MOMMade: Magnetic Funny Faces

Made this for Baby O sometime earlier this year but never got a chance to post it up. It is pretty simple. All you need is:

An empty square/rectangular biscuit tin
Paper
Magnetic paper
Markers
Scissors
Magnetic tape

First draw a couple of 'faces' on pieces of paper cut to fit the size of the tin you will be using. Mine is half A4. I cut four pieces of magnetic tape for each corner of the paper so they stay on the tin.

Next, draw different types of features on magnetic paper and colour them in - hair, eyebrows, eyes, ears, noses, lips, mouths, beard, moustaches, etc. You can include some accessories like sunglasses and bows. Whatever you fancy really... Cut them out.

Finally, get creative! Place a piece of paper with an empty face on the tin and add features on! Here are some of ours. The possibilities are endless!

This craft can keep a toddler busy for some time. Not recommended for less than two I suppose due to the small bits which may be a choking hazard. Irregardless, I would still advice supervision. Plus playing together is fun!

MOMMade: Homemade Guess Who Lift-The-Flap Book

Can't think of anything easier to do than this with Baby O. A personalised lift-the-flap book! Got the idea from the Playhouse Disney channel where at the end of one of the programmes, the viewer was asked to identify which cartoon character it is by revealing only a partial body part. Immediately went scrap hunting after that. 

This is what we used: 

Old magazines with relevant pictures - we used AstroView for Baby O's favourite cartoon characters. Other option would be pictures of animals or vegetables and fruits.

Used envelopes

A booklet - one made of relatively stiff paper would be ideal. Otherwise I suppose old exercise books/ diaries would work too!

Scissors

Glue

Pen

This is what we did:

1. Look for and cut cartoon pictures out in old magazines. Trim to fit booklet.

2. Cut used envelopes big enough to cover the cartoon pictures with about one centimetre extra as the flap.

3. Mark and cut holes to reveal only certain parts of the picture as a clue for the child to guess who (or what) is behind the flap.

4. Glue the flaps down adjusting the hole(s) ensuring only the selected parts are covered or exposed.

5. Decorate if desired.

Honestly no rocket science involved. You don't even have to be able to cut a straight line! Here are pictures of some of the pages:

Lift the handy flaps for clues!

The many ways to use see-through envelopes!

Incorporating some numbers

And some shapes!

Baby O was really good with this little game of 'Guess Who?'. She could identify most of them easily. The best part is, even though she already know the answers to some of them, she will still go back to the booklet and lift the flaps again and again! 

You know, we can buy less and be more green if we really want to!

Countdown to Christmas - 18 Days

Started writing some of these home designed cards...

Designed while Baby O is sleeping, using a lot of the free scrapbooking kits available for downloading at this cool site, Shabby Princess. Hope they arrive before Christmas!!

As we write, we were cherishing all those moments spent together. Thank God for good friends (some turned great!) He sent us wherever we went! The company and support given will be etched in our memories!

Countdown to Christmas - 19 Days

There. Final touches added. Since we are on a budget, it'll be a rustic Christmas tree this year. Basically bought some this and that and put a few things together. Nothing fancy.

First was the corrugated paper hearts inspired by one of the stalls I visited recently at the Malaysian-German Society Christmas Bazaar.

Next, cinnamon stick ornaments inspired by the decorations on a Christmas tree at one of the popular restaurants we were invited to for a wedding lunch just last weekend. Oh, the aroma!

Finally, simple but bright bows to add a punch of colour to our tree.

I thank God for blessing me with this little talent of being able to put a few cinnamon sticks together. Although it is just tying two strands of ribbon on some sticks, this task may seem easier for some than others. So I am thankful that though not as fantastic as some of my other family members and friends,  I am able to put my hands to work and give our home a sweet, cinnamon-smelling, pleasant looking Christmas tree without burning a hole in our pockets!

MOMMade: Homemade Play Dough

Lots to do but can't help taking a break and put a post up!! ;-)

This is so easy to make and made of 100% edible ingredient though I wouldn't eat it due to the high sodium content! I can only imagine how it tastes like!

What you need:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
Food colouring

Method:
Mix flour, salt and oil in a bowl. Slowly add in water. The play dough will look sludgy at this point.  Cook over medium heat, stirring until dough becomes stiff. Turn off heat and leave the play dough to cool. When cooled, knead the play dough with your hands until they come together and form play dough! You can use it as it is. I have divided the play dough into four separate balls and added food colouring into each ball. You can also use vegetable juices like dragon fruit, spinach and carrot to make pink, green, and orange coloured play dough. Put the coloured play dough in separate containers to avoid the colours mixing - let the toddlers do that bit for you! I have been keeping the play dough in the refrigerator when not in use. The play dough are exactly two weeks old now and they still feel soft and look like how they were two weeks ago even though they have been messed with. Let's see how long it will last!

On hind sight, I should have used cooled, boiled water instead of tap water. Reason being the play dough will probably last longer. Second reason being should Baby O decide to put any play dough into her mouth, it is a tad safer and hopefully won't cause her any tummy ache(??). I doubt this makes any sense as the other contents of the play dough will probably be the culprit and not just the water alone. Regardless, please supervise your child(ren) at all times during this activity.

Another tip would be not to cook the play dough in a non-stick pot. I did that and the undissolved salt scratched the surface of my pot. :(

Happy play-ing dough!

Compost update

It's been almost a week since I started a compost heap in one corner of our little garden. The last few days, I've been watering it (yes, you have to keep it moist enough for it to decompost) as well as feeding it more 'food' ie. vegetable peelings, fruit skins, dried leaves....

Today, I took out the wire and removed all the scrap to 'turn' the compost. This is supposed to introduce more oxygen to help with the composting process. There are some articles that suggest that turning a compost may not be necessary like this one.

While I was turning the compost, I noticed a few things. The leaves of the ginger plant as well as other plants with the same type of leave texture as shown in the picture seems to decompose slower. They probably need to be chopped into smaller sizes to speed up the process. Branches should also be only a few inches long. The orange peel were still very intact but to be fair, they were only added a few days ago. Anyway, as a general rule, the smaller the items, the faster they decompose.

Contrary to common initial perception, the compost was kind of sweet- instead of foul-smelling even though some of the items were rotting away.

After giving the compost a good mix, I then re-wire up the mesh and place the compost back in while giving it another round of watering.

Many would think that it's complex to set up a compost but if I can do it, you can too as it is fairly easy. Mine is simply made up of wire mesh secured into a loop and covered with a pot dish which acts also as a weight to keep the compost material down. As mentioned in my previous post, there are tonnes of articles and videos online to help you get started. Here are some:

For a video guide on how to make a compost bin, try this video.

For a video guide on how to compost, try Garden Organic's two-part video. They are a little lengthy but detailed and presented clearly.
Part 1
Where to put your compost bin - What can and can't be composted - Filling the bin - Compost activators - Getting the mixture right - Hot and cool composting
Part 2
When is the compost ready - Using your compost

This Mama started a compost heap!

I was watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on Escape to River Cottage last night. He basically left the city to live in River Cottage and reared his own sheeps, pigs, cows, chickens and planted his own crops. Back to the basics of living! He mentioned last night that the older he gets, the more he wants to re-use refering to what to do with leftover food.

Just maybe two days back, I was thinking to myself that as I'm growing older, I'm collecting more 'rubbish' to be re-used or recycled! Right now, I have a few washed and dried empty milk cartons for a little project for Baby O. I also have a bag of bread crusts (leftovers from Baby O) in the freezer waiting for a suitable recipe. I was trying to collect the skins and ends of vegetables to make vegetable stock but collect them now for my little compost heap!

There are plenty of helpful websites and videos online to show you how to get one for yourself. Even if you don't have garden space, you can get one started with just a bucket in your kitchen! I found a little corner in my garden for my bin. It is basically a holding bin made up of wire mesh. I then fed it with the dried up plants, grass clippings and some plant trimmings (Mom graciously helped to clear the garden during her stay here. Thanks Mom!). Voila! Now it needs to be watered for the magic to work. Fingers-crossed, we shall have some nice little compost in two to six months' time!

This Mama ♥ Shabby Princess!

I believe that this world is full of nice people! One of them has to be Shabby Princess! She has tonnes of free (Yes! FREE!!) digital scrapbooking kits for you to download. If you like all the shabbiness in her designs like I do, start clearing some space in that hard drive of yours and start downloading!!

Please note that all Shabby Princess kits are for PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL use only.

The Party That Was (+ some party planning tips!)

Phew! All the hard work over in just 2 hours! Well, the main part of the party that is. I'm not kidding when I say I had sleepless nights planning for this party for this 1 year old! The dilemmas with the venue, guests and food. In the end we decided to have it at home with the handful of friends from Ipoh and our dear family. Thank God everything went pretty well and I had thoroughly enjoyed the whole process even though I was flat after that. If you're planning for a party yourself, here are some things you might want to consider:

Tip #1: Have a good variety of food suitable for the different guests
We had 1 baby, 3 kids, and 2 mom-2-bes in our midst. So, I included some light & healthy finger foods for this group. I prefer quality than quantity. So everything was homemade and the menu for about 20pax goes like this:

• Toasted sesame pita with egg & potato mayo filling + a slice of tomato & curly lettuce
• Fried mee
• Curry chicken
• Deep fried wanton with minced pork & prawn filling
• Chocolate fountain with fresh strawberries, grapes, bananas and marshmallows
• Konyaku jelly with peach/ kiwi fillings
• Drink - fizzy lemon & mint
• Angku kuih and red eggs for tradition sake
• Birthday cupcakes - would have loved to make these too but had to order them as our oven wasn't functioning :( Had a problem getting contacts for cupcakes in Ipoh and eventually decided to order from Evadis Cakes in Penang and get dear hubby to bring it back after work on the eve of the party. Would say it's worth it. Not too sweet and pretty enough not to be eaten.

Tip #2: Send a reminder a few days before the party stating date, time and venue
Even by doing this, one of our friends still turned up at 2pm. The party was from 11am-1pm. She thought it started at 1pm. Hmm.....

Tip #3: K.I.S.S. (Keep it short & sweet)
Especially when you have kids and babies at a party. You don't want them to get overstimulated and start whining and crying. You know what they say about kids crying, it's contagious... It is also crucial to consider baby's nap time when deciding on the timing of the party. However, keep in mind that some will still turn up at Malaysian o'clock (2pm!?!). 

Tip #4: Have a safe play area for the kids
Preferably somewhere where the parent(s) can still keep watch while having some adult conversation. Have a few books and toys in the area or even leave a cartoon channel on for them. Don't forget to stow away baby's favourites in case they get broken.

Tip #5: Get good quality balloons
You don't want them popping and giving the little kiddos a scare. We had some filled with helium. We left them outside by the entrance before the guests arrived. Then brought them in and moved them next to the cake during the song-singing/ candle-blowing/ cake-cutting ceremony. Besides creating a party atmosphere, they will also go down well in photos and make a great going away gift together with the party packs if you plan to have any!

Tip #6: Get a good camera and cameraman!
You'll be waaaaay too busy to snap. So it's wise to do so at such a momentous occasion. Unfortunately I was using my old camera which shoots lousy shots with dim lights and overexposed ones with the flash on. On top of that, no one else knows how to use the settings on my camera which means we were left with a few blurry or dark or overexposed pics :(

Tip #7:  Keep it cool
If you can control it that is. We had the air-conditioning switched on (half an hour before the party started) to keep our guests (and ourselves) comfortable and dry. Pretty crucial when it feels like 40 degrees Celsius outside!

Tip #8: Get help!
If anyone offers to cook a dish, say 'Yes! Thank you!'. I would have been so grateful if someone had offered to keep an eye on Baby O for a few hours or to colour the eggs red while I move on to something else (thanks Mom & dear hubby for doing all that you can!!). But there's nothing stopping me from asking people to help even though they are the ones turning up at the party!

Tip #9: Have a theme for photos sake (optional)
Baby O is currently having Elmo fever thus the Elmo on her cake and balloons. She also received a 4feet Elmo plush toy as a gift.

Tip #10: Other nitty-gritty details
Details to me are what makes a party a little extra special. At our little party, we had:

• Nursery rhymes playing in the background - upbeat ones with actions in case we need some distraction for the kids
• A slide show of baby's pictures running on the laptop
• Pictures of baby from  birth till now
• Party bags with carefully thought of items for each child appropriate to his/her age
• A chocolate fountain which I thought was a special little feature for a house party

Wow.. now I know why I couldn't sleep! Hopefully these tips can help you sleep better! :-)

Facelift

I did it! Yes, a facelift for my blog! You didn't think it was for me, did you? Spent some hours fiddling here and there last night and managed to pull one off albeit just a simple one! Thanks to a few excellent blogging secrets offered on The Cutest Blog on the Block (TCBOTB)! I managed to change the header and the background with the clear instructions given!

To design the header and the background, I downloaded a free digital scrapbooking kit from Just So Scrappy Too. Got to know this site when I participated in the Makeover Offer on HuiWearn Kids Store. Just So Scrappy Too offer some excellent looking free kits to start with. However, I couldn't open the file with my Mac. So I had to cut and paste some of the items in Photoshop which made the whole process a little (or rather a lot) longer than anticipated. Anyhow, at least I get an idea of how it's all done now!

I've always loved scrapbooking since I was young. I would collect every single scrap material I see as potential scrap kit because I didn't want to spend the money on the nice fancy-schmancy ones. Only problem is we have moved so many times that I have not managed to set aside a place and time to do up my scrapbooks. Not to mention I have to throw most scraps out before each move. With digital scrapbooking now, it's so much easier! I can save all the scraps up on my hard drive and bring them wherever I go! Another life's pleasure made easier! Aahh.. Now to find some time while Baby O naps to scrap!