This calls for a Stillcarvings moment!

My lovely people!

Alhamdulillah, Beautiful Faith has reached 6000 hits! I didn't think this was ever going to happen but I guess just being here today has proven to me that I have people behind me and supporting me through this movement. I am ever so thankful. I wish I knew each and every one of you personally so I can repay your kindness with something but still I pray that you will always be showered with blessings from Allah SWT for being so kind and encouraging.

So to give back to everyone for being so awesome, here's something I've prepared to give you a taste of how Stillcarvings works. It's a video in a style that I've always played with. It's in limbo but it's a narrative in itself. I have a knack for slow mo so here is something for everyone =)

This video was taken while sewing a new fabric that I turned into a scarf. I was soooo delighted to see the hit counter. This shows me and everyone else that when we put our hearts into something and we do it with sincerity, Allah will always be there to give us strength and to carry on. I hope this thing that I'm doing gets stuck to everyone else as well. Hope that it'll be a healthy infection LOL!

Til next time!

A little bit of love for your passionate affairs

Hello lovelies!

It has been quite a while since I last posted anything close to creative here hasn't it? Well, that's because I have been busy weeping and wallowing in this brooding state of mind. Which I think has been very helpful in pushing me to complete these two projects in the above.

I made two "care" bags for my bestfriend, Indra, who has requested (rather demanded, LOL! kidding) me make bags for his cameras (which I think came to me as much of an advantage because we have the same cameras, we even switched flashes for our Diana F+). I suck at looking for masculine fabrics because my head is filled with flowers, or patterns that so much resonate my own taste. So what did I do then? Dug into a more masculine side of me and decided hey, I had all those unused jeans from the yesteryears why not recycle them eh? That I did!

Denim, per se, aren't the most fun to work with because they're heavy and thick and you have to serge the edges lest you let them suffer with ruffles in the future. Problem is, I don't have a serger but thankfully my machine has close to a serging pattern that I could use. But then that gave me the idea that what if I let one edge unserged? I want to create some sort of a grungy pattern to it but I want to let it happen naturally. That is why on the first bag I have left the top purposely untucked. I really would love to see it after much wear. And one very great idea is to stress the fabric to create a torn up effect. But I shall leave that to Indra because he hasn't seen them yet hehe.

The second bag took days to think about. I loved the idea of using back pockets of the jeans but I didn't want to make the same kind of bag. Pfftt please, the same bag in different colour? Hmm maybe not! So I came up with the idea of making a box-like pouch for the Diana F+ and the rest just patched themselves like a puzzle. I am loving the use of the back pocket as a connector so I sewed it near the edge to create an effect. Also, I'm leaving a hugeeee negative cum positive (you'll see why) space on the body because I would like Indra to embellish it with his badges (yes, N, this is a demand!) Seriously, I am jealous of this bag because I want it for myself!!! Imagine all the bedazzling I'll do to it hehehe but NO, this is Indra's moment and I was in awe when I imagined him priding it about.

So yes, all in the mind of a loon. I can safely say that my sewing skills have improved and I am forcing myself to follow the rules of lining straight and cutting straight. This is giving me a lot of new ideas for November and I love it!

xx

A slightly slanted Weekend

It's been a great week and a splendid weekend so far, Alhamdulillah. But I've just been very much pensive about the state which I am being situated in right now. Life has a lot of uncertainties and we always, always want things to go our way. Sadly that isn't always the case but we try.

Being an apprentice certainly has its ups and downs. You start with a big group of people who are looking for the same thing as you but the end journey isn't always the same. Then, you make friends with good people and bad people. The good people will always be there to guide you through any kind of situation or predicament, while the bad people well they're just there to hurt you or make you feel angry all the time. Work place politics, what else is new eh? But you see, being an apprentice also makes you see a lot of people going to another destination, opening up a new chapter in their life and starting anew.

Sometimes I can't help feeling very much vulnerable at how uncertain things are. I become hostile, non-chalant, angry, happy, non-caring and it's all mixed up in a bundle of "What exactly should I be feeling here?" I can't say that I'm not happy working because I am. At least I have not been dependent on my parents but that alone does not give me the benefit of a doubt that life is colourful enough and filled with doing things that I love. Frankly, I'm doing something that I can say that I love but there's no satisfaction in there because I'm not measured by that. Sure, I've heard rumours that they are going to let me in but there's always that "BUT" every mid sentence that just clench my fingers into a fist.

With all these pensiveness I have been spending the weekend at home, watching movies and TV shows that in small scale are helping me forget about how confused I am with the things that I'm hearing. I hope that soon things are going to fall into place. All I can say right now is that whatever I do at work, all the things that are asked of me to do, no matter how happy or unhappy I am doing them, I always do it for Allah and I hope that He will reward me extensively.

I know that all that these are tests to see whether I am being patient with what God has written for me. I know that He is prepping me for something much much bigger than this one. I am at the same time nervous AND anxious about what's just around the corner or at the end of the tunnel. This journey of mine is sure nerve-wrecking but one thing for sure is I ain't never letting anyone pull me down. Tawakal and doa all the way :)

Have a great Sunday everyone!!

Xx

Debt

I have just read an article about debt in IluvIslam that I find very useful.

What do we know about debt? Indeed we know alot about debt. It's something that we're all familiar about. Some of us avoid it, some of us don't mind it, some of us can't help be found by it. Isn't that just sad?

When I was younger and didn't know better I used to think that material possession can make you happy and that your life can go by easily with how many nice things you possess. Then when I lived overseas and struggled a lot with money, I realised then that money can't buy me happiness so I sought happiness from other places like friends, music, films and other things that don't necessarily need to involve money. The angst was hard to get by, because lets face it, we are living amongst El Diablo and he never give up to whisper things in our ears like "Don't let her get that, you have to own it," or "So what if you borrow money from your friends? Give in. Borrow. You can pay them the next time your allowance gets in."

Those were terrible times. The need to have a lot totally killed my very need to exist that I resorted to instant noodles every day which affected my health.

Now that I'm older, I'm able to think on my feet and I am a lot wiser. The relief of not having to spend more than I can afford is breathtaking. The feeling of not having to pay any debt is out of this world. I know sooner or later my needs are going to be increasing in three-folds due to commitment but I pray to Allah that I will not be so much of a spendthrift that I wont be able to pay back for my needs. Now, I am trying my best not to spend on things that I don't need. Of course the occasional few pairs of shoes can't be avoided but I have been able to stop myself from getting things that aren't necessary. Alhamdulillah, not "living the life" is actually giving me a lot of life to live and enjoy because I have no worries.

With the doa from the link above, I hope that I will be protected from the unnecessary evil of spending on things that I don't need. InsyAllah, if we put our hearts pure of jealousy and the need to have more than anybody else, we will be saved from succumbing to shaitaan's whispers. Amin. The last thing we want is to waste our youth and not being able to spend our adulthood in prosperity. Pity our children if that happens.

Quote of the Day

"Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do."

This total lushness called The Weekend

This outfit that I wore yesterday tells a lot of story about how my Saturday went. How good my Saturday was definitely made my Sunday a very valuable one and I am very thankful for the nice friends God has given me :)

I had a really great Saturday out with my friends and myself! It all started with Santy and Hakeem's wedding (well, they got married weeks ago but you gotta be a stalker to know the real "why"). We all missed each other and decided hey, we should all meet up for lunch to catch up! And that we did! Had sushi at Excapade and it's so nice hearing Santy and Hakeem's story about their honeymoon in HAWAII! FTW, please, who else do I know who has been to Hawaii for their honeymoon? Ahh, I feel like I should go there one day. Cool enough their stop over was in Japan and that's a cool idea for a roundtrip "almost" around the world, right? Right?

And then at 2pm I went to Zen Spa. OOOoooohhh all ye lush things in the world and spa treatment being one of 'em. I had a body scrub and mask done which was followed by a really relaxing aromatherapy massage. Really needed that. It has been put on halt long enough. And of course the masseuse had a hard time taking the knots on my shoulders off. Gee I have been so stressed with work and wanted to rest during weekends that I'd forgotten how my body needed as much care as my mind. But that's all been taken care of now. All good =) After coming down from Zen, I just sat in my car not wanting to drive or go anywhere coz I was just THAT relaxed but good thing I did coz my next agenda was meeting my other friends for dinner and movie!

Had dinner at Kopitiam at the Airport coz we were meeting somebody there. I don't like airports. I think I like hospitals more than airports. Ugh, the familiar ding dongs that reminds you of your last call, that sombre cry on someone's shoulder before entering the departure hall. Terrible. But yesterday it was different so I ain't complaining hehehe.

Anyway, the outfit. I wore a yellow maxi dress that I bought from my cousin in Brisbane. It was a bit huge for my size but it works so well! I especially love that it's yellow. And I've had this animal print vintage dress from American Rag with me but never really wore it here in Brunei. I don't know why exactly but maybe coz the sleeves aren't long enough, the length itself is so 70s and to top it all, it's twice my size! So what I did was I turned the dress into a sort of a jacket or a long cardigan if you may. Sewed on shoulder pads and voila! Works perfectly! I think I'm favoriting this outfit til infinity! Totally love that it can double as an abaya too so perhaps next time when I don't have anything else to wear for formal occasions I'll rock up with this outfit.

How perfect is it that I'm looking forward for Monday hmm? Actually not really but I'm forcing myself to LOL! So many things due and so little time... it's alright ;)

Hope your weekend's been good too!

XX

It's good to be square sometimes

Assalammualaikum lovelies,

I know, what are the odds of me posting up two videos in a row? Thought that I should coz I have been delaying requests and that aint good now, is it?

Anyhoo, this is a tute for a turban style using the square scarf. This especially goes to my baby girl of Shop Naisha who wants to give a breath of life to her square scarves. Babe, you're in for a treat because this ones' for you. And of course to the other girls too, because surely we can't have too many square scarves, can we?

There are so many ways you can improvise with this style. What you have to do first of all is fold the scarf in two to create a triangle piece of magic, and then you place the bigger end on your forehead. You can either place it at the center, or do it like I did - to the side. You cannot go wrong with styling anything, well given that you style it the right way :p Using square scarves are always quick and so so so easy. Even the video's shorter than my other tutes!

So lets start, shall we?

Oh! Before I leave you, I have to say thank you to Khairy for getting me this scarf from UK. Sweet as ;)

Another Turban Tutorial!

Assalamualaikum,

This tutorial is a request by an Instagram follower, "fadhh", for a 60s themed function she'll be attending tomorrow. It's a throwback of the yellow animal print turban that I wore to my cousin's cake cutting ceremony during her wedding week. "fadhh", this is the closest I can get to that version. Now, this shows to everyone that my turbans are always different and I am not always able to repeat making a same one when it involves something so innovative (say whaaaat~?) HAHA maybe innovative isn't the correct word, but what I'm trying to say is it's different, and I don't wear this style all the time so I lack practice hehehe...

Anyway, a very important tip when attempting this style - you can go as big or as small with the "rose" on the side. You may want to put it to the left, or right, or make it as elaborative as you want. Big, small, medium, there's no measure. And you can twist it any way you want coz that'll create a whole new texture altogether. BUT you have to pin down the rose because it will loosen itself like a snake woken up after a great digestive sleep when it's had a goat for lunch!

This means that you can't go wrong with this one. To "fadhh", good luck tying this baby up and I wish you all the fun at your function. Should be so much fun dressing up!

xx

Front Tie Turban from Nisa Halim on Vimeo.

Such a nice read for a peaceful morning

I Got It Covered (@igotitcovered) 10/13/11 3:19 AM But I Love the Attention http://t.co/u69SgXd3

Nisa Halim

Over the Weekend blues

Nope, I didn't get the Monday blues yesterday. It was my weekend that was really really blue. I was bitter and vulnerable and that's not a good look now is it? But thank heavens we went to have Ambuyat to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday and now all is good.

I had on Lymo's Shop's tribal print scarf, a tweed coat that I bought long ago from Retrostar in Melbourne, a loose cotton on shirt and my newfound love for a pair of pants! BATIK! Can't have enough of batik, the more the merrier ^_^ It was nice not having to wear jeans for a while now although it still felt comfy wearing my work jeans yesterday with a pair of Oxfords. Oh boy...

My head's not really here for an update. It's 7pm and I'm sleepy. Man I'm getting old~

A reminder for ALL of us

Abaya Love

I LOOOOOVEEE THIS!

Taken from BungaLily on Tumblr

"I Don't Care"

A beautiful post from I Got It Covered about judgement. Click on the link for the full post. I'm sharing my favourite parts here :)

...I told myself I can change; and just as Shaytan started messing with my mind, I firmly told myself: I am a slave of Allah. My job is to take a step and it is Allah’s will if He wants me to get to the end of this road, He will help me through it. I promised myself that this time I will change, and even if I failed, I had firm faith in Allah’s mercy, and that no matter what the end result would be, at least on the Day of Judgement I would be able to tell Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala that at least I tried, at least I took a step.

The first time I went to a dinner party with my hijab and niqab I was extremely nervous. As I entered I kept looking at my feet, trying to avoid the negative vibes that came from the fashion-conscious aunties. I felt that I didn’t have the courage to face them. My mind kept telling me, don’t look up, don’t look at them, just ignore them. I secretly made du’a to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to create ease for me in this step, and my heart then told me: it’s time to face them.

Something in my mind instantly replied, no, what must they all be thinking about you?

I humbly looked up, smiling to myself, and answered that daunting question with a simple reply: I don’t care what people think.

And that was the day when I actually understood the reality of these words. That was the day when these words came from my heart and I understood that when you do something for your Lord, then it is His Mercy that surrounds your heart and thus you give in to true submission to Him; and that is when He makes the trials of this world very easy.

When the hearts are fully submerged in the ocean of submission to Him — that is when the high tides of this world cause no harm to the one who is already overcome –overcome by the storm of Hubbu lillah (love for Allah).

See, everybody has to start somewhere. Nobody is ever perfect and nobody lives without obstacles. You may think you are proving a genius point by slandering at us and throwing sarcastic quotes at us but what you don't realise is that what you are doing hurts and that doesn't do any justice to your deen.

Do not use hadiths and surahs in vain. They are not for sarcasm.

Quote of the Day

Ayat Quran (@ayatquran) 9/30/11 7:16 PM Dan barangsiapa yang disesatkan Allah, maka baginya tak ada seorangpun yang akan memberi petunjuk (13:33)

Nisa Halim

Brain limbo needs feeding

It is just so annoying when the sewing machine has to break down again! I need to get a new unit. I must get a new unit! While the warranty is still valid. Grrr... perhaps I need to get another one. I am just wondering if I can get a different one.

Seems like this is one of the many obstacles I've to go through to get a big hope achieved. I just have to pull through and I pray that this will never happen again nearing November. Amin!

So because my brain is so hyper, I've no good book to read, I drew :) Sort of an encouragement to myself to not give up.

Quote of the Day

Islamic Thoughts (@IslamicThinking) 10/4/11 1:01 PM Little vicious minds abound with anger and revenge and are incapable of feeling the pleasure of forgiving their enemies. #islam #forgive

Nisa Halim

Praise be to Allah for the strength He has given to us

Assalammualaikum,

Yesterday I met with a dear friend who's caught up in a dilemma that
has been caused by the secular world who claims to be religious and
rightful. I immediately was able to connect to her because I have been
through the same thing and felt what she's feeling.

Our movement, this thing that we're trying to do, is full of obstacles
and challenges that are not foreseeable. People may see it as
something that's easy to do - what's so hard about it, you think of
something and you blog about it; you wear something and you blog about
it. But the fact is it isn't as easy as you think it is because we are
faced with the dilemma of judgement every single second of our living.

In Islam, there are set rules that we have to adhere to and one of
them is the Five Pillars of Islam. Before you wish to judge someone
else based on what they are doing you have to measure yourself against
these pillars and answer me YES if you've done all of them. If you
have then alhamdulillah. But I haven't. You may say that I'm the worst
of muslims to be abandoning rukun based on the five pillars but you're
wrong.

Islam is the easiest religion you can adopt. It has been told that
being a muslim is the easiest thing to do because apart from the
things that we are told to abstain from, other things you are welcome
to explore in order to progress and improve your lives. Islam has
never told us to not get any education and knowledge about things.
Islam has never taught us to hate other people who are not muslims.
Islam is the best religion to be born into and is the best to
practice.

We are encouraged to inspire other muslims to put into practice the
things that have been passed on to us from the Prophet Muhammad SAW.
For example, girls and their hijabs. Sure, we must cover our chest
area, not show skin on the areas that are considered as aurah but look
at the generation now and ask yourselves are they willing to get
covered when all they see on television and in the movies are skin
bearing and tight shirt wearing girls of their age? And of course with
all the obstacles and tests that are fallen unto us we would easily
succumb to temptation.

And we live in the Facebook and Tumblr generation. Think of the things
that we share in these websites. People are saying that it is haraam
to share our pictures on the website.

But why?

I know the answer is to avoid any subahat but what if the intention of
these people who share are nothing but pure? Think of all the girls
who has been inspired by the likes of hijab fashionistas and think of
the number of girls who day by day decide to wear the hijab before
anything else. What do you say to that? All I'm saying is that, with
the right niat in your heart, it'll be very easy for you to reach out
to other people. On the other hand, when your niat is to be praised
for your looks THEN it becomes haram and not only your body parts,
even your FACE will be aurah. That's what we don't want to happen,
dear sisters.

Please know that what me and my friends are trying to do is NOT to
show off. It is to inspire and to reach out to girls out there to
become better Muslimahs. WE have to start somewhere right? Sure, some
people would say that all this covering up mumbo jumbo is just for
fashion but insyAllah I can assure you that I have never intended it
to be that way. If I have to tell you a little bit about my experience
right now, the hijab has attracted this murky heart of mine to study
more about Islam. The hijab has made my heart curious to study and
practice surahs and hadiths and I am trying my very best to live
according to sunnah. It doesn't always work and I am not the perfect
muslimah but I am striving to.

So all these people who are calling us hijab models and hijab
fashionistas - please just don't. I refuse to be associated with
anything that is related to modelling because that is not my end
journey, I do not strive to get to the end of the road of a modelling
career. When I get out of the tunnel I would like the destination to
be jannah.

The right niat is what you need for everything you do. That is how you
get Allah's blessing. Just remember that. I don't oppose people who
wear the hijab to be pretty, although I would advice you to not use it
wrongly. I am giving advice to my sisters that if you want to start
something, the correct niat is what you need. Because Allah knows
whats in your heart.

And to girls who are about to start or has started the same journey as
I, good luck and may Allah give you the strength to hold on and pick
up yourself when you've been pushed by comments by those who are
ignorant and judgemental. We don't need to care what others think
about us because they are not the people we want to impress. We know
so well whom we'd like to impress ;)

Turban Styles

Sister in law, myself and my sister in our different turban styles. It's so much fun knowing that the turban has made a come back and is now catching on to my other cousins too.

The get up.

The skirt needs work and the blouse needs to be re-tailored but they both work, weirdly enough, so I'm happy =)

More tutorials to come!

Ending the Weekend!

I will eat as much cake as I want tonight!

I love Weddings!

Because I simply loooove dressing up! It's my cousin Didah's wedding week and we're all enjoying it to bits! This is the third wedding for the Yusop family this year and this time the theme is royal purple. So my sister, sister in law and I made ourselves similar retro baju kurungs to fit in Didah's palette! We made puffy quarter sleeves and knee-hugging dresses on top of our princess cut skirts. Yes, it was tough going around here and there especially when I had to go up and down the stairs of the Royal Berkshire but it was well worth it in the end (especially during picture time!).

Tonight is the cake cutting ceremony and it'll be a casual event. I have a concrete idea what my attire's gonna look like ;)

BTW for my turban I layered a pashmina you've seen before in a previous post with Shop Naisha's peasant shawl. It's like a match made in heaven. Love the purpleness of the shawl, totally fits in the theme!

Heard there'll be more weddings coming next year. YES!!!

That's right

It has gotten to the point where it gets uncomfortable to be stared at.