Saturday, October 22, 2011

Flowers for a home warming







This was originally the arrangment for a floral basket with fruits but I changed it to a full foral design to cut cost. Having fruits is expensive. Not that I didn't want to give an expensive present but the person who wanted it wanted to cut cost. Anyway, whichever the arrangment is, it is still stunningly beautiful. The pink and and white is really sweet. I love it. You may want to know the cost.



1. If fruits are added, the cost could be RM100.00, depending on the types of fruits



2. The arrangment below costs RM85.00





Saturday, October 8, 2011

Dear friends and readers

Hi everyone, I just want to share with you another of my blog - Elaine's Creative Cards. I am sure via this blog you can reach to that blog but I really don't know how. I am not so computer savvy to tell you. Ha Ha Ha. I hope you will find that other blog as interesting as this one. Thank you.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

God's Gift

Yesterday, we went to Taiping, a small town away from Ipoh, which took us about an hour drive to celebrate a birthday and this person whom we travelled so far to celebrate a birthday is none other than the person in the photo. He is Deacon Thomas.


If you look at the title of my blog today : God's gift, I have story to share today with you. This man, about 40 years ago, living in an almost God forsaken place was given a 2nd chance to see, to experience beauty. A missionary couple came from Sweden and they saw his plight. He was going blind. This couple wanted to take the boy back to Sweden for treatment but there were some paper complications and finally they adopted him.


Today he is a deacon in Sweden and he has helped the church where he grew up in : Larut Matang, Taiping. He has personally seen to the renovation of the dilapidated church and anyone walking into the church today would never know how poor the church is. The members are odd job workers, near failures in life, drug addicts, alcoholics and single mothers as well as one or two abandoned families. It isn't easy to take care of this church but the family ( Deacon Thomas' family) who takes care of this church are really praise God worthy people. Whatever Thomas and his family have received, they give back 10 fold.




Here his sister and niece are putting candles on the cake. It was a lovely fruit cake topped with cheese icing. We ate a lot especially my daughters and I. Anyway, we had a real sumptious meal : fish, crab, cuttle fish, prawns, chicken and vege. I have never taken so much of sea food in life.


For your information, the place we went to have our dinner is in Kuala Septang, Taiping. It was once a port but now a fishing village so the catch they brought in is simply fresh and hmm....delicious. For the locals; Malaysians, please try out Kuala Sepetang. The price here is not as expensive as in Tg. Tualang and Bukit Tambun. And we have three wonderful restaurants. I can't tell you which one is better, you have to try them out one by one.



Deacon Thomas - a happy and generous man.


Here is where they bring in the catch.



The fishing boats.



The scenery at the fishing village.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Gift wrapping and presentation





This gift wrapping with a cup cake on top suggests to you that inside the gift box has something to do with things for the kitchen. I feel it is important what we put on top of the gift box. The usual way is putting flowers which I still do but what happens when you run out of flowers? Well, this is the best method that can personalize a gift.






I found out a new way to wrap a gift accidentally. Yes, get two different gift wrappers and combine them. But make sure that the two are not too contrasting in pattern and colour to suggest that you either don't have two of the same kind or you have run out of gift wrappers. So when you go shopping for gift wrappers, make certain that you always get two or three of each kind. If you don't wish to do that as it could be quite monotonous, you buy gift wrappers that have almost the same colour theme like what I have done. I hope my suggestions are of help to you.





I have added a doll with an umbrella. The person who is receiving this gift takes an umbrella everywhere she goes. She maybe walking along a shedded corridor but if the sun is hot, the umbrella comes out. Ha Ha Ha


Friday, July 29, 2011

Batik

This is a Batik art but not I have not used the usual traditional method of wax and paraffin and paint. I don't have those tools to do the painting. What I have used is just liquid paper and water colour.

First I drew the design using a pencil then I outline the pencil markings with liquid paper. After that I coloured the drawing.

A simple method of drawing Batik designs and it is real fun.








Sunday, July 24, 2011

Board Decorations


















STEP INTO STYLE






The second installment of 'STEP INTO STYLE'.








Friday, July 22, 2011

Fanciful letterings

These letterings are done by my daughter using a 'Lolita' theme. I found them so wondrfully charming that I have decided to share them with you. She did it for her library display board with the theme title 'Stepping into Style'.


It is so wonderful to see young people being so creative. Yeah, she took long hours to do them.



This one is my favourite.








This one had a correction. The bow was made smaller.







Her 1st piece

Thursday, July 7, 2011

MPV


In the academic field, not everyone can peform the same. Some will do well in studies, some mediocre and some just can't. The achievers will definitely find their nitch in life so what about the poor performance? Can we just throw in our towel and just say 'Forget about them'? They will be washer women and gardeners and odd job workers. This category of people is simple to handle because they simply have no interest in studies as well as to learn a skill. However, there is this group who can't study but they can be motivated to do something. It simply means if we leave them be, they will directionless, going nowhere in life but they have not fallen into the category of cleaners or toilet bowl washers or labourers. This group hangs in the air.


I have this category of students. They are not naughty but they can because they are basically very bored and so they create mischiefs. They come to school, sleeping on the table. When you ask them if they are working, almost 100% will nod to say yes. Most of these students are underage but how do you keep them at home but to allow them to work? So they are sales people " selling CDs, handphones or working in food courts taking orders. I always ask them if they want to continue working like this their whole life, they look at me clueless because they know they have no skill so they really can't move forward but to accept their pathetic fate.


With this heartbreaking sight, way back in 2008, a principal, in my school, Mr. Lee Hah started 'Skill Studies'. I was the teacher in charge. He invited beauticians and hair stylist to teach our students these skills so that when they leave school, they have the basis to persue in the mentioned skills. The beauticial course was well accepted but the response to the hair stylist skill was poor. It was because it was expensive. Yes, learning these two skills are not cheap.


And so MPV class was started for weak performers and every year we have a graduation day for them. These students when they leave school, they have a ready skill to earn.




Behind the girls are the 4 teachers : From left to right. I am the last one in the row.











Graduation Day

























Do you know what? Mainting this class takes a lot of patience and dedication. The girls tend to want to quit half way and have to be cajoled gently, to show them the path and they tend to make payment very, very slowly. But I have good news too. Previous girls have come out to make a living with this skill they have learned. One of them who learned poise from this program has become an air stewardess and another has open her own shop. A father too have come back to tell that since his daughter has learned this course, she has changed to become more responsible. It is because of these good news that I received, I am willing to go on with this program. Very tough.........


Thursday, June 30, 2011

THE YEAR OF THE RAT 2011







The dancing girls to welcome the year




My head discipline teacher - Cikgu Rashid. Without him, the school discipline will almost come to a standstill. A truly responsible man.





















The lions are at play






The lions are peeling oranges to start the New Year.








These girls are into 'Silembam' martial arts - Indian martial arts.






These Malay boys are showcasing 'Malay silat'. They were good.









These boys are show casing 'Wushu' - Chinese martial arts.









Teachers and students trying their hands at Chinese calligraphy




Would like to share some photos taken this Chinese New Year. I know it is pretty late but eh....The event was in my school. The Chinese teachers celebrated the auspicious month the rest of the teachers of other races in the school.