The Cupcake Project

Last April 9, I ventured into the most tooth-achingly, sweetest project so far - the make-my-boyfriend-something-nice-for-our-anniversary project. I dubbed it simply as *cue music* The Cupcake project.

Being one of the least cheesy, lovey-dovey people out there, I never imagined getting into the mood of actually baking for someone. I like baking a lot, but mostly it's just to appease my boredom or whatnot. This time around though, it's for a special someone and that really turned the pressure on! But, thankfully, with the help of some old Yummy magazines under the my desk, I created one of the best cupcakes I've ever made so far! Say hello to my babies, my very own S'mores cupcakes!

I don't want to brag, but don't they just look so pretty? :) I'm glad they turned out as good as they look!

Of course, what's sweet gift without a sweet card right? And a blog post without an artwork post, I guess! To complement these little cupcakes, I bought these cute cupcake boxes from Rockwell's Cooks Exchange and paired it with a watercolor greeting card. Check them out:

Reese's watercolor on Arches' watercolor paper

I'm so proud of myself. I actually conquered being sweet and so glad everyone else found it amusing (or should I be a little annoyed by this? haha)!

I really hope this isn't the last time I'll make something as amazingly yummy as this!

Tell me your cupcake stories!:)

McDonald's Gone Mad

HEADLINE NEWS: My friend finally finished her Ronald McDonald Munny and this is how it looks:

Morbid McDonald

Cue: "Why so serious?"

Now, isn't that a cute (ahem, morbid) new take on the age-old famous fast food chain mascot? I wonder where she gets her inspiration from when it comes to this. I'm putting my bet on those Resident Evil video games she's so into. Makes me wonder how I still love her so! Haha.

What's YOUR favorite gore inspiration? :)

McDonald's and an Elephant

My best friend and I had always connected the most through art and design. While I usually pour over 2D material like plain ol' paper, she does crazy stuff like gigantic paper-mache pieces and metal-welding whatchamacallits, and refers to quirky things like How-To-Make-Pop-Up-Books books. Oh, and did I mention that she's studying a crazy-ass course majoring in mechatronics and robotics, and one day she'll build a robot Ernie (from Sesame Street)? Yep, that's her, my best friend!

One of her not-so-recent-crazed-but-just-recently-started-on hobby is painting DIY toys (Click here for my last post on DIY toys). Here's a quick look on what she's working on now:

Her Elephant Baby Qee and Munny

I think she's trying to make an Ernie-inspire Qee and bloody Ronald McDonald Munny. Hmmm... Let's just see how they'll go! Haha!

Late In the Bandwagon: DIY Toys

When something's stark white, blank and staring back at you screaming "paint on me!" it's quite intimidating. But if it's as cute as these little things here, you can't resist but quickly doodle on them!

Lo and behold, the Munny!

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What's this little thing, you say? Well, not only is it one of the most unique yet most versatile gifts this season, it's also a DIY toy which you can design however way you want! Usually painted on, the Munny is a cute little 3D space to pour your creativity out on. You can draw a face on it (maybe your own face! haha), re-do a familiar cartoon character in its shape, add accessories and clothes, and whatnot. At the end of the day, it's all about making the most creative littly Munny that you'll be proud to display (or play with!) in your room. How I wish I can paint a wall full of them one day!

Here are some quirky little designs of the Munny that I've seen in the net.

Superman-inspired Munny by video game artist Barry Prioste. Photo taken from here.

Iron Man-inspired Munny by Hefnatron. Photo taken from here.

Totem Munny from the Reactor-88 website. Photo taken from here.

Moogle Munny by a guy named Chris. Photo taken from here.

BUT WAIT! The Munny has got some competition.The company Toy2r also has their line of DIY toys called the Qee, the famous white blank bear-shaped toy which has been everywhere in every kind of design! Not sure what I'm talking about? Here it is:

Yes, we've all seen this bear and all the amazing designs people have been coming up here and there. C'mon, who doesn't like painting on cute little teddy bears right? Those who likes painting on other cute animals, that's who! Toy2r has now come up with even cuter shapes for its DIY toys in the form of rhinos, bunnies, and even Bart Simpson! (Yes, I'm serious. See for yourself!)

If there are designs for the Munny, here are designs (from the net again) of the Qees:

Deady Baby Qee. Photo taken from here.

Sahara Qee by Tokidoki. Photo taken from here.

My personal favorite! - Voltron Qee by Rotobox. Photo taken from here.

Aren't they cute?? The influx of the Munny and the Qee sure got people digging from their markets and paint sets, including my best friend (who's got a brother really addicted to these)! I'll post some pictures of her elephant Qee soon! :)

While some may think designing DIY toys is such a geeky hobby (okay, it IS a bit geeky), I find it such a fascinating innovation! Gone are the days when you're stumped with what to give your friends (or yourself)! Now, no matter what figurine you give, there's sure a Munny or a Qee for everyone! So excited to buy some of these little creatures and paint to my heart's desire (when I finally get some cash, that is!).

Do you have any Munnies, Qees or DIY toy designs? Share 'em with me! :)

To Be Featured In A Magazine

Never in my life would I have thought I'd be featured in a magazine. So with the mere appearance of my name in last November's Meg Magazine, I was already ecstatic! Yes, I know, I'm kind of shallow, but let me just say that of course, that wasn't really the only reason (hey, I'm not that vain, y'know! haha).

A few months ago I interned in the top beauty and haircare company in the country and I handled a few marketing projects for one of its brands. The magazine feature was one of them as the brand launched its newest addition to its hair treatment line - the Sensoria Care Ultra Rich cream bath! Now I'm not here to advertise the product, but just to give a brief background, it's a hair treatment that deeply conditions dried-out chemically-treated locks. It, as I've mentioned in the interview/article, opens "an avenue for people to allow themselves to color their hair more often."

As luck would have it, Meg approached us looking for something exactly what the product offered. My boss and I grabbed the opportunity to have a feature in time with the product launching, and as they say, the rest was (very recent) history!

Here are some shots of the article that I very proudly turned to first upon opening the issue!

Kim Chiu graces the November issue of Meg

 And just for kicks, my cute little friends joined in the photoshoot! Haha!

Hi, my name's Saur-e

Popo me!

I'm turTail

I feel like this will be the most my potential popularity can get me. Haha!

Cake Craze

Last March, my best friend gave me this amazing cake for my 20th birthday. It's about a foot high and the chocolate fudge cake inside was really moist and satisfyingly filling! But more than that, the design itself was so sweet because it told the story of how she and I met back in kindergarten. Seriously, it made me go "Awww..." :)

Although this is such a late post, I really feel like I have to feature this. I'm just really in awe by how the cake was made. The whole thing was created only by decorative sugar and can you imagine how the loops and twirls stood there steadily? I'm not a cake expert but the technique of putting them up must be some kind of magic! Kuddos to The Bunny Baker! Apparently, my best friend had it made there and she told me that you can submit a design to them and they can make it for you, or they can do both altogether! How awesome it that? I'll surely keep them in mind.

My birthday cake by The Bunny Baker

Supergirl Wannabe

Originally posted in my Tumblr account on April 13, 2011.

It’s my 3rd day back from vacation and I still have this freakin’ cold from all the change of weather. My immune system sure lacks a lot of those what you call Vitamin C for a few degrees to hit me like this. I can’t even do my work properly with all the sniffling and nose blowing on endless amounts of tissue! Ugh. Someone save me…

But since nothing can be done any time soon, I’m taking a few minutes from thinking up of good mandatory designs (meaning, designs with a deadline and consequences if not done) and posting up a sudden thought about… well, colds.

Yes, you read right - COLDS.

When I was a little kid, I never had the tradition of drinking up chicken soup whenever I was sick. Never did my mom cook up something exceptionally special just for colds or cough or even the flu. All that my siblings and I were taught was just to drink a lot of fluids, take our medicine 3 times a day and continue working or doing whatever we had to do. Sickness wasn’t an acceptable excuse for our family to stop and take a break from our responsibilities, nor was it a reason for mediocre work.

At that time, I resented not having a good opportunity to skip school and snuggl

e up longer in bed. But in hindsight, I think my parents just really sent the message of being strong. It’s like, “Take good care of yourself while you do your thing” rather than “Oh, let it pass and continue doing it next time” ‘cause next time may be too late. (Of course, if it were a fatal condition we wouldn’t force it now, would we? Haha!) And I’m grateful how this was not only in terms of getting sick but in everything else we do. They never raised us kids to be weaklings, that’s for sure!

So, in lieu of the moment, here is a work that I really love by Joshua Middleton. Stumbled on it in his site (www.joshuamiddleton.com) a few months back - with influence from my good friendl - and I fell in love with all his other works ever since! 

Presenting the kind of girl I want to be: invincible yet somewhat human through and through - Supergirl. :)

Thanks Mom and Dad! :)

Big Lights

Originally posted in my Tumblr account on April 11, 2011. 


I’m finally back from Hong Kong and really, there’s no place like home! But sometimes, to just get away from home brings in a breath of fresh air. There’s nothing like the lights of a different city - similar to any other, yet distinctly one of a kind. Night lights never fail to inspire me :)

Civic Square at 1 Austin, Kowloon

Point and note: I should really get a night life!

Best Summer Chillers

Originally posted on my Tumblr account on April 8, 2011


Since summer was reaching the shores of Hong Kong already, my 5th day here was spent hunting down (exaggerated language use, that is - it’s everywhere!) for my all-time favorite “comfort chiller” in the city - Hui Lau Shan’s Aloe Vera Jelly coolers. Ever since I was a kid, this was what my cousins and I looked for whenever walking outdoors became a tad bit warm. Trust me, there’s no better way to re-energize yourself for more shopping in the afternoon! :)

The house that holds the chillers

Their famous 4

My cuz and I enjoying our Mango Aloe Vera Jelly shakes

What's YOUR favorite summer chiller? :)

Have A Break, Have A KitKat

Originally posted in my Tumblr account on April 4, 2011.


In the land of great shopping and food right now (Can you guess where? haha) and the first amusing thing of the trip is the new munchies I discovered! It’s - wait for it - CHEESE FLAVORED KITKAT! Amazing, isn’t it? 

The flavor had a parmesan-slash-cheddar tinge to it. It was kind of okay at first but the mix of creaminess after awhile sort of makes the whole thing too much for you to have a second “break.” But I think it’s worth at least one try!

The box had a fancy lock design thing too! Didn’t know what it was for though…

Here are some other exotic KitKat flavors I had before (all from Japan) aside from the typical milk chocolate flavor.

Melon flavor

Green tea flavor - THIS IS SO YUMMY! It's my favorite!!!:)

Wasabi flavor

Soy Sauce flavor

Corn flavor

What flavors have you tried? :)

Photos courtesy of my cousin's camera and Google Images.

A More Revealing Trailer

Originally posted in my Tumblr account on April 2, 2011.

So, I’m trying this thing called blogging for the second time; although, in hindsight, I can’t call my first attempt anything beyond immature high school ranting (age of emo much?). For a few years now I have avoided the urge to post anything more than the Twitter 140-character limit or the Facebook one-liners, hesitant that my seemingly boring life would be scorned upon. But alas! The hidden attention-seeker in me can take it no longer. And who knows, maybe this can finally be an avenue to revamp the monotony and push myself to find new things in my daily life. Fingers crossed there!

First things first, though—intros. I’m not much of the Name-Age-State-All-Facts kind of person, though. I let things speak for themselves. So, a rundown of my interests; henceforth, a rundown of what to expect in this blog! :)

Art, Design and Doodling - There’s nothing I’m more passionate about than this :) That includes lots and lots of colors! :)

Illlustrator’s Color Wheel - This was made for my art elective last semester in school. I think it represents my love for color and how I really like seeing them differently! 

   (Reeves watercolors in tube, Canadian-brand watercolor brushes, Unipin water and fade proof pigment ink 0.2, Faber Castel watercolor pencils on Arches watercolor paper) 

Foodarama! - I LOVE LOVE LOVE FOOD! Whether it’s comfort food or something new, I just enjoy the very act of seeing how lovely the ensemble is and then gobbling it all! And the mere fact that I was such a fat kid, I was raised to be a food-lover (I’m not gonna post any pictures of little me, any time soon though!)

The Red Mango frozen yogurt started one of my continuous food ventures. From the first time I tried this years before, I had been in the search for the best fro-yo in town! But until now, this is still my favorite! (I love the green tea flavor! yummy!)

The Macho Sport of Bowling - Yes, you read right: I play bowling. Of all the sports I’ve played (i.e. badminton, tennis, table tennis, volleyball), bowling has stayed with me, and vice versa, the longest. I’ll post a video of one of the most awesome bowlers (and my friend) out there - with his funny side! 

Fashion - From shoes, shoes and shoes to accessories and everything in between! Enough said.

SOME of my messed up accessories. I really need to organize them. Any advice?

Travel - The thought of flying aside, I love travelling to new places, especially with my family!

My sister and I outside the Elements/Kowloon Station of Hong Kong - our favorite and most frequently visited place for shopping and good-eats! 

Random wit and musing - I’m probably the most random girl in the world. To add to that, people say I think too much. It’s inevitable for me to NOT post anything that just pops up in my mind. So, beware and watch out for that! Haha

Having said all that, I hope I’m going to have fun posting and writing here.

Cheers to a new blog-inning! :)