The Cat Who Dreamt Furballs - Sold

Finally saw the sun today! Though it did rain a little, it was actually warm and our pool's filled again! Imagine that! What a wonderful respite from the madness of the flooding rain we've had for the last month! Such a happy day deserves happy earrings :)

The Cat Who Dreamt Furballs sees the lovable woody kitty buttons teamed up with a silver flower filigree, brass ball and Dream charm. Wonder what this kitty is up to? Taking a cat nap and dreaming of furballs of cos! Truly a vintage storybook-inspired darling!

Drops are 5cm and 4cm respectively ~

Girl Talk!

Ooh just had a fabulously full meal of home-made lasagne :) And more importantly a long distance convo with dear Cara in Australia! She's one of my first and oldest friends though unfortunately she moved to Australia when we were 9 or 10. She'll be visiting Singapore next month so yay! Girly catch-up time! I'm bummed that it means she won't be able to attend my wedding but I'm sure she'll make it up to me hahaha. She's another jewellery freak so we're gonna have fun crafting and shopping together!!

We had celebrated Yunshi's birthday earlier today as well and I was surrounded by naggers who just kept bugging me about my wedding prep!! Goodness people!! Give me some time!! I had to borrow the birthday girl's camera to take a pic of Val and I cos I realised to my horror that we had surprisingly few pics tgt from cambodia!! The only other nice one we had was an awful shot at angkor wat by Jeremy which showed us with terribly double chins. Doing up a surprise to thank her for being bridesmaid so yup yup, girly pics are a must!

Another highlight of the day was having the bridesmaids come together for a mass tailoring appointment! Such delicious fun!! I won't divulge much of the details here, will let the photos do their work when the day comes :) But one thing's for sure, everyone will be in my fave colour - green! Some bustier dresses, others halters and a lone funky toga ~ it will be great fun taking pictures together!! I'm so blessed to have these amazing girls sacrifice their time and money, with Char flying all the way from Australia in the middle of her school term, to spend my big day with me! Next on the agenda: The HEN PARTY!!!! *whoohooo! Val has already some things up her sleeves, and I'm sure happiness-inducing liquids will be part of them!!

Before I go rush out all the things that chief bridesmaid aka nagger Val has bugged me about all afternoon, here's a big thank you to the gals that have been supportive of my work and this new Chinois is Chic range, you babes keep me going! I'm currently working on the 2nd batch for Chinois and the odd bits for another range. The former should be out within this week! (I hope) And yes, it's about time to have some sort of mailing list system. Trust me, I'm working on it. But knowing me, it'll be a while. So let's just let my conscience do the bugging, and have a fabulous week ahead peeps!!

Peach & Emerald - Sold

This is my first wholly gold-filled pair so that explains the higher pricing. From the filigrees to the hooks & chains & wirework... all gold-filled baby! Meant to last so it's a worthwhile investment :) As usual, green is the colour de rigeur with peach blossoms & gummy drops. Love the little seed bead details on the side. Luxe out darling!

Drop is abt 5.5 cm ~

And this is the last baby fr the Chinois is Chic collection....spent the whole day photoshopping the text on the pics and uploading them. Phew!! Gonna take that much-needed shower now and spend the rest of the night with my baby. Nitey nightz!

Mystic Garden - Sold

I started with this vintage-like rose charm, the autumn leaves... and everything slowly fell into place. The peach aventurine (I think) flat round nuggets & powder almond swarovski pearls & carved butterfly came later in bits & bobs. When everything was added, the classic brass rose toggle just had to come in! The result is a classic, earthy charm bracelet chockful of little surprises!

Pixiu - Sold

The pixiu is another Chinese mythical creature that resembles a winged dragon and is regarded as an auspicious animal for wealth. The myth is really quite funny too! Apparently this pixiu violated a law in heaven so the jade emperor punished it by limiting its diet to gold and sealing its *ahem* butt-hole. Which means gold can enter its body but can't leave it. That's the story of how it became a symbol of storing wealth and good fortune. Man.

Anyway... I'm quite pleased with how this double loop bracelet turned out. Gorgeous rich chocolate & powder almond Swarovski pearls, freshwater pearl coins & metallic gold czech beads adorn the long chain, which you're meant to wind around your wrist twice before hooking it on the brass loop from which the pixiu sits on itfloral filigree 'throne'. Chinoiserie has never been this classic cool!

The Lion Roars - Sold

What would Chinese New Year be without all the mythical creatures? This auspicious lion brings good fortune while a trail of jade knot, cinnabar barrel & tangerine cloisonne add a mismatch touch. Funky cool!

Drops are 5cm and 4.5cm respectively ~

Chabana - SGD 28 - Sold

Cha-bana literally means 'tea flowers' in Japanese, and these almost batik or kimono-print like tenshas inspired the name! I adore these cloudish blue roses (finding out the name now) and thought I'd keep things simple by sticking with basics. Tiny red garnet beads & faux pearl drops add the final zen touch.

Drop is abt 4.5cm ~ non-tarnish wirework & sterling hooks.

Begonia Blush - Sold

A Kamoe-Rose creation! These lovely red flower on green rounds were my faves from the last batch of beads Karin sent me and though they look a tad more Christmasy than CNY, I am going to squeeze them in anyway haha. I'm not certain what semiprecious stones these carved roses are, but I'm thinking cherry quartz. Tiny baubles of gold, cream, almond & maroon pearls and yummy green drops finish Begonia Blush. Drop is abt 7cm ~

Citrus Tea - Sold

Ah, now we come to my uber fave of this batch - Citrus Tea is a gorgeous blend of carved peach aventurine roses, mother-of-pearl rounds & cascading autumn leaves. I am so tempted to keep this darling for myself!! Drop is abt 7cm ~

Emerald Rose - SGD 29 - Sold

I'm not big abt the swaying-on-hoop-thingie but I just had to give it a go when I laid my hands on these beautiful seed beads from Japan (I'm in my green phase now if you haven't noticed).
Somehow the carved aventurine roses & greenish-gold lampwork bead are divine together! Entrance people with this emerald beauty! Drop is abt 7cm ~

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!