Colour me mine

I'm so excited to share this with you! For my birthday this year, a friend who is very creative got me a gift voucher to paint ceramic at Colour Me Mine. She organised a Saturday night session for us and another friend a couple of weeks ago. I chose a split serving bowl and after pouring over all the inspiration pictures, I settled on a 'nature' theme (note my raindrops and flowers). This may look simple but it took me the full 3-hour session to finish it! They have special ceramic paint which you have to do three coats of to get an opaque colour. One of the girls finished a 'landscape' mug engraved with a bible verse and the other girl hasn't finished her 'doily stencilled' tile. She'll be back for another session. The studio glazed and cooked my bowl and it was ready a few days later. I'm very happy with the result and what a thoughtful birthday present!

My sister's first quilt

This past weekend my sister also finished her first quilt! I'm so proud of her as this is all new to her. After all the stitching and unstitching (not to mention gnashing of teeth), she's finally done. I've really enjoyed our times together and looking forward to our next quilting project!

My first quilt!

I'm still alive! It's been far too long...I will slowly update the happenings of the last few months but for today I just wanted to share this. I have been learning the quiet art of quilting since late last year with my sister. Instead of making a big quilt, I decided to make 2 baby quilts. Above is the first completed one. I chose all the material, cut all those squares and assembled the whole thing just by following a book. What do you think? I love it so. So much so that I think I will keep it for my baby one day.

Seam allowance guide

I got this in the mail the other day. It's a seam allowance guide which I won from a blog giveaway by Novita AKA verypurpleperson. I never win stuff so it was quite a nice surprise - Thanks Novita! Maybe this will help me to take the plunge into sewing clothes. Why am I so scared [?] [!]. I found it quite funny the fact that this nifty Australian innovation was made in China and came to me all the way from Japan lol

Reversible tote bag

Here is a picture of the reversible tote bag I made for a friend. The fabrics were chosen by her at Cobbitty market and the straps were saved from a bag I fixed for my sister. I did not use a pattern for this. If I get enough interest, I might even write a tutorial for this.

Crafternoon

On the weekend, hubby and I rode our push bikes around town. This was the first time we went riding since we moved to the SW. We stopped by one garage sale and fitted in a thrifting trip to Salvos. I did not find anything worth 'rescuing'. When it was lunch time we decided to bike it to yum cha. There we were in our bike gear eating dim sims in a restaurant full of appropriately clothed people lol!
The day got even better for me because that afternoon, my friend Kirsty held a 'crafternoon' at her house. The concept involves a bunch of girls coming together for crafts and afternoon tea! Definitely my kind of party lol there were knitting, stitching by hand, sewing by machine and even card making! All the while munching on scrumptious baked goods (refer to the menu on Kirsty's chalkboard above) and drinking tea. She made an extra delicious apple pie - it's a Nigella recipe after all. This was our second crafternoon, the first one was probably a good 6 months ago but I forgot to blog it. We hope to make it a semi-regular thing and invite more girls along from our neighbourhood. This weekend I completed a reversible tote bag for a friend which I will post a picture of soon. I hope you all had a good weekend!

Learning to stitch

I can now add embroidery to my crafting reservoir! I recently taught myself how to stitch when I thrifted an embroidery hoop from Salvos. The above are stitched coasters I made for hubby's birthday this year. He love his guitars and would collect more if he could. As I was still a poor student this was the best I could give him lol. All these designs were freely drawn by hand based on 2 of his real guitars (bigger ones) and 2 designs I found online. I will add the link to the tutorial soon.
That's the crap thing about email blogging - can't add links and upload proper photos. Right now I'm limited to what's on my iPhone but if this means I'm going to blog more often it can't be too bad right? I was seriously considering changing to Posterous for the ease of email blogging but Blogger had better customization options.

Crochet coin purse & update

I made this pouch some time back when I was sick at home for a week. I couldn't stand not doing anything so there I was in bed either crocheting or reading (when I'm not sleeping that is). I managed to read Life of Pi which was an interesting book and definitely worth a read. I am all better now, that week off put a dent in my progress but I figure if I didn't rest then, I'd never find the time to actually rest. So sad, I know.

Anyways time for an update. I don't know who actually read this blog anymore but it looks like I've got a few new visitors - hello there! So at the moment I'm preparing my progress presentation for labchat tomorrow. It's been 3 months since my last one and boy have I made progress! Not to get ahead of myself but I have worked extra hard these last few months. It wasn't all smooth sailing though, just last week my third attempt at an experiment actually worked. These transconjugants are so tempermental! I was so stressed out and wasn't a very nice person to be around (I yelled at bickering honours students and almost burnt down the lab!). I'm usually a calm and collected person so my outburst really shocked some people lol. I have mellowed down again so don't worry. Thanks to those who have been praying for me during this stressful time! God has been faithful in answering prayers for progress and teaching me patience as well as perseverence.

So how long to go? I hear you ask. My original plan was to be done by October this year (thesis submitted and all) but that ain't gonna happen. I have two more final experiments left to do before I can stay out of the lab for good. One experiment is to detect the plasmid in my transconjugants using pulse field gel electrophoresis (if it all goes well, it'll only take 1 week). The other experiment is to make (clone and express) a certain protein that I need in order to analyse my metabolites. I give this 3 weeks if all goes accordingly. However this is never the case in biological research, things are bound to stuff up along the way so let's multiply the time I need by 2, which means 2 months to wrap this up! So I'm giving myself til October to finish these experiments. That is also when my scholarship money finish (fair enough they've supported me for 3.5 years already!). I've taken up teaching a class for first year molecular biology this semester so that means some extra income to get me over the line. After that we'll just have to live on husband's income alone until I finish and get a job.

My supervisor seem to think I can write my thesis in 3 months! 150-300 pages or 40-80 000 words in 3 months! That's just crazy! But I guess I need that kind of pressure to get me going. I do have until March next year to submit so that actually allow for 6 months of writing time from October if both of my experiments work. So far I've written about 1/3 of my thesis (assumming I aim for 150 pages), very rough draft of mainly Materials/Methods and Results. This also include my paper (we submitted it in June but still haven't heard back from reviewers) being transposed into thesis format. Having written the paper really helps me with the writing process becasue I no longer see it as one big daunting unachievable task.

Sounds all busy and no play right? wrong! In the midst of all this I'm actually going to take some time off to go on a holiday. See! I'm being kind to myself lol. Husband and I have been planning our epic trip to the US of A for over a year now! It revolves around a conference I'm attending call the 13th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME13): Stewards of a changing world. I will be presenting a poster on my research there. So our itinerary is San Fransisco (~1 week)> Seattle (conference, 1 week)> NYC/ Washington DC (~1 week)> Los Angeles (3 days)> home. We are quite fortunate to have family and friends in most of these places to host us and or show us around. This is my first time to the US so I'm really excited about not knowing what to expect lol. We fly out on the 16th August which is in 12 days!!! I probably won't post anything until after I come back so until then take care!

Vintage fabrics

Check out these pretty vintage floral fabrics that I acquired so far this year. The one on the left was from the vintage show which I attended with my sisters back in April. This will probably become a top for one of them. I scored the fabric on the right from Salvos (Canley Heights) just this weekend. A good 3 m for only $2! I haven't decided what to make with it yet but my local fabric shop has Simplicity patterns on sale so we'll see.

Market on this Fri & Sat!

How to pretty up a plain cardigan

A cost effective way to update your wardrobe is to modify what you already have especially your plain basics. I decided to pretty up one of my plain black cardigans by hand sewing on this embroidered motif. You can find similar designs from textile retailers such as Spotlight or Lincraft.

Handmade bag complete with lining

This is what I made my sister for her birthday last week. I used the pattern that I bought at the Stitches & Craft show. I picked up that pretty colourful fabric from Salvos awhile back and the lining is recycled from a bed sheet I got from a friend. There you have it - my first properly sewed bag complete with lining :o)

Craftsy gift wrap ideas

Ever wonder what to do with the stamps/envelops that your snail mail comes in? This is what I did with a pair of stamps too cute to throw out. I used it for gift wrapping! I wrapped the giftbox in brown kraft paper (you can get a decent roll for a few buck at the supermarket), stuck on my tear-off stamp/envelope bit and tied on some cotton twine (also from supermarket) to complete the look. So simple!
While I'm on topic of giftwrapping, we all know Christmas is fast approaching so here's another affordable idea. Instead of buying tons of Christmas wrapping paper (you can get really fancy ones or if you're cheap like me get the really cheap tacky ones) buy the cheap brown kraft paper I mentioned above and invest in ribbons. Of course this idea can be used for other occasions for that special unique look. Here is an example to show you:

A Spring update of sorts

So much has come to pass since my last post! I've been really busy research-wise which is a good thing :o) I'm still working (rather slowly) on my research article. I do not dare to think about the daunting task of thesis writing ahead. Lab work has been productive and frustrating at the same time due to technical failures. But that's science now let's get on with the good stuff!

A few weeks ago I went to the Stitches & Craft Show with my fellow craftsy friends Liz and Laura (my other craftsy friend Jenni has just given birth to a beautiful baby girl - congrats Jenni & Ron!). I found that this time around at a craft show I'm more interested in sewing-related stuff than paper craft supplies. I bought some sewing patterns for handbags and made a wimpy little pin cushion at one of the 'craft bars'. My fav section would have to be 'The Incubator' where all these craftsy folks were selling their handmade goodies (pics can be found here). It was like Etsy or Made it but in real life :o) hence I like.

That night we joined Ken and Grace at Khoa and Mish's for dinner and a game of monopoly. They prepared a delicious feast of Malaysian curry, Phillipino pork with salted egg salad (above) and one big roasted snapper. It was so nice to catch up and see how they're going in their newlywed life. Thanks guys for a wonderful time!

The following week, a couple from our bible study got married. Congratulations to Tim & Ash! We attended a Nalangu ceremony (below) to bless the bride and enjoy some yummy Indian food.

Their wedding was beautiful (below). Ash looked stunning in her gorgeous Indian wedding gown. I always get a bit teary at the exchange of vows bit at weddings especially Christian weddings. The highlight of the reception was Tim and Ash doing a bollywood turned salsa bridal dance! that was gold.

Apart from all this Tan and I have been getting into the habit of going bike riding and jogging every other day to increase our fitness level. I'm so looking forward to warmer weather and longer days! I've also been cooking and baking so stay tuned for more food posts :o)

Hooray for mail! Part II

So after blogging about my love for snail mail I recieved this in the letter box: a handmade purse and a sweet postcard from my lovely friend Sophie in Perth. Thanks Sophie!
I love the pretty lining on the inside of the purse and notice the 'milky & rosie' label? that's Sophie brand, named after her chickens! Sophie used to sell her handmade goodies on etsy and at her local market. You can check out some of her work here. I'm trying to encourage her to continue to do so after she finish her Archeology thesis :o)

After following up on some sewing blogs and recieving Sophie's present, I'm feeling all inspired to sew again. It had been months since I last touched my sewing machine and my pile of fabrics is sadly collecting dust! Anyways starting with baby steps, this is what I sewed on the weekend:

I didn't make the whole bag though. I got this free canvas bag from a company stall at the Careers Fair. Of course it had to have the company's logo and website on it so what I did to cover it up was sew on some thick like-coloured scrap material I had lying around. I decided to sew on some lace too you know to make it 'pretty' - what do you think?

Love is a new pair of green Converse

On the weekend my friends Liz, Jenni and I got together for a scrapbooking session - thanks Jenni for hosting us! Despite calling it that, the only one scrapbooking was Jenni! hehehe The idea came about at the end of last year when we decided it was about time we did something with each of our stack of wedding photos. We have had 3 scrapbooking sessions so far this year and by this time round, Liz and I have sort of lost motivation. I've also managed to deplete my paper/cardstock supplies and have not had time to stock up. Not to worry, we've got plenty of time until our 50th wedding anniversaries! hehehe So while Jenni was working away at creating some beautiful pages (BTW Jenni is expecting her first bub in August - so excited for her!) I did some crochet and Liz made party invitations. So the whole afternoon was spent crafting, drinking tea, munching on snacks and just chit-chatting which was quite nice :o)

My unfinished title page - the chiyogami cardstock is from our wedding invitation

That night, I went to a getogether at Dan & Teresa's (parents of baby Maddie) by myself coz hubby had a men's dinner on. I had a great time getting to know some of the other girls from church better - thanks to Dan & Teresa for being so hospitable! The funniest thing about the night was that the majority of food people brought turned out to be desserts! not that I minded of course hehehe. I got there early so I had time to play with Maddie before she went to bed. I read to her and sang to her gosh she is so cute! everytime I hold her I think about having my own baby hehehe well not before I finish my thesis! I also gave her the beanie I made and it fitted her well - yay! she looks so adorable!

When I finally got home, hubby had a surprise for me - a brand new pair of Converse Chucks in green (above)! Hubby is so sweet he had gotten them for me while I was at scrapbooking. I have been searching for a new pair as my current ones are really worn out. To me, chucks make great lab shoes coz they are closed in and oh so comfortable to wear all day :o)

Hope you're having a good week

For Maddie with love

I can't believe how fast this week has gone by! Thanks to the Queen's birthday we had a public holiday on Monday. Hubby and I ended up not doing any of the things we planned (shopping and cleaning) instead we slept in and pretty much lazed around the house all day. That night we went to see Terminator Salvation (loved it!) and had dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday. The whole time I felt myself coming down with something and before you know it I have the cold! That meant the next 2 days at home sick. Hubby was so sweet making congee and freshly squeezed OJ for me which I think contributed to my speedy recovery.

In craft news, I had just finished crocheting a wee little beanie for baby Maddie from church. When I was almost done I tried it on her to see how far I have left to go, I realised her head is actually bigger than I thought! hahaha let's hope it will fit her this time. I got the pattern for the beanie from a Patons crochet book courtesy of Mia. As for the flower and leaves I got the pattern from Attic24 who's one talented lady when it comes to crocheting!

I wonder if Maddie will like her beanie? I'm imagining her to look like these cute gumnut babies :o)

When I was in primary school, my friends and I were obsessed with May Gibb's gumnut babies. We would draw Snugglepot and Cuddlepie in class all day :o)

Have a nice weekend!

Addicted to crochet

Starting off with some non-craft news since my last post. Our church market stall went well considering it was our first time! We handed out loads of church flyers promoting our many activities/services and even managed to have some interesting conversations with market-goers. The face painting was a big hit with the kiddies (some of the mums even asked if we do kids parties hehehe). I can't wait til our next one!
We also celebrated hubby's 27th birthday. We are about 6 months apart in age which means half of the time we're the same age and the other half he's one year older so I teased him that he is so old hehehe. We celebrated his actual birthday with a Lebanese dinner at Emma's on Liberty. The place was packed for a weekday but the food was good. The next night we had a karaoke (Singstar) party with our bible study group which turned out to be quite hilarious! I made hubby a marble birthday cake - it was the first time I made it so it didn't turn out quite right hmmm.
In craft-news, I have been trying to teach myself how to crochet from YouTube videos by this lady. I must admit the beginning was frustrating as I wasn't sure which hole the hook is mean to go through etc. My first few attempts at making solid granny squares well let's just say they looked more like rectangles then squares! hehehe I finally managed to figure out where I went wrong - I had been adding extra double crochets in there somehow thus the rectanlges instead of squares. I've made quite a few granny squares since and am becoming more ambitious to try other things. At our church weekend away last week, our minister's MIL offerred to teach me how to crochet hand/tea towel tops. Older folks are so full of wisdom and skills - we can learn a lot from them.

This is the resulting crochet-topped tea towel

I'm so excited! I just wanna go buy a whole heap of crochet cotton and teatowels and make some more - these things are always so useful. The other day I saw a pattern for crocheting flowers in a copy of Better Home & Gardens in our tearoom, so I photocopied it and off I went to crochet some flowers.

My corrected solid granny square and my crocheted flower - not bad ha?

I'm super excited now that I can crochet things maybe to give away as presents for friends/family. I have to research more on yarn as I'm clueless about what to use. A random fact: I just realised that all this enthusiasm for crafts actually comes from my mum who used to sew, crochet and knit when I was little (oh and my brain comes from my dad as my mum said it didn't come from her hehehe)

Vintage sewing book

On rainy days I just wanna stay home and craft or read all day.
Oh well today is Friday after all!

A few weeks ago hubby and I enjoyed a nice quiet weekend with nothing much planned. We decided to go for a walk to check out the area where we lived. We moved to the inner west last November but just haven't had time to go exploring - apart from grocery shopping and the odd garage sale. Sadly there aren't many nice cafes around here which is what we missed most about moving away from the inner city (Glebe/ Newtown). We did however find a cute little 2nd hand bookstore in which hubby got some records and I came away with this:

...a vintage Japanese pattern drafting/dressmaking book!

check out these 70's clothes!

I love that the book is very detailed: specific measurements, sewing instructions and making adjustments!

Under the book is a wad of pretty fabric I picked up from the Nobue fabric sale which was really cheap! I'm so excited about my next sewing project which is most likely an apron. Depending on how I go with this, I might move on to making clothes. Well I'm off to researching face paint for facepainting kids at our church market stall tomorrow - so exciting! Have a nice weekend!

Creative Space

So I've finally set up my 'creative space' - my little corner where I can craft like mad and not having to pack up! Below is a closer shot of my mood board. I got the magnetic board from Ikea, cute custom-made magnets from the lovely Wai Sze and Decor Craft Inc. It is constantly evolving depending on what inspires me at the time. These includes handwritten letters, handmade greeting cards, photographs, bits of advertisement for interesting thrifting places like the markets, prints inspired by nature along with lots of other little bits and bobs. Enjoy!