Salam Maal Hijrah 1432

Salam Maal Hijrah.. Salam Tahun baharu!

Mari buka lembaran baharu.. Semoga kita dapat ber'hijrah' menjadi lebih baik dari tahun-tahun sebelumnya.. Moga ikatan dengan ahli keluarga bertambah erat, moga ukhuwwah sesama sahabat bertambah rapat, moga rajin berusaha dalam segala pekerjaan yang dilakukan, moga sabar menjadi teman yang setia, moga sifat amarah makin kurang, moga diberi kesihatan yang baik, ketenangan dan keceriaan, moga dititipkan iman dan nur dan yang paling penting, moga tidak pernah lupa pada Maha Suci Allah s.w.t.

Selamat Beramal! Selamat Berhijrah!

(^____^)

..:: A Special Day ::..

Today is a special day for me. :)

credit to: Adam Graham

I wish everyone a blessed life by God the Almighty, no matter their religion and beliefs. I wish everyone joy and happiness and always in good health and wealth.. And especially for my family and bestest of friends, thank you and I love you, with all my heart.. To awak, thank you for being you.. :)

*sheepish smile..

My Aidil Adha

Am going back to mum and dad's hometown today.. Singgah beraya dengan opah belah ayah dulu.. :) Then, straight to mum's hometown.. Esok lapah lembu, agih-agihkan daging korban, selebihnya masak sup.. Tahun ni, nak jamu orang kampung dengan mihun sup.. Taruk sambal kicap, tabur daun sup & bawang goreng.. Nyums! Jangan tersedak sudah.. hehe..

We celebrated our Aidil Adha which fell on Wednesday, Nov 17th, in KL, as we did most years. As it has been for quite a number of years already, dad would be making his famed lemang jagung rebus. Mum would be busy in the kitchen, cooking and preparing many, many and I do mean MANY delicious food.. Just like Aidil Fitri, her array of dishes would be in the line of nasi impit Nona and partner in crime kuah kacang daging, and a minimum of 3 types of rendang. Chicken redang, beef rendang, rendang 3 beradik, rendang udang (it has a different name, tapi kalau tulis nanti boleh mengundang isu sensitif! :P), rendang kerang, rendang minang, rendang tok, rendang pedas, rendang hitam.. ahh, you get the idea..Not forgetting her famous tapai pulut.. Oh, but wait! These are merely the side dishes.. The main dish would either be Nasi Tomato, Nasi Minyak or Nasi Hujan Panas, accompanied by kurma daging/ayam, kuah dalca daging/ayam and jelatah.. Only this year, a slight change of the usual norm.. The main dish bertukar menjadi Kuey Tiaw Sup, and its sidekicks..

Table 1: Nasi Impit, Lemang Jagung Rebus, Rendang Ayam, Chicken Ala Thai, Rendang Kerang, Kuah Kacang Daging



Table 2: Kuey Tiaw Sup



Yes, that's me lovely mummy.. At the end of the day, she would be complaining of her aching feet.. Buat penat je pesan supaya masak sikit-sikit, end up banyak juga lauknya.. I guess Mum will always be Mum.. :) Saya rasa, esok2 saya pun menurun perangai mak saya.. Huhu..

One might wonder, "Banyak gila lauk, tapi untuk pemanis mulutnya tapai aje?" Hehe, mestilah tidak.. Yang buat pemanis mulutnya mestilah yours truly.. :P Normally, it would be my 'famous', ahem, Moist Chocolate Cake.. But this year, "Mama nak Marble Cake laa.. Resepi Asmah Laili dari Singapura".. Menggagau cari resepi online.. Sekali tengok resepi, fuiyo banyaknya pakai telur! And 3 blocks of butter? This has to be my biggest challenge yet.. I'm just a small scaled bakerina.. :) Baru pukul butter dan gula, dah penuh mixing bowl.. But, Alhamdulillah, it turned out quite well on the first attempt..



That's a 12 x 12 marbled cake, mind you.. :P Next time, I shall divide only a third of the batter for the chocolate part..



Whilst waiting for the marble cake to bake in the oven, mama had to ask.. "Puding Bumbung tak nak buat ke? Rasa nak yang lembut-lembut jugak.." So, off I went scurrying to the kitchen, chanting incantations, eh silap, mixing and cooking ingredients for my Puding Bumbung.. This pudding has a name, but we like to call it Puding Bumbung.. or Roof Pudding.. *smiles

My brightly coloured Puding Bumbung

So there, my Aidil Adha..

Happy days!

Selamat Menyambut Aidil Adha

Salam Aidil Adha bagi yang menyambutnya.. Alhamdulillah, kita diberi kesempatan untuk menyambut Aidil Adha sekali lagi pada tahun ini.. Alhamdulillah, syukur saya diberi kesempatan menyambut Aidil Adha bersama keluarga tersayang.. Pada yang mengenali, ampun dan maaf saya pinta andai ada salah dan silap..

Sesungguhnya yang buruk itu datang dari saya sendiri, manakala yang baik itu datangnya dari Allah s.w.t. Pada keluarga tersayang dan kawan-kawan baik yang saya kasihi, moga ukhuwwah yang terjalin berkekalan membawa ke syurga hendaknya..

Sedikit sebanyak tentang Hari Raya Aidil Adha:

"Hari Raya Aidiladha (bahasa Arab: عيد الأضحى 'Eid Ul-Adha) atau Hari Raya Haji merupakan perayaan yang dirayakan di seluruh dunia. Ia adalah perayaan terbesar di dalam Islam selain Aidilfitri yang disambut pada setiap 1 Syawal. Aidiladha disambut pada hari ke sepuluh, sebelas, dua belas dan tiga belas bulan Zulhijjah setiap tahun. Bermula dengan Takbir Aidiladha pada malam 10 Zulhijjah, diikuti dengan solat sunat Aidiladha serta khutbah Aidiladha di pagi 10 Zulhijjah, sambutan diikuti dengan ibadah korban yang boleh dilakukan samada pada 10 atau 11 atau 12 atau siang 13 Zulhijjah.

Aidiladha adalah perayaan yang istimewa kerana ia merupakan hari untuk umat Islam memperingati kisah pengorbanan Nabi Ibrahim dalam menunaikan perintah Allah dan ke-sabaran anaknya Nabi Ismail dalam memenuhi perintah Allah s.w.t.

Selain itu, salah satu keistimewaan Aidiladha dan Hari Tasyrik ialah ibadat korban. Ibadat korban ini hanya boleh dilakukan dalam empat hari iaitu bermula waktu selepas khatib menyampaikan khutbah Aidiladha sehingga sebelum tenggelam matahari pada hari ke-13 Zulhijah.

Dari segi bahasa, korban bermaksud dekat, manakala dari segi istilah ia bermaksud menjalankan perintah agama atau taat kepada perintah Allah kerana ingin mendekatkan diri kepada-Nya.

Hari Raya Korban jatuh pada hari kesepuluh pada bulan Zulhijjah, bulan terakhir pada kalender Hijrah Islam. 10 Zulhijjah merupakan tarikh penting dalam sejarah Islam di mana Nabi Adam dan isterinya Hawa dikeluarkan dari syurga dan diturunkan ke bumi sebelum berjumpa di padang Arafah, di luar bandar Mekah.

Pada hari raya, orang Islam disunatkan mengenakan pakaian yang paling cantik, paling bersih, dan juga mengenakan wangi-wangian. Pada pagi hari raya korban, umat Islam akan mengerjakan sembahyang sunat Hari Raya sebanyak 2 rakaat dengan 7 takbir pada rakaat pertama diikuti 5 takbir pada rakaat kedua.

Pada kebiasaannya solat sunat Aidiladha dicepatkan sedikit berbanding solat sunat Aidilfitri. Hikmahnya dicepatkan sedikit waktu solat sunat Aidiladha adalah bagi memberi lebih banyak masa untuk penyembelihan korban. Hikmahnya dilewatkan sedikit solat sunat Aidilfitri pula adalah bagi membenarkan peluang bagi mereka yang belum membayar zakat menunaikan kewajipan mereka dan disunatkan makan dahulu sebelum pergi ke masjid. [1]

Manakala bagi Aidiladha, hikmat disunatkan makan selepasnya supaya makanan yang mula-mula dimakan pada hari itu ialah daging korban yang berkat. Selepas bersembahyang, upacara korban akan dimulakan. Lembu, kambing, dan biri-biri yang dikorbankan akan disembelih secara beramai-ramai di kawasan masjid sebelum dibahagi-bahagikan kepada orang ramai terutamanya kepada golongan fakir miskin.

Hari Raya Aidiladha disambut ketika umat Islam membuat penziarahan ke Mekah, mengunjung Kaabah dan melakukan korban sembelihan. Al-Quran tidak menyatakan, tetapi umat Islam memegang bahawa perayaan korban ini memperingati kesanggupan Nabi Ibrahim untuk menyerahkan anaknya sebagai korban kepada Tuhan.

Selepas sembahyang, sekali lagi umat Islam akan berbondong-bondong melawati perkuburan orang yang disayangi. Semua orang akan memakai pakaian baru dan selepas itu yang muda akan memohon kemaafan daripada yang tua. Selepas itu semua orang akan menjamah pelbagai juadah yang disediakan sebelum ziarah dan menziarahi sesama mereka."

Sumber: Encik Wiki

Project ReVamp 1

Can I call this my first Project ReVamp? It is not exactly 'old shirt', in fact, I just bought it last 2 weeks.. Yeah, I know.. The colour is so dull, I'm sure you'd believe if I say it's old.. Hehe..

Problem I have with this shirt is the collar.. So, off with thy head!

Eh?

Okie, I'm sure you get what I meant..

:P

I think the picture above speaks louder than a thousand words of gibberish..

Happy days!

Project ReVamp

We have some old clothes that we no longer want to wear.. Most of them are still in good condition and have been given away. But some are just wayyy too out of fashion that I don't think anyone would actually want them. The materials are still in a good condition though, so it feels wrong to simply throw them away. They are still sturdy, and some are still vibrant in colours.. They produced good qualities of materials in the old days.. Nowadays, hampeh!

So yeah, this is a classic case of 'Nak buang sayang, Nak pakai dah out of date..' Hepp!! Jangan mencebik ye.. I bukan perasan bagus ke apa.. Tapi, sanggupkah anda pakai seluar bell bottom ayah @ ibu anda dan jalan-jalan di Pavilion atau Cineleisure pada hujung minggu bersama yang tersayang? Bagitau I skang! Kalau sanggup, I hantar kat u all esok.. :P

Huhu.. so now, they sit in a bag, until they rot and ready to be thrown away.. Kalau buat karangan 'Saya sehelai baju', sure ending dia lebih kurang begini.. "Sekarang, tinggallah saya bersama teman-teman pakaian yang lain, mengira detik, menanti hari bila kami dibuang secara rasminya oleh tuan kami." Tsk, sedihnyaa..

Drama!

Anyhew, I have an idea on how I could make a slight change to the end bit of that sorrowful essay.. I'm going to call that idea 'Project ReVamp'.. Aha! I'm sure you know where I'm heading with this.. I would try to revamp the old clothes and turn them into something else.. Call it re-purposing ke apa ke tak kisah laa.. But I like the word ReVamp better.. mungkinkah malam ini I akan berjumpa Vampire bernama Edward Cullen?.. haha.. Tak nak la! I prefer Jacob the Werewolf!

So, stay tune for my first Project Werewolf! Eh, Project ReVamp.. haha..



Credit to : http://www.margaretsworld.com/litm-garou/links.html

Oh, btw, the first Project ReVamp mungkin hanya akan membuat kemunculannya pada tahun hadapan.. hehehe.. :P !




Toodles dearies!

Sewing Projects: The four unfinished projects

As mentioned in my previous entry, I have 4 sewing projects to finish up.. So, saya buat satu entry khas tentang projek-projek tersebut supaya saya tidak lupa!

1) Sulaman Reben (Ribbon Embroidery: Initial 'a' )

I think this particular RE project has been in that state for a couple of years already.. You see, whenever I design my own RE pattern, I would be indecisive.. Especially, if the design is a bit elaborate.. I find it difficult to answer this simple question: "Is it completed?" Tengok ni, kadang-kadang saya rasa dah cukup dah.. Tak perlu tambah bunga dah.. Kadang-kadang saya rasa macam ada something missing.. Tapi, nak tambah apa lagi? Kalau tambah-tambah nanti kalau tak cantik macam mana?

When I could not answer that question, I cannot move on to my next question:
"What shall I make with it? A Tote Bag? A Cushion cover? Atau frame kan aje?"

Sebab tak boleh jawab the first question, maka lipat-lipat masuk dalam beg..

Since then, I would work in reverse.. Saya akan fikirkan end product before I start with any projects.. Lebih mudah sebab kita dah boleh tahu apa keperluan end product tersebut.. Contohnya, I'd know if I should go to the shop and buy zipper, ribbons or bias tape..

2) Teddy Bear


Tengok badan dia ni, macam katak pun ada kan?





Ini Nina punya.. Mama dia beli kat US.. berbeza sungguh rupanya dengan si katak di atas..



Yang ini kesnya sebab konon-konon sayang nak buang perca kain.. Jumpa free pattern online, terus gedik2 nak cuba.. last2 malas nak jahit tang kepala dia.. Tiba-tiba teringat cerita Ali Baba Bujang Lapuk.. Panggil Apek jahit kepala..

Awas Apek longkang oi kaki melompat

Apek jaga depan ada longkang!

3) Baju Kurung

Hehe.. Saya baruu nak belajar jahit baju kurung.. Belajar dari kawan-kawan yang memang dah pro jahit baju kurung.. Hasilnya, tengoklah sendiri.. Terkandas di tengah jalan.. Eh, saya bukan salahkan tok guru saya.. They are awesome teachers.. Anak murid yang agak gayat nak cantum jahit, tak confident.. Seriau tak muat nak pakai baju yang dijahit sendiri.... But don't worry, I am slowly gaining my confidence.. Insya Allah.. Kalau tidak, jangankan nak mencantum, nak menggunting kain pun tak lepas-lepas! Tujuan asal nak belajar ialah supaya saya boleh jahit baju kurung sendiri.. Kalau tak confident, macam mana nak capai tujuan asal, kan? Oh, dan juga sebab saya tak mahu seni menjahit baju kurung hilang ditelan zaman.. Aiceh.. Bajet jawapan standard Gadis Melayu ayu pulak I.. Cet..

4) Nina's Quilt Cover

Nina is my eldest niece.. Anak buah yang sulung.. Si comel yang bila takde, rindu.. Bila ada, constantly buat my blood go upstairs.. Samalah dengan yang lagi dua orang tu.. Kalau baik, memang die oranglah the cutest little angels.. Kalau nakal, rasa nak gigit2 jek..

Anyways, I promised my sister to make Nina one nice little cushion cover.. That was like three years back? Long story cut short, the promise somehow turned into making a queen sized quilt cover.. In case you're wondering why this particular project is not completed yet after three longg years, let me just repeat myself once more.. QUEEN SIZED QUILT COVER.. need I say more? My progress is like 25%, kot? When If this project is finished, I'll tell you why it took me such a long time to finish.. Maybe I need even not tell you why.. You'll know when you see it.. :P You don't get to see it now cuz it's suppose to be a surprise.. Kalau dah siap, takpe..

Haih.. Okie.. We have roughly a month and a half to go before 2011.. I would try my bestest (best of the best) to finish up project 1 - 3 before the end of the year.. That one last project? I give it 6 more months, eh? Hehehe..

So, till we meet again..

Toodles!

Sewing Project: Cake Mixer Cover

Yeay.. Another sewing project completed!



From this..



To this.. :)

My sister's cake mixer cover.. I showed it to her last Saturday when it was about 80% done.. She liked it.. I'm sure she would be thrilled to know that it is now finished.. I normally take a loonggg time to finish any sewing projects.. Hehe.. Coincidentally, this would go well with her kitchen theme colour.. Green! Funny, cuz I didn't actually consider that when I chose the fabric.. :P

It fits nicely with my cake mixer.. Memanglah, dah beli cake mixer yang sama! :P

Hampir-hampir rasa tak nak bagi.. But mum gave me idea on how MY cake mixer cover would hopefully look like.. So, another sewing project in my To Sew List.. Thanks mum.. for the inspiration.. :)

But I have to finish 4 sewing projects before starting that one off.. Yikes!

Okie now dearies.. Till next we meet..

Toodles!

:: Kek Batik ::

Kemas-kemas jumpa ini..

Tetibe dapat idea nak masak kek batik.. Macam 'tingg' ada lampu menyala cerah di atas kepala.. Dah lamaaa tak buat kek batik.. Heh, hari tu puding karamel pun kata dah lama tak buat.. Nampak sangat dah tua.. Eh, eh.. Ehemm.. back to kek batik.. So, pergi beli main ingredient iaitu Biskut Marie Claire.. Eh tak, tak.. Marie Claire tu brand kasut.. Beli Biskut Marie.. Hmm, I wonder how it got the name.. Emm, takpe.. next time je selidik..



So, inilah rupanya Biskut Marie.. Comelnye dah packing by bunch macam ni...



Ini rupa dia bile dah dipatah-patahkan.. Suke, bau die wangi..

Chocolate in a pot.. Milo, koko, *secret ingredient, gula, air dan susu segar.. Bila dah larut, masukkan butter.. Bila butter dah cair, masukkan telur.. Kacau sampai likat..

Masukkan biskut yang dah dipatah-patahkan tadi.. Kacau..



.. dan anda akan dapat hasil seperti ini.. Wah, like the pot calling the kettle black.. hehe..







Rata-ratakan dalam bekas, and refrigerate overnite..



Dan inilah hasilnya setelah dikeluarkan dari dalam fridge.. Kalau tabur serbuk milo, agak2 nampak macam tiramisu tak?

For full recipe and list of ingredients, refer here. Credit to the blog owner.. But I tweaked the recipe a bit.. adding *secret ingredient, susu segar and some chocolate chips.. You really can't go wrong with this.. You can even put anything you fancy, just as long as it makes sense.. Macam saya letak chocolate chips.. But you can also add in nuts, cadbury milk chocolates, and perhaps marshmallow? Janganlah tiba-tiba pergi letak peria katak dalam ni.. Hehe..

Okie dearies.. Till next we meet.. Perhaps an entry about my sister's cake mixer cover? It's almost finished.. Almost.. :) *grinning sheepishly

Oh my secret ingredient? 1/2 tablespoon of nescafe.. *grins.. Not so secret anymore, huh?

Toodles!

:: Spaghetti Lollynese ::

Bolognese sauce (ragù alla bolognese in Italian, also known by its French name sauce bolognaise) is a meat-based sauce for pasta originating in Bologna, Italy. (source: mr wiki)

I don't think you can find this sort in Bologna though.. Sebab saya tak rasa orang sana tumis cili kisar untuk kuahnya.. :)

Toodles!

Smile From Your Liver

If you haven't watched Eat.Pray.Love, the subject above will put a question mark on the top of your head, I'm sure. :) 

Takpe. Lolly explains.. Liver = Heart.

Sekarang, faham tak?

Ok, saya bagi masa untuk awak work out the equation.

1,

2,

3..

Eh, tak dapat tangkap lagi? Aiyaa.. Seloww laa! Takpe, cuba lagi..

*Smiles

So, as the subject reads, I had plenty of things to smile about.. I had a productive weekend with baking/cooking and sewing projects.. So, let us see what the projects were:

1) My sister's cake mixer cover..

In this picture you can see the two sides of what I hope would turn out as The Cover, which must be attached to the center part, which I have not yet sewn.. All senget benget.

Lovely.

*Smiles

2) Puding Rumah @ Puding Bumbung

Mum had been raving about this since she saw Mak Uda made one last Ramadan. Hint = Buat, jangan tak buat. So, we did and what you see in the picture below was the outcome. Ada tak ala-ala rumah panjang? Ke macam rumah setinggan? Tee hee.. It has more room for improvement, I'd say.

Takut tengok kaler bumbung.. Terlebih taruk cat biru.. hehe

3) Fruit Cocktail Pudding

A friend has just moved into a new apartment in Kota Damansara. So, I thought I'd bring some nice cold puddings. Konon2 macam house warming party walhal langsir pun belum naik lagi. The decision of actually going there was kind of a last minute call, so the puddings pun last minute la jugak. As a result, they didn't exactly 'set', as in they didn't quite hardened as much and were not as cold as I would've liked them to be. But they tasted ok, I think. Sorry no picture, am making a mental note of taking some pictures when I make them some other time and post them along with the recipe. It's so very easy. You can do it in 15 minutes time or less..

Later, we watched a late night movie in Cineleisure. Guess the title of the movie? Yes darlings, it was 'Eat, Pray, Love'. Sangat amazing tak tertidur dalam cinema. Am not going to start doing movie reviews here, but it was actually an OK movie. Not kebabom but OK.. I like OK movies.. so there.. fullstop..

4) Puding karamel

Iye, hujung minggu yang penuh dengan kegilaan puding. Kegilaan diteruskan dengan caramel puddings. Lihat gambar, ada tak bak bulan purnama? Berlubang-lubang and all wrinkled up. Hehe.. Should have seen them masa dalam pengukus. They were puffing up and I was like 'Ni puding ke apam ni?' Mind you, I have not been making caramel puddings for so many years. Hehe.. So, terima je lah seadanya. Janji boleh makan.

5) Faiz D's Blankie

I've shown you Tish's baby quilt, yang ini pulak abang die punya. They're gonna have their birthday party this Saturday, combine sekali je sebab budak kecik yang nama Tisha tu macam la faham pun amende itu birthday party.. I used batting for Tish's, and her name was beautifully embroidered, but that was because I did the sewing at Snazzy's. She has sewing machines yang boleh jahit macam2.. And she has sewing gadgets yang macam2.. Saya hanya ada pembaris, kapur biru, gunting dan Mesin Jahit Bunda. So, I did a simple blanket for my little hero. With baby blue fleece at the back. Konon2 nak buat bantal sekali, tapi jahit tepi untuk blanket ni pun tak siap lagi. And I have only one more week to go! Erm, ditching the bantal idea kot.. Hehe..

Well, those pretty much summed up what I did last weekend. There were loads of other stuff as well but they don't fall under the crafting @ baking @ cooking @ sewing category. (Eh, tapi tgk movie pun tak termasuk dlm kategori tu.. Tee hee..)

I made all these for the people that I care, love and cherish. I may not be able to pull off any of it with perfection, but I made them with a smile from my liver.

Okie dearies, till next we meet. Toodles!

:: Butter Prawn.. Nyums! ::

I am a huge fan of Prawns.. or Shrimps.. whatever you call them.. As long as they fall under the crustaceans family, saya suka.. Kalau dapat makan udang galah yang cooked to perfection tu lagi lah sukaa! Udang galah. Butter. Garlic. CUKUP.. yang penting, the tender, juicy flesh yang fresh.. oh nyums..

Ehem, anyhew, lately I've been obsessed with making the perfect Butter Prawn.. Punca? Mantis Prawn.. Apa itu Mantis Prawn? Sila Google.. Mana nak dapat kat Malaysia ni? Rahsia... haha.. takdelah.. pi carik kat pasar kat Sungai Besar.. murah murah jek.. Punca kedua: teringat-ingat the fine, silky threads of the eggs.. paling marvellous yang pernah dicuba ialah di Kelana Seafood Restaurant.. Dah tak wujud dah pun restoran tuh.. dah kene runtuh nak develop apa tah pulak.. Nowadays we go to Sri Ayuthya Restaurant to enjoy this dish.. Sri Ayuthya ada a few branches.. USJ, Damansara, and my friend claimed that they also opened one branch in Penang.. but that's just my personal preference.. I'm sure you can find this dish at any good seafood restaurant..

Back to my obsession.. So I tried cooking this dish a few times already.. Tastewise, almost menyamai yang kat restoran2 itu.. But I cannot seem to produce the fine, silky threads of the eggs.. Frust ok.. Kalau I sumpah-sumpah, sure I akan keluarkan stress spots I.. (baru tengok National Geographic kat TV tadi).. Translation sumpah-sumpah : chameleon.. Selagi tak dapat achieve that fine strands, I akan berusaha lagi dan lagi dan lagi.. For now, I have to be satisfied with my Butter Prawn looking like below:



Ini bukan mantis prawn, ini udang rimau



Usaha tangga kejayaan.. Ye lah.. Pakai lif ke, escalator ke tak leh ek? Huhu.. As soon as I get that fine, silky threads, I am soo gonna be happy.. Okie dearies..

Toodles!

Sewing Class

No, I am not conducting any sewing classes.. Haha.. Mahu sesat semua anak murid.. It has been a looong time since I last sewn anything. I used to take Home Science Economy (translated: Ekonomi Rumah Tangga - ERT) as an elective subject when I was in Form 1 - 3.. I must say, I preferred the KMT better though (can't remember what it stands for) cuz it was more technical.. A lot of carpentry, mechanical etc.. which I love.. ERT taught finer, delicate and more feminine skills like sewing and cooking.. I remember once we had to sew a skirt - which I hate.. There was also a quilt project or some sort.. If my memory serves me right, I think the result of the projects turned out quite ok but I didn't like any of them.. hehe.. Which explains why I did not keep any of them.. Haha.. But don't get me wrong, I like sewing and stuff but those projects were really driving me nuts..

So you see, between those days until now, I've never really sewn anything.. Some teeny tiny projects maybe, and a bit of altering here and there but those were just about it, I think.. Lately, I have a renewed passion in crafting, and that includes sewing.. I stumbled upon http://www.snazzyandsuch.com/ and discovered that she conducts sewing classes. I thought I needed a refresh course on sewing, so I contacted her, made the arrangements and went learning. And these were the results.. I completed all these in 2 days.. I amazed myself.. really.. :P

  

I gave this to a dear friend @ the office

Dah jadi travelling solat bag

 

Placemat yang senget-benget



Oh, I also did a cute pin cushion but I gave it to a friend's little baby.. Tak sempat ambil gambar.. Snazzy, my lovely tutor commented that I should not have taken beginner's class cuz my sewing skills are really not that bad.. I guess I underestimated myself.. I should thank my late Opah and my ERT teachers for that.. I had fun though.. And I amazed myself for being able to complete all these projects in 2 days.. hehe..

Okie dearies, till next we meet..

Toodles!



Sewing Projects: A Quilt, A Hairband and A Bag

Lama sungguh menyepi.. hehe.. but only in the blogosphere.. in real world, I have been busy as a bee! Ramadan has been absolutely wonderful.. All I can say is Syukur, Alhamdulillah.. *smiles

Anyways, I've completed some sewing projects during my hiatus.. Enjoy the pics! :)



Tish's Quilt



Nina's Hairband



Mum's grocery bag turned totebag





Sewing Project: Love Tree Tote Bag

Remember my love tree paper bag? I did say I have another project in mind, right? Well, here it is.. My love tree tote bag.. :)

Those buttons look edible, don't you think? Macam Champs chewable vitamins, hehehe..

If you notice, the tree looks way different from the one I drew on my paper bag. I improvised a little.. The right word would be... innovate? This was inspired from a certain tote bag and a certain tshirt for babies.. hehe..

Anyways, I'm so happy with the outcome.. Now, I am thinking of reproducing a few more for my baby nieces and put their initials on them too.. Till then..

 

Toodles!

Mesin Jahit Bunda

Introducing mum's sewing machine.. cap Singer.. Ok, iklan kejap..

"Singer, menawan keluarga bahagiaa.." Biasa dengar tak? Hehe.. nostalgia la pulak..

You'd think that this old chap (bukan crap ye) has been in the family for generations.. Well, sorry to say that it has not.. It was bought second hand just recently, or entah berapa banyak hands pun I tatau.. hehe.. Mum used to have a well loved sewing machine, also a Singer, tapi dah bawa balik kampung.. But I think my aunt in kampung still uses my late grandma's sewing machine.. which is wayy older.. hehe..

I kinda like this machine cuz it really feels old school.. You use your feet to move the motor.. So, it saves energy.. Cool, no? Of course, it has a very limited feature, capable of only doing straight stitches.. Even so, I managed to complete several sewing missions using this old chap (see, not a crap!).. Not bad, huh?

Okie then, till next we meet! Cheerios!

Sewing Project: Cushion Cover

One cushion cover done.. I love the happy, cheerful pastel coloured flowers.. Am giving this to mama so that she can place it in her car... Consider it a pre-birthday gift.. Her birthday is in June.. Love you lots mama!

p/s: Seriously, I'm finding working with zippers too cumbersome.. Maybe a bit too ambitious for beginners like me?.. Well, practice makes perfect, no?

Toodles!

Sewing Project: The Handphone Cover

A sewing project completed by yours truly.. Renyah ok buat nih.. Especially bila nak jahit zip tang kona tu (apa, ingat bawak motosikal je ada kona2 baring? heheh.. ok, lawak tak lucu).. Oh, tahu tak maksud renyah? Maknanya leceh.. I underestimated this project.. Ingatkan senang jek, boleh la i yang tak tere menjahit ni nak cuba2 buat.. Turns out, sampai peluh2 i duduk menjahit dalam bilik bibik.. Entah berapa kali dok tetas, jahit, tetas, jahit.. The hot weather does not help.. (Kasihan sama Bumi.. It's dying..)..

Well, at least siaplah jugak.. So, inilah hasilnya.. Gambar diambil menggunakan handphone yang akan mendiami handphone cover ini.. Maaf, gambar agak blur:

Apapun, i bangga jugak sebab;

a) Sebelum ni tak pernah buat sewing project guna teknik sulaman Bullion. Sekali buat terus jadik, kebanggaan pertama..

b) Sebenarnya, kain nih was meant to be scrapped untuk 'cuba dulu teknik yang tak pernah buat sebelum buat atas kain cantik', in this case, the Bullion technique.. Tapi sebab first try menjadi and it turned out OK, maka tercetus idea untuk buat handphone cover.. Bermakna di sini, I managed to turn scrap into something usable.. kebanggaan kedua (Despite the feeling yang i rasa cam cacats jek rupa handphone cover i nih..)

Initially, I meant to give it to a friend, tapi sebab kualiti kurang menarik, maka simpan untuk diri sendiri je laa.. Lagipun, kenangan ok, kenangan! Baru jek rasa cam tanak buat dah tapi my mum dah pesan satu untuk dia, tapi nak colour gelap, sebab kalau putih nanti cepat kotor.. Hoho.. Berpanas lagi lah nampak gayanya kat bilik si bibik..

Cheerios!

Arts and Craft.. 1

Owkey. Would like to show you this small project that I'm currently working on.. This is what we call Ribbon Embroidery (RE).. The technique that I'm using for this particular project is the most basic, called straight stitch.. There are of course, a whole lot of techniques in RE, but I love keeping things simple.. (sebenarnye pemalas, kurang sabar dan tak berapa reti sangat nak aplikasikan teknik2 yang lain tu.. hehe) Oh, I haven't quite decide what I wanted to do with this.. Either a cushion cover or a bag or ??... Oh well, I'll make another post once it's done, key? Till then..

Toodles!

:: Teh-C-Peng.. How I adore thee ::

Nope, bukan nama jiran sebelah rumah atau si penjual sayur di pasar.. Teh-c-peng ialah sejenis minuman yang dikatakan orang berasal dari Sarawak. Oh, tak kisahlah asal dari mana, yang penting sedapp..

 

I was first introduced to this drink by my brother during our family trip to Sabah in 2008. I was fascinated by the 3-layer effect, and it tasted sooo nice too. Kind of like cendol. Nyum nyum.. However, I could not find any mamak that does justice to this drink here in Semenanjung. It is only recently that I’ve decided to make it myself, with full determination that I’d make that three layer work no matter what, plus taste nice as well. I succeeded in creating such effect and taste on my third attempt. Yeay! Want to know my secret? The trick is in controlling the temperature. Shhh.. It’s a secret, yeah? *wink!

 

So here's my version of my special Teh-C-Peng..

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Gula Melaka / gula nipah / gula kabung

4 tbsp of condensed milk

1 bag of tea – I used Sabah black tea that dad brought home from Sabah

Boiling water

4 tsp of sugar

A pinch of salt

3 ice cubes

 

Special Utensils:

1 sexy clear glass – preferably kept in the freezer for about 10 minutes

1 sexy straw

 

Directions:

1. Prepare gorgeous golden syrup by melting Gula Melaka with a bit of water on a stove.
2. Prepare tea. Add in sugar.
3. Keep all of these in the fridge just to cool them down.
4. Pour in about 1.5 cm deep of cooled, golden syrup into a clear glass.
5. Add in the ice cubes. Add in a pinch of salt.
6. Spoon in, gently, about 4 tbsp of cooled condensed milk.
7. Pour in, or spoon in, again, gently your cooled tea.
8. Voila! Your special teh-c-peng. Enjoy!

 

Cheerios!

:: The Love Tree Brown Bag ::

I did this last weekend whilst cleaning up my bedroom. A love tree brown bag.. Yeah, I know. It does not look so neat but I think it’s cute, don’t you agree? Actually, I have something else in mind with what I wanted to do with this idea. But I didn’t know if I could re-draw the tree nicely.. So, I tested it out first on a brown bag.. Well, I don't think I did too bad.. Maybe there’s still hope for my stiff hand in drawing after all.. Teehee..

As for this particular brown bag, I guess I’ll just use it to pack my sandwich tomorrow. Hey, here’s an idea! Make a sandwich or a muffin or if you’re super-lazy, just buy a bar of chocolate and pack it in this brown bag. Put a cute little card in too. Give it to your loved ones, that’ll put a smile on his / her face. A little goes a long way.

Cheerios!!