the secret

lately, my creations had been receiving compliments from family and friends. thanks heaps to everyone who complimented my works for you do encourage me to make more and to strive to be much better in this new craft.

i think one thing that really attracts people to my work are the photos itself (of course, aside from the fact that they are really lovely -- yeah yeah i know the compliments are going into my head now :D). some thought that photography must be another hobby of mine (i wish!). or that maybe i'm using a really good dslr camera for these photos (in my dreams!).

the truth is that as much as i want to learn photography, i just don't get it hehe i swear, i've already borrowed and read so many photography books from the library. but the moment i close the book, i forget what i just read hahaha but then again, maybe i did learn something from those books :D

and my camera? i guess my photos only prove that you don't really need a dslr to produce really good photos. a good quality point and shoot camera will do. like my camera. i used only a canon powershot a620 to shoot all the photos in my posts.

but of course, i did apply some of the things i learned about photography (so i did learn something!). i read in a photography enthusiasts' forum that part of taking a good photo is the post-processing or editing. no photo is finished unless it went through some post-processing. but unlike the rest of the world, i don't use photoshop. unfortunately, i don't have that software. but, i don't really need it because my post-processing consists only of adding a bit of light or brightness here and there, then some cropping, and of course, my signature. and like any other photographer (ok, i'm pretending to be one now) i do take lots of shots for one single item or subject. of course, out of 20-30 photos taken, only 1 or 2 will turn out good haha

there! that's it! that's the secret to my photos. oh and yeah, the background that i use? that's the floor in our living room :) i'm lucky we have a nice flooring in the living room haha

~.~

black beauty

i have been too busy lately making some last minute gifts. if others are busy with their last minute shopping, well, i'm busy making my gifts :) nothing beats a gift that comes with a little labor of love. oh alright! it's just me trying to save on gifts this christmas teehee well, what to do? i need to save. there's a global crisis going on, right? still, i insist, my gifts come with some lovin' haha

and here are some of the stuff i made last week. yeah, i know my title's a cliche. but, hey, black is beautiful!

>_<

smoky quash

last thursday night, ebd and i went to a crystal shop in fu lu shou complex along albert street. we've been passing by this place for years now. but of all the shops near our office, i think this is the only one we haven't explored yet. i guess it's because it wasn't really interesting enough for us. the building seems old and from outside it looks as if it's full of shops selling mostly crystals.

crystals. hey, now that we are into beading, i told ebd that i think it's time for us to visit the place. and so we did. and oh boy, we are in crystal heaven haha

inside one of the shops, i found a strand of nice crystals and asked a sales lady what kind of crystal it is. the lady was not very good in speaking english.

me: hi. what's this? (pointing at the crystals)
lady: smokee quash.
me: i'm sorry. again?
lady: smokee quash.
me: uhm. smoky "quash"?
lady: yes, smokee quash.

i was unconvinced. i have never heard of a smoky quash before. i studied minerals in high school and i never learned about any "quash". but still, the crystals are nice and the price is fair enough, so i bought it.

after paying for my purchase and before leaving the store, again i asked the lady about the crystals.

me: what crystal is this again?
lady: smokee quash.

in my mind, i was thinking, which mineral would sound like a "quash"? aha! *lightbulb moment here*

me: is this a smoky quartz???
lady: yes!

haha finally!!!

^_^

beads and wires

yesterday, i went to the library and went back home with three books about beads and wire jewelries. i am so fascinated with the projects in the books and would love to try making them. i wish i can find at least a 14k gold wire here in singapore so i can try those projects. i have no idea where to get gold wires here. so, now, i am making do with silver wire. luckily, i got a non-tarnish silver wire from arab street last friday. i didn't even knew that it was silver hehe. i just realized last night that the wire i bought is silver. yippee!

as you guessed, since last night, i have been trying some of the designs mentioned in the books. i've already finished 2 bracelets and am still working on another one. since i am a wire newbie, it takes me hours to finish one bracelet haha.

i have a picture of only one of the bracelets 'coz when i was taking photos this afternoon, my camera ran out of battery. see, i have been sharing batteries with miggy. he's using my batteries for his wii remotes. ugh!

that's all for now. it's already 11pm here and i have to go back to my unfinished bracelet. i intend to wear it tomorrow so i better shut up now haha

^_^

slide-a-bead jewelries

it's been a while since i last posted here because i have been quite busy with a little project of mine. no, it has nothing to do with work, though. it's still a bit hush-hush for now so i can't write more about it yet. but, i promise, i'll be sharing it here soon.

anyway, since i made a multi-strand bracelet, i have been fascinated with slide-a-beads. here's a photo of an earring that i made and wore for work on the first day of december. it's a coincidence that it has a dash of violet with the 2 3mm swarovski crystals which is the color of advent.



and here's a photo of a slide-a-bead bracelet that i made this weekend. it's very simple and yet, i think, it looks very classy. i am so loving this color at the moment. and no, i haven't worn it yet. and no plans at all to wear it. it's not for me.



^_^

a going away present

yesterday, i woke up really early hoping to make a bracelet for my mom as a going away present. i also wanted to finish some bracelets and handphone straps for my cousins and aunts. and all this, i wanted to finish by 8am because i wanted to go to the charles&keith warehouse sale before it even opens at 10am. and if there is still time left, i'd also drop by to the giordano warehouse sale.

and of course, i didn't get to go the warehouse sales hahaha but i did finish the bracelets and handphone straps i wanted to do. and the going away present for my mom.

my mom really loved this bracelet. it did looked like a very expensive bracelet.



if you liked it, give it a try. here are the materials that i used.

2 8mm swarovski faceted round rondelles (crystal golden shadow)
11 5mm swarovski bicone beads (smoky quartz)
32 4mm swarovski bicone beads (light smoked topaz)
24 4mm swarovski bicones (titan coated crystal)
15 3mm swarovski bicones (jonquil)
30-35 seed beads
1 pair silver plated toggle

difficulty level: 3 (based on 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest level of difficulty, meaning very very difficult)

i'm sure, by now, you've already noticed that i am indeed re-using my materials :)


^_^

christmas presents

today, my mom went back to the philippines. she's been with us here in singapore since december '07 to help my then new maid to adjust with my 3 kids. unfortunately for my mom, it took the maid about one year to get used to my kids and to the life here.

my mom was really looking forward to going home because as she puts it, she hasn't celebrated christmas in the philippines for about 3-4 years. she has been flying back and forth between home and singapore for the last 6-7 years. and most of the time, she'll be here for christmas which always saddened her, of course.

if you haven't heard of it yet, we filipinos celebrate christmas in the grandest ways. we are known to celebrate christmas the longest. it starts on the first day of september (the beginning of the -ber months) up to the 6th of january (feast of christ the king). it's like thanksgiving for the americans, deepavali for the indians, chinese new year for the chinese, and national day for singaporeans :) i do miss the philippine christmas as well. it's been 8 years since my last christmas there. hopefully, next year, we'd go home for christmas. well, actually, every year, i would say the same thing for the following year. but this time, it's different. we might really go home next year because there is something we need to do there. it's a secret. shhh!

there's something else that we pinoys (filipinos) are also known for. the pasalubongs! there are about blah-blah million pinoys working overseas. and every time a pinoy is going home, we always have to bring home presents to our family, relatives, friends, neighbors, etc. etc. etc. in short, everyone! and this is the very same reason i haven't celebrated christmas back home in a long time. it is always worse during christmas time.



anyway, since there is a global financial crisis right now, i can't really send any presents to everyone back home. so, i just made a few bracelet and handphone straps for some cousins and aunts. i hope they like it even if it's really inexpensive :)



i'm sure right now, everyone is hoping and praying that things will get better next year.


difficulty level of all these stuff: 1 except for the blue bracelet. the blue bracelet would be a three because of the right angle weave (based on 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest level of difficulty, meaning very very difficult)

^_^

one more try at right angle weave

around the second or third day of my attempt to try beading, i made a right-angle-weave (raw) bracelet. it turned out really well so i wore it at work the following day. my bff, acm, and long time friend, ebd, loved it, too.

and i really believe that that bracelet was what actually conviced acm to start beading as well. see, when ebd and i started beading, acm was very much into photography (and she was very good at it!). she didn't really want to have anything to do with beading because according to her, she just don't have the patience to do all those intricate stuff. but, of course, she was really supportive of me and ebd. but now, you should see her whenever we are visiting our favorite beading shop in arab street. she always spend more than ebd and me!

anyway, after wearing the raw bracelet for a day, i dismantled it the following night. as i wrote in an earlier post, i always dismantle my creations for the very fact that i don't have enough materials yet. and yes, it is to the dismay of acm hahaha she really likes the things i've done so far.

then when i setup this blog and posted all of the things that i've done so far, i was really sorry for not taking a photo of the bracelet. that is why, i decided to make another one, simply for the sake of taking a photo of it. and here it is.



for this, i used the following materials:

16 5mm swarovski bicone beads (smoky quartz)
14 4mm swarovski bicone beads (light smoked topaz)
25-30 seed beads (to hold the toggle)
180-200 miyuki seed beads, hex cut (metallic black)
1 pair of silver plate toggle

difficulty level: 3 (based on 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest level of difficulty, meaning very very difficult)

and yes, i dismantled it again right after i took these photos :) what to do? i needed the beads for a bracelet i wanted to do for my mom.


^_^

multi-strand bracelet #1

here's a multi-strand bracelet that i made last night and wore at work today. you can see that it's not yet without faults. i didn't have anything to cover the crimps so i just left it as it is - out in the open :D as you know, i only started doing this about 2 weeks ago. and i still don't have all the right materials. anyway, i think i still pulled it off heehee

for this, i used the following materials:

3 8mm swarovski faceted round rondelles (crystal golden shadow)

5 4mm swarovski bicones (titan coated crystal)

11 3mm swarovski bicones (jonquil)

4 rectangular plastic beads (copper)

3 8-in strands of tiger tail wire

6 crimps

2 4mm jump rings

difficulty level: i'd say it's a 2 (based on 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest level of difficulty, meaning very very difficult)


there! hope you liked it :)


^_^

my homemade crystal jewelries

in the last two weeks, i have been wearing different jewelries almost everyday hahaha i would make new earrings and bracelets every night, or even in the morning. i always made ones that would match my outfit for the day.

i don't have photos of the other stuffs that i've created because since i don't have much materials yet, i would dismantle the things i've done after wearing them for a day so i can create new ones hehehe

my little model

here are some of the things that i've created for mikee ...

i sooo love this one ... but i just found out that she already managed to put a dent in the heart crystal :(

handphone straps

my mom is going back to the philippines on saturday. and i created some handphone straps to give to my aunts and cousins back home.

these are made of swarovski crystals.

a new hobby

i have neglected my other blogs for two weeks because of a new hobby. it all started with a book that i borrowed from the library. see, now i can borrow up to 24 books for 3 weeks due to a library promo. and with that much books to borrow, i thought of borrowing a crafts book. in my rush to go home, i just pulled out a beading book. actually, 3 beading books :)

and that's the start of it all ...

in the past 2 weeks, i've been trying my hand on beading. first, it was just a simple seed bead bracelet. then, it evolved into swarovski crystal jewelries hahaha

a short introduction ...

i swear this will be short ...it's pretty late now so i have to keep this short :)

i created this blog simply because i love arts and crafts. and it doesn't fit my two other blogs. and oh boy, this is my third blog. how in the world am i going to keep up with three blogs, you might ask. well, i don't know hihi ... let's just wait and see ...

anyway, through this blog, i wish to share with you the things that i've created. i've already tried my hand on so many different things and i'm still finding new things to try. i hope you find something you like :)