Free blog Give-Away!!!

I think it’s about time I arrange a blog give-away. For you wonderful blogger friends who have been truly supportive in my journey of motherhood.

I would like to craft something special for one of you, handmade with love. I shall not make the item yet, until I know who the winner is, so that I can make something unique, just for that person. Free of charge of course =)

At the same time, my husband would like to offer a free photography session (outdoor or indoor) for this person. He is seeking to start his photography part time/suka2 business soon (insyaAllah) so this would also be a great opportunity for him to improve and showcase his work. The winner will receive free softcopy of the photos from the photoshoot.

So how to win? Click here to go my husband’s Favourite photo collection. Choose one photo that you love the best, and leave a comment to tell him why you love that photo. We’ll pick a winner from there.

Edited: I just realized you can’t leave a comment unless you’re a Flikr member. Not everyone has a Flikr account, right. If you don't have a Flirk account, just choose a photo number and leave the comment here in my blog entry.

I think this is also an excuse for me to meet one of you (masa photoshoot). Since meeting Along was so much fun! Hehe…

Here’s my favourite photo from the collection. I was rather surprised when I saw this photo. It’s like a magic moment frozen in time. Tq hubby for capturing it =)

Applique and Iron-On Transfer Tutorial

Applique

Materials:
Plain baby onesie
Felt in various colours / fabric
Interfacing (if you’re using fabric) . If you can somehow get Heat and Bond, even better.
Some pins
Embroidery floss
Needles
A creative husband who can draw

Tutorial:
1.First wash your baby onesie to pre-shrink it and dry.

2.Get your awesome husband to draw the image you want on paper. Try to Google for cute images to inspire him. If you’re like me and can’t draw to save your life then do not attempt to draw yourself.

3. Cut the drawing, pin on felt and cut out the pieces. If the piece is too small to pin, simply cut the little details by eye. No need for perfection here, the charm in handmade items are in the imperfections (you can repeat that sentence over and over like a chant).

4. If you’re using fabric instead of felt, you will need to iron interfacing on the back of your fabric before cutting it. This is to prevent the edges from fraying. You can also combine felt and fabric like I did here. I don’t have black and white felt so I simply use fabric scraps with interfacing for the eyes. I must say though that felt is simply wonderful for appliqué….

5.Assemble all your pieces together and sit back to admire how cute it looks. If it looks ugly, make your modifications now, before it’s too late.



6. Start stitching piece by piece, starting with the highest layer. For example with this one stitch the black part of the eye onto the white part of the eye. And then stitch the completed eye onto the face. You can use either a simple running stitch or a blanket stitch. You can use either same coloured thread or a contrasting thread. You can go crazy here with colours, up to you.

7. Once your entire appliqué is assembled, pin the appliqué onto your baby onesie and start stitching.

Congratulations, you’re done!

Ok if you want to learn about transfer too pls continue reading….

Transfer

Material:

Blank shirt/onesie
Iron-on transfer paper
An iron
A computer with an inkjet printer

Tutorial :

1.Design your image/text in your pc
2.Print out your design onto the transfer paper. Remember to use mirror image option. Otherwise your image will be in reverse.
3.Cut out your image as close to the image as possible

4. Pre-heat your iron and iron your shirt flat
5. Place your cut-out image onto the shirt, right side down

6. Slowly iron it on
7. Wait until it’s cool and peel (or follow the instruction on the packet).

Tadaaa!

Now go chase after your baby and put it on right away!!! (you can because it’s already been washed!!)

Both of these are sooo simple. The hard part is in finding the items. You can try find transfer paper from a computer store. Felt I buy online from here.

Wish you luck! Do put up pictures once you’re done!!!

Adam's lovely nursery

For about 2 months now we’ve been sending Adam to a nursery. The old babysitter suddenly announced that she didn’t want to take care of Adam anymore. This happened just after Adam was hospitalized and he was crying a lot since he was still a little ill. She said her husband cannot stand Adam crying and that Adam pun everytime nampak muka Pakcik terus menangis. I cried immediately upon hearing this sbb rasa sedih Adam dgr “Ibu” ckp dia taknak jaga Adam lagi. Dan jugak sedih memikirkan adakah pakcik telah buat apa2 pada Adam? Teringat peha dan bont*t Adam yg lebam a few times. The next day we took EL and terus cari nursery baru untuk Adam.

That’s when we found this nursery. Ade hikmah rupanya masalah yg datang. This nursery is just GREAT! I used to tell myself everytime I feel like crying when leaving Adam to the babysitter – Tak ada org yg boleh jaga Adam mcm saya jaga. Tak boleh dpt yg 100% puas hati cara dia jaga. Saya mesti byk2 sabar…Tapi dgn nursery baru ni, I can honestly say that I memang 100% puas hati…..ALHAMDULILLAH…

Why do I LOVE this nursery so much?

The teachers are just angels. They are young girls, very sweet and innocent. And they just adore children. I can see from the way they interact with Adam and the other babies. Every day when I pick him up they will tell stories of what Adam did that day. “Akak sukala tgk Adam bila dia duduk…comel je tegak…hehehe”. “Akak, Adam makan dia sembur2 baju saya…hehehe””Akak, Adam suka main rambut baby ni…diorg main golek2 dua org tadi…hehehe”. Always laughing and smiling and it’s obvious that they love these babies.

Even when Adam isn’t behaving so well, when he’s constantly crying like his first day (he cried the whole day non-stop) the teachers did not panic at all. The just stayed calm and told me “ takpe kak, ade baby yg sampai seminggu menangis…dia cuma nak sesuaikan diri ni…” True enough the next day Adam terus tak menangis lagi. Kalau Adam menangis sbb tak sihat pun diorg tak pernah marah2/bengang…diorg relax jer..

Adam dah tak dimasukkan dlm buai lagi. Kalau bbsitter dulu Adam sentiasa diletak dlm buai without our permission. Siap beli buai letrik lagi untuk Adam (also without asking us). Nursery ni professional jadi dia akan ikut request the parents of the babies. Yg peliknya, seblom ni bbsitter ckp Adam tak boleh tido kalau tak buai. Tapi kat nursery elok jer Adam tido kat cot. Tak pernah ade masalah langsung.

Adam is so happy there...suka main dgn cikgu and kawan2 pun ramai...(girlfren pun dah ade kot??)

Seblom ni Adam diberi fast flow bottle. I bought him slow flow bottles sbb dia breastfed, I don’t want him to have nipple confusion. Tapi kata bbsitter Adam takmau bottles dia, so bbsitter sendiri tukarkan bottle Adam to the normal fast flow. When I told her to pls switch back, she threatened to quit. So I terpaksa biarkan je. Dia ckp Adam ni susah betul nak minum bottle, payah kene bawak minum luar lah, kene gantung2 kainla nak entertain Adam. In fact she forced me to bottle feed Adam even if I’m with Adam so that Adam pandai minum bottle. Kalau I nak breastfeed jugak kat rumah maknanya I ni TAK SAYANG anak i. Logik ke? (of course I tak ikut ckp dia). Dekat nursery ni, alhamdulillah Adam minum slow flow bottle dia tanpa apa2 masalah. Skang makin byk pulak minum…

The nursery is always open and inviting. I’ve visited many nurseries before, byk yg amat susah nak bukak pintu. Kene call owner dulula, babies tgh tidola, etc. Mungkin keadaan dlm tu sepah kot? I pun taktau. Tapi nursery ni, everytime dtg mesti terus bukak pintu ajak masuk. Both owner and staff are always confident that the inside of the nursery always dlm keadaan tiptop. Dan memang betul pun. Nursery ni sgt bersih dan cozy.

They handle expressed breastmilk well. Untuk heat up ada electric warmer. This is important for me sbb tak semua nursery tahu handle EBM. They also welcome visits at lunchtime to breastfeed.

They bathe the babies 3 times daily. Pagi2 I dah mandikan Adam already so diorg akan mandikan tghari dan petang. Sesekali kalau I amik Adam awal sikit n bgtau diorg nak amik Adam awal so kalau Adam blom mandi takyah mandikan pun takpe, tapi diorg akan cpt2 kasi mandi jugak before kitorg sampai. Kalau bbsitter dulu dia selalu complain pasal ibu2 lain yg tak mandikan anak diorg pagi sebelom hantar ke rumah dia. Dah diorg hantar pukul 6.30 pagi tak logikla nak kasi budak mandi kol 5 pagi…..yg I ni ofis dekat takpe jugak nak mandikan Adam kol 7….

Telinga Adam dengar suara2 lembut cikgu2 tu…always speaking soft and saying nice things. Kalau bbsitter dulu dia org tua yg jenis mulut agak…err…ckp lepas sikitla. Byk conversation tak baik didpn Adam contohnya “Adam mak kau ni tak sayang kau la..” (dpn muka saya ni) Hmm…never underestimate babies…we don’t know how much they are absorbing…kene jaga mulut dan perbuatan sebenarnye…Tapi this is of course based on my limited observation la. Dibelakang I taktaula mcm mana…

The nursery punya management very organized. Monthly dpt a formal bill for payment. Boleh bayar cash, online, check dah sebagainya. Harga sama jer dgn babysitter dulu.

Diorg bagi nickname untuk Adam - Dadam. Comel jer…toiletries Adam ade mark tulis “Dadam”. Hehehe…

Oklah dah panjang lak I tulis…hehehe..

Kesimpulannya I sayang sgt nursery ni….i tak lagi rasa sedih tinggalkan Adam utk pegi kerja….(tapi rindu mesti ada jugak….heheh). To Adam’s amazing teachers, THANK YOU SOOO MUCH…

Here’s a photo of Adam with some of his teachers….

i love these girs!

*Bbsitter lama jaga anak2 my cousin elok jer for years dah…mungkin dgn Adam je tak sesuai kot…atau mommy Adam fussy sgt kot…

Visit Along and family

Edited:
ALONG, some of the photos from our little RED photoshoot are up at my husband's blog. While editing some of them he was going for the vintage look and i think the results look awesome!!! I keep telling him he should just quit his job and become a photographer....hehe..

Go on, visit and tell him what you think ok.....

Last weekend Along and family came to KL. We took the opportunity to meet up and let the kiddos play..huhu..we had so much fun!

Their timing was perfect because i just finished gathering all the supplies to craft baby onesies for Adam. Sorry Adam, Mommy make one for Hafiy first ok....takut tak sempat siap..hehe...here is Hafiy modeling it..of course i dgn tak malunya suro Along pakaikan kat Hafiy jam2 tu jugak, occay....

action shot

This project was actually very much a family project. I handsewed the dino applique . My husband designed and crafted the wordings. both of us praying..mintak2la cantik yer...because this was our first time doing both applique and transfer. dahla buat last minute...Adam pulak tolong main sorg2...hehe..Alhamdulillah it turned out alright...I hope Hafiy loves it..

Dah siap Hafiy punya onesie still ada masa lagi jadi cepat2 siapkan Adam punya pulak...cian si kenit tu..

for this one i use an owl applique and the wording says " I'm on the night shift". Adam already showed his approval by messing it up with baby food...

Here's both of them together. Alah cutenye..they're almost the same size...almost the same age..suka sgt tgk diorg berdua....awww....Hafiy berkenan sgt dgn booties Adam tu...ape lagi Along...sila2 start crafting ok...hehehehe....

oh ya..kami jadi saksi Hafiy mula merangkak....yahooo.....congrats Hafiy!!!!

kami berkampung disana berjam2 dari pagi sampai almost petang...hahaha....tq so much along, husband, hafiy and family for your hospitality...jemput2 la ke kajang pulak =)

Tags

This one is for Kak Sue.

Here's a photo of my workstation at the office.


Sgt kecik dan simple because i'm at "transit". They're renovating our office. All my stuff are in boxes at the new workstation so it's pretty hard to mess up the desk (though i still manage to sometimes). of course my favourite photo of Adam is my wallpaper there. there's a cup of horlicks in front of me, red tumbler for water, and the green bottle is filled with my Fenugreek capsules. All three things are to promote milk production. So you wonder whether i'm here to work or make milk.

here's a photo of my favourite workstation, at home.

this is the awesome sewing machine lent to me by my wonderful auntie (Thank you MakcikNita and Intan!!!). One of these days i NEED to buy myself one! You can see various items thrown around in careless manner around the machine - handy for grabbing them at any moment ;) there's a black folder there where i put all the paterns that i cut out of newspaperso that i can go back and make another one if i want to (see abang, there's some semblance of organisation here, i'm not all that messy..hehe). couple of see through boxes there to keep needles, threads, buttons and what-nots.

This one another photo of my sewing station - at the back of the machine. Here's where i keep my fabric stash...cantik jugakkan..sebab saya dah kemas sikit sebelom amik pic...kalau tak tak muat nak masuk pic cos berterabur sgt...hehe..

you're right kak sue, tags are fun :)

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This one pulak tagged by my dear friend Mami Hafiy..

(Note: Some of the links were lost before the tag was passed on to me. Sorry, but you can google the name of the blogs if you're interested to find their links. Thanks!)Cut and paste the following starting here.I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!)It’s real easy!Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially! The benefits of Viral Linking:- One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!- Increase your Google PageRank fast- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site- Build your community- Make new friends!The Strategist Notebook, Link Addiction, Ardour of the Heart, When Life Becomes a Book, The Malaysian Life, Yogatta.com, What goes under the sun,Roshidan’s Cyber Station, Sasha says, Arts of Physics, And the legend lives, My View, My Life, A Simple Life, Juliana RW, The Callalily Space, Petra Summer in Blue, Confessions of an Army Wife Bless’ Sanctuary Happy Life, http://bless519.bravejournal.com/, La Place de Cherie, Chez Francine, Le bric a brac de Cherie, Little Peanut, Pea in a Pod, The Creative In Me, Me and Mine, Pinay Mommy, Expressions from the Heart, TeacherJulie, Sweetbites by Bang, Paul, Toni and Lance - Bridging the Distance, Our Growing Family, The Uncensored life of me, My Untamed World, Something Purple, A Detour, Something Purple, Wifespeaks, Changing Lanes, Bits and Pieces, My Chocolate Coated Glasses, God's Gift, Through the Rain, My Small World,My Life, My Hope, My Future,Nyumix's Blog , The Lings, , Life In Secret City, Gateway City Window View, This is My Life, moralle, Ripples of Rasp, Tod. Ted & Ned, MAMA RYAN, Mami Hafiy

ok sape2 yg rajin sila buatlah yer.....hehehe...

Along, hope i did it right ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all FABULOUS mommies around!

I'm sure not too many of you put your legs up and rest on Mother's Day cos the world can't run without you!

Here is the gift i made for my mama;

i love pleats, can't you tell

my first top zipper

This is the most complicated bag i've made. there are soooo many pieces and it involved sewing many layers of fabric. After literally drawing blood and broken needles, here it is. But the end result is totally worth it. This pattern is so awesome i can't wait to make one for myself (will probably take me a few weeks just to cut out the pieces).

The dark fabric is actually purple velvet from a dress of mine. I spend a LONG time reconsidering whether to cut up that dress. The fabric is a perfect combination to the outer flowery fabric.

i hope she likes it =)

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This is my FIRST Mother's Day as a MOM. Adam's Mother's Day gift for me?

Well.....

He started CRAWLING!!

How precious is that?? totally the best gift ever....

I love you Adam =) being your mom is the best job in the world....

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Kak sue, i lost my camera cable! i'll take more photos with hubby's camera ok..i'm so sorry..lambat sgt saya buat tag akak...erk..

Along, tak pahamla the tag...i should just paste the pics ke..put my own pics ke..camne??

hmm..i'm no good with tags.......errr....

Anniversary Trip and Handmade Mei Tai Carrier

For our Anniversary Celebration this year we went to the Legend Water Chalets, PD. Tahun lepas berdua je sambut anniversary kat Pangkor…this year…bertiga! Yahoo!!

The resort is awesome! Let the pictures do the talking…

Adam especially loved the HUGE bath tub. Terkinja2 mandi dlm tu…sampai tersedak2 tertelan air (he purposely nak masukkan muka/kepala dlm air) pun dia tak heran…

look at his face..excited sgt ;)

We had soo much fun. Hubby took about a trillion photos. But most of the photos are only of Adam and I. This is the only one with all three of us in the same pic;

Happy 2nd Anniversary Hubby Dearest…I love you so much ! Best 2 years of my life, no doubt =)

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You can see in the above pic I’m wearing Adam in a Mei Tai – a modernized Chinese inspired baby carrier (Go Google Mei Tai. It’s a wonderful versatile carrier). It’s handmade! It was my most complex project yet but was definitely worth it.

I looked at many patterns before coming up with the modified design I want. The fabric I bought from Nagoya dirt cheap – rm6 per meter. It is the softest, smooth fabric, and yet also very thick and strong. Since Adam had trouble with the previous handmade carrier (wrap) because the fabric was uncomfortable, I wanted to make sure this one must be made of really soft fabric.

It worked! Adam stayed in the carrier for hours, didn’t complain once! I was able to walk by the beach, went out for meals, went sightseeing etc with him in carrier and he didn’t even have to miss his naptimes! He was so happy playing with my scarf or looking around or simply sleeping comfortably.

I made the straps wide and lightly padded for the wearer’s comfort. It has a rounded headrest for Adam that is also padded. The back panel is interchangeable. That means I can take it out and choose another fancy fabric to place in the slot. I can make as many panels as I like (only need small fabric scraps) and change them to suit my mood. The one in the picture is my favourite fabric so far – a fabric with handbag prints. I’ve been saving it to make handbags but can’t resist using a little of it here too.

I just love the fact that I can carry my baby close, have my hands free and also look fashionable all at the same time. Yay for babywearing!!

Adam @ 7 months

I’ve been preoccupied lately and byk event lupa nak update on blog.

So now onto Adam’s developments at 7 months:

Adam suka mkn my hand. Ntah mana dia dpt this habit. Tgh2 mlm suka pulak bgn ajak main sambil makan2 my arm. Sakit pulak tu. Gigit tu tak sakit tapi tgn dia cengkam punyala kuat dgn jari2 halus dia yg tajam. And he does it so determined, like mcm geram sgt..hehe..

After night feeds (or any daytime lying down feeds) he sometimes turns to the other side, hugs and curls up to my arm. Of course I have him under my arm for lying down feeds. So di buatnye my arm mcm bantal peluk. Lps tu dgn mata tertutup dia tongeng2 pusing2 kiri-kanan cari the most comfortable position.

Sometimes he has…what do you call it..separation anxiety? Celik je mata, scans around to check if Mommy’s around. If can’t find Mommy…uwaaaaaa!!! *scream at top of his lungs* Puas Daddy pujuk pun dia meraung jugak. If Mommy’s there, go back to sleep, or stop crying and smile.

I’ve tried quite a few food on him. Bananas, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, butternut squash, mangoes and of course rice porridge. I think he prefers food that are not too sweet (unlike me!). His favourite is butternut squash. I’ve never had it or even seen it before in my life but I knew it’s a type of food that is suitable for his age. So while I was looking for pumpkin @ Tesco the other day, they don’t have sugar pumpkin like I wanted but they had butternut there. It was expensive but totally worth it because Adam loves it so much!

Makin mudah nak tidokan Adam because dia dah pandai tido on his own, without any training! Yay! Proud of you Adam! Kalau dah mengantuk dia lentuk sendiri..senyap jer..tau2 dah lelap…

He weighs 6.9 kg (yesterday timbang). Alah ringan jer anak Mommy…dah berapa bulan gitu2 jer berat dia…padahal minum susu/ mkn pun byk jugak…

Still as cute as a button!

Happy 7 months Adam! You grow up so quickly….sigh…You know I love you! Muahs!