Jules adds another 3 years as she looks forward to another Merdeka!

...Missing my 3rd goon, as he spends his first day as a 3 year old at TokMama's and TokAbah's, with his 2 older goon bros!

Ya, but I called him first thing this morning and wished him Happy Birthday..."who's mommy's clever boy?...kekesh...who's mommy's good boy?...kekesh...who's mommy's darling boy?...kekesh..."...missed his 'smelly' hug...:) But, he's having a helluva time in Klang, doing gardening with TokMama, and art&craft with TokAbah while mommy runs and spins topsy turvy to meet deadlines! :) So, he's 3, Alhamdulillah, and mommy's growing older...heehee...

Merdeka's just around the corner and Muslims in Malaysia are well into their 4th day of fasting...am praying for all good and successful outcomes, insyaAllah... :)

Marrakesh's first 3rd Birthday Party...at his Krista Taman Nirwana Kindy, last Friday, before the school holidays... cupcakes by mysunshine...




His second Birthday Party@Home...cupcakes by bunsintheoven...



While I pray that my Merdeka2009 project meets its deadlines, I'll share with you last year's work (under Giftmagique)... "Kudap-kudapan Kegemaran Tunku"...This one will definitely remain dear to my heart...





...couldn't have been successful without the support of a fab client, and the fab production teams of Ann&Helena, and Encik Rezal Zamry... :)

Jules goes all emo...

...coz her youngest is about to turn 3 tomorrow, and last night's pre-birthday do wasn't up to the desired level of joyfulness coz 50% of 'The Tam Peeps' weren't around to celebrate...

We had to celebrate Marrakesh because, his birthday was due, and he deserves a celebration. But at the same time, we were anxious about Baby Zara, who, sadly, tested positive for H1N1 and is recovering at HUKM. Hopefully Tok Baie who cares for her everyday is not infected too, and neither are MakLang, PakLang, Makcik, Maksu... We pray that Baby Zara is back to her normal, healthy self soon, and that everyone else will be just fine...InsyaAllah...

And, I'm still rushing my Merdeka2009 Project deadlines. So, just 1 pix for now, of the soon-to-be-3 Marrakesh (at his kindy last Friday)...

Jules ushers in Ramadhan Mubarak...

...This morning as I kissed darling husband's hand before he left for work and I mine, he reminded me of the importance of forgiveness before welcoming Ramadhan. Hence, he asked me to forgive him for anything that he may have done wrong, to me, to the boys, and everything else...and he kissed my hand in return... With tears welling up in my eyes and with great syukur in my heart, I reciprocated...

Alhamdulillah, thank you God, for bestowing upon me, my family, my friends, and all Jules patrons, such a rich and meaningful life, a life full of love, hope, peace and harmony... a life with lots of room to grow, to care and to share...

My family and I wish all Muslims a blessed and safe Ramadhan, insyaAllah...

Jules on the run!

Hee hee... That's why I always tell my boys, that if we lived on the Starship Enterprise where I can energise and beam over here and there at my convenience, then I wouldn't be so stressed when they don't heed my instructions...! But seriously, it's really no joke running here and there trying to get your stuff done, deadlines met, plus chauffer duty, dropping off and picking up, parking and unparking the car, then getting back into your schedule, especially when the day is so hot!

Anyways, amidst my running around, I managed to work on some very interesting things that surprisingly cropped up along the way :)

Introducing...JulesFudgy Argyle :
For the wife who likes JulesFudgy Bling and would like to have it for her husband's birthday... darling husband, who appreciates his wife's adoration for blings but wouldn't want to have the same amount of bling himself...!

...Do notice that the top pix shows JulesFudgy Argyle with more bling at the points while the bottom pix shows it with less bling...that's Jules offering choies...! Hee hee... ...Jules fudgy with strawberries, for the kids... :)


Then I was given the task to package two wonderful gifts for a very special boss who was retiring. One was the Holy Quran, and the other a fascinating book called The Pavillion Of The Sacred Relics. My jaw dropped the first time I was handed the latter, it was like holding a great treasure. And a treasure it is indeed as it was a limited edition copy and the only other people who own the book are HM Tuanku Mizan and Tun Abdullah Badawi. I must admit that it was indeed a privilege to be around something so awesome; a treasure that holds such great knowledge and information. My husband and I, we love books, we just have this fascination for books, especially limited or special editions. The Pavillion Of The Sacred Relics...it is now my aim to own one...perhaps if I ever get to Istanbul, where is was published... :)



...a lovely songket tenun Terengganu and a nice scroll of words to complete the whole package... :)


Then, I also squeezed in a new experimentation... baking JulesFudgies in cups. Wiz the wiz had gotten such cool hot pink and white polka liners for me...thanks Wiz. So, I gave it a try, in my unending quest to continually provide new alternatives to my JulesFudgy presentation.



And lastly, in between the impossible rush of checking on gift packing progress and briefing graphic designers, I managed to spruce up a special JulesFudgy in a Tin... Soprattutto per signor mundo, con l'amore dal suo innamorato... :)

...for a brute and a gentlemen.... aaaaaahhh... I'm just a sucker for all things romantic!

...I truly love all Jules family, friends and patrons, you must know that my heart has the softest spot for all of you! So, be it in the middle of the night, or during a storm or in the midst of everything hectic, if my flesh supports my will, if there are sufficient ingredients in the fridge, enough tools at my worktable, insyaAllah, I will do my very best to meet all your requests, urgent, last minute, or in ample grace time... I have my darling goons to help! :)

Jules : Boys' 2nd Merdeka Project

Well, this time, I only managed to get the full attention of Esfahan, while his 2 younger siblings decided they'd spend the time helping Ultraman fight monsters! And, true to his diligent and focused nature, most of the time at least (!), my darling eldest son came up with this hibiscus in black & white, which I think is simply lovely...

Jules offline!

AAAAAAA!!!! My internet at home has been down since the night before. But now it's back up, alhamdulillah...

I'm still rushing to meet several tight deadlines : Merdeka2009, Giftmagique deliverables, Jules works for Puasa & Raya, and to kick off benevolent efforts for Ramadhan & Syawal... Breathe in... breathe out... aaaaahhhhh.... InsyaAllah, all will meet their deadlines well and fine... InsyAllah... :)

For now, here's my latest Bling... for a very special, very vivacious, very brave and very strong little girl...whose heart she unselfishly shares with her loved ones... a very sweet little girl who never left her Umi's side at a time when her Umi needed her the most...

Jules these past few days...

...was busy with khenduri and wedding favours and replenishing stock and brownie orders and current projects!

Nevertheless, here are a couple of things that I'd like to share with you now, before I let you all in on other Jules projects... and the latest will be a benevolent effort for Ramadhan & Syawal... :)

...Roses are red, violets are blue, I give my heart and soul to you...... :)


Yesss! My new stock! Well, just part of what has now completely filled my drawers and racks! So many bling blings... am working on one now already... can't wait to do more......! :)

Jules rushed!

Flew here, flew there, flew everywhere today! And it's been such a hot day!

I'm still rushing, so, 2 main things :

Yeanti Dearie, thank you so very much for laying all your food at your khenduri today on JulesFudgy platters! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, I was so touched and, I did hug you, right? Yes, I did, and I love you dear friend, I truly treasure your undying support... :)

Wiz...Wiz! You're so teruks you know...came by my house and surprisingly dropped off simply FAB DURIAN cupcakes when I wasn't home!!! Plus some ultra cute polka dot paper napkins in sweet pink and baby blue! And the durian cuppies were also in pink & white polka dots!!! And you wrote 'thank you jules' on your cuppies! For being one of Wiz's 50000th viewer? No Wiz, thank YOU for keeping your blog and creating a nice place for me to visit, and find joy, cheer, inspiration and a peace of mind... :)

...yummm... so love these...thank you Wiz... :)

And while I was flying around just now, I homed in on this fab old time enamel double boiler, which I just couldn't resist! So, from now on, chocolate for all bling fudgies shall be lovingly melted in this boiler...may its charm and character flow into my fudgies...good vibes...good vibes...heehee!... :) Who knows, I might even make kaya!

Latest in JulesFudgyliciousness

Woohoo! 2 posts in a day! Ya, well, when I can, I can...! And I do!

So, I'd just like to share with you the latest in JulesFudgyliciousness. I've just discovered this superb 70% cacao premium dark chocolate, so smooth, so luscious, so sweetly bitter, made in Finland and has been around since 1891; and they now go into JulesFudgyliciousness, for that rich fudgy feel in my brownies...a good way too to balance out the sweetness! I hope I'll have ample supply of this to last a long time. But even if it's only for a while, you'll always get nothing less than premium Swiss dark chocolate in JulesFudgies...that's how passionate I am about my brownies... :)

And, since I've discovered the amazingly brilliant idiot's solution to decorating cakes, ie. stencils and sugar crystals (heehee!), JulesFudgies can now bring more colour, feel and cheer to your table! Oh! And I've also discovered awesomely cool party candles at the supermarket recently, with which I'm definitely replacing ordinary pink and white striped ones, for birthdays or celebrations... :)



Thank you, all Jules family, friends and patrons... your support means the world to me :) Have a good weekend!

Jules Raya & Kurma Treats

Finally, I've some pictures of Raya gifts to share with you :)! There's more, but here are a few for this round ya... :) FYI, my Raya and other festive/corporate hamper offerings are normally placed under the brand Giftmagique...but they will always have my personal Jules touch... :) These few items are listed here with their prices; but please do note that all Jules/Giftmagique items can be personally tailored to your individual/corporate specifications and requirements, that's always something that can be further discussed... :)

Kurma in assorted packaging
Kurma in assorted packaging ~ starts from RM20, and above...



Festive Tins ~ start from RM40, and above...



Jelita Syawal ~ starts from RM85, and above...



2 Tier Syawal
2 Tier Syawal ~ starts from RM160, and above...



Festive Tray
Festive Tray ~ starts from RM200, and above...



Charming Tiffin
Charming Tiffin ~ starts from RM220, and above



Opulent Syawal
Opulent Syawal
Opulent Syawal ~ starts from RM280, and above...



3 Tier Syawal
3 Tier Syawal (B)
3 Tier Syawal ~ starts from RM300.00, and above...


All Giftmagique/Jules hampers/gifts come with a warm and personalised gift card, and includes delivery within Klang Valley. All items are available while stock lasts, and we may substitute the packaging with items of equivalent quality/material if the need arises. Please sms (016-2712114) or email me (juliemd@yahoo.com, giftmagique@yahoo.com) for further enquiries/orders.

Will upload more pictures soon...

As for JulesFudgyliciousness, my special packaging for Raya is not quite ready yet...soon... :)

Jules Merdeka 2007 Project

Since 2006, Jules and her partner, under the brand Giftmagique, have been creating special merdeka gifts for a very special client. It started with something very simple, a basket with a variety of local snacks and goodies. But even so, the gift basket was specially handmade from Serdang Leaves, very typical of the state of Sabah. And the colour of the serdang leaf basket was dark blue with red and yellow trimming, then wrapped nicely in white organza; the contents consisted of popular local tidbits like kuih bangkit, mixed maruku, coconut candy, kuih cincin, etc. So, the whole gift basket symbolised our diverse multicultural society, all bound together harmoniously under one flag... The gift received overwhelming response...Alhamdulillah.

So, in 2007, I figured that something more unique must be created. Firstly, because this is a Merdeka gift, which in its elementary sense is already very significant; secondly, to create a deeper understanding of our history and the true meaning of being Malaysian. And this sentiment/instinct was enthusiastically shared by my client too, who contributed an equal amount of input and passion. Hence, the old time "Tin Sekut" concept was created. The "Tin Sekut" has a very special place in my heart because it reminded me of the biscuit tin that my late nenek nyang in Kuala Krai had in the kitchen of her 'grand' wooden house; it was 'grand' to me then as I had only been between 4-6 years old, so the house seemed really huge to me, and way different from what I grew up in in Klang! Also, I came up with the copy to this concept, which made for the intro of the greeting card, so, that's sentimental, hee hee... The description of the old time goodies was, of course, by our highly experienced client, whose writing never fails to touch my heart :) Oh, and the exciting part of this "Tin Sekut" was that, we threw in a handful of the old time tube balloons just for everyone to have fun with!




Banyak kenangan zaman silam. Ada yang pahit, ada yang manis. Ada yang sedih, ada yang lucu. Semuanya sama penting. Bila cucu-cucu balik ke kampung masa cuti sekolah, Tok dan Nenek gemar bercerita kisah perit di zaman Jepun: makan ubi kayu, beras dan gula dicatu. Semua ini bukan untuk menakutkan, sekadar untuk menyedarkan. Cucu-cucu semua terlopong mendengar cerita sambil mengudap kerepek dan emping yang nenek buat. Begitu banyak telah kita kecapi sejak zaman orang putih dan zaman “curfew”. Diselitkan pula dengan kisah zaman bangsawan Kasma Booty, pantang ditinggal zaman P.Ramlee. Tapi yang paling menjadi kebanggaan, yang takkan sudah dicerita oleh tok dan nenek ialah zaman Tunku yang membawa kemerdekaan, dan bagaimana bangganya mereka menyanyikan lagu Negaraku buat pertama kali dulu. Dan tak sudah juga cerita bagaimana Tok dan Nenek patah pinggang membajak bendang berbanding dengan anak cucu sekarang yang hidup lebih senang di zaman komputer. Cerita habis, kudapan pun habis. Nenek segera membuka tin biskut dan menambah kerepek dan emping dalam pinggan cucu-cucu. Tok senyum menghirup enak kopi o Nenek. Dan cerita pun bermula sekali lagi…….

• KEREPEK UBI KAYU PEDAS
Kerepek yang ini lain daripada yang di pasaran. Yang ini resipi tradisional, perlu lebih banyak masa dan kena sabar membuatnya. Ubi kayu yang elok empuk direbus gebu dan disejukkan. Kemudian, ubi diracik memanjang dengan ketebalan sekata. Sambil meracik Nenek tak putus-putus berdoa matahari terus bersinar sebab ubi perlu dijemur kering beberapa hari lagi pula. Jika tidak, hirisan ubi akan masam dan berkulat. Bila cukup kering, ubi racik boleh disimpan beberapa bulan, atau terus digoreng dan dimakan tawar, atau disira gula atau sambal kering seperti yang ini.

• KACANG PUTIH
Kalaulah ada senarai “top ten” makanan ringan di Malaysia, kacang putih pasti di salah satu tempat teratas. Dulu-dulu kacang kuda yang digoreng kering ini dijual dalam kertas berbentuk kon oleh penjual India yang menunggang basikal Raleigh dari kampung ke kampung, atau ketika pertunjukan wayang gambar oleh Jabatan Penerangan di padang sekolah atau Balai Raya. Kini, kacang putih boleh diperolehi di pasar raya dan masih diminati, terutama sekali bila berkumpul ramai-ramai. Ada juga yang kata Kacang Putih “berhantu” sebab bila dah mula makan memang tak boleh berhenti selagi belum habis!

• GULA BANTAL
Yang paling istimewa mengenai Gula Bantal ialah balutan nipisnya yang cair dalam mulut sebelum sempat isinya dikunyah. Pasti ramai yang masih ingat kerangupan kacang tumbuk manis bersalut pastri rapuh yang menjadi kegemaran ramai sekitar 70’an dan 80’an. Zaman dulu gula bantal ini tembun saiznya, memang macam bantal. Tapi di zaman siber kini semua peralatan canggih “slim” belaka, jadi gula bantal pun terikut-ikut “slim” berbanding dulu.

• PUTU KACANG HIJAU
Satu lagi kuih tradisi yang memerlukan sinaran matahari yang terik. Tidak banyak bahan yang diperlukan untuk menyediakannya. Tidak perlu mentega, telur atau pewarna. Hanya perlu tepung kacang hijau dan gula. Adunan kemudian diterap padat ke dalam acuan kayu sebelum dikeluarkan dan dijemur beberapa hari. Kalau kena caranya, kuih comel ini boleh tahan berbulan-bulan.

• EMPING KERABU
Bagi yang tinggal di kawasan padi pasti biasa dengan kudapan ini. Begitu rangup dan wangi padi muda yang telah digoreng dan ditumbuk nipis. Dulu-dulu ada pesta mengemping yang sering diadakan waktu malam bulan penuh, bila padi hampir masak. Ketika itu penduduk kampung akan berkumpul dan kedengaranlah bunyi antan nyaring bertingkah, dan terhasillah makanan segera zaman dulu. Bila tetamu bertandang, emping digaul dengan gula, kelapa muda parut dan sedikit garam, dan dihidangkan. Sungguh enak dimakan bersama kopi panas sambil bersembang di anjung. Kini, emping, yang boleh dimakan sebagai pencuci mulut, sarapan pagi atau hidangan sampingan untuk minum petang, agak sukar ditemui.

Oh yes, unleash the child in you and enjoy the balloons too!

Selamat menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke-50 daripada kami di PETRONAS.

Nowadays, I share the same knick knacks with my boys, and I'll start telling them about how cool the gula bantal was, with that 'melt in your mouth' layer... and I also buy them the tube balloons, which they SO looooooove... There is still a lot of the past that my boys have yet to grasp and understand, but at least, I can quite confidently say that so far, they seem to be on the right track to being true Malaysians, and loving it...

PS. Due credit must go to the Tangerine and KerepekLa teams, for helping to make this fabulous "Tin Sekut" the sweet reality that it was... :)