From the Studio: DIY Chevron Clutch

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Michael

Cliche as it may be, I had to do something with this old pencil case. The Fidelity Federal Credit Union pouch was used for money, chequebooks or other documents (from my Dad’s first job at 16 years old!), but we now use it to store pens and markers. Some of the markers had discoloured the zip-up bag, and I knew the leather case could be transformed with just a bit of masking tape and some spray paint.

Time to make this into a chic clutch!

Use Masking tape to cover the area where you want to keep the original color, in my case this cool electric blue.

I painted some pink on the zipper, and lastly covered the whole clutch with silver. (Sorry for the image quality-iPhone pics!)

I really love how it turned out! The right-angled zig-zag is not quite a chevron, but it really gives a cool twist to the old chequebook carrier.

Pair this with a cocktail dress or keep using it for writing utensils.
Put it with this navy blue look, or these cute mint pants!

Cake Challenge: April

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Rae

This is the cake I made for Jessie’s Birthday this year. I will just admit straight out that these pictures look like they could be used in a post titled “What Not To Do When Photographing Cake.”

1. Do not take pictures in direct sunlight.

2. Avoid late-evening-lighting because its likely your image will be dark and blurred.

3. Take pictures of your cake “before” you dig in, blow out the candles, and remove candles (leaving horrible little holes in the icing!)

On the other hand, however, the actual cake was deliciously moist and chocolatey. I used the same espresson glaze in January’s cake for the icing, with a white chocolate mousse on the side. Again, I apologize for not showing this cake in its full glory, you’ll just have to experiment with the recipe below and make a beautifully decorated cake to redeem this one 🙂

Other Cake Challenge Posts:
January
February
March
May

Chocolate Cake
2 1/4 cup flour
1 cup unsweetened coacoa powder
2 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cup hot coffee (strongly brewed)
2 eggs
1 cup mayonnaise (sounds weird I know, but this is the secret ingredient to SUPER moist cakes!)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 3, 9-inch round cake pans, line each with parchment paper (cut to fit the bottom of each pan).
2. Sift together all dry ingredients (first 6 ingredients listed)
3. Put chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring milk to a simmer by heating it in a small saucepan over the stove. Pour hot coffee and milk over the chocolate creating a mocha mixture. Let sit for one minute then whisk to combine.
4. In a mixing bowl beat eggs, mayonnaise,and vanilla together until smooth then add sugar to the mixture. Alternate mixing the dry ingredients and mocha into the egg mixture until smooth. Divide batter into cake pans.
5. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Once cake pans are withdrawn from the oven, let cool 10-15 minutes before removing cakes.

White Chocolate Mousse:
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg white
1 tbl sugar

1. Melt white chocolate and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream in a double boiler. Be careful to avoid overheating the chocolate or it will seize. Whisk and set out to cool.
2. In a mixing bowl beat the remaining 3/4 cup of cream until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl whip egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks form.
3. Fold the egg whites into melted white chocolate (make sure the chocolate is cooled). Finally fold the whipped cream in, as well until just combined (err on the side of under-mixing)

~enjoy 🙂

Office Project 02

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Rae

Today was step two of our shopping experience- FABRIC MARKET! Maddie joined me on the trip, which transformed the errand from a chore into a delightful outing 🙂 After 8 hours of searching through rolls of fabric, I pulled the prettiest yellow-gold fabric topped with a sea-breeze-blue pattern. It brightens the office significantly, and adds a bit of color to contrast the simplicity of the furniture and wall color.

We’ve also begun measuring, sketching, and taping the soon-to-be chevron designed wall. I’m thrilled with the way its looking so far 😉 According to the pictures below we will be painting the thicker stripe white, that way the colors (taupe&white) will not contrast each other too dramatically creating a harsh feeling in the room.

Check out all the new update of our Blog Office here! or see all the planning that went into it at Office Project 01.

Office Project 01

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Rae

Michael and I “broke ground” today for the blog office reconstruction!

The morning hours were spent making donuts for Jessie and Maddie (before they left for school), office hours working on the blog, and brain stroming sessions with Michael. Then, at around 11:00 a.m. we embarked on our shopping adventures; searching for paint, mounting materials, fabric etc.

Later tonight we will begin the mounting and spray painting process, keep a look out for updates on our progress!

(below are some interesting marbles we discovered on our walk 🙂

Check out how far our Blog Office has come at Office Project 02 and Office Project 03!

The Barn

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Maddie

I remember going down to my grandparent’s barn to clean out the horse’s stalls and although it was a dirty job I loved being around the horses and the country feeling. Everywhere you look is a story, from the Exxon sign to the hanging horse shoes. As the years have gone by the barn has grown older and dirtier but I will never grow tired of this beautiful place. I hope the memories of this place never fade away!

Thai Memories

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Michael

In my room I have a piece of coral from Thailand, and yesterday I was looking at it, remembering the beach where I found it two years ago in Thailand.

As I look back on my high school years, our family vacations were some of the best days. Connecting Four was actually started on a family vacation in Malaysia (Our look book from the trip here).

I am so excited for my sisters to get back tomorrow and can’t wait for the fun times ahead–vacations are times to reconnect and invest in each other.

My piece of coral will serve a great decor accent in the new office.

In the tropics it rains a LOT, but the water droplets left behind are great inspiration.

Any fun memories from family vacations? Not-so-fun memories?

If you are in Koh Samui, Thailand, stay at Impiana. Quiet beach, rooms overlooking the water and great attendants.

This post is part of my Memories Collection-revisiting places where Connecting Four really connected and explored the world together. See my Guilin Memories post here. See my Tianjin Memories here.

Blog Office/Studio: Redecoration

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Michael

Today is my last day of work, and I have only two weeks left in China. One project I want to complete before I leave is our current office. It was a place for me to set up my studio when I come to visit, and also a place for my sisters to work on art.

Now that we are focusing a bit more effort and time on the blog, I want to inject some crazy colors, patterns and inspirations into the room to get those creative juices flowing and provide a fun place to blog and create.

I’ve been inspired by a few people, namely: Katie from Paperfashion, Bri from Designlovefest and Joy from Oh Joy!.

Here is Katie’s office:

Inspiration from Bri:

Got some ideas from Joy for throw pillows (This&That):
Pillows below from

I’ve started a pinterest board-and started sketching:

I even tried to see if I could render the space with sketch-up:

We are well on our way for the re-decoration project! So excited to get rid of this:

Michael’s first year at HKU

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Apt902

This year has definitely been one of the most life-changing and also challenging years of my life (both spiritually and academically).

Here I am presenting my work, and then some drawings and constructions from this year in Architecture:

Final project for first semester.

Drawing Analysis.

Construction components for our structure.

I’m happy to be at the University of Hong Kong-and in so many ways I can see how God prepared the place for me and prepared me for the place. My studies in architecture have been exciting and have pushed me to search for innovation and creativity. Although growth in academics has been stimulating, even more powerful has been the my personal journey at HKU.

Through challenges in life away from family and academic pressure- I was really able to explore and learn about reliance on God, community and my place in His Kingdom. Displacement and change are truly a catalysts for transformation.

In the cycle of estrangement from God, repentance, rehabilitation and learning-I’ve seen God constantly chasing me and changing me. This passage from Romans has stuck with me throughout the last part of my second semester and my summer regarding my year, “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

God has worked in so many ways, but I could really see him working through my church community, university fellowship, and relationships I’ve built this year. I got involved as a leader of my university fellowship and next year will serve as the administrative president of the group. Also, going to the Philippines has was another great experience where I learned so much about God, his people and his mission in this world.

Our Philippines Team.

One of my close friends, Victoria, gets baptised.

Bank of China Tower. Central, Hong Kong.

Michael in the Philippines

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Apt902

Earlier this summer I took a trip to the Philippines with my University fellowship. It was a time to reach out to the people of Bustos, Bulucan and Dingalan-and also a time to build relationships with the church there. Our focus was building community in and through Christ Gospel Fellowship in Bustos.

We arrived in Bustos, Philippines, a city of about 60,000, and almost immediately started to spend time with the members of Christ Gospel Fellowship (CGF). The church sponsored us as we arrived and throughout our time in the Philippines as we supported them in their various outreaches and reconstruction projects.

For the first few days of the trip we traveled to Dingalan, where CGF will plant a church to reach out to the farming community. There we looked to connect with the residents of Dingalan by running a day camp-making crafts, singing songs, and telling bible stories.

After returning from the village, we spent the next few days repainting and looking into ways of repairing the church building. The twenty-year-old building needs a lot of updating; and I felt like I could contribute in this area because of my recent studies in architecture.

During the last few days of the trip our group conducted a seminars for the community and the church members. Because of their desire to start planting churches, our group was able to share our own experiences-coming from a successful church plant in Hong Kong. We talked about the heart of the church and the way that their congregation reaches out to their community.

I was also part of a smaller group that did worship training-a fun and encouraging experience as many of the members of the church are passionate about music and worship.

We started to do a lot of community outreach and in the following days had a “slum feeding program” (the name they give to a sort of food drive); and also a neighborhood BBQ, where we encouraged church members to include their friends and family.

Something that I have been learning and I think was solidified over this trip was that “I’ve seen myself change in perspective. I now see a new side of the Gospel. I see new opportunities. I see that God is chaining and growing me. I see that I am being sanctified. Something I have to realize is that God is changing us all of the time” and “I think God had been preparing my heart for this trip – tailoring my desires, challenges, relationships, and other aspects of my life for it. My vision for architecture, the self realizations I made with team members and the future fellowship leaders, and my passion for church planting were all things addressed on the trip”. (From my trip journal).

Style: Tribal/Aztec

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Michael

The style and design world has been taken by storm this summer by tribal and aztec inspired prints, fabrics, and accessories. I have really enjoyed following the trend and have really enjoyed a few in particular. Bri from Designlovefest had a ‘color fest’ post including a tribal tank a few months ago; and Lookbook.nu seems to be all about tribal prints:

From Shoes: (By CHEYSER P.)

To Shorts: (By LUA P.)

To Shirts: (By MOHCINE A.)

So I decided I had to get in on the action, and I designed a tribal/galaxy inspired pattern.

I also gained inspiration from our Geometric board on Pinterest. The tribal patterns that are popular right now are very geometric focused and use various shapes to create the effect.

I loved working on it and actually used AutoCAD for the vector work, then coloured it in using Photoshop.

Tips: Use galaxy images for filling and overlay-creates a great look and enriches the color. Use shadows and layering to help give depth and complexity to the design.