homemade playdough

yesterday afternoon, I finally got a chance to make some playdough for my daughter.

I had been wanting to try out a recipe for homemade one.

I googled and checked out a few sites, and tried out a non-cooking one first.

that didn't turn out so well. the salt didn't melt and it was not so smooth as it should be.

then, decided to go with a traditional playdough recipe.

basic, simple, should work!

::INGREDIENTS::

* 1 cup flour

* 1 cup warm water

* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

* 1 teaspoon oil

* 1/4 cup salt

* food coloring

in addition to the original recipe, I added 1tbs of Alum.

it's supposed to keep the playdough fresh longer.

basically put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and mix it over medium heat until it becomes crumbly.

starts out like a cream sauce.

starts forming some lumps.
don't worry even if the mixture is uneven, and keep mixing.

in the recipe, it's said to heat and mix it it becomes a 'ball', 

but I think it doesn't really become like a ball at all.

it's more crumbly/lumpy.

take it out of the pan, and knead it till smooth.

taddaaa :)

  

my daughter was really digging it.

and she was playing with it for over an hour.

next time, I will try something different and weired, like jello playdough or peanut butter playdough.

has anyone tried them?

zucchini salsa!

fall is here.

we are harvesting last bit of the garden vegetables.

we also got LOADS of giant zucchinis from our housmates' friend who manages a community garden.

we made zucchini bread four times,

also made some zucchini patties a few times.

but we never seem to be able to consume enough of them...

we still have LOTS!

 I mean, LOTS!!

so, I decided to do something different with them.

looked up recipes for zucchini salsa.

found this one, which has great reviews.

so, gave it a shot.

I eliminated the sugar and cornstarch that the original recipe called for,

and cut back the vinegar by half and used apple cider vinegar.
oh, and you know my secret?
I used vita-mix to chop up all the vegetables!
it would have taken me hours to hand-chop them otherwise...

 indeed it was very tasty!

I canned most of the first batch,

and made the second batch and canned some more a few days after since we still had a lot of zucchinis.

we have a year or more supply of zucchini salsa :)!

old T-shirt cushion covers

my husband loves T-shirt from Granif, a Japanese T-shirt company.

every time we go back there to visit my family, he brings back a couple of their T-shirts with him.

they have a lot of cool designs, and it's perfect for my husband who doesn't like words/writing on clothes. 

over a few years of being well loved/worn by him, and being washed and dried in the machines,

they are no longer the right size/shape for this very picky man.

so he passed these down to me to give them a new life.

 I decided to make our little cushions covers.

they have been naked for a long time, well as long as I've know them.

that is kind of gross...

it was about the time and a perfect opportunity :)

How-To 

[[Turn your old T-shirt in to a cushion cover]]

 

you'd want to use as much material out of the T-shirt as possible.  

cut the sides as closest as the sleeve seams. and it is okay to go over the seams as long as it is going to be the seam allowance (it will be hidden!)

also, cut off the neck/shoulder part.  you can get more out of the back, because the neckline is higher.

cut the front part into a square, the back into halves.

I sewn a piece of twill tape on the back edges, which make the opening where cushion goes in and out.  this way the opening won't be stretched out and look sloppy...

put all three pieces facing the right side together and sew/serge all four seams.  make sure the outer side of the two back pieces lays in the middle of the three when inside out.  

turn it right side out and put cushion in from the back opening!

taddaaa!

    these even had a nice designs on the back of the shirt, 

which I collaborated into the back opening. 

recovering from the holidays

it is so hard to get back to normal life

after one whole week of nothing, but eating lots of food and sweets, sitting around, and hanging out...

now, I am going through a major recovery from the holidays.

my nose is runny and stuffy, throat itches, stomach is all weired from the overindulgence...

I am taking some tincture, drinking lots of teas, rubbing vapor balm into my throat, and eating healthy.

hope it will pass soon!

in addition to all the mess-ups on my body,

little L(my daughter) has been pretty fussy ever since we got back home from the holidays.

I guess she is going through attention withdraw.

all the attention she got from her grandparents, aunties & uncles, cousins and friends...

now, we are back to our normal life -papa & mama & little L.

ech...

hope everyone is recovering okay from the holidays!

rescue me

I love Bach RESCUE REMEDY series.

especially the pastilles are my favourite!

they taste very yummy flowery citrus.

it makes you calm and relieves you from stress!

you can take it when you are pregnant and breastfeeding!

it even helps with a teething baby :)

you can also use it for your pets.

a must have at your home and in your bag :)

high speed

yay!

we got the high speed Internet at home, FINALLY!

ah! it's so much faster.

frustration free life again :)

I've been feeling not too well for the past few days.

I think I got a stomach flue...

no worries, feeling much better today!

but, little L seems to have runny nose today.

hopefully nothing serious, and it doesn't get worse than that....

hope you all had a nice weekend :)!

flower pics

I don't really like cut flowers... :(
for me, there is something sad about them.

and I just feel so bad for the flowers,

and feel the sadness/sorrow they may be feeling...

I know their lives are pretty short,

and they may enjoy being admired and appreciated by people.

I admit that it is nice to receive a bouquet of flowers

for anniversaries, birthdays and special occasions.

and I enjoy having flowers in the house, too.

I just don't really know what bugs me about them ...

japan finds

I am back home from our trip to Japan.

It took me a while to recover from jetlag, and it was especially hard with a baby...

She kept waking up so many times in the middle of a night,

and sometimes she was up for a few hours...
Now she is pretty much back on her normal schedule,

and I am trying to get back on sewing and crafting!

There were so many neat cute stuff in Japan.

I wanted to bring back a lot of stuff, but my small laggage had reached its max.

These are a few things I brought back home with me.

Cute Stamp Set

I love these!

I already used them when I wrote to my firends.

Masking Tapes

Cute masking tapes were 'in' in Japan.

I found them pretty much everywhere I went.

I bought a few to use them for decolating gifts.

naniIRO Fabric

I went to a fabric store.

I had no intention to buy any fabric there.

Well, more like I had to try not to buy any fabric

because there was little room in my laggage for anything.

But, I needed this fabric!

This is one of naniIRO collections.

I am thinking to make myself a summer dress :)

Sewing Magazine

Found this in a book store.

There are so many cute clothes in the magazine.

I have to make some things with the patterns.

what is up???!!!

okay,

what is wrong with the weather??

today is April 1st, and it is SNOWING outside!

This is what happens, as soon as I say how much I LOVE spring in the last post...

Oh,

must be an April fool's thing!

I wish.... :(

ech....