Ammi & Abi Winners Announcement

The winners are :

Congratulation, Piena. You win the clutch !!

And I must say congratulation too for Happy, 'cause she wins the slingbag

I'll send each of you a confirmation letter

And for all, thanks for participating ^_^
There's another giveaway in November if you still want to try your luck

I still receive giveaway sponsors for March 2012 onwards. If you want to be my giveaway sponsor, book your seat now

Girl Dresses Inspirations

{No camera = no finished projects' photos, booo.... I want my camera back}
Enjoy these eye candies while I wait for my camera ^_^

Photo sources from corner left - clockwise
1. Village frock 2. 相信溫柔以待 3. Untitled - children clothes on the wire 4. Untitled - grey+brown outfit 5. dresses ! 6. Easter Dress 7. Cherry blossoms galore 8. Party dresses

The not-so-secret-confessions of a sewing mommy

(I miss my camera. She is being hacked by my husband. Well, at least she travels into many beautiful places. I will envy her when she gets home and shows me many beautiful photos. No camera is also my reason behind this post. A "no-showing-off" post, gee.. Those photos of my sewing machine were taken at April or May this year)

I got some emails which asked me about "how can a (never-sew-before) busy mommy sew ?". Busy here means "busy". That word speaks for itself. A working mommy is busy. A stay-at-home mommy without helper/assistant is soo busy. And a stay-home-mommy with an assistant (or some assistans) is still busy either. Those are the facts

I want to share how I started all of these sewing experiences (which includes a high dose of showing-offs and bragging :D ) I started this journey from a simple motivational question : "can I do that?".
But still, it is really hard to :

1. Stick to my real goal
Mothers sew for themself and for their kids ? Yes, I have seen them everywhere,especially in this blogland. It becomes a trend now. I used to sew for my self, for expressing the ideas that could explode my brain if I didn't actualize them into real things. I don't hate trends, but I don't want to be a total follower of it.

My sewing motivation is "to express my idea and fulfill the needs of my children's clothes with my own hands (as long as I can)"
*showing-off in a blog is a causal effect LOL

2. Dedicate a special time for it
I used to sew in a crazy hours, as you can read in this blog post. Don't go that way! I don't do that every day either. Find your own special time, maybe an hour after the kids has gone to bed, or in reverse, an hour before the kids wake up, maybe ? how about you ?

3. Set Priorities
Again, an excerpt from this post is always setting up a priority list. Will you sew when your kids are sick?
I hope not. I try to stick to the schedule I've made and try to stop when it's time to stop. Some might say there's always be a next time to continue your project. (Note : Trust me, this is a real hard discipline)

4. Realize that there is always a limit
Not every thing can be DIY-ed. Some things still need to be bought from stores. I can not sew my underwears, so I buy them in lingerie stores. I can't manage to sew my children's underwears so buy them in stores, too.



5. Make what is needed
Do you see those cute dresses, tops and skirt in sewing books and magazines ? Can you resist to not making them? I can't. And the result is too much dresses for my girl, and too much shirts for my boy. On the other side, they only have a few basics. They need more basics to be added to their wardrobe. Now I try to sew things that they need No more fun? I still can sew some pretty things sometimes

How about you ? Can you share us how to be a better mommy and a better seamstress at a same time ?

KCWC Day 1-3

I really want to dedicate a whole hour sewing for kcwc, but I couldn't. My kids are having flus and coughs. When they are sick, they can't sleep well all night long and they tend to wake up every 30 minutes just to check if I am still by their side

Jakarta's weather is pretty confusing lately. I assume that we will face the rainy season at the end of this October. Some huge rains had fallen since the end of September, leaving our body weak, and spreading flus, coughs and fevers everywhere.
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My kids only have a few of warm pajamas for this crazy weather. So I planned to sew them a pajama set each and cozy lounge dress & top in this season's kcwc

This pajama top for my boy hasn't finished yet. It was sewn using "Making Paper Hat" fabric from Sarah Jane that I blogged few weeks ago. I hope I can finish the top & the bottom tonight

Ammi & Abi Giveaway (ends Oct 19, 2011) - CLOSED

source

This October, fill yourlife with colorful colors from "Ammi&Abi", a brain-child of the talented Ms. Sari or "Ammi" and Ari Sulistiyo or "Abi". Ms. Sari generously offers Innocentia two of her beautiful handmade bags. You will see them at the end of this post, so stay calm, and please don't get rush to read the end.

I love Ammi&Abi's strong goal, that is "to make people happy, and to empower people surrounds them, especially housewifes by providing sidejobs". Handmade movement is not just about expressing ourself, but also helping each other. What a superb movement !

These are what Ms. Sari explains about her "Ammi&Abi" :

Starting from a hobby and hands that can not stop to create, here comes "Ammi & Abi", a homemade craft industry which features hand-stitched patchwork embroidery

Why "Ammi & Abi"?
"Ammi and Abi" means "mom & dad". A philosophy of "father & mother" who always give love to all family members is what we hold to produce handmade works with such a loving father & mother's love. Embodying the philosophy, Ammi & Abi products are also for entire family members, from cute t-shirts for the baby, cute bags for the sister, and home decors for mother

Why patchworks ?
Because patchwork comes from fabric remnants, which are wastes. And turning wastes into something beautiful gives us happiness. With attractive designs, colorful colors, and delicate hand-stitching, fabric remnants can bring happiness in our homes

You can find a great array of product range at Ammi & Abi, from pillows, personalized pillow covers, t-shirts, diaper bags, purses for little girls and adults, laptop bags, even phone cases. And they all come in a bright & colorful design

Just check at this birdie pouches & animal purses :



Ultra cute !!!

As what I said in first paragraph, Ammi & Abi will give these pretty clutch and slingbag for two lucky Innocentia's readers





How to win it ?

Mandatory entry :
Just put a comment telling me "What makes you happy ?"
Don't forget to include your email address

Additional entries (optional) :
- Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect ==> +1 point
- Follow Ammi & Abi's Blog ==> +1 point
- Make friend with Ms Sari on Facebook Sari Sulistyo ==> +1 point
- Follow Ammi&Abi on twitter :@sarisulistiyo ==> +1 point
- Blog, share it on facebook or tweet about this giveaway ==> each +1 point
- Put this giveaway button in your sidebar ==> +1 point

<a href="http://childhood-obsessions.blogspot.com/2011/10/ammi-abi-giveaway-ends-oct-19-2011.html"><img src="http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af312/lilunsi/ammiabi_button.jpg" border="0" alt="innocentia" /></a>

{please state what you do in your comment}

This giveaway is open internationally, until October 19, 2011 12 p.m. (Jakarta time). I will announce the winners at October 20, 2011

Goodluck !

Poppy Blossom + Fabric Stiffener Tutorial

It's time for another brooch !!

After my chrysants silk brooch tutorial last year, I didn't make any brooch, or pin, up to you. Last weekend, I finished my postponed Eid projects, which are a pair of two matching tops for me & my daughter, and a pair of brooches, that is this Poppy bloom, inspired by my hand sketch



I made the brooches in big size (for mom) and small size (for kiddo). The above brooch is the big one, for me

I made it using a tutorial on how to make Poppy flowers in this fabulous book, Fabulous Fabric Flowers. In Indonesia, you can find it in most major bookstores, such as Gramedia. I found this one from Gramedia Grand Indonesia. If you're so willing to have it, but can not find it nearby, you can count on Amazon.com ^_^



The most basic process in making fabric flowers is stiffening process. The process helps to give the fabric a permanent and hard finish, so you can shape it into anything you want. The fabric stiffeners are common in US, but I can't find it anywhere in Indonesia. Or it is because I'm just too lazy to roam craft/hardware stores ? I don't have any idea

Well, in case you have the same problem as mine, here is how I made the fabric stiffener by myself :


1. Fabrics and tools you need to make the poppy flowers, some are : a solid cotton lawn for petals, a matching cotton for the center of the flower. I used an easy-to-find school glue. As long as the glue is clear/colorless, I will say it is okay to use any school/craft glue

2. Mix and dillute one amount of glue + 2 amount of water in a bowl (or plastic case)

3. Dab the glue mixture into your fabric. Let it dry completely

4. After the fabric is dry, it will stiffen. Voila ! You can cut and shape it into anything




I used the brooch to brighten my green linen top. Isn't it pretty ? No ? I'm bragging you, please ^_^

The good news is I will share this green linen top's pattern & tutorial this week. I still have one more tutorial for the itty bitty version, too.

After I made the brooches, I'm seriously addicted to make more and more brooches. Do you have any favorite link about pins / brooches tutorial ? Please share it with me
Many people have started crafting their gifts for holiday season. The links will help me ( and them) a lot



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p.s : I'm currently working on bigger and various patterns for Mini Me Shirt. I will need some pattern testers ! You can expect them to be ready at third week of this October

This Post has been linked up to some of these fab link parties