Let's Decor the tree!

Merry Christmas!

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Do share your creations using this printable. Have a merry one, people.

*** if you have trouble using Scribd, here is the Googledocs version. Enjoy! *** 

Doll Printable..Again!

Back by popular demand. In the colors you've been asking for.

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And please answer these question while you wait for the download :

1. It's free, we know it, but it did take a hard work to create, if it's on sale, how much would you spend on this printable? 1 cent is an amount too, dearies...but please consider the hard work :)
2. I use scribd to store it online, but you have to register to download. Is it a problem? If so, what web do you suggest to store it online? And let it be free too.
3. Do you need the boy counterpart? ;)
4. What is the dimension of your cookie trays (lengthxwidth)? Just curious.

Thank you. Enjoy your download. Have a Merry Christmas.

*** if you're having trouble with Scribd, please click here for Googledocs download instead. Thank you! And sorry for the trouble, it's Scribd not me, I'm not affiliated in any way to Scribd.  ***

Easy Banner Tutorial!

Momfetti is one of the creative ladies I turn to when I need an extra dose of inspiration intake in a day. She shares this really simple banner tutorial! How generous!

Ain't this a cute banner or what? But wait a minute..

Look closely...closer, closer...

..closer...
There!!! The banner is made from my reindeer tags!! Yaaay! She even thinks of not one but two extra purposes for the tags!! Give me more Yaaaaaaays! Curious? Head up to Momfetti now!

*update* Check out Fantastic Find's memory game using the tag! You'll play again and again!

My Vintage Christmas

I have been up and down with the joy of decorating for Christmas lately, did I mention that this is my favorite time of the year? I have been living with my husband for 4 years now, moving into the house, being pregnant, and having a baby for the first 3 and half years, we didn't have time to "intentionally" decorating for Christmas (quickly cut paper snowflakes were always present, and there were always Christmas card garlands..). We never set up a tree before, and I just think we didn't have one, so I suggested why don't we buy one with the decorations. My husband said he actually has one buried somewhere deep inside the boxes we never touched since we moved in. He took the tree out along with the decorations. I never thought that it was a very beautiful vintage ornaments from the 70's! Where did he get those? My husband share a very different aesthetics than me, I thought his Christmas ornaments would filled with glassy crystal and white classics balls.. Well, I'm overjoyed with these quirky ornaments.. take a look...

Fruits on Christmas tree? Why not? did you notice the orange with eyes and a nose?

Is the hole on the leaf originally there or is it because it was made before I was born?


..and this happy fella, what should he be? A catterpillar?


..aaaw he transformed into a happy butterfly!!


..and finally, old St. Nick never looked this ..er..charmed before..


What's your Christmas style this year?

Dancer, Prancer, ...

..Vixen, Comet, Dasher, ...and er...Rudolph! Of course! Seriously, can you name them all? Now you can!! Download my Christmas Reindeer Tags and use them vigorously! Out of the topic, one of my favorite Christmas tune is Rudolph the Red-nose reindeer song. I can sing it all day. :)

download

Of course, there will be a post here of how you re-create the tags. Hints : button magnet? Stickers? Party confetti? Be creative, people, and let me know! :)

p.s. Once again, no commercial use, people, yes, that includes promoting your shop using this (e.g. Buy 3, and get this printable tags for free! It's already free without buying!). Thank you!

Winter Clueless

I'm going to HongKong this week! Yaaay! But this would be Baby G's first overseas trip, her first winter, her first flight, her first adventure to foreign territory!! Oh no! I think it's too much for her little self!! I'm more worried than excited preparing the whole trip, I was anxious the whole time.. "What if she poops on the plane's seat?", "What if she cries loudly and this man/lady besides me give me 'the stare'?" "Do they serve toddler's menu on plane/hotel?" , "What if she refuses to sleep?" etc. etc. I know, I know, I need to get a hold on myself.

It's not only baby G's who is clueless about overseas trip, say hello to her companion, The Pathetic Clueless Mother. To tell you the truth, being dressed in summer muu-muus and short cotton pants with slouchy T-shirts all year, makes me a terrible winter fashion novice. Boots? Coats? Cashmere? How do you tie your shawl? How do you wear your socks? Long? Tucked inside the boots?? I could use one or two winter get-ups tips, if you don't mind sharing...

It's time for another interview!! I'm so excited! And today's I'm very lucky to have the chance to interview Tracy of plingstore!! Gee, when's the last time we have a jewelry maker around this blog? So, Tracy graduated with a degree in TV directing, how cool is that, but no, now she doesn't even watch it. She's more of a movie person than a TV one, and obviously she's too busy making jewelries. A retail version of pling is planned to hit one of Singpore's streets, another reason to visit the sunny island.

Tracy loves photographing random things, but never herself. She also enjoys art and occasionally writes and does graphic designs for her own store. She also lives with my elderly stroke-patient mum and is the sole caregiver. pling allows her to really work from home and care for her (...quit your day jobs now, ladies!! NOW!) Think she's an angel? She also has something for you, my dear readers. Purchase 2 or more pieces from plingstore and get a 10% off your entire purchase! Savings of at least US$8 is in store for you. Just enter "babalisme" in message to seller at her etsy store or www.plingstore.com (promo code). Promotion ends December 9th, 2009. She is having a free international shipping promo too in favor of your Christmas shopping this year.

Let's get the interview started, then!!


What started Pling?
I'm been a wearer of accessories since I know how to dress up and I think a piece of accessory makes your outfit different and adds oomph. I love mixing and matching the new and the vintage jewelry I inherited from my mum or through finds overseas.

I've been creating accessories for friends (guys included!) since my uni days. My style has changed significantly and I do different jewelry at different stages of my life. I think it's a reflection of who I am, what influences me and what I feel touched about.


I created pling two years ago, incorporating it in Singapore to give a peace of mind to my online blogshoppers. Initially, I bought accessories from overseas to sell, but that increasingly became unsatisfying because the prices may be too high with that type of quality. I thought I could do better than this and it has always been important that I use my heart, hands and mind in the creation of the pieces - mixing colors, textures and styles that could transcend different periods and continents.


What style of jewelry you are you drawn too?
I love jewelry that is a mix of eclecticism, Romanticism, vintage and eco-friendliness. My creations say that with my various obsessions (What's life without some form of obessions right?). I love making jewelry with wooden materials, vintage keys, hand stamped words and earth themed charms.
Among the sole type of jewelry; necklace, earrings, ring, and bangles/bracelet, which is your favorite?
Can I only choose one? I'm never without a necklace-earrings combi. I think an outfit changes with what you throw on your necklace, using your blouse/dress as a backdrop. With one necklace, it can be quirky; with another, it becomes glamorous; and with another, it becomes city chic. There are just too many permutations to play with. A bonus, necklaces accentuate the best part of your upper body, be it your sexy collarbones, your defined jawline, or your chest.

Earrings really light up your face, whether there are blings or not. They bring attention to a woman's shoulders if they are long. For studs, I love to play with colors and textures. I feel kinda of naked without earrings, like I'm dressed to head out of the house!


Do you have a piece of jewelry you never take off?
Nope. I love to mix and match according to my mood of the day, and what I'm wearing, and who I'm meeting.
Which celebrity(ies) looks perfect in your creations?
1. Audrey Tautou - I'm very inspired by my Paris trip and I think she can take some many looks - classic French, romantic elegance, boyish chic, and party glamor.
2. Bjork - She supports handmade and wear fashion made by her friends. She is pretty gothic at times, and yet, she looks so childlike. I feel that my toy necklaces would suit her personality.
3. Ellen Page - She is eclectic.
4. aiko and Becky (from Japan)

What is the best kept secret in jewelry making business?
Don't think it qualifies as a secret though. First, never make something that you are not going to wear. Second, pray for wisdom and guidance for your HEART and hand when you are creating the pieces.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How's the turkey? Let's put away the scale and enjoy the feast.

Speaking of feast... I nearly faint in joy (and peed my pants a little) when I found out I won the "Which Marc Jacobs are you?" contest at hotchocolateandmint, the uber famous fashion blog in Indonesia. I won 100US$ gift certificate of shopbob.com!! Yaaaay!! Christmas came early for me! Don't get me wrong, I may not sound like a fashion expert, but my affair with fashion has long been intertwined. As you can guess, I love fashion but fashion is just not into me. *sob* no worries, I will always love you, dear fashion. (why am I writing this with Karl Lagerfeld's image on mind??)

Anyhooo...
I painted this as my gratitude to lovely Diana. Check her blog out, she's the Brianboy of Indonesia.

ps. now now what shall I get with my 100US$? *winkwink*

Monsier et Madame...

I wish I could speak French, I'd look totally sophisticated and honorable. Sssh, Dream aside, eatdrinkchic provides the best gift tags for you this season. And it's totally free to download and print (praise her!). I love how versatile it is, it can be used as place cards, bookplates, or even toilet directions when you have an open house this season ("bebe" for diaper changing or nursing rooms? Great idea!).

Indulge, dearies, whether you speak French or not.

B is for..

..bunting and C is for crafting your own bunting. Who doesn't love bunting? They simply upgrade a nice humble room into party mode. Much like sequin dresses do to mothers, only better and way easy on the cost. Here's a tutorial for the simplest bunting for the simplest and most practical craft heads (like me). Enjoy.

Thanks to happythingsforkids.

Good News!

Extra! Extra! Some of my printables are available to print, once again! I decided to use Scribd, tough it takes time for me to understand the procedure (not the tech savvy gal here) and finally upload the files (and 3 times firefox connection failure while I was uploading), and in the celebration of the printables' comeback, I'd like to thank Jenn of rookno17 for the tip, yippeee, thanks, Jen!

Why "some of them"? I will eventually upload them all back, but I try to find the best connection of the day, because when it's not the best time, it's very frustrating, trust me. If you find your favorite printables still unable to be downloaded, please, do tell me, which one is it, and I try to upload it for you.
In the mean time, there's this new blog I am curently obsessed about called bukaretsleting. It's about a twenty something lad who is willing to execute your dare, any dare, proposed to him on the blog. My favorite one is him going to a crowded mall in pink leggings and him kissing a mean looking police officer. He just started out, but I do wish for more.

Konnichiwa, Hipoto!

Have you ever get excited for your daughter's toy? Kokuyo, the famous stationary brand from Japan has just released a new environmental-friendly toy line. My brother, Baby G's uncle, obviously, managed to get me, eeer.. Baby G, one of its toy. It's a hippopotamus hand puppet, apparently named Hipoto and he has a lot of vegetables and other food to chop, and he need Baby G's help. Exciting, isn't it?

..last but not least, you have to know that things do not originate from Japan if they don't have a quirky catch, so let me tell you a dark little secret about Hipoto. He poops. Yes, according to the instruction leaflet, he does. We tested it last night and couldn't stop laughing. Interested?

This is the kind of..

...bribery I'm talking about. Arlene is posing her 2 year old to beg for my Halloween printable. I melt, of course. I hope she will have fun with it. Look how adorable this girl is!

My own RiceBabbies!

Kellie's doll is here!!! I'm super excited but try not too obviously crazed in this post. ..mmhhmmm (clears throat)...So, Kellie did this one to resemble Baby G, but since Baby G has yet to grown very little hair, has lighter skin than me, and doesn't have my olive shaped eyes, my husband said the doll looks like me. He even tried to actually pin a needle on it, checking if it was really my voodoo doll, cute, isn't he?Thanks, Kellie!

I'd like to make an announcement...

So, how was your Halloween? Me? Nah... if I dressed up for Halloween or celebrating something similar to Halloween in Indonesia, we'll be addressed swiftly to city asylum, that's for sure, or burnt on a stake.

OK, enough with the chitchat .. I am here to inform a very bad news for you. My Halloween printables, or any of my other printables will be unavailable to download, TEMPORARILY. That's it. I have heard many of you complaining about the file hosting web I'm using for those printables and I am now looking for a new one. If you have any suggestion for a file hosting web that is :

• free at all times (for me and those who download)
• large file storage capacity
• doesn't have any file storage limit per month/year/GB/etc, if it has, it's got to be a really spacy limit
• user friendly (for any providers, computers, and minds)
• virus, ads, malware, and those kind of internet-nasties free

..please do tell me. Maybe I'll be asking about how to use it too as I'm not very tech savvy (I even googled a how-to for Twitter!) , please guide me as well. That's it for now, thank you for your understanding, and as soon as I find this site I will upload all of my printables again.

Thank you

ps. If you really really in need in one of my printables, just email me and I will consider sending you the file, under these circumstances only: you need my printables to save your son's life, you need it to save your marriage, you have better stories than those, send me a bribery/ threat, and/or I have nothing better to do. :) Thanks!

pss. As usual I bribe you with Baby G's photo if I have done something bad. Hope you'll forgive me.

Meet Thea (pronounce it like "thea" in "theater"). She brings her imaginary friends to life with her outstanding stitchery skill. And do they look good in fabric and felt. ...and she's only 18. Yes, eeeeiiighttteeen!! Envy. Envy.

Thea's shop on Etsy called Lucy's Colorful Dreams are displaying these little creatures here, and if you're swift enough to grab now, you're in luck, she's having a sale right now until Nov, 1st. Her blog, the LoversCanvas can be viewed here.

In all of my interview, I never edit my participants' answers, let it be their notations, use of capital letters, etc, I like the irregularities as they bring out the characters of the interviewees, even if it's only from their typing habit. So, Thea here had warned me about her punctuation and her random mind walking that could put a 4 year old toddler into deep shame. That's what she told me, not me mocking her, I swear! Seriously, I think it might be one of her charm, and please put this in mind while you're reading. You have been warned!


Where do you find the images of your handmade creatures? Do they appear regularly in your dreams, sketches from your childhood, or what?
In all honesty I have absolutely no clue haha. I’ll be in bed (this is why I keep a drawing pad under my bed at night) and I’ll wake up and have this image of something draw it and then finish it in the morning haha. Just little sprits of creativity. I still like to think that I have the imagination of a 4 year old, I’m a total little kid in a big kids body dealing with all the responsibilities of a adult.
Certain sounds in music will set of a design cause I try to think what it would look like in physical form.
Is that just a little weird? Hehe
As a little kid I had tons and tons and tons of plushies I still have them all and sleep with one occasionally I haven’t kept any of my own plushies for myself but I will one day I’m sure haha.
Plushies can be your best friend, another plushies enemy, they’re just such a source of pleasure and imagination, That I feel that everyone needs one cause they just take you back ya know?

How do people around you initially react towards your creatures?
My wonderful amazing boyfriend/future fiancé absolutely adores my plushies.
Just about everyone that’s seen them loves them or just thinks they’re ok (generally those who are closed minded and don’t like out of the ordinary things lol) Me well I’m my best critic and I will admit I have scrapped a couple critters even after the stuffing process cause they just didn’t come out right, but even I’m surprised with how adorable my things are here and there ^_^

How does living in Las Vegas affect you and/or your creatures?
Well living in Vegas is a new thing we only just moved here a few months ago, I’m a California grown girl whose moved around quite a lot, born and raised in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, San Rafael, Hawaii (yes Hawaii, Maui), then back to California and now here in Nevada, personally I haven’t found it to affect my business at all, but I don’t have TOO many options for craft shows which is a big bummer when California both north and south have such awesome opportunities. (But living in Nevada will change with the coming of the new year)

Speaking of business, when and how did you first see making dolls as an opportunity?
Another thing I can honestly say I have no idea haha, umm well I am a avid poster on the threadbanger forums and I think it was just me starting to want to sew because I was seeing all these other people creating. A phone call to my mom resulting in my mom buying me a sewing machine and then getting some fabric drawing up my own pattern and going for it. I’ve taught myself how to do everything I’ve been doing. Just a few online tutorials here and there. My mom tried to teach me how to sew when I was little but I just didn’t have the attention span nor the patience to figure it out lol.

What is the most challenging thing to face in your business?
Definitely getting enough attention, there are so many other amazing shops with just as equally great plushies so theres A LOT of competition, but that doesn’t stop me I’m always up for a challenge. ^_^

Do you have a favorite among your creatures?
Hmmmmmmm, well I have quite a few, one that I actually haven’t posted yet is just sooo soo cute ^_^ it just makes me make that face every time I see it haha. As for the ones that are up I adore my owl Owen, Wub, Harper, My wonderful zombie couple, and mummy boy whom I sold was def a favorite, I put so much time and so much love into each of my critters that they all really do have a soul.


What is the most memorable compliment from a satisfied customer you have ever received?
Probably the custom order dinosaur I just did for seriously the sweetest women in Ireland. She came to me saying that my adorable spots the dinosaur (who just sold actually) looked exactly like what she wanted just a few alterations needed to be done. So she sent me the picture and I worked my magic. Through out the whole process she was just the sweetest thing ever, and I would gladly do business with her again. It wasn’t so much what she said that made me happy its the intentions she had for the little dinosaur. But every compliment I’ve received on my little critters have all meant the world to me, people opinions really matter to me when it comes to stuff I create cause I want it to appeal to them.
On the contrary, what it the meanest, heart breaking criticism you have ever heard?
I haven’t gotten anything heart breaking yet, but whenever I go into chats on etsy, or show my stuff to people, I think the thing that hurts the most is just my stuff not getting posted or people just doing that kind of non chalant kind of response where they just say uh huh ya that nice.

Ok, that's it for now, thank you for your time!!
Your most welcome, thank you! For wanting to interview me it’s a absolute pleasure <3

The world of make believe.

No, I'm not posting about Barney, so all of you sick of the purple dinosaur can relax. (anyway, who dresses up like Barney this Halloween, please raise your hand!! Noone?? last Halloween? no? So am I the only one finding Barney a little, emphasize this..a liiiittlleee... cute?) I loved role-playing as a kid, heck, if I'm not ashamed of my age, I'd still love to. And here are some make believe tools that keep me drooling all day..

Swish and Swanky

Ohdeedoh.

Jcasa handmade.

fortytworoads' Esty.

Spearmint baby.

Warming up.

For Halloween. I won Florspace's Halloween giveaway (yaaay!) and the package arrived this morning. Wow, what a way to start a weekend! Don't get jealous, peeps! Here they are, taken early in the morning. There should have been a cute pumpkin lantern with the package, but you know, paper lantern and Baby G don't get along too well, so... OK, let's say it's not ready for its close ups. (I nearly cried when it was torn in just 6.5 seconds after I opened the package!) Now I just wish I can get Florspace's talent in sewing, she sews the best bags!

Have a great Halloween warm up and weekend too!