Circus Elephant Bento

Yesterday I made this fun Elephant Bento for Eliana. I decided to go with a circus elephant :)

I did her lunch in an EasyLunchBox so that we could easily transport it and eat lunch with Bee-Baga (Great-Grandpa) :)

The elephant is an open faced ham and cheese sandwich, cheese placed on the top.  Details were drawn on with an edible food marker.  I added a candy eye, fruit leather and a hat food pick to add extra details on the elephant. The elephant is practicing an act on his pretzel rod balance beam. And what circus elephant would be complete without balancing a ball? The "ball" is a teeny tiny round silicone cup filled with yogurt covered raisins.

In the upper left I put flower cucumbers and a few blueberries, with an elephant pick.
In the lower left she has cut up strawberries with another elephant pick.

I don't know about you but one of the first thing I think about when I think about circus elephants is peanuts.  I did not include peanuts in her lunch, even though it would have gone nicely with the theme. And actually, if you've been following my blog you will notice that I've never done a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I may have used peanut butter to "glue" the acorn together in the hungry squirrel lunch, but Eliana wasn't too happy about that.  Why you ask? (or maybe you don't, and if you don't then here is the gist of the next paragraph: there is a high probability that Eliana is allergic to peanuts!)

Ever since Eliana was little she never liked peanut butter.  When she was two she ate a peanut butter jelly sandwich and broke out in hives all over her body (She had had PB before and never reacted, just never liked it). Because Eliana has the most incredible memory, and I'm not just saying that, from that point on she refused to eat peanut butter because of that reaction. She is four now, and the past two years have gone by and Eliana will not eat anything with PB.  I always thought she was allergic to peanuts, but we kind of were on the fence about it.  Since she didn't like peanuts and almost never had them it didn't seem to be a problem... and we figured she would outgrow it, but still we tended to avoid peanuts. However last week when we were eating trail mix I asked her to finish what was left in her bowl... so she licked a peanut. Her lip swelled up immediately. That did it for me.. She had never had any swelling before, so this was serious. We brought her to do blood test yesterday and we will be setting up the skin test soon. We will know for sure soon what her allergies are, but I'm pretty sure it is the peanuts. We'd rather be safe and figure out if she has any other allergies, which is why we are going through all the testing. All this to say: We didn't include peanuts in this lunch, and probably you won't be seeing any peanut butter sandwiches anytime soon! :)

I am SO thankful all that happened was a swollen lip. I watched her like a hawk and kept asking her every two seconds how she was feeling, while having my phone ready. And that reaction was only from one lick!  It can be nerve-wracking to think your child has an allergy.  You might even wish she or he doesn't have one and might miss out on life because of it (I can be dramatic sometimes). Well thankfully today there are SO many amazing products out there, and a much better awareness about allergies in general.  Although right now Eliana refuses to eat any nut butter right now, probably because they "look like peanut butter", I know there are options out there should she ever want :)  I'm very thankful, and relieved, we are getting to the bottom of this allergy soon and will be prepared if she ever were to have a reaction. I'm also super thankful this is so much easier to deal with because Eliana doesn't like PB anyways! My little girl knew all along it seems :)

**update** 
We got the results back and Eliana is allergic to peanuts, cashews and pistachios. This came as a surprise to us as she had never even had a cashew or a pistachio so I wasn't even thinking there were other nut allergies! I am very thankful we got her tested and are now prepared in case of any emergency.  We are clearly staying away from nuts at this point. It won't be too big of an adjustment for Eliana in general because she never liked nuts ever (she really did seem to know her allergy all along!)  The adjustment will be double checking everything for cross contamination issues for nuts we weren't thinking about before.  Now that we think about it David and I were wondering if that is why she so often said her "tummy hurt" after eating.  We never gave it much thought since she would be fine a few minutes later. It could have been a cross contamination issue? We can't be sure, but we'll be paying closer attention to that.

So we are are a "new adventure" as my girl Sarah from Bentoriffc  suggested I put it! We are going to be trying out new foods and alternatives for Eliana and for ourselves (once we finish what we have in our household we will no longer buy PB or trail mixes that are unsafe, just to be safe side. Eliana does like almonds, on a rare occasion, and does like Nutella and has never had a reaction to either. So we will keep those, however it will be easier to remind others to avoid PB and all nuts to avoid confusion.) So I'll be sharing some of our adventures of trying new products with you all, with some guidance from other PF and NF bloggers (specifically from my new BFF: Keeley McGuire) ;)  

 
I link up. Check it out!

Selamat Hari Gawai

It will be a long holiday in Sarawak starting tomorrow as Gawai celebration falls on 1 and 2 June.  But no holiday for me as my staff is taking her Gawai leave, so I would be mending the shop. 

Last week she brought us some kuih jala that she home-made.  I always love kuih jala.  Crispy and tasty, but mind my throat, I did not dare to eat too much.  Just take a bite of her kuih jala.  She used gula apong so it was very tasty.

Business has also picked up, thank god.  But expecting lesser people for the remaining week as school holiday is still on-going. Most people that I know go for holiday.  Even my kids and BIL and family are on holiday, leaving me and hubby at home. 

Maybe we will take some time off to visit my staff tomorrow.  She has been inviting us to visit her house for some kuih, pansoh, kasam and tuak!  *wink*

So to all Dayak friends and readers, Selamat Hari Gawai!

While the wife is away...

So before Ko left for her trip with her dad she asked me to "take care of my plants, take care of my kids, and check up on my blog for me." It may have been in a different order, I can't remember.  Right now the kiddos are happy and asleep (or at least quiet in their room), it rained all day for the plants, and this is me...checking up on her blog.  What better way to do this then put up a blog post?


Am I right or what?


The boys are doing pretty well considering this is the longest they have been away from Ko since birth.  I tell you what, she deserves this respite more than anybody else I know.  She's always 'on' giving to us boys here at the house and to her friends outside of it - an amazing woman/wife/mother/friend by anybody's standard.


And speaking of...the only problem I think she has is running out of words to describe her experiences out in Montana: wonderful, amazing, splendid, etc.  She's posted some pictures on Instagram from her phone and her days are filled with anything but laundry, dishes, and refereeing two wild boys.


And speaking of those boys again - Jack has this awesome new way of expressing his excitement.  So he and Will will be playing, wrestling, tickling, or otherwise actually getting along.  Jack, of course, is just soooooo excited about the interaction that he MUST express to Will this feeling - RIGHT NOW!  So what does he do?


Laugh more? - No
Hug him? - Nope
Use any sort of verbal or other non-envasive means of communication? - Of course not.


He bites Will.


Really, Jack, really?  


I don't have a picture of that incident to post with this - so here's one I took a while ago:

No caption needed - that is just awesome

I guess that's about it.  The rest of this week holds work for me, beach and other outdoor adventures for the boys, and a Saturday morning family tour of 70,000 tons of American diplomacy (an aircraft carrier) with a good college friend of mine.  Take care all.

Deck the walls with rows of flowers

Think about decking the walls of your baby’s room, your girl’s bedroom door, or even your own studio walls by putting a name to the face.

I thought it would be a fun and easy task to play with a name, and play up the look of a little girl’s room with the Cut Flowers Alphabet Set on LD. This set contains the letters and their stencils within a scalloped oval to be used as individual letters or strands of garland. I chose to use both parts:

~ the letters for the name atop the growth chart (see photo below),

~ and the garland for the name, with flowers connecting each letter (see photo below).

In addition to the Cut Flowers Alphabet, I chose flower petals from all of the Cut Flowers petal sets as well as the Cut Flowers Vine set. The vine set was used on the growth chart and the flowers were used on both the growth chart and the hanging garland. All of the flowers were connected to their bases with tiny brads in coordinating colors with the flowers.

Above are a few close up shots of the growth chart to see how the flowers are built and positioned with the vines. I glued the vines to the chart first, then attached the flowers with the brads. You might want to also glue the base petals of the flowers to the chart for a better hold. Do all of this after you trim and assemble the growth chart.

If you would like to make the growth chart for your own little ones, you can download my free chart (in pinks or blues) by going to my U-Pick button at right and choosing GrowthChartPink1-4 (four 8.5 x 11 files total) or GrowthChartBlue1-4 (four 8.5 x 11 files total) and make these for the little people in you life. You can always use the blue growth chart with any of the other cut-it files from LD, because flowers might not appeal to the boys in your life, but trucks and sports always will. They have lots of cute art to choose from!

Above are samples of the free growth charts in pink and blue. You will need to download all four 8.5 x 11 sheets to print, trim and attach to make the 22"- 60" chart. My growth chart is nine inches wide and 38 inches high (in length it is a 22" to 60" ruler). You will find the free charts in four files for pink or four files for blue, so make sure you download all four parts; (they are numbered 1-4 on the files).

To get the Cut Flowers files for these projects, go to my Sheri’s Creations button at the top, right, or click here to go directly to my Cut Flowers collection on Lettering Delights. I think this project will grow on you if it hasn’t already, and besides, it has your name written all over it. :)

Non meat noodle

Last night, have a few drink with hubby and his friends in The Planet Karaoke and Lounge in 3rd Mile.  I have not drink passed a glass of beer for long time, so last night was also the usual for me.  A glass is enough to knock me out.  And I get rashes and itchness around my body, but they gone when I woke up this morning.  Never been a drinker.  And I never like beers, I would prefer vodka.  

Usually when hubby has drinking session, he would have the habit of walking up very early the next morning.  So he woke me up this morning before the sun was even up.  Lol!  Old man, I describe him.  So since it was early, I cooked both of us fried noodle.  

This is how my mum would cook her fried noodle. Simple, and no meat at all.  Just some dried prawns, eggs, carrot and vegetables to go with the noodle.     Served with a warm tea.  This is how I started my long day today.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Snack and Bento

Last week Eliana requested we make The Very Hungry Caterpillar into a creative meal. I've seen a lot of Hungry Caterpillar themed lunches and snacks going on lately, but this was entirely all Eliana's idea (probably since she re-found her book!) Here is the snack we made:

Eliana wanted green grapes, so we made the Very Hungry Caterpillar out of grapes :)

To make this Very Hungry Caterpillar snack first wash and cut your green grapes in half and arrange them on the plate.  Cut a grape tomato in half and put it as the head.  The eyes are confetti sprinkles with the pupil drawn on with a food safe marker.  The mouth is also drawn with a food safe marker.  I drew the feet and the antennae with a food safe marker onto the plate (drawing the final details on the plate makes this snack super easy and quick to do!)

We also made this cute Very Hungry Caterpillar bento for lunch:

Eliana was so excited she wanted a picture holding her bento :)

Lunch was just as simple. Eliana had a ham and cheese sandwich topped with the Very Hungry Caterpillar.   The body of the caterpillar was cut with a cookie cutter out of a spinach tortilla and I drew the lines with a food safe marker.  The head is a grape tomato, chocolate sprinkle antennae and yellow confetti eyes with food safe markers to make the details.  I have green grapes in the top left, and strawberries in the top right.  I used a straw to put a hole into the strawberries because on Thursday the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate through four strawberries (and he was was still hungry of course) ;)

Want other Very Hungry Caterpillar ideas for lunch or a snack? Check some of these out:

22 The Very Hungry Caterpillar inspired food creations by Cute Food for Kids

The Hungry Caterpillar Lunch by Biting the Hand That Feeds You

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Keeley McGuire

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Bentoriffic

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Bento by Bentomonsters

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Snack by Meet the Dubiens

  
I link up. Check it out!

Unintentional enterprenuer

It all started after I delivered my 2nd child, Baby Jay in August 2009. I did not intend to do it at first, because of the long hour and commitment to the company. But my ego and strive to succeed overcame me that time, so I just took a pen and signed up for the interview.

As month went by, my confidence level increased and everything went smoothly. Along the way, I were away from my family for 2 weeks; imagine all the home sick and sadness of leaving my young kids behind. But thinking of a better future make me determine to strive through all those tough times. In less than 6 months, I opened up my business. Today marked my 2nd year.

It was unintentional because back then I was thinking of being a full time homemaker and mother to my children. Have an online business, everything work from home. But again I always want to feel how it is to be an enterprenuer. I did! I succeed. But I am still dreaming of doing something of my own someday. That is not unintentional. *wink*

Hello Summertime!

Happy Monday! This past weekend kickstarted our Summer. We are officially on break and I'm excited for what these next few months will bring. Here is how we spent our first weekend. :)

Will "graduated" from preschool. It was a cute, low-key event and we learned that this kid LOVES being on stage! Ha!

Thanks to Pinterest and a good friend of mine we've started the "bust into summer" tradition in this house. The plan is that on the last day of school a banner like this will welcome the kids home and they get to run it down. It was a huge hit.

We let the boys do their first water balloon fight.... The squeals of delight were too much. They thought we were the coolest parents ever ;) Aren't we?

As you can tell Bill didn't hold back ;) Total bliss for the boys!

We also celebrated our 6th anniversary with a very fun date. The beach, dinner and a movie, it was awesome! I love this man. He is my best friend and I am so thankful to be on this adventure with him!

And now my sweet readers I am off to Montana for a week! Just me and my dad :) We will be going on a cattle drive and I'm sure there will be lots to share when I get back! The Etsy shop is also in vacation mode till I get back. Have a wonderful week!

YEE HAW!

It’s in the bag, well, on it!

Time to share one of my favorite things about working with the Cut Flowers bundle from LD. This is my newest trick and I’m all about it. Think flocked flowers. And now think, humm . . . but how to flock the flowers, making them velvety soft?

I found this fun but practical handbag at an estate sale and have been looking for just the thing to dec-it-out and make is a one-of-a-kind carrying case.

Well, the idea came and the project followed. I have been using vintage, satin flocked ribbon (see photo above) with my Silhouette cutter and the results have been super cool. I simply stick the strips of ribbon to the cutting mat, satin side down, turn on the machine and watch lots-o-flocked-petals appear before my very eyes.

Next step is simple too, I sort and stack the petals to create flowers. Add some flocked leaves. Stitch the flowers together with sequins and seed beads. Sew them onto the bag to complete the 60's styling carrying tote of coolness. Okay, so the tweeded bag adds great texture against the velvety flowers and shimmering sequins. Lovin’ the gray texture against these throw-back colors of the late 50's. Hey, even the sequins are vintage to complete the older than thou and cooler than now look.

So, start thinking about the velvety softness of Cut Flowers. Get those files, crank up that cutting machine, and grab some florist ribbon (satin on back side and flocked on top side) to get in the groove with your 60's style deco-bag.

Above is a shot of the ribbon, to show you what I use for the flowers. I think this type of ribbon is still current and available. Below is a shot of the ribbon and paper cabinet that opens up my little creative world to texture and color each day! My wonderful husband’s handiwork is all about my studio (latest project~ribbon dowel in cupboard, below). He’s a  master at making my creative world a functioning factory for my work and play.

You can get the Cut Flowers bundle or individual Cut Flowers files at LD by clicking here, or go to my Sheri’s Creations button at top of blog. It’s in the bag, the cool, retro bag!

Strawberry Pick'n

The humidity is creeping in, the days are longer, the air is warm, and the boys want only to be in the yard. Summer is on our doorstep and I couldn't be more thrilled.

Yesterday I met up with a wonderful friend and her two boys to do a little strawberry picking. It was a perfect morning and we came home with baskets full of berries and a few extra goodies that couldn't be passed up.

Have a marvelous weekend! We will be resting and a'nesting :) I've got some fun new projects to share with y'all!

After the thunderstorm

If you tuned to the radio station yesterday evening, you would know that Kuching has endured a nasty thunderstorm yesterday.  It started around 4something while I was almost done with my facial treatment.  The wind was blowing crazy when I came out from the facial centre.  

And Facebook being a powerful social network, there were many updates on the havocs caused by the thunderstorm such as the roof in Kuching Specialist Hospital (KPJ) in Stutong.  





And the most mentioned tree over the Hitz.fm yesterday is this one in Jalan Tabuan.  Taken when I was on the way to pick my kids from babysitter around 5.40pm.

Believe it or not, I was stuck in jam for about 45 minutes before I reached my kids and I was again stuck in a crawl for 2 hours when I decided to give up and headed home instead of shop.  At first I used the Ong Tiang Swee road but stuck for an hour before I diverted to Laksamana Cheng Ho and Jalan Tun Jugah and planned to use the Tabuan Jaya to my shop, but when I reached the Simpang Tiga roundabout, the traffic polices diverted all the vehicles to Jalan Simpang Tiga.  Gosh!  That was when I decided to quit and U-turn at Simpang Tiga traffic light section and heading home.  But then the kids were restless and making so much noise in the car.  Coupled with a hungry driver (that is me!) it would be good to head home.  

Initially plan to buy ingredients to cook my Fried Noodle to be brought to little girl's kindergarden today for their Teacher's Appreciation Day but end up my plan was dashed! Sigh!  So this morning, I brought my girl to buy some pastries from Bread & Pastry, Green Heights instead.  Lol!

By the time we reached home, it is after 8pm and hubby already took his bath.  Since both of us not have our dinner, hubby suggested we have one in Ah Liong cafe which is 1 minute drive from the house.  Have Kolo Mee and Sotong Kangkong.  I cannot remember when was the last time I had sotong kangkong!  Yummy!

My "Jiu Hu Eng Chai" as the Hokkien called it, was super delicious.  The kangkong (Water Convolvulus) was hidden underneath the sliced cuttlefish and covered by lots of pounded peanuts. 

Okay-lah.  After a tiring drive and my car tank almost dried up, this dish made up for all those frustrations.  *wink*  And the council needs lot of cleaning to do too.  Many rubbish and tree branches fall on the roads.  Sigh!  Hope no more crazy rain again.....

Thrifty Thursday and PicMonkey

Happy Thrifty Thursday! I've been looking forward to today. Head on over to Lady Cordelia to see everything else that people are sharing. It's such a fun little blip in my week!

Today my show-and-tell item is this adorable vintage cake carrier! It's doubly thrifty because it was also gifted to me :) Thanks momma!

It even locks into the base and the colors are so happy and cheerful; it couldn't be more perfect. I can only imagine the church picnics it attended, the homemade cakes tucked proudly inside.

All the little scratches make me love it more, it means it lived a life full of purpose. So I don't feel so guilty when I use it to decorate ;)

And now for the second part of this post. Do y'all know about PicMonkey? Have you been leaving me in the dark??? This is the most incredible free online picture editor I have ever seen! Seriously! I'm hooked and to make it even better it is brilliantly easy to use!

Basil Pesto and Tomato Frittata

I'm in love with frittatas for a few reasons: first, they are usually cheap to make, second, they can be pretty healthy, third, they make eggs look classy, fourth, my kids eat them with little complaint, and finally I just like saying the word "frittata". Go ahead say it out loud, doesn't it sound fun and classy all at the same time. Or maybe I'm just sleep deprived and easily amused. Either way this will probably be the first of many frittata recipes I share.  You can do so much with a bowl of eggs, a pan, and an oven!

This recipe was adapted from the June issue of Everyday Food

Ingredients:
9 eggs
1/3 cup basil pesto (store bought is fine)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella, plus a 1/4 cup for the final sprinkle before going into the oven
2-3 teaspoons of olive oil
1 tomato sliced thinly, or a handful of cherry tomatos cut in half

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
In a bowl mix the eggs, pesto, pepper and 3/4 cup of mozzarella together. Heat a 10 inch frying pan on medium heat with the olive oil in it. Add the egg mixture and stir on medium heat for 2 minutes. Lay the tomato slices on top of the egg mixture and sprinkle the 1/4 cup of cheese on top. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Then turn the broiler on and bake for another 3-4 minutes until the top is nice and brown and center is puffed. Let set for 5 minutes and then cut into wedges and serve.

This is a go-to for quick dinners, brunches, bridal and baby showers, you name it! Sorry for the grainy photos, I snapped them with my phone right before dinner and didn't even think to pull my camera out, I had little bellies that were hungry and needed filling ;)

Been there, done that

After graduated in 1999, I started my first job as Advertising & Promotions Assistant in a property management company. I handled and dealed with events and also rental and sales of retail lots. I been there for almost 9 years before I pursued different field, i.e. banking. But it was a short-lived work for me in banking line as it was totally different and challenging. I worked in banking for 6 months before I had my early semi-retirement for 9 months and have my 2nd baby in 2009.

After delivery, I were back to the work field but this time, I worked in property management company again. Just different scope of work; as a sales administration assistant. Selling and renting shop lots. Again, it was a short tenure; only last for about 4 months.

In 2010, I totally ventured into something different. I become my own manager and operate a shop under stokistship. It is a great experience for me. Like hubby said, I have been in the retail line, banking line, property line and now run a shop. What else I want to do??? It has been a long journey for me. Hope to be a better person this year; may it be an enterpreneur, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister or a friend! :)

Angry Birds Pig Bento

When I told you Eliana asks for an Angry Birds Lunch every day, I wasn't kidding. I hold her off and we go for one a week. She still asks. every. day. I can't blame her though. After this Angry Bird Lunch, and this one I keep putting myself into more trouble ;)


So without further ado, here is another Angry Birds lunch. This time an Angry Birds Pig bento:

I made this bento for Eliana the other day when we had lunch at the park. This was super simple and easy to put together before going out.


The Pig was a ham and cheese (the regular) on a spinach tortilla, cut in a circle.  Details on the Pig face were made by cheese, cut tortilla and food safe markers.  The fort is made of pretzel rods.


In the top left I have a pouch of Angry Birds fruit snacks sitting on top of cut up strawberries.
In the bottom left I cut up celery very thinly (the only way Eliana will eat it) and put some carrot flowers on top.


This lunch was packed in an EasyLunchbox.  I love me some EasyLunchBoxes. I actually WON some from a giveaway on Bobbi's Bentos! I never win anything so I'm super excited! I look forward to their arrival to add onto the ones I bought just a few months ago!  I bought them to make lunch preparation easier for us, primarily for David's lunches but we all use them and love them.  I used to send David to work with three to four containers, and now its all in one! I love consolidation :) It also makes packing a lunch easy so Eliana and I can have a change of scenery from time to time :)


I at first wasn't going to post this because my perfectionist self saw too many flaws. However I'm glad my bento blogger friends talked me out of that. I sometimes need a virtual smack on the head! :)


I link up. Check it out!

Elastic Bookmark Tutorial

This is a super simple craft that makes for an adorable gift for both book and electronic readers! You almost don't even need a tutorial but I took the pictures so you're going to get one anyway ;)

Supplies:
Elastic
Felt
Hot glue gun
Scissors

Measure the circumference of your book or electronic reader and subtract an inch. Cut your elastic to that measurement.

Stitch the elastic together to make a circle and set aside.

Trace 8 circles about 2 inches in diameter onto felt and cut out.

Cut 7 of the circles in half.

Line up the half circles overlapping them about halfway.

Sew them together with a long running stitch.

 Pull on the thread to gather the felt and knot off, but don't snip the thread.

Roll it up like a little sleeping bag. This is what the backside will look like.

Take your needle and go from the outside of the flower to the center working your way around the circle like wheel spokes. Knot and snip thread.

 It doesn't look pretty.

 But the top does!

 Cut two leaf shapes out of felt and hot glue them together. Glue the flower on top.

 Take your circle of felt and hot glue it to the elastic.

Glue your flower on top of the felt circle base, sandwiching the elastic. You're done! Easy peasy and you could even rock it as a cute headband ;)

 A perfect little gift!

Earlier this month I taught a similar craft at the women's group in our church. That time we layered felt with buttons and extra trimmings to make this cute version. This is one my sister-in-law made and she uses it on her Kindle. The options are endless when it comes to these!

Happy Crafting!