to bring both kids there. Hubby and I discussed on family vacation in Redang island before. It leaves good memories for us, so we definitely love to go back there. This round, with extra packages. *wink*

Image from Google Search


6. To venture more in cooking
I would love to try new recipes and able to cook great food for my family. Have not be able to do so since I am busy at the shop, so if time permits, I would love to cook nutritional meals for my hubby and my 2 growing kids.

7. Teaching kids with iPad education
Yes, you reading it correctly. With so many good ebooks and online education websites, I find that iPad does wonders. So convenient and my kids never bored of its interactive learning. So, hubby, if you read this, I wish for a new iPad which is my wish #8.

8 iPad3
For conveniences, and personal use. Who does not own an iPad nowaday? Lol!

9. Go to gym more and learn to swim
Do not waste the monthly services we have to pay, better fully utilise the community facilities and clubhouse. Must keep fit and healthy and since I did not have times to go exercises, I must make it a habit to go to gym in the morning. At least an hour in the morning in gym before I go to open up my shop. And I have to admit, I do not know how to swim. So what? Not to old to learn, right? So I would be able to go to Redang and scuba diving during our next visit. My kids definitely must know how to swim. Lol!

Image from Google Search

10. Own a car
Thanks to my dad for lending his car. Although the Toyota Corolla has been faithfully serving me for more than 15 years, it is time for me to get a new car.

So what are your 10 wishes for 2012?

Oh Christmas Tree! (Take Two)

Merry Christmas Eve!! I don't know about you but Eliana can hardly wait to open all of her presents under the tree.  She has been staring at them for weeks now (maybe we shouldn't have put them out so early haha) and since she knows how to spell her name and how to spell our names she knows which presents are hers and which are ours!  The difference between last year and this year is amazing.  Last year she was excited but she didn't comprehend everything as much.  This year she is almost four and she knows what is what and she talks a mile a minute :) 


These past few weeks Eliana and I have made quite a few versions of our original Christmas Tree sandwich and this one I'm sharing today was our favorite. Since we had all our Christmas presents under our tree I decided to add some edible presents to the lunch!

For this lunch I used a Christmas tree cookie cutter and cut the sandwich from a spinach tortilla, turkey and cheese (or whatever fillings you prefer). The star on the tree is cut from cheddar cheese.  The "Christmas lights" are red and yellow bell peppers and carrots.  The "presents" are fruit leather with cheese "ribbons". The cute little surrounding trees are Goldfish Holiday crackers.  Somehow goldfish tree crackers taste so much better than the fish ;) 


This was very simple to do, it looks amazing and Eliana loved it! Again, this is a lunch you can change up and be creative with whatever you have in the fridge.  This time I didn't add a garland to the tree but you could always add a garland of cheese, fruit leather or bell peppers, etc. You could also add bows to the presents... whatever you choose to do will look great and it will be fun to make with your kids :)

Merry Christmas!!

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Have a sugar coated Christmas

It’s that time of year when kitchens in many homes are filled with cooks making candies and baked goods to share for the holidays. Most of those same homes also have craft and sewing rooms with handcrafted projects being finished up and wrapped into wonderful gifts just in time for Christmas.

There is something endearing about a handmade gift. Not just because it is made with love and care, and with detailed thought for the recipient, but because it is one of a kind. It can’t be found in stores or purchased online. Each hand stitch of embroidery is individual, each chocolate drizzle is unique and each handmade gift is wrapped and tied with ribbon chosen for just that gift.

I have also been handcrafting this season with the Holiday Frosting collection at Lettering Delights. I have made tiny envelopes for gift cards. I have made treat tents for bagged candies. I have made individual truffle boxes for chocolate treats. And I have finished it up with borders as mini Christmas tree garland and pedestal wraps.

While I can’t tell you that I have embroidered or knitted or sewn gifts for each family member, or that I have made wonderful homemade candies, I have made the frosting to cover a gift, or tree or tabletop. It is my favorite gift to give; to make handmade creations from paper and it is the best gift I can give from the heart.

So, if you have made all of your wonderful gifts, but need just the right tag, or wrapping, or box to finish off the gifts you can put a little Holiday Frosting on and personalize them yourself for those you love. Because everything is just a little bit sweeter with frosting.

Have a blessed and joyous holiday season.

Gingerbread Man Lunch

I had this brilliant idea of making a gingerbread man lunch..It didn't come out as well as I pictured in my mind but I figured I'd still share it :)

This was a very simple and easy lunch to do!  I made a jelly sandwich and cut it out with a large gingerbread man cookie cutter.  The decorations were simple: buttons are mini M&Ms, edible candy eyes and a fruit leather mouth. 


I used a mini gingerbread man cookie cutter and made some mini cheese men and women.  You can use a food safe marker to decorate them with more detail (you can see my markers have seen better days... time for some new ones!).  I cut some cucumber strips for the border and also added a gingerbread boy cookie.


While I wasn't too happy that this wasn't the gingerbread man lunch I had envisioned, Eliana really enjoyed it.  And that makes me happy too :) So it works!


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To be jolly

Today is the celebration of Winter Solstice! Have you taken your rice ball (tang yuan) yet?




It ain't too early to wish everyone "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year", right?? Christmas is just around the corner; a time of jolly. We are spending times with loved one. It is all about happiness, hopes and loves.




I have just finish buying and wrapping my Christmas presents. Always last minute thinggy for me! Lol!

Have you list down your next year resolutions?? As for me, it would be another post another day. *wink*

So I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday!! Counting down to 2012. Another 10 days to go!!

Breathing the ocean air

That was what we did after our Sunday mass last weekend. We decided to drive all the way to Damai since it has been more than 2 years we went to beaches. The last one was when I was heavily pregnant with Baby Jay.

Cooling day to drive to Damai and boy, the roads getting wider and change a lot. I cannot recognised the old road anymore. We reached Damai Central in 30 minutes. Damai Central is the latest recreational centre that open recently. By the time we reached there, there a big crowds as they were having a sport day. A bit of drizzle but that did not dampen our spirit.

Don't you like the feeling of wind and drizzle blowing onto your face??




Looking at the waves I would not even want to jump into the ocean. With the year end weather and high tide, it would not be encouraging to swim in such condition.

Oh Christmas Tree, Pink Christmas Tree!

My pink Christmas tree has been in waiting for the last few years for the perfect ornaments to hang from its branches. Well, this year is its time, and the handmade ornaments are from my Holiday Frosting collection with Lettering Delights. The ornaments are made from the Holiday Frosting Ornaments and Holiday Frosting Snowflakes from the print and cut files available now at LD.

These ornaments were not complicated to make, and with enough time to get them done for Christmas, the little tree has been covered with the softness of pink, aqua, gray and moss to match my studio decor. It is almost as though the studio was designed for the tree.

I have an idea this little Charlie Brown, gone pink, tree will grace the studio well into January. The collection was designed to warm the heart during those chilly winter days, so keeping these frosted flakes around for a while will be fine with me.

In addition to the ornaments I wanted a matching box to store them in while not in use. I found a perfect hat box to cover. I then used some of the papers, the gray border with notches and one additional snowflake from the collection to top off the box. Again, not a complicated task at all; just a little time and patience, glue, a pink ribbon to thread through the border around the lid, and printed and cut papers from the LD files.

Each ornament was made with eight equal sides (one design, but multiple colors) of a printed shape (a snowflake or an ornament). In other words to make these, you will need to print out eight pieces of an ornament, all the same size and whatever color combination you prefer. Once all of the pieces are cut out, you will fold each piece in half (facing itself), glue one half to another piece at its vertical center and the other half to another piece on the opposite size at its vertical center, until you have all eight sides glued together. However, before you have glued the final pieces together, use about a six to eight inch ribbon or string folded in half and also glued into the center of the ornament (with the loop up), so that it has a hanger. I actually glued the hanger (aqua string) between the first two pieces at the beginning to make sure I had not forget to attach it when completing the ornament. The paper used for the ornaments is a 90lb. bright white index stock.

The tree topper was also made just like the ornaments, however I simply cut a strip of one of the patterned papers to use as its base to slip over the tip of the tree. This strip was about eight inches long and an inch and a half wide. I rolled it into a tube that would cover the tip of the tree and the end of the ornament. I then glued the strip to itself to tighten the tube around both the tree and ornament.

Now my studio is starting to not only feel like the season, but it is doing so in a style that fits the studio decor. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

If you would like to make your own berry soft ornaments, please click on my Sheri’s Creations sign at the top, right side of my blog or click here to see the entire Holiday Frosting collection in both the graphics and print and cut sets available now at LD.

Munching away

I am not a big fan of snack times, but sometimes exception is inevitable. *wink*

Fall in love with this mixed fernels when I tasted it last week. And me and Baby Jay can finish up the whole container if no one stopped and took the container away.



Baby Jay feed me raisins (a bit sourish) and sunflower seeds (because the seeds a bit spicy) while he takes the rest. I like almond nuts the most. Healthier (I think) as they are not fried.




Some days I would be lazy to have my lunch or cannot think of anything to eat, I opt for something easier like bread.





Raisin & sesame seed bread with olive oil spread! Yummy! I could finish half loaf.


2011 is almost comes to an end. Don't you agree with me that 2011 is flying very fast??

Indonesian style

Did online search for this recipe after trying it out in Sing Garden last week, but did not managed to find the right recipe. Wonder whether that is the right name or because it is cooked by an Indonesian?

There is a stall operated by an Indonesian lady, using a conventional oven stove to bake the chicken drumsticks. You can see the fire in the oven when you glance at the back of the stall. Each plate accompanied by a plate of rice only costs RM4.50, to me it is pretty reasonable.

RM4.50 per plate with a bowl of rice.

Have been trying to ask for the recipe but the lady very tight-lipped about it, so I do not want to pursue some more. But from what I tasted, it definitely has some Shaoxing wine, and ginger in it! What I like about this dish is that it comes with gravy and taste good when pour into your rice! Yummy!!

Christmas Ornament Sandwich

We decided to make something other than a Christmas Tree for lunch! :) I had an idea of making a Christmas ornament in my mind and this is what I came up with..

This was an easy and fun lunch to make!  All you really need is a circle cookie cutter! I took a big circle cookie cutter and cut up a tomato basil tortilla (you could easily use bread instead), ham and cheese.  I placed the cheese on top.  I used a knife and cut some fruit leather to make the top of the ornament.  For the decorations on the ornament I used a small circle cutter to make circles of red bell pepper and then i used a knife and cut a zigzag design out of cucumber.


For the holly berries I again cut more small circles of red bell pepper and used a small holly leaf cookie cutter to cut leaves made of cucumber.


You could always make different designs on the ornament, with different fruits and vegetables or different shapes--the options are endless :) It would be the perfect snack or meal to munch on while decorating the tree :)


Until Next Time.. :)


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Have paper, must wrap

It is time to start wrapping the Christmas presents that have been stashed away in the closet. This year the wrapping process is a little more exciting. I was able to get the Swell Noel paper at Michaels and it is kind of fun to finally be wrapping gifts with real Sheri paper, rather than designed papers from the printer. And bonus, this wrap is full of foil, shimmering and shining like the lights on the tree. Sadly, my printer is not yet capable of printing foil or metallic inks on rolls of paper.

Since the Swell Noel wrap is a retro style design, the only ribbons worthy are from vintage spools with names like Sasheen, Satintone and Super Lustro. And they are just that, adding a bit more gleam to the gifts. The only thing missing to finish off this mid-century look are the Shiny Brite ornaments to hang on the tree. Not to worry, I have a supply on hand.

This photo is sharing a few of my latest ornament finds, straight from the late sixties, via a few current thrift shops and estate sales. They were all the rage when everyone started jumping on the handmade Christmas bandwagon, but with a twist. These ornaments were from the “everyone can craft” kits of the era, complete with satin ornament, ribbon, gold lace, sequins, beads, pearls, and about a thousand tiny straight pins to hold them all together.

My second hand ornaments seem to have shed a few pins and pearls along the way, but they still make me smile and remind me of those years as a child when I could hardly wait for Christmas, when all the world was aglow.

Merry Christmas and may this season be a shiny and bright one for each of you.

Butterflies feeling

On this date in 2002, I had a butterflies feeling that he was going to ask me to be his girlfriend! And indeed he did! By SMS. (How romantic could that be??? *wink*). But he did call up after the SMS and after finished talking to him over the phone, I hardly can sleep and my butterflies in the stomach did not subdue till pretty late at night.

For few weeks I have butterflies feeling whenever he called or picked me up. It was a very nice feeling. Hearing his voice, having him touching you, kissing you is so magical and it would make your head spinning. Everything evolve him.

Ok, enough musing from me. I do not want to make you puke over this post! Lol! I remember this date because it was the day me and my boyfriend (now husband) went steady. He and I were mending our broken hearts; actually from cheating partners that time. Fate takes its course. He came back from KL after many years there and we met in my previous company. Both of us were trying to move on. I am thankful that we did give our special friendship a try. And now we were blessed with 2 lovely children.

Does your partner give you that butterflies feeling after many years of marriage? I do. Not all the time of course. Lol! We have our ups and downs, but we make up. I still feel butterflies in my stomach when he shows up unexpectedly or when he gives me a surprise present. He may not be perfect person, but he is perfect for me. We complement each other. And guess what I replied him when he asked me to be his girlfriend 9 years ago?? "I am not a perfect girl, I have bad habits and flaws. You sure you want me to be your girlfriend?". And he replied back "I am not perfect too!"

And yet he gives me the butterflies feeling that many years ago and he still does. And I long for such feeling forever.

Christmas Tree Cake Balls

Yes. Christmas Tree again. I sense a tree theme this year :) I can't promise that I won't make anything else Christmas Tree related again since Eliana has asked for more Christmas tree sandwiches and well we may just have to show you what we make! :)  So the other weekend was my grandpa's birthday party.  All the family got together and we had such a good time! I usually make more than one dessert but this year I was running on four hours of sleep from Eliana being sick the night before and me trying to finish my 9-11 page paper!  I decided that I wanted to make some cake balls. If you have never heard of cake balls feel free to check out Bakerella, the Queen of all things cake ball and cake pop related. I love making cake balls and have been making them for over a year now. You can use your own made from scratch cake recipe, or a boxed cake mix. If you are running on low sleep may I suggest the latter ;)


Here is what I came up with..

Christmas Tree Cake Balls!

I'm really happy with how it turned out! And they all disappeared--so it was a hit! I made chocolate cake balls and covered them with dark green candy melts (I got mine at A.C. Moore). I chose to drizzle some of them with red candy melts and red sugar sprinkles (add the sprinkles before the drizzle dries completely). With the rest of the cake balls I used yellow candy melts and made little "lights" and the star on the top. The "trunk" I left the cake balls bare.. but if you aren't as lazy (or sleep deprived) as me you could coat them with chocolate :)


Cake balls are a dessert that anyone can make.  Seriously--go out and try to make them.  You can tweak them and use different cake mixes or frostings, or even try it with brownies instead!  They taste amazing and look adorable. Once you've had one, you'll understand how amazing they are! :)


Until next time.. :)


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Can you stand B.O.?

I used to have a staff working for me last year in the shop. Now she is working in Singapore. She is a very naive and hardworking girl. She does not have much education, but she does what was told. An obedient girl and I have no problem with her work attitude.

There was only one thing I cannot stand about her and that was her BO (body odor)! I never have weak resistance toward other people B.O until I have children. Wonder my pregnancies make my nose more sensitive to smell?? Lol!

And my staff never do anything about her B.O until I took the matter into my hand! Luckily I sell deodorants, so one night when I could not stand it any longer, I passed one bottle to her. Told her it was a Christmas gift and she must tred and tested it herself, so she knew how to sell to customers! Lol! I think I did not offend her in any way but I guess she took the hint. She even bought deodorants from that day onwards! I even forced her to take Chlorophyll as it helps to reduce B.O.

Customers come and go. Some really has bad BO, but being courteous I never suggest deodorant as a purchase to customers unless they ask. How would you tackle this situation? Can help me increase the sales of my deodorant without offending anyone? *wink*

Monday starter

It is Monday again! Don't you wish it is weekend again??? But life goes on.

I still thinking about the tasty roasted pork I had at Jen's baby party last Saturday! The biggest pig I ever see! Around RM800 for a 60kg pig.



Yummy!! I am drooling! *Slurp*

*Back to the present*

With no schooling, I turned off my alarm clock so I could sleep longer. But somehow the biological clock keeps waking me up around 7am. If not, my boy will wake me up asking for his feeding. And few mornings we were over-slept, and hubby was having a mad time in the morning; rushing to work. Me and Baby Jay takes our time before I sending him off to baby sitter.

One of our favourite breakfast place is NK Food Network. Hubby and I love to go to NK as we enjoy its Western breakfast. Few choices to choose, but I like its Big Breakfast (RM8.50 per plate).

I like my sunny side up egg.

This is hubby's plate.

We usually have a quick reading on The Star online website, a quick check on Facebook and a game of monopoly. At least no kids to disturb our peaceful morning breakfast. *wink*

After our hearty breakfast, we are off to our respective work places and start our long day. How you start off your Monday morning??