Stardust

Even though Astro keeps playing this song by Lena during commercials, I'm not bored of it. Yet. The video is mesmerising like a dream so that might be why I'm smitten.

I Feel It All

I love this song by Feist & the video is pretty nifty too, especially if you love fireworks.

Make Someone Happy

Make Someone Happy - No. 02: A Sweet Surprise from Oh Joy on Vimeo. 

I've been as sick as a dog these last few days. Started sniffling & coughing on Monday but thanks to my stubbornness & lack of desire to see the doctor, I got progressively worse until yesterday when I broke out with fever & my mucus & phlegm turned a disgusting shade of yellow. I couldn't take it anymore & the hubby took me to the clinic while giving me a smug "I told you so" look. Now I'm on antibiotics & about a gadzillion other medicine. I could use one of these sweet fortune cupcakes but for now, I'm quite content watching this video of how to make them. So cute, I could die. Which I won't thanks to modern medicine. Hah!

Via Oh Joy.  

DIY: Floral Crown

Thanks to a recent customer's request, I've been looking up tons of floral crowns & found this nifty little video that teaches you how to make your very own. This is boho chic times a million & I love it! Let me know if you're trying out this tutorial & I'd love to see pictures of the finished product so send it over k?

Here are some pictures of more floral crowns to get you inspired…

Images via Blue Bird Vintage & Green Wedding Shoes 

Olympics Withdrawal

Goodbye, 17 days of amazing sporting feats. Thanks for all those goose-pimple inducing moments when I got to witness sport history being made not to mention awesome strength, determination, artistry & unity. Thank you also for showing us that even the Spice Girls can preserver (hah!). 

Despite being right smack in the middle of a recession, London put up on heck of a show. Kudos, London! You are, as always, one cool dame. 

Never Stop Making

I love this talk Jake Nickell (the founder of Threadless) gave at the TedxBoulder conference. He talked about "making cool things together with friends" & to just never stop making. As someone who is mostly self-taught just like Nickell, I can relate to everything he talks about & I urge you to have a listen or read it here. I really hope this will help inspire more people to just try making something, & if you're already making things, try something new because it doesn't have to be perfect but it's the process of learning how to do something on your own that's invaluable. Nickell makes many more great points that made me want to go "YEAAAAH!" while nodding my head furiously so do take a few minutes k? You can thank me later.

London Olympics 2012

Did you wake up in the wee hours of the morning to catch the live telecast of the London Olympics opening ceremony last Saturday? I did & I loved the wonderfully ballsy & eccentric take on what must be the most watched opening ceremony in the world. Yes, it wasn't as spectacular as the Beijing Olympics with its incredible pyrotechnics, extravagance & its breathtaking precision in gargantuan scale as so many bemoaned but London, being one of the world's epicenter of pop culture, included so many elements of it [pop culture] with a dash of British humor that made this particular opening ceremony very, very cool in my opinion.

And would you expect anything less from the artistic director Danny Boyle who was the man behind such cult classics as Trainspotting & multi-awarded Slumdog Millionaire? Then throw into the mix a parachuting James Bond & Queen (yes, H.R.H. the Queen!), Mr Bean being hilarious, day dreaming & finishing off with a fart joke, a tribute to Harry Potter with JK Rowling doing a reading & appearance by Lord Voldemort, performances by Arctic Monkeys & Paul McCartney - I'm a very happy girl indeed. Admittedly though, being a lover of old English tales, I would've liked to have seen a sequence of medieval England with kings, queens, knights, courtiers & a dragon or two but in hindsight, that would've looked very out of place in Boyle's creation, but a girl can wish right?

In case you missed the opening ceremony, I found a full-length video of the opening ceremony here (all 4 hours with the athletes parade - Malaysia comes in at 2:23:10 by the way). God bless YouTube. And here's a written review that I found very in line with what I felt. Enjoy!

Melvin the Mini Machine

If only all trips to the postbox were like this :)

Every Little Piece

This is paper cut art at its finest. Thank you Etsy for sharing this.

P/S: Does anyone know who’s the artist behind this? I can’t seem to find the info.

The Story Of Keep Calm & Carry On

Thanks to Elly for sharing this video on twitter today, I’m even more enamored with the iconic Keep Calm & Carry On poster. Love this little background story of what must be one of the world’s most popular poster & to find out that it was unearthed in such a lovely bookstore delighted me to no end! Even though it’s been replicated & parodied to death (my favorite one being “Keep Calm & Marry A Prince”), I still love how the simple phrase resonates & it will always have a special place in my heart.

Dance Dance Dance

Things have been crazy busy around here lately so I find that I need music that can help me keep my energy up with a little head bopping & butt wiggling. This little carefree ditty by Lyke Li of Sweden who teamed up with Bon Iver in this live version recorded at L.A. does just that (the part when she plays the kazoo never fails to make me laugh). Have a listen & happy Friday dreamers!

Lullatone

This has got to be the cutest album I’ve laid my ears on in a good long while. As described by Wikipedia: “Lullatone is a popular music group based in Nagoya, Japan, whose music is characterized by an innocent, child-like quality and spare, lo-fi sounds. Although the group refers to their style of music as "pajama-pop", it is commonly included in such musical subgenres as Twee pop, Indie pop and Electronica. It draws influence from such diverse sources as Bossa Nova, French pop music of the 1960s, children's songs and Musique concrète.”

From what I’ve heard so far, it’s all instrumental but so delightful that I think this music would be lovely playing in the background while crafting. With tracks titled “finding a leaf in your girlfriend's hair” & “riding a bike down a big hill and taking your feet off of the pedals” how can you not be delighted? Buy yourself a copy of their latest album “Soundtracks For Everyday Adventures” here.

This Is A Story Of A Charming Girl

What does the video above remind you of? A certain popular movie starring Audrey Hepburn that hordes of ladies around the world adore? You guessed it! This short film by Kinga Burza for Kate Spade New York was inspired by Breakfast At Tiffany’s, one of my favorite movies of all time! It’s seriously cute, so have a looksee.

this is the story of a charming girl
she laughs out loud, sings off key and believes in taking chances
she is quick and curious and playful and strong
she lets her imagination run away with her
she has never been one to stick to convention
she is fond of daydreams that take her places
she can order a cocktail in six different languages
she feels that understated is overrated

To Be With You

I've blogged about The Honey Trees before but I can't get enough of them. Enjoy!

Pomplamoose

Any indie music fan worth his/her salt with access to YouTube would’ve heard of Pomplamoose at some point since Jack Conte & Nataly Dawn got together in 2008 to form a band named after the French-derived word for grapefruit. Their videos (which I love love love) mostly take the form of "VideoSongs", a medium Jack Conte defines with two rules: 1. What you see is what you hear, 2. If you hear it, at some point you see it. I chose one of my favorite songs to share with you but I urge you to check out their YouTube channel too!

Can-Can Craft Party

If this video doesn’t get you in the mood to [craft] party, I don’t know what will! Here’s some nifty info on the global Etsy Craft Party happening real soon. In case you missed yesterday’s post (scroll down, scroll down), yours truly is organizing a Craft Party with Team Etsy Malaysia for next Saturday! More info here.

Najwa

I picked up Najwa Mahiaddin’s CD yesterday & I got to say it’s the perfect antidote to the gloomy weather we’ve been having in the evenings. The album, titled Innocent Soul has 10 songs co-produced by Widi Puradiredja of Maliq & D’essentials & all the songs written by the talented chanteuse who is currently studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. Yup, she’s juggling her studies overseas & launching her album at the same time… Hat’s off to ya’ Najwa!

If neo soul is your thing or if you just like good music (like, who doesn’t?), I suggest you pick up a copy. At only RM21.90, you can’t go wrong. Support our local Malaysian artistes, I say (regardless if they’re the daughter of our Deputy Prime Minister or not! Heh). I can’t decide which track I like best because they’re all good, but Got To Go above is a contender for my fave song & it’s the first single launched so have a looksee & listen. You be the judge & let me know what you think.

P/S: Here’s another review on the album.

Oui Paris

Seeing this video taken by Chelsea of Oh My Deer makes me long to walk the streets of Paris once again. Perhaps someday when Bobby is not so busy with work, we can plan a trip to the city of love for our second honeymoon (we have yet to go on our first honeymoon but a girl can dream, can’t she?).

In the meantime, I’m going to sigh & moon over this video Chelsea took on her trip. I just love the dreamy quality of the shots & Edith Piaf singing La Vie En Rose on the background is just perfection.

Daydreamer

This was the first song I heard Adele sing & the one that made me fall in love with her instantly. Go on, have a listen. You’ll love her gorgeous, spine-tingling voice & haunting lyrics.

P/S: I couldn’t write about Adele without adding another of my faves from her, Crazy For You.

Make It Better

The type nerd in me loves the array of fonts used in this video & the big nerd that I am loves this video for its positive message. Happy Tuesday folks!