Merry Christmas

Have a Merry Jolly Christmas from all of us at Babalisme!

by the way, it's a pop up Christmas card from Muji, it is also free! How great is that? Just ask for their Holiday catalog and it's right there on the end of the book.

Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year for all of you folks too!

My Condolences

It's supposed to be the most joyous time of the year. I can't imagine what would Christmas be in Connecticut   , after the Sandy Hook tragedy.  I'm loss for words and deeply saddened by the massacre, especially because this time, it happened to children, happy innocent children who enthusiastically been looking forward for a Christmas cheer. Maybe their parents have wrapped and hidden their presents, tucked inside their cupboard with the children's name? Maybe they have been gone Christmas shopping together? Book a Christmas holiday, dinner, or a show for the family?

Losing a child, no mater how you experience it, at what stage of his/her life, is never ever easy. Be it through years on hospital bed, days in incubator, a terrible accident, or even a "mere" miscarriage. But maybe anger reign on a mass massacre tragedy, solely because there is an "executioner". But I don't know. I kinda feel that the shooter himself is the victim. Victim of what? Gun control? Media? Violence gaming? Can you really blame one thing? I simply don't know.  

My heart and prayers to all victim's family. I'm sorry for such a blabbering post, I am literally lost for words. It hurts inside, yet I have no words to express it. I will also never forget, courageous act done by teachers during the shooting, things that made them heroes, though I think they're already ones. God bless them all through this Christmas.

Sugar Rush Dessert Table

Holy Dessert Table! Look what Amesh made for Nova ( Indonesian weekly women's tabloid, if you were wondering, it covers everything from gossips to relationship advice to crafting!), and I pitched in a little bit! I'm so proud of her amazing job on doing the dessert table's landscape, thank you for bringing me along the joyride! 

Amesh had an idea of aqua and red Christmas, a very fresh take on an overused, bi-color traditional Christmas theme. But still, it's very festive and merry!  These are taken on my own copy of Nova.... I think I could never ever throw the issue away. How about framing it? mmm.. 

The bigger pictures... 

See the gift tags on the below left picture? You can actually have them, you know. Here they are, lovely people, do print and share with your loved ones. And do bookmark this page, because all the printables you see here today will be available for download! Think you can top out Amesh's dessert table using the same printables? Share me the pics, and I will feature your own dessert table here on my blog, and tell Amesh she's got competition. How about a real-life er...  virtual Christmas dessert table competition? ...What do you guys think? 

Download 

Here are the long list of all the crafters and the bakers participating in making the dessert table come true. but still, Amesh, you can take a deep bow and hold your head up high now because you deserve a standing ovation.

Kind enough to grab yourself an issue? Please please please get Nova issue XXV or Dec 3-9, 2012 on your local book store or magazine stall before it runs out. Unfortunately it's sold in Indonesia only.  Fret not. Think of all the free printables you'll get and craft your own dessert table away!

Christmas time is near.

Can you believe it? It's time for joy and cheer once again. Aren't you glad it's finally that time of the year again? It might sounds pretty childish, but I do cherish all those Christmas mall-decorating, Christmas theme cakes, Christmas songs glaring everywhere! (not to mention cheeky Christmas sweater!)

Don't forget I have a few printables right at this blog for you to download.

Christmas theme doll printable

Let's decor a tree!

Mail-y Christmas Tags

Nativity Scene Play Stage

Christmas Tags or Tree Decoration if you must! :) 

And if you were wondering why Scribd is standing between you and these printables, asking for some petty cash, fret not, I have included the link to Googledocs instead. So do download away if you want it so bad! ..btw, no, I'm not affiliated in any way to Scribd nor I received some of the payment from your subscribing to Scribd. 

If you have any ideas of Christmas printable, please do drop me a comment or two. I'll try my best to bring the cutest idea to life. :D 

Thank you.

Can you believe it's nearly the end of 2012? I wonder where's the fuss about the end of the world, the Mayan prediction, etc, etc.., it's trending in 2010, but curiously has grown silent during 2012.. mmm..

Thank you all so much for your kind comments and heartwarming support for my last post. It's not easy for me, but your dear words have make it a little bearable to face the "new" me. I know I'm broken beyond repair, but hearing comments and emails saying, "I've been there too, thank you so much for posting, I'm less lonely right now." or "Thank you now I know what to (or not to) say to my grieving friends/family." or "Take a look at this person's blog, she's been going through it for some time too.."  makes my heart flutters.

My first and sole intention for writing the blog post, is not crying my heart out, or bashing insensitive people, God, no. Maybe the post look a little like "whining about insensitive people" because I broke it down into a list, but what I intended is to gain my readers insight, of what to say, and avoid, to a grieving parents. Because I know, IT IS hard, not to mention while we sympathized with the grieving person, it is also awkward to express it, especially if you share some cultural points with me, where death and grief are shied away from "normal" daily conversation. 

I may sound like I loathe some of the people on my last post, believe it or not, some of the sayings on the list actually came from persons I love the most (my mom, my husband, a close friend...), and I still love them to this day though they said something hurtful. I know they didn't mean what they said, they were just shocked and got lost in their own thoughts.  I think I blurted something about "hating other babies and not wanting any babies anymore" to my husband. I know now it hurt him too because I know he's hoping another, and he knows how I love love love babies and children, and I had my share to apologize too

There's other intention as well when I wrote the post. Thank God, I think I am pretty much succeed with this one. I want to REACH everyone, who griefs, who knows someone close grieving, and ones who have lived with losing a baby all these years. While infant death never glorified as a "real" grief, more often spoken in a statistical or medical manners, I know that the pain is real. Like one reader commented, "I'm less lonely right now.", I do feel less lonely after I wrote the blog post and received lots of comments. And I hope you all do.

Thank you.

After the Storm

Hello dear readers,

Maybe some of you wondering where I have been all this time, and I know some of you realize where I am, and some maybe just don't care. But I do owe all of you a blog post. Since it's my personal blog, and technically has been my second home in the blogosphere, where I connect to my whole dear "second" family.  Ironically, lots of whom I haven't actually met, but connected in heart and mind no less than those real physical being family and friends. It's really hard for me to come back here, I haven't the courage nor the strength to face it, maybe, I don't know. Even as I'm typing right now, I am still trembling, word by word.

As you already know, I was pregnant with a boy, hence our little virtual baby shower party. :) It's a little bittersweet for me to see the printables and my happy rantings still up on my blog, because I lost the baby.

Baby Glenn was born on July 20th, 2012, nearly at midnight. I had waited in the operation table to hear congratulatory remarks from the doctors, nurses, and midwives. "Congratulations, it's a boy!" and my baby's first cry to fill the room. And to see him brought up to my chest to cuddle. But no. There was nothing. The already cold operation room grew a lot colder. It felt like the longest thing in my whole life. No baby's cry.

37 days later after he was born, Baby Glenn died peacefully. During those time in the NICU, he had not once regain his consciousness. I couldn't remember the medical words the doctors mumbling to me, but I did remember one of them saying, I gave birth to a "vegetable". Another doctor said it's already a miracle he could survive for a week, or two, given the circumstances, he should had been a still-born.

My heart breaks like it has never been. I read, I know some parents who have to endure a child lost, but experiencing it on my own is a hell of roller coaster ride. And to make things worse, child or baby lost is still treated like a taboo for some and a not too big a deal for others. I know some things are worse than this (war, terrorist attack, tsunamis, ...) but some people dare to say it to my grieving face, that, "Oh, you could always make another one." Some people I thought I know well, coming out about their own loss or miscarriage and how it still grief them, shyly, like it was not supposed to be talked about, and only talked about because now I have experienced it as well. I'm Indonesian, well maybe that's how our culture reacts to a tragedy like this.

I tried to pick up my parts piece by piece and trying to move on. Anyway, works and daily life have been catching up to me naturally. Big Sister Giselle, thank God for her, is my main source of power, my Patronus, my anti-kryptonite, my sun. (sorry for the geeky references). She had a really rough time too, losing her highly anticipated brother. I could still remember her innocent prayer every night when I was pregnant, "Dear, God, thank you for a baby brother you had given me, please let him out of mommy's tummy soon" Every night, without fail.

And, thankfully, she knows, oh, how she knows better than me. She teaches a few things about "dancing, singing, and laughing in the rain" rather than curling up crying asking when's the storm's going to leave. Because I realize now, thanks to her, that this pain is not something we get over in time, it will breath with us as long as we live. But whether you want hope to shine upon the darkest place in your heart, or you'll let your whole heart rotten because of it, the choice is up to you. I can be a bitter old lady who hates babies and curses at Santa, or I can be more loving, more generous, more positive in my whole aspects of life. Maybe a little more helpful to the world?

I sincerely thank all of you who's already been there for me too. Thank you for you thoughtful compassion.  

And thank you for not saying these to me : (also, if you have a family or a friend who has lost a child/ baby/ have a still-born or a miscarriage keep in mind not saying this to them)

• You could always make another one. (well, say that to a parent who lost a 20 year old son) 
• You're lucky he died now, you'll grief more if he was already a 5 year old. (do you double your affection with your child's age? do you love the 10 year old sister much much more than your 5 year old? and you love your 1 month old baby the least?)
• You should have been closer to God and serve Him more. (not only this remark do nothing to my grief, it's also added guilt to my already catastrophic emotion, also you never knew if the grieving person is religious or not, if you're not sure stick your "God" or "angels" talk to yourself)
• ..oh.., yes, yes, it was sad. But did you know that I was... *telling her own not-to-related problems* (I'm not saying that her problems were of less more important than mine, but please pick your timing when you want to share your own problem to a grieving friend) 
• MY! Aren't you a little fatter this time? (no, I'm not joking, I'm actually told this on Glenn's funeral. Maybe, she just lost for words, maybe she doesn't know what to say to a grieving person- believe me it's hard- I don't even know what to say to my husband. But the old politeness rule is true, "If you can't think of anything resourceful/nice to say, don't say anything at all.") 

Well, now, I have used nearly a full box of tissue writing this. I am now ready to declare that I'm back at the blog. Have a nice day and thank you for reading!

Teddy's Bar Party

Purple and pink and white, what a delightful sight! I'm sorry for the occasional rhyming. :) I think I have read too many Cat in the Hat books by now (I even have the theme song playing in my head as I write this post, Big G seems to have taken control of the remote control lately). 

So, what's purple and pink and white and such a delightful sight you say? It's a party held by a really talented mom, Linda, for her daughter, Amelie's 5th birthday! Loving how the color palette blend in perfectly with the outdoor environment by the pool, gosh, don't you think Amelie's such a lucky girl? 

                            

Well, being cute doesn't hurt either, for that matter. I always like the idea for putting personal things like Amelie's own teddy and her pictures on dessert tables. It makes the whole thing and arrangement much more personal.

Mom Linda asked me to do all the printables needed for the dessert table. The idea/theme is to create a vintage, whimsical candy/dessert bar with a teddy bear twist. I kinda imagine the Teddy owns a vintage French pattisserie. I'd visit everyday if it were true. Seen here is the yummiest looking red velvet cupcake adorned with red hearts and sprinkles *sigh*, not really a brain food, but who can resist such temptation? Have I mentioned there were also macaroons? 

Well, it's such a fun themed party and Mom Linda is such a pleasure to work with! Happy belated birthday Amelie, cheers for good years to come! Thank you Mom Linda for sharing the pictures with me! 

ps. If you have submitted your party pictures and have not been featured here, please do be patient, as I have said numerous times, my internet is not being very friendly at this point, I'm really trying to feature yours one post at a time. Thanks! 

It's a Boy Party Kit : Food Card

Dear Lovelies, how was your weekend?
Have you been downloading the party kit? Does it work? Any problems downloading? I'm using 4shared now instead of Scribd, I don't know why but Scribd refused to load at the mean time in my PC. So tell me if you have any problems/ suggestions!

Anyho, I'm not much of a baker so I'm not sure what to serve during "boy-ish" party theme. What do you suggest? Is macaroons a little bit too girly? While you're thinking and preparing what to bake, here are the food card party printable to guide your guests through the dessert table. Download away.

It's a Boy Party Kit : Cupcake topper

Finally, my internet connection deliver somewhat decent kilobytes, not as usual, but *shrug* it's better than nothing. It's been a pain to even upload tiny little images to Flickr. *sigh*

Anyway. What's a party without cupcakes? Go on bake some, print the printables, and have a party! Download here. And since some of you still asking about the limit of use of my free printables, here are the FAQ, below. To make it simple and short; I'm not praising myself in being so generous, really, I'm having fun sharing free printables to my readers... but, please respect others' hard work in creating free stuff you can use personally... please don't make any commercial gain using the free stuff you're getting. :)

FAQ
I have a printing/letterpress/party business can I sell printed/end products to my customers?
of course, you can not. I give out these printables free for personal use, no commercial purposes allowed. Please respect my rights as the maker, and don't do it behind my back, it hurts my feeling, really. And I may stop giving away free printable. And you might get boo-ed by my loyal readers. Just, don't be a jerk.
I have a printing/letterpress/party business can I give printed/end products to my customers for free?
if your main intention is still commercially promoting your own business using someone else's hard work... no.
I want to host a party for my best friend's bridal shower can I use your printable?
whatever your party is, if it won't give you commercial gain, please, be my guest and print as much as you like. I'd love to see some pictures in action though, consider it my payment :)
A friend of mine like the printables so much, can I give her my copy?
do ask your friend to download herself on this blog, I love making new friends, so your friend can be my friend too :)
I like the design so much I want to use it on my name card/ blog buttons/ facebook profile picture/ twitter background/etc?
Well, I'm sorry, you can't alter the design that is already made, digitally speaking. However you can always use it creatively AFTER you print it out. For example, you may print it on t-shirt transfer paper and iron it on your t-shirt! Just don't sell the t-shirt afterwards.
Can I order you to make me a custom invitation/paper doll/ schedule/ party kit/etc!
Sure you can! from the mean time please email me at babalisme{at}yahoo {dot}com. My webstore is still in construction, I know I know, I'm pretty lame at web designing so, please forgive the inconvenience.

Cinderella shouldn't be the only one.

Hello! Today I'm going to talk about some other thing, a little break away from the party stuffs that's supposed to be going on this time.. I promise all the party printable will be coming your way real soon than you can spell "happy birthday". ;)

You know a thing or two about shoes, right? All the glitz and glams surrounding a pair of shoes.

I know I crave a pair of REAL glass slippers when I was a kid. You know the one that's not made of clear plastic and when your feet sweat it felt yucky and uncomfortable. But I was at the age of believing real glass slippers would have been realistic and comfortable. (come to think of it now logically Cinderella would have been suffered through the night)

The story itself, however, is somewhat logically true. "Give a girl the right pair of shoes and she can conquer the world", or this matter find herself a royal husband. She did changed her life, didn't she? Well, if you live in a third world country like me, it's a very common sight to see people, and children, walking errands barefooted. It was part tradition (our ancestors as farmers and fishermen never use anything to cover their feet working) and part poverty, actually. Children walk miles away to their school without wearing anything, but sometimes they even carry their own shoes and put them on when they arrive at school. Their shoes are so precious and lux they can't bear seeing them dirty.

This info graphic shows us how shoes can really change some children/people's life. No, I'm not trying to make you feel guilty buying a pair of designers shoes, :) but just think how a mere pair of shoes can make an impact not only for Cinderella, but also the rest of the world. I secretly wish they serve in Indonesia as well.

Via: ShopaholicMommy.com

It's a Boy Party Kit : Invitation

Now you have a party to throw, why not invites some friends? Here is a fill in the blank invitation to print. Just print along accordingly to your number of guests, and well, um... fill in the blank parts.

Well, not all the blank parts shown written on the example should be filled, for instance the blue ribbons can be left blank if you wish. The RSVP part could also be left empty or filled with another details (dress code?).

It's your party, anyway, so have fun and fill those blanks as you'd wish. Don't forget, I won't mind a few DIY alteration and creative embellishment, send us a photo of your creations! But please remember to use the file for PERSONAL USE only, and if your friends ask for it, give them the link, not your copy :) . Have fun inviting!

download

It's a BOY!

I won't be holding the vote any longer since June's almost over, so based on 12 votes, it's 7 for boys and 5 for girls. Real close, ladies, real close, I'm sorry but you girls have to wait till next time :). Thank you for all the voters!

And for my own what's-cooking-in-the-oven reveal.. it's also a B-O-Y. You're right, readers, your vote is exactly what I also have in my belly. Yay for blogger-reader mind reading :D!!

I'm gettting all your free printables ready, but in the mean time, here are some stuff you can stock up first for your baby boy shower/  little man's birthday/ mustache party. :)

Ties for decoration, thank you FullHouse for the inspiration! 

Matching t-shirts for the guests and/or the birthday boy! Shop at BirthdayCouture! 

Need a snack? What could be better than a batch of mustache cookies? Found one at ThePastryTart Bakery.

Pick your Gender!

It's that time again for Babalisme's annual Free Party Printable kit. This time, instead of getting to choose between 2 themes, I'll let you choose between 2 genders.Yes, I know, it's as cheesy as celebrity baby sex guess in tabloids (yeah yeah Snooki's reveal and Jessica Simpson mega shout-out about hers), but I'm so pregnant that all I keep thinking about are babies. Please think of this as my own gender reveal, DIY style :)

Even if you're not planning any babies after all or baby shower parties aren't really on your agenda, please DO VOTE. I promise I won't make the whole kit too "baby-ish", for example, the boy party kit would be still proper for a little boy's birthday, family gathering in man-ly moods, or even a casual lunch with your besties. I pledge there will be no pacifiers or diapers graphic!

Vote away, GIRL or BOY?

ps. I will be doing a free printable based on your vote, not my own baby gender. but I will also reveal my baby gender along with the result :)

Hi Again

When one of my blogging pal said in an email nearly a year ago, "I think I gave up blogging, but we can still be in contact and I will still be an avid reader of your blog." I was "Whaaaa..aat??!" I enjoyed her blog very much , it's tidily structured and decorated, plus, she's one of those who update her blog regularly every week. She's even much more diligent on that part than I do. I was, "What has gotten to your mind? You can't give up now?!" Well, the same thing almost happened to me. I almost gave up blogging.

On my blogging hiatus, I was so consumed with life and all things happening around me, I was away from the keyboard for almost half a year. I do still read my favorite blogs and what my pals have to say on theirs, I enjoy blogosphere as usual, from outside, looking in. Well, now that I missed Easter, mother's day, father's day, The Queen's Jubilee, and lots of merry things we usually find here, I AM HERE now :) 

Sooo.. a quick catch up about me. I'm 7 months pregnant, it wasn't as easy as my first, so I partly blame the pregnancy for my blogging absent and Baby G is now almost 4. She will be when her sibling arrives. To my pride and joy, Baby G is now fully toilet trained (bye bye diapers, HA!)  and is a master on counting 1 -20 also knowing her ABCs. Pictured above is her own art exhibition.  

June is babalisme's annual FREE Party Printable Month, as usual, you will get to choose between two themes and the chosen one will be shared for free! I will reveal both themes tomorrow, and yes, it will be linked  to my pregnant mood. I hope you don't mind :D

glad to be back. xoxo. 

Just a Quick Note

I apologize (again) for my hiatus, and yes, maybe not on the blog only but everywhere else, facebook, twitter, pinterest... Life's getting in the way, as usual, more than it ever was for both me and Fredy, my partner in babalisme. Put simply, things are not looking quite good, no, not with each other, it just happens that our own personal life (and health) are not going well. So, let's hope and pray for the best! I hope we can have more fun here real soon! Thank you for your understanding!

Double New Year Wishes

table calendar by millimeter milligram 

I'm so sorry for the lack of post and absent in the blogosphere, oh, how I miss visiting and reading blogs. I have been really busy and the start of this year. First, we decided to renovate the old house. Yes, it's the same house my husband's been living for 20 years and hasn't been renovated since, so, Yes, it has few holes and some cracks, shessh. Also, I have been working on my new website which has been on hold for quite some time due to technical problem (now I regret not taking programming classes). Not to mention the usual job deadlines and daily chores. During the middle of hectic planning here and there, I found out that I am expecting my second! Baby G is going to be Big Sister G!! Oh, golly.

So I'm sorry for all the delays, all the late promises and email replies, I'll get back to you later. All I can say is thank you for being a loyal reader and stay tune for more fun this Valentine and a G-I-V-E-A-W-A-Y coming right away. Just bookmark the blog and don't miss out!

Happy belated New Year and Happy Chinese New Year!

What's your resolution this year?