Gabrielefelt

I just had to share this with you - little adorable felted bears by Gabrielefelt!
She's on Etsy and the following pictures are all from her lovely Flickr photostream.






They are sooooo cute, right? Right? :D
And such lovely details too!
I think my heart melted upon seeing the pink one! Super adorable creatures :).

Have a lovely day, You! :)

Spools of beauty

I loveeee wooden spools.
They are so pretty and so perfect for trims, thread and ribbons.

Image from here

Image from here

Image from here

And look at this! Shinzi Katoh on wooden spools!

Ahhhh... They are such beauties!

Image from here

Smile + Drink

While I was sick, a friend came over with several bottles of Aloe Vera and Sweet Honey Lemon drinks to help treat cough. When I saw the lemon bottle, I could not help but exclaim, "Oh, so cute!".

Awww... It's smiling at me :). My immediate reaction was to grin back at the bottle cap :D.

I simply love cute drink bottles/cans that make me smile :).

kawaii cans from nyaaa

momoten peach water by selva

Bot Beverages

Do they make you smile too? :)

Cakes, cookies and pies - Oh my!

Yay! It's finally the first day of October :)

October is a super special month because it is the month my blog turns One! I first started blogging on the 3rd., and boy, has it been a super wonderful journey! :)
Secondly, a wonderful friend's birthday falls somewhere mid-October. I have been busy crocheting in preparation for that day!

And... It is also my birthday month!
In my opinion, the best thing about celebrating birthdays is having cake! :D

So to kick off this birthday month, let's have some cake, rolls, tortes, cookies and pies! :D

Click on image to find source :)

And also, note that the last 3 images are from Betty Crocker's Recipes on Flickr. Each image comes with recipes on the Flickr page :)

PS: This is quite unfortunate, but my posting has become even more sporadic and less frequent in the late weeks. I am in the midst of pushing myself to start studying for upcoming October/November exams. After that, I'll be flying off to Kuala Lumpur in early December. I'll promise to come and say hi as frequently as possible during these busy months :).
xoxo

Not so sick of eggs :)

mejika

On Tuesday, when I was moaning and groaning about the fever I was having, I accidentally published the post when I was still busy and sickly editing it. Which explains why the title was missing.

But my appetite has returned (which is great). And I've been consuming lots of eggs during my sickly days (because I have nothing else left in my fridge) :D. Since I'm still so egg-ified, I thought this post should have some egg-love too :).

Sandra (so cake)

dragan

groverflow

cutesypoo

*Clicking on the images will bring you to the website of which the pictures are hosted :)*

I hope you like eggs as much as I do (especially those yummy egg tarts - they are my absolute favourite!)

Have a wonderful Friday/Thursday :)

Coffee me up!

from bun bun life

When I was still a child, I would request for strong iced coffee (strong on the coffee, not the ice :D) when drink orders were taken in foodstalls.

Shinzi Katoh

The elderly ladies whom took our orders would always remember me because I ordered the same drink Every Single Time.

from Sakurako Kitsa

I think dad was somewhat proud. He's a caffeine addict, and I have turned out to be even more of an addict that he is. There was a time when I was drinking 3 cups everyday for a month.

from FromJapanWithLove

On doc's orders, I don't do that anymore. But I've been naughty, I snuck a cup of coffee under my covers last night. Shhhhh... This is between you and me :D

from betsyjean79

And thanks for the wonderful comments in the previous amigurumi post!
You (yes, you!) have a wonderful Friday and weekend! :D

from ♥Takki♥

Small

1. "Is it dark chocolate ?" "Shhh I'm concentrating." by marion klein
2. Mini Crêpes Party! by PetitPlat by sk
3. micropupi detti pupetti by cevi
4. mini jewelry box - Japanese SAKURA style by karaku*

On some days, I feel small.
But feeling small is not always a bad thing.

I would love to be as small as one of Marion Klein's teddies and pour coffee (or is it dark chocolate?) for my teddy friend. We'll have petite crepes in the little breakfast nook, with gaint wheat crackers leaning against the walls.
Yes, it is good to be small in Marion Klein's teddy world.

On a different note...

I would like to inform you lovely readers out there that I'll be taking a short bloggy break, as I plod through a couple of tests and assignment for the next one week.
See you next weekend :)

Oh, bento!

1. My Bento Diet: #125 New Camera from My Bento Diet
2. Bento 30 from Maky's Kitchen
3. Roasted pepper and tomato soup bento lunch for preschooler from Biggie*
4. Bento #73 - Ole' faithful Nutella! from kookyculinary

There is no other way to put it. I shall simply blurt it out: I Dislike cooking.
Yes, that's a capital D ;). I like baking though :). I love sweet things, can't you tell? :D

I am however, a fan of bento. A Big Fan :D.
Admittedly, I have bentos only in Japanese restaurants, but homemade bentos are even more awesome :).

So what is bento? Bento is essentially a take-out box for one. While we can draw the origins of bento from the Japanese, it has transformed into something so multi-cultural now. Take the Nutella and dim sum bentos as examples. If I were to prepare a bento right now, it would have butter chicken, roti and stir-fried cabbage as the mains; and blueberry muffin for dessert. All arranged in a cute way of course :D.

If you're planning a bento meal, there is plenty of inspiration to draw from the web. Check out Bento and HAPPY and FRESH bento.

For cute meals, Kawaii Bento is the place to be, because there are cuties like these:

1. A Dog Bento
2. Winnie the Pooh and Friends Spaghetti Bentos_1

both made by the (awesome) shoppingmum

For bento accessories, I love those in the local brick-and-mortar Daiso store. I'm not quite sure of online stores, but someone else has been so wonderful to put together links for bento lovers :).

Stamp stamp

1. japanese stamp set from karaku,

2. new japane rubber stamps from SWEET LIKE CHOCOLATE 1,

3. new rubber stamps from CraftPudding

4. Green Apple Heart from Warm n' Fuzzy

My list of craft to-do's includes carving stamps. But it would take a couple of months before it is pushed up the "Priority" status on the list.
For now, I shall admire the ones on Flickr instead :D.

Otogicco stamp set by Decole, Little Red Ridding Hood. from Olharapo

I'm Coveting...

Meet Me At Mike's is having a Let's Play Tuesday, the theme being "I'm Coveting".
I love love this theme, and I could not resist joining in the fun. The list of things I'm coveting is crazily long, but I've shortened it to the bare minimum :).

1. KOKKA fabrics from cotton blue
Anything Kokka is on my list!
2. match* from tae*
A cute suitcase like this or any other vintage suitcase for me to
keep craft supplies.
3. Heather Ross Fabric and japanese sewing books from campfollowerbagslady
Cotton Friend mags - because they have such wonderful inspiration.
And some Heather Ross will be ever so wonderful!
4. Page 31 - Design Collection for Kids - from Warm 'n Fuzzy
This embroidery book which has the most awesome inspiration :)

Anything from Shinzi Katoh can be squished on the list :) :)

And the most expensive item on the list is a DSLR camera.Maybe this Canon one or this Nikon camera.
It will be ages before I'm able to get my hands on one (if I ever get one), but a girl can dream, can't she? ;)

What are you coveting for? Join in the fun at Meet Me At Mike's!

I love Green Tea :)

Green tea shaved ice from belle and rose

1. matcha souffle ＊ 抹茶スフレ from naoko123

2. matchapraline from jusan

3. Green Tea Ice Cream from Capt. Mouffette

4. Éclairs au thé matcha et histoire de pâte à choux - Matcha Tea Éclairs and Choux Pastry Stories from La tartine gourmande

French *Yum* Macarons *Yum*

I am not a fan of brightly colored desserts. I prefer to stick to chocolate; rich & dark colors like blueberry or strawberry; and pastel colors like green tea and yellow cheesecakes.
But I am now so smitten with the bright colors of macarons.

It all started out with lobster and swan's Ladurée macarons (which sells Lilly-in-the-Valley flavored macarons. How quaint is that?)...

1. Untitled by lobster and swan

2. Color my world - Macarons by Ann&Ming

3. Jin Patisserie, assorted macaroons by jleighb

4. Macaroon Stash by sfophoto

I Wanted to make some. And I googled for the recipe. All I got was the common, biscuity macaroons. It turned out that I should have googled "French macarons recipe" (Oh, I can be so thick sometimes!). Anyhoo, I typed in the correct words and Google dished out the websites. Alas, the recipes are too complicated for the simple student-who-dislikes-cooking-and-has-baked-only-thrice-in-her-entire-life.

So for all the wonderful bakers out there, if you do try making some exotic macarons, please tell me! There is David Lebovitz's recipe and one which Emily from Inside the Black Apple tried before. Looks like my new obsession is macarons :)

1. Macarons by ginparis2002
2. Raspberry Macaroons by dilutedmagnetics
3. Untitled by Pinkosha♥ N.String
4. bizu macaron museum by chotda

Maybe I will get my friend who is an awesome baker to make some. I can assign myself with the task of flavor/color + quality control, while she does the grinding, beating and the whipping. Yes, it's fair :).

Happy Sweet Day to all :)

Sun & Rain In Autumn

All seasoned Aucklanders know that a gorgeous sunny autumn (or is it winter now?) morning can be deceiving. It does not mean that it will be sunny throughout the day. There is a 50% chance it will rain and 45% chance that there will be a storm. Even with a sunny morning.

I repeat: The sun is not to be trusted.

So I equip myself well: An umbrella and a scarf usually do the trick. :)

1. New fabric! spotted on polka dot bunny's photostream.
The design is by Alexander Henry, April and May Showers I think. *Too cute*
2. hello note card from you can count on me.
Aww.. The girl is smiling even as fat raindrops drip down on her.
You won't find grumpy me doing that ;)
3. rain girl embroidery from the talented mooseandbear.
4. umbrella from the brilliant mypapercrane.
It seems like she can make a plushie out of everything! :)

1. Cotton/wool patchwork scarves by Me, Elise.
Made from wool, cotton and linen. I want the one on the left!
2. Kokeshi by Plant Coco. Such cute kokeshis.
Since we're on the subject of scarves: shall we get one like Harry's? ;)
3. Amy the Birthday Mushroom {front} by Effunia, sprouted on Nov 2nd. Bah, too cute! :)
4. Green Apple Scarf by Karissa Watts XO. I'm more of a kiwi or orange person,
but who can resist this happy apple? (Even if it has gone a little bad with the worms and all).

Happy first week of June to all of you! :)

Spoonflower sweetness

I'm sure many of you have heard/used Spoonflower before :).

Thanks to this wonderful website, I have enjoyed (and shamefully drooled over) gorgeous fabrics designed by fabulous crafty persons. These are just few of my favorites:

1. fabric by Craft Pudding.
She's amazing - her stamps are always so adorable, and so is this fabric.

2. Riding Hood, by Frizz. Look at the bear whizzing on its scooter!

3. WienerDogs, by juneprints. Balloons + hot dogs = floating doggies

4. Smile Recipe Gadget Case Designs by Smile Recipe.
She sells handmade gadget cases using adorable Japanese fabrics.

And because I *heart* fabrics, I could not resist purchasing this from a local seller:
Like all other fabrics I have purchased, this is also a bargain (I cannot resist bargains!). It's Storybook IV by Windham Fabrics.

Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep,
And can't tell where to find them;
Leave them alone, And they'll come home,
Wagging their tails behind them.

Have a super lovely day everyone!

Happie Tattoo (I'm Back!)

Hi to all the lovely blog readers out there! Sorry for the lack of posting this week. As mentioned previously, the exams are coming and it's getting more difficult to find the time to blog. The great news is that I have finally finished all assignments and tests for the semester. All that is left is the finals, and boy, would I be glad when that is over!

During the week, I was lucky enough to squeeze in the time to find "happy" things (or happies, as I call it) on Flickr. I needed some happiness during those stressful hours, and I am now eager to share the happies with you :).

1. puccho (japanese candy) cupcakes!!!
by hellonaomi. She is sooooo amazing! Every cupcake she bakes and decorates
is sooooooo amazing. These puccho cupcakes are one of my favourites.

2. Postcard - Giggle
by Shinzi Katoh.
You may know me well by now - I *heart* everything zakka and kawaii.
I'm a zakka-kawaii girl, but I own so little of such things (working on it here ;).
Anything Shinzi Katoh screams zakka and kawaii, and makes me go all smiley
inside and the outside.
Coincidentally, I'm always giggling. I think I annoy some people with
the amount of giggling I do. I cannot help it - I think it's a disease!

3. Untitled
by Sandra Juto. These happies sure did put a smile on my face!
How can you not crack the slightest grin, just looking at those adoh-ra-ble expressions?
The 2nd from left, top row softie reminds me of my braces-wearing days!
What's missing is spinach stuck between the two front teeth ;)
One of Sandra's plushie, Mr Beret even has a buttcrack *Lyn rolls on floor laughing*.

4. My creative space
Jenny B's studio is absolutely gorgeous and so inspiring.
I would be so happy in that happie!

Other things in my mind including:

Sew Mama Sew's giveaway: There is a GIGANTIC a giveaway going on. Lots and lots of blogs are offering gorgeous items to blog readers. The list of blog giveaways are on Sew Mama Sew's blog. It started on Wednesday, and so far, I have only joined a handful (all in the blogs which I love, and frequent). Unfortunately, I do not have the time to go through the list, and I am far too exhausted to do so. But I totally encourage you to enter away, if you are up for the challenge! I found several fantastic blogs which I will share with you soon. *Hint: It involves zakka-ness and more happies.

Tattoo: I got a tattoo today!

*silence*

Hehe. I'm kidding! I'm too afraid of the needle to do something like that! Perhaps one day I will get a tiny one, but for now, I shall be very content with the tattoo-like sticker which I got when fundraising for the Heart Child Appeal today. And another happie to add on the list: Having a sweet little boy of around 4, running up to me and tucking a dollar into the bucket (aww...). I helped him stick a "tattoo" on his hand. Which was also basically where I got the idea to have it on my arm ;).

Sticky tattoo

It's time for me to reply to e-mails and comments.
Thanks so much for visiting again!
XX