More Locket Lovin'!

I have just added some new vintage/antique lockets to the bigcartel shoppe with a special discount code this holiday season:

Enter "christmaslove" at checkout to enjoy 10% off!

The in-laws are flying in tonight so the house will be nice and boisterous with the kids and family around, just the way Christmas should be! Hope you guys are having a blast in the lead up to Christmas too and have a fabulous 2011!

xoxo

Percy Potter owl necklace - SGD 105 - Sold

This is such an adorable quirky owl piece!

Mr Percy Potter is the geeky owl in question with his ruby red eyes and big studious glasses. He is approx. 1 1/4" tall and marked Coventry at the back (for Sarah Coventry) which makes him such a collectible too! Also features a vintage aurora borealis rainbow rivoli earring component, brassy twig and burgundy swarovski wreath charms as well as a pretty faceted ruby briolette. Necklace is a 14k gold-filled chain interspersed with black spinel and garnet rondelles, 18" long. It sure took some effort to peel me from this cutie!

Orange Poinsettia - SGD 60 - Sold

A lovely gold and russet pair for the Christmas season!

Featuring smooth pretty orange garnet briolettes and large divine golden rutile quartz rondelles topped with songea sapphires in citrus shades of golden yellow and mandarin orange. Earrings measure approx. 4cm in length from 14k gold-filled hooks. Only pair available!

Our 2nd good and perfect gift

"Every good and perfect gift is from above..." (James 1:17)

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes!

Our baby girl is now 2 weeks old and after an eventful labour and rocky start to the 1st week of her life (she was hospitalized for a high fever and infection), we are happily settling down in our new home with a new baby and looking forward to Christmas! Do you have any fancy plans for this season yet?

I have loads to share but for now, my days are spent nursing a very very hungry baby and changing lots of poopy diapers. And of cos trying to spend as much time as I can with a little boy approaching the terrible twos and getting needy from having a new sibling at home. Very exciting. So please bear with me while life gets a move on and I will have some new surprises here very soon! :)

Preciosa - SGD 38 - Sold

I'm going back old school with these lovely pearls that have the most gorgeous nacre - just look at the closeup shots! These freshwater pearls practically gleam! Topped with moonstone rondelles and cupped at the base with lovely patina-ed silver tone petal caps. Round bezel-set CZ rhinestone accents and sleek curved sterling hooks with a drop length of approx. 2.2 cm.

Vtg Floral Keepsake Necklace - SGD 65

This is such a pretty 1970s sentimental keepsake necklace! Encased in what resembles a pocket-watch screw-top bauble are dried flowers in pale peach and straw hues, hung on a delicate but sturdy 24" vintage gold fill chain marked 1/20 14k GF. The pendant itself measures approx. 1 1/4" in diameter and is very lightweight. Truly a charming piece in great condition!

Still waiting

Can't believe I'm saying this but yup we're still pregnant and waiting!

9 days past the EDD and the little one is still too comfy and snug in the mothership to come out and say hi. No show, no breaking of waters, just a whole lot of contractions from a very "irritated uterus" for the last few weeks. After all those warnings about a possible early delivery, we didn't think #2 would outlast #1 in the womb!

At our 41st week checkup, the scan showed her weighing more than 3.8 kg (that's more than 8 pounds!), such a far cry from the puny little thing the gynae said she was a few months back! I was even advised to eat more so she would put on weight as well. Guess who has the last laugh now?

Being bigger than expected has meant being more tired than usual, but thankfully there have been spurts of renewed energy (nesting instincts perhaps?) which I'm so grateful for after being sluggish for so long. I was able to have some lunch dates this week, and we even took the little guy out for a haircut and the usual grocery trip while lugging the 41-week belly around! Bet you wouldn't have guessed I was that pregnant if you'd passed me on the street :p

We have been very blessed with a kind pro-natural doctor who has been very supportive of our decision to not induce labour but to wait for the process to kick start naturally. Naturally he had to advise us of the possible scenarios that could arise from prolonged labour e.g. the placenta calcifies and becomes less efficient, the baby passes meconium inside the womb, the risk of c-section increases etc. Thankfully our health checks have been nothing short of normal and healthy so he is happy for one more week to pass before "he loses the courage to wait" (his exact words - I found that amusing!).

While being induced is a fairly common thing nowadays, we still believe God's plan is perfect and so we choose to trust God and wait for our Sarah Emma to arrive at His appointed timing. After all the drama while expecting Nathan (you can read it here), we should not be surprised that expecting Sarah would bring along its own set of stories and "challenges" (pun intended).

Among other things, by being late the little one has given us time to move into our new home while in my 39th week, settle all the remaining renovations in my 40th week so that there will be no more strange people going in and out and other dust/noise/disturbances when she finally arrives! :)

Thank you so much for your sweet emails and comments of encouragement, we have been so blessed to have many friends and family praying for us and being sensitive by NOT asking me everyday whether I have popped yet. That, my friends, is the number 1 bane of every pregnant woman who is this close to delivering but not quite there yet. Especially for a fairly overdue expectant mummy with an unbelievably itchy stretched belly and a very squashed tiny bladder.

Our dear baby girl,

The whole world is waiting for you to show your cute little face. Please come out soon and say hi ok?

♥ mama

Post Halloween rumble

Help! My belly's alive!

(Can't believe I'm still pregnant. Guess the bub is applying for permanent residency inside moi)

Locket Love

♥ more antique/vintage lockets available! ♥

Write to me if you're keen on any and want more deets :)

We will be packing and moving (and possibly screaming at the contractors) as usual with the afternoon reserved for Miss N's 2nd birthday party.

Hope you have a fabulous weekend lined up too!

Alien movements

Nope, no sign of labour yet.

Where, oh where art thou sweet Sarah? ♥

Victorian Diamond Locket necklace - SGD 105 - Sold

Another darling from my vintage jewellery chest is a gorgeous Victorian era locket with beautiful hand-chased floral scroll etchings and a genuine tested diamond set in the centre! This old locket is in wonderful working condition and has a small teething mark on it. It is marked as 12k gold filled and really shines despite its age! All I had to do was add a 18" long 14k gold filled chain to it so it is ready to wear :)

Vintage Cobalt Gilt necklace - SGD 89

Next up is a beautiful Art Nouveau era vintage pendant necklace with a emerald cut jewel in a gorgeous shade of cobalt blue prong set in an open back gilt filigree frame. This amazing pendant hangs on a pretty vintage 15" chain signed Krementz (another well-established collectible jewelry maker!) on the clasp link. I will be happy to add an extension to your preferred length for you.

Vintage Starburst Heart Necklace - SGD 60 - Sold

I found this darling at the antiquity district of Angel in London on my last trip. It is a pretty faux crystal heart necklace set in a mesh-like etched casing with radiating lines resembling a meteor star. Signed Monet on the back, this necklace is in wonderful shiny condition on a gold tone textured woven chain. Length is 15" with a 2" extension. Vintage Monet is known to be durable and long-lasting so it's no surprise this sweetie is in excellent condition!

Vintage Lovelies

I have been collecting vintage jewellery for a while now but it is only recently that I have been considering the possibility of adding a section to the shop focusing on specially curated vintage jewels! Though far from being an expert in this area, I just thought it would be wonderful to be able to spread some vintage love around and share some pretties that I have had the fortune of sourcing.

Of course I will still be lovingly restoring and refashioning vintage components into more wearable options but sometimes the jewels I find are in condition good enough to be in the limelight and deserve a spot of their own! Just like these 3 necklaces above which I will invite to kick start this new vintage specialty section of the shop. My hope is they will find loving homes that will treasure and cherish them in the way they deserve :)

And since you're reading this, it means little Sarah has not made her debut yet. Still waiting!

xoxoxo

Funny little guy

It's been a while since I shared about our little boy who's growing up so fast everyday! He's got more hair now (thank God) and has developed an obsession with ice. We don't usually give him cold drinks except for the odd Yakult or Milo packet drink - he likes playing with the straws more than the drink itself - but he knows how to go up to the freezer and takes a cube of ice, juggles it around with both hands and eventually when it slides to the floor, he will actually go on all fours and lick it off the floor!! How endearing this little puppy is.

His recent past-time is playing football with his new friend, a 8 year old boy who lives just round the corner, and that makes mama happy too cos he's less of a grouch after having expended some energy outdoors with another child of the same energy level. Actually that makes 2 happy mamas.

His favourite colour is "yellow" (he will emphasise the "low" bit) followed by "blue" and all other colours of the spectrum do not exist.

He loves to eat baos, and everything else (cake/bread/biscuits etc.) is ''No no! Bao bao!" if a bao is in sight.

He acts as my alarm clock in the morning by climbing over the barricade surrounding his sleep area, opening his room door, opening my room door before proceeding to scare the daylights out of me by suddenly standing at my head and speaking in gibberish with a mope of bedhead hair.

He gave his first kiss to Miss Natalie, the lovely offspring of my dear friend Chris the baking domestic goddess. We are pretty sure it was intentional.

He likes and knows the song and actions to Little Einsteins and enjoys Timmy Time, but what I don't get is Pororo??!!!

Josephine necklace - SGD 138 - Sold

Following the well-received Victoria necklace is Josephine, another 2-in-1 necklace with a detachable "pendant" made up of a pretty etched sterling oval locket hung from a gorgeous teardrop-shaped cz rhinestone-encrusted bail.

The pendant measures approx. 1.5" by 0.8" (at the widest points) and can be clipped onto a oxidised silver filigree hoop attached to a pretty vintage ivory-coloured enamel bouquet brooch pin signed Jewelcraft on the back.

* The Jewelcraft mark belonged to the famous Coro company and was in use between the 1920s-1950s. So this pin is at least more than half a century old!

The chain consists of the same shimmering faceted labradorite oval nuggets, mystic topaz,moonstone briolettes, freshwater button pearls in cream, moonstone rondelles, swarovski crystal embellishments and champagne pearls. The necklace measures approx. 18" when worn and closes with a fancy scroll design side hook clasp.

The simpler everyday chain option is a 17" sterling link bar chain dotted with AAA grade moonstone, clear quartz and black rutilated quartz rondelles as well as vintage-style baguette cz links with a 1.2" extension. How pretty is that?!

La Pearla - SGD 42 - Sold

Who can ever have enough pearls?

Here we have a classy pair of floral tendril capped faux pearls, victorian-style silver cubic zirconia-set snowflake motif embellishments and AAA grade clear quartz rondelles hung gingerly from gorgeous art deco-ish sterling hooks encrusted with more cz rhinestones. Drop length measures approx. 3cm.

Victoria necklace - SGD 130 - Sold

A beautiful vintage white enamel flower brooch pin with clear rhinestones is embellished with a detachable sterling pendant made up of a gorgeous vintage-style labradorite cabochon set in a silver tone filigree base hung from a delicate sterling cubic zirconia-encrusted snowflake . The removable pendant focal has a drop length of approx. 1.4".

The necklace is made up shimmering faceted flashy labradorite ovals, moonstone & mystic topaz briolettes, freshwater pearls, swarovski components and sterling accents. It closes with a side hook and clasp and measures approx. 18" when worn.

Victoria comes with another simpler 16" long chain for days when you want something less. It is done up in my current favourite lavaliere style and consists of a sterling link bar chain interspersed with AAA grade labradorite & black rutilated quartz rondelles, sterling baguette and oval cubic zircon encrusted links. Very classy and romantic!

Angele Custos necklace - SGD 36 - Sold

We are on princess watch right now (38 weeks!) since my doctor claimed that I would most probably deliver before our estimated due date given how low the baby's engaged and the mild contractions the CTG I had showed. That hasn't stopped us from making all sorts of lunch/dinner plans till next week though, haha!

When I was expecting Nathan, I played it safe for a couple of weeks and tried to stay home as much as possible but by the time 39 weeks came round, I was bored out of my mind! Which led to me heading out pretty much every other day with the huge hippo of a belly till he was born exactly 1 week late, much to the mister's chagrin haha! This time we figured life should still go on normally, but of course sensibly :p

I have 2 pieces to list today, the first being this Angele Custos or Guardian Angel necklace, which is probably a sign that the motherly nesting instinct is kicking in (finally!).

This is a classic pendant necklace with a gorgeous intricately scrolled filigree angel charm hallmarked 925 at the back, hung on a simple 18" long sterling chain. Though the angel pendant is not vintage, the filigree work has an antique European charm about it, probably cos it is after all one of the oldest jewellery techniques around. A charming thoughtful gift for yourself or someone dear :)

Queen of my heart

My name is yiwen and I like to collect trinkets - the older the better. It will lead to my downfall someday I'm sure, but for now I take delight in accumulating yet another necklace or bracelet to my overflowing jewellery box. My weakness is vintage lockets and today I thought I'd share one very special piece, which was a recent find but now an absolute favourite!

The treasure in mention is a 1920s goldtone locket with two aspects of the traditional Irish claddagh symbol - heart (love) and crown (loyalty). Monograms hold a special place in my heart because they are so personal and romantic. It's such a bonus then that the reverse side of the locket has the initals inscription"WJT to LMH", which makes me wonder about the plausible loving relationship between the giver and the recipient... :)
I suspect the rhinestones inset round the heart and tips of the crown are paste stones which are common of that era and though some stones and parts of the locket have somewhat darkened with time, it just adds to the aged charm of this very, very old locket. Isn't there just something hauntingly beautiful and ethereal about it? *soft sigh*

Every time I hold it, it feel like I'm also holding a piece of history in my hands.

How privileged I am to be its owner for the next few years, or decades!

Hope Angel Moonstone Charm Necklace - SGD 64 - Sold

I found another adorable winged crystal charms while packing away the work stuff and decided to squeeze in one more Hope Angel charm necklace before our little girl arrives. This time the winged crystal charm is in a lovely topaz blue, and I complemented it with an ultra brilliant blue flash moonstone pear briolette and shimmering pale blue AAA grade aquamarine rondelles. This dainty sweetie is approx. 17" in length with an option for extension upon request :)

More sold pieces

Things have been nothing short of wild around here, the boxes are stuffed to the brim, cupboards are emptied, shelves are dismantled.... oh yeah it really is happening! We are moving! I am still try ing to list new pieces here and there but our doctor reckons we should anticipate an early arrival of our baby girl and since I'm into my 37th week, it could be anytime soon. Yikes! He did comment on my lack of weight gain (I put on a measley 0.2 kg in 2 weeks instead of the average 0.5 kg gain per week in the last trimester) and well, I blame it on the stress of doing too many things at once. Though me thinks my total weight gain so far of 11 kg is pretty decent, the hubster thinks otherwise and has been busy stuffing me to make up for lost time :(

Anyway I had some pieces which didn't make it to the blog because they got claimed before I could list them:

Mewsette earrings

Hope Angel Ruby Charm Necklace

Gertrude's Song owl necklace

the cutest Heffalump Genius necklace

and a stunning emerald necklace

Maternity leave has officially begun so I am hoping to complete all pending transactions and mail out the packages within these couple of days. Thank you for your kind understanding! Will be back soon with more photo updates :)