Pop Phenomenon

Phenomenal! That was my first thought when I came across Bakerella’s genius mini-cake/cupcake pops (she is the creator of this innovative concept).

Being inspired by the amazing Bakerella (a.k.a. Angie Dudley), I decided to give it a try and create those delightful mini cupcake pops for a family gathering. Surprisingly, they turned out better than I had expected - very delicious and super-cute (regardless of the technical difficulties that I faced at some point while decorating – I didn’t know the best chocolate-melting technique so I made a mess and then had to improvise).

My cupcakes were a brownie mix; the bottom bit was dipped into milk chocolate and the top part into white chocolate for some and coconut sprinkles for others... little red chocolate M&Ms were the cherry on top! (I used wooden barbeque sticks instead of the lollipop sticks.)

Bakerella (aka Angie Dudley) was featured on the Martha Stewart Show and had published her first book CAKE POPS: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats.

I plan to get her book as I want to take it to the next level and try some of the other unique mini treats (using the correct techniques)!

For more creative ideas, do visit her blog!

And remember, you can't look at a cupcake and not smile.

February Love

“Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides; and when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.” – St. Augustine (Captain Corelli's Mandolin)

Every year, I am so eager for February to approach. I love February. And no, it’s not about Valentines, it just makes me happy. It brings along so much positive energy therefore creating many joyous thoughts, precious memories, and a happier ME.

So, I was inspired to create my first flower bouquet (see below).

The idea derived from my husband’s passion for m&ms (and the Exotica Flower Shop).

I filled up a vase with tons of m&ms and then topped the vase with a bouquet of beautiful red roses. I then wrapped the whole thing with felt hearts pinned with little heart-shaped pins. (The roses, felt hearts and pins are from Exotica).

I have to admit that it does sadden me that February’s coming to an end; but as Richard Bach once said: “True love stories never have endings.”

Thus, I am looking forward to February next year.

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” – Maya Angelou

Adha m{baa}rak

Eid Al Adha is the latter of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims (Eid means solemn festival). Eid Al Adha, also known as Festival of Sacrifice or Greater Eid, is the most important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide. The most significant factor of this celebration is the ram.

This is to honour the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Isma’il (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah (God), before Allah intervened to provide him with a ram to sacrifice instead. Therefore, Muslims celebrate this admirable act of sacrifice every year (Eid Al Adha).

Usually, after completing Salat Al Eid (Eid prayer), Muslims embrace and exchange greetings, give out gifts, and visit one another as an act of cordiality, friendliness and courtesy. Therefore, I decided to create Eid Al Adha favours that can be distributed at the mosque after performing the Eid prayers.

I did two versions of my Eid favours; both included the ram to symbolise Eid Al Adha. Some of the favour bags were filled with chocolate and others with baklava.

Version 1

Version 2

The completed favours were then placed in a basket, ready to be distributed.

Last but not least, Adha mbaarak to all...

A {Home} is Made of Love & Dreams

This entry is dedicated to my wonderful sister-in-law, Hiba, and her husband, Abdelrahman. We miss you so much... all the time...

Here is a little something that I embroidered (and framed) to thank you for your great hospitality and the amazing time we had spent together during our stay in Florida.

Hope you like it!

A Bath's Tale {Ma2sat Mamsa7a}

21 Bridal Shower Favours for Dalia/
Turkish Bath Theme {Ramallah}
Deadline, 11th November 2010

I'll start by saying that this, by far, had been my favourite project to work on!

On the 8th of November, I received the following email from Doha:

'It is my best friend's bridal shower! I need favors! The details:
Theme: Turkish Bath
Favorite Color/Color Set: gold/beige/brown
Date needed: this Thursday, 11/11/10
Quantity: 20 pcs (number to be compensated)
Venue: Ramallah! I know! It's a shock!the favors I need must be light, can be packaged in my suitcase, and most importantly can make it through to Ramallah without breaking up on my way! I know this is too much to ask! But I thought "let's give it a shot"! Call me!'

I cannot deny that I panicked when I first read this... It was the first time Doha contacts me and she seemed very eager to get something special done for her best friend... I didn't want to turn her down.

Think fast!! I seriously needed to think fast... and big! I brainstormed a few ideas in my head but needed more information to better direct my thoughts...

So I called Doha that morning and got more details on what the bridal shower will be like (a Turkish Bridal Bath in Ramallah - Palestine), what the bride is like (Dalia, the bride, is very known for her unique phrases) and what Doha's expectations where (very high!!).

The favours needed to obviously compliment the bridal shower theme: Turkish Bath. So I decided to use a few elements such as the loofah, and soap bars (ghar soap: handcrafted soap and scented vegetable soap); these all had to be in neutral earthy colours, reflecting the bride's preferred colour palette... In the meantime, Doha sent across the top Dalia phrases to include on the favours' tags!

After getting the supplies, I had to figure out the best way to combine those elements without having them look too tacky. I sliced my loofah loaf and filled those up with ghar soap bars and scented vegetable soap bars (bearing in mind that the final pieces had to be very light!).

Next, I wrapped the loofah with twine ropes and added wooden beads at the end of the ropes. I then added two tags: a generic tag written in Palestinian slang that included Dalia's name and bridal shower date; the other smaller tag came in 4 different phrases/words that Dalia was famous for (Doha's favourite happens to be "ma2sat mamsa7a", which also works perfectly with the bath theme)! Lastly, I secured the tags with mini-wooden clothespins and added bronze-coloured crystals for a final touch.

The favours turned out nicely... they fitted into the theme perfectly! Let's hope that Doha and Dalia are impressed by it! I tried!

I personally love this project... It was very challenging yet so much fun!

Blackwork Turns Brown!

I’m not sure if I had ever expressed my passion to cross stitching, but if I hadn’t then here it is: I am very passionate about embroidery; cross-stitching in particular!

I’ve been doing embroidery for as long as I can remember (probably ever since I was allowed to use a needle and thread) and I had tried out many different styles.

I recently came across blackwork embroidery (commonly known as Spanish work), which is a form of embroidery using black thread on white or off-white fabric used in England from the time of Henry VIII. I had never done blackwork embroidery before, so I decided to give it a try and create a housewarming gift for our first visit to Zeid and Suzan’s (my in-laws) new home. The only hitch was that their house colours were brown and orange, so black wasn’t going to work well; therefore, I decided to turn my blackwork embroidery design to brownwork!

I chose a blackwork design by Liz Almond (her designs were featured in The World of Cross Stitching, Issue 164). I felt that the design worked well for a housewarming gift as I liked its oriental flare.

I embroidered on an off-white linen fabric using brown and orange DMC threads (I replaced Liz's black threads with brown, and her golden threads with orange). The colours turned out great!

After completing my piece, I selected my framing options; I chose an orange inside border (to bring out the colours more) and combined it with a textured brown wooden frame that worked out perfectly as a final result.

Gladly, the piece fit-in harmoniously with their house!

An Unbaked Cake (Round 2)

After the great success of my first towel cake, I thought of repeating the project with a new style for a very special person, Auntie Intesar; one of the most thoughtful, kind and giving people I know…

I decided to create a 3-tier birthday cake, using an elegant 3-piece towel set: Face Towel (30x30cm); Hand Towel (40x70cm); Body Towel (70x140cm).

I chose a nice shade of green for the towels and combined those with stylish white organza ribbons. I added white baby roses with their vines and green leaves (fake) for decoration; and for a final touch, I topped the cake with a white candle. To finish off, I placed the cake on a fancy bronzy-gold serving plate!

Happy birthday Khalto… Hope your coming years are filled with everything you wish for and much much more.