Fast Fashion FAQ

Hi there, long time no blog. I guess getting used to blogger new layout took me some time. Gee, how old I am! Today I'll be answering to the most frequently asked question landed on my email by you, awesome readers, second to how Scribd works, "What's your personal style like?" or "Can you blog an outfit post?" or "Are you even dressed up everyday or do you blog nekid (naked, LOL, I know it's still pronounced the same but why with this spelling?)" I'm going to answer the nekid one first : um, not literally dressed up but not naked either. 

Samantha Hahn's illustration

It's not a surprise that these questions arise, since I think 70% of Indonesian blogs are about fashion/personal style. And each craft and/or parenting blogger had also at least one outfit post, so many of you think I should come up with this. But to tell you the truth at this point I'm not really into outfit post, because : I'm not really camera ready, REALLY. I'm beyond awkward when it comes to posing. But do I interested in fashion? Yes I do!

What about personal style? Let me do a quick trivia about my personal style :

1. I never wear fur. I live in a tropical town, it'd be suicidal to even consider one. 
2. Nor do I lounge around everyday in bikinis or summer floral prints. Please stop imagining that all people in tropical lands dressed the same way as tourists everyday. 
3. I don't have a favorite or taboo color in fashion. I love them all! 
4. If I must live with only one  fashion staple let it be a slightly over-sized crisp white shirt and a pair of good fitting jeans. OK, I cheated, that's two items. 
5. I have a common obsession for shoes; flats, boots, wedges, heels, pumps, you name it.. I ain't gonna kid myself and deny it. There. 
6. I have my own Hermes Birkin dilemma; it's the queen bee of all designer's bags, perfectly sized, great investment, classically designed, outstanding choice  of colors and materials, shortly: I will never got bored with it. Yes, it's totally pricey, but the price tag aside; everybody else is wearing it. I'm not so sure whether I want one or not based on that fact alone. 
7. I luuuurve my waist. I'm a curvy girl in pear so I'm naturally more attracted to vintage cutting than modern one. I love seeing modern cut on everyone else, but it just doesn't work for me. 

So I think that's all I can share for now. Please do tell me what is your numero uno personal style rule? 

Room Envy

theslowlinfenc

Blafre

ohdeedoh

inkandwit

handmadecharlotte

I once read an article in an interior magazine that a bulky furniture is not recommended to be put in a room, unless, it's a storage room. Also the concept of a house/ a room within the real house or the room itself can also make your actual space look even smaller. But I think when it comes to kids' room, the only rule that should apply is : Imagination.

and budget of course.

All Ears

Hiya everyone! I'm back from a short trip and my do I feel recharged inside and physically exhausted at the same time! When I'm away I heard so many of you asking for this card in a more neutral mood. SO here it is everyone, the card in all occasion greetings. "thank you" and "best wishes". Kinda like 2 phrases in life you should have said the most, right? Feel free to download, click below, and don't forget to share your picture when you're using it.

download

Speaking of "phrases", maybe you have read it all over the net about JCP's slogan on girl t-shirt. No, I'm not going to moan or rant all over the blog for it, but I would like to share my "if" quote now. I grew up with lots of boys around me, 1 big brother and 2 boy cousins who always hang around the house and I call brothers as well. IF my mom had bought me that JCP t shirt and I had worn it, I would not have lived by now. :) Share your thoughts about the t shirt here! I'm in the mood for lending my ears!

Doily Lust

Don't you just love the versatility of paper doilies? They can decorate your party walls as well as inviting your guests. These will help spruce up your party : doily wreath US$40 from myhaleygirl and DIY invitation from bijouxbride.

Doilies can be displayed in every mood, from helplessly romantic to curiously standout. I'm obsessed with this valentine ready doily bloomers set from myhaleygirl, US$50 a set, and illustrated doily from daresong, US$45.

Even though store bought doilies are ridiculously cheap it doesn't mean you can't make doilies on your own. Only a regular hole puncher and pieces of papers needed. Get the tute here from Lorajean.

Much Needed

Katherine Kalleklec's cards, found on brothers borg.

Hi everyone. Have you noticed anything changed on this blog? It's slightly changed, you probably won't notice it but, thank you if you do :) SO .. I finally decided to give it a makeover, 3 years in the run and I think the blog deserves some face lift. In fact, the blog really need one! Do tell me what you think! do you have any more suggestion?

And I also want to tell you that I may not be really available to you during Idul Fitri Holiday break, but I try as much as I can to be online. :D I can't breath without puffing some http nowadays. Cheers!

Free Hari Raya Card!

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I guess I'm pretty lucky to reside in multicultural Indonesia. I'm pretty proud on that subject. I get to celebrate lots and lots of holidays around here. From Chinese New Year, Easter, Christmas, Halloween.. we didn't have St. Patrick's Day tough, sob. And this is the time of the year for Moslem's Hari Raya or Idul Fitri or Moslem's New Year. I'm not a moslem myself, but like any other Indonesians I do get my share of ketupat lebaran and opor ayam ( those are rice cake dish and stewed chicken with coconut milk, kinda like eggnog to Christmas and turkey to Thanksgiving, really tasty :P)

I get many orders for Hari Raya greeting cards and tags too. But one cracked me up. Since I am not a Moslem, I tried to honor the occasion with a traditional greenish design with diamond pattern. Because I didn't know any better way to portrait this holiday. This client of mine said she's not really satisfied. And I asked "Why? I thought I used green to capture the Fitri spirit?" And she said, "Yeah, yeah, I don't really care about all that, I want a modern design."

I chuckled to myself. It is almost unbelievable how we always portray the "holidays" as "traditional" or "old". You know, blushing fat Santa Claus in Norman Rockwell's illustration, the witch's silhouette for Halloween... and most of all, we always think that there are no modern interpretation of Hari Raya design. It's always Arabic ornaments here, ketupat imagery there... mostly green... Sooooo... I kinda wish I satisfied all my clients this time. And to you my dear readers out there with this free one. Tell me what you think!

ps. Btw, if you feel left out and want to use the card for other occasion, do tell me! I'll set up a blank/ other greetings a.s.a.p.

Blog Loving

All pictures are from Ledansla. New blog that stays on my chrome tab all day long. I could never ever get tired looking at these pictures; chubby baby legs? My weakness. Do you have any blogs that keep you staring all day? Do share! Oh don't be stingy and keep those good blogs under your sleeves. :) We all love some eye candies.

On the Rack

adorevintage

moodboard

parkandcube

refinery29

Clothes are beautiful when they are lined up together like these, aren't they? One of my silly obsessions. Clothes hanging peacefully in their homes, a.k.a the closets.

Blog update : I'm still alive and busy catching my own tail. I don't know why it is irresistible to do so. plus I'm drooling like tap water too. JK. Truth is it's almost the biggest juiciest national holiday here in Indonesia, Idul Fitri, and I got more deadlines than I could handle right now. Please stick around, I'll be back as usual :)

Matryoshkas party picture submission is still open. Have a great weekend!

Surprise Surprise

Guess what, after countless projects and wonderful clients for these 3 long years, *drumroll* I'm finally opening my own site!! *applause please! what? no applause? sigh, a little smile perhaps? :) thank you! I know you can do it!*

I have had been asked numerous times, "What is your Etsy shop link?" or "Why won't you open up an Etsy shop?". Sadly, but I think Etsy is not for me. There are a lot of substitutes for Etsy, of course, but I have look around and can't find one that fits babalisme.

So here it is, my own babalisme dot com. It's still under construction, but I can't wait to share the news with you, I'm sharing it now!! Please be sure to drop by again when the store's held its grand opening. I'll tell you when for sure! Also my new facebook page and twitter account. I know I'm not much of a FBer or tweeter but I'll try my best! Like and follow me please :D because more surprises coming right up!

On the lighter side of surprises this week, I won a giveaway at cocomomo. This is the first time I've ever won a giveaway held by fellow Indonesian, and I'm quite surprise the snail mail package arrived in less than a week. Usually if I won something from abroad, it'd take months to arrive. By the way, ain't the camera pouch cute? Check out cocomomo for more pouch-y cutey.

Matryoshka Madness : Thank You Tags

***** October 2013 Update : I'm so sorry, due to all the troubles caused by the download link, this printable is no longer exist. Please stay tune for newer, more exciting printables on the blog! ***** 

Here it is, everyone! Scheduled to be out on Sunday but I think we all love Fridays so much, we posted it TODAY! YAY!

Surprisingly, the printable today won't be here at babalisme blog. (What? It's no surprise? Oh, well.. I tried my best.. ) You can all head down to Kelly's wonderful blog of crafts Running with Glitter to download your latest Matryoshka party kit. Boy, do I love her tagline : "mama said don't run with scissors but she didn't mention glitters". BIG LOL. er.. mama? You could have mop the floor for a week and it still has some glitters on it.

one of Kelly's tutorial : How to make Boo boo Box!

Don't forget to check all Running with Glitter crafty tutorials, healthy recipes, and Happy Healthy Me Link Up! A great motivator if you're starting to live healthier, including fitness tips and products review, healthy menu, and inspirational stories about healthy living. You should read through all the links or even submit one!

Happy crafting! Happy Partying! Happy Weekend, everyone!

As Easy as ABC

I'm a typo addict. Seriously, when I was a kindergartner, when mostly everyone learns to write the alphabet, I was trying my luck copying the exact arial typo they used in student's book. I'm really really frustrated why my "A" wouldn't look exactly the same as the "A" printed on the book. Silly, huh?

SO ... enough babbling. Here are the most awesome ABC's you'll ever know! found on SharesomeCandy.

Daffodil flower alphabet by Vladimir Koncar.

And their names also stand for each letter! Andrea Kalfas.

Daffodil flower alphabet by Vladimir Koncar.

And I want to apologize for the fifth and last matryoshka party kit, it will be up on Sunday instead of today. I'm guest blogging for the last party kit so be sure to find the kit elsewhere. It's a secret place. If you know before I tell you on this blog you're super cool! HAHA!

Have a nice week everyone!

Hey Hey

Hey there, if you were wondering if I am still here or have ended up in a morgue somewhere, well I'm here. Sorry to disappoint you, though I hope you're not, and I secretly hope you're happy instead. I have been busy with my works (who says freelancers has much "free" time?) and planning the big surprise. The surprise would be a great big leap for me since I'm always a scaredy cat on anything. I learnt how to swim at age 12 (*roll eyes* I know!!!) So, I'm really hoping all of you loyal readers of babalisme the blog would give me a huuugeeeeee support on this one. Fingers crossed, I hope all go well.

And some info on the matryoshka party kit, tomorrow will be the last one. Can't wait to see your parties/projects using the free printable. Anyway the kit will be a surprise too. I just love surprises.

And, Oh! All these eye candies were from my latest find in home decor blogosphere, sukkertoy for oyet which coincidentally means "candies for the eyes". It need some goggle translator in action, but it was worth all the 3 seconds translating.

Do you have some new blog finds? Let's share! I love reading new blogs!

Matryoshka Madness : paper plate

***** October 2013 Update : I'm so sorry, due to all the troubles caused by the download link, this printable is no longer exist. Please stay tune for newer, more exciting printables on the blog! ***** 

Another party essentials that often overlooked by a hectic mom planner / momzilla: coordinating paper plate. Very quick and easy trick to add extra color to any table arrangements and can be multi-purposed too! Think of using it as a giant garland, dessert tiered stand, bouquet holder (a little snip snip required), or yes, an invitation or thank you notes if you wish.

Got any more ideas? DO share with us! How would you use this paper plate?

Sail Away!

Remember the nautical mood I share this summer? Well one mother was inspired and decided to recreate the whole theme for her daughter's first birthday and sharing them with us! WoooooT! All aboard for Sarah's first anniversary!!

The party was celebrated at Sarah's preschool, the party included lots of water activity for kids and toddler, and of course, those who is young at heart, to jump into the pool. Apart from getting wet, the children did some bucket-painting and take their art home as a favor! What a great idea to have them sit still for at least 30 minutes.

Love love love all the details, the nautical shaped cookies, the buntings, the welcome aboard sign, and did you notice how big the stage is!! I bet many wondrous things happened there! Happy Birthday, Sarah! You had a swell party!

All photos are courtesy Monica, Sarah's mom, taken by Iski, private photographer. Due to privacy reason we can't share whole party pictures nor exact location of the party and other details such as link to Monica's page. Sorry :) If you have any questions email me, and I'll forward it to Monica.

But I can tell you who provides all the printables... *wink wink*...LOL... Yep including that gigantic stage backdrop. It's enough to send my PC to hibernate mode automatically.

ps. I still had some more matryoshkas printable coming right up, sorry for the delay! And some surprises too!

Matryoshka Madness : straw label

***** October 2013 Update : I'm so sorry, due to all the troubles caused by the download link, this printable is no longer exist. Please stay tune for newer, more exciting printables on the blog! ***** 

Another party kit brought to you right now! Straw labels!! Well, I called them straw labels, but really you can use them for anything, garlands, favor tags, stickers, mostly anything you can think of!

To use them as straw label, all you have to do is put a double adhesive tape to your straw and stick the matryoshka to the straw. Or simply thread a ribbon/ baker's twine through each of them to make a garland. In any size you want. Do share with us if you have more creative projects using these babies! If you're shy, let me put them up for you, just email me at babalisme at yahoo dot com.

Have fun!