Catch Kawaii~neh! at Art For Grabs this May!

I've been thinking when I should announce it to everyone. I'm currently drained proper off any feelings at all. Exams are due on Monday. I'm half alive, trying to cram everything into my dying brain. T-T

I just can't wait to get it over with so that I can put all my time and focus on preparing for my first craft event! :D

That's right, I'm going l-i-v-e after these few years of dabbling with Etsy and skulking about online crafting/networking sites. ^-^"

Catch me at Art For Grabs :

When? --> 9th and 10th of May 2009

What time? --> 12pm - 8pm

Where? --> Annexe Gallery, Central Market

Admission is free! There'll be lots of other crafters and independent artists there. Here's a sneak peek of some of the stuff you'll find at my booth :

The current price range for stuff starts from RM5. I'm thinking of making more stuff that suits your budget, so I'll be glad with any suggestions. :)

Bring EVERYONE in your family, ALL your friends and any strangers that you may want to invite. I'm a bit shy. But hey, the more the merrier!

Bring On The Cavities!

With only a week left before exams, I should be buried -with deep concentration- in Pharmacology by Rang, Dale, Ritter and Moore, ticking off the list of information to memorise as I go along. But I just can't stand it any longer. I'm going mad. I spent the last 6 days going through cancer chemotherapy and toxicology -very painfully- trying to cramp in all the info. So much time wasted on these supposedly kacang modules. T-T I'm now debating whether to start on CPK or MSK tomorrow. Should I leave MSK till after the 4 continuous papers? I think I'll die if I do that though...

Well, to look at the brighter side of today, I just paid off my Etsy bill with Paypal! Whee! Previously, I had to bill off on an attached credit card on the site, which is a pain because I really don't wish to burden my parents for paying off something I that I should have been able to. So, I'm really pleased that Etsy has now answered this plea which has been ongoing for quite a few years. This means a whole new beginning - online business run on my own expenses!

Now I wish Threadless would do the same to bring Paypal into its payment options. But then I might go broke... ^-^"

That aside, I renewed some items in my shop, and added an exciting piece of candy...

{ Bring on the cavities! - every girl's dream charm bracelet :D }

I actually finished assembling it last Friday. The charms were made waaayyy before that, sometime early March, and on different dates. Started off with the pastel ice cream scoop. And then moved on to the cream drops. And then the chocolates. And lastly the lollipop.

4 seperate days. This is probably the longest work-in-progress for any piece I've made. Usually, I can't wait to finish something so that I can drool over the results.

{ Some other pieces that I tried making. They'll probably be sitting in my cupboard for some time. I need to get exams out of the way. }

{ Cream drops I used for the charm bracelet }

{ I added large golden bells. They add to the overall shiny-ness. :D }

{ Feel like keeping it for myself. But then, I don't usually wear charm bracelets. Some of the most beautiful charm bracelets I bought on Etsy -on impulse- have never been worn... T-T }

You can view the listing HERE.

Hope tomorrow'll be a productive day. I MUST finish at least rheumatoid arthritis and anti-inflammatory drugs..... T-T

Creative Malaysian Blogger Award

Thanks to Ciyou and Jeslyn for nominating Kawaii~neh! for this award :

Now I feel like I really have to live up to 'creativity'. ^-^" Eheh... :D It's pure torture to have to sit and face chemotherapeutics and toxicology lecture notes every minute when I'd love nothing more than to knead polymer clay all day long. Ideas kept rushing in suddenly and each time, I had to restrain myself from making that something for fear of failing the end-of-semester exams. So I repeat; it's pure torture. T-T

The 5 sources of my inspiration are:

1. Etsy - where I spend probably 90% of my online time
2. Q-Pot - my idol
3. Modish - lovely handmades
4. Oh Joy! - everything beautiful
5. Erm... Can't think of it.... ^-^"

The 5 nominees of this award (in no particular order):

1. Evangelione - always inspiring
2. Mangosteenskin - skilled and gifted carver
3. Mimpi Jewelry for Dreamers - with a whiff of Etsy ♥
4. Shambie - wish I could sew like you :P
5. Aneesah - always love your colourful creations :)

There are LOTS of Malaysians out there, bringing colour and fun to the dull monotony of life!

Now here are the expectations that come with the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. List your 5 sources of inspiration.
3. Nominate 5 other Malaysian blogs which demonstrate some form of creativity.
4. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
5. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog, and if possible, make sure they follow these 6 steps too!
6. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

Guess that's it. :)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Biscuit Treats

I went grocery shopping today, and bought a few items for making something sinfully sweet, rich and yummy.

Actually, I had been dreaming about it for some time. :P Just needed that courage to buy peanut butter, chocolate and cheese crackers. *ooh... the kilograms piling up T-T*

Anyways, onto the yumminess :

Makes 12 pieces of treats :

{ Spread a generous layer of peanut butter on a cracker. Make sure it is at least 0.5cm thick for the benefit of the person who eats it later. }

{ Top it with another cracker. Make 12 of these. }

{ Melt 150-200g chocolate, milk or dark as you wish, and dip each biscuit into the chocolate. Be sure to have the whole biscuit covered, or else feel the dismal of the person who'll be eating it as he/she may think it very inappropriate to have insufficient covering of chocolate on anything. }

{ Finally, drizzle some melted white chocolate *mixed with peanut butter if you wish* over the chocolate covered biscuits. Set them in the fridge, and mind that you don't let anyone know about them lest you find yourself left with nothing but the waxed paper lining when you pop in to see how they're doing. }

{ Oh peanut butter! OH PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE!!! }

Fruit Bowl Pendant

I went to Central Market on Saturday to book my booth for Art for Grabs. Seems that this time around, the event will not be as big as it was last year (June and December), due to a clash with a book fair held in the same place at the same time. Hope the crowd's still as encouraging.

Before putting the studying-mode on full swing, I sneaked an afternoon to make a polymer clay pendant requested on Etsy : bright green bowl with raspberries, blueberries, apples, oranges and strawberries.

{ Fruit bowl necklace }

{ I wish my bowl of fruit is as yummy. ^-^" }

Those tiny fruit slices : kiwis, oranges, apples and watermelons are not handmade by me. ^.^" They're ready-to-use clay sticks, which I guess the Japanese and Hong Kong girls use for nail deco. ^o^ But they're perfect for clay art too. :)

Wondermilk Cafe

Finally, our third year classes are over. I had a day out with my friends. We went to this cafe that I've wanted to go to since forever, not only because it sells the yummiest cupcakes I've ever eaten, but also because of its selectively vintage/shabby chic decorated setting.

I was really excited to be there, but somehow, the excitement was daunted by something that came up that I don't want to talk about here. The problem with keeping a blog to have people you know *in real life* visiting, is that you can't let out your feelings *which is what a blog is supposed to be a purpose of* without hurting someone you know.

Anyway, what I went through today just affirmed my self-code of keeping to myself something that I want to do and go somewhere I want to by myself so that I can actually feel the euphoria and be in high spirits throughout. In case you readers don't know, I like to keep to myself and go about on my own. That gives me the freedom to do whatever I want, go wherever I want and be happy, without being a burden or worrying about a burden.

I find this really difficult. That's why from day one, I trust no one but myself. But I guess I don't trust even myself now. I dont' trust myself to be able to be a good friend.

I don't have a place to let out everything cramped in my heart, so I'm letting it out here.

{Edit : I gotta STOP posting emo entries before I hurt someone }

Ok, enough of flooding you with my emotions. Onto the photos :

{ Wondermilk Cuppacakes ♥ }

{ I had two cakes - chocolate something + blueberry cheese. The cakes were absolutely moist, rich and flavourful! And the creams too! I love that they are bite-sized, not large like some kiasu cupcakes are like. }

{ Some old-school wares like stationery, notebooks and vintage toys }

{ Cookies ♥ I bought two a chocolate one and a crepe-like one }

{ Interesting back-drop at the counter -- the waiter-guy kept looking curiously while I took photos XD }

{ A signboard beneath the counter table }

{ Vintage/retro junk food + CDs *not sure if those are CDs* }

{ More vintage/retro goodies --> there's a tub of dolls }

{ Chalk-board menu }

{ Vintage setting + deer *the place is sprouting with them!* }

{ The cafe also sells clothes --> Blythe photos & vintage children book pages on the wall of the fitting room + BAMBI wooden chest and chalkboard drawing in the fitting room + washroom sign }

{ There were lots of handmade stuff too, like pin buttons, necklaces and laminated birdy pins }

{ Awesome wood-cut flower neklaces with hand-painted details! }

{ Cardboard boxes cut out and drew on }

{ Cool masks + hand-drawn wall art + fabric wall decoration }

{ Last look : Decorated wall outside the cafe }

Life goes on + tokidoki new prints!

It's been a brain-draining two weeks, and it only gets worse from there. I'll be having a presentation tomorrow and another one on Thursday. Gotta prepare for them. T-T

Amidst stressful compiling of clinical cases on Sunday, I received a call. It's from someone at the Annexe Gallery, and they confirmed my booking of a booth at Art For Grabs this coming May (9th-10th)!

Omigosh!!! I'm really really excited! This'll be the first time making a real life appearance selling my kawaii. :D Eheh...

I actually signed up in February, and started making stuff in March. I'll post up some of the things I made for the event - when there's time to spare. >.<

In the meantime, let's take a breather and feast our eyes upon new tokidoki bags! Up till now, 3 new designs for 2009 have been released - Leo, Geo and Discoteca. I like Discoteca best. It's got all the famous tokidoki characters in it.

Images credit to tokidoki's official website

{ tokidoki Discoteca Amicca }

{ tokidoki Discoteca Serena - I like this bag style :) }

{ tokidoki Geo Amicca }

As for Leo, I can't imagine an uglier print. -_-" Animal-spots-like print never works for me. >.<

BLARGH! I hate studying....

Dress in style with minimal spending!

It actually goes without saying that a styled outfit gives a better impression than plain t-shirt and jeans. The later combination will just go unnoticed like grass on a football field. What with a rapid sprouting of personal fashion blogs that are updated daily with photos of what the writer/contributor wore each day, fashion is now not limited to be defined by designers and fashion magazine editors. Personal style is what everyone strives for.

There is always a way to get the look you want without having to live on bread and water for weeks. The key is to shop smart and scout for sales, with a spending budget in mind.

Sears is having 75-80% off original prices on fall and winter apparel from now till April 18th. I browsed their clearance section and found a few pieces of treasure including this puffed-sleeve dress with a satin-like look. And it's less than $15!

{ Doesn't this look sweet? }

Further browsings found me this cream knitted coat for less than $10. I love the shabby chic look. I think it'll go well with the dress, with or without black leggings, and with a pair of vintage brown leather oxfords with heels of 3.5-inches high!

{ This coat is growing on me. }

Well there you go. A fashionable look for less than $25!