Where am I?

Well, here I am, I'm not going anywhere at the moment. Why the sudden disappearance? You know the notorious swine flu? Well, Baby G suffered another mutation of the flu and has just recovered today. It was her first serious illness and yes, I was very very worried and stood by her 24 hours a day, even when she slept, I kept my eyes wide open. So, I'm sorry if I had not been available in the blogging world, I hope I were missed (hey, did you miss me??) but now I'm back, hopefully, to my regular routine.

Having known how hard it is to persuade a child drinking her medicine, I make this treat (or bribery?) coupons for moms to use. I think it might work for older children, but of course you can always give this on every occasion. Winning a match, do chores, birthday, or just simply being cute. For those who thinks ice cream and toys are the worst treat for children, the two other coupons are left blank for you to write anything.

download.

Enjoy your weekend.

Baby G's Birthday Inspiration..

..still, with no luck on finding a theme, I know ideas can be abstract, but this is too much. I have an array of beautiful things across the net to keep me inspired, I just need to sum them all into a word/sentence! What would these be??

blossomhillcottons' Flickr.

allsorts' woof woof pupkin.

JennyLees' Flickr

simplythisthatandtheother's strawberry shortcake cake.

And as tempting as it is, please don't say a strawberry shortcake theme, because I don't want everyone to think of that freckled red haired girl with big hat, she's adorable, but no, I'm not into character party at this point, Baby G is too small to relate to that.

Tagged!

This is my first time getting tagged, so it was kind of amusing and exciting, really, because I don't know if I get this right, so..um.. I was tagged by Rheaa from by_Rheea (hehehe, pun really intended!) So here are the rules :

1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. List six little things that make you happy.
3. Tag six bloggers and let them know they’re “it”.

Yep, I have done the first rule, so I'm going to make a list. Happy, huh? mm..but I like to make some note, that on this list I try to exclude my family and friends, because obviously they make me happy and is the very foundation of my whole being.. so mom and hubby (and Baby G too, someday), if you read this and you're not on the list, doesn't mean that you don't make me happy..OK, now to the list..

Bittersweet comedy. I laugh at certain and particular kind of comedy, of course pranks, racial and dirty jokes, and the slapstick ones are excluded. That's why I never seem to like the character Ashton Kutcher try to portray on Punk'ed, or is it the real him, either way I never like it. Btw, the picture is of Flight of the Conchords.

Dreamy spaces. swoon, no explanation needed. From JoieDeVivre via SweetiePiePumpkin.

Disneyland, I have this little kid inside of me that never grows up.

Nice people, random kindness, and the whole things of being nice. Just nice. I received a lot of sympathetic emails and comments when Bronnie died, and most of them comforted me like they knew me, in fact I live miles apart and a total stranger, but it doesn't stop them from being nice. Thank you everyone, your every bit of words made my day brighter than ever.

Design things and stuff. Aren't they the prettiest? candle holders courtesy of bonboog.

Handmade things, crafting, and all those stuff. You know it. The picture is of Renegade Handmade store, yep, opened based on the craft fair with the same name at Chicago, you can always visit its online counter part if you reside outside Chicago.

Is it 6 already? Aaaww... I wish I had more things to list!! Shut up, big baby, now unto the next task, tag away 6 people!! Ha, I love this. OK.. OK.. Carrie, Natsumi, Diana, Joelyne, Anna, and Tuppence!! They are 6 different ladies with different field of expertises, so I guess it must be fun to find out what makes them smile.

Today's to do list..

• pancakes for breakfast .. done. I'm too lazy to mix my own dough, I bought "the box"
• baby food for Baby G..done, but she didn't like the Gouda cheese I added in, so we hit "the jar"
• daily design works.. horoscope/zodiac illustrations, quite exhausting to figure out 12 different poses..
• play with Baby G
• another baby food for G, skip the Gouda add the usual cheddar
• snack for Baby G
• put her to an afternoon nap
• back to work
• write a blog..hey, I'm doing this! Consider this done!
• go out for dinner ..my husband is planning this, I think we'll hit another jar for G.
• put Baby G to sleep

Well, ... I wish I could put on one of these on my today's to-do list, but...sigh, OK, I hate to explain my incapability, but of course, I always love to share things!! Here are some of the best paper craft tutorials I'm dying to try.

remember this? the awesome Tuppence has written a tutorial for the cute bag.

design*sponge's paper scarp craft will make you think twice to discard any gift wrapping leftovers.

...and so is spotted sparrow's paper bow tutorial.

Simply delight the little ones with this paper magic trick from anise mouette.

Sprinkle some..

...Momfetti!! Such cute name for a blog, no (confetti, get it?)? And her real name is a real blast, Tuppence!! How dear is that? I wish I were named Tuppence now! sigh. OK, back on the real post topic, dear Tuppence has made a wonderful creation with my deerio-shroomio pattern (remember it?). It's a snickerdoodles-sized take-home bag (wow, that's a mouthful, try to say it 5 times, fast!). Look how cute it is.

And that's not all, I'm really glad she emailed me, otherwise I wouldn't find her precious wonderful blog filled with sewing and craft tutorials, pretty daily photographs of her family (and her neurotic cat), and much more! But I do wish she will post the tutorial of deerio bag up there for everyone to follow, *wink*.. Not the seamstress/crafter type but you crave for her sewn goodness? Yep, she has an Etsy shop, ooh, thank God for Etsy.

As if that's not great enough, she's having a giveaway right now until 11th of August (eep, quickly now)! Yes, Giveaway! Go on, win a diaper clutch (non-mommies can keep it until they need it or just simply give them to any moms you know) and tell her I sent you, that increase the chance of winning....er, kidding, just say hi for me, will you?

If I can love..

..you more....sigh...


My family dog of 14 years, Bronnie, just passed away on Friday, so yes, it's been a rough weekend for me, not to mention the common cold Baby G has to suffer. Just like an episode of Oprah, I really really regret that I didn't have the chance to say goodbye, stand by her when she needs me, or say I love you, or show her how she means to me, no, I just took her being for granted, it's (always) too late now and I deeply regret that. With all those Oprah episodes and movies and books with similar moral I am still an ignorant idiot who think of Bronnie as just another old furniture in the house.

My brother put a song by Jackson 5, Ben, into a really good interpretation of Bronnie's life. She was taken from the street by my father, along with her sister, at merely 6 months or so, given by my father to his acquaintance for another months, and then we finally adopted her when she was about 1 year old. Her sister stayed with the acquaintance, but her life was even shorter. Bronnie had many great personalities and you can say that she was an "easy" pet. She required very little pampering, rarely got sick, ate almost anything, slept almost anywhere, and very easily toilet trained (she's even the one who refused to took a leak everywhere, she had a favorite spot in our garden). She's hug-able (you can notice her cute chubby stature) and always in a good (not the too excited one) mood. Maybe that's the reason I took her for granted. Sigh. I can go on and on and I still have that hole in my heart. I can't never be the same person again now.



I need to move on, be very strong. If you're kind enough, please help me immortalized Bronnie by using this patterned paper of her to your creation. Please feel free to use it any way you can. here.

Award and Birthday Party Sneak Peak..

I thought yesterday was my first time cradling Baby G on my arms, now she can't barely sit on my lap, always on the run, even if I get a hold on her, she won't stay still. 1 year passes so fast, and being a baby is a short time, now she's going to be an infant, a toddler, finally a small little girl. But I love calling her Baby G, nonetheless, Infant G or Toddler G is just too awkward..

So as you may guess, Baby G's first birthday party is coming close. First! Can you imagine? Her first year of life! She won't be realizing about it, but I'm nearly wetting my pants here. So, as a good mom (yeah, right), I'm browsing all through the net for a good inspiration for her upcoming celebration. I was first thinking of fairy princess theme party, and then think..mm.. It's much more fun for older kids, so I will keep it for the next 3-4 years..Circus/carnival theme...eliminated for the same reason..then I found this particular theme, I can't seem to put a word for it, but I am having the color scheme and all! See these...

from top, left to right :
my2penn'orth. cath kidston. martha youknowwho. cath kidston. little circus.

And this is by far, I have made for the party, it's the favor, an activity book, it's only a proof print, not bound together yet. I will come up with more posts about my preparation, and of course the full post about the party! Yay! I'm so excited!


And by the way, belen of belen: beh-lehn (her name is Stephanie) is giving me this award!! This is surely a day-turner! You know, when I had a "blue" day, this award is suddenly cheer my day up into one bright orange day!! And I guess I have to play along then because the rules of the award stated that I need to divulge ten things about myself that most people don't know and award this to 10 fellow bloggers.
Right.

1. I hate clipping my nails, not that I like them long and spiky (shudder), but I am just too lazy to do it, for me it's the most boring activity I have to do once in a week or two. For the same reason I hate getting a manicure, I always fall asleep at the beautician and it's not a good view.
2. I really really am afraid of frogs, yes even the tiniest most un-harmful one.
3. I enjoy horror movies but a really scaredy cat. (hey, there's a huge difference between a movie and real situation)
4. I am having oatmeal stir fried prawns for dinner (now, that I've mentioned it, I run out of garlic powder, mmm..)
5. I can adapt to most food served in the world, I am thankful for that, as long as the food is not too extreme it made to an episode of Fear Factor.
   
6. On the other hand, I can't adapt to most public lavatories in the world. They have to follow several of my regulations before I can use them, squeaky clean, fresh-smelled, silent (bars and pubs'? no.), and not moving (airplane's? no). I get many complains about this.
   
7. Though I seem to like all things cute and lovely, which I really do, I adore gothic and dark stuffs. Wednesday Addams to me is like Hannah Montana to every little girl born in the 21st century.
8. My husband, which I rarely talk about in this blog, is actually a very nice likable person. I have nothing more to write about him.
   
9. I have many things in my mind I want to be better at. One of them is cooking.
   
10. My best cooking so far is fried banana with brown sugar. duh. Any 3rd grader can do that!

So that's it for now. I'm awarding this award to 10 persons who suggest the best name of the theme of Baby G's birthday party!

This Girl can Draw!!

It's time for another illustrator interview!! I'm so excited, that Noemi Manalang lives in Jakarta, Indonesia! Well, hello, neighbor!! Noemi was born in the Philippines 19 years ago (I envy her youth!) but she has spent her whole life in Indonesia. Having a painting lesson as a child, she didn't automatically pursue a painting career nor joining an academically painting schools, she's self trained and much much experimenting on her own afterward. She has been in several exhibitions, and in her leisure, still very much enjoy viewing other art exhibitions. She took fashion design in my course, but yes, she still constantly draws (Thank Heaven for that!).


I just love how her flowy, soft, and subtle watercolor first caught my eyes, as a girly kind a girl, I always have a soft spot for soft watercolor illustrations. I must say that I really connected to her illustrations mainly because I'm a girl, and her poetic, dreamy illustrations seem like my own thoughts. Well, if you're in love with her illustrations too, you can always check out her shop, niminami on Etsy. Now's in time to get to know her personally!


What's your most favorite thing to draw?
Leaves are my favourite. And eversince I took a course in fashion design, painting watercolour girls has become one of my favourites too. Sometimes I also like doodling some text art. It depends on my mood.

What/who inspires you the most?
I'm inspired by the things around me. Mainly about nature & people. Sometimes, when I look out the window, I could just stare at a beautiful tree and admire it from a distance. (ah, we do get a lot of beautiful trees here) Then maybe I start drawing it. Little and simple things inspire me and give me ideas.

What's the sweetest thing a person has said about your work(s)?
It was when a friend of mine wrote a comment about my artworks that she wishes to have my hands. Well, not literally cut it of course. Hehe meaning the ability to draw, if you know what I mean. But every compliment is the sweetest thing.

On the contrary, what's the biggest, heart crushing, gut melting criticism you have ever taken?
I have yet to face some criticism. Hopefully, if ever, it would be constructive. Something that will push me to improve.

Is there any things (objects/techniques/material,etc) you wish to master more right now?
Recently, I've just moved from oils to watercolours. Its very light and flowy compared to the heavy oil paints so I have yet to learn more of it. I think it suits my personality more.

This is a little out of the topic, but how do you like living in Jakarta, not to mention the recent suicide bombing?
Oh, the suicide bombing. Such an unfortunate thing that happened and to the poor victims. It's scary, but it doesn't mean I don't want to live here again. I grew up here and there are good people here. Some deserve to be punished for what they've done against humanity.

Finally, what's your biggest beast in making art? (by "beast" I mean obstacles, hindrances, or anything else that put you of making good art, like laziness, perhaps? well, that's my beast :))
Ah, yess, like laziness.. Its procrastinating. I usually put things off till to later because I always think there's still lots of time. Time is money. Hehe its something I have to change.



Thank you for your time, Noemi!!

Have you heard of..

..of Rice? Well, it's a shop and since the webpage left me speechless, I'll just share with you some pictures and let them do all the talking. You'll get it.

Soft Sunlight..

I took this picture while I was at my mum's, she collected orchids too. Second place from the cacti family, this is the flowers I love the most. I'm not much of a photographer but I somehow like how this turned out, maybe all of you professionals are getting a big laugh by now, but hey, not that it's going to win an award or something, I am just surprised at how good it turned out.

To celebrate more warm, soft midsummer sunlight, let's satisfy our eyes from the better photographers...

A denim shirtdress.. on top of my list! here.

swoon. here.

Sun after the rain, ah, my favorite scent. here.

Neighborhood. here.

..and when the sun hits the room, here.

Eep!

I won a giveaway hosted by Kimberly not too long ago, I was so excited! Not only I get picked by Mic the dog (hey, I am loved by all creatures, two legged and four!), but Kim is a real sweetheart!

I love her photography, she shoots the best moods and details, all through the giveaway time I kept my fingers crossed (and maybe my eyes too, but I didn't realize it) and by winning the giveaway, I got to pick my favorite from her shop (yaaaay!).

I want to be honest with her, maybe she really need, so I tell her that my actual personal favorite is this "Swing" but my mom, whose birthday is closing in, loves flowers, and I wanted to give her, this "Sharry Baby". And the package arrived.... I was looking at beautiful Sharry Baby, I turned her around and saw that it was signed by Kim, dated, and titled "Swing", I was, "What? I must tell her immediately that she titled it wrong!" ..but then I saw the note...

I went numb..and eeep! She gave me not one but two prints!! Not to mention the postcard and her lovely note and business card. I'm in love!!


You should check Kim's shop now before July ends, just figure this, she gives me this whole lotta bunch of goodness, what will she give to her customers? She's a gem, I tell ya. Don't forget to make her blog, MyAlternateReality a frequent pitstop too, she's a talented photographer, what would you think her blog made of? Eye candies, yup!!

Back to School Labels!

I just realized that the new school year has begun! Well, at least, in Indonesia that is; my nephew started his kindergarten class this week. But for all of you from around the globe, summer holiday is over, and probably going back to school is the next thing in your home's agenda.

download here.

Fret no more, prepare well, I have got something for you! Labels! For books, pencils, lunch bags, and everything else. I know, I made up cooking class and animal science just because I love pie and hedgehogs images. I get a lot of comments saying my printables are directed for girls only, well, looking back, yes, they do look feminine. I try to include both gender this time, so moms of boys, please feel free to download too.

p.s. The girl/boy image are based on average portrayal of a child, if you wish for a personalized one (braids or freckles perhaps?) please do ask. I will make you a set of labels with your child's image and name.

Happily Ever After

I know, you probably has seen these photos everywhere by now. It's Disney's theme parks advertising shot by the great Anni Leibovitz. You don't question the quality of her photographs. Ever. 'Nuff said. So yes, I love the series (but on some characters I think they have mis-casted, guess which one(s)?). Check them all here.

On the other hand, Dina Goldstein, a Leibovitz heir to the throne someday ;), has shot the other side of the Princess' coins. Funny, but true. What happens after a happily ever after?


I hate being a spolier and ruin your surprise factor so see and laugh at the poor souls yourself here.

ow...allright, this is my favorite so let's compare these two...


HA! I love Prince Charming potrayal on this one, watching a polo match? In thights? :D