Cup Cake Rush

It was all about rushing when I semi-DIYed cup cakes for Tammy's 7th Birthday last Friday (Oct 17) . Two days before the party when Ate Rona finally decided to have the cup cakes as dessert and souvenir.

I only have to days (or I may say hours since I go to office 8:30AM - 7:00 PM) to scout for nearby suppliers and purchase for packaging materials. Lunch break was all I have to attend to this. I don't have any idea where to buy these stuff since I am not yet into baking. Thanks to an officemate who provided me weblinks were to find baking needs.

Wednesday (Oct 15) was for suppliers scouting. Thursday (Oct 16) was for buying the supplies, packaging materials preparation and a bit practice. Btw, the thank you labels were scrap materials from the invitations I make. Hehe. Friday (Oct 17) was for assembly. I woke up at 6AM and was able to finish whipping the cream (thanks to my blender that made me work fast-it worked!), decorating and packing the ready to eat 40 cup cakes fresh from groceries at around 7:30 AM. Fast for a first timer I guess. One more thing, I was not late at the office. *Wink*Wink*

Below are some snap shots of the semi-DIYed cup cakes that I consider as a success. Guests find them adorable and cutie :-)

I guess I'll made them better if I was given enough time.

My family and relatives were wondering how I did the cup cakes for they know that I don't yet have an oven. Hahaha. Ate Noli was even telling me that I shall make it as another business. Why not? Hehe.

Supposedly these should be arranged in a 3-tiered cake stand but they are charging us P500 corkage fee so we just ended up distributing them around the cake :-(

See Tammy's Aurora costume? I am prooud to say that it was made by my mom. Galing noh? Sayang lng they forgot to bring the peticot.

This is my family plus the 2 kids of my cousin Doan. Missing in action? Our hubbies - they are all at work.

Post 1: Extra Spices

Extra Spices is my other side, it talks about my passions in life. This is were I will share with you the my crafts. Basically my dishes, kitchen, uRinvited and some clothings I made myself.

I hope you'll find time to visit. See yah!

Jun - Jessica Wedding Invite (09.20.08)

Another simple invite for simple couple. Simplicity is all what the bride wants. No intricate designs or what so ever . . .

This is how Jessica wanted their wedding invite. Here it goes . . .

the complete set

the envelope were initials are printed in the flip flop and using computer calligraphy for guest names

front view: the invite itself with peep on of the couples' surnames and wedding date

main invite

wedding details

The labor of love serves as my wedding present to the couple. Oh btw, they are my office mates.

This is a very much awaited event here at the office since they have been dating for almost 6 years, they both have good positions and they are in their early 30s and 40s. What are they waiting for??? :P

"Sa wakas" they decided to tie the knot after a long period of time.

Next wedding invite to do is Dex and Grace's. They are both my classmates and friends since gradeschool so this is absolutely a free-of-charge! I will be sponsoring their invites. Again, as a present. I feel so excited to do theirs since the design and layouting is my call. Of course with their approval pa rin. I am done with the layouting and I made it in modern style. Hehe. I'll be posting the output as soon as I finished the mock up.

Related posts:

Aris - Janeth Wedding Invitation

The Invitation Maker in ME

Aris - Janeth Wedding Invitation (08.16.08)

Here's another set of wedding invitation I made for John's (my office mate) BIL & SIL. Their wedding commenced last August 16, 2008.

- the envelope flip flop is accented with the couple's surname and wedding date

- invitation cards wrapped around with metallic transluscent kiwi green embelished with belt bearing the couples name

- the invition cards that comprises of the (1) main invite, (2) bridal party, (3) location map, wedding registry and rsvp

- the complete set

The metallic translucent kiwi green warp around and the invitation cards printed in metallic peridot made the simple invitation very elegant. Just how the couple wanted it.

I didn't actually interact or talked with the couple. Their requirements was relayed to me through John. Good thing that everything turned out perfectly - no names or words were misspelled. As per John the couple are satisfied and happy. Yihee!

Congrats and Best Wishes to Aris & Janeth.

Related post: http://raymond-rhia.blogspot.com/2008/05/invitation-maker.html

I am back!

Horaaaay! Busy and sick days are over . . . and I am back to the blogging world. I missed doing this stuff. There's a lot of catching up do and some overdue post to be shared.

June and July has been very toxic months. I can't imagine how I surpassed the days of these months . . . grabe, I am so busy doing lots of things all at the same time and now I am in petiks mode again. Yahooo!

The following made me silent in the blogging world for two months . . .

WORK - The OR Automation:
Yey! After a long period of time I was able to implement the project successfully. I am so thankful that the users love it and they are so happy with the program that made their work easier and faster. No more OT for them. Hehe. My boss told me this project is an added feather in my hat. ***wink***wink***

The Business Planning and SAP Summit were some of my additional activities involving work.

EXTRA - Siomai
It’s not that I am not earning enough at the office. It’s not that I need extra income. Wala lng I just feel like doing these rackets and putting extra challenge in my life. Just checking my capabilities. The art, sales and cooking power. Hehehe.

Every time hubby sees a food cart of siomai house he can’t resists but eat 2-3 orders. Takaw noh? So I explored cooking siomai and tada! It taste even better. My friend even told me that my siomai tastes far better than those sold at Nataniel’s Food House (Pamp). Ehem.

One time my sister requested me to cook siomai for her officemates, as her promotion treat. The verdict – they all loved it! So orders started coming in. Instant business. Hehe. After couple of bulk orders, Hubby and I decided not to pursue it yet because it is the kind of business that requires a lot of time and patience.

Another EXTRA - Invitation
My invitation business strikes again! Another happy client. Yey!. I’ll make a separate post for this.

2 more invites lined up . . . for Jun-Jessica and Dexter-Grace. I also have another 2 prospects but still thinking if I’ll close deal with them. Bahala na.

FAMILY Matters
My aunt came home from US. So we need to go home to PAmp every weekend and spend some time with her and at the same time it is our town fiesta.

SICK Days!
I got sick (tonsillitis was the culprit of my 1 week fever) and I was on SL for a week. Viral infection passed by our office. We are only 10 in the team and 5 of us were infected all at the same time. Good thing that hubby was there taking care of me. Thanks hubby!

I don't feel perfectly okay pa rin upto now :( How I miss my healthy days.

These were the things that made me so busy for the past two months and reason behind why I have been so silent. I promise to catch up! Miss you blogmates!

DIY Curtains!

Yey! My DIY curtains are finally hanged.

Almost every lunch break I find time to pass by the department store of Robinson’s Galleria (our office bldg is connected at the mall) to check the displayed curtains. Not to purchase, but to inspect how they were actually made. (Copycat! Hahaha!) They are sooo expensive though 50% off pa sya from P1.5k to P750 per panel. I won’t buy such stuff were I know I can make one. Hehehe. The kuripot in me. So these became my inspiration.

Living Area

Room curtain

Table cover from the excess cloth

My DIY are not as good as those in mall. Pero pwede na for a starter and I am still proud of my work (patronize your own. haha!). And take note they are a lot lot lot cheaper. I was even able to make a table cover from the excess cloth. Best buy tlga ng raw materials sa Divi. Hehehe.

Thanks to hubby for setting up the curtain rods and mom for lending me her sewing machine.

Can’t wait to have my own sewing machine! Hubby promised that I’d be having my own on my birthday as a present. Yiheeee!

The Invitation Maker in ME

I am known here in the office as wedding invitation maker. I already made 8 wedding invitations all in all turning 10 by the end of the year. Most of the invites I made served as a gift. Some couple provided the materials (labor of love for free), some naman are totally free (sa mga super close) and some naman serves as additional income. Hehehe. It’s just another hobby that I love.

I made invitations for the ff couples:
1. Lloyd – Noli
2. Noel – Sharlyn
3. Sherwin – Prime
4. Nicki – Christine
5. Paul – Sheryl
6. Edward – Jhona
7. John – Dette
8. Raymond - Rhia (Our Very Own Wedding Invitation - the hardest invite I ever made)

9. Jun – Jessica (for Sep 20, 2008)
10. Dexter – Grace (for Dec 29, 2008)

Click here for final invitation pictures and here for mock ups.

Last Tuesday I was approached by my officemate Irene to make an invitation for Chanella’s christening and it is super rush daw. Swerte nya the network is down for 2 days – had enough time to conceptualize and layout dahil hindi kmi maka work without the network connection. I just finished the 30 pcs invites last night. Though rush, I guess I did a great job. Everyone admires the simple yet elegant invite I made.

Photos taken by John Garica

Does this mean . . . I can also make invites na rin for christening? Hmmmm . . next time birthdays naman. Hehe. I have to study pa photoshop or other graphics software. For now, word lng ang ginagamit ko – believe it or not.

I always think and a lot of people encourage me to make this as a business. Ewan ko ba bkit I don’t push through with it, to think I am a business minded person. Ang dami ko ng ninegosyo at lhat naman ay patok. I sew slacks for officemates; I sold one of my specialties - homemade stuffed cheese embotido and I sold RTW clothes. The products I sell are patronized naman – magaling ako in terms of sales talking eh. Hehe. Minsan pinipilit pa ako to sell more kaso ako ang sumusuko. I just don’t feel like expanding with this kind of business cguro. But I have this gut feel na swerte ako sa business. Hehe. As of now, I will stay muna as an employee. Wala pa sa isip ko ang mag negosyo as my bread and butter pero it’s definitely a part of our long term plan.