Isadora - SGD 29 - Sold

A funky victorian blend of black and white cameos on brass filigress and textured gold hoops ~ Drops are 6cm and 9cm respectively on 14k gold-plated hooks.

The hubster is ill at home and i'm sorry to say i'm actually secretly pleased cos he's been working such long hours and it's a nice change to see him at home in the middle of the day for once. He complains I seem too happy to see him ill haha...ok have to take him to the doc now so tata and have a great weekend!

Hope is the sweet scent of flowers

Received the invitation in the mail yesterday for the wedding on the same day as Maad I mentioned earlier and oh boy, talk abt timing! The wedding's at 1130 which is when Maad starts and regulars usually come to get the choicest picks so oh yea, it's gonna be crazy busy. Not to mention I might miss meeting some nice folks whom I've been corresponding with!! Oh well a friend's wedding is still more important so chel and weilin will be my lovely elves at the booth for most of Saturday. Chel will be happy with the free erdinger but Weilin being the shrewd law practitioner that she is, is either going to charge me exorbitant hire rates, or pay herself with the best stuff haha...

I've been swarmed with emails abt Mystical Fantasy and the Trixilini owl necklace since I posted about them and I'm sorry to say I'm not able to remake the necklace since it's made of limited quantity vintage parts that I sourced from abroad. I do have other vintage parts which I'm making into more jewellery for the Maad fair so come prepared to shop! The recent creations made of vintage parts are nearly impossible to recreate so my recommendation is to come early, be prepared to sweat it out and grab whatever catches your fancy before the person beside you gets to them first :) This is the sneak of the day ~ I have maybe 85 pieces so far ready for Maad so if all is good, the target of 100 is not going to be a problem! *fingers crossed* Still have loads to do, I'm hoping to do up more altered boards for displays, maybe some stitching as well, yes i'm learning to sew, even bought a new sewing machine!! Psyched about using it but did i mention i'm clueless abt sewing??!! That's what happens when you don't do home econs in school. Let's just say Matt had to spend a lot of time on me when we first got together haha. Later!

Little Marigolds - SGD 25 per pair - both sold

Quaint ivory roses like marigolds on pretty faceted czech rectangles in milky pink and tangerine with little swarovski pearls and metallic czech bead clusters ~ Drop is a classic 3 cm on gold-filled hooks.

Pandora - SGD 30 - Sold

Pretty white flowers with blue butterflies perched on the petals of this mismatched pair ~ white swarovski pearls & rich blue drops complete this floral fantasy. Drops are abt 5.5 cm and 4 cm respectively on 14k gold-plated hooks.

Pardon the overexposure on the cloisonne in the left earring, the right side gives a clearer idea of how the charm looks like :)

bad bad girl

I'm such a bad girl! Remember the Mystical Fantasy sneak I posted recently? I can't take my eyes off it and just couldn't bring myself to put it away for Maad so.... sorry peeps! It's gonna be mine! :p Vivien came by yesterday and she was so in love with it as well ~ Both of us love the pinkish flower centerpiece which used to be a clip-on vintage Coro earring, most probably circa 1950s. The blue rhinestone flower to its left is also a vintage but unmarked clip on earring, ooh and that little button too! It has etched silver reliefs so it lends some shimmer to this fantasy-like piece. Nothing like a magical unicorn to add that magic touch ~ Thought I ought to share the lovely owl piece below which caught my eye at Trixilini, funky yea? I have a fetish for necklaces of this style, with the centrepiece slightly spread out across the decolletage on a simple chain. This darling gave me the mood to create something of this style I like so much so ta-dah! Mystical Fantasy above ~ I still have a whole bunch of vintage earrings and brooches in the pack that included the pretty Coro and blue rhinestone earrings so I'm gonna try and do more to make up for stealing Mystical Fantasy :p
I've got more necklaces of this style in my trinket collection and I'll share them as the days go by. It'll be fun to share my fave treasures! :)

Lotus Shimmer - SGD 30 - Sold

Lotus Shimmer features beautiful deep purple round tenshas with peony pink roses and speckles of glittery gold. A carved rose quartz rose, czech drops and brassy trails later, this breathes not only oriental chic but contemporary sophistication as well! Drop is 7 cm~

I have no idea how the colours can turn out so muted in this picture but limited photoshop skills can only so do much *sheepish*

Rise of Dawn - SGD 35 - Sold

A white version of the mellow yellow stork cloisonnes in What Brings the Yellow Stork ~ With almost-black charcoal carved roses & siam red swarovskis and indian glass beads. These cloisonnes measure abt 3cm by 2cm and are wonderful with classic sleek outlines!

What brings the yellow stork - SGD 35 - Sold

Ok so the storks aren't really yellow here but I like the fusion of peaches and reds and green blues and mellow yellow in these lovely cloisonnes ~ carved red jasper roses with little midnight blue swarovskis and glittery lapis lazuli mini nuggets. Drop is abt 5.5 cm from 14k goldplated hooks.

start of a new week!

Oh how i love these 2 darlings! Really look forward to seeing these 2 angels every sunday cos they're just so funny and adorable though they can really be distracting at times haha... This cutie here is the little one cuddling up to her mommy ...
And this is the tiara toting Phoebe being her talkative self as usual... She can really go on and on and on!! But that's just her charm :)
I've had a whole day of discussion with James abt my accounting system (if i have one at all) and gosh I have so much to do! He had to give me a crash course on all the ledger stuff, and time sheet and goodness knows what. Asked me tonnes of questions and we did all sorts of lists and mind maps. Tmr's gonna be another long day of business planning and setting of visions and goals and what-nots. Oh man! He was really amused by my lack of business sense (sigh) and warned me it's going to be a tough few months ahead putting a proper system in place. So you see, it's not always easy working for yourself when you don't even know if you're paying yourself at all :p Have a fabulous week ahead!

thoughts

It's been quite tough these few days cos of the orders I need to finish quickly and also the stock replenishing for maad. I've started a routine sometime back, waking up and reading the papers, doing my sudoku quota (yes I try to do one or two everyday to keep the left brain working), then doing whatever household stuff that needs to be done etc. etc. before finally settling down to start work. It's quite nice having some sort of system, cos the problem with me is once I start sth I find it hard to stop. Matt had to get me to remember to rest after every hour or so if not I get really bad backaches and headaches. The migraines can be a killer! Now I have to have paracetemol permanently by my bedside if not the pain just kills me when it hits. Anymore enough of my medical woes, it's really manageable, except the puking part. Makes me feel like i'm preggers or sth haha.

Serenity of Silence is another piece in my When Summer Comes series, which is really quite couture and absolutely exclusive and labour-intensive and quirky (used lotsa vintage parts) and quite possible my proudest collection to date. I can't wait for you guys to see them!! Brought them out to show viv yesterday and she was like, surprised at how much my style has evolved. She was the one who bought my very first few pieces, even before the name Oriental Rose was coined. And she's kinda like my business advisor cos she's really astute and has excellent business acumen so I turn to her for advice regarding pricing and marketing etc.
I'm looking now to adding a little final distinct mark to each piece in this series so that they can really stand out as an Oriental Rose creation, almost like a little trademark on them somewhere? Still not sure how but hopefully sth will work out soon! Packaging's another issue that's on my mind. How do i preserve the feel I want to capture in the packaging while taking cost & eco-friendliness into consideration? Ooh, brainstorm!!

toot toot goes the owl - SGD 28 - Sold

I've just developed a fetish for owl charms, and these cloisonne owls are so charming! Perfect with these adorable little brass owlets perched on their thrones of gold. I don't have many of these cuties so I'll be sad to see them go *sniff* Drop is abt 2.5 cm and 5 cm respectively. Hooks shown in the picture are 14k gold-plated but the ones you're getting will be gold-filled :)

Went shopping with my gal pal viv yesterday as well and came back a whole lot poorer with a vintage owl necklace purchase fr Trixilini. The stuff's there fantastic, but it comes with a price tag as well. Half the time we had to put down sth straight away cos we wouldn't be able to afford it even if it was 50% off haha... the woes of window shopping.

High up on the ivory tower - SGD 35 - Sold

This is one regal owl perched high up the ivory tower with its owlets (or minions) by its side ~ lotsa frosted, matt and glassy beads in this mismatched owl earrings. Drops are 5cm and 8cm respectively on gold-filled hooks. (P.S. pardon the slight overexposure)

hello monday!

What a nice cool morning! I had the most wonderfully rested weekend ever, didn't check my email or work at the desk. It was terrific!!! Although I did gravitate a little towards the room but the hubster managed to keep me out of it by taking me out hah. That's just the problem with doing your own biz, sometimes you feel so compelled to work just cos you're at home and you can. If you're sitting down and watching tv or reading a book, sometimes it makes you feel like you're not being productive and you really should be doing sth. It's taken me a while to overcome this mindset, to set aside a Sabbath day each week and really not work! We spent the whole afternoon till bedtime in bed watching movies and reading and chatting over wine. Really therapeutic ~ Now I feel super refreshed and ready to get down to work, which there's so much of today!!
Okies I'll be back with hopefully new stuff later (still have maybe 47 stuff to make for Maad and
another 25 private orders to fulfil, no kidding) but here's the sneak of a different kind of style I'm doing for Maad ~ Mary, mary quite contrary. Have a fab week ahead!

Sentimental Reasons sneak!

It's the end of the week and boy, am I looking forward to the weekend! I've been cooped up all day this week in the messy workroom - I eat there, sleep there, read there, I barely leave the room except to use the loo. Once I get into the swing of things, the ideas can come fast and furious and I can't stop myself. Sometimes I forget to eat and by the time matt comes home from work, my vision is blurred and my speech incoherent from not talking all day. Haha. That's how it is, really. Inspiration can come and go in an instant, so even if I'm exhausted, I make myself work. Drawing the ideas out is one way, but I can't draw for nuts so there wouldn't be any point.

Just completed another necklace for Maad so here's a peek ~ btw we're on for Maad! Received confirmation today.. jiggly dance.. It's always fun hanging out with other fellow crafters and doing major indie shopping, come join us on the weekend of 7th-8th july! I'm looking forward to meeting lotsa new friends who've said they would be coming down, will make sure to take lotsa pictures with them this time! It was crazy busy the last time so we were a bit flustered but we've learnt our lesson heh.

Ok back to work and answering those emails, enjoy your weekend!

Princess Phoebe

Meant to upload these photos taken at Phoebe's surprise birthday party at our place before we left for Malacca but never got round to it till now. Hee hee. She's the daughter of one of my small group mates fr church and we all lurrvvvee her! She'll ring us to make sure we'll see each other on sunday and tell her mom she misses "auntie yiwen" (and of cos "uncle matt" and uncle chris" and "uncle rakesh" etc. etc. ) on tuesday, just 2 days after sunday! *beam* Such a darling!

For her 6th birthday party, we blew lotsa princessy and piglet balloons round the house and got her a piglet cake, cos she loves piglet and pink, well piglet is pink, so double lurve. Here's a shot of her and her mommy , they're wearing the same dress! You can't tell fr the pic but she's a mommy of 2!! She's the kinda mommy i wanna be when it's my turn haha. You should see Phoebe's trademark cheeky grin and happy dance photos on my flickr where there's more :p Whilst below is the sneak of the day for Maad! Yeah yeah ~

Lotsa colours and blooms!

Nature's Call - SGD 29 - Sold

Someone suggested I should do a gold/copper/turquoise combi and I went, yeah why not? However I don't have much copper-toned parts so it came out more brass than copper. Brass leaves & little acorns, with turquoise rounds and opalite-pale-yellow briolette drops, crystal belt bling and little swarovskis. Drop is 7.5 cm fr 14k goldplated hooks ~

Little Miss Sunshine - SGD 29 - Sold

A blast of sunshine to kick start your day, pale yellow clay flowers with retro-looking flower beads in white and gummy yellow and trails of bling. Ooh a little heart charm too! Wear a piece of the sun and brighten your mood today ~ Drop is 7 cm (fr gold-filled hooks)

When Summer Comes

I thought about the line (oriental rose) a lot while on the bus to and fro Malacca, well there wasn't much I can do cos I get motion sickness easily, even flickering lights or repetitive motion can give me a headache, I can't read or listen to music on the road, so it's either sleep or mong. Is it a sign of growing old?!! As I was saying, I thought about what to call the latest series for July's Maad. I've verbally informed of my participation so hopefully nothing goes wrong and it's still on! You can't believe how many appointments I have on the Sat of the fair (7 & 8 July) so you will probably see many of my helper elves if you come in the afternoon.

Somehow the "collaged" pieces I started doing for the last Maad was really well-received and I actually enjoyed the intricate creative process though I will probably need glasses by the end of this year. I'm continuing with the layered and textured collaged look this time, with flowers and butterflies and colours as the main focus. I'm calling this new series "When Summer Comes". Whaddaya think of the name? It's mind boggling how many names I've had to come up with since OR started but it's quite fun really, thinking up names and making up stories about them. Hee hee. So yeah, the names will continue.

What else to expect at the fair apart from "When Summer Comes"? Simpler vintage charm necklaces as well as more cloisonne mismatched madness and a couple of Kamoe-Rose pieces hopefully! I've accumulated a warehouse worth of kamoe beads that are dying to see the light of day. And so they shall :) Well that's about what I've thought up for the fair, let me know if you have ideas about stuff that you wanna see!

Meanwhile here's the sneak of the day ~ hmmm it doesn't seem as chirpy as When Summer Comes should be but oh well there're butterflies and roses so what the heck. Be back with stuff for online soon!

More private orders ~

Though I'd share a bit more of the stuff I've been working on (and finished!) :Hello Mary Jane! is an anniversary gift from one of my 2 closest cum childhood guy friends for his girl and I'm glad he trusted me to do what I thought would look nice within the style he wanted, he has great asthetic sense for a bloke if i might say. Rose quartz flowers on copper filigrees, with brass amour charms, opalite briolettes, clear crystal belt and rhodium trails ~

Garden of Purity is a gleaming white version of the original "Red Tent" ~ enuff said.

Apart from the butterfly cloisonne in this piece called White as Snow, I've also attached a little frosty vintage button with shimmers, bluish chalcedony briolettes and white howlite rounds with other baby blue and opalite toned beads ~

Back from Malacca! (post muscle strain)

Hey hey I'm back! Was using the computer for the first time in 4 days yesterday only to end up with a pulled muscle on my left forearm. I stupidly thought I'd sprained my wrist or sth cos it was terribly painful and limp. Thought my hand had died on me! Anyway it got better later in the day so phew! Really should consider insuring the hands haha ~

It was a restful yet fun weekend in Malacca at our church camp, we swam, shopped around the peranankan jonker street looking at intricate kebayas and other bric bracs and swam in the hotel pool which overlooked the main town which was really cool! Last night of the camp was celebration night with the theme being the roaring 60s and 7os. Everyone came in their retro best so it was a blast! Our group was drawn to do a performance that night (we were 1 of the 5 groups drawn out of the 18 groups so what a "divine appointment" it was) and thanks to this sporting line-dancing couple who had planned to do a choreographed dance item beforehand, we were able to put up some simple dance routine which I completely forgot on stage. What a big boo boo! I'm so glad this vintage 60s mod dress fr the oppt shop came in handy for the occasion! Had some pple coming up to me to say they really wore sth like this in their younger days! Matt just wore this slightly gleaming white shirt with his collars up a la Elvis ~
Some sights and snippets of the people we went thru the camp with ~ that's my group in the bottom left. Kelvin had fake sideburns and an elvis curl on his forehead, courtesy of eyebrow pencils!! I thought 3 yr old Gabriel and the little girl in the middle picture were soooo adorable! Yeap, i got quite broody during the camp with so many cute kids running around. But nope not the right time yet. Maybe once Oriental Rose is more settled!! I'm looking forward to a rowdy home of kids! :p

ouch

i seem to have just sprained my left forearm using the computer. In great pain now. Talk later as I go sort this nasty one out.

first sneak!

Whoo hoo i feel like i'm starting to get my mojo back!! Thanks to all you lovely gals who've encouraged me during my baadd patch so I feel less of a loser ~ Finished more private orders today, but somehow the cacophony of colours in the mess actually gave me some inspiration ha. Thought it'll be funny to show you guys where your goodies are popping out from:This is the infamous worktable, with my PC in the top right corner. In the bottom right, you can see some blue terry cloth which is what I sit on cos the weather's just too hot in the afternoon and I don't wanna drench the suede-like chair with my sweaty bum. Good thing abt working at home is I can go to work in little clothing without any harrassment!

This is the state of the floor just behind me. Haha.

And this is the floor to the left of the worktable. Ooh check out my hula! I love hooping! It was a Christmas gift from Jeremy in commemoration of this gargantuan bruise I got fr hooping in Cambodia with the kids. Daily hooping shapes and defines the torso even if I've been bad in keeping fit. Such a cheat!

Last but not least, this is the first sneak at the offerings for july's Maad, think colours and blooms and all things beautiful!

Will be back sunday~

Mandarin Bouquet - SGD 30 - Sold

The flower bouquet cloisonne has a lovely luminous yellow base which though pretty makes it harder to complement cos it's such a striking colour. Thought I'll do sth different by using "textures" for the other side with a carved coral hibiscus, ribbon fleur and sandy beads ending with a lil' bling, naturally. Drops are 5 cm from 14k gold-plated hooks ~

Red Tent - SGD 28 - Sold

Oriental mysticism~ a long flower cloisonne and chinese fan charms, black onyx oval, red briolette drop and swarovskis from 14k gold-plated hooks. Drops are 5 cm and 6 cm respectively.

The Olive Tree - SGD 35 - Sold

Pardon my sporadic postings in the last few weeks, I've been busy with lotsa stuff of which I'll share pictures shortly! Sorry to everyone who's waiting to hear from me regarding your private orders, I've not had much chance to source for the necessary materials or spend some serious time in the work room, which by the way has become so chaotic I keep treading on some stray bead or jump rings. I will get in touch with you guys soon!!

Meanwhile I'm looking forward to going away this thursday till sunday (June 7-10) for our church camp in Malacca, it'll be cool to see how I can manage the withdrawal symptoms from not being able to play with beads for 4 whole days! It's been an extra frustrating time lately, esp. when I thought it was over, main problem is I've not been particularly sure about what to do for July's Maad. It's gonna be Maad's 1st birthday so expect lotsa fun and surprises! Not going to stress myself this time by setting a 100-item target, it nearly killed me the last time! But I'm definitely gonna do enough so you can come and be spoiled by the choices available. Think I need to go easy on myself a little though the hubster says I seem to perform better under stress (or duress) hah.

Here're a couple of cloisonne earrings I made from the package I received last week so enjoy the loot! The Olive Tree is anything but wallflower ~ A large black hoop cloisonne, black clay leaves, gold-plated filigrees and charms, with swarovskis and black briolette drops. From 14k gold-plated hooks, this pair drops at an ostentatious 9cm.

wedding cheer

This is truly the wedding season! We just came home from a dear family friend's solemnization at Rasa Sentosa, on a green lawn overlooking the sea. It was a beautiful day and everything was so pretty except for the fact there was this outdoor buffet place just beside the ceremony which means quite possibly many curious kids will be captured in the wedding photos.Sisters and mother of the bride on the top left, my parents are in the top middle, the couple's champagne pouring moment in the top right, and my brother and his girlfriend in the bottom middle pic. Yup he's seeing the sister of the bride plus our dads are close chums so our 2 families are even closer now! I made a special necklace for the mother of the bride, simple sparkles of swarovskis & tourmaline rondells with gold-filled everything ~
My mommy also asked me to make a set we could give the ravishing bride as a gift so I decided something delicately classy would be most apt for the lilthe Josephine.
Lastly, Chris' wedding photos are finally out! Weilin still owes me pics from the wedding dinner but at least we got some pics at all haha. Dear Chris had bought a pretty swarovski bracelet which she really wanted to wear as earrings so I thought I'd help her in this area. Thank God that I managed to lay my hands on similar styled and "metalled" components so I could convert the bracelet into earrings for her. She looked absolutely stunning in them! Payment-mode? Cookies, naturally :)

makisquarepatch for charity!

Makisquarepatch has always been one of my greatest crafting friends and it's incredible how these 2 amazing gals have used this platform to further social causes. This time, they're working with CATALOGUE magazine to do a charity auction with ALL proceeds going to The Children's Cancer Foundation.
Click on the image to go to the auction and do your part for charity by doing what we enjoy lots - shopping!!!

Sing the Blues - SGD 28 - Sold

More breezy colours to take our minds off the heat. Indigo blooms and rhodium filigree leaves with blue lace agate ovals, frosted and gummy blue and metallic silver czech beads followed with faceted drops in deep oceanic blue & baby blue ~ 14k goldplated parts. I've always like the combi of gold & silver and it looked even better with splashes of cooling blue! Drop is abt 5.5 cm ~

Purple Plush - SGD 27 - Sold

I adore these poofy hill-tribe silver hearts with daisies etched on them and didn't want them to get lost in lotsa itty bitty bits so here's an opalite-lilac pair of purple blooms, opalite ovals and cluster of teeny pearls from sterling hooks. Dangle this lovely hearts for a breezy respite from the hot summer! Drop is 5cm ~

This is a bad picture, i'll try and take another one to replace this awful one :p

Lemon Lime - SGD 24 - Sold

Weather's taking a turn for the scorching lately ~ i know cos i've had to cower a huge brolly while catching the boys in action on the pitch for most of yesterday morning. Chris was a hoot as a ballet dancer in spikes, we had to hide our laughter when he (unknowingly) did a little pirouette after missing a kick! A pity my camera was too slow in capturing these classic moments. You could have seen Matt giving instructions to Vicki on tackling the ball fr the side instead of helping him out, which i thought was hilarious, or how slow the game pace became as the sun rose higher. I felt sorry for the boys!

Anyway here's a cheery piece of sun for you:I'm going back to the mantra of simplicity is better with these next few earrings, cos sometimes all you need is just a fuss-free pair of ear charmers. Lemon Lime is full of sorbet goodness with frosted meadow green beads, flower trio charm, ivory roses and beautifully pale yellow opalite drops ~ non-tarnish wirework and gold-filled hooks. Drop is 7cm ~