Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

First roses since I moved

Hi all, I managed to make some roses for the first time since I moved to my new place, which is a milestone for me. I'm planning to use them for a christmas piece...so let's hope it works out. I'm also trying out a new time routine, which involves me waking up another hour earlier, so I can have an extra hour to craft before I start my very busy day. I hope through this way, I'll have more time to do work.


I also want to announce that I have a SALE in my Etsy shop HERE for items that are marked with FREE SHIPPING. They are basically molds, so head over to OTHERS section and look for items that are marked with FREE SHIPPING.

Buy 3 or more of FREE SHIPPING items and get 15% off. Use code : FREESPECIAL3
This code is strictly ONLY for items marked with FREE SHIPPING and cannot be combined with other products. 

I'm currently also working on some custom work, and I'll get some pictures up when I'm done!

Wishing everyone a great week ahead :)

Saturday, September 1, 2018

Labor Day Sale in my Etsy Shop!

A very quick update for now! I just wanted to announce I am running a SALE over at my Etsy Shop....I'm actually taking a short break from cooking dinner to quickly post this announcement! Then I'll need to resume cooking.

I don't post that much recently as I've been busy with the usual - hospital appointments, new house arrangements, working, cooking, errands. I'm sure I missed out some stuff, but you get the idea. I'll have more photos of what I'm working on when I can catch my breath! I'm still around! :)

To all my friends in the USA, I hope you have a great Labor Day Holiday!

Details about the SALE: 
If you would like to pick up some molds and supplies, this is the best time to do so! Please use code: ETSYLABORDAY2018 for ALL molds, craft books and clay supplies
Discount: 15% off when you spend SGD$120 
SALE Period: 29 Aug 2018—4 Sep 2018
I promise I have more photos of what I'm working on in the next update! 

Sunday, July 1, 2018

New home and renovations (Part 1)

I've been busy with packing (slowly), donating away things that we don't use, or just throwing out things that are just not usable anymore. There's so much to do each day. I thought it would be fun to take some pictures along the way while the new home is undergoing renovations. Last week, hacking of tiles began. Then they had to lay cement, and water-proof the bathrooms before they can start any tiling.

The living room

As you can see the floor tiles have been hacked off and that piece of wall tile still exists because they are simply going to plaster directly over it. That saves hacking costs.


Another view of the living room leading to 2 bedrooms.


This was the master bathroom and everything's been hacked off.


This is the common toilet in the kitchen, but it's a bit too dark to show up.


One side of the kitchen wall. This side of the wall will be where we will put the washing machine and dryer.


Rather spacious kitchen, I must say! On the left side will be where the fridge, oven and kitchen cabinets are placed.

And today, I went in to take a look. The cement laying is ongoing. That's why it looks a bit dark.


And they started laying wall tiles for the common toilet!


That's all for now! Hopefully more progress pics in another week's time! 

Friday, April 27, 2018

Flower Arrangement Videos

I recently chanced upon this short series of a flower arrangement video clip on youtube. Everything about it is beautiful. From that green wall, to that brown antique cupboard in the background, to that cute white porcelain bowl, to that whole assortment of pink flowers on the table. And don't forget those deep fuchsia peonies hiding behind the guy. That color blew me away. I wished I could stay in a room like that.

I had fun watching how that flower arrangement slowly come to life. The things he talked about were also very applicable to dollhouse miniature flower arrangement. Funny how we watch certain videos and think about how we can incorporate that into our mini making. I love how he daringly adds height and depth to the arrangement to bring life to it.

If you have some time, you might enjoy watching it too. :)


I don't know why there isn't a Part 1. It actually starts from Part 2.
Here are the links to the videos.
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8


Wednesday, December 20, 2017

4 peonies

It's been a while, and thank you to the few of you who have left me lovely birthday messages in my last blog post :) I truly appreciate the warm support and messages. In just a few days time, it will be Christmas. Although I long to make some christmas items and have a few in mind, but I don't think I will craft them in time for Christmas. But that's ok. I know in some places, there are christmas shops opened for 365 days a year.

Crafting is still a challenge for me these days, because I don't have the luxury to sit down for more than half an hour. So, when I was able to find some energy the other night, I made these 4 peonies.


This sounds crazy, but I was proud at my own little accomplishment. I will be using them for a rainbow cake.

There will be a couple of new molds in the coming weeks, so I'll be sure to blog about it when I have some samples.

I hope everyone of you have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Friday, December 1, 2017

A quiet birthday

Sorry I've been out of the loop again! I meant to write a thanksgiving blog post, but time just flew by.

Thank you for your support, if you've been shopping over at my shop during the sale period. I am especially grateful for all the sale that came in.

I just celebrated my birthday last week, and it was a quiet affair. I was especially thankful that my friend from Seattle stayed to spend the day with me and Mom. I cooked, but also bought some food.

My mom has a habit of giving me a red packet each year. I keep almost all the red packets. This year, I noticed that my mom has more difficulty with her writing.  Because I keep all the red packets, I could tell the difference from year to year.

Still, despite her difficult condition, she writes. I cherish all the red packets and her handwriting.


Today, I'm teaching a class. I'll go prepare now!


Thursday, November 16, 2017

Christmas Macarons and life updates

Oh boy, where has all the time gone. For those who've been following my blog and know my current situation, I've been busy adjusting to a new schedule of taking care of my mom full time. It has been about 2-3 months since, and I'm adjusting well. There are some good and bad days, but there are more good days than bad ones, so for that I'm grateful. I'm still working - whenever I have pockets of free time daily. My life revolves around daily morning walks with my mom, juicing, accompany my mom for her weekly chemo sessions, monitoring mom's blood sugar level three times a day, cooking all the meals, housework, working, packing orders, teaching classes, running errands, grocery shopping. I'm sure there's more, but these are the main things. I am thankful that despite my very difficult circumstances, I am being supported in various ways by close friends, relatives and even strangers.

I've told a couple of my close friends, that maybe in future, I can consider a second career in care giving. When life presents hard situations, I take that as an opportunity to pick up new skillsets. Besides, we never really know what we are made of until such difficult situations arise. In these 2-3 months, I learnt a lot about food and nutrition and what I can cook for someone who has cancer and diabetes. My mom loves soup, so it's something I cook almost everyday.

On top of caregiving duties (which takes up most of my time really), I managed to:
- teaching a student who flew in from Philippines
- finished a custom christmas macaron order
- fulfil orders on time and going to the post office pretty much everyday

Sometimes I don't know how I manage to pull it off.

When my customer requested for chocolate cream for these red christmas macaron ornaments, I was really happy to work on them. Crafting gives new meaning to my life right now. And the colors were therapeutic. After I made them, I liked them so much that I decided to offer this color combination as well in my Etsy shop here.


I've always enjoyed making these every Christmas. :)


The color is festive, cheerful and I felt light hearted as I made these. 




Also, I will be holding an xmas sale over at my Etsy shop starting 20 Nov till 1 Dec. I'm offering a 10% discount with minimum purchase of $100 SGD. Discount code is XMAS17

I'm working on listing a couple of new molds. However they probably won't be ready on the day of the sale, but they will surely be up sometime in the middle of the sale. :)

Have a good week everyone!

Saturday, September 2, 2017

A dollhouse miniature macaron tower that means so much

This dollhouse miniature tower, holds a very special place in my heart… it signifies strength, wisdom, kindness to one self, and possibly even more. 


I have been contemplating if I wanted to write about this. I thought about it. This is afterall my personal blog. Yes I do write about my inspiration for the miniature pieces I create, and I largely want to keep it that way. THIS piece of work is also significant to me on many personal levels. At the same time, I'm also a very private person. I choose my counsel carefully. I'm hoping by being open about it, you can understand, if I am ever slow in my responses or sending off an order, it's not because I'm not trying my best. I WILL continue to provide the best service I can.

I was in the midst of creating this particular piece when my dearest mother, who is also my best friend got diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. You can imagine how life immediately changes completely when a loved one has been diagnosed with this disease. My mom also has Parkinson’s Disease for close to 10 years now. If this isn’t enough, she is also going through a divorce. Is there even a word called “triple whammy”? 


The beautiful thing of having been told that one has a stage iv breast cancer is that, you have time to mentally prepare and plan your departure. On the night when we gathered as a family after receiving this news, we had probably THE BEST conversation heart to heart, about life and death. Mom even had the wisdom to say that, death can come to anyone any minute, car accident as an example. So she isn't afraid. We had time to express our appreciation and love for one another. That was a precious moment.


My beautiful mother is such a strong and inspiration woman. She did not cry, not even up till now. Of course she was shocked when she was told by the doctor about stage iv cancer. I think anyone would be. After the shock, she had time to digest it and with her guiding faith, she knows and understands that death is part of life. Everyone of us has to go through it. This is not saying that she has given up - it just means she is at peace that she has this disease, she accepts and embrace it. She will go for treatment, and just honestly, live life to the fullest every single day. In fact, everyone of us should, whether we have cancer or not. 

I'm very thankful and grateful for having a few very wise friends. It makes a whole lot of difference. They offer me valuable insights, wise advice and basically teach me how to look at things. It's really amazing how one can have a transformational learning about life and what truly matters in times of hardships, only if we don't resist it.

If all of us can talk about death openly, the first thing it does is fear is being removed. And when fear is removed, we can be open, and truly enjoy even the simplest moments. 


So yup, I've said it. 

I'm curious about how my upcoming works in the future would transform into. I'm not even sure about the direction. But I'm just keeping my heart open. One thing I know is they will be even more meaningful to me for sure. I suspect that it might take me a longer time to create pieces, as my caregiving duties will be ramped up significantly. But I am still going to create, because it is something that helps me to express whatever I'm feeling. I'm not sure if cathartic is the right word even. I'm just curious and look forward to whatever that comes. I want to work, and I STILL love my work and need to work :) 

I'm very thankful to my close knitted group of friends and counsel. (Thank you Deborah!!) My best friend who lives in Seattle is planning to visit me and mom soon. I'm looking forward to that. My best friend, mom and I have always had wonderful conversations. 

When the tough gets going, I will tell myself, one day at a time. And when a day at a time is EVEN so hard, I'll tell myself one breath at a time. 

Thursday, July 13, 2017

How my jogging routine has changed over the years

I've been trying something new lately with my jogging routine. I still remembered when I started jogging, I basically jogged empty handed. Then I got an ipod shuffle by chance where I could put music in. I started listening to music while I jogged. When that gadget died, I started holding my phone. I thought that was a good idea as I started longer distances and it's just safer to have a phone around for emergency. I'd still listen to music, but when I'm bored, I would switch it off and just enjoy the sounds of nature.

And then, apps such as mapmyrun was created and I found it handy to track distances, calories burnt. I started to use it as well.

When has jogging become a "game" of some sort? Now, there are even apps made to make jogging more fun. They make games, and you listen to a game scenario while running. You collect "things" that will be useful in the game while running. To increase the fun aspect, you can select the option to "chase off" where zombies will chase after you. You'll need to outrun their pace in order to win.

So last week, I decided to try zombie run. The GPS component is still wonky and doesn't always track accurately. For instance, there was once I was on a path but it tracks me as running in the canal. It was quite fun for a change, to listen to a story scenario while running. However I didn't try the "chase off" option as I'm just focusing on my own pace.


Honestly, I did find it fun - it provided a different distraction or purpose. But I just don't think I would subscribe as it is something I can live without. My next game scenario can only be unlocked on 17 July unless I subscribe. I'll wait instead.

Meanwhile, I'm back to running listening to music, or just plain sounds of nature. :)

If you do jog, what is your routine?

Monday, March 6, 2017

Free Online Programs I Use For Photos

For the past week, I have been working from my mom's old laptop. As mentioned in my last post, I didn't want to install too many programs on this old laptop.

So during the past week, I've been editing photos using free online programs I can find on the internet. I think they are a gem, and definitely a useful resource for those who don't have the means to purchase licenses to use Photoshop. If you're looking for free online resources, that are EASY to use, you certainly should consider the below:

Converting CR2 to JPEG Files
Anyone who has a Canon camera would probably need a program to convert their files to JPEG. Ordinarily I would use the software that comes with my camera to do the work, but for now, I'm using RAW Pics.io This FREE software is so easy to use. They also convert to many other formats as well. I tried using their RAW format conversion, but I didn't like how the pics turn out. I don't know why they have a grey overcast over my photos. I asked for a refund and got mine back without questions asked. I am using the jpeg converter that comes free during this time. Good enough for now.

Online Photoshop Free
I was also using this to edit my photos after that. Absolutely free and the layout is exactly the same as Photoshop, so this worked perfectly for me. I wouldn't know what to do without a program like this.

I hope this helps!

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Emirates Low Fat & Low Cholesterol Meal (LFML) Business Class

I wanted to blog about this, as there is very little information or photos found on the internet when it comes to special dietary meals on airplanes. What is actually being served when you order special meals on the airplane is somewhat a mystery, especially if you order something more unusual besides the vegetarian meals.

But just to give you a little context. I was very lucky to experience one of the longest flights ever to visit my friend. We had to fly from Singapore to Dubai for 6 hours, and then Dubai to Los Angeles. Flight time was 16 hours 15 mins on this leg alone. Then from Los Angeles to Seattle for 2 hours. But the silver lining to this long distance traveling was that I was also going to fly in Business Class together with my mom. (Thanks to my wonderful friend who gifted me with award travel on Business Class) My priority on these flights was ensuring that my mom would be able to have something to eat that doesn't clash with her medication. She couldn't eat cheese as that would interfere with her medication, and we don't eat beef and mutton as well. The good thing about flying Emirates is that they publish their meals on the website before the actual flight date, so you can take a look at what will be served. After studying all the food options, I realized that almost every choice had cheese in it, and there were a lot of beef and mutton options in the particular flight we were in to Los Angeles. That left me with no choice but to order special meals for both of us.

The Low Fat/ Low Cholesterol Meal (LFML) seems to be the safest choice for us. On the Emirates website, there were no pictures, so this is all the information you've got.

This meal is available for passengers who need to minimise their intake of fatty foods.
It contains one or more of these ingredients: margarine, cottage cheese, egg whites, boiled rice, potatoes, lean meats, fish, wholegrain bread, cereals, and fresh fruit.
It does NOT contain milk, cream, fat, cheese, egg yolks, or fatty meats.

Because there were no images, I could only keep my fingers crossed that there won't be cheese and red meat in it. BUT the worst case scenario would be to ask for more bread and skip the main if there was :)

My search results came up with photos of LFML meals in economy class, which was still helpful in a way. I was hoping we would get something similar to what was being served in economy class.

So I thought it would be a good to take photographs of what does a Low Fat/Low Cholesterol meal consists of in Business Class.

Our flight from Dubai to Los Angeles started off in the morning around 8ish. We would be served breakfast first shortly after take off. Of course, who could resist the pre-departure drink?

I picked orange juice, as I haven't had a lot of sleep the night before in the business lounge, so I was careful of not consuming too much alcohol and caffeine.

I love my window seat! I got a window seat for both Mom and myself. Mom loved it. :) The air stewardesses were very nice and thought we would want to sit together. She was going to arrange something for us. In reality, the flight was less than half full, so we could pick and choose to sit anywhere we wanted that wasn't occupied.

 
Another view of my pre-departure drink. :) Time seem to fly so quickly when you're busy looking around the cabin, and figuring out buttons on your seat.


There was a lot of leg room for me. My legs could barely touch the leg rest area, unless I use the seat control buttons to recline my seat.


So, here's what my Low Fat/ Low Cholesterol Meal (LFML) Breakfast meal in Business Class looks like. I absolutely loved this, and I finished everything you see on there. In fact, the air stewardess would walk around with the bread tray and asked if you want more bread. I DID get a second croissant. It was delicious.

In the mains, there were eggs, potato, mushroom, tomato and spinach. It was very delicious. But I really want to rave about the fruits. I knew in the other breakfast selection, you would get the usual fruits like watermelon, honeydew, apple, orange etc. For ours, they gave us pink grapefruit, oranges and some berries. It was served chilled, and was very very sweet. Both Mom and myself were talking how fresh and sweet the fruits were non-stop. That's how good it was. Memorable. I remembered sleeping for a few hours after eating a heavy breakfast.

I woke up to a dark cabin, and was feeling a little peckish. There were a few snack options I could select from the menu. I picked the sweet option as the hot snack options were not that appetizing to me.

This was a vanilla dome dessert. Inside it was raspberry coulis. It reminded me of the miniature dome desserts that I was working on prior to taking my holiday :) I also ordered Camomile Tea.


This was delicious!

About 2 and a half hours before reaching our destination, lunch was served. This is our starter.


A very healthy salad with lots of mixed vegetables. On the starter plate, we had lobster, and some seafood thingy, which I wasn't sure what it was. I skipped that one, but ate the lobster. It was fresh and sweet.


And then for the main, we had grilled salmon and roasted vegetables. I love this. The fished was cooked to perfection. A little crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Though there was no sauce, but believe me, when the fish is fresh and cooked well, you can skip the sauce and just enjoy the fish. It looks like a small piece here, but it was NOT small at all. I was very full. One of the best salmon that I have ever tasted. :)

Overall, I was very pleased with the meals and service on Emirates. There were many air stewardesses on board to take care of all of us. 15 hours didn't seem so long on the air to me. I slept on and off, usually 2 hours at a stretch, watched a few movies, chat with my mom, walked around, snacked on warm nuts, drank a lot of water and juices and just enjoyed ourselves.

I am thankful I had the chance to sit in the beautiful A380 plane and enjoying this long trip. And I hope you enjoyed reading this as well :)

Saturday, November 5, 2016

Etsy Meets Singapore

I was glad to make it to the #EtsyMeetsSingapore Sellers Meetup event yesterday! It was time well spent. Even though I have been selling on etsy for a while now, anything that has to do with technology changes all the time. Although the turn out yesterday was small, but I thought it was still nice and cozy. I am grateful for the organizers who put it all together. They had a couple of topics on "social media" and "keywords" that I found relevant and useful. So even for long time sellers, I think one would pick up something that they didn't know. At least I did! It was also nice to meet other sellers, although I must say I didn't get to talk to many. I tend to talk "deeply" with each one, and before we know it, break time is up! :) A shout out to Janice of TrinketsEtcetera It was great chatting with you! :) I think she will be opening up her store or another one soon.

There were also potential shop owners. I met a dad who drove his daughter and wife to this event. We had a short, interesting casual chat. I hope his wife and daughter will feel inspire to open up their shop after the event yesterday.

We got a note pad, pen and notes from yesterday's event. There were some stickers too.


A light-bulb moment for me yesterday was knowing who my target audience is. I only knew it instinctively yesterday. For many years, I have been thinking about it and if you asked me a few years ago, I couldn't even really tell you exactly tell you much. But when this question came up yesterday, a very precise answer came into my mind. And I knew this after having deep conversations with a few of my lovely customers who have spend time chatting with me online. We'd talk about not just what I make or sell, but what interests us, what makes us happy. These are good questions and it gives you an insight into another person's life. So, thank you, for those of you who have shared with me your life, your likes, what inspires you!

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Dollhouse Miniature Grandeur Bouquet

Hi everyone! I'm still around, for another week before I head off for my 2 week vacation. But before I write more about that, I'm still working hard here, creating more art. :) This week, I finished another bouquet, named "Grandeur". This will be heading off to UK. Thanks for the support!! I appreciate it!

 
I started off with orangy, peachy tones when I created this bouquet. Then I added some yellow. I was deciding if I should put in some purple, but I had another idea for purples, so I left that out. It's also been a while since I made some red, so that went in. I experimented with some new tiny green leaves, which I absolutely love! Can you spot them? These are so versatile, and I plan to make them in other colors, because their tiny appearance adds a sweet charm to the overall look of the bouquet :) I also love how the white/green ranunculus found its place in here....they just came together nicely, effortlessly.

I was certainly thinking of autumn colors here, although maybe one might say it's still not "autumny" enough ;)
I'll try even more darker colors next round...


Maybe you wonder if I ever get tired making bouquet after bouquet. And the answer for now is no. I love experimenting with colors, love being able to create free flow, letting my mind and emotions guide my color choices. I do tend not to like re-making things exactly the same, and I've always told my customers I'll try to replicate as closely as possible, but it's going to still look a little different. Every color is hand mixed, so there is never going to be two bouquets exactly the same. I am thankful that I've not had issues with that, and customer are often very understanding that they are all created one by one. 

__________________

The countdown to my holidays have started! One more week before I head off to vacation for 2 weeks. I'm really excited to be embarking on this long journey. I used to bring my heavy camera with me in the past so that I can take beautiful photos, but I don't intend to on this trip as I need to care for my mother. So I will take photos with my phone only. :) I don't really know if anyone wants to read about my vacation - it's really nothing fanciful. I'm just going to places where I've good friends and all I want to do is just to spend quality time with them and create some wonderful memories and experiences together. These are things that will forever be in my memory and my mom to date has always fondly remember her trips, so I know it will be worthwhile. I'm bringing along some chicken rice kit, and letting my friends try them. I also told my friends not to create an action pack itinerary for me...because I like to take my time and I have to consider my mother's needs. So we are taking everything extra slow :)


Monday, August 22, 2016

New Roses and Paper

Made some new roses after taking a little break from making flowers. I'm thinking of making a bouquet with a really soft beige, lilac theme. Let's see how that goes. :) Pretty excited!

Just keeping everything very light and soft here. I love these! In fact, I couldn't wait but release one of them in a latest piece that I just released today.

Last week, I also got hold of some pretty white translucent wax papers. They were so pretty and I am thinking of using them for wrapping up future bouquets. It would give a really different feel from the newspaper print paper, I bet! Soft, white, pristine. :)


I know the photo doesn't show the prints well, but....I assure you they are pretty. I can visualize bouquets in them already. :)

Friday, August 12, 2016

What I learnt from the Olympics

Hi there! I'm still around! Everyone seems to be busy playing Pokemon Go here, but I have no desire to start this game. Am I the odd one around here? On the other hand, I chose to indulge in watching the Summer Olympics, which was my favorite thing to do since I was a kid. It only happens once every 4 years, and so when it arrives every time, I get excited. My favorite sports events to watch is swimming, volleyball, some basketball. When I see an athlete standing on the podium everytime, I am reminded that behind that success is a lot of hard work, sacrifices and intense focus to get to where they are.

One particular athlete in the swimming scene in this Rio Games stood out to me. Katie Ledecky - she is such a powerhouse. A swimmer who is able to do both shorter and longer distances and be able to dominate in both is truly unheard of. Because she was so phenomenal in her races, I had to google about her and read about why she was so successful.

Her and most athletes work ethics can be applied in our own daily lives if we wanted to be the best in what we do.

- Everyone has heard about the 10,000 hours principle but no one follows it ... except incredibly successful people. To be good at something, we need to consistently practise that skill. There are no shortcuts to success. And in some cases when we hear about "overnight" success stories, we would realize that the person has actually put in tremendous amount of time and effort working on that thing if we dug further. This definitely can be applied to anything that we want to pursue or achieve. Start the groundwork now. Everyday.

- Not following the crowd. Think differently.
This is a particularly interesting concept. Most people tend to follow the crowd, as the tried and tested path seems safe and if it has proven to be successful, why change it? But following the crowd is also a recipe for mediocrity. In Katie's case, she was a distance swimmer, but thinks like a sprinter. She also trains at a high stroke rate, everyday, twice a day. Her practice is way different than the rest of other distance swimmers.


I've learnt a couple of things while watching this olympics. I'm inspired by the great work ethics that the athletes maintained over the years to get to where they are today. Those are the things that I certainly can apply in what I do. Did you learn anything while watching the games?

More great miniature artwork to come! :)

Friday, July 22, 2016

Impromptu Weekend Sale!

I'm holding an impromptu weekend sale this weekend. Head over to my etsy shop and get 10% OFF when you purchase a minimum of $25USD

Code expires 24 July.


Have a wonderful weekend all!

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Unique Gifts For Men

A close friend of mine is celebrating his birthday this month. I always have a hard time getting gifts for people, and probably even more so for men. I'm not very good with picking gifts. Over the years, I've bought items such as organic teas, handmade sweet treats, handmade marmalade, organic honey for this friend. But I'm running out of ideas and for a change, I thought of sending something non-food related.

I love getting gifts from Etsy. I'm saying that not because I run an Etsy store there myself, but I've found really unique, great handmade gifts over there. By the way, I also got ALL those organic edible treats from Etsy!!

I was thinking what my friend was into lately. What came into my mind was, his latest favorite word is "Namaste". So I went into Etsy and keyed in "Namaste" and my search results churned out quite a lot of gifts that were tagged with this.

And then I found this!

Isn't this pretty? It's a coffee spoon and it's hand stamped!
Immediately I fell in love with this. I think of how pleased my friend will be to sip his morning hot drink everyday, and the words on this spoon will help frame his mind for the day. :)

I HAD to get it for him and so I did!

You know that sense of great accomplishment when you found that PERFECT gift for someone. I'm feeling like that yesterday. :)
Namaste Coffee Spoon - Tea Cereal Breakfast - Hand Stamped - Coffee Lover Stir Stick - Vintage Silver Plated Silverware - Gift 
Photo from EveOfJoy

I can't wait till my friend receives his gift ^^

Monday, February 29, 2016

Good Claying Habits

I'm currently working on a new commissioned fake dessert project that requires me to use larger cups than I'm used to. If you follow me on my instagram, you may have seen this photo before.


The 2cm cups are the 1:12 scale dollhouse miniature cups. I'm working with the 3.5cm cups this time round for this project. The difference in 1.5cm in size does makes a lot of difference!!

This project will be made up of a lot of macarons, chocolate balls and whip cream. I do intend to blog more work in progress pictures for this project!

Meanwhile I'm making a lot of macarons first. And I'm really pacing myself for this.


I have 2 more colors to make, and I spent 2 days making these. 1 day for each color. Of course, I move onto other things after I finished 1 set of macaron color per day. But I need to be really mindful when I am working with macarons, especially if they require a detailed crows feet look.

Do you actually take care of your hands and wrists while working with clay? Perhaps you are young, and you don't think about these things. But even as a hobbyist, I hope you think about it and practice good claying habits if you wish to enjoy this hobby for a long time. Prolonged repetitive actions on one particular hand/wrist isn't healthy. Prolonged sitting down for hours isn't as well. Bad sitting posture can affect your nerves which affects other part of your body. So, I strongly suggest that everyone take good care of your body and health :) Schedule breaks frequently, get up, walk, exercise before coming back to claying. Maybe you need to take extra care if you are a polymer clay user as you need to condition your clay.

What are your claying habits? 

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Everyone has their own story to tell

I recently completed this flower arrangement which I named it Spring Chic. It reminds me of spring time that is slowly but surely approaching us. Although I know this is not truly the case as many of the countries in North Asia are experiencing a sudden big chill and the weather in many of the countries are at a new low. Fortunately or unfortunately, depends on how you see it, Singapore isn't affected by it really. Over here, I'm only experiencing more windy days, but the temperature hasn't dropped lower.

The spring chic dollhouse miniature flower arrangement is available here.


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If you are still reading this post, what I'm going to say next isn't going to be miniatures related.

But I had a bit of shock and am feeling a bit sad today. My mother fell at home today. But thankfully I was at home at that time. By the time I went to take a look, she was sitting down and applying some medication to her eye socket area which was very swollen. She also cut her lip. I was very shocked by that, and I insisted to bring her to the doctor right away. I think she was a bit embarrassed to be walking out of the house in that state, but I did not want to delay any further as I wasn't sure if she had any serious injuries. I also think she was in a bit of a shock. We went right away in a taxi and luckily I managed to grab the first spot for her at the doctor. The doctor examined her and said it's hard to tell if she had any fractures but he doesn't think there is any. So we have to monitor her condition for the next few days to see if she has any pain, vomiting, headaches etc. She was prescribed with swelling medication, pain medication and a mouth gargle. The doctor also asked that she put an ice pack over her swollen area to reduce the swelling. So that was my priority when we got home. Even though she's in a bit of shock then, the doctor didn't want to prescribe any medication for that as it will cause drowsiness. So it is something she had to cope and handle naturally. I made her chamomile tea as I knew it helps with anxiety and panic attacks. It was her first time drinking that and I think she is open to anything that helps to calm her down. She finished the entire cup! After an afternoon of icing, her swelling has reduced a lot. But I know she's still a little self conscious with her looks. I know she doesn't want to go out of our home for at least a week until the bruise and swelling is completely subsided. She doesn't want others to think she was being physically abused.

I think as our parents get older and more frail, we will experience and witness things that reminds us that they are indeed not as young and mobile as before. While I was helping my mom with the icing, I had a sudden flashback of how my mom took care of me when I was young and broke my nose accidentally in school. She took me to the clinic and then hospital, and also massaged my broken nose gently with the hard boil egg. Now it is my turn to care for my mother. I cannot help but feel sad when I see my mom with a swollen bruised eye. But I did not shed a tear when I was with her, because I had to be strong to be the caretaker.

For the next few days or weeks, I'll be more busy around the house helping my mom. I love my mom very much and want her to get well soon. :) 

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Public Speaking Opportunity

I wanted to blog about something entirely different today. Actually introversion and public speaking are two big subjects which I ought to break it up to talk about more. So today, I'll want to focus and share my thoughts on public speaking.

Recently, I was presented with a public speaking opportunity. Yes it's something different from what I do altogether, and surprisingly I was excited about it. I was excited because it's truly a public speaking opportunity, and not a hands-on crafting demo thing. If you had presented that idea to me when I was in my 20s, I'll freak out and say no. It was a combination of stage fright, disliking being in the limelight and lack of self confidence. The truth is, I have numerous opportunities to present when I was younger, but they were all work related topics and honestly, I have always hated it. I hated it because the topics (usually technical) bores me to death. I never really felt for the subject strongly which naturally led me to not liking public speaking or presenting altogether.

But coming back to this recent opportunity...Ultimately, things didn't work out because they wanted me to talk about a different topic which I don't care about. If I find the topic boring and it doesn't inspires me, I am not motivated at all. I have actually given some serious thoughts about this. If I was given the platform to talk publicly, and I can choose what I wanted to talk about, this is what I wanted to share: inspiration, passion, the creative journey and even business fundamentals. These are the topics that I care about and feel strongly for. I have also garnered quite a few stories from my own creative journey all these years to share. I don't want to talk about the "nuts and bolts" of setting up a business because these are things that you can find answers on the internet if you really spend some time doing research.

As I reflect on the recent incident, I never imagined being presented with a public speaking opportunity. But I think from the few minutes of exchanges I had with the few guys, I must have impressed them to a certain extent. I'm going to save those personal stories and maybe in the future where there is an opportunity to talk about them, I'll like to share. I want to use the public speaking platform to share those, because it would create the most impact that way.