First Hair Cut

The pooch's hair is really growing out now. It makes her resemble a furry duster when she lies down, or a walking duster. And her hair started tangling, so we decided to give her a hair cut.

It took over almost two hours for the whole process. She deserved a lot of credit for her patience since it was her first time. We mainly worked on her body and didn't do much on her head. She has a slimer body now, kind of like a cat. It seems she will look good in a yellow sport jumper, like the one in Kill Bill.And I'm working on the crate cover which will make her little room darker so that she can rest better inside.shhh! She's taking a nap now.

Ramen and new perspective

We went to Santoka for lunch on Sunday after the swap meet. It is a little noodle place in the food court of a local Japanese mall. They specialize in made-to-order ramen. You'll always find a line of people waiting to order in the front. I guess one of the most special thing about them is that they do not take to-go order. My recent favourite is the Toroniku Ramen. It is crafted of sliced fatty pork (so tender) and ramen in their special soup. So delish!!

An interesting inspiring book about our brains by Daniel Pink. As the title reads, A Whole New Mind, it's about a different way to approach our rapidly changing world.

Bunny Cloud

Happy Easter!

The Pooch

Here's our new member, Puchi. She is only an one-pounder, the smallest one among her siblings and has the flattest face. She is surprisingly smart means good and bad at the same time. She is very serious about food and "lunch time" was one of the first few words she recognizes. Sometimes she goes crazy and runs in circles for few minutes. And she make funny sounds before she needs to go number two. She has joined in our family for almost a month. She is a bit taller and her hair is longer. She is now familiar with most of the basic commands. It didn't take long for her to learn this new trick.I had never imagine that we will have a pooch. I still can't believe it sometimes. The past month has really been a roller coaster and a big chunk of time was spent on studying about puppy.
Have a great weekend!

Easter Greetings

*Hope you had a nice Easter. Thank you very much for your support!*
Easter is just around the corner. It's time to fill your home with little chickie decos, basket of marshmallow bunnies and chocolate eggs. No matter what your favourite is, sending out a little greeting is always a nice thing to keep in touch. Here's my gift for you. It's an Easter card composed with my original drawing and some digital media.

Each template measures 8" x 10" and includes two 4" x 5" cards. And of course, if you happens to only have 8.5" x 11" paper, you just need to trim the edges. The template background is in white so that you can choose your favourite color paper to print on!! =)
It is available to download throughout this week. Since there's an hourly limit where the file stored, please check back if it prompts you for over limit. Or you can drop me a line and I'll email it to you.

Please keep it for personal use only.
Have fun! =)

Lazy Afternoon

Isn't that so sweet to take a nap in the country breeze?
Happy Thursday!

Puppy and Placemat

We discovered this cute puppy in the nearby pet shop. Poor me, forgot what breed it is already. But its face is definitely adorable, like a little person.

I was lucky enough to visit my favourite place, the fabric store over the weekend and spent a good few hours there. I've got some red and blue gingham fabric and muslin for my placemat project.

Basic placemat:
- Front 14" x 18" x 1
- Back 14" x 18" x 1
- Batting 13 1/2" x 17 1/2" x 1 (optional)

1. Put front and back pieces together inside out. Sew along 1/4" from the edge and leave 2" opening at the bottom.Instead of reverse stitch, I've used tight stitiches to lock the thread.2. Trim corners and turn right side out.

3. Press all edges. (optional: put batting inside)
4. Start from the bottom opening and sew along 1/8" from the edge.

Don't forget to treat yourself when it's done. =)

Puppy Love

The painting says all...Happy Thursday! =)

Idling Pets

A puppy waiting to play...and a cat waiting for her owner to finish grocery shopping.Happy Tuesday!

Curious Rabbit

A curious rabbit meets a curious girl. I wonder if they will join each other to enjoy such a nice spring day in the wild country.Happy Thursday!

Shirt fever

Has been working on some shirts with the new bought detailed fabric. I guess it still needs some adjustment on the collar.

crazy weeks

It has been two crazy weeks over some family affairs. I was glad to have some time off and sneaked out to the book store. And spent my coffee break on The Kitchen Linens Book by EllynAnne Geisel. It's a wonderful book for kitchen fabrics lovers.

Happy Tuesday!

New and upcoming work

I've been working on a few nature inspired paintings recently.
Here's one of them, Girl with Acorn.

Happy Thursday!

New book

I've been busy doing some doll clothes sewing this week. But I want to share with you this nice new craft book I came across over the weekend. It's the Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. It has many small sewing projects from bags to clothes to things around the house. Plus, it covers decent amount of basic sewing techniques and knowledge. And found this beautiful toy piano in an antique store. Hope your week going well. =)

Sweetness Overloaded

At last, my marshmallow making went well this time. It was so much fun. I mean last time was fun too but the outcome was a bit disappointing. If you like homemade sweets, I totally recommend you to try it out. I've tried two Martha's receipes and I like this one better for now. It was simply because the other one uses much more vanilla extract and it was a bit too strong for us. It probably takes a few more tries to finalize our own version. Here are some thoughts and tips which kind of combined the two receipes.
I've used a 8 x 8 inch glass dish and coated it with a generous layer of powdered sugar instead of cooking spray. It would be better to sift the powdered sugar because the crumbs will leave an impression on the marshmallow. Also make sure all the gelatin is mixed with water before it starts to soften because the little amount of water is kind of just enough to soften the whole thing. I've also cut the salt to 1/8 teaspoon simply because I don't like the salty taste.

The great news is it seems very messy and sticky but the marshmallow mixture is super easy to clean off with water.

It was easy to cut too.Since I'm not doing the fudge part, I've used powdered sugar instead of corn starch to coat the marshmallow. (I've also tried a few pieces with corn starch, it is less sweet that way. It's actually pretty good too, I might try the non-stick spray method next time. )

By the way, a little note on the candy thermometer. There were many choices but some places only carry the gigantic ones. I was happy to find a decent one at Sur La Table.

Happy Marshmallow!

A Slow Day

Today, I've decided to take it slow. I took a short walk to grab a bite at Starbucks down the street . My favourite simple lunch is a cheese bagel toasted with cream cheese and a Grande Mocha with whipped cream. It's a fatty one but I just love it. =)And today, I've added a little wedge of San Joaquin Gold from Fiscalini. It was delicious!I was trying to do some baking past couple weeks. It was my first time to try these new receipes. Some went great and some didn't go so well. But for sure, I had great fun enjoying the process. =)

Happy Thursday!

Cat Elfie

Cat Elfie is one of the rarest kind in elf family.
Their little cat noses are the most significant feature to distinguish them from regular elves.

Juicy Dumplings

Recently, we have been doing a lot of waiting at restaurants. Like Phillipe's has became our regular, so as the Shabu House at Little Tokyo. Thanks to the ridiculous traffic, we decided to detour to Ding Tai Fung for dinner over the weekend. As usual, there was a crowd waiting at the entrance when we arrived. It is always interesting to watch the six seven kitchen staff making their famous dumplings behind the window. It always makes me wonder what is the big secret inside those stacks of steamers. Besides dumplings, their other dishes like sauteed veggies and fried rice is very delish too. Overall, it is always worth the wait once start digging into the dishes. =)We found this huge Uglydoll in a toy store at Pasadena. Opps... with only one eye.

New drawing

Here's my new work.
Girl with PresentHappy Thursday!

Drawing from Aliou

I'd like to share this little drawing with you. Received it a few weeks ago from my little sponsor child, Aliou.

Two little coasters I've made yesterday. They made drinking water so much happier. =)