You've got mail!

Phew, what a long absence, although I do enjoy my time away from the computer! I sit in front of the computer all day at work and the last thing i want to do when I get home, is to sit in front of it again!


Here's what's been going on in my long absence. Remember I told you I signed up for Postcrossing? I get fun cards in the mail, and it makes me feel like I've traveled a little, by association, anyway. Well, for every postcard I send out, I get one in return!


My first Postcrossing card was from Sicily, Italy!



And then I received another, all the way from the West Coast, from sunny ol' California.



My most recent card came from Belarus! How exciting! I wonder if the postcard was a photograph-turned-postcard. What a neat idea! I'm struggling to find places to buy postcards. I bought my first set off Amazon because I couldn't find any in the stores!



But here's one from a Postcrossing buddy I found on Instagram! This one's a keeper!



This one is from my buddy, who was visiting New York City and decided to drop me a note. She saw this postcard and remembered how much I love fairies.


Finally, here is my favorite, because it was hand drawn by my friend in Singapore. He loves doodling and illustrating cartoons that remind me of "The Far Side Gallery". I think he's super talented!

I just sent out two more, so there'll be two more postcards coming my way! Can't wait!


Now on to catch up on all your blogs!

June 8 : An animal

For our friend's bachelorette party, we threw her a surprise painting party. There is a place in Charlotte called Painting with a Twist, where they hold painting classes. You pick a painting you like and they teach you how to paint it step by step. Our bride-to-be Jessica, loves peacocks, and her wedding colors are peacock-inspired hues of blues and purples. So this painting was perfect!



I can't wait for her wedding in August! It'll be in Binghamton, so J & I will head on down to NYC after! If you have places to see or restaurants to recommend, send them my way pretty please!

June 3 : On my Table...

My co-worker brought us some flowers from her daughter's wedding over the weekend! It was a small but colorful wedding with a tropical theme. They filled mini vases with gerbera daisies dyed in different colors as their table centerpieces. It was a small wedding so we didn't get to attend, but I can only imagine what fun it was! These flowers brightened my morning, and I was able to take on the rest of the hectic day!

Where's Waldo Pub Crawl

Trying to break the Guinness World Records of 3657 Waldos in one place (Dublin, Ireland), the Epicenter in Uptown Charlotte hosted it's annual Where's Waldo pubcrawl last night.


My friend celebrated her birthday this weekend, so we decided to join in the Waldo-mania.

I had dressed as Waldo one Halloween, and still owned the striped top, stripey socks and glasses from a few years back. Unfortunately, after several relocations, I had discarded the bobble hat, so I was panicking in search of one.

When I decided there was none to be found, I rummaged through my fabric stash and decided, what the heck, I'll just wing it and make myself one.

I used the leftover fabric from making my Christmas stockings - perfect red and white stripes! - cut out two domed shaped pieces and sewed the edges together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Ta-daa!

This was quite easily done in 5 minutes..
I don't know what the final count is but it sure was a great night out!

Color Run Charlotte

We did it!
Dubbed the happiest 5km fun run, my friends and I were doused in color at every 1km of the race. And at the end, we all gathered for a final color party, throwing packets of color at one another. There was no timing, no pressure. You can walk, run or dance your way through.




My fellow color runners, team name : Your Face, Our Rear.




Rock on! See you next year Color Run!!!



*Photos courtesy of Lauren

Celebrations : On the Joys of Gifting

Tis the season for gifting again!! I stepped into IKEA two days ago and they already had their Christmas decorations up for sale! Goodness! Is it me, or did this year just fly by?


The end of the year always fills me with excitement. It begins with Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. I start to plan hand-made gifts for family and friends around the end of September. This year I intend to make some cozy lap quilts for J's family. Very ambitious, so I better get started, because before you know it, BAM, the holiday season will be just around the corner!


Gifting always makes me fuzzy inside. I don't know if I'm the oddball, but I prefer to give than to receive. I love planning, making and finally wrapping the gift, with a specific recipient in mind. The process is taxing, but it is so rewarding when you see the faces of your loved ones receiving something you had so carefully crafted.

Some of you might remember my ambitious twin sized quilt project. Here is the finished product. My friend was quite speechless when she received her gift, she sat and stared at the squares for a while. It was totally worth the blood, sweat and tears (in retrospect, of course).



I also bought a stack of Eric Carle's Brown Bear Brown Bear fabrics to make a baby quilt for my friend's son. It was a happy coincidence that Brown Bear Brown Bear was Dex's favorite book. Here he is, playing happily on his quilt.




That said, receiving gifts is always a lovely surprise. I hadn't had the time to post, this was from a while ago, but Jess from Avant-Garde Living sent me a personalized cross-stitch in a gilded frame. Isn't that awesome? I was torn between displaying it or sewing it onto one of my canvas tote bags. I finally decided to display it in my craft room.



Finally, my dear friend S, surprised me with a lovely musical box in the form of a sewing machine! She had fretted about how I would be able to carry it in my luggage, but I made sure I had room for it! It is a miniature old fashioned sewing machine with a step pedal, complete with fabric and a presser foot that moves up and down when you wind it up! Too cute!




Happy gifting season!

Crafting: Elmer the patchwork elephant Inspired Quilt

Sorry for the long absence!

I have been focusing on my upcoming vacation, and all the projects I was supposed to have done, but procrastinated.

Here's one such project: my friend S ordered a twin-sized quilt from me about four months ago, and one week before I leave for Singapore, I get my ass down to doing it. She wants to gift this quilt to a friend who loves elephants like I do! S told me to design the quilt with Elmer the elephant in mind. I didn't want to make it too childish as it is a quilt for an adult. But Elmer is a patchwork elephant, I have to make a patchwork quilt! The more colors the merrier!! I just hope it's not going to be too heavy. I have to pack it into my luggage.





Day 1 of the Labor Day weekend:
Frantically cutting squares into triangles, only to piece them back into squares again.
I have a vague sense of futility...





Day 2: First quadrant. And then 5 more.





Day 3 : Quilt top is finally done. I have to go get some batting tomorrow, and some more fabric for the back of the quilt before this is completed.

I used Michael Miller's Fairy Frost Collection of 50 different colors. No, I didn't go out and buy 50 bolts of different colors. Thank goodness for Etsy, I bought 4 packs of quilting squares, all nicely cut up for me to use!



But for now, time for some well deserved rest. I need to get back to reading my very exciting Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

This has been one intensive Labor Day (pun totally intended, *guffaws*)


What did you do this Labor Day weekend folks?

Favorite Things : Photo Booth Frenzy

:: 1 :: 2 ::




:: 3 ::




:: 4 ::

These photo booths are popping up all over the place, you just can't go somewhere without seeing one! I especially love the ones with props. The laughs and possibilities are endless!!

:: 1 & 2 :: At D's daughter's graduation party!
:: 3 :: Me and Jess at a wedding fair
:: 4 :: Celebrating my 30th @ the Breakfast Club!

Busy as a bee!

So the J-man is home, but he's been so jet-lagged and anti-social because of it, i had to busy myself with lots of other things.

I accompanied my friend to pick up her wedding dress from a store two hours away from Charlotte. Not gonna post any spoiler pics so here is Jess right outside the huge Burlington Bridal Mart to pick up her beautifully beaded gown. She was one lil' excited bunny! And the dress was so gorgeous!!!!



Also visited Gwen whose dog just had 3 little puppies. The puppies are boston terrier and miniature schnauzer mix -- mini boz(es?) Too cute!! I have such a soft spot for boston terriers and their black and white adorableness!! This is my favorite. He slept in my arms the whole time I was there. They are all spoken for so I was a little sad. But I don't think we need another pet in the house...


And then I helped my friend Shey with her little boy's baptism party today. It was a beautiful breezy day and everything went smoothly!


Phew! It's been a whirlwind week! Hope you all had a beautiful weekend, and a good week ahead!

Spreading Good Cheer Giveaway: 4th of July

Today, I would like to introduce one amazing lady and crafty fellow blogger friend. Meet Oksana, from Oksana Plus Hobbies.

Oksana wrote to me one day and we decided to do a craft exchange. She would make me a pretty turquoise necklace, in return for one of my little embroidered pouches. Well, the exchange was settled, but I decided to turn it into a giveaway + interview post because this little lady is just about amazing. When the blog title says Oksana PLUS HOBBIES, she absolutely is not kidding.

1. First of all, please tell us a little about yourself!

Hello my dear bloggers! I’d like to thank Chui for the opportunity to tell you
about myself. My name is Oksana. I’m a girl from Siberia. You would think that
I’m tough and used to cold and snowy weather, but I’m not. I hate cold, maybe
this is why I now live in California :).

2. Living in an exciting city like LA, can you introduce one of your favorite spots?

I’m also a city girl (yes, there are big cities in Siberia). Maybe this is why I
immediately fell in love with Los Angeles. The Old Town in Pasadena is my
favorite place to hang out. And of course, Santa Monica which is near perfect—
has a beautiful beach + the Promenade, the street with all my favorite stores and a
shopping mall.

3. Tell us more about your passion for creating jewelry. Why jewelry, how you got started, who/ what was your inspiration, how long you've been doing this.

After I graduated from a medical school “100 years ago”, I landed my first job as
a psychiatrist at a hospital for mentally ill. Wait, what psychiatry has to do with
jewelry? It’s funny, but one of my first recollections about that time is looking
at stunning jewelry pieces my colleague used to wear. Later, she told me that her
husband made them for her. I couldn’t imagine even in my wildest dreams that
one day I would be making my own cabochon earrings. But here I am, taking
jewelry classes at a community college.

4. Do you have any new exciting craft projects in the works?

I’m always working on something, a necklace, earrings, etc. I also like to cross-
stitch, sew, take pictures and blog in my spare time.

5. Do you have any words of advice/ encouragement for fellow crafters out there?

A word of advice/encouragement for fellow crafters: Be open to constantly
learning new things/skills. Get out of a rut/comfort zone, and take risks:
experiment with a new craft/technique/project. It will be exciting, maybe
frustrating at times, but you will advance at the end. And most of all: your
everyday life won’t be boring. I’m taking an applique class this month :).


*******************

Check out Oksana's blog for crafty DIY tutorials, especially on jewelry making, as well as to read about her latest hobbies. She also has a gallery of photos of her past projects. You can email her with custom orders!

We're doing a giveaway on Oksana's turquoise necklace!

This giveaway is open to international readers, but you'll have to be either a follower of ElephantisLove or Oksana Plus Hobbies or BOTH!

Leave a comment below to enter, and don't forget to include your email address so I can contact the winner!

The giveaway is open till 11:59PM EST on July 13, Friday the 13th! *gasp* and the winner will be picked via Random.org. Have a great 4th of July and good luck!

Happy 4th!!

What are you planning to do on this lovely midweek holiday?

My friends plan to hang out at the National Whitewater Center for the Coca Cola 4th of July Festival to do some whitewater rafting and kayaking in the day, and stay on for live bands, fun and fireworks in the night!

The Carolina Raptor Center plans to release 8 red shouldered hawks in different parks in the Mecklenburg County in Charlotte, NC, between 11am and noon. One of the parks is really near my house, i might just pop over!

I'm not sure what i want to do yet. But I look forward to spending some nice cosy time snuggling in bed with the J-man (before he leaves for the Philippines on Tuesday!) and then finishing up my 3rd Game of Thrones book!


Happy 4th everyone!

The Color Run

Via

Have you heard? The Color Run is coming to Charlotte. I signed up for the 5km run in November and it sounds like

1) a ton of training
2) a riot of colors
3) a lot of FUN!!



It's like India's Holi-Festival-of-colors-turned-fund-raiser.

What it is is a run/jog/walk that you sign up for. You can sign up as an individual, or a team of at least 4. My friends and I formed a team, and our team name - Your face, our Rear. :p

You start the race, wearing a completely white outfit. As you run the race, the volunteers, sponsors and event staff members on the sidelines will be color bombing the participants. In the first km, you'll be bombed with yellow, the 2km blue, 3km green, 4km PINK, and in the last kilometer is the "Color Extravaganza"! I'm glad they have the color Pink so late in the run. It'll be a good motivator for me and my girlfriends to get there! And thereafter, finishing the last km will be easier.

Who am I kidding, I better get my butt off the couch and start training!

The Color Run is not limited to Charlotte, NC. It's all over the US and if you haven't heard of it, check out their website, and sign up now before they're sold out!

To my dearest friend...

To my dearest friend, Deaf Knee, it was but two years ago when you were my maid-of-honour. I wish i could be there on your big day today, but i can only send my love and best wishes from 10000 miles away.
Thank you for being a wonderful friend for the last twenty something years, through TSD, the squashed fairies and MustardSeed and magic8ball!!!! I love you so much!!!!!

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Cordeiro!

Yoohoo! We have the ElephantisLove Giveaway Winner!

And we have a winner!!

(Nana) Glo Haynes of Glo Sews, please send me an email granolabar[AT]gmail[DOT]com with your mailing address!! Congratulations and I hope you love it!

Thank you friends for participating, and always showing your support. It means a lot to me!!!

xoxo

Giveaway: ElephantisLove is ONE!!!

Via



ElephantisLove is ONE!

I cannot believe how time flies! Only one year ago, I took the plunge and started my very own Etsy store. It has been a whirlwind of adventures, and I'm very grateful for all the experiences I've had and friends I've made.


Looking back, here are a few worthy mentions of the year gone by:

1. My sewing skills have improved drastically. As always, practice makes perfect. I'm not quite anywhere near perfect, but I am proud of my progress!

2. Deviated from making the usual bags and tried out a few different things that I would never have thought I was capable of. Most notably, I picked up embroidery and made quilts.

3. Participated in craft fairs and watched with joy when people actually came forward to buy the things I made! Definitely very encouraging!

4. Started a blog (well, technically I continued blogging but renamed it ElephantisLove) and found some talented and crafty friends on the blogosphere who share my joy of crafting. Special shout out to Ashley of The Feisty Redhead, Jordan of Trailer Gypsy, Jamie of Love in Everything, Jane of Projects by Jane and more! It was such a great pleasure meeting friends from all over!


As a special token of thanks,


there will be a 10% discount on all items in ElephantisLove + FREE SHIPPING in the month of April. Use Coupon Code ANNVSRY1ST for discount, and I will also refund listed shipping costs!

And I have also made a lavender sachet to giveaway to one special reader! Lots of hand sewing involved in this one, but it comes packed with some sweet smelling goodness! You can hang it up in your closet, place it in your linen drawers or even by your pillow for a good night's rest!






To participate,

You HAVE to be a follower of ElephantisLove on Blogger. Click on the button in the sidebar on the right that says "Join this site!" and then leave a comment below with your email address.


For additional entries:

1. Leave a comment below to tell me about your favorite item in my Etsy store.
2. Like ElephantisLove on Facebook
3. Tweet about this giveaway. Copy and paste this "Win a lovely handsewn giveaway! ElephantisLove turns ONE! http://bit.ly/HqfvHN @punkychewster"

Leave a comment for each when you're done to get an additional entry for the giveaway!


Giveaway will close April 22nd 11:59PM EST, and open to international readers too! Thank you for your support and I hope to create more new items for the Etsy store in my second year!!!

Happy Easter everybody!

Happy April Fool's!!

Did you prank someone today?

My girls from the museum and I got together late last evening to prank our boss' (my ex-boss) office. It pays to live just around the corner so I'm always in on their plans.


Our boss-man Barrett is a non-nonsense, straight-face type of guy, at work at least. Sure, he'll come join us for a beer or two after work, but at the workplace, he's real serious.

We wanted to give his office a make-over because we decided he should lighten up. We wrapped everything, down to his name cards and umbrella. We hope he doesn't have an important meeting first thing in the morning today!






Dear Barrett, we hope you like the make-over...



It even has pictures of your favorite boy (bands)!


xoxo

Your BFFs!

Crafting: Quilting adventures

Here is my quilting story.


My friend S is having her baby shower next week. She is an awesome co-worker and a dear friend whom I've grow close to. She once mentioned that she really loves and appreciates handmade gifts. I felt bad when I gave her a store bought maternity wrap-around sweater for Christmas, even though it was a lovely one. I had planned on making her a Christmas gift, but who knew time flew by so quickly. I wasn't able to make anything for her in time.

I swore I would present her with at least one handmade item by me. So as the date for the baby shower drew near, I decided to try making a baby quilt for her little boy.

I went on the Fat Quarter Shop to pick out a set of cute fabrics for the quilt. There were so many to choose from, before I knew it, I had at least a dozen picks on my wish list. But I finally settled on this set.

The British Are Coming Fat Quarter Bundle, Michael Miller Fabrics

Then I cut them into 5" x 5" squares and spent the rest of the afternoon piecing the quilt puzzle together. This was the most frustrating part - trying to figure which configuration looks the best. After a while I went cross-eyed and had to step away for awhile before returning to the project.


Then came the sewing, which I thought was going to be painful. Turns out, it went quite smoothly. And I don't know what I did right, but all the rows were properly aligned! That was my worst nightmare. I was afraid after I put all the rows together, the squares wouldn't align. I think I really took special care to measure and cut as accurately as I can, and to draw out the seam lines before sewing. Sure, it took more effort, but it was worth it in the end, no frustrating out-of-line-pieces!

I added a border, then put the quilt top, batting and backing all together. That was the easy part. It's like making a coaster only 50 times bigger. :)

This is the front...

And that's the back - gingham!


I love the end result. Now I want to attempt an adult sized quilt, seeing how I ruined our quilt in the dryer (left it in too long, burned the insides, long story.... sigh).

And my awesome friend from Singapore has placed an order for a quilt already! This was even before she'd seen my first finished quilt! She just wants it to be ready by Christmas. CHRISTMAS?? Thank you for giving so much time to prepare and practise. How some people have so much faith in me I will never understand, but I really appreciate!! Love you, Shobs!


I can't wait to present this quilt. It makes me feel all fuzzy inside when I think that her baby boy is going to grow up with my blanket in hand, like this:

Thank you Nana Glo for the inspiration, and to Kim from the Fat Quarter Shop, I love your stuff!


I'm officially addicted.

I've Been Tagged : the first in 2012!

My wish to all my bloggy friends!



---------------------------------




I've been putting this on hold for awhile now, but what better thing to do than a tag post in 2012 so you can refresh your memory about 11 quirky bits of info ALL about me! Heh.


I've been tagged by Nana Glo from GloSews!

The Tagged Rules are as follows:


1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things yourself.
3. Answer the ques­tions the tag­ger set for you in their post.
4. Cre­ate 11 new ques­tions for the peo­ple you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you've tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tag­ging sec­tion about ‘you are tagged if you are read­ing this.’ Blah blah blah, you legit­i­mately have to tag 11 peeps!

The 11 questions from Nana Glo to me:

1. Do you know how to sew?

Yes I do. I did home-ec classes in school but didn't really get into it until I was about 18 when I started a little enterprise with 3 other friends, sewing whimsical cushion covers and and beaded pouches for sale at flea markets. That lasted maybe about a few months, until we got too busy with our individual schedules.

2. Do you go to the movies or wait for the DVD?

I almost never watch movies unless my husband goads me into watching them during dinner, we watch them on NetFlix or sometimes, downloaded versions. Yes, we are guilty pirates.

3. What was your favorite gift you received this Holiday Season?

Our timed coffee maker! I set it the night before and have coffee ready in the pot when I jump out of the shower in the morning!

4. If someone was going to prepare your favorite meal, what would it be?

Anything Asian - Chinese, Japanese, Thai. Or a pasta dish! Like spaghetti vongole!

5. How many brothers and/or sisters do you have?

Three younger sisters - and they're a set of triplets!

6. Do you live in a small or large city and do you like it?

I grew up in Singapore, which is considered an island city even though it's a whole country in itself. Singapore is 25miles by 15 miles. I love living in the city because I can get to places by walking. Shanghai, a city I lived in for 4 years was a great place to live too. I got around by bicycling on the roads, along with 1 million other Chinese. That was a really fun experience too.


7. What is your fondest childhood memory?

My favorite aunt taking me out shopping. I loved carrying shopping bags, even though they were mostly not mine. She always bought me ice-cream too!

8. What is your first childhood memory?

I woke up one morning to find my mommy gone. I thought she was playing hide-and-seek so I looked everywhere in the apartment for her. Even under my bed. But when I realised she was really gone, I panicked, stood rooted to the ground and peed in my PJs. Just then, my mother returned from buying groceries at the market. I think I was about 3.


9. Do you cook breakfast or just eat something quick like cereal?

I do not cook. Period. I have cereal, when I have milk in the fridge, or toast with butter, cinnamon and sugar! Yum!

10. What, if any, resolutions have you made for the new year?

Of course one has to have them!! Check out my post for 2012 resolutions.

11. If you were going to write a book about your life, what would the title be?

A Simple Life.




And i tag:

1. Kyla of Kyla is Inspired
2. KJ of Let's Go Fly A Kite
3. Ashley of The Feisty Redhead
4. Zhing of Little Projects in Style
5. Lauren of Tastes Like Love
6. Jordan of Trailer Gypsy
7. Annie of Wattlebird
8. Polly of The Littlest Polly
9. Nikki of The Ginger Diaries
10. Melissa of Simply, Melissa Ashley
11. Mo of Pink Argyle
12. Oksana of Oksana Plus Hobbies
13. OhioMom of Sage Endeavors


Here are my 11 questions for you!

1. Is there a significance behind your name?
2. Your favorite color / color combination?
3. Favorite past time / thing you do to de-stress?
4. What is your motto in life, or your strongest belief /value?
5. What is your next upcoming (exciting) project?
6. Describe your fashion style? Post a picture, if you have one!
7. Coffee or tea, or choice of morning beverage?
8. All time favorite book and/ or movie?
9. What music do you listen to?
10. Do you prefer living in a house or an apartment?
11. What is your dream vacation?


Don't forget to leave me a message when you're done with them, I do want to read your answers!!!

All things Halloween...

Here's a quick Sunday post:

It was dress up weekend,



plus a pumpkin carving contest at the museum.



All guests are invited to vote for their favorite pumpkin. I'm in team #3!!! We made a house for our hermit crab (based on Eric Carle's book) out of the pumpkin. Isn't it whimsical? And there actually is a LIVE hermit crab living in the pumpkin. Don't worry, it's getting food and water and a warm living environment. And so far we are getting all the girl votes...



while pumpkin #2 is getting all the boy votes with their Monster Pumpkin Strikes Again!



Pumpkin #4 is getting all the Toy Story fan votes



while Pumpin #1 the Dr Seuss fan votes.

I don't know about you, but I think the Woody pumpkin is some serious competition no?



Tallying the results at the end of today. I hope we win!!!