Sofia's World

dislike ironing no more

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:57:00 +0000

"Ironing is the use of a heated tool to remove wrinkles from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180-220 °Celsius, depending on the fabric. Ironing works by loosening the bonds between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibers of the material. While the molecules are hot, the fibers are straightened by the weight of the iron, and they hold their new shape as they cool." (wikipedia)

I don't know what kind of fabric my hubby's shirts are made of but i can't seem to get the 'molecules' hot enough to straighten those fibers. At least to my perfection - which is not that high, really. This afternoon i had this brilliant idea - i was packing stuff away, and found my quilter's liquid press aid - this one:

light bulbs went off bright and shiny - let me tell ya, i did a lot of ironing this afternoon. Why didn't i think of using it before? It even has a picture of a button up shirt!!

look at this before and after - ah... happy dance and lotsa singing, it was way EASIER with way BETTER results way FASTER. Makes all wrinkles go away and makes the fabric crispy - like brand new.

his and hers - done!

I might iron all of Alex's button up shirts tomorrow.

wordless

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:05:00 +0000

Photo Love. Lens Love.

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:07:00 +0000

Alex loves copying everything we do. See in this photo - he stuck his hand in his pocket just like his daddy did, isn't that so darn cute? :)

We recently went to Arkansas for a mini vacation and i had a great chance to try 70-200mm lense i borrowed as my mother's day gift. My verdict - it is heavy but totally worth carrying it around - it is amazing!

I normally use 50mm f 1.4 - about 95% of the time - a prime lense which translates into 'zoom' is your 'feet'. It was nice to use a zoom lense that had f 2.8 at all ranges.

(I am the only person who doesn't like seeing own self portraits? )

I want to blog more but right now things are busy - we are prepping to hold a garage sale on Saturday, pack our stuff and move abroad. Bye for now~

Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Sat, 14 May 2011 04:23:00 +0000

I did it! After a few months of paperwork, fingerprints, passport sized photos, copies of variety documents, proof of marriage, proof of living together, etc etc etc - finally it was time to do my US citizenship exam. There were one hundred questions on US civics and history. I memorized them all. Did you know representatives are elected every two years so stay close to their constituents, public opinion and more aware of community concerns? And senators are elected for six years so they could be independent from public opinion? Anyways, i could talk and talk and answer all 100 questions and possibly more. But I was supposed to get 6 right answers out of 10 questions - which was easy!
Thanks a lot for my hubby for helping me to study and watching Alex while i did so. Thanks for endless number of friends supporting and praying for me. I felt very loved and cared. Also, my facebook 'study' buddies. There were quite a few times when i needed help. Here is one example:

For those of you who are curious, here are the questions i was asked:
1. What is an amendment?
2. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
3. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
4. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?
5. Who did the United States fight in World War II?
6. What is the capital of Oklahoma?

My rather unusual Mother's Day Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Sun, 08 May 2011 19:00:00 +0000

(photo by ChristianYves)

This is Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G AF-S VR II. Is this my mother's day gift - yes and no. Well, i chose one week rental of this big dawg over chocolates, fancy dinners, flowers etc other women probably received today. This makes me so excited! We are renting it from borrowlenses.com. I would recommend borrowing/renting photography equipment before putting big bucks into it - to be sure that's the lens you truly love. We are not planning on purchasing it anytime soon - but i am so excited to play with it for a whole ONE WEEK. It will arrive next Wednesday. Whohoo!!!

H A P P Y M O T H E R' S D A Y ! ! !

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:22:00 +0000

Our son is two year old! Wow, time sure went by fast yet so much has happened. We are so grateful to be Alex's parents and love him to the moon and back and one more time.

To celebrate his birthday i had this great idea of making a forest of standing balloons... but Alex was so fascinated with balloons that he wouldn't let go of them. So we went with the flow. . .

(love these polka dot balloons)

It didn't go exactly as we had planned, among a few other things, i forgot to undo jpeg setting to raw - because i shot this stop motion video on low resolution, but Alex had a fantastic time. And we took 365 photos!!!!!!! (no, i am not keeping them all)

Riding on daddy's shoulder...

and sitting on mommy's lap...

walking around with balloons...

and of course, eating his birthday cake!

He unwrapped his gift which was a 16 inch version of his favorite stuffed monkey Georgie. Unfortunately, he wasn't impressed with it and dumped into bushes. We are still working on manners:)

Story behind these monkeys. Well, his nana got one (to the right and faded) before he was born. Around six months, it became his lovey, he would sleep, travel and play with it. It even traveled to Uzbekistan with us. Anyways, he grew so fond of it that we thought we would surprise him with another one on his 1st birthday. He sure did enjoy hugging both. Then we somehow lost it and right before making an international trip we decided we needed a backup in case we lost his Georgie during trip. This is a big deal, people, he wouldn't go to sleep without it!

We didn't lose it during the trip, in fact he wouldn't let it out of his grip, for whole 30+ hours.
Well, then one day we found second Georgie - so by now he had all three of them. Somedays, Alex walks around hugging all three of them. So cute~
So, since he was turning two, big boy needs a big Georgie, I thought. But as you can see, he wasn't impressed AT ALL!!!

All in all, it was a beautiful family celebration time and photo memories for us. Happy Birthday, Alex!!!

Happy Birthday Alex!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 01:02:00 +0000

Today is April 2nd and my son Alex is turning 2. Yay!! We love him so much!! We celebrated with his very own photosession and photos to come once i finish editing. For now, here is a short clip i made for my baby.

bucket of love

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:47:00 +0000

feeling very loved...

Our Favorite Tortilla

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:43:00 +0000

I love bread. All kinds of bread. All kinds of homemade bread. Store bought - not so much. Did you notice store bought tortilla has strong bitter smell, especially after one or two days of opening the package?

Here is our FAVORITE tortilla recipe. It is yummy. We have it for lunches as variety wraps or even as grilled cheese flats. I thought i would share it. I am sure there are many varieties tortilla recipes out there, but this one is my to-go for a reason - i always have the ingredients at home. Only 4 items needed.

- 2 cups flour

- 1tsp salt

- 1/4 cup margarine/butter

- 3/4 cup warm water

If you have a stand mixer, put all ingredients in, use flat hoot for a few seconds to mix everythings, then use dough hook and work at speed 4 for about 2 minutes.

If making my hand, mix all and work the dough for about 5 minute. Then divide into 8 balls. Cover, let stand about 20 minutes. Roll out each dough and cook on heated pan. I use my stove top pancake/grill - heat it well, then cook each tortilla for 20 seconds each side. Done!

If i am pressed for time, i omit letting dough rest before cooking - which also translated into having fresh made tortillas in 10 minutes tops from start to finish.

link love: wanna make

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 22:15:00 +0000

don't you love these cute owls and tiny clothes pins? :)

It has been 10 days ..wow... 10 whole days since i last posted anything.. My last post was about my new workout with Jillian Michaels, she is a tough cookie, i must tell you but i haven't given up and been exercising everyday. I have another 2 weeks to go check results. I can tell that my endurance has gotten better. Anyways going back to MIA - i have been working out everyday while Alex napped - so didn't have time to do any crafts. So today i decided to share some links, just variety links from my 'wanna make' bookmark. The list is really long, lol, so i will share just a few. :)

1. edible finger paint and playdough

2. make your own photoshop brushes

3. nan recipe

4. ruffled headband

5. cranberry lemon cake

6. upcycled boy hats

7. yummy breakfast food this i actually made last week and Alex enjoyed it so much!!

8. easy pouch such a fun way to give little gifts.

9. create rainddrops bokeh

10. fun drawing try to draw something here, it is so much fun!!!

Have a nice weekend~

S,x

so far so good

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 21:44:00 +0000

Day 7 into "Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred, i am posting this post to help me stay motivated to continue till the end.

holding hands...

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:24:00 +0000

i just learnt how to add a 'tape' to a blog photo. hehe:)

blossom...

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 19:43:00 +0000

SPRING is here!!! Have a nice Saturday, everyone!!! :)

90 minute tshirt

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:43:00 +0000

This is my second try on 90 minute tshirt, it is so easy, quick and fun. It actually took me about 45 minutes from start to finish. Seriously, it is that quick and easy. Last time i used old tshirt, today i used my old tank top, that's the reason this tee has sleeves that are from a different fabric. I added matching pocket in front. I hope my third trial will be perfect.

Ah... i love making stuff for my son.

He is such a cutie pie!

Oh yeah, here is the link to 90 minute tshirt tutorial.

Adult Tshirt to Toddler Tshirt

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 05:09:00 +0000

This was the quickest and funnest project ever. Seriously, it took only about 45 minutes with fabulous results!! yay!! It is getting late, so i will come back tomorrow and post tutorial link and show another cute tshirt i made for my sonny bunny~

Photo.Love. Free StoryBoard Template

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 05:11:00 +0000

It has been a while since i blogged in 'Photo.Love' series. I have been sick and MIA but i felt better tonight and played in photoshop. I have been wanting to learn how to make these storyboards. They are so much fun and make bog post more interesting. Or even just sharing photos on facebook or elsewhere. Here is one template i have created and wanted to share. It is 8x8 inches, 300dpi psd.file. Instructions are included in the template. Don't forget to delete instructions layer before flattening your image.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have questions. This file is for personal use. Do not resell, please.

download

Enjoy~

Sofia,x

bagels...

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 01:33:00 +0000

I can't thank enough for this bagel recipe, i made them again tonight and we enjoyed them once more.
Tomorrow morning we will try them with raspberry cream cheese spread. Thanks, Sommer!! Go check out both recipes at MamaWithFlavor.

sharing

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 04:26:00 +0000

My baby has an ear infection and full blown cold. Tissues are uber important staple these days, they stand right after his tylenol, antibiotics and mommy's chocolates. Mommy needs chocolates. I wish i could take his sickness away from him... wait, i actually might be... not exactly taking it away but more like sharing it with him. He likes sharing!

no title post

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 23:34:00 +0000

is it already summer... ?

Last Tshirt

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 04:35:00 +0000

Please, excuse my poor picture quality.. didn't get a chance to photograph these daytime - been busy taking care of my sick child. Thus i don't even have a photo of him wearing this tee, we have been in pajamas all day long... Anyways, as i shared before this is revamping inexpensive tshirts from Walmart - a pack of 5. Tshirts #1 and #2 are here, #3 is here, #4 got destroyed and this is the last one. I came across this cute monsters font, it is actually called 'MONSTERZ' (at dafont.com), i just typed three letters that i liked (hopefully i didn't spell out anything unacceptable!) The rest is usual - print, cut, paint.

I added cute little buttons as their eyes. This concludes series of these white tshirts - but definitely not exploring freezer stenciling. More projects to come as i play during naptime.

boy's messenger bag

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:06:00 +0000

Alex had an extra long nap yesterday - means i had more time to do some cute things, actually two thins - i finished tshirt #4 and made him his very own messenger bag. Now he can carry his own ~~diapers, binkie~~ what-not.

jeans from 'reject' bin.

cut pieces - leg bottom as bag body, back pocket as bag flap-closure, and along side seems for shoulder strap.

Painted some decor to the front using freezer paper stenciling.

I will share how tshirt #4 turned out once i take pics. ♥

Next Tshirt Update

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:35:00 +0000

Here is a t-shirt #3 (1 and 2 here). Plain white tshirt, turned into super fun pirate one. I worked on it last night, Alex woke up this morning and saw it on the couch and immediately tried to put it on - made me feel like all my work paid off!!

This was a fun and easy project. I found the 'pirate flag' GSD file here, awesome awesome site with lots of free personal use files.

Cut out on freezer paper, ironed onto tshirt and finger painted with blue. I found fingers work better than brushes on fabric. Also, after i finished painting, i put one blank paper on top of it and ironed it over the stencil again to get the fabric dry and set fast and to my surprise it caused the velvety effect on the artwork. Cool!!

I also stitched 'stitched together' look on his sleeves. I don't know how else to explain this. Anyways, i think i am in love with freezer paper. So many possibilities. I might fabric paint a lot of Alex's clothes ... hopefully won't go overboard with it :)

Oh yeah, i got new glasses last week - i CAN SEE now!!!!!!!

Been busy making 'thank you' cards for our awesome friends who made donations toward our anti-human trafficking project. We really appreciate your confidence in us and feel truly blessed!!!

Thank You!!!

Boy Tshirts

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:01:00 +0000

It has been a long while since i posted anything from my crafts. Making something cute for a boy is not easy. For girls - one can add ruffles, ribbons, flowers, buttons, beads, etc etc etc.. Anyways, I bought a package of plain white tshirts from Walmart (size 2T) and so far worked on two of them.

One has a tie sewn onto it. CUTE!!

Second has a cute dinosaur with 'rawrrr'

I have no clue what to do with other 3 tshirts. Any ideas?

digital goodness and bagels

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 04:58:00 +0000

I am so excited to share this today - i have been learning my ways around photoshop CS5, and it is amazing. I didn't even begin studying this book called 'Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Photographers: The Ultimate Workshop, i will get there, I am going to get my brain cells working and new pathways forming!! Well, that was part of my new year's resolution - learning new stuff. Here is what i learnt to make past couple of days, mind you, these are all digital works:

I made my very own love letter texture - it would be awesome as a tint background for various projects.

Various gingham papers. Who knew they are so easy to make?

Custom wrapping paper.

I am so excited about this one above. It took a lot of, i mean A LOT of trials before i finally figured out how to assemble one inch circles with various patterns on one sheet of paper.

Well, i don't want to share share a whole ton but here is what my desktop looks like:

Crazy, right? I seriously need to learn to save things somewhere else than desktop...

Lastly, something i can actually physically touch and EAT!!!

These were amazing bagels. I learnt that they are first boiled, then baked. I came across the recipe here. It hasn't been 24 hours since i made them - between me, hubby and kiddo - all 11 of them are gone!! I am afraid to get on a scale...

Valentine's Day Printable

noreply@blogger.com (Sofia) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 02:56:00 +0000

Just a little card i created this afternoon. Feel free to download or link to it. Printable.