Wedding Season!

Tis truly the season of weddings! We have 4 weddings to attend within 2 weeks and with 2 of them being that of close girl pals' so yep, I am really feeling the effect of running around. Feels like I'm getting married all over again haha! One wedding was on the monday that's just past while another biggie one is happening tomorrow! How exciting! We had a bridal shower last Sat for one bride-to-be but unfortunately the photos weren't in my camera so those will have to wait. Matt did snap shots of my 7-month belly though!

Prior to the bridal shower, we had a little jewellery soiree cos the bride (for tomorrow) wanted to thank her helpers by giving them handmade trinkets ~ it turned out to be a whole day affair! See us hard at work on a saturday afternoon:

Naturally it was up to moi to finish up whatever remained uncompleted. Total tally? 10 bracelets and 5 pairs of earrings! Due to time constraints I was only able to photograph the earrings but hopefully I can sneak some shots of the bracelets during the wedding proper!

The bride wanted something more old-fashioned and victorian with pearls to go with her lace gown so we found these antique-style sterling filigree clasps that allowed her to wear her earrings in 3 different styles ~ 1) with the baroque pearls above 2) sans the pearls 3) just the diamond studs alone! Very versatile!

Sterling earrings with peridot, rhodolite garnet and moonstone to go with the bride's burgundy dinner cheongsam

Rose earrings for the two bridesmaids

And a little gift from the bride to Val (my bridesmaid and godma of baby challenger!) to go with her funky pink cheongsam. I would have worn my silvery lilac cheongsam too if not for the fact I can't fit into it right now! :p It'll prob take the birth, total breastfeeding and at least 6 months of hardcore exercise for me to fit into it again. Sigh.

It'll be a super long day tomorrow so I'm off to prepare for it ~ I always can't help feeling all excited about weddings, especially when you've seen the couple progress from friendship to courtship to saying their vows! Just hope I can hold back the tears tomorrow - you never know with the hormones now! :p

Chris' baby shower!

Baby showers are probably not quite the norm cos we tend to celebrate the baby's 1st month birthday instead but really, it's so much easier (and fun!) to have a baby gift registry with well-wishers contributing things parents need or want apart from the ubiquitous red packet! So that's what Chris did, she had a list of specific baby items she had in mind, and all we had to do was to go put our name against the item. The list consisted of a mixture of stuff she'd already bought which she then wrapped and brought along to the party, as well as stuff that guests can purchase and bring along themselves. We happily contributed toward baby Natalie's eco Bumwear cloth diapers's fund :)

The baker in Chris can't resist cooking and baking ever!
Here is she hard at work adding last minute touches to the dessert.
She prepared such a feast I was glad to have brought an appetite! :p
oh guilty pleasures.... 70% pure dark sinful chocolate
haha the timing of this shot was so comical!

The proud mummy-to-be!

Funky tees for baby natalie, courtesy of our very artistic friend Chelsea.
How could I resist these?!! I started my pigging-out on one of these heh.

I promised snapshots of my new short bob so here they are!
Looking at the two photos below I feel kinda nostalgic for my lost locks. Sniff.
Taken in mid Oct at my mate's wedding dinner.
It was hilarious how some uni male friends couldn't recognise me with long hair cos I sported short hair all through school days. And I thought they were rude at first to ignore me! haha!
Taken in early Nov with my girl friends at Soon Lee after attending the launch of Bianca's latest collection. You can't see the belly at all in this white top! It's incredible!

Oh well I figured my hair will just grow back but right now the heat is killing me!
And of cos being excitable first-time parents, we had to take more pics of the growing belly.
The belly at 6 months

Can't wait to finally meet little Natalie come Dec! Meanwhile I'm gonna amuse myself with silly ideas for our baby shower in Jan next year ~ wouldn't it be nice to have a themed party! :p

Silver Lining - SGD 40 - Sold

Clean and refreshing, this pair of gleaming sterling wavy tubes with microfaceted 10x7mm green amethyst briolettes topped with textured spacers provides a cool respite from the heat! Drop is 4cm from sterling hooks ~

Rae - SGD 45 - Sold

Pink and grey is my current colour combi obsession so don't be surprised to see this again soon! Petite faceted 7x4mm pink topaz teardrop briolettess cascade in smooth oval hoops topped with shimmering labradorite and rose quartz rondelles. Drop is 3cm from goldfilled hooks~

Body Talk

Can you believe it's November already?!! Where did all that time go? So much has been going on ~ weddings, more weddings, preparing for my gal pals's weddings... and of cos baby challenger in the tummy! 6 months down, just another 3 more to go! It's funny how much bellies can vary, I mean I have quite a few friends who have either given birth or are on their way like I am, and our tummies come in all shapes and sizes! I think I've been quite blessed with quite a neat belly, most people comment that my face and the other parts of my body have not put on much weight and it really helps to be able to still fit into my pre-pregnancy tees and jeans! Yea jeans! Although I can't zip or button up so I have to use one of those nifty wide belly bands to hide that fact :p

One thing's for sure though - water retention sucks!! Just check out my poofy marshmellow feet below:

And this ain't the worst yet I reckon! It'll probably poof up even more in next few months haha. Sometimes I take off my shoes in the middle of the day and find myself unable to fit back into them cos gosh they just swell! And did I mention they have gone up 2 shoes sizes? Way cool!

In the spirit of change, I deliberated for a grand total of one week before finally chopping off my nearly waist-long locks cos I was getting bored and the weather didn't help either. It was more heartwrenching than I thought though, when my hairdresser snipped off all those inches! Sobz* It's now a fairly short bob, much like how I used to sport my hair 3 years ago. I'm so happy the hubby loves it too! He opened the door last night, was blown away by the huge surprise and could only go (i-could-tell-it-was-genuine) "WOW!" Said it reminded him of my hair when we first met hee. I tried taking some self-portraits but they turned out baaaddd so let's wait for the weekend for some snapshots! :)

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Here are some custom orders completed recently:

Jaya

Rose Alabaster

Vintage Rose

Have a good weekend folks! We're going to a baby shower this Saturday! :)

More sassy cats!

The "Bewitched" earrings I did earlier seemed to catch the fancy of many so I thought I'd do up more variations with these cute vintage perched kitties! I've used vintage rose cabs, some cute buttonhole thread charms, swarovskis and the odd vintage czech heart crystal with goldfilled earhooks and wire components.

*Sassy* in burgundy - SGD 40 - Sold
Drop: 4cm (left), 4.5cm (right)

*Sassy* in midnight blue - SGD 40 - Sold
Drop: 4.5cm (left), 4cm (right)

Flower Power & Lemon Sorbet - SGD 59 each - Both sold

Finally sorted out the pictures of the rings so here they are! Unlike the ones I made for Maad a few months ago, these are on adjustable bases so no fear about sizes!

I like this chunky dramatic one which was sold at Sept's tea.

*Glacial Coolness* ~ also sold

*Flower Power* ~ clusters of flowers with rhinestones on a silver-toned ring base.

And my personal favourite *Lemon Sorbet*
~ soft lime and green shades with a vintage pearl earring on a brass ring base.
Still thinking if I can part with this!

Queen of Terabithia - SGD 118 - Sold

One of the new pieces at Sept's tea party was this lavish ensemble of a large bold unicorn with a glittery pale lime/meadow green vintage rhinestone brooch and vintage flowers in enamel and lucite. Also included in the mix are gem brios of green garnet and phrenite with a green amethyst focal drop topped with apatite and rose quartz. Non-tarnish brass clasp closure~

A portrait of twinkling fantasy for that magical day out!
(Will try to take a modelled shot later!)

Other knick knacks at Doinky Doodles

Also at Doinky Doodles are these 2 necklaces and ring which I meant to upload last week but got too caught up with stuff to do:

Tinkerbluebelle

Leandra

adjustable "Mindy" ring

It's such a lazy rainy tuesday morning that I can't help but hide indoors and rest this aching body of mine. Hope the showers bring a cool breeze to you too!

New shoes new day new stuff to be done!

Did you have a good break over the hari raya holiday yesterday? As if town wouldn't be crowded enough, my friend Lee En and I joined the manic squeeze at Fash Bash for some fashion bargains, which by the way was last held before I found out about baby so that's at least a good 6mths ago! I was keen to lay my hands on Little Odd Forest's cheeky monster tote but was bummed the stock they brought in this design had run out by 12 noon! No fear, I whipped out my (not-so) trusty mobile to text the friend who was gonna get it for me anyway as a belated birthday pressie so she could order it online. Gee I sound really presumptous haha!! Oh well, I'm sure our friendship is way past the modest stage :p

It was so good to meet many friends who either had a booth there like Eighteen Fifty, Sabbiew and Goblin Market or who were there to shop (me included!) like Ruth from Sparkletots. A pleasant surprise was bumping into Jo who was 1) the wedding coordinator for my dinner reception on Sentosa and whose other half is the 2) owner of Bianca, the probably very-known-by-now local shoe boutique with fabulous looking and even more affordable shoes! I love it that they are located on the indie Haji Lane stretch cos it's just adjacent to Doinky Doodles so I can pop my head in whenever I'm there heh.

Both Lee En and I couldn't resist a pair each naturally ~ This is the pair of navy patent ribbon flats I got from the Bianca booth at 30% off!
Secretly pleased water retention has not hit my ankles yet. (They do not make good footy shots.)

Woke up earlier this morning at 7 just so I could get to answering all that emails in my box that've come in since the tea party with queries about items carried at Doinky Doodles and other customisation requests. And I'm not through yet! But ok let's see if I can help clarify commonly asked questions here :)

For the pieces carried at DD, they are specially and solely for DD so I'm afraid they are only available for purchase at their brick & mortar shop on Bali Lane. I've started with only a few pieces over there but it seems that thanks to supportive customers, I might have to restock more regularly than I expect to! Which brings me to customisation requests - the necklaces in the mosaic picture on my Flickr album are all one-offs using my limited stash of vintage animals so really, I'm sorry I can't help with most requests. However if you have an idea of what you like and want and can accept that it will not be exactly like the pieces in the mosaic, you can drop me a mail and we can discuss to see if it's plausible.

End-of-year is the busiest time for me with customisation requests flooding in so while I've accepted some orders, please let me know early if you would like something for the Christmas season or special functions. I've got a few weddings to work on already, including that of my gal pals, so please forgive me if I am unable to take on your requests. Especially since I am just growing larger and clumsier everyday!

Ok I have to hurry uploading the pieces meant for this morning to make up for not working much yesterday. It's gonna be a busy day for me today cos a few of us are off to help our friend Vivienne of Fuchsia Lane fame for her solo fashion showcase at the Arts House tonight. I've never been part of anything like this before so it'll be exciting to see what goes on behind the scenes! Bump and I have come up with some music for the evening and we'll be hanging and ironing clothes all day I think haha.

I'm loving the photography direction for her latest collection: *swoons*

photos courtesy of Fuchsia Lane

(wish I could fit into her clothes without looking like a hippo right now haha)

Alrightey I'm running late so I'll leave you here with 3 new pieces for now. Ciao bella!!

Classic pearl gold - SGD 45 - Sold

Something pearly, something classic for the coming season :: swarovskis and pearls from goldfilled studs that can take you from the office to the dinner party. I like this studs cos they are not the normal teeny weeny kind but they are bolder at a larger 5mm so these are good if you like classic with a twist! Drop is a petite 2cm from the stud ~

Rest assured you get a new pair of earrings - the pair I modelled is my own!

Moondew - SGD 39 - Sold

A little unusual for me to do something slim and slender but I realise how versatile these can be when heading for a nice evening out in a pretty dress! From sterling studs trail moonstone rondelles, pearls and swarovskis ending with beautiful faceted moonstone teardrop briolettes ~ Drop is 4.5cm from the studs.

You get a new pair of cos!

Anya - SGD 59

Something a bit different from the whimsical animals so far ~ layered textured 14k goldplated chains with 3 cool matt black coated leaves sitting asynmetrically for dramatic flair. My only piece I'm afraid!