Attempts @ rubber stamping

After reading a few blogs on how to carve a rubber stamp, I visited Art Friend to get a rubber carving block and cheap ink pads. With S' carving knifes, I did some doodling before settling on 2 designs this weekend. Yesterday I did a heart shaped stamp which looks simple but it took me quite a number of carving and trimming until I'm satisfied. My cat stamp is supposed to have distinct triangular shaped nose but I accidentally cut it away. But I think they don't look so bad for my first 2 attempts :)

Inspired by Fictive Fingers

3 Saturdays ago, sis and I visited Fictive Fingers' pop up store @ Sago Lane. Opened by 2 sisters, they created interesting paper and fabric products using rubber stamping and silkscreen printing. sis and I tried our hands @ rubber stamping. greedy me was trying the different stamps while sis did a lovely card using flowers and similar colour tones. I bought a turquoise silkscreen print pouch for myself :)

2nd attempt to bake pizzas

This time I have yeast and a pizza recipe in S's book on Italian cooking, so I tried to bake pizza for dinner. It wasn't too hard but the spelt flour or baking too long in the oven might have caused the pizza to be drier and tougher. I'm not satisfied with the taste but surprisingly parents and sis think it's not bad.

Making space

I smiled when I saw how Bob slept on the pillow. But how about me? So I had to rotate the pillow 180 degrees and rest my head against his belly :) Bob made himself more comfortable by curling his body around my head. Hee

Making face powder and body powder

I have been using my loose powder (Aubrey Organics) and body powder (Country Comfort Baby Powder) from iHerb.com for a year or so. I like that they contain natural ingredients instead of chemicals and they work well for me. I did some research online and it seems that some people are making their own powders. After buying powder arrowroot yesterday, I decided that I shall blend my own powders and see if they will work as well. My loose powder is made up of arrowroot powder (3 tablespoons), green tea powder (1 teaspoon), cocoa powder (1 teaspoon) and a few drops of rose vanilla oil. The body powder contains same amount of arrowroot and green tea as well as a number of drops of lavender oil. One smells chocolatey and the other has lavender aroma. I hope my skin will accept them when I apply over the week.

Making chocolate almond spread

I felt like making something today that could use my Ghiradelli chocolate bars. Since I have some almond meal, I thought I could grind the almond to butter but that didn't happen. My spread is a bit grainy and bittersweet with a tinge of saltiness. I like :)

Organic veggies

I have been getting some organic veggies from a little shop 15 mins' walk away from my home. Since I like to cook my own meals on weekends and eat my bread with capsicum almost every morning, I don't mind paying a bit more :)

Lovely Sat evening with 2 old friends

The 2 girlfriends treated me to dinner at Tamago at Teacher's Estate. We had a short walk at this area in Yishun near Seletar Air Base, where people were enjoying cool breeze, fishing or having a picnic. Before going home, we had dessert at Ice Cream Chefs but we were a bit disappointed by the taste of the ice cream flavours (seems like chocolate flavour is always a safe choice) and the iced mocha.

Modeling for Sis' jewelry

Sis wanted to show visitors how her necklaces look like around the neck and resting on the torso. She asked me if I can be her model. It was quite fun and I made funny smiles even though she wasn't taking photos of my face :) The photos are not up yet but you can visit Sis' shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThatSneakyCatShop) to admire her creations and photos. This photo was taken by me @ a weird angle :)

Head massage for Cinnamon

Dad was giving Cinnamon a massage while reading the newspapers :)

Sweet potatoes, Bob & veggies

I took a break from baking this weekend, but I still wanted to cook my meals. I steamed the organic sweet potatoes for lunch and cooked lots of veggies with minced pork and rice. And I gave Bob and the cats more attention.

Simple yeast-free pizza

I didn't have any yeast at home, so I tried a recipe for yeast-free pizza crust yesterday. My family doesn't like the crust, so the remaining 4 slices will be my breakfast the next few days.

Chocolate milk Popsicles

I made these popsicles for me and sis by first mixing cocoa powder, milk powder, honey and water together and pouring the cooled liquid into my Zoku Popsicle maker. I added green tea powder into my Popsicle which made it sweet and slightly bitter. Sis likes her choc milk popsicle and mom said I'll be making Popsicles every weekend. Maybe :)

Oat yogurt quick bread

I wanted to finish the remaining yogurt and make a simple bread without use of yeast. This recipe seems simple and I wasn't disappointed when I tried it last night and ate with capsicum and mulberry jam for breakfast earlier.

Cake and popsicles

Yesterday I spent the afternoon baking vanilla yogurt cake and making honey lemon popsicles. Both are yummy :)

Belated birthday gifts for 35 year old me

The past few days I received 3 gifts - from R to make me smell good, from S (the owl figurine) to further beautify my room and from the 2 girls to make my own Popsicles :)

Baking madeleines

Dad and mom bought 2 madeleine trays from Daiso some weeks back and I had been wanting to try baking madeleine. I initially wanted to bake them yesterday on my birthday but ended up spending the afternoon clearing office emails. I prepared the batter last night and kept in fridge for baking today. The madeleines turned out a bit too oily as I may have coatwd the moulds with too much oil. But they are still edible.

Fat Cat looking for a job?

Yesterday morning, Fat Cat's teeth and gum didn't give him too much discomfort, so he settled down quite fast in eating his breakfast. I didn't notice the newspaper placemat was from Recruit until a friend pointed it out to me :)

Waking up with Bob on weekends

I could linger on the bed longer with Bob on weekends and see how he sleeps/rests in such adorable manner. Yesterday I captured him in various poses :)

That Sneaky Cat Shop

Sister has just opened her shop on Etsy.

 It's called "That Sneaky Cat Shop" and she describes her creations as 

"Sterling silver, gold filled, brass and gemstone adornments made with love and in limited quantities. From elegantly simple vintage-inspired jewelry to whimsical pops of color for when you just want something fun.  Every piece is lovingly made by me and is a piece I would happily wear. I'm inspired by vintage jewelry, nature, architecture, sometimes a word or phrase - many, many things!" 

Check out her shop, if you are in need of pretty trinkets :)