Category Archives: the 21 list

21 projects // DIY personalized phone cover

We’re taking a break from the food posts this week and doing a DIY! (:

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To be honest, I’ve had this planned out for awhile now. In my head, that is.

Soon after I got my spankin’ new smartphone, I purchased an inexpensive transparent plastic phone cover from one of the shops along the street with grand plans to turn it into a DIY.

So several months later, I finally got round to doing it. I mean, you need to save these kinda things for summer break, right? (But now that summer break is over and summer school is underway, I’m actually getting around to blogging about it. It’s one of those things, you know.)

But my procrastination aside, my guesstimate tells me that including the printing and cutting, this DIY took less than hour from start to finish. Super simple. Which I totally love.

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Supplies:

  • Plastic transparent phone cover
  • Patterned paper
  • Cutting mat
  • Pen knife
  • Scissors
  • This template
  • Pencil + eraser
  • Inks + embellishments

I started by printing this template from Google images. I opened the image in Powerpoint, resized and test-printed it a couple of times before getting a size that fit the cover. (I’m sure there’s a less trial-and-error method to get this done, but this method worked for the non-techy girl.) The size that I eventually settled on was 14.4cm by 9.08cm. Then I cut out the template and measured it against the cover to ensure that everything was fitting right. Just a note: I printed the template on regular printing paper, but I would recommend printing on thicker paper like cardstock so it is easier to trace later on.

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I have plenty of 6×6 paper pads so I picked my favorite patterns and simply traced and cut them out. I used Dear Lizzy’s older Neapolitan and 5th and Frolic collections. The turquoise paper from 5th and Frolic is a little thicker than the Neapolitan ice-cream cones patterned paper, so it was a little harder getting that into the case. Learning from this, I would definitely pick paper that isn’t too stiff, which would affect the fit of the paper in the case.

For the ice-cream cones, I stamped a sentiment from Amy Tangerine’s Sketchbook clear stamps with Hero Arts neon pink ink, and inked the edges with Versacolor’s mint. For the other turquoise one, I simply included a sticker from Dear Lizzy’s Neapolitan accent and phrase sticker book.

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As a girl who loves variety, I love that I can exchange the patterns whenever I feel like it and have endless options to choose from. This is definitely one way to enjoy all the patterned papers I love on a daily basis.

4 down, 17 to go.

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21 DIY projects are part of my 21 list, a list of 21 things I’m working to accomplish during my twenty-first year. Check out my other 21 DIYs here.

21 recipes // baked french toast sticks

Baked French Toast Sticks by A Beautiful Mess

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One Saturday, we had homemade all-day breakfast and baked french toast sticks as part of the menu. This recipe was a breeze to put together and I loved that it all went into the oven. I used homemade brioche for the bread and combined brown sugar and cinnamon to make my own cinnamon sugar. I baked mine for a little longer than stated in the original recipe. But really, every oven is different so you pretty much just have to keep an eye on how it goes.

The yummiest pieces are those with lots of cinnamon sugar, mmm!

18 down, 3 to go.

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The 21 recipes are part of my 21 list, a list of 21 things I’m working to accomplish during my twenty-first year. Check out my other 21 recipes here.

21 recipes // chocolate cupcakes with creamy nutella frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes with Creamy Nutella Frosting by Sally’s Baking Addiction

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This recipe was part of the search for the perfect Father’s Day recipe. But it seems like I’ve been a little out of my element for baking lately, because the Nutella frosting for this batch of cupcakes didn’t quite turn out and hold together like how I’d expected it to.

Since I’m writing this about two weeks after Father’s Day, I don’t quite remember what I did wrong that turned this frosting upside down. (I should’ve written it down, I know.) It might’ve been me sticking the frosting in the refrigerator and coming back to frost the cupcakes later. Or maybe I added too much icing sugar in an attempt to fix it, but it didn’t end up quite as smooth as I would’ve liked in the end.

In any case, I eventually settled for a good ol’ brownie recipe for Father’s Day, instead of stressing myself out with trying to master a new recipe within the week. Looks like I haven’t had too much success with cupcake recipes lately. But to be sure, I’m going to keep trying them until I nail at least a couple of pretty (and edible) ones! (;

17 down, 4 to go.

P.S. If you try this recipe and have better luck with it than I did, let me know how it turns out!

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The 21 recipes are part of my 21 list, a list of 21 things I’m working to accomplish during my twenty-first year. Check out my other 21 recipes here.

21 recipes // chocolate cheesecake cupcakes

Determined to find the perfect Father’s Day cupcake recipe, I set out to find the recipe that would help me successfully bake something to my satisfaction for Father’s Day.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes by Very Best Baking with chocolate ganache

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So I found this recipe and really liked the idea of these cupcakes – chocolate, with a surprise of cream cheese in the middle. But somehow, my baking skills failed to execute this one and the cream cheese filling didn’t manage to fill the middle of this cupcake. So I ended with chocolate cheesecake cupcakes all mixed together. It actually still tasted really good, just not quite how the recipe intended for it to be.

But if I didn’t tell anyone what it was supposed to be like, it was actually a pretty yummy cupcake. Make that a pretty and yummy cupcake, topped with this chocolate ganache frosting which I chose to whip. I love the richness of the chocolate and cream together. The original recipe actually came with just melted chocolate. But because it was for Father’s Day, I wanted to try something a little fancier that could be piped.

In my Father’s Day quest for the perfect cupcake recipe, this one didn’t quite make the cut because the whipped ganache had to be refrigerated (which I wouldn’t have during/after transportation), and I would end up with melted ganache with this humid Singapore weather that we have. But straight from the refrigerator, these are actually quite good.

16 down, 5 to go.

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The 21 recipes are part of my 21 list, a list of 21 things I’m working to accomplish during my twenty-first year. Check out my other 21 recipes here.

 

21 recipes // prosciutto, asparagus, and parmesan spaghetti

Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Parmesan Spaghetti by ValSoCal

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I made this prosciutto, asparagus, and parmesan spaghetti for dinner during one of those weeks where it was just dinner for my sister and I. My local grocery store didn’t have some of the main ingredients (namely prosciutto and asparagus), so I used bacon instead and didn’t use a substitute for asparagus. But the parmesan made it really yummy and I liked the dish altogether. I also liked how the red pepper flakes gave a subtle oomph without being too over-the-top.

We liked it so much that I made it again a second time for the family, this time, following pretty closely to the recipe’s ingredients. And it was a huge hit. I love the way the textures really come together from all the different ingredients.

We were hungry so I didn’t get any pictures. But I’ll leave you photos from the original post. Try out this recipe and let me know what you think!

15 down, 6 to go.

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The 21 recipes are part of my 21 list, a list of 21 things I’m working to accomplish during my twenty-first year. Check out my other 21 recipes here.

21 recipes // chocolate chunk cookie dough froyo

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt from Recipe Sweet

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The other day, I was looking for a quick and easy dessert and found this recipe! I’ve never tried making my own frozen yogurt before so this was a first. The taste turned out pretty interesting – not too sweet, and slightly tart from the yogurt. I didn’t exactly love the inevitable raw taste of the yogurt. And somehow, I felt more guilty eating cookie dough than eating chocolate chip cookies. I’m not sure if I’ll make this again. But hey, if you never try you never know.

13 down, 8 to go.

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The 21 recipes are part of my 21 list. Check out my other 21 recipes here.

the 21 list // visit a museum

When I found out that the Public Garden was having their April flea market at the National Museum of Singapore, I jumped at the opportunity to check out the market AND visit a museum, a double-win for me. It was so nice having free entry to the museum because of the flea. And I’m pretty stoked that the National Heritage Board is now offering free entry to museums around Singapore. For more details, read here.

We only had about an hour to check out both the flea market and the museum exhibits before closing time so time was rather tight and we didn’t get to spend as much time as I would’ve liked. But I loved the time I got to spend there and I’m definitely excited to go to another museum again!

I didn’t have my camera with me that day so all these photos are taken with my android phone.

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‘Twas a really fun evening. And definitely a nice way to spend a Saturday doing something different.

I’m still plodding through my 21 list, albeit a little (too) slowly because there’s only a few months of twenty-one left! But I’m glad I got to cross this one off the list! (:

For more about my 21 list, read this post.

21 recipes // Nutella cinnamon rolls

As far as I know, cinnamon rolls are always a hit in this house. So I decided to switch up our regular chocolate chip cinnamon sticky rolls and try some nutella cinnamon rolls instead.

Nutella Cinnamon Rolls from A Beautiful Mess 

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I used our regular dough recipe (that goes into the bread machine) and adapted the recipe filling. These are a lighter version of the cinnamon sticky buns and make a good breakfast or tea time snack. I would probably spread a thicker layer of Nutella next time though.

But nothing tastes or smells better than cinnamon rolls fresh out from the oven. A favorite, for sure.

12 down, 9 to go.

the 21 list // wear only glasses every day for whole week

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I actually did this.

I wore glasses every single day, all day, for an entire week. That’s seven whole days.

And for me, I dare say that’s a pretty mean feat. Because my glasses and I have a love-hate relationship. I love how chic my frames look and how they help me to see better. But I don’t always love how I look in them.

But from Saturday to Friday last week, I decided to forget about what I thought and chose to embrace wearing glasses. And this post by oh, Joy! somehow made wearing glasses just a little bit cooler.

This item on the 21 list was one of those things I was kind of unsure of. And maybe, just a little scared to complete. But now that it’s done and crossed off the list, I think I love my glasses a little more now and really don’t mind wearing these frames of mine out more than every once in awhile.

Now, that wasn’t so bad after all, was it?