honeymoon day 9, how “pig trotter” came about.

day 1 & 2 (Frankfurt), day 3 (Frankfurt & Switzerland), day 4 (Switzerland), day 5 (Switzerland), day 6 (Milan), day 7 (Padua & Venice), day 8 (Venice).

day 9, as mentioned in the previous post, we started the day trying to enjoy the outdoor patio that came with the room.

But it was cold and wet and I had to eat with someone who refused to bulge from the door frame, ready to spring into the warmth of the room anytime. Breakfast al-fresco? Nay, overrated.

We got some time on our hands before we have to head back to the train station for our next destination. I thought there was a fish market going on under the Rialto Bridge, but there was only hardworking workers moving boxes of fishes from the canal to restaurants and stacked-up tables along the bank. Where is the market?

how many bottles of wine do I have to finish before I can plaster their labels all over the ceiling like this?

someone likes big butts

.. and then i dropped ow-ow on some sandy puddle

but he picked himself right up and became a motorboat captain

fashion shoot in venice!

a nice couple offered to take this picture for us

we went for a tour at the Doge's Palace

the Scala dei Giganti, where Neptune and Mars stayed frozen in time and witnessed doges after doges being crowned here after a service in St Mark’s.

drop your grievances here into the lion's mouth, be truthful or suffer the same sentence the person you accused would had received!

the stairs is so dazzling that it makes anyone looks like a saint. here's an adorable one.

going through the prison cells where Cassanova and 1 other inmate infamously escaped (through the roof and back into the palace before walking right out from the main door, no less!) and over the Bridge of Sighs, where it was under extensive maintainance the time we were there..

we were walking out via the cafe when I saw this. I love it that this is right beside a canal and that little star-like fairylights were hanging overhead.

The Doge’s Palace was such a maze that it took us some time to get out, rendering us half an hour late to check out. The landlord was not very happy. Then, I fell down the stairs. Not because of the landlord’s fury but because my sling bag was in front of me on top of my puffy winter jacket, so much so that i couldn’t see the step in front of me. The overweight backpack on my entire back was an accomplice for making the fall down faster and badder, so much weight in it and not a slice of conscience, tsk tsk tsk. I made a few high-pitched noises for a few minutes before I felt ok to stand up and walk. That was why, thereafter, I referred to my right foot as “pig trotter”(because of the persistent swelling and patch of blue-black). I’m still thanking God, it could’d been worse!

On to Florence!

bushyhead claims this is the best train food in the world. it's not too shabby for a margherita pizza bought from the train station!

the hotel we booked

seeing we had an evening wrth of time, we went out for a walk. The boutique hotel alone had so much to see! I went shutter-crazy.

can you already tell how much I love this washroom near the hotel lounge? especially that paint on the wall and the complimenting shades and whiteness... ♥♥♥!!

guess who we saw? this has gotta be one of my favourite picture of her!

out for food!

and window-shopping! can you spot the odd one out?

san lorenzo market, just a few blocks away from our hotel street

the night was crisp and clear, unlike the cloudy foggy venice we just left

i made a point to take a picture of every christmas tree we saw during our honeymoon

i didn't take down the name of this clothing store, but i love its decor!

who knows if we were rubbing shoulders with supermodels and the fashion whos-whos in this one. the outdoor bar was a surprise!

dinner

where the waitress is a nicole richie lookalike

note: man making food from where we can see him, not flipping pizza but thats still a plus point if you read my previous post!

onion soup with cheese

hawaiian pizza?

i was reasonably pleased with the food they served here

then we were back at the hotel for after-meal drinks! First, we're checking out the rooftop bar!

It's called The Honesty Bar because they trust the patrons to help themselves to the drinks and then write down their orders for the staff. unfortunately it was not open. i suspect it's the winter. i hope it's not dishonesty.

the view from the bar.

one of the living rooms in the hotel

aptly called, the library. menu from the lounge bar

pick our own snack!

"pig trotter" - best hidden from view.

wine-tasting the next day!

honeymoon day 8, there sure is lots of water in Venice!

day 1 & 2 (Frankfurt), day 3 (Frankfurt & Switzerland), day 4 (Switzerland), day 5 (Switzerland), day 6 (Milan), day 7 (Padua & Venice).

welcome to day 8!

Day 8 started with light streaming in through the overhead window of our apartment room and light pitter-patter on the roof.

our balcony was wet the entire time. it'd had been nice to spend some time out here having a meal or some drinks. (we tried to have brekkie out the next morning, only to retreat into our warm room 5 min later)

that's pretty much all we see of St Marks' Square from the balcony...not the scene we pictured in our head from the description given when we were booking the place..

neighbours

at breakfast. this is normally where i'll make a mental note of the route we will go that day.. though i always like a little detour.

*heart*

Thus begin our grand exploration of Venice city.

we made ourselves something for our new home.

we couldn't resist any other italian hot chocolate after that one in Milan!

it wouldn't be the best, but it was perfect for that foggy, rainy morning.

hello kitty invasion

befitting for our honeymoon since it was our wedding march-out song

before my fingers drop off from that 2-3 hours walk, we sat down at a venetian cafe in st mark's square

catchy live music was playing...

ow-ow seemed to be enjoying himself..

.. but this has got to be the single most ridiculously expensive limoncello gelato i ever had in my entire life.

is it any wonder he did not look pleased?

the bird whisperer

late lunch near our apartment

we were the "dandolo".

lights were already being switched on... it was still early!

a boat ride later, and it was dark.

i call that one "smurfeccini"

i wanna bring them all home....

a convenience shop of vending machines. you can have a pizza, drinks and popcorn, all directly from the machines. and if you ran out of ciggies, tissues or any other kind of sanitary products, fear not! the machines are here!

guess what's for dinner

Well, that has got to be the worst meal we had during the entire trip. Always, always stay clear of restaurants that hide its cooking staff away from view and resort to touting. My personal observation and ought-to-be-trademarked theory: In Italy, spend your money at a restaurant where you can see an open kitchen and preferably someone flipping a pizza in front of the oven. That’s where all the good food are.

That concludes day 8, be back for more! ciao!

 

loverly valentine’s!

Something I made for bushyhead this Valentine”s using the DIY ‘Je t’aime’ mini card sets created by the lovely Amy Moss at EatDrinkChic.

What are you planning today?

never forgotten

i found these in my photo folder today. made these 2 rings for my friends last Christmas.

Have a loverly day tomorrow!

*hugs*

how i made my own hair fascinator and birdcage veil

This post is specially for Strikingreality!

I feel it’s essential to make a disclaimer first that I am no expert on making hair fascinators. This was my second time trying (i did a tiny trial before making my actual bridal one) and I’m sure the masters who makes these things for a living do it far more effective and skillful than I did.

I also didn’t take any pictures of the process because I like my crafting in my dark messy little room where I’m free to experiment and change my mind when I want to, so I need you who intend to read through the boring stuff below to have a really imaginative mind.

I wanted a birdcage veil instead of the standard veil because I feel it fits my theme better and I can never imagine myself behind one of those long veils. I got a 12 inch width English veiling (Ivory) from pocketsaurus@Etsy and am extremely happy with it. I also followed closely the tutorial by Mary Ann with slight variations to customise my own gigantic head. Previously I got a 9 inch veiling but that does not even come close to covering my forehead. I wanted one that goes just slightly below one eye and the 12 inch is doing that just great.

In her tutorial you will see that she cut the veil 30 inches in length. I made the fatal mistake of cutting the veil too short the first time round and when that’s done, there’s no salvaging it unless you want that peek-a-boo style behind your fascinator. Personally, that first one was sitting a bit awkward on my head. So I got a 2nd piece and cut it a bit longer than 30 inches, given my big head. Basically, the longer it is, the puffier it’s going to be when you scrunch the edges together. If it’s too much for you, just trim off the extra length.

Mary Ann used a comb in her tutorial which she sew on by one of the corner of the nice edge first so that if there is any necessary changes you can still easily trim the other edge off. Instead of using a comb, I sewed mine onto a clip, which I feel is easier to put on and remove since for our traditional tea ceremony, I didn’t want the veil on, choosing instead to have it later in the evening for our solemnization.

In fact, my hair fascinator and birdcage veil were made separately because I wanted the versatility to change my look. After we were done with the solemnization, I pinned my birdcage veil in a slightly different manner so that it appeared shorter than it really is and not covering my face. You can probably tell better if you’d seen my night shots that the veil was still there, but less obvious. So hey! That’s 3 different looks there without a makeup artist!

2 looks 1 accessory. Left: during the tea ceremony only the hair fascinator was used. Right: birdcage veil was pinned under the same fascinator, though now it was inverted, instead of having the sparkly bits in front, it's now toward the back of my head, leaving the long ostrich fringe trim just slightly brushing on my forehead.

gemstones were added to the nice edge of the bircage veil. I spaced them apart so that they are not overwhelming nor heavy enough to cast weird shadows on my face. Who don't like a little glitter!

To make the birdcage veil fit better, my makeup artist taught me to use bobby pins to pin the naughty parts down before clipping the hair fascinator over to hide them. It’s really easier than it sounds because I was able to do that all by myself before the ceremony with a puny mirror.

my crash course to learn how to put on my DIY birdcage veil by myself later before the wedding ceremony

To make the hair fascinator, I first cut out the felt base where I would be pasting, sewing and other unorthodox methods of attaching my feathers, pearls and gemstones on. Depending on the shape you want your fascinator, say if it’s a flower, you may want to cut a circle, if it’s a tiara-like band, you may want a rectangular-shaped base. I wanted a fan-shaped one, but instead of cutting the felt out like a fan, I cut it out in a heart shape, just because.

Once you decided the shape that you need for your base, cut 2 identical ones out from felt. You really want to have a colour of the felt one that is similar to the colour of the fascinator you would be making. However if you have dark hair like me and your fascinator is going to be a dark-coloured one, then a black felt is perfectly fine.

First, display the ornaments (feathers, flowers, beads, crystals, lace.. the sky’s the limit!) you want onto the felt base.

Once you’re happy with your arrangements, start attaching them to your felt base. Personally, I first glued the feathers down (I used my trusty white craft glue, but really, you need a hot glue gun), made some simple stitches as insurance onto the glued feathers and covered them up with the lace pattern which i also glued onto the feathers. Next I sewed on all the pearls and stuff onto of the existing layers. These add as triple insurance that things don’t start falling out. Along the way, you will realise that, hey i need more feathers here or there’s a gap that needs touching up, no need to fret. The whole project’s not ruined as long as you don’t throw your hands up and declare it. If you need some touch-ups/cover-ups, this is the stage to do so. As long as they are done on this layer of felt which will be concealed. If you seen the back of my felt base, you would had seen a messy lot of knots and a lot of threads zig-zagging across the whole felt. Once we are done with that, roll the clip/comb up with some fabric or ribbons and tighten them with stitches and glue. Sew the fabric side of the clip onto the second piece of felt so that the ugly knots and stitches are hidden. Apply a mixture of fabric hardener and glue over the back of the warzone created on the first felt base. Press the two piece of felt together, with the ugly sides facing inward toward each other. Wait to dry. The next step is optional, but I like my stuff to last longer so I’ll just do a simple stitch around the felts, just in case. ( see picture above)

And that’s really all there is to it… at least from my end! Feel free to post any questions or comments if I had neglected anything, thanks for popping by today!

love and lotsa bunny hugs for this chinese new year,

pat

our wedding day pictures – night shots

Hi lovelies! Welcome back! This will be my last post for the year 2010 and I’m ending it up with the last batch ( number 5 ) of my wedding pictures! Here are the links to previous posts if you’d missed them!

Our d.i.y. engagement shoot ( featured in The Wedding Chicks )

Our wedding was also featured in The Bride’s Cafe as well as a short interview on Hindsight Bride, do check them out!

Actual Wedding Day Links:

The preparation

The Gate Crash

The Traditional Tea Ceremony

The Soleminzation

Food was served buffet style once the solemnization was over. The band started playing Rock and Roll all night, along with some crowd-pleasing favourites.

music entertainment from Compass Entertainment, click on the musicians to visit Compass Entertainment website!

it's a pity you can't see the boutonnieres i made for the musicians here. silly me didn't take any picture of them as well!

my father-in-law + his food + music = a belly happy man

my brother with his teddy boy look

We also have tables indoor for guests who prefer the comfy air-conditioning

the indoor area was also where we had our Photo Booth to take silly pictures in

to see more of the pictures taken at our Photo booth, check out part 1 of the album by clicking on the picture!

i think they are a pretty sweet couple, don't you think?

with my batchgirls

and then we were 'encouraged' to have our first dance, unscripted, unplanned for and unavoidable

We danced to the music that our friend Tze wrote for our wedding, following my strict requirement. The same score (different version) was played for my march-in.

we are... not very good dancers

then my brillianceness suggested that we should get friends up and dance with us

thus begin the 'finger-pointing' and 'name-calling'

there are some who obviously have it in them to shake and rattle..

others just have more creative styles and flair than I expected

my father-in-law was so 'high' playing the music that he almost took over the percussions by abandoning his piano and started playing with the sticks, undoubtably leaving the original percussionist little Bryan perplexed

The band that kept our energy up! I wish i got a recording of the songs they played that night

In the midst of me running around trying to get people to the dance floor and creating bubbly atmosphere, literally, I missed much of the dancing and it ended all too soon for me. i was having so much fun!

i had to vent

while the dancing may have stopped, the guinness gang has set up a drinking post for stefan

i joined in some times

but i love my wedding because i get to mingle with different groups of friends...

... get my pictures taken with my budz...

... and get fed by Ching who made sure i have food throughout the evening

 

i also had time to sit back and listen to my new hubby's thank-you speech

and that's me making a curtsy when my name got mentioned in the speech for crafting the wedding

the rest of the evening was spent having way too much fun posing for pictures, in and out of the photo booth

and discovering who chicken little is a carbon-copy of

 

here's to the new mr and mrs see who just tied the knot on 26th Dec! you two are great together, may the 2 of you stay best friends forever and eternally bound in marital bliss!

And then we ran off into the sunset and lived happily ever after.

Though it doesn’t stop here! Photos from the Photo Booth will be next, this will be a brand new batch, see you here next year!

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

* All pictures by Jan ; additional edit by me
* Rock and Roll band by Compass Entertainment ; composition of In Time Love Comes by Tze
* Flower arrangement by Spellbound Wedding
* Venue and catering by Toucan Irish Pub
* Videography by MADhouse
* Bridal Hair and Makeup by Gin Tan, Groom's hair by Max

For additional credits, please see this post!

wedding day pictures – the traditional tea ceremony

Part 3 of our wedding day picture!

wedding day pictures – the preparation

wedding day pictures – the gatecrash

I’m gonna start where my last picture left off.

here's a decent shot of my hair from the back! Specially created by MUA Gin Tan when I told her about our 50s theme. Hairstylist Max also did a excellent job with Stefan's hair recreating he look from that era!

my house husband! nope, that's not a kilt, it's an apron!

nice picture of stefan's dad!

my mum looks like she's stealing the oranges..

showing me the message on his nails, at this point i didn't know that was the best one yet, if you have been reading previous posts and know what i mean.....

that's how men show off their manicured nails, instead of lengthening the overall effects, they chose to look short and stubby

I just couldn't resist that, i thought he was incredibly cute and dashing with that hair.. probably it was all that glitters

ma-ma approves of his grandson's appropriate hair

even my mum was fascinated

she seems very pleased with it as well!

notice tha more grown-up" version of the pinwheel corsage I made for her on her wrist ( the one with the pearls) and also the cuter ones I made for the girls shown at the corner of that previous picture before this?

the tea ceremony proper. it was a simple affair with only stefan's grandma, his dad and my mum

back in the early days of planning, we weren't even gonna have this tea ceremony in because we wanted just a simple wedding but we realised it's only proper and respectful for the people who have raised us up

... and I'm glad we have it, not because of the extra jewelery i get nor the funny tea set I get to use, but because utimately, as much as a wedding is between a couple, it is also the joining of two families and the families' bearing witness to their children starting a new one of their own

I love this moment between father, his son and God

stefan was instigating that I call his dad "luo-ye" in cantonese from then on, loosely translated as "old master of the house)"

in case you're wondering, the tea is a special 'blend' my mum brought that involves dried longans and other auspicious ingredients that chinese used to represent certain blessings for the couple

with my 2 brothers

with my new family

with my lovely girls - some of the closest people in my life and the best anybody could be blessed with

the guys

That marks the last picture I have of the first part of the morning at the hotel! Next in line, happily ever after…

Please come back again for more pictures at our solemnization ceremony!

*all pictures by Jan

For updates, 

d.i.y. crochet coasters tutorial

- Got so caught trying to do this tutorial yesterday that I forgot to mention, this is my 100th post! woohoo! -

I’m sharing a tutorial today! Though I think this is more of a behind-the-scene look at how I got it done because I’m not an expert or anything remotely close.

The thing with being in your own wedding is that, you can’t take your own pictures! So I have to “borrow” these pictures from my friends who were, thankfully, there to take down these details for me. I do remember taking pictures of these when they were being done, but I just can’t find the pictures now. Typical!

I made these coasters as wedding favors – Have a drink on us – Get it?

 

Thanks Jan for the the pictures, you may click on the picture to go to her Page on Facebook to check out more of her work!

and a Thank You to Tingyi who took this picture of how they were displayed at my reception table on my wedding day

So first of all, let’s talk about the crochet part. I referred to the pattern in Erika Knight’s book – The Harmony Guide Crochet Stitch Motif and made a few modification of my own so that I got the size that I wanted.

 

book cover

the pattern that was used - sorry about the blurred text!

Instead of 48 chains in the base ring, I made 66 chains, making the donut hole bigger. I won’t go into the details of crocheting, I’ll just let the picture do the talking. Personally, I find it easier if you just look at the stitch diagram.

After the crochet is done, I also felt it with a steam iron and some rust-proof pins. Depending on the yarn that you used, you may want to do it differently. Simply refer to the washing instructions on the yarn label.

Next I printed the design I did out on fabric. I used a normal ink-jet printer, the trick is pasting a sheet of cheap A4 sticker paper on the back of the fabric, making sure that you pressed out all the air bubbles in between, otherwise the ink will smudge and ruin a good piece of fabric. Also cut loose frays of threads by the edge so that they don’t get caught in the printer. Depending on your fabric, but a standard print resolution will do. Too good a print resolution = Too much ink = smudging.

I don’t like to waste, so I do try to maximise space on a piece of A4 size paper by squeezing in as much design as I can. I’d included a blank pdf file below for you to download in the case that you want to try this out for yourselves too. Simply customize it by filling in your own names and date!

hearttypat_coaster

Let me know if this works.

After the designs are out on the fabric, I waterproofed them because I intended these as working coasters which guests can actually use. First I sprayed them, front and back, with some waterproof spray (available at Daiso), left them overnight and waxed the designs with a layer of candle wax. I’m not a 100% confident that this can work, but this was the solution I came out with. I do remember reading somewhere that they used to sell waterproof ink for printers but that is a long time ago and none of the sales person here even knew that existed, so I think they are probably extinct by now.

The following steps are simple. This is where you get your husband-to-be to help out by cutting out the fabric circles with the design and paste them on the back of your crocheted motifs. I used a mixture of white glue and fabric glue and all you need to line is the base ring of the motif. I could had sewed them on, which was my original intention, but I had some 60 odd to complete and I was taking up too many long nights, so I went down the lazy man’s route. Moreover, the glue also helped to prevent fraying!

You will need to lay them out for the next 12- 24 hours to dry and stick properly.

the completed piece, photo by Jan

Do check out my other D.I.Y. goodies I did for my wedding!

♥ a chalkboard has 2 face

♥ a hand bouquet of rolling good fun

♥ getting crafty with my confetti

♥ all shook up for our d.i.y. engagement shoot!

♥ more d.i.y. engagement photos

♥ d.i.y. sundae ring bearer on Ruffled

♥ a turquoise and brown welcome bunting

♥ our wedding booth pictures, part 1 ( keep a look out for part 2! )

♥ our test shots at the airport

I promise there will be more to come!

bridal gloves for sale!

Happily ever after begins here... behind lots of aircon units and in a pair of GLOVES!

I guess I’m the impulsive type. I get this idea in my head and almost immediately I want to have it in my hands, or over my hands literally in this case. I had wanted to have those long over-the-elbows opera gloves together with my dress, you know, something like this…

… when even eating a take-away croissant looks glamorous? Realistically speaking, I knew I wouldn’t look like that when first of all, my flabby arms will just look like a blob of jelly with a pair of opera gloves eating away that much length off my arms. But that doesn’t stop me from getting one anyways! And so I got these.

I had gotten this pair of gorgeous gloves from Etsy. According to the seller (whom is the best, by the way), this is a pair of vintage gloves which has never been worn yet and therefore is in its original packaging. Comes with 3 pearls attached at each wrist, which I absolutely love. The colour is a luscious cream. Package says made in USA and fits all size, I must have very fat arms and fingers because I just couldn’t get them in! I decided that measuring the gloves is not a very good and accurate way of telling the size, but it’s the best way I could think of.

Diameter (laid flat)

- at the opening: 4.5 inches

- across the palm at the base of the fingers: 2.5 inches

- across the wrist: 2.75 inches

Length of finger (middle): 2.75 inches

Length of gloves: 22.5 inches measured from tip of middle finger to end. It’s an opera glove so it goes all the way past the elbows like the one Audrey Hepburn has on.

I would say this fits a size S.

Following the distress of discovering my hands are bigger than an American-sized “fits-all” sizing, I went ahead and got another from a local shop.

This one is pure white and fits beautifully, alas, when I make another visit to my seamstress, I discover the colour is way off. I actually got a swab of the fabric sample before, why the hell didn’t I compare it with the gloves before I make the purchase? Anyways, learn from my lesson and carry as much fabric samples and/or your inspiration scrapbook whenever and wherever you’re doing your bridal shopping.

This pair of gloves is just perfect for our local climate because the material is light and cooling. It’s made of a stretchy satiny material and ends just before the elbows. It is also perfect for adding additional personal details such as lace, pearls or cute little bows.

Diameter (laid flat)

- at the opening: 4 inches

- across the palm at the base of the fingers: 3.5 inches

- across the wrist: 3.5 inches

Length of finger (middle): 3 inches

Length of gloves: close to 16 inches.

Like the one above, this one has never been worn before, except when I opened it to try them on. Condition is excellent. I still feel a pang of heartache when I see these pairs of beautiful gloves just lying around without a proper owner to show them off, so I’m selling them off at a fraction of the price I got them for. Both of them are going for just US$9 each, excluding shipping. Please drop me a comment if you’re interested, stating if you’d like the cream or white one and I’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible!

Lastly, may I bring your attention back to my photo at the top of this post. Notice the hair fascinator? I’m thinking of making a simple tutorial of how I made that, along with the birdcage veil I had. Tell me what you think!

a turquoise and brown welcome bunting

You know these SoleMates that I blogged about a while ago? Everyone who wanted a rustic outdoor wedding should get one of these… my heels are totally destroyed! Thanks to the gaps between the floorboards and the many many pebbles.. my heart is still hurting. I think a lot of shoe lovers will feel the same if I post the photos of my shoes here, so I shall spare the like-minders the heartbreak.

Anybody knows who can fix up the tattered heels? Please help!

Today I just saw some of the photos my wedding photographer-cum-friend posted on FB. Breathtaking really! So I decided to use one of her pics and do a short tutorial on one of the 3 buntings I made for the wedding. This one was used on the guitar case that we used for containing the red packets and gifts from the guests and personally, this is one of my favourite because it is totally recyclable and can be used on other occasions next time.

1) Using the fabric of your choice (I suggest leftovers or clothes that you simply don’t wear anymore), cut up 7 circles or depending on the message that you want on your bunting.

2) Print out the alphabets out on sticker paper. I used the font Budmo Juggler which can be downloaded for free here. Cut these out as smaller circles and paste them onto the fabric. Remember I said you can reuse this bunting next time? Simply peel out the old message and reprint some new ones, like “hello!” or “prost!”.. etc.

3-4) Attach the fabric circles together. I sewed some beads of my wedding theme colours between the fabric circles to add just that subtle dash of colour and also to connect them together. I also sewed colourful buttons onto the leftover ribbons I had to attach the fabric circles on it. Do remember to give a little extra length to the ribbon in case you need to add a few more alphabets or tie them round something huge, like a tree trunk or something.

5) And it’s done! Doesn’t even take more than 30min to finish it. To attach the bunting on a wall, you can simply tie the ends to a post or use masking tape.