BAMBINI, ANYONE...?

in my bimbo moments of weakness, i sometimes justify purchases for ilaika by telling myself that just like me, most mums are suckers for cuteness and it's just beyond our control when we splurge on our lil princesses ;) and like most mums that fall in this category, i immediately fell in love with these bambini shoes, recently launched by shoes shoes shoes...

*aspiring feet model - ilaika & yours truly ;p

hers & hers! aren't these just absolutely adorable...?

when yiu lin, the mastermind behind this local brand, invited me to the launch of bambini, i popped by her store the very next day to purchase these two pairs ahead of the launch! i also jumped at the chance to offer our biscuits as a gift for all the other young mums who were to attend the launch. 

we prepared boxes of customised vanilla butter biscuits that bore the bambini logo as well as the names of each child & mum. we also threw in some polka dots, inspired by the brand's shoe boxes...these are the pics i snapped and edited using the iphone. will post more later ;)

yiu lin tells me these were a great big hit...both the shoes and the biscuits...but of course, you can never have enough ;)

merry christmas...

a quick post to wish you a merry christmas ;)

- diy gift tags for our pressies this yr...will update post tmrw on link click here for this freebie, yes freebie! and such a pretty freebie too ;) -

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

blog press, anyone...?

trying out this app on my phone. hope it works!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

sugar scrubs & bath salts, anyone...?

i'm looking forward to...

yes, another craft party organised by handmade kl! yay!

at the first handmade kl craft party a few months back, ilaika & i made a tea light decoupage. this sunday, we'll be getting our hands dirty for sugar scrubs and bath salts...

craftily sweet, aye?

breakfast, anyone...?

i'm freezing here in the office with the aircond on full blast...am trying really hard to concentrate on getting things done but all i can think about is breakfast which i didn't have time for this morning. i could SO do with this, right now...

eggs benedict & smoked salmon on toast with a side of hash browns,
devoured a few weeks ago at la bodega, bangsar shopping centre ;) 

love rings, anyone...?

i bought these from accessorize last wk...


absolutely love them ;)

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kinder soaps, anyone...?

i had a lil bit of trouble with my skin for a few months until quite recently. it wasn't exactly chronic eczema but it was most annoying to have zits popping up one by one...and my tolerance for breakouts reminiscent of my teen years was just wearing thin (at least back then, i could rely on trusty old mr roaccutane but alas, my dermatologist forced me to end that relationship the day i got engaged).

i tried all sorts of zit-zapping ointments but none seemed to really work. i'm not exactly sure why my skin starting acting up the way it did...it could have been due to numerous factors - lack of sleep, stress, that time of month (or it's effect on my skin lasting way longer than the actual time of month itself!)...could have been all of the above, really. whatever it was, i needed a solution and i needed it pronto.

by a stroke of luck, i'd recently befriended michelle, also known as @salameander of the kinder soap company via twitter. intrigued by her soap-making, i decided to order some soaps from her. 

honestly, my original intention was to find a rich and moisturising soap for use in the shower but when i visited her site, i was really surprised to find that she actually recommends certain soaps for not just the body but also for the face and hair. for someone who has been very particular with facial products, i was surprisingly sold!

so i ordered whatever she had in stock (she'd just been blessed with a darling baby boy so her stock was running pretty low) - dark chocolate soap, clarity soap and spiced coffee soap. here's a lil promise to be delivered with usage of each soap, as found on michelle's site....

dark chocolate soap: contains generous lashings of cocoa butter and anti-oxidant rich cocoa powder that will leave you with soft, silky-smooth skin after each shower.

clarity soap: formulated to include the sharp, mentholated scent of eucalyptus essential oil, along with the purifying properties of french green clay and activated carbon. all of them work together for the purpose of decongesting — be it your skin, your nose, or your mental state.

spiced coffee soap: laden with ground coffee beans for a light scrub in the shower. the combination of ginger, lemongrass and lime essential oils serve not only to lift your spirits out of the doldrums or sluggishness, but also to impart warmth to tired muscles and calm redness on the skin.

don't they sound wonderful?! having placed my order, i excitedly waited for the package to arrive. in fact, i wasn't home when it did and i actually drove to the post office after work to collect it!  both the wait and the drive was absolutely worth it!

i can't quite explain the mixture of scents that touched my senses as i unwrapped the package but it was really pleasant and calming...and ummm clean! michelle not only gave me her own homemade rescue salve to soothe ilaika's mozzie bites, but she also threw in a lovely wooden soap dish and a surprise bar of summer fizz, a blend of sweet orange, rosemary and peppermint essential oils that serve to beat back depression and encourage mental clarity.

the soaps were so pretty that i just had to snap a pic of the first bar i unwrapped. here's introducing clarity soap...

can you guess what i did next? heheh i jumped into the shower, of course!

though i was still a little apprehensive at the thought of using the soaps for my face, i thought - what the hell, it can't get any worse. well, it's been exactly a week now that i've religiously used clarity in place of my usual facial wash and oh boy, it's done wonders! i have not had a single zit on my face for a week...absolutely zilch! isn't that amazing? it could still be too early to tell  for sure but for now, i'm definitely a happy bunny ;)

according to michelle, these pretty black swirls are charcoal, "activated carbon, to be more precise and ironically it gets your skin unbelievably cleansed from impurities"...and cleanse it certainly did. i've never felt my skin feel so squeaky clean! i am so very glad i ordered them. 

thank you, michelle...yours is truly a kinder soap company ;)

handmadeKL, anyone...?

i have a really really busy week ahead of me...am working on my first corporate order for bollipops (yay me!) and fluff & stuff is putting together party packs for a toy story party for three lil brothers.

so i do hope you wouldn't mind me redirecting you to another blog...trust me, if you love handmade stuff and fiddling about with arty crafty fluff, you'll absolutely love handmadeKL...

it is "home to KL's very first craft party organised by Mimpi Murni. this is where you'll find all the info regarding the upcoming craft party & future craft related events."

don't get toooo excited though as it's still in its very early days so the blog content is still somewhat limited (if you go there & you're still craving for more, go to the Mimpi Murni site instead)...you could however, look forward to the very first craft party and then get all excited cos it'll be held this sunday...

and decoupage is the first on the list for handmadeKL's craft project...

did you just go...decou-what? hehe...are you intrigued yet? 

well, seats are limited and the lovely murni of Mimpi Murni, says there are only 5 precious places left so scoot over to handmadeKL asap and start getting crafty!

pssst - it's only rm30, materials are provided and you get one free drink AND a free cupcake! yours truly has already booked a seat ;) see you there!

meri meri kits, anyone...?

if you're like me {ie a sucker for cuteness!}, you'll fall in love with these absolutely adorable kits by meri meri...i certainly did!

aren't these just oozing with cuteness? as you can see, i couldn't decide which i loved the most  (it was so difficult to choose just one!) so i picked a few of my personal favourites to share.  here are another two i love...if you look closely, the ballerinas even have tutus!

can't get enough? there's more cuteness here ;)

pink and yellow, anyone...?

following my previous post on a rubber duckie party, i realised that most rubber duckie parties tend to be yellow and blue, most likely due to the water element that comes with rubber duckies. well, my friend wants to incorporate pink into the colour palette for her lil girl's first birthday.

so yours truly needed inspiration and went googling again ;) here are some ideas we could play with...

fuschia & yellow spring party 

- as compiled by the party dress -

click here for credits and more info

wouldn't this fuschia and yellow set up be great? just imagine combining these bits of fuschia and yellow with cheerful rubber duckies!

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pretty in pink party

- by stem parties -

i also found this pink 80's-style* baby shower inspired by the movie pretty in pink. it's the first duckie party i've come across to have pink as part of the colour theme and it was pretty!

* going a wee bit off track  now but check out those pink cassettes - perfect for an 80's party!

 

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paper rosettes

- by creature comforts -

aren't these paper rosettes so pretty? the pic above was a simple diy project by creature comforts for a circus party. if you'd like to try it out, you can use this tutorial by martha stewart.

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whilst you're at martha stewart's site, also look up this tutorial for tissue pompoms...

these yellow and pink pom poms could represent bath sponges!

i wanted to do these for ilaika's butterfly party just because they're oh-so-pretty but i already had so many other lovely ideas that i really didn't have enough time to put these together. oh well, hopefully i'll get to make them at her next party!

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just imagine all these pretty pink elements put together with yellow rubber duckies.....sweet rubber duck!

rubber duckie, anyone...?

rubber duckie, you're the one,

you make bathtime lots of fun,

rubber duckie, I'm awfully fond of you;

woo woo be doo

rubber duckie, joy of joys,

when i squeeze you, you make noise!

rubber duckie, you're my very best friend, it's true!

doo doo doo doo, doo doo

i love this sesame street song...don't you? i've been humming it over and over again since i had a conversation with my friend regarding her daughter's first birthday...

she originally planned on a mermaid swimming party but wasn't too sure if it'd be suitable especially since her daughter doesn't even know what a mermaid is...i jumped at the opportunity to plan/propose yet another party  ;)

i know it's been done to death as a theme for baby showers but i think a 1st rubber duckie birthday. would be so fun! if i hadn't done bears & blocks for ilaika's first, i would have gone with ducks. alas, a kid can only have one first birthday so i had to kiv that theme. but don't you think it's a great  idea? at that age, the child will most likely recognise a  yellow rubber duck and since he/she can't do much else yet, a mini wading pool filled with ducks would make an excellent party activity!

here are a few rubber duckie parties i love...

bubbly ducky brunch

- by hostess with the mostess -

this bubbly ducky brunch was gorgeous...from the colour-coordinated plates and placemats and the bubbles in the cutlery to the table centrepiece with the ducks and those blue and yellow m&m's (in the right pic just above this para).

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quack quack little duck

- by alannah rose -

this birthday party for ella looked so doubly duckly fun! the bright colour palette of yellow and red made a cheerful impact on the overall decor. i especially love the cupcake wrap and flag toppers in the top collage as well as the duckie twist to two classic party games (in the middle collage) - pin the beak on the duckie and the duckie pinnata! 

if you love this theme and would like to get your hands on the invites, (as below) visit the alannah rose wesbite (or click here) to order.

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here are other great ideas to consider..

cake & candles

how adorably cute is this? a few cupcakes and duckie candles put together to make a bubbly bath for the duckies!

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duckie party packs

- by my party file -

a great idea to cut a duck out on an otherwise plain paper bag. fill it up with sweets and colourful goodies to tempt the kids!

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duckie soap dish

- by my party file -

another great themed idea is to get soap boxes and fill them up with sweets and candies or even crayons etc. i'm thinking it'd also be great to fill them up with bubble bath salts or capsules but just make sure you label and seal them carefully, just in case the kids think they're sweet stuff to munch on!

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oooo...can you tell? i'm really looking forward to planning this party!

alice tea party, anyone...?

a few weeks ago, we took ilaika to watch alice in wonderland. it was her first trip to the movies and boy, did she love it! 

with all the hype on alice these days, i really wish i could have a whimsical tea party for ilaika but since her birthday is way over and i'm still recovering from the party havoc (!) i'll have to settle with  just admiring these lovely parties and inspirations...

alice in wonderland 

- as hosted & captured by gwendolyn grace photography -

gwendolyn used bright and fun colours for her party decor and they came together so well. i just love this element of arts & craft! they decorated their first initials - perfect for a smaller group of young girls. and it makes a great gift to take home.

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annabelle in wonderland!

- as captured by jessica claire -

check out the special chairs for the three birthday girls...this party was so beautifully decorated and i bet the kids had so much fun - there was a petting zoo AND alice herself to help with the face-painting!

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alice in wonderland tea party

- as captured by loreta -

simple ideas on how to decorate the table with the antique looking clock and cards scattered on the table. oh also equally simple idea but oh-so-pretty cupcake sprinkles...

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alice in wonderlandia

- as featured by hostess with the mostess and organised by lollipop events & designs -

everything about this party is gorgeous and perfect..from the tablecloth to the chair covers (which are actually aprons! click here for the diy) and from the flowers to the tea & saucer set and the whimsical stacked cups! the champagne bottles in the watering cans are a great idea too but perhaps for kids, we ought to replace the bubbly with bubbles ;)

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party inspiration : alice in wonderland tea party

- as compiled by becca of birthday girl blog -

becca puts together lovely inspiration boards for all sorts of parties and this is one  of the many that i really love. visit her blog for more party inspiration and some tips on putting this whimsical party together.

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message-in-a-cookie cutters

- product by williams-sonoma -

imagine having these coloured biscuits with  E A T  M E  on them! i can't wait to get my hands on these cutters. i just got an email from them saying they're "no longer available" :( but am keeping my fingers crossed til they stock up on these cute lil things! in the meantime, i've got some bollipops leftover from my latest order of vespa goodies so i'll play around with these to soothe my  (ahem) "creative soul" ;p more to come soon...

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i'm late - resin alice in wonderland necklace

- handmade by stoopidgerl -

this handmade pendant would make a cool party pack item for the girls to take home...i know ilaika would SO love this!

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alice in wonderland party collection

- as found on polyvore & compiled by rayban love, portia & julieta  -

oh i love these polyvores! it just proves how this theme is so easy to work with - there's so much you can do and you can hardly ever go wrong cos in a quirky & whimsical way, nothing really matches yet everything does match ;)