Felt Deco

I planned to make felt crafts for the school event couple days ago. But every time I finished one cute thing, my lil one claimed it as hers. I could not say no. Then I decided to cancel my plan and used these for our wall decoration.

Cupcakes

Owl

For the owl, I got the idea from No Sew Felt Owl Plush tutorial. Then I tried to draw the pattern by myself. I should make the eyelashes but nope..., the lil one grabbed the owl before it finished.

Sweet Treats

Cake pops

Sugar cookies

The birthday....

Snack Bags

I'm in the middle of preparing my older daughter's birthday... again. She will be 10 years old next month. Preadolescent with some developmental issues *be ware*.

So far I have made some snack bags for the goody bags. The tutorial is from Laura Wilson (see here) and I have tried it once for Fabric Gift Wrapping. I love it... So easy and simple with a nice end result. This time I used Ikea fabric with neutral print & color since my daughter will have guests from both gender, her girl friends and boy friends (real friends, ok?) :D

I put some ribbons for girl snack bags just to make them different than the boys' and... it will easier to carry in their hands. I plan to fill those snack bags with food, bookmark and thank you card. We will see...

See the photo below. My daughter already used her snack bag to keep her girly stuffs she received from her aunty, Lidya. Too bad I do not have a photo of another snack bag belongs to my lil baby... She uses it to keep her Pokemon balls & toys... LOL....

DIY Cloth Napkins

This was one project that I planned together with my friend, Iv. As beginners, we needed simple projects to become familiar with our new friends, sewing machines. And, as written in Lotta's book, cloth napkin is a good project for beginner like us. 

Yes, simple project but it made me happy since I love using cloth napkins for our meal time.

First napkins, with mitered corners

Fabric: cotton from Mondial Tissus

Second napkins

Fabric: cotton from Eurodif (on sale!)

The ones with mitered corners were a bit more difficult than the usual ones. But I really love the results. It looks classy... for me.

Eco-friendly choice: Fabric gift wrapping

Sebenarnya karena waktu itu saya tidak menemukan kertas kado di rumah, jadi akhirnya ngebut menjahit pembungkus kado dari bahan kain. Not bad... Bahannya katun dan closure-nya dari hook/loop. Semoga teman anak saya suka...

Tutorial: see here.

Trimsies with snaps

Akhirnya bikin Trimsies yg pakai snap...

Bahan:

• Inner: katun terry
• Outer: PUL
• Side panel: Fleece
• Soaker: Microfiber

Note khusus utk project yg ini adalah: jangan lagi pakai fleece biasa utk side panel krn jadinya tebal dan sulit utk dipasangkan snap. Apalagi bagian inner-nya katun terry. Lebih baik microfleece krn lebih tipis.

Rencana bikin satu lagi yg benar2 ngikutin tutorial in term of bahannya (microfleece, PUL, microfiber). Semua udah dipotong dan siap dijahit. Tapi... kapan...

October Sewing

I've been away for a while. Busy as usual for mommy and wifey things. So now, to make it fast, I'd like to put all at the same time. 


October 4, 2011: My First Cloth Pad


I used my Zigie Zag cloth pad as a sample in term of the pattern. And these are the layers I made:

• Outer: Soft flanel
• Inner: Fleece
• Soaker: Bamboo terry (3 layers)
• No waterproof layer

I made this cloth pad as my first contact with my new snap plier. Yes, finally I bought it, and the right one (I bought another plier a month before and then I found out it was not the one I wanted).




October 8, 2011: My Rolling-in-outer Trimsies


This is my 5th Trimsies Trainer. It's getting better and better. 

• Outer: not sure whether it's a pure cotton or mixed with poly. I bought it as fabric scraps set. Anyway, the texture is soft and it is stretch fabric.
• Side panel: cotton, fabric scrap too from my mom in Jakarta (she likes to make bed sheets and sometimes she sends me her fabric scraps).
• Inner: cotton for muslin nappy. It was made by my mom for my lil one, a muslin nappy with size of 100x100cm. I hope she will forgive me for cutting that nappy.
• Soaker: cotton terry but I do not remember how many layer it has.

October 14, 2011: Newborn Fitted Diaper with Darling Diaper Free Pattern


Since I TNT-ed, I was a lil bit confused with the seam allowance. Well, it's not bad for first trial. 

• Outer and inner: cotton terry
• Closure: hook and loop
• No umbilical cord snap down, I forgot

October 17, 2011: Newborn Fitted Diaper with DD Free Pattern again


But this time, with an umbilical cord snap down and with snap closure.

• Outer: cotton in batik
• Inner: cotton terry
• Closure: as I mentioned above, snaps

Anniversary Scrap Page

This is a late post. I made this scrap page for my wedding anniversary gift in September 1. Ah yes, a gift for myself and for my husband. My big daughter helped me a bit. The photo in the middle was taken by my friend, Mimi Champy, with the setting in the flower garden near St. Etienne cathedral, Bourges. The small photo was taken by my big daughter during our summer holidays in Prague.

Just a simple page but so sweet...

Trimsies in PUL

Et voilà! Trimsies in PUL. Finally I made it last week. I used the Basic Trainer pattern with size M. My notes: difficult to sew PUL fabric and bamboo terry fabric. They both are stretched. Any tips?

Inner & soaker: bamboo terry
Outer: PUL Ooga Booga
Side panel: PUL green

Honey Jar Pincushion & Sewing Kit Storage

Ini pincushion kedua yang saya buat. Dulu sempat bikin kecil dan cukup helpful utk dipakai saat jahit. Nah, berhubung sekarang sedang belajar ttg penggunaan mesin jahit termasuk jarum-jarum mesin jahit yang berbeda, saya jadi kepikiran untuk membuat satu pincushion lagi khusus utk jarum mesin.

Awalnya karena baca hub ttg sewing machine needles di sini. Penulisnya kasih saran utk menyediakan pincushion spesial utk jarum mesin jahit (silakan baca tulisannya, sangat menarik dan bermanfaat). Kemudian, browsing2 di Tipnut dan Tip Junkie utk berbagai tutorial DIY pincushion (OMG, asli lucu2 banget, bingung milihnya). Akhirnya jatuhlah pandangan pada satu tuto yang memanfaatkan botol bekas makanan bayi (baby food jar). Very berry good idea... Apalagi krn saya sendiri butuh banget wadah utk keperluan jahit tp yg lebih kecil dan lebih ringkes dibanding kotak perlengkapan jahit yang ada di rumah.

So, berdasarkan tutorial Baby Food Jar Pincushion tersebut, saya membuat satu pincushion yg jg berfungsi sebagai sewing kit storage. Botol yang digunakan bukan bekas makanan bayi melainkan bekas madu, jadi lebih besar. Bahan kainnya bukan katun biasa namun felt sisa2 acara ulang tahun Estelle bulan April lalu. Pita-nya juga.

Voilà... udah jadi. Tinggal dikasih kotak2 utk tiap ukuran jarum mesin jahit.

List Toko Online Bahan Popok

Oh ya, list ini hanya berisi toko2 online di Perancis, UK dan US, bukan di Indonesia.

FRANCE

• Ar Brinic http://www.arbrinic.com/ - pilihannya banyak banget, PUL-nya lucu2, harganya lebih mahal, demikian jg ongkirnya.
• Couche Nature http://www.couche-nature.fr/ - pilihannya lumayan banyak, PUL-nya cakep, harganya normal, ongkir idem
• Cosy Cotton http://www.cosycotton.com/ - pilihannya banyak, PUL-nya so so, harga normal, ongkir idem
• Tiloudou http://tiloudou.fr/ - pilihannya terbatas, PUL-nya lumayan, harganya murah, ongkir normal
• Toile de Coton http://www.toile-de-coton.fr/ - pilihannya terbatas banget, PUL juga, harga normal, ongkir normal
• Trezh Babig http://www.trezh-babig.com/ - pilihannya terbatas, PUL polos aja, harga normal, ongkir normal
• Toudou Nature http://www.toudoo-natura.com/ - pilihannya terbatas banget, PUL juga, harga sedikit lebih mahal, ongkir normal
• Bio Tissus http://biotissus.com/

Note. Yg bukan ols, bisa coba ke Mondial Tissu. Terakhir ke sana (yg di Bourges), ada bahan PUL putih dan microfiber.

UK

• Pocket Bots http://pocketbots.co.uk/
• Nappies by Minki http://www.minkinappies.co.uk/
• Eco Earth http://www.ecoearthfabrics.co.uk/

US

• Wazoodle http://www.wazoodle.com/ - bbrp forum tdk merekomendasikan
• Minky Delight http://www.minkydelight.com/
• Very Baby http://verybaby.com/
• Celtic Cloths Wholesale http://www.celticclothswholesale.com/
• Sew Baby http://www.sewbaby.com/
• Sew Many Diapers http://www.sewmanydiapers.com/
• Print Knits Studio http://www.printknitsstudio.com/

My Third Trainer

Still Trimsies!

Copas dari email saya ke Milis Popok Kain yah... *males nulis ulang*

Ceritanya ini lagi latihan jahit plus ngejar deadline ^_^. Popok2 anak saya mau dibeli teman yg akan melahirkan bbrp bulan lagi, plus target toilet training di musim panas (yg akan berakhir), jadi saya harus rajin 'belajar'. Kebetulan mesin jahit yg bbrp bulan lalu ngambeg, ternyata sekarang lancar jaya.

Ini trainer ketiga dgn pola yang sama, Trimsies, tapi size Medium.

• Bahan outer: katun
• Bahan side panel: flanel (sisa bahan trainer kedua)
• Bahan inner: katun
• Bahan soaker: microfiber
• Waterproof layer di bawah soaker: jas baby kayaknya > hasil mutilasi popok Baby Oz
• Pola: Trimsies size M

Sebenarnya saya penasaran terus sama si elastik latex ituh. Saya pikir, mungkin memang blm jago pasang/jahitnya, jadi sok atuh latihan... Ternyata masih sama aja. Saya udah ikutin instruksi persis spt di tutorialnya. Panjang elastik pun persis spt yg dianjurkan. Tp ya begini aja hasilnya. Kurang memuaskan. Plus point-nya, bentuk trainer-nya sendiri & jahitannya udah improved dibanding dua yang pertama saya bikin.

My Second Trainer

• Bahan outer: flanel
• Bahan inner: microfleece
• Bahan soaker: bamboo
• Waterproof layer di bawah soaker: PUL, hasil mutilasi popok yg ngga berfungsi dgn baik (bukan yg branded kok, yg murah).
• Pola: Trimsies size S (udah kadung dipotong bareng trainer yg pertama dulu - yg fleece)

Selecline

My sewing machine, Selecline, was bought couple months ago in Auchan supermarket. I decided to buy it instead of Singer or Brother because, of course, it's cheaper. The price was 59 EUR.

The first time I used, it had some problems with the thread. Broken and broken, stucked into the machine. After several trials, I gave up. I did not have much time to handle that machine.

Last week, I planned to buy a new machine from my savings. It had to be better. It might be Brother. I found a specialist store in Montargis that sells Brother. That store can repair too. It sounds perfect.

Unfortunately, we did not go there last weekend because we called the store and it seemed they're still on summer holidays. No one responded. So, I was back to the Selecline but previously I checked on the internet about the problem. It was not easy to read the manual since it is in french ;D, so I thought I could find similar problem (with different brands) in English speaking countries. I found some information.

And yesterday, I changed the bobbin and thread. The machine then worked better. I don't think I will buy a new one now.

For you who just bought Selecline and a first timer like me, perhaps this link can help you a little bit. It's a video by using Shark Sew Easy (612C) machine and it looks exactly the same with my Selecline. Also, this link will help you about changing the needle.

The great thing is, the manual of Shark 612C in PDF! It's in english, french and spanish.

Let's sew!

My First Trainer

This is my first trainer, Trimsies with size S. Not perfect yet since I am not experienced enough of using a sewing machine. Some parts were done by machine, but some were handsewn.

It's supposed to be a Quick Trainer but it was not quick for me. The fabrics are fleece and cotton terry. I used elastics from our FuzziBunz diaper that is not used anymore (PUL laminating is broken).

The size is too small for my kid. I will try to make a bigger size with, perhaps, different fabrics.

Thank's Trimsies for finally making me sew :D and use cloth diapers fabrics I bought last year.

The Encyclopedia of Wire Jewellery Techniques by Sara Withers & Xuella Arnold

And now, another book... that I have just bought. I saw in Amazon.fr and I thought it was quite complete (I hope).

The writers have another book with similar title. I just don't know what the difference is. They published in the same year, 2010.

*Waiting for my new book...*

Weave Wrap Coil by Jodi Bombardier

Add this on my list...

My Lil One Birthday

I forgot to post the birthday's crafts in this blog but I have posted some photos in here (sorry, not for everyone).

Now, I'll try to remember all I prepared for the birthday. First, you have seen the Cake Banner as shown at previous blog.

Second, I made the Mickey Mouse's cake. It was carrot cake and cupcakes, covered with almond paste and fondant in red, black and yellow colors. I decorated the cake with some Mickey's heads shaped by using some round things I had in the kitchen (fortunately, I had some bento stuffs that I could use).

The cupcake wrappers were printed from this site. And some were just made from scrapbooking papers (I copied the pattern with a carbon paper and then cut them). For the bottle wrappers, I made it by using Scrapbook Flair software and some freebies I found in the internet (forgive me, I can not remember the site).

And one little thing, the food tag. It was made also by using Scrapbook Flair software and some embellishment from A Grieving Mommy (thank's again!). I printed the food tags in photo papers. But finally I did not use them because they were too cute ^_^ Kidding. We did not really need them since I did not serve so many food.

Third, for the deco of the windows, I made Mickey's heads by using felt fabrics that I had at home. The pattern was easy to find in the internet. The happy birthday banner on the wall was bought from eBay UK (not in the photo).

Fourth, the goody bags and the Mickey's biscuits. The tote bags were so simple. I made the applique with felt fabrics in blue and green color. Since the cotton fabrics were limited (I tried to use fabrics available at home, not bought new ones), so the results were only 4 tote bags. Two were with blue Mickey's head appliques. Another two with the green. My mother-in-law helped me to sew the rest while I concentrated only on the appliques and the cuttings. I also put inside the goody bag: a sticker, a Playhouse Disney pencil and a bottle of bubble soap with Minnie wrap (Scrapbook Flair software).

The biscuits, they were made by my handmade cookie cutters in this blog. So cute, right? When I cut the dough with the cutters, the shape looked unperfect. But after going out from the oven, all cookies looked perfect: Mickey's heads. It would be nicer if I decorated with icing or chocolate, but I did not have the time.

One thing that was a must, the Thank You Cards. I also made it by using Scrapbook Flair and with embellishment of A Grieving Mommy (Denise is really kind and talented! Big thank's, Denise! Without you, I would not be able to make those cute stuffs).

Voila, c'est tout...!

Mini Banner for A Cake

I got the fun-tastic tutorial from here. At the beginning I'd like to use materials that were available at home. But then, when I was visiting a book store, I found colorful circle stickers and alphabet stickers. I would need them again anyway, for other purposes *justification*

Ready for the cake! But where is the cake?

Mickey Cookies

Last week I tried to make a cookie cutter with the shape of Mickey's head. The tutorial is in here. And, I made 2 in different sizes. But the little one is very suitable with our need :D

I Know What I Did Yesterday :p

Here are the things that I did yesterday when my lil one slept like a angel (three hours napping, yey...!).

First, making a needlebook. I saw the one belongs to my mother-in-law, a simple needlebook with waterproof cover. It looked nice and very useful, especially with a toddler running around & taking everything she sees (for example, a pin cushion). Another thing, lately I like to take my sewing projects to my in-laws' house during our visit. So, it would be great to have one needlebook in my bag, but of course, I didn't want to buy (LOL).

Then I made one with all fabrics that I had at home. I used a piece of cotton fabric in polkadot as the outer, felt fabrics for the inside parts, and ribbons. I also used a piece of carton paper from a book delivery package to be put between the cotton and the red-color felt (note. used cardstock, pake karton bekas).

Second, I finished the little tote that I made for my lil one. This is the second tote bag I created from the scrap of jeans pants (see this blog). I started to sew the bottom part couple weeks ago, then put the pinky felt straps (handsewing) last week-end. It already looked pretty, actually. But too simple. So I added the polkadot fabric to cheer up the day :p

After, I cooked for lunch. It was not too special but healthy: rice, veggies and tofu (no photo, sowry :) ). At the same time, I prepared all things for baking some carrot cupcakes. I decorated a bit with pink almond paste (pate d'amande) in Mickey's head shape. Hm, that was a trial session, for the real Mickey-Minnie theme party in 2 weeks :D

Ok, done... :p

Taboulé & Houmous Libanais

In English: Tabbouleh and Hummus, specilities of Lebanon.

My first taboulé and houmous were made for today's dinner. It was very easy but a bit long in preparation (chopping, I mean). Fortunately, my baby was sleeping when I chopped, chopped and chopped :D

The recipe of taboulé is here and the houmous is here. All in french.

I'm happy that my husband loved those dishes I made. And he said "Delicious!" May be he was just missing the Lebanon resto that we used to visit in Lyon *because I do miss it...*

Les Madeleines

Beberapa minggu lalu, saya menyempatkan diri utk membuat madeleine untuk si kecil. Cetakannya baru dibeli sehari sebelumnya di Carrefour Saran. Dan resepnya sudah diperoleh dari majalah Cuisine et Vins de France edisi Sep-Oct 2010.

Dan inilah hasilnya...

Menurut suami, madeleine ini enak. Menurut saya juga lumayan lah... buat cemilan sore. Namun masih kurang mantap dibandingkan dengan Madeleine yg dulu suka kami beli di Les Halles Lyon.

Resep? By request ya. Soalnya masih dlm bhs Perancis, blm sempat diterjemahkan :)

New Kissing Star

Tema Wire Work Challenge yang sedang berjalan adalah OLD & NEW 2010-2011. Awalnya saya ingin sekali ikutan, tapi saya menemui kesulitan dalam mencari memorable item yang pas. Kebanyakan barang-barang kenangan ada di Jakarta. Kalaupun ada satu dua pieces di sini, saya menilainya kurang bisa diolah untuk menjadi jewelry piece yang baru.

Akhirnya saya menemukan satu item menarik yang memang saya sukai, yaitu Kissing Star Pendant. Benda ini saya beli melalui adik saya yang kemudian mengirimkannya ke Perancis bersama paket dari ibu. Saya suka dengan pendant ini (waktu itu berbentuk kalung lengkap dgn tali rantainya) karena bentuknya bulan dan bintang, persis seperti nama-nama anak saya. Nama tengah kakak artinya "cahaya bulan", nama depan adek artinya "bintang". Selain itu, saya juga suka sekali dengan film seri Korea yang mempopulerkan kalung ini yaitu Boys Over Flowers *abege nih kite...*

Tapi sayangnya, tali rantai kalung ini putus tidak lama setelah saya terima. Dan saya mencoba menggantikannya dengan tali rantai silver yang lain tapi terlalu besar diameternya sehingga tidak bisa masuk ke pendant. Setahun sudah pendant itu teronggok di laci saya. Salah satu batu-nya sudah ada yg lepas pula. Oh iya, please note bahwa pendant ini bukan dari diamond asli ya... It's a fake one. Mursidah deh pokoknya...

So, senangnya saya ketika tenggat waktu WWC diundur oleh penyelenggara, Christe Jewelry. Walaupun saya pesimis juga sih karena si adek sedang memiliki masalah tidur yang panjang dan melelahkan saya. Namun begitu kondisi lagi pas, saya segera membuatnya. Untung semua keperluan (kawat, manik, plyers, etc) sudah saya persiapkan sebelumnya. Jadi tadi malam tinggal meng-uwer-uwer sambil menemani suami menonton film. Dalam proses pembuatannya (1,5 jam), beberapa diamond palsu di pendant ada yang lepas lagi tiga biji, hiks...

Mungkin hasilnya tidak istimewa. Tapi buat saya, New Kissing Star Pendant dengan tali kulit hitam sepanjang lingkar leher (model choker) sangat sesuai utk dikenakan sehari-hari. Memang jadi semakin blink-blink dengan tambahan manik2 swarovski dan czech, tapi boleh lah dipasangkan dengan simple outfit dalam warna natural.

Ok, let's submit the photo to WWC...

PS. Nama Kissing Star saya ketahui dari site ini.

Wall Deco Changing

Summer lalu, kami memasang stiker Vertbaudet ini di bagian kepala tempat tidur si kakak. Dan dia senang sekali dengan hasilnya. Beberapa bulan kemudian, si adik mulai 'kreatif' memindah-mindahkan potongan stiker ke tempat-tempat lain. Sebagian yang terkena kotoran akhirnya tidak bisa digunakan lagi. Dan saya pun kapok beli wall sticker. Namun berhubung kedua anak saya perempuan, tentunya saya ingin kamar mereka ada nuansa feminin dan girly.

Saya dan kakak mulai memikirkan cara menghias dinding kamar yang hasilnya bisa 'tahan lama'. Mengingat tingkat kreatifitas si adik masih tinggi, jadi kami sementara ini menghias dinding bagian crib adik dengan ketinggian di luar jangkauannya. Dekorasi ini mengambil stiker kakak yang masih tersisa dan hiasan dinding bergambar burung. Sisanya, kami mencoba mengikuti tema warna yang sama dan memberdayakan stok kain felt dan pita yang ada.

Hasilnya masih blm maksimal. Saya sebenarnya merencanakan untuk menambah cantik bagian bunga felt pink dengan seed beads or kancing-kancing. Namun belakangan ini urusan di rumah sedang agak berantakan. Target awal penyelesaian dekorasi kamar ini pun sempat mundur. Kemudian, saya berpikir, biarlah seperti ini dulu. Jika di lain hari ada kesempatan, kami akan mempercantik lagi. Itu pun kalau kami belum keburu pindah :)

Writers For Indonesia: Be Strong Indonesia

Beberapa bulan lalu, nulisbuku.com membuat suatu gerakan bersama untuk membantu negara kita menghadapi bencana alam yang terjadi secara berurutan (Merapi, Mentawai, Wasior). Gerakan bersama ini berbentuk wadah penulisan cerpen bagi para penulis Indonesia atau siapapun yang tergerak hatinya untuk ikut serta yang kemudian hasil penjualan buku-buku tersebut akan disumbangkan bagi para korban bencana alam melalui lembaga yang mereka pilih. Untuk lengkapnya, silakan baca di sini.

Awalnya saya tertarik sekali namun terbentur dengan keterbatasan waktu. Apalagi, saya mengetahui event ini beberapa hari sebelum tenggat waktu pengiriman naskah. Tapi ternyata Tuhan memberikan jalan. Dalam dua hari, saya menulis satu cerpenli (cerita pendek sekali :D ) di sela-sela pekerjaan rumah tangga dan mengurus keluarga. Alhamdulillah, selesai.

Bagi saya, event ini sangat baik dan suatu bukti nyata uluran tangan bangsa Indonesia kepada sesamanya yang tertimpa musibah. Saya pun tidak bisa membantu banyak untuk negara tercinta, hanya bisa mengirimkan doa dari jauh, dan berpartisipasi dalam event seperti yang difasilitasi oleh nulisbuku.com ini.

Semoga karya para penulis Writers for Indonesia dapat memberikan manfaat yang besar bagi saudara-saudara kita di Indonesia.

PS. Foto di atas adalah cover buku Be Strong Indonesia nomor 12 dimana cerpen saya berada. Judulnya, Teman di Negeri Orang. Beli ya!

Crème Caramel

Saya termasuk pencinta crème caramel namun sering ragu2 utk membuatnya sendiri. Mungkin karena dulu jaman saya kecil, ibu saya pernah membuatnya dan caramel-nya keras membatu. Jadi, di bagian itu, terbilang gagal. Mungkin pengalaman tsb menjadi semacam warning bagi saya yg menandakan bhw membuat caramel itu sulit. Namun kalau diingat2 lagi, jaman SD pula saya sering bereksperimen membuat caramel dgn gula pasir, sendok stainless steel dan lilin. Jadi, sendok berisi gula pasir saya pegangi di atas api lilin. Dan selalu berhasil. Caramel yang telah jadi biasanya saya tuang ke lantai yg sudah bersih, dibuat kepingan2 kecil, dan kemudian saya menunggu sampai dingin. Bila sudah dingin, kepingan caramel itu saya masukkan ke mulut, happ... Enak... ^_^

Enough talking. Now about the main subject.

Berhubung gengsi utk meminta resep andalan ibu mertua, dan kebetulan ada buku resep bonus dari majalah Marie Claire Idées edisi akhir tahun lalu, jadi saya pikir lebih baik jajal crème caramel dari buku tsb saja. Sekalian ngetes, resepnya benaran enak atau tidak.

Pertama mencoba, semua sudah sesuai instruksi. Untuk urusan bikin caramel-nya, saya memantau panduan di site David Lebovitz. Sukses! Kemudian semua berjalan sesuai resep.

Setelah oven berbunyi, ternyata crème caramel masih liquid sekali. Bahkan konsistensinya masih di bawah vanilla flan-nya sobat suami. Akhirnya saya browsing2 di Youtube dan mengulang2 semua bagian di video ini untuk mencari tahu dimana kesalahan saya (or, resep). Sampai midnight, saya masih mantengin Youtube :D

So, keesokan paginya, saya putuskan recooking. Maksudnya, saya masukkan lagi wadah crème caramel ke oven dengan suhu lebih tinggi, yaitu 180 dercel, dan lamanya 1 jam (di buku resep 45 menit, 160 dercel). Air utk bain-marie, saya didihkan dulu spt dalam video Youtube (link di atas). Dan hasilnya... syukurlah... Okeh!

Untuk crème caramel pertama saya ini, saya tidak menggunakan cetakan2 kecil untuk mempersingkat waktu. Apalagi saya tidak menemukan cetakan2 Serikaya yang sesuai utk "saudara"-nya ini (hm, mungkin ada di salah satu box di gudang, belum dibongkar paska pindahan).

Walau tampilannya agak brulée, namun saya suka sekali rasanya. Tidak terlalu manis. Pas :)

Relooking & Recycling Jeans

Dua hari lalu saya membeli majalah Marie Claire Idées yg terbaru dan kebetulan mendapat bonus majalah sama tapi edisi Mei-Juni 2010. Dalam edisi Mei-Juni tsb, ada ide-ide craft dari bahan jeans dan intinya adalah relooking & recycling. Tiba2 saya ingat bahwa si kakak punya bbrp celana panjang jeans yg sudah bolong di bagian lutut dan ia tdk mau lagi mengenakannya. Berhubung salah satunya masih sangat bagus (belum setahun dipakai sudah bolong), jadi saya memutuskan utk mengubah tampilannya.

Pertama, celana jeans tsb saya potong sepanjang 32 cm dari bawah. Kemudian, celana yg sudah menjadi pendek itu saya gulung bagian pahanya sebanyak dua kali. Sementara ini, belum bisa saya jahit karena menunggu mesin jahit berfungsi (kalau blm bisa juga, terpaksa minta jahit ke ibu mertua :)

Kedua, salah satu potongan kaki celana jeans di-recycle menjadi tas tangan kecil. Bagian strap-nya adalah sisa potongan pinggir fleece yg sudah berbentuk setengah lingkaran. Untuk mempercantik, saya menghias tas jeans tsb dgn kancing2 dan beberapa jepit rambut kupu2.

Si kakak terlihat gembira melihat hasilnya. Muat untuk dua buku cerita barunya. Si adik pun ikut2an gembira dengan menyeret2 tas kecil jeans tersebut kemana2. Mungkin saya harus membuat satu lagi utk si adik. Kalaupun nanti mereka bosan, tas jeans tsb bisa saya pergunakan untuk wadah yang lain seperti surat2 yg blm dibuka atau aksesoris anak2.

Our New Year's Dinner

Everything was simple since we had limited time for the preparation and cooking. Still, it was fun!

So, these were all the food that we enjoyed during New Year's dinner, my first with my little family. In 2007 & 2008, I celebrated it with my hubby's friends in Paris. In 2009, with my Indonesian friends in Lyon (I was pregnant!). And then, 2010 was with my in-laws family in St. Martin d'Auxigny.

I love the simple event we made. And I really enjoyed working together with my family in preparing all of these. Next year, I hope it will be the same :) I know it doesn't look special, but it was very special for us.

Photos:

• starter: emping manis, spicy fried tofu, pumpkin soup
• main course: veggies fried rice, hot spicy egg (balado maksudnya), abon, emping, tofu
• dessert: mini cakes, decorated by my daughter :)

Easy DIY, a Fleece Scarf

Before the winter was started, I thought of making a simple fleece scarf for my little one. At that time, we did not have one for her yet. But then we decided to buy one, knitted scarf, on the store. And a month later, my mother in-law bought another one for her, in fleece, at DPAM store. This fuchsia scarf lookes very simple. But I loved it because it matched with some clothes of my little daughter. But today, we lost it. She dropped it somewhere between her daycare and our appartment. I was quite upset since tomorrow we will go to my parents' in-law's house for lunch. What should I say if my mother in-law asks about the cute scarf.

*Ok, that will be my problem*

Actually, what I want to share in here is about another fleece scarf. I made a very simple fleece scarf last week-end. Of course, it was also for my little one. I thought, she might need more in case something bad happened (and yes, it happened today). Scarf is one of indispensable item during winter. We have to prepare some backups.

The fleece scarf that I made is in bordeaux red, from a quite thick fleece (I don't know what kind of fleece, but definitely not microfleece or windpro/maiden mills). It's thicker than the DPAM fleece scarf that we lost.

I made some blanket stitches to frame the scarf by using embroidery threads. Then, I made an initial of my little one, E, at one of the corner of the scarf. C'est tout. That's all. Easy, heh?

*In the photo above, my DIY scarf is on the left. Another one is DPAM scarf*