Summer of Colors 3 - Week 5

Dear friends,
How time flies!. Only one more week to play at Summer Of Colors. Much love to Kristin, who had presented us with most colorful games for these past weeks!. I shall miss this.

This week, it's all candy apple red & yellow colors for us. The weather has improved so much and I was out wandering again :). We always have great weather early in the year, especially. I went through my photo collection from around Chinese New Year last year and noticed so many red & yellow I saw that day!. Such as these;

So lucky to have the train passed.

The KL Tower, framed by red and yellow hotels.

Flower garlands at an Indian flower seller.

Looking up at the clouds over OCBC Bank.

A place for a happy tummy.

I can't help it, but feel grateful for the beautiful sun shiny weather we have here in Kuala Lumpur. [I hope the haze won't return so soon!]. This week's booklet is all about the gorgeous sunshine, naturally. Such blessing!.

This book measures 2" X 2.5"

The back.

I love the red & white contrast :).

I found a large coconut-shell button from Chinatown recently. I thought the painted flowers are cute for my little book.

 I used the same method as last week to make the pages. You may read how I did that from here.

A simple lace, helps hold the pages together.

 The pages were from salvaged red pants, cotton laces and linen.

It does feel like, Yuletide :).

Stitching on fabric again.

I'm a fan of helm ribbons from Momoyo.

 I love stitching & beading the fiery ball, our Sun (or Helios). 

Running stitches.

A little ethnic; metal beads from my old earrings.

Back-stitches and more celestial beads.

I painted the sun rays with watercolor on linen. 

Then added tiny beads around the halo.

Creating these layers are the best part :).

That is all :). A tribute to the warmth & nourishing light from the beloved Sun. What do you feel grateful for today?. 

How do you celebrate July?. You can share your thoughts and what July means to you here at Our Wonderful World :).

P/S: My browser acted weird this past week, there were error messages when I tried visiting some of you. There were days when I was even denied visiting my own blog!. LOL. Has that happened to you?. I hope it'll be better this week. See ya soon!. HUGS.

hello July

Sweet friends,
Ramadan Al-Mubarak is starting soon, possibly on the 10th of July. It's the ninth month on the Muslim calendar and we will be fasting from dawn until sunset for the whole month. All Malaysians love to buy food at the bazaars for the breaking fast and will be spoiled for choice!. 

The fasting month ends with Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivities across the country. There will be a lot of 'open houses' gatherings. Simply means, inviting your friends and neighbors into your homes and enjoy good food and good company :).  

A few of my favorite things when Ramadan greets;

I love sending out cards, the old way :). 

It is a time for togetherness, growth and love!.

At the neighborhood mosques, communities gather to perform 'Terawih' prayers every night after breaking fast. And then, there will be more foods shared with all. I remembered as a child, I followed my grandma to the mosque only for the after prayer food. Like I haven't enough already!! :). It was the crowd energy that intrigued me, then.

I'll be buying ketupat from the daily bazaar for snacking at night.

Ketupat is a type of packed, boiled rice or dumpling, wrapped in woven coconut/palm leaves and eaten with spicy peanut sauce or beef rendang. It's a favorite during Hari Raya open houses but you can easily get them at Ramadan bazaars too. Yum!. You can read more about it here and here.

Sometimes, we eat ketupat with satay.

And then, there are endless cookies, home-made or bought.

Ketupat lanterns!.

We hang lanterns in various shapes and sizes (and fairy lights) in our homes, gardens, on the trees and on the streets. In the village, we kids used to light up oil lamps on bamboo staffs across the lawn. And sparklers in our hands. Fun times!.

This week's July prompt, brings back sweet memories and I am looking forward to all these and more!. 

What July means to you?. Do share your photos and stories at Our Beautiful World :). Until then, have a great week!. HUGS.

Summer of Color - Week 4

Hello friends,
Thank you for all the love shared here last week!. Finally, the rain came, we had clear blue sky and no haze for the last few days :). Strangely enough though, I started to cough and may lose my voice soon!. [I didn't go out much last week because of the haze].

It got so dark by 3 p.m today, I have to share this.

15 minutes later, thunder and all. Thank you, heavens!.

It is easy to guess what I'm thankful for this week. Yes, THE RAIN!. My gratitude book will be a celebration of rain clouds & the cooling raindrops :).

Winning colors @ Summer of Color this week are charcoal grey & light pink. I think they are perfect for my gloomy tribute. Here's what I made;

My tiny book measures 2" X 3".

The back.

Embellished the covers with black lace, pink ribbon & velvet bow.

I cut out dark grey denim into a few small rectangles, folded and stacked them like tacos, then sewn individual pages at the spine, with tiny beads.

Gathers on the spine.

I'd stuffed trimmings, lace, gauze, pearl beads in between the denim pages for dimension. So much fun!.

Love looking at these lasagna.

I stitched on the denim with light pink floss, "So thankful for the falling rain".

I sewn these words on every page before stuffing with trimmings and clamped them closed. That way, the messy threads underneath will be hidden.

Back-stitched words.

I used black beads for the rain droplets. They got so dirty from the soot, LOL.

It's handy to use scallop-edged silk ribbon as rain clouds. 

Painted the rain cloud with watercolor, on linen. I'll say, every dark cloud has gorgeous beads!.

Lastly, I had to add a fancy umbrella. 

I don't mind wonky handle at all :).

I hope you enjoyed my rain book tutorial! And dear rain, do come again :). Have a great week, everyone!. I'll visit you soon. Hugs.

waking up

Dear friends,
Today, Our Beautiful World goes online for the very first time!. Exciting :). Congratulations, Kirsty!.

This week, we're sharing photos that depict the meaning of 'waking up'.

For me, two words popped up; gratitude & prayer.

These multi-facets glass are my prayer beads. 

I used them at dawn (fajr), just before sunrise. [yup, before coffee or tea]. It is always so beautiful to start the day, feeling gratitude and welcoming higher help to manifest perfection in everything I think, say or do. It helps to get on with my day, come what may :). 

And then, coffee!. And feeding the cats. When the sun is up, I would peek out the window and just breathe ... it's going to be a great day when I can see clear blue sky and hear the birds sing.

I love to peek into your 'waking up' moments, do share with us @ Our Beautiful World!. Hugs.