Thursday, January 22, 2009

Good News and Bad News

Good News: I found my camera!
Bad News: I have no idea where the USB chord-thingie to plug it into the computer is... *sigh*

So add that all up together...
No new pics! TT^TT
Well, I could always use mom's camera, but, it's so slow!


Anyways, I've included some pics of the two kitties.
Hope you like.
Domo and Shadow.
Aren't they cute! (o//////o)... so cute!







Saturday, January 17, 2009

Warm your stomach - Ten minute Shabu Shabu

I have recently learnt how to make a one pot quick Shabu Shabu. This week, the weather has been hovering below zero. This is a quick, easy and nutritious dish to have.

At first, I thought Shabu meant claypot, as it sounds similar to the Chinese words. Upon some researching, I found out that Shabu Shabu is the sound of swishing meat in a pot of hot broth in Japanese. Chinese False Friend!

So, here's my version of the recipe:

10 oz :: 1 pack of thinly sliced beef
1 onion :: thickly sliced
8 oz :: 1 pack of enoki mushroom
16 oz :: 1 pack of ribboned Japanese Yam Noodles
8 oz :: 1 pack of Shitaki mushroom
8 oz semi firm tofu :: cut into large cubes
2 cup :: Swiss chard* :: cut into 3 inches length
2 tbps :: bonito fish flakes
2 tbps :: Mirin cooking wine
2 tbps :: soy sauce

* Traditionally, nappa cabbage is used.

1- Stir fried the onion with little bit of oil in an iron pot. Once the Onion is browned, arranged all the ingredients in the pot. Pour 1 cup of hot water, add the soy sauce and the cooking wine and the fish flakes in the water.


Here, I have put in one pound of shrimps. They were very fresh in Chinatown that day.

2 - Boil the pot for 5 minutes with the lid on. Arrange the meat on the top, when the meat is pink - about 1 to 2 minutes - serve the pot at the table. The meat will continue to cook to perfection at the table. So, there you have it!


3 - You can make dipping sauce however you like to eat beef. I made a concoction of soy sauce, sesame oil, hot oil and some cilantro. Mustard and horseradish would be nice too.

Thanks to Michelle who gave me the recipe and the blog link to the original inspiration.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

OMG!!! It's a.... (Hey, what IS that, anyways?)

Well... I'm back!

And now, by the request of my aunt, I am posting this project.


It was posted before on Craftster. [Link here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=278112.msg3146706#msg3146706 this version has more pics AND stories]

These Sock-monster-thingies were made by my mom and me. ^^







This one is mines. And following is some background information about its species.


The Rainbow Sea-Dragon


Despite its name, the rainbow sea-dragon is actually really timid and shy. This particular species can be seen occasionally swimming near the shores of the sunny Rainbow Mystery Island. The diet of rainbow sea-dragons consists mainly of quixote shrimp and lamp squid. sometimes, the rainbow sea-dragon will eat a Polka-Dotted Sea Monkey/Duck Hybrid as a treat. This strange animal has not yet been classified into a specific group, but some scientists believe that this creature is a mammal. This theory is yet to be proven.
The jewel on its forehead is one of the best indications of the rainbow sea-dragon's age. This shown jewel indicates age equal to a human child around the age of 6. The oldest known rainbow sea-dragon is approximately 450 years old, and counting. Scientists have estimated that 1 sea-dragon year = 25 human years.
The ribbon indicates gender: pink is male, and blue is female. So this here reainbow sea-dragon is a male.
These tentecles coming from the back of its head it how this species of sea-dragon moves around. The side two have all the movement, and the middle tentacle is the steering. The only other way to explain this phenomenon: to see a rainbow sea-dragon in motion for yourself.
Next up is the....[drumroll, please!]
The Polka-Dotted Sea Monkey/Duck Hybrid


And for easier typing for me, the polka-dotted sea monkey/duck hybrid will be referred to as the sea monkey or the monkey/duck. Or something else like that.

The sea monkey is often depicted running away from its only, but feared, predator, the rainbow sea-dragon. In the above picture,as well as many others, you can see the predator lurking in the background. This rare sea creature spends most of its life underwater. It tries its best to spread happiness all sround the world, but then again, it is very hard to when you are constantly stalked by predators worldwide. Another disadvantage that the sea monkey/duck has is that it can only stay out of water for a limited amount of time. Some of the older sea monkeys have gone away, deep into the sea, to sulk on the fact that it can't make others happy.

Its belly button is a reminder of its duty to bring joy and happiness everywhere. The sea monkey has these happiness-transmitter antennas that have a 2-mile radius.

These hyper little guys work hard to keep the world happy. Those who spend their lives sulking almost never get a mate. They feed on the residue of tears, called teardew. It is collected on a weekly basis.

Sea monkey/duck hybrids are extremely trusting and are easily tricked into getting eaten. Even so, there are still many more sea monkeys out there, bringing happiness to the world.

The End of Story Time

I have another little guy waiting to be posted, but my camera is currently in the "Missing item" state... so... yeah...

Anyways, See you later! ^^

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Sew Obviously It's My Camera Case


I bought a new point-and-shoot camera and I needed a DIY fabric case since I am an indie-crafter wannabe. This is my second sewing project after the laundry bag with Coo Coo the pigeon. (Please do not point a rotating finger to your temple, Coo Coo gets offended easily)

I have chosen a brown 'crazy daisy' print with turq felt as the lining. Not only is the high collar turn cuff a fashion statement, but it also act as a surplus SD drive holder if needs be.

Bag inside out


The new camera that I bought in a camera store in San Francisco. I am glad I did as I could test all the cameras and see the shots on a computer right there and then. The camera I thought I like and the price was cheaper on Amazon turned out to be just a cheap camera.


The camera tie is also a bolo tie and loop handle for carrying.


Camera case designed and made by May Luk (Sew Obvious Production) All rights reserved 2008-9

~May

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Just Thinking of a Gocco Printed Note Card

This is our second print project with the Gocco printer. It is an all purpose note card entitled Just Thinking dot dot dot.

Please click on picture to see larger view


Original design Bella L. Copyright 2008


Production assistant: May Luk


Finished tracing


Artwork on plate ready for exposure



Gocco style color separation

Designer-printer hard at work






Finished cards!


~May

First Gocco Project - Coo Coo, take me home!

This is my first Gocco print job on fabric. Bella helped out with the drying station. Thanks to Gabriel who did the research on pigeon calls. I did the drawing freehand with a Gocco-supplied marker pen. {Please click on picture for close up}



As I need to take my dirty laundry home, I thought I would make a laundry bag with this silkscreen design. Once again, Bella came through with some beautiful "fat quarters" for me to experiment with. I chose this burnt orange color scheme and some red ribbon as the ties.

We set the color in the dryer on high for 20 minutes. Both the tea towel and the laundry bag is sewn on a Singer home machine.

I am always fond of pigeons. Any urban dweller can observe this bird in its natural habitat without any special equipment - the easiest and cheapest form of bird watching. They are especially lively in spring time.

I also would like to point out that it is not fair to compare pigeons with rats. Rats do not use your head and shoulder as toilets. Please, don't call them flying rats!

~May