Sunday, December 23, 2012

Wrapping It Up

My favorite thing about the holidays aside from family is the gift wrapping part.  Past years I have been all about big beautiful ribbons and bows.  This year, I decided to add natural elements and sparkly tinsels.




Burlap fabric, pine from our very own Christmas tree, red twine, pine cones, and sparkly picks.

Top it off with my very own tag from the shop.

 
The end of the year is nearing, I'm wrapping things up and rounding up deadlines.  December just came and it's going by so fast, winter is here, and so are the winter chills.  Keep cozy and stay warm...   

Friday, November 30, 2012

I Cannot Stop Smiling

I have been crossing my fingers for the past few days and trying to patiently wait for the post to reach its destination, the mail box of a possible partnership. 

Just a little before Thanksgiving Holiday, I received an e-mail from a lovely lady at Terrain.  I've never heard of the company before, but she introduced herself and told me a little about Terrain.  Just learning that Terrain was a new division to URBN and a  sister company to three of my favorite stores, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, and Free People, it already had me smiling ear to ear.

Terrain is just oh so lovely, I love everything about it.  Especially with the holidays upon us, I just might be able to cross off a few gifts off the list.  As I was browsing their online shop, I already want to pick up so many little pretty things... I just could not help myself...



See what I mean?  
 
Back to the e-mail that had me feeling so ecstatic throughout my Thanksgiving holiday.  Terrain expressed an interest in my mason jar cards and asked me to send in a sample packet for their upcoming Valentine's Day Collection.  When I saw that, I was floored, elated, dream come true... what?!?  Is she for real?  That is like on the verge of getting your book published!  Well... to me it felt that way.  So I pondered around the idea for a few days over the holiday and I just could not pass it up.  It's what I've been waiting for, wishing for, hoping for, even dreamed about... just to know that your little creations have a nifty little spot in an actual store sounds pretty darn amazing to me, especially sitting next to the many other wonderful paper goods. 
 
On Tuesday, I excitedly packed and sealed my cards, said a little prayer and dropped it in the post. 
 
This morning, I woke up to a rainy day, my favorite kind of weather because it quiets my heart.  Rainy day gives me relief and helps put my mind at ease and I have space and time to reflect about the things I often don't think about but know it always runs through the back of my mind.  I made myself a mug of warm tea, and slipped right into my moccasins and straight to my morning e-mails...
 
Hi Nancy,
 I got your sample today! Thanks you so much for rushing this out to us, we absolutely love them!

That's all I needed to see before I let out the breathe I've been holding and started jumping for joy.  I could not have asked for a better end-of-the-year-moment, I feel incredibly delighted and honored.

It looks like the month of December just got a little more busy for me, and I have to say... I don't mind it at all.  I'm excited for new things to come and I can't wait to get started. 

My friend Lora once asked me, what is my happiest memory, this is one of them.  I dream about it and never expect it, but am so grateful and happy that it's coming true.

What is your happiest memory?  Tell me a story.    

Friday, November 16, 2012

My Peach Cake

Last weekend was my youngest sister 25th birthday.  I still cannot believe she is 25 years old.  No matter how many years goes by, she will always be my baby sister.  She is the one person I know that is truly both beautiful inside and out.  She is young at heart, and so wise beyond her years.  She is the one person I can trust with absolutely anything and everything.  She is my best friend...

I love that we share a beautiful thing called sisterhood.

Even though I am your big sister, I loved that sometime you take on the big sister role when I can't do it all.  I've sometimes even wish what it'd be like to have a twin, and sometimes it does feel like you're my twin born 2 years and 9 months later.  I cannot remember, when we were younger, if we ever laughed a lot together.  We had different friends and hung out at different places while we were going to school and growing up, and if we ever did or not, I love how we laugh until our tummy hurts now.  I 've come to realize that being the oldest sister is my favorite because you make it easy to be one.  Sometimes I feel like the older sister that I never got to meet is within you, and if she were here with us today, it'd be pretty amazing too.  I love that we can talk for hours about the most mundane things to the heart wrenching stuff, with plenty of heart to heart and silly moments.

I read a mini story that remind me of you and our dear sister.  It's truly a story about how I see the three of us in such a short, yet telling string of words.

"Faith, Hope, and Love are like three sisters.  Love is the big sister, Faith is the middle sister, and Hope is the little sister.  These three sisters walk side by side, holding hands with the little sister in the middle, on their way to see the King.  Hope walks quicker, with more enthusiasm, and youthful zeal than the other two.  She looks up at her two sisters saying, "Come on!  Come on!  Don't stop!" When Hope gets tired, as little girls do, Faith and Love loose momentum but they continue on - tugging at Hope's hands saying, "Come on, don't give-up, we're almost there."  Faith, Hope, and Love work together - like three friends - to give life and zest and joy to our walk toward the one we love."  - Sursum Corda

Sister Faith, our sister- Who has complete trust and confidence in someone or something.  She has faith that our little brother could be a good father to his son, but what she didn't know was that you and I already knew he would make a great father one day.  And I think that's what we love most about her.  Her ability to see the good in everyone and everything, and her trust that they will do right.

Sister Hope, you- A believer, your strong and confident expectations gives strength and courage through times of hardship, crisis and loss.  Your optimism through all the good and bad helps me see more clearly what I want in what I do.  Because you are so dynamic, I can't really define Hope can I?  You're a hopeless romantic, with a wise old brain and an adventurous heart, delighting in lifes daily dose of uncertain gifts.  And that's what I love most about you dear sister, the world is your playground.

Sister Love, me- There is nothing love cannot face.  There are no limits and conditions.  Understand that love is not perfect, each time you fall, love will be there to pick you up again (I hope I have in some way).  If you ever lose love, you will find love again, just like you have, and I have never seen you happier than you are today.   I remember telling you that one day a boy is going to look at you and you're going to fall madly in love.  And that that kiss on your forehead is going to mean more to you than all the diamonds in the world.  And that the hug, that you never fully understood, meant that tomorrow is only going to get better and better.  We really have come a long ways haven't we?  You'll always be my partner in crime.

Because of you, I could only hope that if I ever have two or more girls of my own, that they grow up to be just like you my dear sister.  I am lucky and blessed to have you and our middle sister.  It makes me sad that I am not nearly as close to our sister as I am to you, but I hope one day we'll get to be the three peas in a pod, but for now, I'm pretty darn happy with being just the two of us.

You're probably never going to see this post because this is my open letter to you.  And since you don't blog, more than likely you will never see this.  Maybe one day, I'll actually hand write this letter word for word and give it to you.  Happy birthday little sister.

Love,
Big Sister

I seem to have strayed off topic for this post a bit.  I intended to share a post about a cake I made for my sister's special day.  So... down to what this post was suppose to be about.

Courtesy of Amanda, over at Wit & Whistle, who found a wonderful recipe for a sweet delicious cake, I made an actual decorated peach cake for my sister's 25th birthday.


I also used the same buttercream frosting recipe Amanda used, so I didn't have to look very far.  I love how I can use this buttercream recipe to layer the cakes and use as a decorating icing that won't melt or lose it's shape.  Decorating was the fun part, all I had to do was add a little more powder sugar to the butterceam frosting for a stiffer consistency.

The color scheme was inspired by our recent shopping day at the mall a couple of weeks ago.  We fell in love with the color palette that were on the racks for fall/winter 2012.  This sweet color wheel is feminine, luxurious and easy on the eye.  We literally wanted to take everything home, we did a lot of damage to our wallet that day.  Luckily we tend to do these crazy shopping spree only once or twice a year.

Since we love this fall/winter color palette so much, I went with dreamy shades of apricot, peach, white and blushing pinks.  I used Wilton icing color to tint the buttercream frosting.  Wow, must I say this stuff is amazing.  I used a toothpick, dipped just the tip of the pick it into the jar once, and swirled it into the frosting, the color came out beautifully even.  I have tried other food color brands before, and nothing works like the Wilton icing color.  I used Wilton's icing color in "peachy cream" to achieve all the different whimsical shades in this cake.

When I think of this beautiful color combination, I think of pearls and chiffon, flirty, romantic and classy.  For the trims, I went with a peachy tone buttercream dots to resemble a string of pearls. 


The hearts were cut out from left over fondant, using mini cookie heart shape cutter, then scored in the middle to slightly fold or lift the petals of the hearts away from the base.  I know you're suppose to use gum paste for these little decorating pieces, but I figure since we were having such cold weather, the fondant would harden enough to not wilt, and it did hold up the whole day because it's been so cold here.  I used the decorating icing to adhere the hearts to the top of the cake, I believe I'm suppose to use gum paste glue.

Tinting the fondant for the hearts took a little longer, the fondant was very hard because the weather was so cold that morning.  I started with white fondant and swirl a toothpick with Wilton's "peachy cream" once, then knead until the ball of fondant is evenly colored.  Roll and cut out 5 hearts, and gathered the left over fondant and swirl the toothpick again with peachy cream and knead again.  Roll, cut, swirl... each time the hearts get darker and darker.  And that's how I was able to create an array of peachy tone hearts.

I was going to do mini swiss dots all over the sides, instead I went with small triplets of dots placed randomly throughout the side.  I think it work out very well because it created a good balance between the white and the peachy tones.


Then finally using the same batch of icing, I did a few more swirls of peachy cream into the buttercream frosting to get a brilliant apricot-peachy shade, and scripted "Happy Birthday Amy" in my most non-shaky handwriting, which was so hard to do.



I followed the recipe to a "T" and I had so much left over cake batter I was able to make 10 cupcakes!!  I really love the way my first decorated cake came out, and without a doubt I really love decorating cakes and wouldn't mind if a bakery decided to hire me for cake decorating, I promise I'll train hard!  =)  When I first started this cake, I had no idea or vision of how I wanted this cake to look like.  I only knew that I wanted a peach cake.  But once I started baking and decorating, everything just flowed out so smoothly.  And it was delicious, much on the sweet side, so handle your heaping of sugar with care =) unless you've got a crazy sweet tooth!  I hope this post inspires you to bake a cake for your next whimsical celebration.

Have you tried this cake recipe?  What did you think?  Link me a post to your cake, I'd love to see it.

Good luck!

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I Voted

I'm thankful and blessed to live in a country that allows us the freedom to choose the things we're passionate about.  I voted because it matters to me.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Essie My Place Or Yours + Pink and White Feather Nails



Essie My Place Or Yours is my favorite pink nail polish in my collection.  I have been on a hunt for a dusty rose color for a long time.  My friend Lora and I went nail polish crazy this past summer when we decided to go to a Nail Supply House in my local area.  This deeper shade of pink is feminine and classic.  I really like how well this color transitions into the new season.  I have been seeing feather prints everywhere as of late, and it's becoming one of my favorite graphic prints.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Where has the time gone

It's finally starting to feel very chilly in southern California, and I realize I do not have a single pair of warm fluffy socks.  Thinking how good fluffy socks and a good book in my hand can make me feel right now.  But it's okay because my fury moccasins makes me happy too.  Rapidly loosing my summer tan... does not make me happy.  With all the holidays and dress-up events coming up, it's looking ghastly pale.

This week, I have the entire house to myself for the whole weekend, starting today.  Speaking of holiday, this month has been extremely busy.  In a post, earlier this year, I talked about feeling like I'm sleepwalking through life and how I vicariously want to live life in the fast lane and be in the mist of all its busyness... well it's been very busy around here.

The shop continues to do well, new ideas for the shop are set in my head and down on sketch, baby showers and weddings are over for the rest of the year.  My sister, my brother, and I have taken on a house project.  We've decided to redo the entire living area because I decided I was going to host the baby shower this coming January at my mums house.  I wanted a nice and inviting area to work with.  With the holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas well on its way, we'd be sure to enjoy a new space by then.  Oh, my sibling and I are finally going to be able to get our very first real Christmas tree this holiday because of the make-over in the living area.  We've opened up the fireplace, that we so longingly hid behind an enormous television set because we were too young to appreciate a good log-burning fire.  This winter I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of sipping hot cocoa and hanging out by the fire and watching movies.  With my brother's new baby fast approaching due date, I wouldn't mind baby-sitting at all.  I know I'll enjoy being at my mums house more often now that we've created a space where it's more family oriented.

Where have I been?  So far the house project has taken us 14 days.  We've patched the holes and damages in the walls, fresh coat of paint to the walls and fireplace, replace screen door, new area rug, new curtains, new lighting, new picture frames, more photos, new decor and accessories, more plants, and lots of diy decorative pillows.  Oh, and we've taken apart my brothers room and redid his room to ready the space for the baby.  It's been so much hard work trying to find every little thing to fix up these two spaces, but it's proving to be worth all the trouble.

A couple of the diy decorative pillows I made for the sofa.  I do not favor the black sofas, but because my uncle have given us his old set that were still fairly new, there was no sense in getting new couches just yet.  It's very difficult trying to find colors that would soften the rich black tone.  So far I've incorporated a medium gray, white and a little bit of lavender to pick up the wall color.  The wall paint color I chose is 'smoked oyster' by Behr.  It's a bit of mauvy purple in the evening when the sunsets, but as soon as the sunrises in the morning, there's a hint of pink.  The color was very worry some when we first applied the first coat to set dry, it was looking very pink.  Once we applied the second coat, the mauvy purple seems very dark and we we're afraid the living area was not going to have that light fresh feeling we we're hoping for with the sofas being the dark element.  However, after an hour as the paint set and dried, it lighten up to a rather cozy and inviting space.  Final photos of the entire project coming soon I hope.

It's such a surprise to me that a baby can jump start so many new beginnings.  My family is not really into decorative and comfy space like I am.  They're all about function and efficiency.  So I get a lot of questions like what are you putting on the shelves?  Why are you putting a sofa table behind the couch?  Why do we need a lamp, why not just get a light fixture?  Until I show them the final results, it just doesn't make sense.  But I must say, remodeling and decorating is really hard and frustrating.  No matter how much HGTV or internet surfing I do to draw inspiration, sometime I just sit it out until I find what I want.  It's no wonder it's taking a little longer to feel like it's finished, at least for the moment.  

This has got to be my record post.  What chilly weather, fury slippers and pj's can do to a person.

How do you decide what goes into your home design?  What goes and what stays? 

Monday, October 1, 2012

DIY Felt Cloud Mobile

You know you're all grown up when your family is expecting a bundle of joy.  The days of worrying about finding jobs, finishing school, finding our selves and growing up has finally hit a plateau.  Everyone is growing up so fast.

My cousin's baby shower is this Sunday and I have been thinking about what I want to do... give... make.  Being in a rough place right now (financially), it was either buy a cute baby outfit or make something.  The last two baby showers, I had a tough time finding a gift.  Although they were we'll received, anything you give for the baby is always well received, I just wished it was something more special.  This time I'm going with my crafty side, spend a little time making something for soon-to-be Baby Natalie.

And... this was the end result

A nursery mobile made of felt in a whimsical cloud shape with heart shaped rain drops.  I know that the nursery theme is going to be Disney Princesses, so it was obviously going to be sweet pinks.

All you need is:

felt
cotton floss and needle
ribbon
O-ring
poly-fill (for stuffing)
scissor
paper and pencil
pins

Create a template.  With a big enough sheet of paper and pencil, draw the desired cloud shape and cut out a pattern.

Trace the shape onto the felt.

Fold over or layer another sheet, for a total of 2 layers of felts.  You'll need 2 layers if you want to stuff the cloud.

Use pins to keep the 2 pieces of felt together so that it does not move or shift during cutting and stitching.  Pin all the way around the cloud.

You should have 2 layers of felt pinned together and cut out.

Do the same for the hearts (2 layers each heart).

Make it extra special.  You only need one layer for the name since the name will be stitch onto the cloud, not needing the extra stuffing.  Pin the letters down in place to position the letters first, then begin stitching the letters to the (top) layer of the cloud.

Once the letters are stitched down, stitch the two cloud shapes together, leaving 2-3 inch opening for the stuffing.  Fill the cloud with stuffing, then continue stitching to enclose.

I used a straight stitch technique for the letters and the cloud. I used a blanket stitch technique for the hearts.  You can also do a straight stitch on the hearts, it's your preference. 


If you do not have cotton floss, you can always use sewing tread, string, yarn or anything on hand.

Unfamiliar with the blanket stitch?  Not to worry, it looks complex and confusing, but it's rather easy and simple to follow.
  • Start from the back, and insert needle towards you
  • Insert needle to the left going through to the back, without pulling to tight, leaving a small loop created by the second insert.
  • Pull the the needle through the loop from the back to the front, lightly pull the floss to tighten and complete the stitch.
  • Insert needle to the left and repeat 
 
 Stitch all the way around leaving an inch or two opening for the stuffing.

Stuff and continue the stitch to enclose.


Once you have all the pieces sewn and filled, attach the hearts to the cloud at various lengths.

Create a hanger for the mobile with an O-ring and satin ribbon.  Loop the O-ring through the ribbon and sew the ends of the ribbon to the top of the cloud for easy hanging.

That's it!  If you've got a little bit of time to watch TV in the evening, you definitely have time to make something.  It does not even have to be for a nursery, perhaps a girls room, boys room, add a little whimsy to your craft room, etc.

As always, be creative and Good Luck!