June's kitchen adventures

Well hello there friends! If you are in the vicinity, can I welcome you into my home through my french doors for a home-cooked meal? (I am lawfully allowed 5 guests per day now...*winks*)

My June kitchen adventures consisted of new-to-me recipes as well as constantly-improving family faves...because I love challenges (new recipes) but I'm sometimes lazy (go with a winning formula!). And when I say "constantly-improving", it means shortening the process. ...hehehe.

Now I have a family of picky eaters. My dad loves Asian food and complains when he gets stuff like pasta or pizza or pie which of course nephew #1 loves. My mum has the tastebuds of a catfish..."did you put cinnamon in this chocolate chip cookie?" and I'm like, "Just a tinge". Meanwhile, the sister cannot stand onions but she will eat them if they don't taste like onions..like in pasta sauce. She also does not want to eat carbs at dinner and cannot have a sandwich for lunch (because that's breakfast food). Hokkaido milk bread gets the thumbs up from dad and sister but it's too soft and moist for mum. Focaccia and Ciabatta are my sister's faves but they are too dry and chewy for the folks.

 Yep...meal prep for the Yam family is such a breeze. *LOL*

But there are definite winners with everyone too - like butter-basted ribeye steak, pan-fried chicken breasts, handmade noodle soup and Korean-style mixed rice bowls.

Playing along with More Than Words. I went with french doors with window panes. :)

Make Stuff Monday - upcycled gift bag

Happy Monday friends! Today's Make Stuff Monday is an upcycled gift bag!

Here is the gift bag before the makeover (Yes...this girl went shopping downtown last week...*winks*).

I actually like the gold and red design on the bag so I just added a piece of doiley for texture and a vintage-inspired cute baby paper as my focal point. I finished with some dimensional embellishments.

Awww...isn't that baby such a cutie?

8 Ideas for mini decorated file folders

Now that restrictions seem to easing up around the world, it's time to send out some happy mail to friends and family! This year I've been really into making mini decorated file folders which I fill up with snacks or stationery/scrapbooking supplies. The recipient can keep the folder to store supplies or refill it with goodies to send out to someone else. I just love the idea of passing a little love/kindness to another person, don't you? :)

Today I've compiled them all into one post so that you can be inspired to create your own to send out! All projects are linked to their original posts in case you want to see closeup details. :)

Make Stuff Monday - Coffee Lovers edition

My current obsession - mini decorated file folder

A Christmas mini folder in June

Make Stuff Monday - a gift set

Another vintage-inspired mini file folder

Another day, another decorated folder

This week's fun mini folder

Vintage-inspired decorated folder

There you have it...8 ideas for mini decorated file folders. Do you have a fave???

Happy weekend friends! :)

Workspace Wednesday - a portrait I'm currently working on

Hello friends! Just a look at my workspace today...a portrait I'm currently working on. I'm still very enamoured by my Derwent pastel pencils so my trusty sharpener is nearby because pastel pencils get blunt quite easily. :)

Hope your week's been going well. I'm headed downtown tomorrow for the first time in almost 3 months and I'm pretty excited! :)

A quick Christmas card

While rummaging through my stash, I found this random Christmas tree chipboard that didn't belong in that pile. Rather than put it back into the Christmas pile, I decided to make a quick Christmas card. :)

Yes, I know. Totally un-Christmassy colours. But that's how I roll. *winks*

A piece of odd-shaped scrap paper provided the pop of bright colour and served as an interesting backdrop for the Christmas tree. I used some washi tape for some added interest and also to help "ground" the tree. I finished with some sequins for some festive flair.

A page from my recipe planner...min chiang kueh

Hello friends! Today I'm sharing a page from my recipe planner. :)

Min chiang kueh: an Asian style pancake that is crispy on the outside and filled with something sweet inside, usually red bean paste, sweetened coconut flakes or sweetened peanuts.

These are super easy to make and a hit with the Yam family. Since they store well in the refrigerator. I usually make a double batch so that the family can grab it as a snack the next day.

Happy week ahead friends!:)

Eye makeup in my sketchbook

This is what happens when you really miss your eye makeup...you work on it in your sketchbook. *winks* I used coloured pencils of course...but the neglected eyeshadow palette deserved a photo opportunity right? *LOL*

What's Up Wednesday - an update

Hello friends! Just a quick card to share today...made with scraps of course. :)

Let's play catchup. What's up in your end of the world? Is life back to the "new normal"?

We just got news that Singapore will move into Phase 2 on Friday 19 June...when most activities will resume with restrictions. We can finally dine out but only in groups of 5. You can also visit friends and family but in groups of 5. Which means my brother can't bring his whole family of 6 out but his family can come over (since nephew #1 technically lives with us)...*winks* In case you were wondering, everything is enforceable by law. If you get caught for violations, you have to pay a fine/go to jail.

Retail outlets can open but cannot have any sales or promotions for the first 2 weeks to prevent people from flocking to shopping centres for bargains (yes, our government is very specific). Work from home continues to be the default if possible...which means you can go practically everywhere now but your office. Which also means that eateries around office buildings will be swatting flies for the next few weeks/months. *LOL*

Unfortunately nobody in Singapore is going to be catching a movie at the cinema or visiting the library because those activities are part of Phase 3. :(

But I'm so looking forward to dining out! Tell me what's happening in your end of the world.

Hanging out with my Aussie mate - pages from my travel planner

Whenever I'm in Sydney, I get to meet my Aussie mate Lizzy twice. She would take the train to the city to meet me for tunch (lunch + tea). She usually needs to leave at around 2.30pm because it takes her 90 mins to get back to her suburb plus she still needs to drive home from the train station. And of course she has to get home before 5pm or risk the wrath of her hubby. *winks*

Actually her hubby Tom is the sweetest man. He cooked me lunch. And look, the napkins match the Christmas pressie I gave Lizzy. And Lizzy told me that he took out the good china the night before too. Few people invite me to their homes for a home-cooked meal (I do get treats at restaurants though...) so I'm always grateful. ;)

Anyway, the second time I get to meet Lizzy, I have to travel to her turf by train and she will pick me up at the train station. We would then go Op Shop (thrift stores in Australia) Shopping and do a supermarket run for Aussie goodies (chocolates, Tim Tams, cookies etc etc) before packing my loot in my trusty cabin trolley and saying our bittersweet goodbyes at the train station (all before her 5pm home for dinner curfew..LOL*).

Happy Tuesday friends! :)

Make Stuff Monday - Bamboo wall hanging

Hello friends! Today's Make Stuff Monday is a bamboo wall hanging!:)

Shopping at a physical store for non-essentials is still off-limits here in Singapore but there's no stopping this gal from shopping her personal stash of "things to craft with". Like this round bamboo dish I bought from Daiso back in January. I had grandeur plans of painting blossoms on it as part of CNY decorations. But it never did happen *high fives those who are not surprised...winks*. Well, I bought 2 of these so it could technically still happen... like next year...hehehe.

The "my happy place" tag was part of some happy mail I received some time ago...and that was my starting point. I added some dimensional items and just grew my cluster till it looked "done" to me....which is as usual, a lot of stuff. *LOL*

But I think it turned out quite pretty. What do you think?

A Christmas mini folder in June

Well friends, you know it had to happen. Your gal here just had to throw in some Christmas projects into the mix during this #stayathome time. Meet the Christmas rendition of the  decorated mini file folder! *winks*

This one came together rather quickly because

1. The Christmas tag was something I made last year but didn't use it for gift-wrapping.
2. The "Yes" tag was from happy mail.

So I pretty much added a "mat" for the two tags and just added a few embellishments to tie them together.

Hope you've had a great week friends! Enjoy your weekend! :)

Papa Yam's birthday 2020

Can you believe that it is June and I just baked my first birthday cake of the year? Yep, with the COVID 19 situation, my brother, niece and nephew #3 got no birthday cake this year. We celebrated my sister's January birthday back in December on her Chinese birthday. So Papa Yam got the first home-baked birthday cake of 2020. *LOL*

I did not go all out with a few different baked goods/desserts this year...because daily meal prep with new recipes is already quite exhausting. But I did bake him a double layer lemon cake with mango cream cheese frosting. And he got his fave Chinese handmade noodle for lunch ...which I also made from scratch.

Of course, the family got to use my signages for photos again. Those poor things had been neglected for the last 5 months! *winks*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.