Wedding season (musim perkahwinan).......

Here comes the bride (Selamat Pengantin Baru)…….

I am taking this opportunity to wish all the brides a Selamat Pengantin Baru that have had engaged me in making their wedding dresses. I am sincerely sorry that I can’t make it to every reception (kenduri) due to prior commitment. Though I tried my best to fit in at least a wedding attendance a weekend…but I am still constantly faced with “which one to go to?” predicaments, always taking into account the fact that I do not want to hurt anybody’s feeling. Well of course you can never be at two different places at once….not unless you have some kind of super power…

The following wedding dress belongs to Pn Imah’s customer. She is one of the cottage industry ladies I knew for a very long time. I am only doing the bead works on this 2-in-1 dress, on the lace material and on the satin (the bottom part). The beads are from pearls, sequins (plastic and metal), seed beads, glass beads, acrylic beads and swavoroski beads. Using only white and silver colour palettes. 

I would regularly receive order from my fellow tailors to add beads or embroideries on behalf of their customers. This type of networking has been very fruitful for all parties and is proven to be a win win situation thus far……

Wedding season (musim perkahwinan.....)

Here come the flower girls……..

When it comes to the actual wedding day, the flower girls play a very important part in making that wedding a success. Besides the chaos of organizing the little ones to behave accordingly and performing well in their part, it never fails to attract the attention on their dresses, especially while they are walking behind the bride and groom at the aisle.. The addition of well dress precious little girls can definitely cheer the crowd, all thanks to their cute outfits that match perfectly with the wedding theme colour..how adorable!!!!!!!! I have the privileged of making a few flower girls outfits recently, and I was thrilled to bits to get my hands on them. I don’t know what to say; making girls dresses are one of my favourite things to do   (just too bad I can’t make any for my own…). Has luck have it.. I am only blessed with sons and with any luck daughter-in-laws sometime in the future… (how near?... I don’t know..).

Wedding season (musim perkahwinan).......

Season of the bride (musim perkahwinan)………..

It is customary to give gifts during the engagement which will later be used for the wedding ceremony. Among the most common gifts are the delicate expensive beaded chiffon fabric to turn into the wedding dress (pakaian pengantin), this way the future bride and groom can save money for something else like their honeymoon or other things to start their new life.

I made this peach orangey heavily chiffon fabric into an engagement dress (baju bertunang) for a Cik Ela sometime late last year. She did not come to see personally but sent her fabric and a sample through a family member to me. And that was the last time I hear about her since she is currently working in K.L until just a couple of weeks ago when I finally able to put the face to the name...

So, here’s what happened… cut the long story short. She sent her white silvery beaded chiffon fabric to a tailor in K.L and gave my work as sample to follow. Little did she know that it did not turn out to be same as mine unfortunately and nothing fits her…. The size was like two sizes too big to fit this petite lady (poor girl disappears in it), the quality of stitching is far out by miles and basically she is not pleased. So….she brought the two baju kurung moden back to me, asking if I can salvage her wedding dress to resemble her original engagement dress and makes it fits her like a glove. And that’s exactly what I did and exactly what I promise to deliver. In the end it works well for her and now she can give out her infectious broad smile during her important day. It makes all my hard works worth every bit when I can help someone to realize her wedding dream… Just another day at the office….. A happy ending from what could easily have been a disastrous chain of events…

Kek Lapis Coklat Chips (Chocolate Chips layer cake) for sale.....

Kek Lapis Coklat Chips (Chocolate Chips Layer cake)

Most urbanites would spend their Saturdays to be out and about….Not me though… I prefer to stay home when everything is so peaceful and quiet, just soaking in the ambient. I would either go to the fish landing jetty near where I live and buy the freshest fish literally from the sea early morning and may be later go to the wholesale fruits and vegetable market next door and grab some greens. When everyone else is fast asleep I have already accomplished my weekly errant by 7 am and have a leisure breakfast of wholesome fluffy sourdough pancakes with a large mug of steaming hot coffee. By 8.00 am Saturday morning I am ready to face the day with what it throws at me.. you know what they say early bird catches worms.

So guess what I did Saturday nights? Guess!!!!!! While you guys are roaming around the mall I am happily singing in the kitchen baking my next order of Chocolate Chips layer cake for Monday delivery. And I enjoy every single second, every spoon for every layer of it. Call me weirdo or crazy, I don’t mind, but that is just the things I enjoy doing instead of going to the mall or cinema. I have seen enough malls to last me this life time and I hate going to the cinema especially when people are talking while watching the movies. No thank you….

I would rather stay home when everyone is out and watch latest movies with the help of my faithful ASUS, a HDMI cable on my 42’’ flat screen t.v…. all in the comfort of my own home. Whenever possible I would play word puzzles on line while baking layer cake at the same time in the kitchen..But last night I played bejewelled for 2 hrs, only manage to score 56,500 points (I have lost touched). FYI the time now is 2.51pm Sunday local.

So, here are the pictures of Pn Fiza’s Chocolate Chips layer cake using 250gm of chocolate chips, 200 gm of pure chocolates and all the necessary ingredients to make this creamy chocolaty delicious cake. Too bad I can’t give you the cross section of the cake because I am unable to cut it; she ordered the whole 2kg you see. I will be baking another cake tomorrow though for own consumption and samples and will post more picture soon….

generous sprinkle of chocolate chips each layer

off to the fridge to cool for 24 hrs

ready to be picked up

Kek Lapis Pandan (Ever Green Layer cakes) for sale.....

Kek Lapis Pandan (Ever Green Layer cake)

Teacher’s Day has just been celebrated…so I like to take this opportunity to wish all teachers, present and past a Happy Teacher’s Day. May you be dedicated, caring, motivated and continue to strive for the best. I remember back when I was growing up in primary school, Teacher’s Day will go by just like any other day (plain meaningless except for a chance to do NOTHING at school). And as I went on to primary school, Teacher’s Day was deemed BORING……I was simply looking forward on skipping school if opportunity arises. You see….I was a rather anti-establishment type of person back then, but now I am totally a different person. All hail teachers!!!!!!!!!!!!... I do feel bad for past teachers who did not get to enjoy the same perks as their present comraderies do.

Today, Teacher’s Day is marked by all sorts of events, broadcast live on t.v. with speeches by DPM while every school will hold a special celebration and a lot of gifts exchange hands as a form of appreciation.  For the have-nots, a simple token…..for others with money is no object…well I leave it to your imaginations.

I, on the other hand (the in between group of parents) prefer the personnel approach. I rather give something that is made by me or have my personnel touch in it. So this year and the year before I gave Sarawak Layer cakes (last year it was Plain layer cake and this year Ever Green layer cake). So today I am posting the pictures of that Pandan layer cake (Ever Green layer cake) that I made for my son’s teachers. I hope they enjoy eating them as much as I enjoy baking them…..

Another Simply Crumblelitious.............

Simply Crumblelitious…..

My energy level has been receding even after a well rested weekend lately but I manage to pull everything together and finish what I started weeks earlier. This piece belongs to yours truly for a solemnization kenduri in Rengit, Johor just days away. The theme is earthy colour but seeing that I represent the East Coast, so I decided on sandy palette version of the West Coast earthy colour. I guess it really is open to interpretation as how you see certain colour and may I add that environment really affect us (beaches against bricks)…..get it?

Well……for some reason I decided to put beads only on the sleeve and nowhere else even with the plain Japanese cotton fabric because I am going for a less is more approach this time…NOT!!!!!!!!….. Actually I am just too tired from making sulaman ayak (embroideries) on another piece destine for the reception function in Putra Jaya that I have no more reserve energy to do an elaborate bead works anymore… Truth be told, I think it looks just perfect the way it is..See for yourself.

By the way, see the head scarf (tudung) to go with it…well I want to thank my LLB sis Cik Qon for lending a helping hand… She has excellent taste and ever so ready to assist….

Beaded embroideries (sulaman ayak bermanik)......

Sulaman ayak bermanik (beaded embroideries)…..

Midterm school holiday is here again and this means that a long list of wedding invitations to attend. I usually group them into close relative, distant relative, close friend, client friend and common friend. This way I can prioritise the invites in order to make attempt on attending one wedding a weekend at least. This is also the peak season for embroideries orders (sulaman ayak bermanik) for those involved in the wedding ceremonies. The following are a few example of sulaman ayak bermanik done to meet such demands.

front..kebaya

front..... kebaya

bottom.....kurung moden

top.....kurung

Fluffy steamy Chelsea Buns.......

Cinnamon rolls switch up……

I was unable to update my blog this couple of days due to ‘blogger is currently unavailable’, whatever they mean by it.. Some kind of interruption in service, I don’t understand it at all, so finally it’s back on. Immediately, I am back to work…..

I am making cinnamon rolls for tea today (technically 2 days ago). This time I added raisins as filling instead of just sugar and cinnamon powder. The rest of the process remains the same except a switch up in the filling. It was so fluffy and disappears the moment I take them out of the oven. I serve them with hot lavender tea given to me by sister from her last visit to Cameron Highland. I wish you could smell them. So heavenly good…. Some people called them as Chelsea Buns, check out my cinnamon roll recipe posted earlier if you want to try it out…

the recipe makes 16-17 pinwheel buns

cover with plastic to double in size

after 30 minutes rest

bake for 12-15 minutes

sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving 

Amazing Indian beads galore.........

Indian beads and sequins… 

The following piece of baju kurung is fully adorned using the beads from India; glass beads, gemstones, seed beads, metal bead, resin beads and Indian sequins (all in golden shades). These beads are known to so popular, very inexpensive, durable, light weight and incredibly attractive.

you could have it as liitle as....

or as much as...

or which ever way....

Indian beads go back thousands of years and among the best known to historian are bangles (rings worn on the wrist). Married Indian women usually wear red glass bangles adorned with colorful beads, considered to be scared, valuable and a status symbol within the Indian cultures. Nowadays, Indian beads have traveled far and wide, may it be as jewelery, on clothing, on accessories or as collectible items.

Bling-Bling moderation for Pn Sharifah Fiza........

A modest bling-bling effect…

I wish to thank Pn Sharifah Fiza and her entire family for their undiminished patron of my beads works and embroideries all these while. She loves the minimal beads addition to her kurung modens and adores the embroideries (sulaman ayak biku2) to complete the look. I have recently received 6 more orders from her and I hope I can deliver within the next two weeks. She is also ordering a Chocolate Chips layer cake (Kek Lapis Chocolate chips) to mark the upcoming brother-in-law’s engagement in early June. I should be able to post the pictures when the time comes. For now, I am showing some of her earlier orders…