DIY Baby Blanket & Headband

I have been working on a baby blanket since last April. It is a crochet blanket using Afgan hook. It was my first attempt to work on crochet. Fuh..It was so time consuming & requiring a lot of motivation drive to complete the project.


The dimension is about 90x100 cm and I used simple stripe pattern. I planned the pattern in Excel worksheet to choose right color combination.

The blanket is also with initial of 'S', which refers to the baby name, Skye. I am half regret with the decision to put in the initial, because it was so irritating to tie the knot each time I changed the yarn color.

So this is the end product, it took me nearly 5 months to complete.

Then I came out with an idea to make a matching baby head band. This was easy peasy project. Definately much more easier  & faster than the blanket itself. I sew pearl beads to compliment the flower finish.

 Headband with Flower Embelishment

 Adjustable Length (few options of button hole)

Both End of the Headband

Both Blanket and Headband were Properly Wrapped

 

And this is the baby Skye and her mom. Both are equally beautiful.

Prosedur membeli rumah part III

hi all,

please be sure you have read prosedur membeli rumah Part I and  prosedur membeli rumah Part II to understand the very early steps to your dream house.

harus saya ingatkan di sini, please TRACK every meetings, emails, phone calls, payment yang anda buat dengan lawyer anda dan juga bank anda. ini penting sebab jika prosedur ini ambil masa lebih dari tempoh maksimum (rasanya 6 bulan-check dengan lawyer anda), anda akan dikenakan interest daripada pihak vendor. so tracking ini amat penting untuk anda fight dan tentukan pihak mana yang bertanggungjawab melengahkan kerja. sama ada lawyer anda lambat submit ke pejabat tanah etc, atau bank lambat process agreement atau anda sendiri lambat  dapatkan loan/bayar s&p. sama ada subsale unit atau beli direct dr developer, pastikan anda track.

stage ini anda harus sign agreement dengan bank. tebal kemain and every page kena initial. read carefully before sign.

at this stage anda boleh la withdraw EPF punya saving account no 2. Sangat cepat. 2 weeks je duit da masuk dlm account. boleh la pakai untuk reno ke pasang grill ke.

then anda jugak kena prepare stamping fee (tax) tu. lebih kurang 2 bulan lepas anda bayar 10% deposit tu. macam kes saya, saya pakai duit EPF tu utk bayar stamping ke. sebab rumah lebih dr RM350k makanya mmg takde diskaun 50% first home tu. stamping aje RM8k homaiii..

the rest follow up dengan lawyer anda lah status tukar nama (memorandum of transfer bagai). kes saya sangat cepat, tup tup lawyer call kata bank dah release 89% loan kepada vendor. maka kami sediakan cek remaining 1% harga rumah then ambil kunci dr lawyer.

Legally after 3 days full payment (100%), anda dah boleh ambil kunci. Kalau vendor masih tak bg kunci, sila check dgn lawyer anda. mungkin lawyer yg lupa bg kunci kpd anda. dan kalau memang vendor yg tak bagi kunci, anda boleh caj interest rate kat dia pulak-->tanya laweyer brapa kos per day.

sekian..happy house hunting!!

DIY an industrial table

i have moved to my own house last year. since then i stop subscribe fashion magazine and only buy house decoration magazines hahaha. i am so inspired with industrial concept house. so my husband and i agree to use this concept to our 2nd bedroom converted to work room.

i have an ikea dining table fit for four people that we bought for our rented place. we bought it 3 years ago at price RM199 if i am not mistaken. it was a solid pine table, we painted it in black color before decided to paint in white color and used it until recently we bought a bigger and nicer dining table.

we decided to upcycle it to a working table instead of trash it. recycle and upcycle is not popular in Malaysia, but i hope my writing will inspire Malaysian to start upcycle and recycle. you are not only giving a new life to an old piece but you are also creating something unique that are not sold on the shelves.

i forgot to take photos before we upcycle it, so this is how it looks like in ikea website.

 

Ikea dining table

we removed the original leg and only used the piece of timber top. my husband cut it to get our desire table width and we maintained the length. because white is not representing industrial concept so my husband planed the surface.

Timber surface in preparation

the wood surface was then sanded properly and a layer of primer coating is applied. i stained the wood surface with teak color. this is not typical gloss varnish, it is a matte stain and you can select different type of wood color. i stained in in 2-3 layers and each layer was sanded to get a smooth effect. the number of layers is subject to the color preference, the more layers you apply the darker surface will be.

 Staining the surface

i calculated how many pieces of GI pipes required to use as the table leg. i used 1/2 inch diameter pipe, mix of length with connector and T- pipe. i was then prime the pipe before sprayed in matte black. this is how it looks like after painted.

GI pipes after painted in matte black

the last process is installing the timber plank to the leg. i used pipe clipper (not sure the exact name) and screwed to the table. before screwed it, i checked the level to ensure it is ok. now i pair it with a vintage armchair, but i suppose i need to find a chair that suit with industrial mood :)

Europe Trip 2013

it's been quite sometime after this trip now only i have time to write on the itinerary & budget. my intention is not to proud/show off, just wanted to share experience on how to book and all.

in overall RM spent was RM16k+ for 2 persons all-in except for food. food cost varies, if you are a big eater or only consume at restaurant, a lot of money need to be prepared. like myself, we only ate pastries, cooked for dinner and few times having at fancy restaurant but still we shared the food because we both small eater :)

i went there early march for 2 weeks. each place we spent only 2 nights. it is obviously not enough time to visit all places, but we have limited annual leave haha

breakdown of the budget for 2 persons:

flight RM6.4k
bought at matta fair. seems expensive but we landed in milan and return from london. usually the cheap ticket was land and return from same place (about 2.8k) but you must consider the cost to get back the arrival place right? and time required to travel back? it is pretty cheap to buy at matta fair but we bought through agent, we checked at the airlines booths and the cheapest they quoted was 4k+ per person. we traveled by etihad airways.

train ticket RM2471
we prefer to commute by train because you dont have to spend on transportation from/to airport (usually away from cities). the main train station is usually at the city center, it was very convenience and you dont have to wait (tercongok-congok) 2 hours earlier for check-in etc. train was quite punctual so be early at least 10 mins before. oh ye, you could save another 10-20% of the ticket fare if buy in 3-4 months advance. we bought 2 bulan earlier so the price had hiked up, padan muka.

  this is the view of the train terminal

hotel RM5639
we were not too particular on the accommodation. we booked all budget hotel but very clean. be sure to read the hotel review at tripadvisor. we choose  the hotel with maximum rate of €70 per night. mind you the 3*hotel would cost €100 per night. the most expensive hotel we stayed was at swiss, at the mountainous area. luckily it was for only a night and it was cost RM700 ok.redha jelah sebab nak jugak dok atas gunung. you could also save some money if book the hotel in advance.

 photos of some of the hotels

others RM2088
this is the expenses for entrance fee, car rental/fuel/toll, hop on hop off, MRT fare.

mainly the price is pretty fix, you cant save much except to book in advance. so my advice is to try save on food cost. if you eat at pakistan cafe/kiosk you could get a quarter chic @ vege pasta for €5 per plate. if you eat at proper restaurant be prepared €25 per person. kami masukkan jugak dalam budget asal on food. tapi bila kat sana (esp. kat italy), lunch beli pastries €1 each. malam masak. sangat jimat, tapi cash habis jugak in the end, confirm spent kat shopping hahahah. kami bawak luggage half penuh dengan sardin, beras (pack kecik2), cooker kecik, sambal bilis, curry chic in can & packet, megi tidak dilupakan, flask, milo & nescafe 3-in-1. tapi kena tabah lah nak usung beg yang berat tu.

ni la menu lunch setiap hari di italy

basic our itinerary was:
milan-florence-rome-jungfrau (swiss)-paris-london.

 nearby the duomo in milan

the view of florence city from hill

 on the way to san gimignano (outskirt from florence city)

 the famous Colosseum

a large lake at interlaken, Switzerland

the view of jungfraujoch from the expensive hotel haha

in paris

  london bridge is falling down and the name is tower bridge

in the next post i will describe in details. the most tricky part was how to buy train ticket from/to swiss hahah

update terkini

salam aidilfitri semua :)

sangat lama tak update blog. pretty bz dgn diy project utk umah saya.. sgt ambitious nak buat itu ini bajet-byk-masa kan.

cant wait to upload project2 diy saya utk menginspirasikan anda semua~perasan

custom kaftan top

my sister is offering her service to custom made kaftan top for those that interested

so the package is inclusive of

sewing service

nice material of chiffon (flowy and soft approx RM25/m) - choose your own color

lace for embellishment

beads embellishment service

all is only RM129 inclusive pos ekspress!

 let me know if you are interested to order

Pre-order bag/wallet from europe (LV, Gucci, Prada, name it)

dear all,

i will be going to europe end feb until mid march (milan and london)
i am taking order if anyone would like to preorder design brands handbags & wallet (any brand)
simple calculation so you can estimate your budget:

1) euro bank conversion 1 EUR = RM4.20
pound bank conversion 1 GBP = RM5.00
2) interest rate for credit card (imposed by bank) to the 50% remaining payment

3) my service charge to hunt for the items and luggage cost:

small wallet/ folded bag (eg long champ) = RM60
medium size bag (eg 30x30x15 cm) = RM140
very large/heavy bag (pls check with me)

eg: long champ le pliage med size EUR 60
quotation Eur 60 x RM4.20= RM252 (deposit RM126, pending remaining payment RM126)
interest cre card RM126 x 1.5%= RM1.90
service by me RM60
grand total = RM313.9

COD at OU/ the Curve/tropicana mall (weekdays) and at citta mall (weekend) after i am back to msia (23 march onwards) or ipoh (perhaps end of march)

t&c

1) 50% of the final quotation need to be paid the latest 15th february 2013 thru maybank acc
2) the 1st quotation is based on current foreign conversion by bank, should the exchange is higher than current quotation, i shall revised the conversion and update to you the latest by 13rd feb 2013
3) remaining CASH payment to be paid during agreed location of COD
4) if the buyer purposely extend time of COD later than 12 April 2013, i shall imposed the credit card interest by bank (especially those expensive items)
5) if item is out of stock i shall refund your money immediately after arrive in malaysia
6) no cancellation after deposit is secured unless you want to change your order and the deposit is not refundable (unless you have a very good justification)
7) do not expect i will bring back the box/paper bag. dust bag (if any) will be inclusive


hurry up. LIMITED no of orders only. suitable for hantaran bag!! :)
you may email me the link at azzudagreat@yahoo.com and whatsup at 017-5591349

thanks