Jade & Turquoise - Sold

This is one of my darlings from the Chinois is Chic collection. Beautiful smooth turquoise ovals, little jade fishies & faceted olive briolettes.... simply gorgeous! I've added a good dose of gold blings & green bits for good measure. Drop is abt 7cm ~

Cherry Blossoms - Sold

About time the pink side made its appearance heh - these blush roses are reflected in the heart-shaped cloisonnes below, while cream pearls, frosted beads & pale jade donuts complete this oriental piece. Drop is abt 6cm ~

The Red Lotus - SGD 28 - Sold

A dash of rouge adds that sultry touch to an otherwise delicate combi of lavender on white. Lilac clay flowers, white cloisonne donuts, red faceted briolettes & a cluster of greens & earths finish this Red Lotus ~ Drop is abt 7cm.

Fairy of the Waves - Sold

I adored these white flower cloisonnes the minute I laid my eyes on them! Pure lily white with glimpses of pale blue. Fairy of the waves, as it is known to the Chinese, is another name for the narcissus flower, which is a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. It is an important flower for Chinese New Year and ironically it first came from Europe!

Turquoise, swarovski pearls & crystals, mottled blue czech & oh-so-lovely aquamarine faceted briolettes complete this fairy darling. Drop is abt 5.5cm ~

War & Beauty - Sold

I took this piece off temporarily to launch it together with the Chinois is Chic! CNY collection.
A classic orient-inspired piece, this pair is named after the period drama I blogged previously abt palace rivalry and deception among the concubines. The lavish costumes & jewellery in this show totally inspired my oriental side, and it's brilliant for the cheongsam season.

Carved clear quartz roses, blue diamond cloisonnes, drops of gold & flashes of green & topaz go together brilliantly in this royal darling~

Chinois is Chic!

The long-awaited 'Chinois is Chic!' collection for Chinese New Year 2007 is finally out of the stove! Check out this latest exclusive collection of 14 new designs! - 12 pairs of earrings and 2 bracelets. Go on, relish the vibrant bold colours, chinoiserie cloisonnes and japanese prints! I will be focusing on churning out new designs so these pieces will be here till they are snatched ~ Enjoy!

Meanwhile I will be clearing the inventory to make room for new stock so certain items will be discounted in the next few days to keep them moving. Yay! New space for new beginnings :)
For now, here's the first piece in the new collection :

Sakura - Sold

Sakura makes its debut as an auspicious pair with red jade rounds, kimono-print tenshas, swarovski pearls, red garnet & gold leaves. Bold and totally yummy! Drop is abt 7cm ~

The Cat Who Found The Secret Key - Sold

Today was a wonderfully productive day for the CNY collection but yay! One funky non-CNY piece made it as well! :) I love these woody kitty buttons which I've used as charms here instead. A brass key and hollow flower adds an adorable rustic touch to this vintage-inspired pair ~ Drop of each side is abt 4cm and 5cm respectively.

Meanwhile do check back often as I will be putting up a whole buncha new pieces from the CNY collection soon - mostly earrings with the odd bracelet, all themed for the wonderful festive season of chinese new year!! I'm particularly excited cos I've got new outfits lined up for visiting already!! Some cheongsam tops, tunics and a bright mudan red kebaya ~ I'm determined to stay in shape so I won't look like a ba zhang (rice dumpling) in these fitted outfits! Heh. All i need now are accessories to complete the look! :)

Sunshine Deerie - Sold

Though it's raining dinosaurs today, I'm still gonna post this sunny piece! Hopefully this leetle bambi will bring back the sun! :) Sunflower kamoe rounds, citrus semiprecious nuggets, czech & japanese beads are linked by non-tarnish wirework. Glass leaves in autumn shades add a rustic touch to this deer-in-woods piece ~

Meanwhile I am taking down a few pieces cos I've decided (belatedly) to launch them together with the chinese new year collection I'm currently working on. Yes, you heard me right, I've not been on holiday in lala-land for the last few days but rather poring over beads and more beads! I will be doing a separate collection for Valentine's ~ though I don't think there are many blokes who check out this site but oh well, it can be a girl's way of rewarding herself ya?

I've not had the chance to post my angkor stories yet cos not all the photos are in from the gang (my miserable pathetic camera died midway) but you can check out my Flickr album for some classic moments heh. Like the photo of the yummy insect snacks Jeremy happily shuttered away while I had to turn away in horror ~ mind you I've had my share of fried crickets and the sort but these cambodian delights were HUGE MIND BOGGLING cockroaches, water beetles and other creepy crawlies who looked like they would fit better in Mimic! Or Fear Factor haha.
Gonna cook myself some gou loh meen now, tata darlings!

Emerald Glitterati - Sold

I've been in my green-nature-is-good mode! Perhaps that's the influence of Ann, Matt's cousin aka spider prof and ecologist. Yup, she's a cool gal with a fetish for the 8-legged!! Though I think she's trying to shed that image haha :p

Funky gold-veined maple leaf charms, swarovski crystal hearts, cream pearls & a string of bling make this a glittering pair for the glam foresty goddess ~ This is such an understated charming pair! Friends who came over for drinks were so tempted to grab them off my worktable! Heh.

Strawberry Sundae - Sold

Made this pair just before I left for Cambodia but things were just too crazy so I'm posting it only now. This pair was a much-needed breath of sunshine after rushing all the Christmas orders :) Adorable strawberry charms in coloured enamel and gold, opalite and gummy green drops, swaroski blings and balls make this a cheery pair for the new year!

Back from the ruins ... and happy new year!!

Ok so I've been back from Cambodia a week now, and I know I owe tonnes of pictures from my amazing trip there, so here's a little bit of what's been going on lately in the Challenger home :p
Came back just in time for Christmas which was followed by much eating and partying!! Popped by Chris' place on Christmas Eve for some excellent food - the baking goddess texted me a tonne of strange directions but conveniently left out her actual address so we spent a good hour walking in the rain and was contemplating giving up when we suddenly chanced upon her car!! Talk abt divine leading! Made up for the exercise by polishing off most of her yummy sushi and prawn veggies heh.

Christmas morning was spent in bed opening pressies fr each other before it was time to head out for Christmas service. Guess what I got?? A koala plushie Matt commissioned fr makisquarepatch!! With his name on it heh! Which was quite funny cos I got him a flat dolly fr them too! Got him a monkey makiki cos he kept fighting with me for my teddy dolly so I got him his own as a pressie ~ now we're both happy!!

The hubster wanted to do things the way he did back home so I pretty much had to go along with everything he asked. Except when the turkey took longer than usual to prepare, I became a teeny weeny bit grouchy cos I was starving and just whined abt why we decided to cook our own meat in the first place. Not my most wifely moment. Naturally the hubster got upset cos he'd taken all this time to prepare the home for Christmas and I didn't seem the least bit appreciative so blah blah... several sour moments later we made up and had a most wonderful homey dinner of turkey and roast! :)
The 26th saw another Chris' Pantry gathering at Chel's place ~ Chris and Chel whipped up a fabulous feast of Shark's fin Melon Pork rib soup, Watercress Wasabi mayonnaise beef salad, Braised duck with caramelized Onion jam, Garlic mash & blanched Asparagus with Aoli and Basil Panna cotta with Black sesame lace cookies & sauteed apples. Not to mention lotsa lotsa wine!!! (that explains the hangover)

The Cambodian gang dropped by on the 27th where we pigged out on black pepper crabs!! Yummy!! We'd been hallucinating this crustacean delight since Phnom Penh and just had to satisfy this urge ~ Although poor Eddie did suffer some nagging for getting the crabs fr the wrong place haha... and you wonder how Jeremy survived 2 weeks with 3 obnoxious girls :p More angkor wat stories and pictures later!! We had the most fantastic time even though I didn't know Jeremy and Lorraine very well till this trip - our team dynamics was surprisingly great! Looking forward to our next trip already!

Matt's cousin Ann is visiting en route to Sydney so we've been busy showing her the sights around this Little Red Dot ~ unfortunately some Thai food and many beers later (Reading was playing Man U last night), both of them are now feeling not too good in the tummy. Tsk tsk! Need to go play nanny now and plan the tapas menu for 2 more dinner parties at our place over the new year so yup, busy busy still! Had my first bridal fitting on Sat, and I'm so impressed with Margaret! My white and evening gowns look absolutely divine! And totally glammed out! Feels so red carpet haha. Managed to get Val's bridesmaid dress made too so yay, more things ticked off the list! Hmm...maybe it's time to finish those guest lists... :p I'm driving Val nuts with my procrastination heh ~ Work-wise, I've been working on a few pieces wherever I can and I'm just so excited about Oriental Rose' 2007 plans! Ooh can't wait for 2007 already!!

Delicate Rose - Sold

Rosy Desire was well-received at Tea so here's another ethereal baby up for grabs ~ A delicate rose, lace flower and heart filigree speak affection, adoration and loveliness to the blossoming maiden. (non-tarnish silver chain and sterling findings)

Black Gold - Sold

One sweetie wanted sth in black and gold for her slinky red dress so voila! A simple charmed piece to show off her new outfit :) Black strawberry, gold locket, black tassels and blings for the uber-babe ~

Francesca - Sold

A special order this Christmas by a lovely gal for her lovely friend :)

Strawberry Love - Sold

Strawberry Love's a happy retro piece with a charming red strawberry, clear heart bling and brass Je t'aime charm ~ In the mood for love, anyone?

Vintage Story - Sold

Made specially for Tea as well, this baby didn't make it to Tea after all :) Vintage rose-print tenshas looks so baubly next to frosted red pearls & opalite acrylic drops. A cluster of white pearls up the playful factor in this dainty yet funky piece ~

Silent Night - Gift for Jane!

I loved Trove of Gold so much that I decided to do a slightly goth version of it in black and silver. Little beads in white, frost, metallic, opalite, white howlite and white stone drops add quiet touches of tranquility to an otherwise punkish piece. Trails of matt black & silver chains complete this pair of silent night ~

Drop is abt 7.5cm.

Charity - Now SGD 25 / USD 16

As an ex-convent girl (albeit only in primary school), we used to have classes with names like Faith, Hope, Love, Peace etc. and Charity was my class' name! Just thought it'd be nice to name a piece after my ex-class in the spirit of Christmas! :)

Gold, green and red make such a colourful combi and looks even more funky feminine with cream pearls and orange cameos ! Be a lady this Christmas with this joyous pair ~

Tartlets - SGD 20 - Sold

Specially made for Tea ~ this is a christmas-fruitcakey concoction of lovely blooms that have varying sades of green, orange, pink etc... gummy yummy! A rose quartz round, matt-green faceted drop & cluster of swarovskis complete this scene of fruitey delight ~

Drop is abt 6 cm.

TEA on TV! (and other snatched goodies)

Yay! For those who were able to catch the festive bites segment on CNA last night, didn't Chris look perfectly at ease in front of the camera? (Chris darling, you don't look fat on TV) And oh, ALL our guests appeared on TV after all!! Haha even though they tried to hide most of the time (I know Val only took bites when the camera wasn't nearby!), somehow a sweeping shot captured everyone! Yay! One second of fame hahaha....

Thanks to everyone for all the lovely emails that've been streaming in... this is the last week before I leave for Cambodia so it's another crazy period for me. Just a friendly reminder, all orders must be shipped by this Friday, Dec 8th. I still have a bunch of custom orders on hand which I will finish before the week is over so I will NOT be accepting any more new custom orders. I will be posting up the new pieces from Tea today so that's still sth new for you babes who were unable to make it to Tea. I've got just a week left to sort out the Christmas decor, menu, pressies and preparations for Cambodia so yes, I am a little short of time :( Thank you for your understanding!! (my panda eyes are awful!!)

Here are more goodies that went home to lovely owners at Tea:

Blue Autumn

The Little Prince

Leaves of Endearment

Rosy Desire

Reflective Beauty


Raspberry Swirl

Vanity Fair

Soar

Oh, My Deer!

I'm so proud that Xin took a fancy to Oh, My Deer! and she wore it to Maad the next day! (I know cos being the maki-holic that I am, I just had to go down to check out their new Tweety collection haaa) Artists truly have a distinct taste of their own cos this was a one-off funky piece using a vintage enamel necklace that I got from a lady who had loads of vintage jewellery from her mom and her old aunts. Remember to check their goodies out at the Takashimaya forum on Dec 9,10,15 and 16! I was so bummed that this lady got the kimono bag before I did at Maad so I'm not gonna take too long to consider next time! :p

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo