My brother's birthday celebration 2021

 

So we had a mini party to celebrate my brother's birthday (actual birthday 1st March)...and I, as usual, challenged myself to make a few yummy treats for the family. 

I made a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting (yes, my piping skills have improved!) and crushed kit kat bits at the base to cover up imperfections *LOL* I also mango tarts (Pâte Sablée tart base filled with pastry cream and freshly cut mangoes). There was a bacon and cheese and vegetable galette. I also made something my brother loves - a sweet potato and yam Chinese New Year cake (made with glutinous rice flour and coconut) sandwich pan-fried with a crispy batter.

And yes, I made him take a photo with the food because I spent all day making them. 

See some familiar bits? They came from the happy mail I shared in yesterday's post. *winks*

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.

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Workspace Wednesday - happy mail from a sweet friend! :)

 

March is my birthday month and I've been blessed with loads of pressies. Like this package of goodies from my Aussie pal Lizzy Hill. :) I'm always amazed at her creativity and how she managed to fit so many goodies in a relatively postal-friendly flat package.

Hope you are having a great Wednesday! Today is my day out in town and I'm getting a haircut...it's been a year since my last one...so I'm pretty excited! *LOL*

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This week's quick decorated paper bag for a dude

 

Here is this week's quick decorated paper bag for a dude...(really too many cutesy and floral decorated bags in my ready-to-go pile of decorated paper bags *winks*).

I started with this sturdy paper bag from YSL.

I went with a muted colour for the patterned paper.

I cut up this old belt and buckle (which had seen better days) and just glued it to the paper bag for texture, dimension and interest.

What do you think?

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Make Stuff Monday - a simple decorated letterboard

 

I've always wanted a letterboard but they were a little on the pricey side and I wasn't sure what size I really wanted.

So when I spotted one at Daiso, I thought it would be an economical way to test-drive a letterboard. Plus the size would actually be great for birthday party shots (yes, this gal is working on new signages *winks*).

I had grandeur plans to paint it and all but when I opened it, I discovered that the frame was plastic. And the smooth type of plastic...which meant that any type of paint will chip and wear off easily. So I decided to go with some lace trim and embellished with pearl bits. :)

What do you think?

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Another week of mixed media eye drawings for #the100dayproject

 

So I have fallen a little further behind in #the100dayproject but it's for a totally legitimate reason. I overworked the muscles in my dominant arm and now repetitive movements are not ideal for muscle recovery. I have been doing shorter but more frequent sessions to complete each eye drawing versus a single long session. Here is 18/100.

Since the process was taking 3x as long, I decided that my non-dominant arm will have to pick up the slack while the other is recovering. Here is 19/100 which was done mostly using my non-dominant left arm. Can you tell?

For 20/100, I did most of the sketching with my non-dominant arm and used my dominant arm for the finishing touches.

I think my non-dominant arm has been doing a great job....*winks* Here is 21/100.

Happy weekend friends! :)

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Waste nothing- projects featuring Christmas wrapping paper

Well my friends, you know how I hate to trash anything that can be potentially useful. Like these Christmas wrapping paper from last Christmas. I had to navigate around parts with sticky tape and all but I got a few projects out of them...*winks*

I was pretty happy that I got to use the wrapping paper for my Christmas 2020 layouts. I love that they are all quite different even though I used the same 2 pieces of wrapping paper. :)

What do you think?

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What the Yams ate in Feb 2021

 

So February was a short but busy month. The Yams ate a lot of yummy stuff in addition to the celebratory rich Chinese Lunar New Year goodies. (At least according to me since I made them...clearly modesty is not my strong suit...*LOL*)

While I did not take pictures of every single dish I made, here are the ones I did share on IG.

Like this bowl of homemade hand-torn noodles which is a Yam family fave. The soup base is made with dried squid, onions and carrots. The noodles are made with AP flour + tapioca flour (for chewiness) + egg + water + olive oil. The noodles are served with fishballs, minced pork, an egg with a runny yolk and garnished with crispy fried garlic. Eaten with cut red chillies in soy sauce.

Next up is a minced beef fried rice with red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, Japanese cucumber and avocado served with cut red chillies and spring onions.

I like to add crunchy elements to my dish because I love the mix of textures. Yep...in art and in food. *winks*

We also had a peach frangipane tart. A frangipane tart is one of my faves to make and eat because I love a Pâte Sablée dough and it's so easy to change out the fruit according to what you have on hand. 

Next up: bacon and tomato quiche served with an apple, mango and cucumber salad sprinkled with organic black sesame seeds.

I was inspired to go Japanese - Japanese rice with pumpkin and shiitake mushrooms, miso pork belly, Japanese cucumber and iceberg lettuce, dashi soup with enoki mushrooms and egg tofu.

We also had a chicken pie with a cheesy top crust. All gone. Very quickly I must add.

And why have just one roast chicken when you can have two? Well, two small ones. To feed 10 people. ;)

Pizza had to be included too. Chicken and mushroom pizza. I went with a 24 hour fermentation for the dough and my own pasta/pizza sauce. And yes, I made 5 pizzas in total. 

We also had mango sticky rice. :)

P/s: We had a birthday celebration on the last day of February but I will share what I made in a birthday layout.

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This week's quick project is a decorated baby box!

 

Hello friends! This week's quick project is a decorated baby box! My cousin had her second child recently...of course the fave aunt has a gift for her latest nephew. *winks*

I started with this book box that came with a wax seal set.

I kept most of the elements flat for easy storage...but I think the box can be used to store little keepsakes of his first year of life (my cousin does not scrapbook).

Of course, I had to add a birdie or more to the mix. *LOL*

Am I becoming a minimalist? *dramatic music plays in the background*

Happy Tuesday friends! :)

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The one about sun protection

 

So we all know about the harmful effects of UVA and UVB rays on our skin...and the need for sun protection...

Errr...more so after an expensive laser facial treatment of course. *winks*

Well, check out my sister's "battle gear " as she heads out in the middle of the day. *LOL*

(Sunblock, cap, scarf, sunglasses and golf umbrella)

Finally had a chance to use up a collage piece of scrap bits I put together months ago...because the weather has gotten really hot. We had a rainy January and early February but mid-February onwards, it has been extremely hot. Like 3 loads of laundry can dry in an afternoon kind of hot. (Clearly this gal has been home a LOT...hehehe)

Playing along with Stick It Down.

Happy week ahead friends!:)

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