the little mushroom

Little Big Announcement

2011-08-01T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's a boy!

Our little one has decided to arrive earlier than we expected. He is surely keeping us busy in the past few days. So far, our first time parenthood experience has been great and filled with a lot of laughs and tears.

Happy August! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-07-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

It's Liberty time again! This week's feature is once again crafted of beautiful Liberty of London fabric. The lovely piece is from the collection called Pepper. The delicate print and the softness are just perfect for the little garments.

Pink and Green Pepper Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-07-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

To welcome summer, we are proud to present you the new sleeveless dress in our collection, the vintage girl dress. It is a simple gathered dress with a delicate collar. This week we feature this lovely one which is crafted of beautiful Liberty of London fabric. Hope you will like it! =)

Aqua Blossom Dress

Have a lovely Thursday! =)

A Few Nice Things

2011-07-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

It has been a few pretty busy months. And finally, things are kind of mellow out and I got a chance to go wander around. It is always nice to have a leisure day. =) A few nice things from Martha Stewart that I found in the craft store.

Happy Tuesday! =)

2011-07-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

It's harvest time again! We were so happy to see those beautiful flowers transforming into lovely apricots. It was nice that we got to share them with a few friends.

our first batch

juicy and sweet

I've been busy working on a few custom orders recently. It was quite a bit of work. Hopefully, they will be all done by the end of the week.

lovely pins

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-06-30T08:47:00.000-07:00

It's the lovely little sister of the little yellow blossom dress. Hope you like it! =)

Little Red Blossom Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Little Trip to LACMA

2011-06-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

When I first heard about the Tim Burton exhibition at LACMA, I knew that I must go! =)

the grand entrance

The exhibit was divided in a few sections, from his biography, to his works from the early days, to movie props from Batman to Sweeney Todd. It was such an opportunity to see the collection of his drawings and short films. He is just amazing!! I was in love with the puppets from the movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, they are so beautifully made and detailed. They have a collection of over twenty heads for different facial expressions of Jack Skellington. It was too bad that photography is prohibited in the gallery so that I can't share any visuals with you. It is definitely a must-see for all Tim Burton's fan. =)

A few shots at the gift shop.

Robot Boy

Lovely Dish by Nathalie Lete

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-06-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

This week's little feature is made from an adorable vintage inspired floral print. It is so nice to find a lovely piece of fabric in pretty desaturated yellow.

Yellow Vintage Floral Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Where Women Cook

2011-06-21T10:01:00.000-07:00

I hope that you've already heard about the Where Women Create Magazine. That awesome magazine which features the inspiring stories of talented people around the country. I was so excited to find out that they have another one called Where Women Cook.

Needless to say, it is all about the wonderful chefs and foodies. Besides their behind-the-scene stories, it also includes some lovely recipes from the fabulous bunch.

Sundaes Best Hot Fudge Sauce by Katie Camarro

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-06-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

I was delighted when I first saw this little vintage inspired print. But the pattern seemed to be slightly big for embellishments and it might be too plain to be the main element. Luckily, it turns out okay. Those vintage tone blossoms are so cute.

Dottie Vintage Blossom Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-06-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

This week's little dress is a bit on the darker side. It looks sort of whimsical but still sweet. =)

Grey Dottie Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-06-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

Time always flies by especially faster whenever there was a long weekend. It's almost weekend again without accomplishing too much this week...

The little dress of the week is assembled with a very subtle vanilla plaid with a hint of soft pink and green and an adorable navy blossom print. Once again, it brings out the hidden sweetness of every girl. =)

Vanilla Plaid and Navy Blossom Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-05-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Little gingham checker pattern always has a lovely sweet country look. I was glad to find it in a beautiful aqua blue. It makes it extra sweet matching with the tiny navy dot. Hope you'll like it. =)

Dottie and Gingham Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Just In Time

2011-05-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Whew! I'm so glad I just made it in time for the donation deadline of BlthyeCon 2011. It will be such a fabulous event. It is nice to chip in even just a tiny bit and be part of long list with all the other generous folks.

Red Blossom and Vintage Blossom Dress

And there're few more little things for the wonderful hosts. Hope they'd like them.

If you are one of the lucky ones going to be there, Have Fun and Good Luck to you! =)

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-05-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

The little feature dress this week is crafted of a recently acquired floral print. It sort of reminds me of Cath Kidston style, vintagey country, which makes me feeling like going to a picnic. =)

Grey Floral Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-05-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

I hope you wouldn't mind that this week's feature is kind of similar to the last week. As I was doing test combinations, this little one seemed to turn out great. It is amazing that just a little mix and match of fabric create such a different look.

Dottie Grey Blossom Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Adorable Books

2011-05-17T10:12:00.000-07:00

Children's book has always been my favourite thing and great inspiration of my work. Especially the vintage ones, they are the best! =) To be honest, I don't really read them that much but I love to flip through the pages and admire the illustrations.

Happy Tuesday! =)

Flower Power

2011-05-10T09:34:00.000-07:00

If you've been to my little shoppe recently, you will notice that there is a floral theme going on since spring begins. The reason being is because of the intensive gardening since then. So I ended up unconsciously picking up only floral prints when I was at the fabric store.

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-05-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

First, I'd like to thank you all once again for your generous support. Your kindest words always brighten up my day! =)

This week's feature is crafted of a very lovely olive chocolate polka dots fabric which has been hiding at the bottom of the pile and was totally forgotten until the recent cleanup. I've worked on one or two dresses with it a while ago. It has a very nice shade of green. I guess it's time for it to shine again. =)

Olive Chocolate Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Nobody's Fool

2011-05-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

This exhibition at Asia Society Museum last winter was a comprehensive one of Yoshitomo Nara's work. It was divided in three different themes, Isolation, Rebellion and Music. There were over one hundred pieces of his work, a lot of familiar ones ranging from the earlier days to recent ones.

the Orange House

the lovely Orange Covered Wagon

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-04-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I have a craving for little red dress. Despite the fact that it is not easy to find a good piece of red fabric, I'm happy that I managed to assemble a little one with the old bits. The lovely diamond print is always one of my favourites.

Little Red Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Crafty Books

2011-04-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

I've found two new lovely books over the weekend. First is the Sewn by Hand by Susan Wasinger. As the title says, every project in this little book is created by hand and needles.

The unique charm with hand sewn craft is always beyond words to describe.

Another is Natural Patchwork by Suzuko Koseki. This recent release is part of the Japanese translated series, Make Good Crafts + Life. It covers twenty-six lovely easy to make projects with patchwork designs. Same as the other ones in the bunch, there are many pictures and detailed instructions.

Happy Tuesday! =)

Liberty Once Again

2011-04-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

This week's feature is once again from Liberty of London but in a slightly different cut of the fabric. It is such a charming print!

Abstract Floral Dress

On the human side, for those who love print sneakers, you can't miss out on the latest Nike Liberty collaboration.

Happy Thursday! =)

Hi Olivia!

2011-04-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

My recent toy purchase

The little set comes with seven adorable outfits and tons of accessories including my favourite ruffle collar. My favourites so far are the lemonade costume and the chef outfit. It also includes six lovely sticks of different scenes. The lovely pink stripes cardboard lining makes a perfect background for the test shots.

Olivia is ready to prepare our lunch now. =)

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-04-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the awesome dedication of Liberty of London, here comes a little adorable one crafted of their beautiful creation. The delicate print and the very fine quality is always perfect for the little dress.

Abstract Floral Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Some Nice Books

2011-04-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Weekend was fun as we spent most of our time in the garden. We finally planted our very own little apple tree which means all the plants originally at that spot were happily transported to the blooming backyard alongside with the lovely new additions.

There are few nice books I kept forgetting to share with you. Two art books from Juxtapoz, one features photos and one features handicraft. They are both very inspiring and it is always amazing to see so many talented artists out there.

Another interesting book is Little People in the City by Slinkachu. It is a great reference for ideas and camera angles for doll photography. You can also check out his recent work on his blog. =)

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-04-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to present the lovely dress of the week. I need to confess that I've saved the first finish product for my own girls. And finally, it is available in the little shoppe! This little dress is crafted of a very fine and soft cotton rosey print and the trim at collar is the finest one yet in my collection. A beautiful velvet waist belt and a sparkly piece of gem is added to make this little one extra charming. Hope you like it! =)

Black Rosie Dress

Happy Thursday!

Cookie Time

2011-04-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

If you've seen some of the recipes I've done before, you probably could sense my preference towards simple recipes. I'll save the complicated ones for the professionals, at least for now. =) This little very easy red dot recipe are dedicated for the ones who love flaky and light cookies.

make 20 cookies

flour 3/4 cup

cornstarch 1/4 cup

butter, soften 1 stick or 1/2 cup

sugar 1/3 cup

vanilla extract one little drop approx. 1/8 teaspoon

pinch of salt

raspberry jam 2 tablespoons

Preheat oven to 325°F and grease a large cookie sheet. In a medium bowl, mix flour and cornstarch together, set aside. In a large bowl, put in butter and sugar and beat until the mixture turns pale. Add salt and vanilla and continue beating.

Then, add in the flour mixture in small batches. Beat until all the dry ingredients are blended in.

Form little 1 inch balls and place them approximately 1 1/2 inch apart from each other on the cookie sheet. Pinch the top of the dough balls to make a well in the middle of each cookie and fill the wells with raspberry jam. A little stirring stick is very helpful for this task.

Place the cookie on the middle rack of the oven and bake them for 18 minutes. Let the cookies cool down for 20 minutes before enjoying them. Delicious!

Happy Baking! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-03-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

This week feature is based our little baby doll dress design with an added contemporary twist of two lovely fabrics. The adorable polka dot print has a very nice denim look but it is actually a very soft medium weight cotton fabric. And if you take a closer look at the tiny cherry print, you can see the tiny little yellow and white stripes in the background.

Cherry Denim Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Marion Peck

2011-03-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

It is so hard to find one word to generally define her works. They are whimsical, adorable and sort of creepy. Her use of lighting and soft rendering techniques are my favourite elements of her work. Her little animal drawings are my favourites among all. Here are some of her lovely works.

Kitty

Supper Club

Darla

For more of her works and info, please visit her website.

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-03-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

When it comes to fabric, voile is one of my favourites. It is so soft to touch and the sheerness makes everything much more romantic. This week's feature is a lovely collar baby doll dress crafted of a vintage inspired green floral print and beautiful soft white voile. And it is embellished with my favourite vintage gold beads on bodice, as it has almost become a staple of the little baby doll dress. Hope you like it! =)

Vintage Green Blossoms Dress

Happy Thursday!

Favourite Things

2011-03-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

We've certainly picked up a few things here and there in the past few trips. It's time to put them up on the wall! We've got this little "house" box from a swap meet. It becomes the showcase of my favourite little objects, vintage notions, pins, little mascots, etc.

I felt in love with this little 1930s print from Kittens and Puppies by Ruth E. Newton when I first saw it. Poor little kitten had got into trouble. It is so adorable! =)

The little ceramic bunny works well with the sliced up petrified forest.

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-03-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

The little round collar makes the baby doll dress even sweeter! This little dress is crafted of lovely cotton linen blend fabric on body and delicate floral print cotton fabric on both collar and sleeves.

Dark Chocolate and Blossoms Dress

Thanks to dear chun from Puppy52 for our fun little day out and her lovely present! =)

Her girl was a bit shy.

She is such a fabulous doll dressmaker herself and her friend Mai at Mai Little Alien makes the most beautiful doll jeans. Should check them out if you are into ball joint dolls. =)

Happy Thursday! =)

A Bit of Vancouver

2011-03-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last visit to Vancouver. It didn't change much except for the Winter Olympic Facilities and the new skytrain system. As always, Granville Island was my favourite place to visit.

lovely handmade wood pins at Paper-Ya

One of my top priorities was to eat and eat. It ended up with a table filled with a lot of fatty food, mostly fries.

Poutine Fries and Fully Loaded Curly Fries

We went this little Japanese hotdog place on Robson, called Japa Dog. As you can imagine, there will be teriyaki sauce and Japanese mayo involved. =)

We tried the Terimayo dog and Love Meat dog with a side order of Aonori Fries. The Terimayo was a beef hotdog covered with teriyaki sauce, mayo and seaweed topping. The Love Meat was a beef hotdog smothered with meat sauce and a lot of cheese. And the fries were seasoned with seaweed. They were all delicious and it was fun to try. =)

Have a lovely week! =)

Caught Off Guard

2011-02-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

Puchi is a little light sleeper. You can wake her up even by on/off sound of a camera which makes it very difficult to take a picture of her sleeping. But once in a while, if we're lucky, have the camera on in another room first and try our best to quietly sneak into the room, we can get a little sleeping shot of her.

afternoon nap

caught off guard

Happy Friday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-02-24T11:05:00.000-08:00

It has been a long debate within my mind on the anatomy of the little yellow blossom dress. If you like the little mix and match of navy pin dot last week, I hope you'll like this simple basic one with muslin pintuck bodice too. =)

Yellow Blossom Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-02-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

It seems that it is not easy to find a nice piece of yellow fabric, at least around here. Maybe I'm too fussy, but really there are only very limited selection in most of the stores. Here's my latest creation with a recent found. =)

Dottie Yellow Blossom Dress

Happy Thursday! =)

A Slice of A Quiet Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Mine was pretty simple and quiet. It started with a mostly window shopping trip in a local mall and watching all those guys rushing in and out from stores with bags of presents. The day was highlighted with a surprise rose from the information lady when I was asking some questions. That was so sweet! Plus a little bag of very delicious Valentine's cookie, I wish you can have some too. =)

Once again, we found ourselves at this lovely family restaurant, the Storyteller's Cafe, in Downtown Disney at dinner time. It had become our little tradition for the past few years. It is one of our favourite restaurants there because it falls into the category between a packed family restaurant and a fancy restaurant where you can enjoy family style food at a nice decent setting. We always go for the buffet as they have the freshest mix greens and my favourite chicken nuggets.

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-02-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

The little dress of the week is inspired by the budding blossoms in the neighbourhood. The beautiful pink roses and the dark chocolate micro dot print reminds me a lot of the Valentine's Day. =)

dark chocolate and rose dress

The craftsmanship of this delicate print is simply superior.

Happy Thursday! =)

Time for A Little Love Note

2011-02-08T11:57:00.000-08:00

It's that special time of the year again, hooray!! It is always nice to send a little note to your loved ones and dear friends for the big romantic day. I apologize for using the same one from last year instead of creating a new one. But hope you'll still like it and can make use of it. =)

It will be up for free download until next Monday.It's in pdf format and includes two cards per 8.5" x 11" printout.

Enjoy and Happy Tuesday!

Feature of the Week

2011-02-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

This week we're back to the sweetness of baby doll dress. Simple yet elegant, it's the best way to bring out the natural beauty of the little girls. =)

blue strawberry field dress

pink dottie dress

Happy Thursday! =)

The Little One

2011-02-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

Puchi has always been the special little one in the house. She brings us joy everyday, keeps us company for the most part (sometimes she likes to be alone) and cheers us up during the not so good times. I have to admit that it was a pretty rough beginning when we first got her. But after all the dramas, we are so glad and grateful that she is part of our small family and she has changed us a lot, in a better way. =)
inspecting the new arrival

resting underneath the voile curtain

Happy Tuesday! =)

More Dresses

2011-01-27T13:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a snap shot of the pretty dresses that I've been working on. I guess romantic is not exclusive to pink and red, black and navy can be romantic too.

Happy Thursday! =)

More Gardening Books

2011-01-25T21:59:00.000-08:00

Since we're still working on the drainage in our yard, it means that I still have time to read more about vegetable gardening before our mini farm is ready to go. The Gourmet Garden by Virginia Hayes has a few pages about growing mushrooms which is the only one so far I've found and is interesting to learn about it.

Okay, this one doesn't have the most appealing cover but it is a pretty nice book, The Kitchen Garden by Alan Buckingham.

What's nice is that it covers a year round planner like what to grow and what to prepare. The plant family section has all the details from the characteristics of common crops, growing and harvesting tips to my main concern, pest issue from different plants. It also covers a brief explanation and solutions to common plant diseases.

Happy Gardening! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-01-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

This week's feature is for the sugar sweet girls. The little dress is crafted of pretty soft pink polka dot fabric and beautiful French laces. The pearl beads embellishments has made this lovely one very elegant. Hope you'll like it! =)

romantic pink dottie dress

Happy Thursday! =)

The Whimsical Playground

2011-01-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

There is a very unique place at Pier 45 that I would recommend for antique lovers, the Musée Mécanique. This big building is filled with antique arcade games and machines, the oldest one dated back to 1800s! It was almost like we were back in time.

The little characters came to life as we inserted the magic quarter. Those tiny miniatures were awesome.

The monkey band

This shooting games was my favourite. It was much more fun than it appears in the photo. =)

A typical scene at the seafood stalls of Fisherman's Wharf. Delicious!

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2011-01-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Thank you so much for your patience! =) I'm glad to have at least one new piece to share with you. The little red dress is finally completed with the finishing touch. This adorable creation is totally inspired by Victorian Era fashion but without the lengthy bottom. The heavy loaded details has reflected my obsession on lace (American, European and Japanese lace were used). =) Hope you'll like it!

Scarlet Victorian Dress

Okay, I really need to push my leftover holiday mood away and get back to the normal work agenda. =)

Happy Thursday!

Sweets Temptation

2011-01-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

Last but not least, this was another wonderful foodie stop at the Ferry Building, Miette. You wouldn't miss their lovely pink sign and adorable pastel European interior.

storefront stand filled with yummy cookies and bake goods

coffee and pistachio macarons

homemade marshmallows

chocolate tarte

candies and French lavender drops

They were all delicious but if I can only choose one, my top choice will be pistachio parisian macarons!

Happy Tuesday! =)

Something Romantic

2011-01-06T10:04:00.000-08:00

Romance will be the main theme in the coming few weeks, as you know, the lovely Valentine's Day is coming up. Or at least, I will try to make a little something romantic every week. =) The first little creation is still in progress and won't be able to make it to this week's update. But doesn't mean that I can't share a sneak peek of it. Hope you'll like it! =)

We'll start off with our little classic romantic ruffle shirts this week. Happy Thursday! =)

Besides The Mushrooms

2011-01-05T10:28:00.000-08:00

There was another very nice store in the Ferry Building, the Cowgirl Creamery. It was hard to resist when I saw those stacks of artisan cheeses. They made their own cheeses at their creamery and also carried a great selection of artisan farmstead cheese from American and Europe. I was impressed by the great service from the very knowledgeable staff.

Recommended by their friendly staff, the Wagon Wheel was one of their own creations which is a mild medium hard cheese. It was great for snack. I also tried it melted over pasta. It blended in unbelievably well and was so delicious!!

Happy Wednesday! =)

The Lovely Marketplace

2011-01-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a nice holiday. We spent most of the time visiting family here and there and were fortunate enough to have a mini day trip by the water in San Francisco. It was our first visit at the Ferry Building Marketplace and we were so impressed by all the great food there. They also have farmer's market outside the building every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It is a must go for foodie!

One of my favourite stores was the Far West Fungi. They had the most comprehensive selection of mushrooms I've even seen. They were so beautiful and fresh.

They even had mini mushroom farm for sale. It's awesome!

I regret that I was there after lunch and didn't have the appetite to try these lovely macarons.

I should have at least bought some for afternoon snack, maybe next time. =) Oh well, at least I got some handsome dried mushrooms. They looked tasty!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

Our winter break is going to officially start tomorrow! Yay!! I love working but I have to admit that I've been pretty worn out physically and mentally recently with all the planning on festivities and the new year. But before we go, Puchi would like send her regards to you too!

Merry Christmas!!

...be sure to stay warm and get well rested.

By the way, my dear friend from puppy52 has just started a website for her little adorable cats, Ginko and Yoshi. The fur monkeys are always curious and naughty in a cute and hilarious way. =)

As always, thank you so much for all your generous support and kind words. I wish you and loved ones the most wonderful holiday season and all the best in 2011.

See you in the new year! =)

Feature of the Week

2010-12-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

It finally comes down to the last piece of the year. I could have saved it for the new year but I just can't to share with you! Ta-da ~ the little vintage child dress crafted with cozy velvet floral print and lovely round collar. Hope you'll like it. =)

Cozy Blossom Vintage Child Dress

Have a lovely Thursday! =)

Artsy Books

2010-12-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

Illustration Play

This lovely book features the extraordinary creations from twenty-three awesome artists from around the world. From paper cutting to stitchery to patchwork, it is so amazing and inspiring to see the lovely works. It also includes exclusive interviews with the artists which share the insight of their world.

the sequel - Illustration Play 2

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2010-12-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

Little vintage cutie is the theme of this week's feature. The orange and brown combo really gives this little dress a lovely vintage look.

chocolate orange plaid dress

Happy Thursday!

Nice Craft Book

2010-12-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

Palm- Size Softies by Hitomi Takahashi, Mikiko Matsui, Akemi Tsubo

This lovely book has ones of the cutest little stuffed toys. It covers 44 projects from little animals to dolls with pretty photos and detailed illustrated and written tutorials.

All you need is to pick the one and get the materials and get started! =)

Happy Tuesday!

Tis the Season

2010-12-03T08:41:00.000-08:00

We've been so happily decorating for the season around the house, mainly the centerpiece aka the tree. There are a small bunch of ornaments we've collected in the past years when we traveled. It's so nice to see them again.

And we should start writing the cards as the busy season is approaching. Adorable cozy little cards from Hallmark.

So glad to have a little break to bake a jar of snickerdoodles. They are the brown version of the recipe with brown sugar and wheat pastry flour. They make great little munchies!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Feature of the Week

2010-12-02T11:05:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to make something Scandinavian-ish since we came back from the little trip to the Danish town two months ago. It has been quite a journey in finding the right fabric.
I'm in love with this little one and hope you'll like it too! =)
Little Village Girl Dress

Happy Thursday!

Paperdoll Booklet

2010-11-29T11:06:00.000-08:00

It was a lovely long weekend, I hope you had a nice one too. =) We had a delicious traditional turkey feast on Thursday, headed out to the mall on Black Friday and tried to lay low the rest of the weekend.

I was so happy to find The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer at the bookstore. If you are a Black Apple fan, you'd probably heard about it already. But if you haven't seen it yet, you have to see it in person. The little booklet includes many many adorable and whimsical illustrations by Emily Martin. It has lots of different lovely characters, vintage clothing and backdrops. The clever thing about her paper doll is that the feet part stands as a base so that hopefully the delicate legs won't get bended over time. It is simply a must have for Black Apple fans!

Have a nice week! =)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

On this special day, I want to Thank You again for your kind and generous support. May your kindest heart filled with the warmest joy! =)

Our feature this week is created from a lovely piece of Liberty fabric. It is from a very beautiful and delicate collection, called Pepper. The tiny size of the vintage style motif and the softest hand of the fabric makes it perfect for little doll fashion. =)

Navy Pepper Vintage Child Dress

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

the little mushroom is ...

2010-11-23T09:58:00.000-08:00

here

and there!

I'm so happy to share with you that my little painting is included in the current issue at Literacyhead and is featured at {KID} independent. Both are wonderful websites. Literacyhead is an awesome online magazine which specializes in teaching children through art. {KID} independent is a lovely place filled with indie style for moms and kids. Their oddball-alphabet section is kind of like an ABC pictorial which is perfect for the little ones too.

Happy Tuesday! =)

Read & Eat

2010-11-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

Gardening is one of favourite things to do. That includes a lot of visits to the nurseries and reading a lot of gardening books. There are two nice books I've read recently about vegetable gardening in small space. They are both pretty easy to read and cover most of the basic topics like compost, pest control, plant characteristics and companion plants, etc. And of course, a lot of tips on working with small space.

Grow Great Grub by Gayla Trail

One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein

I had a little spare time yesterday to catch a lunch at Corner Bakery Cafe. I was glad I did. The Pesto Cavatappi was so delicious. It was very creamy and those crunchy breadcrumbs had completed the dish perfectly.

Have a happy weekend! =)

Feature of the Week

2010-11-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

Little Girl Dress

Happy Thursday!

The Fluffy Chocolate Cake

2010-11-16T09:14:00.000-08:00

This little delicious recipe by Nigella Lawson has been on my mind since I came across it in the Better Homes and Gardens October issue. Despite the golden syrup sounded so good, we were too lazy to drive down to the British mart. So I've substituted it with two extra tablespoons of orange juice and tried out the whole wheat pastry flour instead of using all-purpose flour.

make one loaf with 9x5x3 pan

10 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

1 cup of dark brown sugar

1 cup of whloe wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of orange zest

5 tablespoons of orange juice

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line the pan with parchment paper and grease the sides of the pan. Put butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat it until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cocoa powder. Beat 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture and then beat in one egg.

Add two more spoonful of dry ingredients and then beat in the other egg. Gradually beat in the rest of the dry ingredients, then the orange zest and the orange juice at last.

Pour batter into the pan and bake for 60 minutes. Test the center with a toothpick and it should come out clean. Let it cool in the pan for a little while before removing from pan. Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing it.

A little note between the recipes, our loaf took longer in the oven than the original recipe possibly because of the little twist on the ingredients. The sweetness is just right for us so if next time I will use golden syrup, I might take some sugar out. There are two wonderful ingredients I would recommend to try, the whole wheat pastry flour from Bob's Red Mill and the Cocoa Rouge, red Dutch process cocoa, from E. Guittard. Despite the low in acidity of Dutch process cocoa may have affected the chemistry with baking soda, the cake is still very delicious!

Happy Baking! =)

Feature of the Week

2010-11-11T10:44:00.000-08:00

Brown Blossom

I have to admit that I was pretty glad to see more Littlest Pet Shop Blythe in store now. Despite that they don't have sleepy eyes and not as cute as the Takara Tomy ones, the accessories are super adorable!

Scooter

Cold Weather Cute

Happy Thursday! =)

Craft Hope

2010-11-09T12:12:00.000-08:00

I was so delighted when I discovered the book, Craft Hope, by Jade Sims. It is such a lovely story of a devoted heart who brings a lot of smiles around the world. Please check out her website and the charities. Get involved as simple as making some pillow cases and donate to ConKerr Cancer. Together, we can bring more smiles to the world with one step at a time.

Happy Tuesday! =)

Feature of the Week

2010-11-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for your generous support and your kind and sweet words! I'm excited to announce that the wait is over because the black ruffle shirt is finally available at the little mushroom!

And of course, I couldn't stop working on some new vintage child dresses. They are getting more and more adorable.

Red Floral

Navy Blossom

Have a lovely Thursday!

Nice Books

2010-11-02T08:34:00.001-07:00

I was so delighted to find another lovely craft book by Cath Kidston, Sew!. It covers many wonderful and mostly easy craft projects like Make!. I personally find the projects more practical in this book.beautiful little note books

A lovely lovely book by John Peacock, Children's Costume. This comprehensive book makes a very good and handy reference for my little fashion design projects.

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T17:43:00.001-07:00

We're all ready for the little ones. Have a wonderful Halloween! =)

Feature of the Week

2010-10-28T10:36:00.000-07:00

The long sleeve dress patterns are finally coming along. Here's the first official one, the vintage child dress. The design is again based on vintage children clothing, cut and chop here and there and add a little mushroom favourite like velvet ribbon and pearl beads.

mintie dot vintage child dress

By the way, Dolly Dolly has a new book published back in August called Doll Snaps. It features doll photos from all around the world.(below are references from Graphic-sha website)adorable!!
Happy Thursday!

Sneak Peak

2010-10-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Something nice is coming up soon! =)

The Latest Recipe

2010-10-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

I was debating between the latest Doll Coordinate Recipe 9 and 10. Judging by the cover, Recipe10 is definitely more interesting simply because it was written by Momolita. But when I did more research, I found some very adorable dresses in Recipe 9. So I decided to get it and wait to see on the 10 since it's not available here yet.

To my surprise, the lovely dresses are from Poupée Mécanique!! I can't explain to you how excited I was. It is awesome! Hopefully, I can learn some new techniques from the master doll dressmaker and get some inspiration for the future designs.Doll Coordinate Recipe 9

( ド－ル・コ－ディネイト・レシピ 9 )
by Dolly Dolly Books

Author: Various Artists such as by.echo, Poupée Mécanique, Momolita
Style: Casual, Gothic, Victorian, Vintage
Patterns for : Neo Blythe, Momoko, Tiny Betsy, etc
Difficulty: Easy to difficult

The new Recipe 10 by Momolita is called Animal Lover which features animal inspired fashion.Doll Coordinate Recipe 10

( ド－ル・コ－ディネイト・レシピ 10 )

by Dolly Dolly Books

Author: Momolita
Style: Animal inspired fashion
Patterns for : Neo Blythe, Licca, Tiny Betsy, etc
Difficulty: Medium to difficult

Have a wonderful week! =)

Nice Things

2010-10-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've noticed that I'm having a fondness of laces. They are so irresistibly beautiful and delicate. It has become something to look for everywhere I go.

Here are some vintage laces from a recent swap meet.These are some European laces from a last month's road trip. The craftsmanship is exceptional.And I'm still thinking about the Japanese lace stamps. So tempting!
Have a happy Thurday! =)

Fall Photo Shoot

2010-10-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

It has been pretty gloomy here in the past week and it was perfect for our little photo shoot. This year we wanted to do something more pumpkinish fall harvest like kind of theme. Prepping was always the fun the part, from picking the right pumpkins to setting up the scene. We were planning to put Puchi inside the jack-o-lantern and let her head and arms rest on the top edge of the lantern. But it turned out that she got her own plan already!

This is my favourite.She was really good during the whole shoot. Here're some behind the scene shots.
Happy Wednesday! =)

Hooray!

2010-10-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

We're so thankful that the Chilean miners rescue was finally completed with much more than a happy ending. It is just wonderful to see the joy and hope it brought around the world, especially for the Chileans who suffered from the devastating earthquake earlier this year.

Speaking of positive things, I've been reading a little book called Positively Pooh. The mint and cream stripes cover is simply adorable. It features quote from A. A. Milne's original Winnie-the Pooh texts and the perfect illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard, definitely love it!
Happy Thursday!

Preview of the week

2010-10-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

After the little clown dress, maybe we can work something out with the mysterious playing card suits. Completed with Swiss ribbon bow, vintage beads, faux pearls plus our favourite raw edge ruffle bottom, this little creation is the most dressed piece by far at the little mushroom.

Happy Tuesday!

Time to Relax

2010-10-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

Little eye pillow is very easy make and it is very practical and enjoyable. All you need is just a few simply things. For the front fabric, it can be a vintage hankie or a piece of your favourite fabric, any light weight fabric will work. For the back fabric, it has to be soft, like baby jersey or a cut out from an old t-shirt. The inner fabric can be simply muslin. Using double layer of fabric can soften the grainy feel from the rice. Let's get started!

supply list
1 x front fabric 9 cm x 20 cm (3.5 in x 9 in)
1 x back fabric 9 cm x 20 cm (3.5 in x 9 in)
1 x inner fabric 17 cm x 20 cm (6.75 in x 9 in )
1 cup of rice
2 tablespoons of lavender

First, sew the front and back fabric together, inside out and along the bottom with 0.5 cm (1/4 in) seam allowance.Press the edges to the flip side that the seam is at the bottom. Fold the inner fabric in half, right side out. Insert the outer fabric (inside out) into the inner fabric with the seam sitting on the fold. Clip and sew, with 0.5 cm (1/4 in) seam allowance, along the left and top edges and leave a 4 cm (2 in) opening on the right side.Trim the three sewn corners and turn the pouch inside out. Mix rice and lavender in a bowl and then stuff the mixture into the pouch with a funnel. If you don't have a funnel handy, roll a piece of paper into a cone for substitute.Fold in the opening and close it with slip/invisible stitch. And you are ready to go! =DIt makes a nice little handmade gift too.

Have a wonderful weekend! =)

Feature of the Week

2010-10-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, for all your support and the kindest words, thank you so so much! =)
Since Halloween is around the corner, I guess we can go for something more playful. Like many little ones, I had always scared of clowns growing up. Somehow, that fear has gradually faded away since my doll obsession. And now, I even amuse by antique clown photos and costumes. Here's my little doll version of clown dress.And of course, our little baby doll dress of the week.If you've time, feel free to check out some new photos on my flickr.
Happy Thursday! =)

Finally Fall

2010-10-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Autumn!
The weather is finally cooling down this week. The leaves are starting to change colours. It is the best time to make a cup of hot chocolate and cuddle up with a lovely book by the window watching the falling leaves. How romantic! =)

Puchi's tummy has been making funny sound the whole morning. I certainly need to keep my eyes on that. Sometimes I do worry that she may eat something bad when she wanders around the house by herself.
Anyways, here're some of her recent photos.

Feature of the Week

2010-09-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

This week I've tried something different. Instead of the classic muslin bodice and cuffs, it's fun to mix and match with patterns, like polka dots and floral.Finally, I've found the Petite Blythe in the Littlest Pet Shop collection. There's something about it make me pass on this one, probably the eyes.

Happy Thursday! =)

The Peking Duck

2010-09-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

I promise I'll try to keep this the last post about our little road trip. I've almost forgot share this delicious meal at Great China in Berkeley. If you like Chinese food, Northern Chinese cuisine to be more specific, it is a great place.
This is the Hot and Sour Soup, next to it is a cold rice noodle appetizer mixed with shredded ingredients like mushrooms, egg, cucumber and meat, etc, and tossed with special sauce and mustard.
The Peking Duck was carved into pieces of crispy skin and chunks of meat, served with steam flour crepes, scallions and hoisin sauce.The Walnut Shrimps and Stir-Fried Green Beans were fantastic too.

Unfortunately besides their delicious food, they are also famous for their rude service. To be honest, I think they are not that bad, they are just not that smiley.
Happy Tuesday!

The Little Danish Town

2010-09-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

We always like Solvang. The traditional Danish architecture, the windmill, it is just relaxing walking in the downtown and tasting some of authentic Danish pastries. There are many unique boutique shops, antiques, Scandinavian goods, crafts, etc.
The lovely old fashioned black forest cuckoo clock we've got there. The front and side scenery is beautifully hand-carved. And the precious piece from the Wee Forest Folk we adopted, named Li'l Jar of Jam. This little one is only an inch and a half tall. The details and the craftsmanship is just amazing. Besides downtown, there are many scenic routes around the area. It is best for some country pictures.Happy Thursday!

Never Let Me Go

2010-09-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

When we first heard of the movie, we felt in love with the beautiful trailer. Despite the mixed reviews(people either love it or hate it) had made us felt kind of fifty fifty, we decided to see it. After the movie, my feeling was in between the reviews, it was okay. But in the past few days, the more I think about it, the more I like it. It is those kind of movie which makes you think a lot.

As much as I like it, it is certainly not for everyone. But if you like the trailer, I would recommend to give it a chance. The movie is as beautiful and as subtle as in the trailer.

Preview of the week

2010-09-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

It may seem familiar when you first spot at the little dress of the week. It is a lovely baby doll dress crafted of the adorable little forest fabric. The little baby green fabric works surprisingly well in the dress.

Besides The Aquarium

2010-09-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

Besides the Aquarium, the Cannery Row Antique Mall is another wonderful place to check out in Monterey. The two stories building is filled with tons of treasures.
Rarely seen fluffy puppets by Steif

The Aquarium

2010-09-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of our favourite places along the coast. There are two things I would definitely recommend to do if you are there. First, try to capture a masterpiece at the jelly fish exhibit at the outer bay. You'll find a lovely crowd trying to do the same. =)Second, enjoy an oceanview lunch at the cafe. They offer a variety of choices and great food at reasonable prices.
my creamy clam chowder and cheese plate
Have a wonderful week!

Feature of the Week

2010-09-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

Red, Red, Red!! This week we are featuring two new creations coordinated with the beautiful red. First up is the little red stripes baby doll dress. The lovely desaturated red and cream colour give this little dress a very vintage look.The next one is this delicate red pin dot princess sleeves shirt. I love the princess sleeves and the round collar. They are just totally adorable and so vintage.Happy Thursday! =)

At the Broadwalk

2010-09-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to take some doll photos at the fair but it has been always difficult to choose between the doll and the rides as you don't want to carry too much stuff if you plan to go on the rides. I'm glad I chose the doll this time. Here're my two favourite shots.

a few more on my flickr

Happy Wednesday! =)

Marshall

2010-09-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

It is always nice to take a little break to just play and eat everyday. Here, we are at Marshall, a little town about 40 minutes drive along the country road from Petaluma, California.
The thought about eating whatever you want, as much as you want, is one of the best thing when traveling. At Marshall, oyster is the one. We first stopped at the Nick's Cove. It is semi-causal fine dining restaurant. They have quite a selection of raw and grilled oysters. When it comes to raw oysters, the smaller are always the better. These baby ones are as small as half a lemon wedge.We also tried the grilled ones and the mussels. It was great but if I've known about The Marshall Store, I might have skipped the restaurant. It is a little shack by the bay. They have a very small menu of a few seafood items. It is definitely a very casual self-serve place. We ordered the grilled oysters and found ourselves comfortably on the deck. The delicious oysters we enjoyed. The bread was good too!
Happy Tuesday! =)

New Petites

2010-09-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to hear that Hasbro is launching a petite Blythe collection. They come with the Littlest Pet Shop collection and many adorable accessories. You have to see those little glasses! Some of them resemble some older Takara petite Blythe which is great. The Cold Weather Cute is kind of like an American version of Skate Date. The little red coat and the polka dot stockings are just totally adorable.The only thing holding me back is that some of them don't seem to be quite Blythe like. Especially the photo card, it doesn't quite resemble the Blythe that I'm used to. I guess I need to go check them out in person and see. =)
Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend! =)

Say Cheese

2010-09-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Growing up with a lot of Kraft slices and Laughing Cow, cheese has always been one of my favourite food. Among all, the Laughing Cow cubes are still the best. There are so many flavours, mushroom, onion, peppercorn, blue cheese, and my favourite tomato. It is so much fun even just unwrapping the little cube.

On our last grocery shopping, we came across the selection from Yancey's Fancy. Their story traces back from the 20's when one of the founders moved to New York from Germany. They make a huge variety of flavored cheese, like buffalo wing, horseradish, jalapeno, strawberry chardonnay, so many to choose from. Maybe this can be my new favourite since the cubes are not sold around here.
The first one I tried was the buffalo wing cheddar. It had a very intense flavour, smooth texture and quite spicy and salty. It was kind of like hot nacho cheese in a very rich way. It will make a great snack with crackers. I think I'd love to try the fire roasted tomato cheddar next. =)
Happy September!

Preview of the week

2010-08-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

The whole time I thought those little patterns were doll faces until recently I found out it should be read the other way around and those were little flower buds instead. Silly me! =P Oh well, it is not the first time to see things in a different way, like the cranky face of an electrical outlet and the creatures in clouds. All you need is just some imagination I guess. =)

Little Doll Dress Happy Tuesday!

Feature of the Week

2010-08-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's baby doll dress time again! This little one features the lovely chocolate pin dot fabric mixed with toddler's treasure print fabric. A matching fabric ribbon is added to the bottom to make it even more adorable. =)

Happy Thursday!

Hi from Puchi

2010-08-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

It's me again. Time flies. It has been almost a year since my last post. I'm a year and eight months old now. In the past year, I've grown quite a bit, taller and chubbier and weigh a bit over five pounds. Here's my little update and a few more things about me.

1. I've learned more new words. My favourite word is 'steak' and my least favourite words are 'not for you'.
2. I've learned how to dance and play dead.
3. My new favourite snacks are dried sweet potato and chicken breast.
4. I love playing hide and seek.
5. In a hot summer day, I like to take a nap on the cool wood floor.
6. I love sniffing beautiful flowers.
7. I like to sleep with my head upside down.
8. I like fresh socks(from your feet) but I will take the clean ones for substitute.
9. I do a little stretch routine in the morning, front stretch, back stretch, side stretch.
10. I take bits of whatever food on the coffee table when no one is watching. shhh... that's my little secret.

Here's a snap shot of my adorable back and little leg.I hope you are having a lovely summer and wish you enjoy the rest of it. See you around. Ciao!

Feature of the Week

2010-08-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy that my favourite round collar is back! Many thanks to the Coordinate Recipe 8! =) The little book has really saved me out from the frustration on the round collar.
So, may I present you the adorable vintage princess shirt.It features the lovely round collar, vintage beads deco and princess sleeves. It is crafted of cotton navy pin dot fabric and it has the classic mushroom fit, darts in the front and back. There are only beads on the chest so that it will fit well underneath dresses.

And the little coffee stripes baby doll dress is totally cute. Tips: wearing a pair of bloomers underneath the baby doll dress will make it look puffier.

Happy Thursday! =)

A Few Things to Share

2010-08-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

Hooray!! Our first ever beautiful juicy tomato is finally ready to harvest. =)We've started growing different things for quite a while and it hasn't been easy. Most of the plants didn't survive for a bunch of reasons, too little sun, too much water, the dry climate, etc. These tomatoes we've been growing since February and they are right from the seeds. It has been a long happy journey to see them grow.As I mentioned earlier, we are slowly putting up our treasures in the showcase. This little lovely one is from a pretty exclusive collection called the Wee Forest Folk which we don't see much around, at least in California. Each delicate piece is cast from an original piece sculpted by the members of the Petersen family and hand painted carefully.This delicious Three Cheese Semolina Loaf is from La Brea Bakery. The three cheeses are Asiago, Parmesan and Romano. It would be nicer if they put some melted cheese crumbs inside. Be sure to heat it up before enjoying it. It will make a world difference!Have you seen the Nanapus, banana X octopus, before? It's an old commercial a friend shared with us last week. It is so silly. =)
Happy Tuesday!

Mini Outing

2010-08-10T07:43:00.000-07:00

We went on a mini date to Santa Monica over the weekend. It is always nice to head out but we have been pretty much discouraged by the traffic nowadays. Fortunately, the traffic was pretty good and we made it to our brunch stop before noon. California Chicken Cafe has always been one of our favourites. It's fresh, delicious and healthy, only if we could resist to not over order. =)

This was our little brunch for two.We then headed to Wertz Brothers Antique Mart. It had quite a decent collection of fishing and hunting stuff, seaside cottage furnture. I've found this little moody guy sitting in the showcase. It seemed like he had been trying hard to get out and finally gave up. Poor little guy! =]
Happy Tuesday! =)

Something Familiar

2010-08-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking of re-making two of my favourite pieces for a while but somehow it has been pushed and pushed. It is definitely nice to stay one of a kind but it will be wonderful if I can share these lovely ones with a few more of you. =) Here we are, the adorable yellow cupcake dress and the delicious strawberry ruffle shirt.

They will be available at the little shoppe tomorrow.
Happy Wednesday! =)

The Cute Little One

2010-08-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wonder if Puchi knows that she is the cutest little one ever, at least to us. She is always very good for the most part but sometimes this little one can have some attitude too, in a cute way though. =)
The other day she was trying to ignore the camera.Still ignoring it even when it got closer.Even this close, she had pretty good acting there, huh? =)And finally, she rolled around and showed me her cute pose meaning that I was just playing with you, you can take my picture now.Have a lovely week! =)

Thank You

2010-07-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

I'm so grateful to hear a nice compliment on the little baby doll dress from my friend. And of course, I'm always so thankful for the wonderful words from my lovely fans. Every word counts, especially when recently I've been bully by the same doll dressmaker again, pounding on my sewing and even on my paintings. That's totally unfair. It was hard to believe that such hurtful words could come from the person once I admired.

But the most important thing is, I want to tell whoever got bully before out there, keep on doing what you love. That is the advice from my dear friend. Thank you so much again. =)
Back to the feature, this week is the little green vintage style plaid baby doll.

Happy Thursday! =)