Lovely Ballerina Bag 美丽的芭蕾舞女孩包包

I've finally had time to complete this ballerina bag for the ballet centre, just in time before Christmas break starts. It makes a perfect Christmas gift for ballerinas. :)

A friend of mine brought this charming fabric for me all the way from US. I really have to thank her for taking the trouble. Without her, I wouldn't have the chance to work on such beautiful fabric. Apart from limited selection, the price of US cotton available in the local market is rather steep. I'm lucky to have someone to "import" them for me. :) 

Merry Christmas everyone!

Latest sewing project

The other side of the bag

Beautiful US cotton fabric

Classic wooden button as closure

Little pockets at each side of the bag

Lovely ballerina bag

Frozen Inspired Princess Elsa Dress 冰雪奇緣 ~ 公主洋装

A couple of months ago, a friend was asking me if I could sew a dress for her little girl's birthday. It's the dress of the most popular Disney Princess (I guess for now), Princess Elsa. Well, I have sewn simple skirts and shorts  for my children, but a dress, I haven't done it before. This friend, has been very supportive and encouraging. She said it doesn't has to be a perfect dress. She is also very sweet, done the search on the web on Elsa dress tutorial and shared it with me. Part of me wasn't very sure about the project, and another part inside me asked me to give it a try. 

I was given quite an ample time to complete the project. The deadline is the little girl's birthday in December. I didn't have the confidence in the beginning and wasn't sure if I can do it, hence didn't start the project after some time and my excuse to myself was there isn't suitable fabric to make the dress yet :p

Then one fine day, I found the fabric, though not the exact colour of Elsa dress, but I thought it would be perfect for the dress. It's the end of roll fabric, so I bought it all, needed the extra just in case I have to try it a few times before getting the piece right :) 

Thanks to the tutorial provided by my friend. I managed to complete the dress in time for the little girl's birthday. I have also used the left over fabric to make another piece for my girl. There isn't enough fabric to make a same length circle skirt, so I made a high low circle skirt for my girl instead. It turned out fine as well. For those who are interested to try, here is the tutorial http://thegirlinspired.com/2014/06/elsa-dress-tutorial/ . Fyi, I did make some modifications to the original pattern.

I'm glad that both girls are really happy with their dresses. Happy birthday to both December baby! Hope this specially custom made dress would add to their sweet memories.

I would like to thank my friend for her idea and encouragement, without it I think I wouldn't have completed the dress. Thanks PY!

Little Princess Elsa - a friend's daughter

Cute little princess

Do you want to build a snowman?

Another happy princess

High low circle skirt

Very happy with her birthday dress

Back of the dress

Baby Bag for New Mummy 妈咪出门的好帮手

Met my friends from my previous workplace some time ago. One friend asked if I could help her with baby gift ideas. She thought of a baby bag. Well, yes sure I had just recently made one for a friend. To save the trouble she asked to just follow the same pattern as the previous one I made and to add a detachable sling handle.

It's a gift for my friend's colleague who has just recently become a mother. The new mother adores cat. That would explain her pick of the fabric :) She is also hoping for a turquoise shade bag. Luckily, I managed to get a few beautiful matching fabrics to go with the cat fabric.

The actual colour of the bag is really vibrant. But the picture didn't turn out so well. It's time to enhance my photography skills or upgrade my camera haha..

Baby bag with detachable sling handle

A tote + an organizer bag

The new mother adores cat

Compartments inside the organizer bag

D ring for the detachable sling handle

My friend requested for the initial of the new mother to be sewn on the bag

Metal zipper closure

PU leather as the base of the bag ~ dirt & water resistance :)

A Sling Bag for My Mother 母亲的佛堂专用包

母亲说去佛堂拿手提袋很不方便。可是不拿手提袋,东西放在口袋里又不舒服。我缝制了一个斜背包给她, 不大也不小, 可以装放一副眼镜, 钥匙, 手提电话和水瓶。还好母亲很满意。

朋友说我不上班的日子过得好像很悠闲。其实，日子是很“优”但不是很闲啦。放慢了脚步，放下了一些追求，空出来的时间便可以为家人做些事。：）

斜背包

是母亲喜欢的素色

包包的正面

包包的背面

不大也不小，刚刚好可以携带需要的小东西

Drawstring Shoes Bag 鞋袋

My sewing project was put on hold for some time. If you read my previous post, you would probably know why. Anyhow, thankfully, hubby is now back to his normal self and has fully recovered.

These shoes bags were long overdue. I finally managed to finish it and sent over to the ballet centre. I managed to utilise the remaining fabric (from the previous project) to make 10 pieces with four different colour combination this time around. I really love this ballerina fabric and now it's all being used. Mixed feelings. Sometimes, I will be a bit reluctant to use a certain fabric just because it's too beautiful to be cut into pieces. But there are also another part in me asking me to use it else the fabric will be just sitting my storage box and it's a pity. I guess it's something that I have to learn to overcome.

These drawstring bags can be used for many purpose, not only to keep shoes :)  I like things that are multifunctional so I hope to make things that are not only beautiful but practical at the same time. Hope the girls at the ballet centre will find these bags useful.

Sweet pink

Elegant purple

Charming blue

Refreshing green

Four beautiful colours, each has its own character

Good for keeping shoes

Can be used to put spare clothing too

Birthday Gift for My Favourite Sister In Law - 幸福包包

It has been a while since I last updated my blog. The past two weeks has been very tough for my family. Hubby had high fever and was admitted to the hospital on the 4th day. He was diagnosed with dengue fever. His blood platelets count dropped on the 5th day to 58,000 microliter. We all know there is no specific treatment for dengue infection. He was put on drips and was given fever medicine and some vitamins. Doctor said it would depends on hubby's body immune system to fight the virus off. 

I have heard of a few alternative therapies for dengue fever before this. But the most well-known alternative treatment for dengue I think, is the papaya leaf juice. It was even published in the local newspaper on how to prepare it. I was determined to find papaya tree. I have asked my brother and friends to help find the plant. Luckily, we managed to find it around our neighborhood. They are always around us just that we have never take noticed of them! Two pieces of large size leaves only gave about 3 tablespoons of juice. Those who wish to find out more about papaya leaf juice can read about it at the link here. 

Thankfully, hubby's blood platelets count improved on the 8th day and doctor allowed him to rest at home. Though his condition is stable now but he is still fatigue and is not fit to go back to work yet. 

That's the story about what happened recently. Before hubby fell ill, I made a bag for my sister in law for her birthday. She adores cats and always carry lots of stationery with her. So I made her a cat theme large size tote bag :). We share a lot of same interests and both are crazy about vintage junk. I'm so blessed to have such a sister in law who always lend an ear whenever I need to talk. These photos were taken by her at her lovely house. Happy birthday HL!

Cat theme tote bag

Large rooms inside the bag to keep books & stationery

Her favourite stationery

I'm glad the owner of this bag is very happy with it

Simple Yet Charming Handmade Bag 简单优雅的手作包包

这个包包是好朋友订制的。 要送给她的老朋友。我在之前也用了这款布料制作了手缝书的封面。真的好喜欢这款布。100% 棉布，图样的颜色鲜明，是朋友帮我从美国买回来的。好朋友的眼光果然也和我一样，选了这款布料订制包包，哈哈！

简单且优雅的托特包

包包的另一面

包包的侧面附有袋子

100% 手作品

Handmande Gift 手作礼物

不知不觉，这已经是我的第一百篇部落格文章。感觉上好像才开始经营部落格。

好朋友托我帮她制作几份礼物，说是要送给她的同事及朋友。为好朋友做事当然义不容辞。

这一次，制作了六本手缝书。五本A5尺寸和一本A6尺寸。每一本书都独一无二，封面的布料是好朋友精心为她的朋友挑选的。每一本书也个别缝上了名字。希望好朋友会满意我的制作， 更期待收礼物时，礼物主人的笑容。

精心制作的手作礼

喜欢Hello Kitty 的Joyce

Hello Kitty 书的背面

喜欢Snoopy 的Jane

Snoopy书的北面

给友族朋友Faeiza

复古美丽的送给Kathy

喜欢可爱小动物的Kew

喜欢童话故事的小女孩Jasmine