Valentine's ♡

Decided to bake some jam sandwich cookies as a last minute sorta thing, 'cause I don't really think V'day is such a big thing anymore, if it ever was. My firm belief is that everyday should be v'day if you love a person and you don't need to show your love only on a special day. Still, baking is always fun; don't really need an occasion for it.

Pre-baking - I think my dough rolling skills need much improvement

Out from the oven - added strawberry and apricot jam as filling

The cookies turned out quite well, although we didn't really eat them in the end, 'cause we were so stuffed from our lovely dinner. I gobbled them down the next day, oops.

A really pretty handmade card from the boyfriend ♥

And J made me a really pretty card; I must say he is getting better and better at scrapbooking/making cards. He always makes the cards he gives me 'cause he knows I love handmade stuff and I really appreciate the effort :') And he bought me the ♥-shaped Starbucks card~ ('cause I told him he had to), and gave me a lovely frame with pictures of us for me to bring along on my travels, such a darling.

And after that we went home and snuggled down to watch Sherlock. My kind of Friday night date ♥

Cardboard Cat House

Haven't been updating in a while, but I've been making lots of things and crafting my time away since bar exams ended, so I'll be posting quite a bit on the different craft projects.

So one day I decided to search for "cardboard cat house" on Pinterest, and oh.my.god. so many amazing houses came out and I spent an entire afternoon marveling over them and deciding how my cat's house would look like.

The final product:

A double-storey floral cardboard house complete with a fake picket fence

So Dad came home with a couple of new cardboard boxes one day because he knew I wanted them :') Mum and I got to work designing the cat house, from figuring out which boxes to use, to how to make it two-storey, to reinforcing the floorboard for the upper level, and where to place the door and windows etc. For those who are interested, Martha Stewart actually has instructions and templates for the door and windows, which I printed, but they were too small for my liking (and my cat) so I ended up drawing my own freehand.

In the meantime, Miki hides in one of the other boxes. It's like cats have this obsessive-compulsive need to sit in every single box they see.

Miki on paw to survey the construction of her house

Ended up drawing and cutting the doorway freehand because the Martha Stewart templates were too small

Before wallpapering it and adding the roof and chimney

Side view - I decided on small windows 'cause my cat likes it dark and she loves sticking her paw out

We dressed it up for Christmas because it's Miki's Christmas present

She takes naps in there (yes, on bubblewrap)

Or just sits in there and watches us

Some of the DIY cat houses are really elaborate but these are the houses that really inspired me (they are simple and sooo pretty!):

From fancyseeingyouhere.com - really love the colorful scalloped roof

From theincoherentellipsis - similar in that I also used wallpaper to cover up the cardboard and make it look fancier

Milk carton cat house - love how it's so simple 

Cardboard pyramid - love the shapes and pattern

5-minute craft: iphone case(s)

As usual I'm supposed to be doing a million other things (like studying for the 8 upcoming exams) instead of crafting. But this is a really easy-peasy DIY that can be done in a few minutes! Changeable iphone covers. Came up with the idea one day while looking at my DIY-ed pens and thought that it could be done with iphone covers as well. Yes I love inserting patterned paper into everything. But I'm not the only one; I chanced upon someone else on Pinterest who thought of this iphone case idea too. Being the fickle person that I am, this is the perfect budget-friendly idea to never getting tired of your iphone cover. And I dare say it can be done with clear macbook covers as well. 

Materials needed: patterned paper, clear iphone case, scissors, penknife, pencil

Trace the outline of your phone onto the patterned paper (note that it has to be traced onto the flip side). Then placing the clear iphone case onto the traced shape, trace the camera hole onto the patterned paper. Cut the paper according to the shape traced and carefully cut out the camera hole using the penknife. And it's done! Cut out as many pieces as you want on different patterned paper and you can change your iphone design according to your mood / the occasion.

Note: I recommend using thin patterned paper instead of thick cardstock, so that your case fits well onto the phone. Depending on the type of clear case you have, the case might not be able to fit as well if thick cardstock is used. I'm using the clear hard case that clips onto the phone. An alternative would be the clear soft / rubber case, which would probably be able to fit thicker paper better.

Bracelets: pinwheel, pearls and an embossed bead

So I randomly made these three bracelets one weekend morning 'cause I was going to go picnicking and kite-flying with some friends and I thought it'd be fun to make some accessories of the day. They're really easy to make - took me under an hour - and I thought it fit the theme of the day well.

And so we went picnicking, but the kite-flying didn't occur 'cause me being me, I brought the kite but not the string (´･_･`) What's new, really. Spent the evening sitting around, eating and watching in envy as other people flew their kites sky high...

Bacon egg cups and sunflower art

So one fine day my girlfriends and I decided to have a cookout/potluck. Everyone had to make a dish, so I finally managed to try a recipe I'd kept bookmarked on my web browser for a long time. Breakfast bacon cups! A recipe that looked really easy and infinitely yummy.

This is how version #1 looked like:

Followed the recipe mostly, but left out the cheese 'cause of one friend's preference. The cups didn't turn out looking as nice as I'd hoped.

Some tips / reminders to self:

- Don't crack the whole egg straight into the bacon cup. Too much egg white might cause the piece of bread at the bottom to float up and the cup will go out of shape

- Use a smaller muffin tray (or bigger pieces of bacon?) so that the bacon wraps more securely around the egg

- If you prefer a perfect looking sunny side-up (runny yolk), change the heating of the oven to bottom-up. If you prefer a yolk that's more cooked just do the usual top-down/bottom-up heating

- Maple syrup can be replaced with honey, it tastes fine

This is how version #2 looks like:

Adapted the recipe and found a new way of making the cups. It became bread flowers instead of bacon cups. Basically I made cuts on the sides of the bread and folded them. Also, instead of the honey/maple syrup butter I used garlic spread. I think black pepper would go well with it. Two bread flower cups can be a whole breakfast on their own; two whole slices of bread, two slices of bacon and two eggs! And there are endless ways to adapt the recipe. Like using ham and cheese instead of bacon. And it is so easy and fuss-free~

Random flower art I arranged and took a snapshot of. 

The sunflower bouquet J got me for my graduation ceremony fell off the window ledge one day and the sunflowers threw down their petals in protest at the uncivilised treatment. Felt so sad about the half-bald sunflowers and I couldn't let the petals go to waste, so they're currently being pressed in a notebook under a humongous stack of notes.