Been Moved

Above : the collage I made for Raining Umbrellas course for theme "Growth"
I've been moved, to another branch of my office. Thanks God, it is still in Jakarta. And it is closer to my home. I've been moved to five places in five years. Employees turnover in my institution is that real fast

People do say "Congratulation ! You've been promoted !"
What ??? I'm not promoted. I just moved to another office with a higher difficulty level. I'm still in the same position. I don't want that higher difficulty level. What I want exactly is what I have now. An office with not-so-high a.k.a. mediocre difficulty level

I couldn't accept my move at first I had about it. I should be more grateful !
But I really like my old office. The people, the place,even my table. I really like them all.

Good bye my friends. I still visit you till the end of June, but I must admit that I really hate to leave

Pheuww, a not-so great change, is still a change anyway. I'm just afraid that I won't have time to sew and blog anymore. So tell me, how do you face an unexpected change in your life ?

Featuring : Cotonnier

I've really wanted to share about Cotonnier since few weeks ago, but I had to wait until the giveaway is published. Cotonnier is the home for the cutest nursery decors, such as pillows and baby quilts, mini sofas, dolls, nautical theme decorations, and furnitures. You can also visit their brick and mortar stores (or their real stores) in two big shopping malls in Jakarta.

Don't forget to enter my first blogiversary giveaway if you want to win one of their pillows
Here you go, enjoy these eye candies ^^


Image : Mathrioshka Dolls pillow | Baby Quilt Wheel On The Go | Peacock Heart Decor Pillow


Image : Nautical Decor | Decor Pillows | Vintage Sheep | Mini Sofa | Fabric Alphabets



Image : Toddler Bed |Seine Desk | Oval Bread Basket | Large Crib


Image :Linen Owl Dress | Blue Dot Vintage Sheep | Diaper Stacker | Mirror

Image courtsey of Cotonnier

Innocentia First Blogiversary Giveaway - CLOSED

I will make this short and sweet. This is the giveaway I'd promised you in my previous post. Fortunately I have some fabulous friends who like to help sponsoring this event. So, what's the prize ?

First Winner will win :
1. One "I love mommy" pillow from Cotonnier
2. One pattern of your choice from Little Lizard King Sewing Pattern
3. One handmade notebook from Design by Vitarlenology
4. One passport cover/wallet from Paperpleased


Second Winner will win :
1. One "I love daddy" pillow from Cotonnier
2. One pattern of your choice from Little Lizard King Sewing Pattern
3. One handmade notebook from Design by Vitarlenology
4. One cardholder from Paperpleased


Third Winner will win :
1. One "Toy Cabinet Horse" pillow from Cotonnier
2. One handmade notebook from Design by Vitarlenology
3. One cardholder from Paperpleased

How to win them ?
Leave a comment below stating that you want to be counted in this giveaway and your favorite Little Lizard King sewing pattern - just go to their Etsy shop and choose one pattern you want to pick

Extra entries (one comment for each entry, please)
- Be my blog follower via GFC
- Be my facebook page follower
- Be my twitter follower
- Blog or tweet about this giveaway (if you do that, please give me your link or twitter username)I would be so glad if you want to spread some words about this giveaway

This giveaway is open internationally, until June 5, 2011 12 p.m. (Jakarta time). I will announce the winners at June 6, 2011 - THIS GIVEAWAY IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED

Good luck everyone ^^

Happy Birthday, My Blog

Happy Birthday, my blog
Yes, you are now one years old
I know I often neglect you and leave you without some notes
or just fill you with unimportant things
I just can't believe that I can move this far,
regarding to my habit of being easily bored and distracted
I owned another blog- the oldest one and another blog
But I ended up neglecting them
And I'm proud that you got some followers,
although some may leave and go, but some may come
so don't worry, I'm sure you will have some friends to go along

Thank you so much for keeping up with me
and making my days up and down for this great one year

I know this is too late, but I really want to post some pictures of gifts I receive from my friends (because I won their giveaways ^_^)

This pretty fabrics are from Elsa and Dija, thank you XD



This beautiful paper lanterns are from Khadija a.k.a zhesuregi from Creative Mind. She celebrated her first blogiversary last April




For those who gave and passed me blog awards, I'm so sorry that I haven't pass any blog awards. I will try to catch up all of them and re-post them.

Note : don't miss my blogiversary giveaway next monday. I got some sponsors from my generous friends (they are my monthly spotlights)

Splurges and Freebies - May

SPLURGES :
1. Anatomy of Buzz Revisited by Emanuel Rosen
2. Dream Job E-Course by Elsie and Emma from Red Velvet
3. Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd by Youngme Moon
4. Florabella Collection - photoshop actions & textures
5. Simply Hue Designs - for prints and photos you won't forget
6. Paint the moon photography - photoshop actions & textures
7. Oliver + S Little Things to Sew by Liesl Gibson
8. Ottobre Designs Magazine - love that Summer 2011 edition !
9. Garment Designer - pattern drafting software

FREEBIES :
1. 23 Things You Might Not Know About You from Lisa Baldwin @ Zen At Play
2. Celebrating Mom - a free e-book of projects for our moms, by Disney from Ruffles and Stuff
3. The Best of Crafting an MBA -- You must sign up for this, but it's really worth for a free 100 pages e-book !
4. Create Your First Website - a free e-book to create your first website
5. Free photoshop actions and textures from Isabelle Lafrance Photography
6. 50+ Free Must Have Photoshop Brushes collected by Royaltutorial.comPhotoshop Brushes, Actions, Image Stocks, etc :
7. Free Hi-Res Wooden Scrabble Letter Tiles
8. Free Old Sticky Tape Textures
9. Free Hi-Res Wooden Clothespin Images

Other precious free resource from Fuzzimo.com
Free Hi-Res Blank Polaroid Frames
Free Hi-Res Canvas Textures + Seamless

And hush... don't tell anybody, but you can download free demo of Garment Designer here

Act and Change : Carina Gardner

Let me introduce to my newest favorite designer, Carina Gardner. Carina has a Ph.D. in Design from the University of Minnesota. She has taught Graphic Design Foundations, Typography, Design Theory, and Packaging Design at the University of Minnesota. She left academics in 2008 to design full time and stay at home with her children.

Carina currently designs fabric (Coquette and Lovenest for Northcott), scrapbooking paper, and digital scrapbooking products. Her first line of sewing patterns debutes Spring 2011. She also teaches online Illustrator classes at Jessica Sprague.com. You can find her in her website : http://www.carinagardner.com/

Here are my interviews with Carina ...

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, a mom, a wife, a Ph.D. in Design, teaching, paper designer, fabric designer, digital scrapbook designer, and now children clothing pattern designer. How do you maintain your time ?

I am usually pretty good at focusing in on what I am doing in the moment. If I'm playing with children, then that's where I am. If I am working on a paper pad, my eyes are glued to my computer screen. If I'm sewing, then Felicity is in my lap helping me. I don't know that I necessarily manage my time well...mostly I'm just putting out the fires that need to be put out the most. I think that is what all mothers are doing. I'm lucky in that my kids are super supportive of my work and spend a lot of time with me in my studio (usually begging for me to sew them baby doll dresses). Being in the crafting industry as a professional and a mom certainly has it's benefits!

2. I always like to ask how, when and where did you start sewing?

I think I was 8. I remember my mom letting me make my own Barbie clothing. I was obsessed with making really big puffy skirts with her scrap fabric. She showed me how to sew a loose stitch and to gather. Heavens knows how many times I broke her machine. My mom always had all sorts of craft projects going on. She hand quilts and she made some of my clothing. Being the oldest of six kids, I was usually along for the ride.

3. Please describe your design philosophy in a sentence or two

Design is about creating something beautiful, lovely, and functional. Design is a happy process that (amazingly enough) also creates happiness.

4. Where do you find your inspirations ?
My two little girls are probably the biggest source of inspiration. I love thinking about the fabric and clothing they could wear. I also draw inspiration from home magazines. I have a growing collection that keeps me up-to-date on color schemes and ideas.

5. Did you have a favorite outfit as a child? Are any of your patterns influenced by your own childhood clothing?

Oh my gosh, I WISH I had clothing like the ones I make now! Most of my childhood was spent in secondhand clothing (believe me it was not VINTAGE:)) and I find it a complete luxury to dress my children as I do. I think that I perhaps make clothing that I would have wanted as a child, but mostly I make clothing that I like my own children to wear.

6. What are the differences between being a paper designer, fabric designer and pattern designer ? How did the challenges differ ?

With fabric, the illustrations are very clean. I spend a lot of time figuring out the details and deciding how I am going to make the illustrations repeat. With paper, I spend more time in building texture. Developing that deep grungy texture is not something they teach you in graphic design school. Being a pattern designer is fun because I get to spend so much time on my sewing machine! It's such a joy to be able to cut, rip, and sew until a garment fits just right. Each job has it's perks, but in really different ways.

And how are they challenging? For me, the third colorway of a fabric line always gives me issues. Getting it to work perfectly with the other two sometimes makes me a little crazy. I tell myself to walk away from the computer and come back. Paper is definitely the lest challenging medium for me only because I have been doing it the longest. I feel really comfortable and like to sit in front of the tv and go to it! Creating sewing patterns is by far the most challenging thing I have done so far. Working in the "3-D" has been an interesting change from fabric and paper. Oh ya, and children models...not the easiest to photograph!!!

7. From your blog, I read stories about your photoshots for the patterns. From your point of view, how important is “image” to a business like yours?

I think when it comes to the patterns, "image" is everything. I work just as hard on the packaging of the sewing patterns as I did on the pattern itself. We had to hold two of the photoshoots twice because we didn't get them right the first time. I think as a sewer, I like to buy a pattern that shows me exactly what I am going to make, but also gives me a warm feeling about what I am about to sew. I like buying a beautiful package and dreaming up the possibilities that the pattern may bring me. I think it is so rewarding to see your child wear something that you have made...and how happy and proud they are to wear it.

8. What things do you like to make other than clothes for your daughter? Do you still sew for yourself ?

I promised Siri I would make her a quilt. Felicity got the flag quilt (a free download on my blog), but I've been putting off making Siri's. I've made all the curtains in my house, and I have spent a lot of time slipcovering over the years.

9. What is your best advice for others who are contemplating changing their dreams into their bliss?

To go after it! That's doesn't mean quitting your day job...but it means finding the things that make you happy and going after those things. Oh, and dream big. If someone had told me I was going to finish a Ph.D. when I was 21, I would have laughed at them (I finished my doctorate when I was 27). Things change so quickly. You might as well dream big, because it would be much worse if you didn't try at all!

Wow ! Thank you so much Carina for sharing your experience, feelings and wisdoms. Don't forget that her new line of children sewing patterns has been launched last April. You can check them here. I can droll at their images for hours LOL

Image credits : Carina Gardner (www.carinagardner.com)

KCWC Day 5 (6, and 7)

Finally sew something for my boy ! I got this linen blouse's pattern from Ottobre Summmer 2006 that has been in my magazine collections for years. Note : Zakiyya's dress is the Manhattan dress you can see here

Love those details of pockets, pockets flaps and sleeves tabs !

Bye bye KCWC ! I didn't make to pass this Spring 2011 challenge, but I will do my best the next KCWC !

Note : This post has been linked up to some of these link parties

KCWC day 3 & 4

I'll make this quick. I didn't pass the Day 2 of KCWC because of serious stomach ache a.k.a gastroenteritis. And the illness kept for the whole week :(
I just made three other project for KCWC. Two are a bow top and toddler pants above. And the last is in my next post. Enjoy !

This post has been linked up to some of these link parties

kcwc Spring 2011- Day 1

Update : I have set up a sew along for this dress. Here is the First Part of the sew-along

I made this cute reversible raglan sleeve dress for a 6 months old baby and kcwc ! Yes, kcwc has finally arrived ! It is Kids Clothes Week Challenge, hosted by Elsie Marley (of course, many of you have known about that ^^).

Above is the original version 's front and back. While below is the reverse side's version. I made it based my original sketches. Its pattern is also self-drafting. I have a plan to share the pattern, but not this week. I will be very busy making 7 clothes for my kids

Which one do you like most ? The original or the reverse version ?

If you want to participate, just put a badge below in your kcwc post. Don't forget to add your kcwc items into Elsie Marley's Flickr Pool


Note : This post has been linked up to some of these fabulous linky parties

Act and Change : Marianne Elliot

I want to change. And to change we must act. In my journey for changing, I stumbled upon Marianne Elliot's blog. And I'm hooked. Marianne is not just about changing. She declares herself as a "change-maker". She proposes that everyone needs support and confidence to do her/his unique work in the world. Hmm.. totally agree. We all need that support, don't we ?

And, in my mission to be more useful for my society, I really want to write & publish a book. Yes, a book (don't tell me that I'm kidding). I don't know how, so I asked. I asked and asked so much to many competent writers, and Marianne is the first among them who answered my call. Here is her answer about "Choosing between traditional publishing and self-publishing :"

This depends a lot on why you want to publish your writing and what you hope to get out of it. If like me you have a story which you believe is important enough to want it to reach the widest possible audience then you'll make your choices depending on which route is likely to get you the best access to your audience.

If you are a professional writer, and need to make a living from your writing, then you'll be paying careful attention to the financial advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Traditional publishing is unlikely to make you very much money unless you've written a surefire bestseller which a large publishing house is going to want to snap up with a big advance (unlikely in my case and statistically unlikely for most of us). Self-publishing, done right, offers the chance for the author to enjoy more of the profits of her own work. But it also requires her to be a publisher, distributor, publicist and accountant for her own book as well as author.

If your main goal is to complete a personally meaningful creative project, then your criteria may be different again.

Whatever your motivations, the overall changes in the publishing sector which apply to both traditional and self-publishing are probably more significant than the difference between them.

Whether you choose traditional or self-publishing, if you want your book to reach its audience you are going to have to take responsibility for creating and then connecting with that audience. Traditional publishing may offer you certain help along that path - if you sign with a major publishing house they may provide you with a publicist for example - but you are still going to be the most passionate and qualified advocate and salesperson for your book.

Being the author of a published book - whether you follow the traditional or self-publishing route - involves a lot more than writing these days. My best advice is to embrace all aspects of this path. Rather than feeling intimidated by the idea that you have to establish a 'platform', why not enjoy the process of building an online community of people who are excited about what you are writing?

Publishing, whichever route you choose, is about claiming your story: stepping up to the world and saying "What I have to say is worth reading". It's a scary process, and you are going to need lots of support and encouragement along the way so start building your community of support now, find the people who are hungry for the stories you have to share!

And here is her answer on my favorite "three reasons" quest :

Three reasons to start writing

1. Because you love writing. Right? And you love reading, right? We write because we love it. And because even when we hate it, we still love it.

2. Because getting started is good enough. Sometimes even those of us who love writing get stuck. Most of my experience of 'writer's block' can be boiled down to one thing, my inner critic. My inner critic is very quick to tell me that my writing isn't good enough, and will never be good enough. So this is my response: just getting started is good enough.

3. Because there will never be a better time. It's very, very easy to keep putting off our writing while we wait for our children to grow up, our jobs to get better, our homes to get tidied. The perfect time to write never arrives. Start now. Start small. Just start.

Those are amazing statements, Marianne. I will print it and put it on my cubicle, so I can read it day by day.

If you want to know more about Marianne, read her About Me page, and her insights about writing. You must also read this interview by Alexis Grant

Marianne's precious articles on writing :
- How she got her agent
- How to write without writing
- Her agent’s tips for finding an agent
- Why Twitter is a writer’s tearoom
- The Yoga of Writing

To recite what Marianne say "Just start"

Images credit : Marianne Elliot

Finding My Creative Niche

source : Sewing Things by Simply Hue

I'm with Vicki Dvorak this month to dig my creative inner side. Go ahead her blog Simply Hue, to find out more about her. She wrote a great article in Raining Umbrella about "Finding Your Creative Niche". And as a part of her course, I want to write that up in my own version

KNOW YOURSELF

If I should write a short paragraph about myself, I would write :

"I'm a 7.30 to 5 working woman with two toddlers, who always strive to dig creative inner side. People may misunderstand me as cool and steady, but in opposite I'm adventurous and love

to try new things. I'm easily distracted, eaily un-focusand, and in the need of more time. Maybe 36 hours a day is a great idea."

WHAT CREATIVE ACTIVITIES DID YOU ENJOY AS A CHILD?

As a child, I had many interests. My mom still keeps a picture showing me and my sister made some doodle sketches when I was (maybe) 4 years old. So I guess my first interest as a toddler was

drawing. When I was in kindergarten, I used to spend my afterschool time with my late grandmother, who taught me to color the flour dough with varies food colors. She was a great chef and had bazillion things to try ! I still remember the smell of her freshly-baked bread out from her oven. So nostalgic. And lucky me, she was also a great dress maker ! From her giant fabric remnants, I sew clothes for my doll and patchwork bags for myself. That when I was 6 years old.

WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES?

I have a good sense in colors (some people told me, ha ha). I have so many ideas in my head (just have to find time to do them)

I'm weak at debating and being vocal. And I'm not that good on time management. I'm easily distracted, so instead of writing a new blog post, I just wandering around new blogs, twitter, facebook, anthropologie, etc. I also don't have enough patience to knit even a small sweater for baby. I'm the kind of people who get stuck in a project that 95% finish. Maybe it takes only 5% more to finish it, but I get stuck about it, I usually won't continue the project. Bad habit !

WHAT ARE YOUR INTERESTS?

I actually have a lot of interest in fine art, but I assume that I don't have enough time. So I change my main interest into sewing, especially in sewing children's clothes and small (and easy) bags. I'm self taught in sewing. I draw a lot of information from books and internet. I really want to enter a sewing school that teach professional sewing skills. That probably will help me a lot.

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU?

(Maybe) They think I'm shy and calm,but in opposite great in art and sewing. (don't you ?)

I love what Vicki wrote about this subject "Although we shouldn't gage our pursuits and interests on other people's opinions of us, calling to mind the positive things that friends and family have said about us over the years can be a good indicator of our gifts and talents. Even the less positive things they've said about us can offer us valuable insight.To summarize, when you look at your background (the activities you enjoyed), your current interests, strengths and weaknesses, and the things that loved ones say about you, you'll have a pretty good idea about the creative activities you should pursue."

Thank you so much Vicki for your precious insight. I guess everybody can answer above questions on their own, so we can all have a pretty good idea about our creative niche

Can you guess what it is ?

Sorry for being M.I.A lately

My old wireless internet modem was broken, and I couldn't find a time to buy a new one but this afternoon. I made a draft for this post early last Monday, and couldn't publish it 'till today, sigh.. But I'm glad I can write and share without worrying about my internet connection anymore.

Images below are from my last long weekend (did at the same week as my INACRAFT post), taken in Waterboom Cikarang, a great place to hide and relax, with huge amount of Balinese atmospheres. We did some swims, glides and floats, gee...

Children pool area :


Zakiyya, before and after :



Brother and sister played together :



From above :

We finished at 3 p.m. and arrived at home at 4 p.m. It was a fun but sleepy way back home, so I still couldn't believe why my children had so much energy to play again and again in the evening :D

I and my children took our own drawing book, and started to make a lot of "scratches". Haven't I tell you that we all (except my husband) love to draw ?

Rafif made this drawing inspired by a thing he saw on the children's pool. You can see it in the first photo. Can you guess what it is ?

I hope I can share more with you this week. April has gone, and finally I can have some free time, yippeee !!