Monday, December 21, 2009

A Big Thank You

Our winter break has finally started. I want to Thank You for making this year so wonderful at the little mushroom and b playland.
Wishing you a merry Christmas and the warmest holiday season!


See you in the new year! =)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Whew! Our Christmas shopping is finally completed. The mall was so packed. I was delighted to see everyone was merrily carrying big and small bags. Another great thing about Christmas is the charming decoration everywhere. This romantic miniature snowy town is the most adorable one I've seen so far this year.And finally, I found this Toy Story Space Crane. I've heard about it for a while and I'm going to put this on my wish list.
So we're moving on to the next step, wrapping the presents and getting other stuff ready for the holiday season.
Have a nice evening and a lovely Sunday!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Farrell's

We went to Farrell's last weeked. It is an old ice cream parlour with a lengthy bumpy history which has recently got back into business. We've heard that people had waited for two hours in line to get in. There was a long line outside the restaurant as expected when we arrived. Luckily, the wait wasn't that bad for party of two. Our server offered us each a lovely Farrell's Sundae News. When we flipped the page, we found a typical old fashioned soda fountain menu of salad, sandwiches, burgers and a full page of candy sweet desserts and sundaes. Overall, the food was decent and fresh and service was great. I was impressed by the delicious sundae which I finished without feeling it was too much. The only down side was I wasn't a big fan of the frequent drum roll announcements. But we will definitely be back! =)

Happy Tuesday!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Blythe in Haute Doll

I was so excited to find out Blythe is featured in current issue of Haute Doll Magazine! They had an interview with Diem Chau of Tiny Haus and Sara Lanzillotta of Devout Dolls. And there're a lot of wonderful photos. Both lovely ladies have amazing talents. Diem specializes in customizing dolls and making doll clothes and handmade plush. Sara creates adorable little fashion and unique handmade dolls. This simple conjoined twins dress is one of my fav. =)
Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A Final Touch

Since we'll be so busy getting ready for the holiday season, I don't think I can get back to the paint brushes until the new year. Here comes a final piece for this amazing year.

Girl and Kittie

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Newbies

The lovely vintage reproduction of Barbie in the past year has brought a lot of attention to the doll community. Following the pretty colourful and flashy series, the recent series is more focus on the career look. From flight attendant to my favourite student teacher, the hair, makeup, outfits and accessories has beautifully resemble the vintage essence of the original dolls.
Happy Monday!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Item of the Week

Lovely coffee stripes babydoll dress
Happy Tuesday!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Fantastic!

The wonderful long weekend seems to last forever and we're having a great relaxing time. We went to see the movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was charming, hilarious, entertaining, it's fantastic! From the original story, to set design, to the scripts, to editing, everything was crafted to perfection. I love the puppets and the sets. The color and the lighting was so beautiful.If you're thinking of seeing a movie, it will be a wonderful choice. =)
Happy Saturday!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had our little big Thanksgiving feast, a bit of festive tradition and a bit of our favourites. Started with the delicious appetizers, green salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette, steamed artichoke and king crab leg. Our entree was turkey breast and ham from the famous Honeybaked which we both liked the turkey better. I guess we can called the freshly baked cornbread bites as dessert which were made from a Trader Joe's mix and were so good.

Happy Thanksgiving and have a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

At the Sewing Quarter

Things have been slowing down a bit this week and I started to work on some little dresses. I love the sophisticated essence of the velvet ribbon.

Happy Wednesday! =)

Monday, November 23, 2009

Little Things

I was out early to drop off some packages at the post office. It was pretty crowd. I wish I'd do my mail electronically but I just love those hand written labels and the old school post office stamp too much to give up this delicate tradition.
Some wonderful things I've found in the stocking stuff isle.
A little delightful Bambi storybookA little lovely pink jacket for the chilly nights
Happy Monday! =)

Saturday, November 21, 2009

New Year Resolution

My new year resolution has arrived early and I can't wait to get started even though there's a month before the new year and it should be time to be busy in Christmas shopping.
My goal is to Simplify.
Firstly, the cyber issues. I wonder if any of you would feel the same way. Somehow I have more than four email accounts, two blogs, two shops and way too many usernames and passwords from every website, which some of them I've never sign in after signing up. It is almost impossible to keep track of everything. And all the time I've spent on deleting promotion/junk mails and waiting for the log-in page and such, I'd rather save it for some lovely artwork or sewing. Therefore, I decided to trim, slim, merge, try my best to keep it simple.
Here's my first move, by merging the two blogs into one. =)

Jam Fancy

I was so happy to find out that one of my favourite artists, Christina Gordon of Jam Fancy, is launching her new Etsy store this week. Her lovely artwork and her attention in details in her craft work has made me a loyal fan. She is also a renowned fashion maker in the Blythe world.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend! =)

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Back to Basic

Thank you so much for all your support and kind words. The little ruffle shirt trend has been a merry load of work at my sewing quarter. I'm so glad that I've made it to sneak in one or two extra pieces to post it up in the shop. So here we're, this little white one will make a lovely basic piece in any wardrobe. It features the newly improved pattern (which I've forgot to mention for couple weeks) which fits even better. =)
Happy Thursday!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Old Time Treasures

I admit that I'm subconsciously attracted to big eyes. This lovely vintage painting by Maio had caught my attention immediately at the first glance.The adorable blushy cheeks and the chubbiness of Kewpie doll is simply irresistible.
Happy Tuesday!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Doll House

Adorable doll house kitchen set from the movie, Coraline. Everything is so detailed and made to perfection, from ceiling to floor to clothing. The lighted stoves and the little jars are simply too cute!!
Happy Saturday!

Lovely Books

No matter if you'd like to craft an adorable surprise or getting ready for Christmas for the precious little ones, you can find a bunch of wonderful inspirations from this Make Good Crafts + Life series, Felting for Baby by Saori Yamazaki.The Polymer Clay Cookbook by Jessica and Susan Partain. This awesome book covers step by step photo instruction from creating basic tiny food miniatures to complex ones.

Happy Saturday!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Item of the week

Coming soon!
Happy Wednesday!

A Little Treat

So I've finally sent my family off and we are back to the usual quietness again. I was delighted to find myself a little treat over at Kinokuniya when we were out the other day.And I'm putting these lovely ones on my Christmas wishlist. =)
Happy Wednesday!

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Little Shortcake

It's time for some lovely little cakelets. These little one are made based on a Japanese strawberry shortcake receipe. They are very easy to make.

make a 6" cake base for two
2 large eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of flour
20 ml of melted butter (or heavy cream which is used in some alt. version)
Preheat oven to 375oF/180oC . Grease a round 6" pan or desired baking pan. Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl until thick and pale.Continue beating, slowly sift in flour and add the melted butter into the mixture.Pour mixture into baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when tested in centre. In my case, they were baked for 18 minutes.
They have texture like cake but kind of dry like cookie which makes them a great match with strawberry and whipped cream! (The second batch was a bit more moist which were baked for less time.)

Happy Saturday!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Two Slow Days

It has been one and half day since I cracked my back. It was yesterday morning when I was cleaning up and preping for my family visiting this weekend, it felt like someone strike my back with a serious side kick. I could hardly walk right after and can barely sit since then. It sucks. The only choices I have left is either stand or lie down. And there left only few things that I can do. So I tried to be productive and made some marshmallow. After a full nite rest, I thought I was better. But when I was sitting at the sewing desk, my back kept sending signals to my brain to tell me to stop and I finally gave up.
Here I am, laying low, enjoying a cup of hot chocolate, reading some books and most importantly keeping my fingers crossed and hoping to feel miraculously better tomorrow.
Happy Wednesday!

Hot!

The little ruffle shirts are hot! Now with this adorable apple green, it is even hotter! =)
I've been studying the new pattern book I've just got over the weekend. This lovely little skirt is partially made from the one of the pattern.

Happy Wednesday!

Doll Coordinate

Finally, I've got this very best pattern book by Sekiguchi Taeko. Her works has been extraordinary in Coordinate 1 & 4 and has been my most worked on patterns. This step by step depicted booklet comes in so handy for all the basics you need to know for doll sewing.

Doll Coordinate (For the First Time)
( はじめてのド-ル・コ-ディネイト・レシピ )
by Dolly Dolly Books

Author: Sekiguchi Taeko of Four-leaf Clover/F.LC.
Style: Basic pieces
Patterns for : Neo Blythe, Momoko, Tiny Betsy, etc
Difficulty: Medium

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

I couldn't address more in words than the actual painting itself. Each portrait painting from Lori Earley speak a lot itself of her emotions. My favourite one is this Victorian-sixtish protrait.

Ms. Pemberton
photo from artist's flickr

You can check out her biography and other paintings at her website.
Happy Tuesday!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Static Effect

It has been pretty dry here past couple weeks. It means there's a static situation going on everywhere in the house. I used slide my back along the wall to create a windy model look but now, someone is taking away my attention. It is the little ultimate fur monkey, Puchi. She is fully loaded with static even when she just lies there. Beware, she'll zap you when she walks by!

Happy Monday!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Nippon Adventure V

Besides the scenery, we had the best mochi ever at a little tea place at Matsushima. It was so soft and the sweetness was just right.We had been sampling a lot here and there. These rolls of cake were sooo good. I have to confess that I did get more than one sample. =P
And these almond cookies were so delish too. The whole box was mostly gone before our next stop.I like the size of the Japanese snack. These mini cheesecake bites made a great munchies on the train.
The Shaka Shaka Chicken and Bacon Potato Pie from McDonalds. The Shaka Chicken included a piece of fried chichen breast and a choice of seasoning powder of lemon, cheese and ? I forgot. And the Bacon Potato Pie was a deep fried one (like the good old apple pie). It was delish.
Happy Wednesday!

Feature of the Week

This lovely Red and Blue Dress is our latest creation. I'm glad that the dress turns out nice because I wanted to a pleated skirt for a while. Those flower buckles are so adorable and cool. And finally, I can make use of it.


Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Nippon Adventure IV

I hope you are not tired of this whole Japan tour yet. =)
Trying different food has always been one of my favourite part of traveling. As long as there's no insects involved, I will try to sample everything. We had been pretty much having buffet breakfast every morning, mostly Japanese and Western style. I was surprised that the rice in Hokkaido wasn't as good as in Kyushu. But I had the best udon there at one of the buffets. It was cooked to al dente and served cold with cold soba sauce and finely chopped green onion, bonito flakes and wasabi. It was so good that I couldn't wait and finished it like an oyster shooter, so I forgot to take a picture of it. But here's a sample of the rest.Yummy Japanese curry chicken with riceTwo of the dishes from the crab feast, baked crab legs and stuffed crab.This was a traditional style Japanese banquet meal. It contained many many small dishes. Trying every single dish reminded me of the blind tasting challenge of Hell's Kitchen. The fun part was we couldn't figure some out even without the blind fold. =)Seafood barbeque
Happy Tuesday!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Nippon Adventure III

Another great thing that we would probably have never done if it wasn't for the tour was to visit the Towada Hachimantai National Park in northern part of Honshu. It was just the right time to see the fall colour. We made a stop at the Shirogakura Bridge. It was magnificent and speechless. My dummy digital camera didn't really capture a fine shot to share with you, but it was exactly like those fall colour postcards.We took a short hike by the river. It didn't have the charm of the fall colour there but it was embellished with bare tree trunks, falling leaves and moss. Various beautiful mushrooms had caught my eyes.

Happy Monday!