Project Hairclips (suspended)

Ya, I'm not making any new clips for the time being. For one, I prefer to have smaller clips and I am considering buying that and alligator clips from overseas. Not to mention the ribbons, the variety seems better than what we can get from there. Spotlight's collection doesn't quite fulfil my needs, so ... $$$$$ will be spent again, hopefully not in vain.

I had another mummy, "inspired" by my projects and she made a collection of cute felt clippies. She's not going to show it (I asked if I could showcase her works here) as she feels that her work is "amateurish". Personally speaking, I think her clips look fantastic as she is very creative! Another mummy also thanked me for showing her how to make clips (via my blog) so I am actually very happy. Not only that some mummies now can make clips like me, but also someone actually reads my blog. *heh*

The law of demand and supply

So it goes, when there is a demand, a supply will exist.

Unfortunately, baby making isn't quite so simple. Lately I've been readingin a certain forum - people with the supply (pregnant) and yet considering abortions for various reasons, people with the demand (who wants to get pregnant) and yet unable to. Ironical, isn't it.

If only life was so simple sometimes ...

An old friend, not quite forgotten

We've weaned my girl off her beloved pacificers, for close to a month already. She can sleep without them, but she takes a longer time to fall asleep.

Initially, she would wake up in the middle of the night, and then dig through all the pillows and blankets to search for them. Only once, did she find a rouge pacifier, that was long lost in the pile of pillows on the bed. She promptly plugged her mouth with it, and refused to give it up. So we dug through everything on the bed, and cleared every nook and corner, to make sure there's no more pacificer hiding in the midst.

Recently, she was playing in my room, and I had her pacifier on my bedside table which I had forgotten to clear. She promptly grabbed it and I had to wrestle it from her, since it's probably been there for a month, gathering the dust! I washed it and then showed it to her, by putting it between my mouth. She would normally just lean forward and chomp on it, but no, she grabbed it forcefully from my hands, lovingly fondle it and the promptly stuck into her mouth. This time, she refused to give it up, and I couldn't fight her force of suction! I waited till she was asleep before I removed it and then we hid it all away.

She still misses it, because since then, when she awakes in the middle of the night, she would dig through all the pillows in vain, searching for her long lost friend.

I'm actually inclined to give it back to her, since it's obvious she still misses it. However, the habit has to be broken, so our resolve has to be made from steel.

*haiz* Not easy being a mummy ...

Project Hairclips - ladybird and more

Worked on a few other hairclips today - sketching out the design was the most tedious. I'm not the best artist so my sketches look horrible, but thankfully it turned out OK.

I couldn't sleep much today as I was coughing too much, and with the HOT HOT sun giving its mighty rays, I guessed I could make do with the natural light to do some sewing.

I tried making a flowery clip with some small pearly beads but I was 95% done and I hated it. So I ripped out everything and redid it, closely to what I had in mind previously.

The second hairclip I made today, was for Kaizer. I hope he (or the mummy) or likes it!

I managed to get my girl in a good mood today as well, so she posed some photos with the ladybird clip.

The bouquet hairclip - beads from Diaso

My Valentino TY bear as the model since Vanessa was already asleep when I finished this clip.

The beads are meant to be dew drops or droplets of water - Kaizer, do I pass your quality/ design tests?

Project hairclip - Ladybird

I finally got around to getting the materials and although it's in the wrong size (it's almsot as big as my palm!), I'm quite proud of it!

I just hope the glue will dry into a transparent colour!

Note: the sequins were sewn on.

Just another year, another day ...

I'm 1 year older, none the wiser but definitely mellowed. If you think I'm hot headed now, you hadn't seen me 10 years ago. My flames then would had probably turned someone into crisp, no less. But I shall not dwell on that, since I have *ahem* declared myself mellowed.

How so? Well, the first tell tale sign is my driving. Now, it's OK to be stuck behind another car, as long as it means getting to my destination safely with my kiddo. What is that additional 5 minutes spent on the road, if it means my sweetheart is safe? I still do "hiss" at certain drivers, but not that rant and swear routine anymore.

I didn't get the birthday present I wanted, but God is gracious, He gives me other things to be thankful for. One of which, of course, my girl walking on her own. It's a tiny achievement for us parents (given the 18 year mental milestones we all probably drawn up in our minds) but it's a giant "leap" for my girl, and one that we should be so rightly proud of. Oh by the way, did I mention that now my girl knows how to wag her pointer (index finger) at me when she does something naughty (I do that when I tell her "no" for things she shouldn't be doing)? She can nod her head in agreeement, such as, when we asked her if the chwee kueh she had this morning was nice.

I'm just thankful to be me... now.

First steps!

My sweetheart took her first few steps yesterday night, while holding a bagful of Swarovski crystals!

1) I'm happy that my girl finally has tried to walk on her own (she did it on her own while holding the bag!)

2) I'm happy that she likes the crystals as much as I do! At least, I think she likes them!!!

Totally zonked out ...

That's me! Dead beat was not good enough, now I am totally zonked out. How did I assess the "damage"?

After 2 weeks of living by the Murphy's Law and barely surviving a power outage that hit 7 buildings, I'm still so exhausted, considering that I supposedly had 2 days (yesterday and today) to recover from it. I'm just thankful I took leave tomorrow and am on half day leave on tuesday too.

Yesterday I woke up early at 7:30am since I was planning to go to the market. Somehow, I didn't managed to catch a nap till it was 5pm in the evening. Today - I woke up at 6am to run an errand. Since it was my helper's off day, and we wanted to celebrate Mother's Day on our own, it was ... tiring. She was clingy to me as usual, but she did let the hubby amuse her for a while. She was a bit tempermental since she was sleepy (but refused to sleep since she was busy watching the spinning salad demo) and hungry (gave her milk but she was so distracted and only managed to finish half the bottle). In the end, she fell asleep in the sling (thankfully we brought the sling as a backup to the stroller) but that didn't last long, only 45 mins and she's up and running again!

There's a cute video of her and the hubby playing but I have to get it from his laptop. So ... as usual, it will have to wait till 1) I am recharged 2) he remembers to pass it to me or 3) I remember to get it from him.

Bon nuit!

Battery Operated Smile

Some people smile when they see their loved ones, some people smile when they see delicious food, some people smile when they see a funny scene. So what makes my girl smile?

Note: This was taken last December, when she was 10 months old.

I dunch wana!

Dead beat

That describes my week, starting from last Saturday to yesterday.

How bad? I was going to bed by 9pm, nursing a horrendous migraine that erupes promptly by 6:30pm each evening.

Why?

Well, it's that time of the YEAR, the "why" students are mugging madly for the past few months/weeks/ days. Since I have to deal with the logistics, it's literally living by the Murphy's Law.

I'm just so glad I had today to rest and to spend time with my gal. I had to go to work early too, so I didn't have much interaction with her for these few days.

Today I made up for it by

1) bugging the Hubby to wake up early so we could go to the Botanical Gardens for breakfast. My gal already had her breakfast, 1 thawed blueberry pancake (yup from Sunday's breakfast - see the other blog I keep), but she was obviously gamed for more! We had breakfast at the Cafe Les Amis and from our plates she had:

i) 1/8 of a toast with strawberry jam

ii) 1/8 of a ham and mushroom omelette

iii) 1/8 of a hash brown

iv) 1/8 of crossant

We took the leftover piece of toast to the pond and fed the fish with it. Shared 1/4 of the toast with 2 boys who were watching everyone else feed the fish. My gal still can't throw the bread, but she enjoyed watching the crumb roll from her hand and eventually landing in the pond. We also blew some bubbles and I stopped when I ran out of breath!

2) Had a lazy lunch at my mum shortly after, my aunt and cousin was there so the kids were having fun. However, my gal was knocked out, so by the time she was awake and ready to play, we were ready to go home! She clinged on to my ma-jie and waved bye bye to us!

3) By 2pm, I was ready to plonk into bed and nap, but she started fussing and took her swimming cap and her bikini top to my maid. While my helper fed her corn and potato with pork stew, I was again breathless trying to blow up her float! By 3pm, everyone was suited into the correct attire and off we went to the pool. Thankfully it wasn't very crowded and we had fun. Initially she was scared and started wailing. She clung onto the front of the float for dear life! But after the initial few minutes, she was OK, and started splashing waters with her hands.

4) I'm ready to wind down and have a good rest after this blog. Dinner will have to be bought!

Enjoy the pics!

Project Hairclip - DIY Felt Cover for Snap Clip

Ok, came back and felt inspired (or rather stressed) enough to do a quick felt cover for a snap clip and I documented it! Ya, I feel like a pro now, even though my handiworks probably beg to differ!



Materials


Felt
1 Snap clip
thread and needle
+ 1 marker and a pair of scissors


Method



1. I started off by cutting 2 pieces of felt slight bigger than the clip. Mark an area about 3 mm away from the clip on the felt.






2. Trim the excess.





3. Place the clip on the felt and mark with 2 dots where the back prong begins.






4. Make a small snap about 3mm below the marking and slide the back prong through.

5. Centre the clip and snap tight.






6. Place the other piece of felt on top and using buttonhole stitches to stitch it together.







The final product!

Hope you will have as much fun as me making these!

Glam Chick!

My model happily displaying my handiworks!

Addicted ...

to making hair clips that is ...

I made 2 on Friday, when I came home at 10pm. Attacked my feather boa and it's now "recycled" to 2 hairclips instead. My gal wore one of the creations out this morning to Macdonalds at King Albert Park and I didn't really care if they thought I was a crazy mother to make my gal wear feathers in her hair early in the morning!

I wasn't quite pleased with the 2 designs. Something's lacking and my materials are not up to par either.

This afternoon I made another one and I just completed another during dinner. It's not too bad, but after this two, I'll move to another type of "bows" to try. Still had yet to get my proper materials, and of course it doesn't look pro, but I am actually enjoying myself. I hadn't enjoyed art & craft for a loonngg time, and I did remember the last "craze" was during my A levels and I was knitting sweater for the stuff toys. I guess the work stress had been slowly but steadily building up and this latest addiction is probably just an outlet to vent. I guess my hubby should be happy since I am not venting any frustrations on him.

Note to self: get a proper candle and matches.

Hit by the flu bug

Thought my gal looked a little off in the previous 2 posts? You bet.

Monday - fever hovering about 38. Brought her to see PD, undetermined so brought some standby medication home.

Tuesday - seem better. So far so good.

Wednesday - sniffles and a slight cough

Thursday - SNIFFLES and COUGH - in CAPS because it was really BAD

Friday - the above plus she's going off her food and looked really listless.

Saturday - Saw the PD again, gave additional medication to deal with her symptoms. Still off food.

Sunday - She's still sick and so is the helper.

Monday - The helper has a really BAD cold. We did some of the housework so she could rest early with baby. I stayed up late to finish some work and wanted to carry Vanessa to my room so the helper could get some rest. The cheeky monkey woke up and refused to sleep till 3am, when the helper took over.

Today - A bit wonky so I took the morning off. Woke up early to cook porridge for baby and ourselves and played with Vanessa so that the helper could nap a little. After their naps, it's my turn! Napped for less than an hour and it's lunch, sent them off to my mum's place and then back to work.

Tired? I am ... but I need to destress. I'll read one of my favourite Terry Pratchett books I think.

Product of Lurve 2

I made 2 more hairclips and my process is getting a bit more organised. I may put up the steps if I have the time to document the process.


The designs were so because I was experimenting with the different types of "bows" there were. Not entirely satisfied, but not displeased enough to chuck it away. Maybe I can enhance it at a later date if the inspiration hits me.

Presenting the model ...

Here's a closeup ...

The 2 designs ...

Blink and you might miss the Bling

My sweetheart, playing on the sofa outside the PD's office...

Oh wait, did you think you saw something?

Hmmm, not quite sure what it is?

This is a closeup to help you to confirm that your eyes are not playing any tricks on you ...


Ya! Bring on the BLING ... that cost $2 ;P it's a pair of magnetic earrings, so I didn't get her ears pierced either!

Only with adult supervision please, the magnetic bits are small and can be swallowed easily by babies or toddlers.

Enhancements ...

This is the enhanced version of the hair clip. Note the "amateur" bow at the bottom, that's the best I could do! And I overdid on the "clothes peg" pressure to hold the parts together while drying, the roses got a bit spoilt, hence the faux pearls to "enhance" the look.

Sigh, disaster in the kitchen, disaster in the living room (my area for my crafts).

Product of LURVE

You know, sometimes, there are only so much to compete (not that I am interested in that) to show how much you love your kid.

Some do it by the amount of luxury goods they lavish on their kids, some do it by buying tons of clothes and stuff for their kids ... I can't afford to keep up with the Jones man!

So this poor mummy, can only afford to lavish love by

1) making porridge for her (well sometimes I am too tired to make for her, and besides the oldies are more than eager to show off their culinary skills)

2) making hair clips to adorn my girl. Yes you heard it right, me making hair clips!

Just a very simple one, it cost me less than a dollar but the satisfaction to see her gleefully wearing the clip is more than enough to melt a glacier. Yes, it's my first attempt and I'm not sure if it will be my last too!

Here's the model!

My latest cake creation

These are the cakes from all the students in the class. Guess which one is mine?

Are you sure?

Do you want to guess again?










OK, this is mine. Not too bad I think =)






*strut*