Wednesday, January 28, 2015

New Year, New Me...

January is almost over & I realised that I have not written a single blog for the whole month! The last post was written on eve of new year & by the time I finished, it was new year...lol

Well, 2015 has been good so far...most of the efforts I put in last year has been moving according to the direction that I have planned out. At one point, it was so demotivating, but now it is like...I-can-see-some-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel kind of feeling...lol

Well, for sure, Designed With Passion is expanding. I setup the company in November 2014, wanted to use the name Designed With Passion, but was rejected...twice...told my company secretary that I insisted to use the name...after a few rounds of ding-dongs, & almost a week after, I was allowed to register the name, but with one condition...the name can not be just Designed With Passion alone...so, we finally settled with Designed With Passion Handicraft. At that point of time, I was a little disappointed as what I am doing is not exactly handicraft. I am very specific! I am only crocheting! LOL

It never cross my mind that all things happen for a reason, but now that I think of it, seriously, I was amazed how it has evolved.

In December, one of the reputable enrichment malls that I have been eyeing for, finally got in touch. I have been trying to get into that mall so that i can ask for a space to conduct crochet classes permanently, but to no avail. How I finally got in touch? A friend of a friend joined the marketing team of the mall & viola! Now we became friends...

Anyway, after a few rounds of discussion with the friend of my friend (lets call her E) & E's boss B, we finally got to go in, as a temporary service provider. What are we doing? Well, this is funny...we are providing handicraft activities to kids age 3 to 12 every Sunday! So, my company name fits in just right, right? So, conclusion is, we never know what arrangement the universe is prep-ing us...

So, to cut the story short, this few weeks have been extremely busy for me. Prep-ing the proposal for Q1, buying supplies, experimenting the activities to see how long it take, etc etc etc. wonderful but tiring. Not that I am complaining...it was fun, but at the same time nervous. I mean i love crafts, but to teach as a full time instructor...it is a new experience for me...now, my full time job is no longer Crochet, but as a Craft Instructor...cool huh?

It has been 2 Sundays since i started conducting the activities. This week will be my 3rd Sunday. Yesterday, we have just been confirmed as a permanent tenant & will be given a space in the enrichment mall..FINALLY! Plus, was told that we will be the anchor tenant for that particular program that they are promoting so we were invited to sit in to discuss on the fixture & all...i was like...WOW!

The space will be ready in March. Then, we will be able to conduct craft classes everyday at a fixed schedule. But, until then, we will be conducting craft activties every Sunday from 10am to 4pm.

What is next for me? Well, i need to think of a name for my craft space. Still can't decide what name to use as the logo. I have to admit I am not creative in terms of naming anything....that's why I am not able to get any Marketing jobs...lol then I need to come up with a tag line for the brand name. The tag line has to associate with my company name.

Next, i will need to re-visit my vision & mission of the company. 

Then, i need to source for more instructors & more craft activities (can't be doing everything on my own, right?)

So for now, this is what's happening...

Oh, I will also be posting the past activities in this blog so that you can have an idea what we do...:)
I have also registered a website: www.designedwithpassion.net
Sooner or later, I will be transferring everything to my own website, as soon as I figure out how! LOL
So, stay tuned!


Thursday, January 1, 2015

Minnie Mouse themed 1st Birthday Bash for Baby Annabelle

I love to organize themed parties. I have done so many for my 2 boys previously. This time, it is for my girl.

She loves Minnie Mouse & so, she will have a Minnie Mouse themed party for her 1st birthday...:)

I also did something out of the norm. No balloons for this time. They can be expensive, & it would be a waste if no one wants to bring home...lol

I have decided that i want to make everything myself, as much as possible...and, I have chosen both Red & Pink as the themed colours...

So, here goes:

1) The Invitation Card

The Invitation Card is pretty simple. I downloaded the template that I wanted from the internet & put in the text & photos...

2) The Outfit

Birthday Girl's outfit of the day...modified it as well...lol

From this:

To this:
Lots of Pink & Red rhinestones are used for the outfit for both baby & mommy...:)
Up-close at waistline: 2 Pink Minnie & 1 Red Minnie...
Up-close at sleeves: 1 Pink Minnie on each side of the sleeve...
Up-close at the bottom left of the dress: 3 Red Minnie...


The booties:

Dark & Light Pink Combination... I added the Pink Rhinestone on the Boutique Bow...this pair of booties are hand crocheted...


Mommy's outfit of the day:

From this:
To this:
1 Pink Minnie on the shirt; 2 Pink Minnie & 1 Red Minnie on the skirt...LOL


3) The Cake
Pretty simple cake. i used to order fondant cakes previously. This time, I chose not to order fondant cake as most of the time, we throw away the sugar coating. This cake was ordered from Kobo, they used only natural ingredients to make the cake. I chose a Vanilla & Blueberry cake & requested for less sweet version. i am pretty satisfied with what I got. Oh, the alphabets are not sugar, they are made from chocolate.


4) The Party Pack

There are 3 items in the party packs for each family:
a) Minnie Mouse Butter Cookies - Vanilla & Chocolate (it took me 2 weeks to find the mold)

Somehow, i love the Chocolate version better...less sweet & more fluffy...i made 1 tray more for the chocolate ones...lol
I packed it into cookie jar, stick a Minnie Mouse sticker on the cover & tie a ribbon on each jar...the ribbon looks like a Minnie Mouse signature bow...lol


b) Minnie Mouse Coasters 
Each set comes with 5 colors: Black, Red, Pink, Light Pink & White
I then tied the coasters together with the polkadot ribbons...

Now, it looks more like a Minnie Mouse head...lol


c) the Centerpiece/decoration 
This is supposed to be multiple usage: as part of the decoration for the phone corner, to be put in the party pack & as centerpiece for each table...

The vase was from recycled glass bottle. Each bouquet has 5 stalks of Roses of different colours & 1 Minnie Mouse icon. I then wrapped the bottle with polkadot plastic, tied it with polkadot ribbon. Then I stick a Minnie Mouse Bow on the bottle. The roses, bow & Minnie icon are all hand crocheted.

5) The decorations - printed all on art card & cut it out ourselves. Thanks to Hubby that helped cut it out...

a) Banner

b) Menu
Before...

After...

c) TQ Card
d) Baby Hi-Chair decoration

Before...
After...

e) Cupcake Toppers

Before - these are printed on art card for the toppers & stickers for the cookie jars & cutlery sets...
f) Minnie Mouse Stickers - for cookie Jars & cutlery set

g) 'Fake' cake

This 2-tier cake is hand crocheted, using Dark Pink (bottom layer) & Light Pink yarn. I put a star, a bow, a Rose, a heart & a minnie icon as part of the cake decoration. The candle is real...lol

For the bottom layer, i wrapped with Red polkadot ribbon & for the top layer, i sewn on some Black Rhinestone to make it a Minnie icon as well.

Then, i stick Alphabet stickers on the base plate & used Pink rhinestones to decorate it. I arranged all the rhinestones into Minnie icon!

h) the 'Guardian' of the cake

My sons said these are the guardian of the cake...lol

I made 2: 1 with Red bow & 1 with Pink bow...my kids helped with the painting of the balls to black. I then make a ribbon & stick on it. Added in 4 stalks of giant crochet Roses (each 1 is as big as my palm). The vase also from recycled bottle. I wrapped it with polkadot paper that i printed out. 

i) Minnie Mouse Icon
These were made using Polypropylene Ribbons. I used 3 colors: Black, Red & Pink

I made it into garlands as well as table decoration. You can also find these on the hi chair! 

And, we are ready for the party! :D

The Table setting:

The Photo Corner:

Those white bags behind are the party bags...

I made 3 trays for the cupcakes, using 1 big round container & 2 smaller containers...I made 2 pink ones & 1 Red one...

Cupcakes were ordered from Wondermilk...ordered 2 flavors this round: Vanilla & Chocolate Chip. The cupcake toppers will tell whether it is Vanilla or Choc Chip. Hint is on the menu, top right...:)

Saw the garlands? It is everywhere! :D

Here's how the cupcake holder looks like, birds eyes view...

The Fruit Platter, cut using cookie cutter...

The actual cake with figurine...

I hope everyone enjoyed! :D