This week's quick card using fussy-cut elements

Hello there friends! The weather has been rather gloomy here with dark clouds and lots of rain. So it's been really hard to take photos in daylight. I managed to snap this pic outside my bedroom window before we got besieged with a heavy downpour yet again. Hope you are enjoying much much better weather. :)

Here is this week's quick card using fussy-cut elements. I found some foam in my stash and used them to prop up the main bloom and leaves and add a little more dimension to an otherwise really simple card.

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Another portrait practice - playing with shadows

So I have always stayed away from sketching shadows because I find them really hard! And the faces tend to end up looking like they have "dirt" on their faces..*winks* But I decided to give it a go. Props to you if you can identify who this person is.  Because she couldn't recognize herself in the drawing but when I showed her the reference photo, she said  it looked like the photos! *LOL*

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Make Stuff Monday - fussy-cutting on a decorated paper bag

Are you a person who starts fussy-cutting elements on a sheet of patterned paper and can't stop until you're all done? Well, join the club because the reason why I can make quick projects from my scrap pile is because I have already cut the pieces into ready-to-use pieces. *winks*

Today's Make Stuff Monday is a quick project using fussy-cut elements and papers from a DCWV paper stack. Yep...another decorated paper bag. I was running low on paper bags to decorate since I typically bring my own shopping bags but with most of my buying now done online, I find myself having a new supply of paper bags to decorate (Yep...some of the retail stores here deliver their packages in paper bags).

I went for a totally flat decorated paper bag for easy storage and reusability. I think it's perfect for some homebaked goodies for a friend. :)

Happy week ahead friends!:)

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Another page from the recipe planner - crispy pork belly

Today I'm sharing another family fave from the recipe planner - crispy pork belly. Whenever I make this dish, the Yams would be eating more rice than usual. :)

Prior to the whole stay-at-home situation, this was a dish I would order in a Chinese restaurant or a famous hawker stall because I thought it must be such a difficult dish to make since the meat was so succulent and juicy and the skin on top so crispy and yummy.

Apparently it was way easier than expected. And you could do it in an air fryer! The hardest part (for me) was actually piercing the holes on the skin because the skin is quite tough when it is raw.

Happy weekend friends!:)

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This week's quick card and a little Singapore update

Hello there friends! Just sharing this week's super quick card...and to give you a little update on the situation in Singapore.

We are currently into week 3 of phase 2 of reopening. Even though we can lawfully go shopping at malls, it is quite a hassle as they've restricted the number of entrances and exits and you have to "check in" and "check out" at every single store via a phone app. Plus you can only have a few people in each store at any point in time so you might have to queue outside the store for a bit. But it has been nice to at least go out for a cup of coffee and catch up with the bestie.

Of course, the buzz for the last 8 days has been the political debates among the opposition parties and the current ruling party as we head to the polls tomorrow. Yep, an election in the midst of a pandemic. Singapore was the "gold standard" in the handling a pandemic back in January and February but an explosion of cases in foreign worker dormitories in late March promptly turned that gold into a cautionary tale of complacency and led to a 8 week nationwide lockdown.

Like with most countries, reopening has led to an increase in the number of community cases. Even though the numbers remain low, there are definitely concerns about the possibility of further community spread as 2.65 million Singaporeans head out to vote tomorrow. Voting is compulsory and there are no options to vote online or via post. I really hope the mask-wearing and social distancing measures are enough to prevent further community spread, the possibility of another lockdown really does not appeal to me at all.

What about you? How is your country/state dealing with the COVID 19 situation?

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Another Yam birthday celebration

So we celebrated Mummy Yam's birthday on Saturday. She opted for a home celebration so we had a steamboat lunch (stock soup in a pot over a flame with additional ingredients like seafood, meat and vegetables thrown in to slowly flavour the soup). I also made an agar jelly fruit cake for dessert.

Then at teatime, we did the standard Yam celebration photoshoot with the props, signages and homemade birthday cake - this year she got a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. :)

Eh...yes, Papa Yam has been showing some major "attitude" in all the family photos of late. I hope it's a phase that he will grow out of. *LOL*

In case you were wondering about my liberal use of doilies of late...my sister found a really old pack in our recent kitchen declutter so I'm on a mission to use them up.  *winks*

Playing along with The Studio Challenges.

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Make Stuff Monday - a coordinating card and gift bag set

Hello friends! Today's Make Stuff Monday is a coordinating card and gift bag set. Yep...still clearing off the fussy-cut bits from last week's layout (still on my desk..*winks*). I think I have one or perhaps 2 more projects to go with the bits.

The card is a lot more elaborate...a diecut, washi tape, a dimensional cupcake sticker and the fussy cut blooms.

I went with a simpler design for the bag - just some glittered patterned paper for the base, some fussy cut blooms and a "for you" dimensional sticker. It can be jazzed up with coordinating wrapping tissue and a bow for the actual gift-giving part...but for now, it is flat for easy storage. :)

Happy week ahead friends!

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My first 2 loaves of sourdough bread!

So it's official...your gal here has joined the "Make your own sourdough bread" club. Meet my first 2 loaves of sourdough bread! :)

I feel a little bad that I don't have a photo of Blossom, my sourdough starter, on this layout. She and I have been through a lot together since 15th June 2020....the day I mixed equal parts of organic wholemeal flour and water in a glass jar. There were good days when she gave me signs of life with lots of bubbles. And there were bad days when she smelled like baby's puke...and looked quite dead. But finally, on day 11, she grew 3x her size and told me, "Let's bake some bread!" *winks*

Of course, the actual baking of the bread was some 18 hours later with the need to make, ferment and rest the dough. And I waited till the 3rd morning to slice into my first loaf. And Blossom did great! Check out the crumb of the bread with those holes! I ate mine toasted with just some salted butter. My sister went for scrambled eggs with hers. :)

I went with lots of washi tape and stickers on this layout. :)

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

Happy weekend friends!

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This week's quick card from the scrap pile

Hello friends! Hope July has been good to you so far!  Here is this week's quick card from the scrap pile...some fussy-cut bits leftover from Tuesday's post June's Kitchen Adventures. :)

I went with some bright and bold colours and finished with a sentiment from my stash of die-cuts.

Happy Thursday friends!

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Another pastel portrait

I'm definitely way way behind in my #the100dayproject this year. But I am happy with the portrait pieces that I did complete. :)

These days I find myself really drawn to my pastel pencils. I feel like a kid playing with chalk...mistakes are easily correctable and your hands get really dirty. You can't really get sharp details but the blurry effect is very flattering for portraits.

Like most of my portraits, I'm never done. Of course I thought I was done when I took photos of this portrait but as I was writing this post, I know where I need to go make adjustments once I finish this post. *LOL*

Happy month ahead friends! :)

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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. :)

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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?

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