Philosophy of the day: Try till you get it right!

I'm a hoarder. I like to keep things. When I was younger, I didn't like my dad keeping old things because it made the house messy and full of rubbish. But now that I'm older, I understood. We keep because some bring back old memories, some are still useful and most of all, we have the idea that "we might need them ONE OF THE DAY." 

So, I have loads of plastic containers. Rectangle and round ones. Today when I needed a round one, I took one out but the cover just didn't fit. Because there are loads of them, I had to try one cover after another. 

It reminded me of a lesson:

DON'T QUIT TRYING. You'll eventually find the RIGHT ONE. And I did! 😊

Hand made bags

Hmm... I should take photos of the pouches that I have sewn before giving them away. 

Frankly, I feel a bit embarrass to give them away as Christmas gifts because someone dear to me keeps saying they're just not good enough. 

Yesterday, I had a chat with my best buddy. And she's always good at assuring me that what's matter is the effort and love put into making them. And she suggested that I venture into sewing pencil cases because she likes them! She won't mind how they look as long as they're practical with many pockets and space to keep all stationeries in. 

💪💪 Now, instead of giving up, I feel inspired to try on new style and patterns. 🙏

Note: Words can either build or break someone. Use them wisely! 😉

Have a great weekend! 🌈

Zipper bags

Phew! Finally... I've completed two zipper bags to be used as busy bags for my son. ✌️

I wanted to save some money from buying. But I used almost 1 and a half hour from cutting the fabric to sewing. Is it worth the time? 

Fun & Cheer is selling bags this size for RM2-3 each only. 

😣 feeling confused

Have "felt" cooking with felt stuffed toys

Thanks to my uncle who bought Hannah new cooking toys. She likes it so much. While I was playing with her, I noticed that there weren't much to cook. Ermmm...only sweet corn and sausages are available. Maybe I should make some extra ones. 

So, I did! I can't wait to start and I've done three carrots for her. Why carrots? They're her favorite and that's the only resources I have, orange and green felt. There should be more, if I have the time and resources. Till, then - 

Have fun cooking now! 

Quilted car organiser

Can't stop wandering from one thing to another! I'm busy with sewing now...My finished project on quilted car organiser. 

My mom asked why spent time and effort on this when we can get it at a fair price at MR DIY.

It stopped me for a moment...but I continued. I felt I'm empowered because I can do more than what I've been doing. 

I feel happy when I can hang this up in my car and my baby busy picking up things from inside the pocket. 

Going to venture more to satisfy my "itchy hands"...

Venturing into the crocheting world!

This is what I'm busy doing currently!

Gotta go to try out new patterns!

Amigurumi

Amigurumi, a word from Japanese means crocheted stuffed toy. It has been a hot item for quite some time. Mind me, I don't even know about that before reading the newspaper last week. And since I know how to knit and crochet, I wanted to try my hands on this 'new' thing to me. 

The first day trying out the crochet was a disaster. My mom, like usual, asked me to give up. But the stubbornness in me told me to go ahead because I was just steps away from success. I went online and searched for a good tutorial to learn from. 

Ta-dah! This is the end result of my first amigurumi. I don't know about you but I'm going to try out with more patterns. 

Below are a few sites I find helpful - at least in teaching me from zero to making my first crocheted stuffed toy. 

Amirugumi tutorial

Free patterns

Cheers and do enjoy this new hobby!

How to make a multi-compartment stationery box

What do you do with chicken essence boxes? Throw them into the rubbish bins? Now, you can turn them into something useful.

Material:
1 BIG chicken essence box
6 SMALL chicken essence box

Pictures show process (from top left to right; top to bottom)

1) Pic. 1 shows the material that you need.

2) Fold the sides of the SMALL boxes. You can use stapler or glue. The boxes will become more sturdy with the sides intact. Join three boxes together with stapler or glue as shown in Pic. 2.

3) Fit the boxes into the BIG box.

4) Now, you have two rows of SMALL boxes in a BIG box.

5) Cut a small piece of hard cardboard and stick to the back of the BIG box.

6) You can wrap up the BIG box with glossy magazine paper or present paper.

7) Now, the box is ready! You can stick messages at the top part.

8) You can chuck in all the small items eg. clips, pens, glue, staplers, etc. into the small compartments.

Note: If you like bigger compartments, then you can use reduce the amount of SMALL boxes.

How to make a paper bag

My utmost thanks to Hooi Thiam for teaching me a lot of things from baking and cooking to recycling!

Photos show process from left to right; top to bottom. 

1) For the purpose of teaching, I have used a present paper instead of a recycled paper to show the difference between inner and outer part.

2) Fold the upper part, around 1 inch. 

3) Fold the left side, around 1 to 2 inches. 

4) Bring the paper from right to left. Glue the side. 

5) Now, the upper part of the paper bag has been completed.

6) Fold up the lower part. The width depends on how big you want it to be.

7) Open up the wings just like what shown in Pic. no. 7

8) Bring the left wing to the centre. 

9) Bring the right wing slightly on top of the left. 

10) Glue the wings together. 

11) Now, you have one beautiful paper bag to be filled with a present!

12) I have made paper bags with recycled magazine papers, newspaper, flyers and pamphlets. 

Let us REUSE, REDUCE and RECYCLE!

Let us use water wisely

Water reaches us conveniently in the comfort of our homes. But how many of us, the residents of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, realise that we might be facing a threat of water supply shortage by 2014?

It is reported that the Federal Government foresees water supply shortage by 2014. If so, the government should take imperative move to ensure that the project of Treatment Plant goes smoothly. Otherwise, the residents of the abovementioned three states will be the victims of politics.

Besides government, it is also our responsibility as consumer to ensure that the water supply is sufficient.

Each individual plays an important role in conserving water and it should start from home as the saying goes, ‘Charity starts from home.’

For example, the water I used to bath my baby will be used to flush the toilet, wash the bathroom or mop the floor. Other than this, I also use the water I used to soak the vegetables to rinse the dishes after our meals. There are so many ways to conserve water. Besides being a responsible individual, one will also feel contented seeing a decrease in water bills.

The crux of the matter is to educate the public. We should go hand in hand in conserving water and making sure that we have sufficient water to go on comfortably. Pipes leakage should be reported immediately. Children should be taught in school and at home on how to use water wisely.

It is also crucial to educate the public on proper waste disposal. Rivers should be preserved because it is a source of water supply too.

A little effort from each individual will make a big difference. The next time when you ignore  a leaking pipe or water wastage, think of a child dying every 20 seconds due to water-related disease.

Edited and published in The Star newspaper:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/22/focus/8318191&sec=focus