BABY LYLA

This was my first newborn photography. Lyla was so wonderful and tiny. It has been awhile since my son was that small, and I kinda forget how it felt like to have such a small, warm and soft being in my arms. It was such a joy.

DIANA COHEN | PORTRAIT

BEAUSEIGNEUR'S MATERNITY SESSION

This session almost did not happened. The weather forecast predicted 80% chance of rain that day, and it had been raining for days throughout the week. Lisa and I discussed the possibility of postponing the session. However, we decided to brave it and went ahead and head out to the park anyway. Lucky for us, the rain held off until we were done. I am glad that we went ahead with the plan. The breeze helped cool the summer morning and tousled their hair some...giving it that wind blown look which looks very nice on them.

I wanted to use an L, the baby's first initial, as a prop for the photoshoot. Since we did not have one, I custom made it for the family. This was the first time I have ever attempted decoupage. It turned out rather well I think.

I imagine the baby will be as beautiful as her older brother. Hopefully I will get a chance to shoot her newborn photographs :).

JETTE FAGELA | PORTRAIT

GLENN ALLEN | HEADSHOT

TRACY TOLLIVER CALDWELL | HEADSHOT

PAIN DE MIE [ well, sort of ]

My baking curiosity this weekend brought me to try tackling baking bread. Growing up, I watched my mom (who owned a bakery by the way) make bread and other goodies. It seemed so hard at the time...perhaps because I was little or because my mom looked like a mess whenever she made bread. The dough looked so heavy and hard to knead. So that's what I came to believe: it's sooooo hard to make bread.

Nevertheless, my curiosity got the best of me. I decided to try making pain de mie, but not without my mother in law's help mind you. I wouldn't dare :). To my surprise, it was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I am sure it's because my mother in law was standing next to me, making sure that I didn't mess up anything. The dough was not as heavy as I had imagined...of course, I was making one recipe instead of the tons my mom used to make for her shop.

Pain de Mie is basically white bread...square white bread...which is baked in a rectangle pain de mie pan with a lid which I do not posses. Instead, I rolled my bread dough and baked it on a baking sheet. After waiting most of the afternoon and 45 minutes baking, I had a wonderful, moist, buttery, fresh bread. It was very exciting!! Imagine that...freshly baked bread straight out of my oven!! Woo hoo!! If you asked me, it was worth it...only the best bread I have ever served on my table. Next time, perhaps I will fold in some prosciutto and some sort of cheese in it :)

Here is the King Arthur's Pain de Mie recipe for all of you curious minds out there.

Pain de Mie

2/3 cup (5 3/8 ounces) milk
1 cup (8 ounces) water
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) sugar
1/4 cup (1 1/8 ounces) Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) potato flour
4 3/4 cups (20 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast

Manual Method: In a large bowl, combine the milk, water, butter, salt and sugar. Add the dried milk, flours and yeast, stirring till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 5 to 8 minutes, or until it's smooth and supple. Because of the relatively high fat content of this dough, it's a real pleasure to work with. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Mixer Method: Combine the ingredients as above, using a flat beater paddle or beaters, then switch to the dough hook(s) and knead for 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.

Bread Machine Method: Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your machine, program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. When the cycle is finished, remove the dough and proceed as follows.

Lightly grease a 13 x 4-inch pain de mie pan. Transfer the risen dough to a lightly greased work surface, shape it into a 13-inch log, and fit it into the pan. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until it's just below the lip of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen (it may rise even more slowly in a cool kitchen; don't worry, this long rise will give it great flavor).

Remove the plastic, and carefully place the cover on the pan, let it rest an additional 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake the bread for 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the lid, and return the bread to the oven to bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until it tests done; an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will register 190°F. Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf.

A BOY AND HIS BANANA CRESPELLA ON A SUNDAY MORNING

This was such a comfort for a cloudy and cold Sunday morning. What a treat!! The edges were slightly crispy and the crespella itself was airy and tender. You can make your crespella plain, but the banana compliments the flavor so well. Topped with warm nutella sauce...nothing could make this boy happier for the moment. Well, Lego Ninjago was playing on the TV, so this completed it.

Crespella reminds me of a sweet street snack we have from my hometown, Indonesia, calls martabak manis. Martabak manis is somewhat more airy than that of the crespella, but pretty much similar. With the banana and the chocolate...oh, it's calling home to me :).

BANANA OVEN CRESPELLA WITH NUTELLA SAUCE

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 large eggs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons whole milk, divided

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium banana

1/2 cup Nutella

Direction:
Put a 12-inch ovenproof heavy skillet in middle of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

Cut the banana into two, lengthwise, then diced. Put aside. Whisk together flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, and 1 1/2 cups milk in a bowl.

Add butter to skillet and heat in oven until golden, about 1 minute. Pour batter into skillet and scatter the banana pieces evenly throughout the batter. Bake until puffed, set, and golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

 Meanwhile, whisk together Nutella and remaining 3 tablespoons milk until smooth. Thin sauce with additional milk if necessary.

Adapted from epicurious.com's recipe :: Oven Crespella with Nutella Sauce

NATURAL DYEING...1ST TRY

I love love love natural silk cords. They feel so soft and luxurious to wear. You can see my macramé silk cords bracelet on my previous post. However, the colors they come in are very limited. Thus, this girl decided to try her hand on dyeing silk cords. Not being too particular about dyeing with regular dye and all the chemicals in it, I decided to try natural dyeing. My first choice to try as my first dye mix was plum, but with it being winter, it was out of the question. However, I did find some nice looking beets that I thought would make a nice rich dark red...or at least that was what my resources said.

I used one beet for this experiment. As per instructed, I boiled the silk cords in salt water fix (1/2 cup salt to 8 cups water for fruit dye. Isn't beet considered fruit???) for an hour and rinsed. Then, I cut up the beet and put it in two quartz of water. The water turned medium violet-red right away as shown in the photograph. I thought it would certainly turn darker after boiling it for one hour like I supposed to. It did turn somewhat darker. Taking all the beet pieces out, I placed the silk cords back in the pot and boiled them for an hour. I left the cords soaking overnight hoping to reach even darker and richer color. But it didn't happen. I took the cords out of the pot, washed and hung them to dry. Well, I supposed the color did deepen a bit...just not as dark as I would like it to be.

The color did not turn out the way I had envisioned it to be, but it's still lovely. Instead of dark deep red, now I have soft rosy-gray silk cords. Perhaps next time I should use less water or more beets. Or perhaps I should use a vinegar fix that is used for anything else other than fruit. I cannot wait to use my lovely cords!! :)

MACRAME JEWELRY ALL GROWN UP.

I am so in love with this macramé silk bracelet. My first macramé jewelry was a choker, given to me by my husband's best friend. It was made out of beige hemp cord, and I love it. But now I'm older....much older that is (lol) and need my jewelry to be more sophisticated.

The first macramé jewelry I made out of silk was for a lovely lady in Australia who loved my leather lariat, but wanted something other than leather. Thus, I came to suggest making it out of weaved silk cord for her. It was a lovely piece although I didn't think anything about it then other than I was weaving it for Rosemary. This was about a year ago or more like one and a half...maybe two. Boy, where did time go!!! Anyway, Rosemary lost my contact info and just found me again last month. She sent me a sweet message of how many compliments she received whenever she wears it and how much she loves it...and how glad she was to find me again. Very kind of her :).

Her message reminded me of that particular lariat necklace and how lovely it was. Thus, it inspired me to make this particular double wrap bracelet I named Raka, meaning full moon, for the wonderfully marbled blue picasso beads and how the sterling silver beads and the silk cords shine all around them....echoing their mysterious beauty.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!

This is a page from my old Moleskine notebook. I ran into it while looking for something else. Seeing it, I remember how I longed to do what is truly mine. Losing the corporate job I had at the time threw me into a whole other world altogether where I have all the time in the world to do my art. Thus came the question, what is it that I really want? What is it that is truly mine? Needless to say that I was scrambling, reaching for air...trying not to drown. It has been a long journey since then, but I came out of it as a better person. I have a better understanding of myself now...closer to my true self and what I am about. Although the journey will never be over, I am many many steps closer since then and glad of it. I feel tired and glad at the same time. Glad that the past is over and glad for the now and the future. Thanks Universe for what was and what is...and what will be. 2012 will be great!! Happy New Year all!!

SALILA [water]

I fell for these lovely natural aquamarine gemstones with its variety of colors, ranging from sea foam green to robins egg blue, once I laid my eyes on them. For awhile, I was not sure what to do with them, but they keep calling my name. So I would come and touch them everyday...just as I do with my other stones waiting to be turned into beautiful pieces of jewelry. A few days ago, I grab them, some pearls, chain and what not and set to work. I made Salila into a double layer bracelet and arranged them so so that the pearls and gemstones roll and chase each other as wave on the surface of water would.

Aquamarine is a 19th anniversary gemstone, and birthstone of the month of March.

Metaphysically, aquamarine is known as a stone of courage and fortitude that can bring great power. It is said to assist with quick intellectual response. It brings inner peace and self-love, gives shielding for the aura, and is said to bring angels for their guidance and protection. As such, it is an excellent crystal for meditation. Aquamarine is used metaphysically to dispel anger and fear. Aquamarine is also used psychically to do past life recall and work. It is also said to be a wonderful good luck stone. Aquamarine is reputed to assist with calming communication issues. It is said to be attuned to the sea and protect travelers on water and sailors. In crystal healing lore Aquamarine has been used for healing GERD, chronic fatigue, the endocrine system, eyes and eyesight, fluid retention, headaches, intestinal disorders, the nervous system, phobias, and teeth and gums. Aquamarine is associated with the throat chakra.

PEAR TART

Apparently making tart is easier than what I had imagined. Soft pear and tart with a hint of almond. I used muscadine jelly than the usual apricot. HEAVENLY!!

MARTABAK TELUR

New year, new habbit...new things to think about. Although I did not officially make this my new year's resolution, it is my intention to get to know cooking from my home town better...the food from the lustrous Indonesia. My first experiment is a dish called Martabak Telur which basically is wrapped ground meat, eggs and shallots, served with cucumber salad. You can make your own martabak skin or use ready made egg roll skins instead...just like I used on the picture.

Although martabak telur is usually eaten as an afternoon snack, it also makes a wonderful breakfast. I can eat it anytime of the day really :)
Ingredients
Skin
500 gr flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
oil
Filling
400 gr ground meat [traditionally we use ground beef, but I use turkey in mine]
6 cloves shallots, minced
4 stems green onions, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground caraway
10 eggs
Skin | Mix flour, salt and water until the mixture forms a ball. Soak in oil for about 2 hours. Roll dough on oiled surface to form a square.

Filling | Heat a couple of tablespoons oil on a pan, add shallots and sauté until soft and aromatic. Add ground meat, black pepper, salt, coriander and carraway. Cook until meat is done. Whisk 2 eggs, add green onions and ground meat mixture.
Martabak | Heat some oil in a pan on medium low heat and place the skin. Place the filling mixture into the skin, just enough to leave some room on the sides. Fold the sides to form a package. Flip once the bottom side turned brown.
Enjoy with cucumber salad and hot chili.
This recipe is courtesy of my cousin Daisy Legimin: daisycooking.wordpress.com/2010/11/25/martabak-telur/

Santa Brought Me A Special Gift

Yes, I have been an extremely good girl this year. Santa brought me the long coveted Kodak Duaflex II. Here are my first TTV photographs I took with it. It's so much fun! Thanks Santa!!

Kupu-kupu

One of the most adorable creatures on this earth, butterflies only last for a short time. I do wish they could stay around longer. A butterfly's beauty and uniqueness have long inspire us. Kupu-kupu, Indonesian for butterfly, is my first piece to glorify this wonderful creature.

Expect What????

I love making things... jewelry, bags, crocheting, knitting, painting, drawing, ceramics... anything. You name it, I probably did it at one time or another. Yes, woodworking too. I did that for awhile :) It's all like playing to me. It was fun because I had no expectation of the outcome of my art. Then, a few months after I decided to sell my jewelry this 'expectation' rose. I wanted people to love them and buy them!! The focus became making everybody happy and I stopped creating from joy, the thing that makes creating fun in the first place. Then I went through a phase that I called 'Sucky Phase' and did not make anything because I expected so much out of my art and it scared me. As an artist, I have decided that it was not a way to live or create...and I let the expectation go. Now, I let my art flow and come out as it comes out from my heart. I let it into the world without any expectation...or maybe not as much :)

Click on the photos to go to my Etsy shop.

All The Things I Love

I love working with fiber. I learned to crochet when I was 9 years old and started sewing when I was in middle-school. I used to make bags and hair accessories out of my mother's scrap material. Her scrap bin was my treasure trove :)

I first incorporated my love for fiber in the velvet beads earrings. After experimenting with other materials, I have come back to include more fiber in my collection with this Ameli, a bracelet made out of leather, crocheted cotton cord and recycled glass... completed with an antiqued brass clasp.

Letting go

In art school, they did not teach you anything about letting go. Sometimes as artists, we love our work so much because they are after all our labor of love. Now and then, I find myself hanging on to some of my pieces. I suppose it is life...people, possessions, animals and everything else in your life: you let go when you're ready. Everything moving in and out of your life in its own good time. There is no supposed to. There is no must. Sometimes you realize you're ready, sometimes you don't. Whatever it is is okay.

I kept this bracelet, Indri, in its box for 6 months after it was finished. I have not listed it until now because I love it so and was not ready to let go. But I think I am ready now to share all the love I put in it with the world...and eventually with the owner.

Other things I'm working on

Recently I picked up knitting. I have been working on this scarf for about a year when I'm not working on my jewelry or graphics. It is very soothing to do. Unlike graphics and jewelry, I can do this while watching TV with my hubby. At least I can be productive while vegging out, right...lol. This olive scarf is my venture into adding designs onto my scarves. I have already marked my knitting design book for other patterns I want to try. A little ambitious you think?