DIY: Personalised Paper Bags

Test run!

This one was ridiculously easy. I read about how to do it on Oh Happy Day. 

Step 1: Prepare your design on Photoshop/ GIMP/ MS Word (make sure the design fits the dimensions of the bag)

Step 2: Paste the flap of the paper bags down and the opening shut with tape (make sure its not so sticky that it'll tear your bag when you take it off. I used washi tape because it's a very weak adhesive)

Step 3: PRINT AWAYYY

We tested a couple fonts and designs until we settled on this one. My Christmas Treat bags are ready to go! This is going to save me hours and hours of wrapping time.

If you're wondering where to get these paper bags, I got them at Syarikat Perniagaan Wakim Sdn Bhd for RM11 for 100. I initially visited looking for paper bags with handles but came back with these instead. Thanks to Musings about a Mom for blogging about this place! According to Nieda who blogs at My Sweet Story... though Mydin sells these for an even lower price.  I'm not sure about the quality though.

Lawn Balcony Hack

We haven't been able to take Bubba out to the park lately so today we thought, why not bring the park to him! I have no idea whether this will actually work but it wasn't expensive so I think it's worth a try.

Presenting ... the Lawn Balcony Hack.

Bubba loves to pee on grass like this

I forgot to take a 'before' photo but we basically have a very large balcony with a shallow drain along the outside and sides. The family and I took a drive down to Sungai Buloh where all the best nurseries are and came back with a car full of dirt, trees, rocks and grass.

We lined the balcony floor with a two feet wide sheet of waterproof plastic (the kind they use for potting plants temporarily sometimes). Then, we filled the drain with pretty pebbles and lined the outside with pebbles too to keep the soil from spilling out onto the tiles. 

Why, hello topless Ang Moh!

Once the ground was ready, we poured on the soil!! These cost about about RM1.50 a bag I think. We got 10 and had three extra for our Limau tree and Ciku plant.

Once the soil was spread out evenly, we put on the pieces of grass on top. This is Filippino Grass and they cost RM1.80 a piece. We got 20 but only needed about 15.

Not as pretty as Japanese grass but way better than Malaysian grass which is as inviting as a pile of rusty nails

 Tadaaaaaa! So pretty. 

Our new Ciku plant blending right in

Topless men done sunbathing by now ... poo.

According to the boss-man at the nursery, this setup should work except that the grass will need a lot of sunlight to flourish. We usually do get a lot of light but lately the weather has been pretty blagh so it's possible this will all be dirt by next week. Oh well! I'm also a little bit worried about drainage for when it rains... 

The Hunt for Milk Bottles in Malaysia

My precious. Milo Ais has never been this fancy

I FOUND IT! If you live in Malaysia and you've been looking for milk bottles then you understand why this is a big deal. After endless "where to buy milk bottles in Malaysia?" google searches ... here it is. This is the closest I've been able to come so far to a classic glass milk bottle shape. 

This bottle is perfect! It looks just like a vintage bottle, it's just the right size (250ml), and most importantly it's affordable. You can buy a more vintage look milk bottle from TYPO but it'll cost you RM10 for ONE! Assuming you have a party for 20 that's RM200 just for bottles. I cannot.

TYPO's RM10 milk bottle 

http://shop.cottonon.com/shop/product/milk-bottles-clear/ 

The bottle I found costs RM1 with a gold lid (no photos of the lid because I chose not to buy it) or 80sen without. The only catch is you have to buy at least 20 at a time. I'm still searching for a cheaper bottle, but until then, I'm ecstatic I found this. Will use them for our Christmas party and my sister's sweet sixteen!

You can purchase this milk bottle from a supplier called Polyclass. They have a store under the name Glass and Plastic Packaging Sdn Bhd in Petaling Jaya. They sell many other glass and plastic containers as well but they are generally a lot more expensive and certain things can be bought elsewhere for much cheaper. This bottle though I haven't been able to find anywhere else.

Glass and Plastic Packaging Sdn Bhd 

I-83-G, Jalan Teknologi 3/9, Bistari De Kota,

Kota Damansara, PJU 5,

47810 Petaling Jaya.

03-6141 6856

Google Map

They've moved! I hope they still have these in stock. The new address:

3A OMNI Kota Damansara,
Lorong Teknologi C (Off Jalan Teknologi)
Taman Sains Selangor 1, PJU 5,
Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya.
03-6143 6942 

DIY Green Tea Body Butter

After about 3 tries, my body butter is finally gift-able. I think it looks so cute in this little tub. In this post, I'll share with you the recipe I used to make this blend and some of the issues I encountered along the way.

I used 8 ingredients altogether but only 3 of them are absolutely compulsory - the butter, a carrier oil, and green tea powder/ matcha.

One of these non-compulsory but highly recommended ingredients is beeswax. The first three tries I omitted the beeswax because most recipes I found online didn't include it. I decided to add it in this final batch because I read that it keeps the butter from melting easily. Most online recipes are made for people living in coldish climates I think. When I followed their recipes exactly I ended up with a pot of oil. This recipe with the beeswax in it helped a lot but I still have to be careful where I keep it. 

You can choose either Shea or Cocoa Butter but I did a mixture of both. The Cocoa butter which I've found is much much cheaper than Shea so I do this mainly to save money. I like how the Shea butter feels a lot more than the Cocoa.

You'll also need a carrier oil. I chose coconut oil and avocado oil but you can use grapeseed, almond or even olive oil. I don't think they make much of a difference to the end result except that some oils have strongers scents or colour than others.

That tiny bottle next to the avocado oil is the green tea powder. I've mixed them all in the measuring cup on the right.

Right, so let's start:

1. Plop all the butters and the beeswax into a heat safe bowl. Place this bowl over a pot of simmering water (or a bain marie if you parle Francais ) and slowly melt the butters until they are just a puddle of oil.

2. Take off the heat and add the oils and green tea powder. At this point you can also add any essential oils you want. I added Rosemary and Vitamin E which will help extend the shelf life of the butters too!

3. If you live in a coldish place then your butters might be ready to whip at room temperature but for KL, you'll probably need to chuck it in the freezer for a couple minutes. I put it in for about 20 mins or until the butter began to firm up especially on the sides but not so much that it was stiff or hard.

 4. Whisk it until it goes from oil to soft peaks.

My first attempt, I had to keep putting it back into the freezer for 15 minute intervals. In the photo above, I had whipped it for about 10 minutes but it would not get any more airy than this. If your butter is still runny like this then its not ready yet so put it back in the freezer for a few more minutes. Then, whisk it again until it forms soft peaks like in the photo below.

It's ready!!

4. Store your homemade body butter in jars. I chose these plastic jars because they're just the right size and come with a handy inner cap to seal in the moisture and keep the air out.

5. Embellish! I used twine and cut out a tag to give it a rustic look. Then I got lazy and used some washi tape to make a pretend safety seal. Not bad la...

Tadaa! I love this body butter because it goes on really smoothly (slightly greasy though) but it melts into the skin really quickly too so there isn't that sticky feeling. It's also all natural so I dont need to worry about chemical and reactions with my super sensitive skin. I also love love green tea and I use it on everything including styes. The anti-oxidants in the stuff are like a miracle drug (I'll post about this another time). I'm no science person so I don't know how this is actually affecting my skin but whatever it is I'm betting its good. There's not much of a scent but if you want something stronger, just add a stronger essential oil like Lavender.

 If you want to try this DIY and want to know where to get all these ingredients in KL/Selangor, read this.

_________________________________________________________________

GREEN TEA BODY BUTTER Recipe

Makes: about four 100ml tubs

Ingredients:

220g Cocoa Butter/ Shea Butter/ a combination of both

150ml Coconut Oil/Avocado Oil/ a combination of both

2 tsp Green tea powder

Optional:

1 tsp beeswax

1/2 tsp Vitamin E oil

10 drops of Rosemary essential oil

Instructions:

1. Add butters in a bowl and gently melt over a pot of simmering water or in a double boiler. DO NOT LET BOIL.
2. When all the butters have melted, take the bowl off the heat and add in the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine
3. Put the bowl in the freezer for 15-20 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken. Do not wait until completely stiff or solid.
4. Whip until it forms soft peaks.
5. Store in a dry, preferably air tight container.

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The Hunt for Homemade Cosmetics Supplies

There are about a gazillion recipes on Pinterest for homemade body products and with Christmas coming around the corner, it's the perfect time to try a couple out. In this post, I'm going to tell you where to find some of the ingredients you'll need to make a homemade body butter. Luckily, you can get them all from stores and suppliers in Malaysia.

The first and most important ingredient you're going to need to make your body butter is BUTTER (WHAT?!). Shea butter or Cocoa butter are the most popular types and are called for in nearly every recipe I've seen. The best kinds are raw and unrefined, meaning there's absolutely no additives or chemicals in them. Unfortunately, they're not available at just any supermarket and they can be really pricey! I got my Shea Butter for RM112/kg and my Cocoa Butter for RM16.90/700g but the prices range depending on where you get them.

You can buy Cocoa Butter from:

House of Ingredients (I got mine here and it is a deodorised kind)

Soap Story (unrefined - RM70/500g)

You can buy Shea Butter from:

Pameri Organic Malaysia (I got mine here. More expensive but organic. They don't have a storefront but give Diana a call and you can arrange to collect it at their office in Empire, Subang)

Soap Story (unrefined - RM70/kg)

Soap Artisan (unrefined - RM76/kg)

The second must-have ingredient you'll need are carrier oils. Coconut oil, grapeseed oil and avocado oil are all commonly used. I've also seen some recipes that use Extra Virgin Olive Oil which is great because you probably have a bottle of that lying around already. These oils are much easier to source and require only a quick trip down to the supermarket.

You can buy these oils from:

Cold Storage (prices range from RM22-RM59 per bottle)

Soap Story & Soap Artisan (Coconut and Grapeseed oil are cheaper here though probably not organic)

If you're looking for something a little more advanced, you can buy these and rarer oils like Sweet Almond from Soap Story and Soap Artisan, Publika. Soap Artisan has an online store now too (!) but I think they charge less in store.

Most recipes also call for extra ingredients to make your amazing homemade body butter even more amazing. Some of these are easy to find.

You can buy Vitamin E oil from just about any small health store or pharmacy. I forget the name of the place I got mine but I'm certain you can find it at Caring Pharmacy or Watsons. This little bottle cost about RM40 I think.

Essential oils add scents to your body butter and may also have other beneficial properties. You can buy essential oils from lots of places including RM5 stores like Daiso. I'm not sure about the quality though and I don't trust some cheap ones not to be watered down or padded up with random chemicals. I managed to find these in my mum's makeup drawer but I would buy mine from Soap Artisan or Soap Story (RM12-RM30+) if I had to.

Beeswax helps thicken the body butter and prevents it from melting into an oily puddle. If your butter seems to be doing that, you might consider adding beeswax into the mixture. You can purchase beeswax from Soap Artisan for RM8.50/100g. They also have larger quantities.


If you're a math person, you'll have realised the ginormous sum you'll have to part with for this DIY project. But think about how many you could make with all of this and all the money you might save on gifts. I'll never buy another product from L'Occitane or Body Shop again.

Do you know other stores/suppliers for these items?