Christmas is here!

I just love the holiday season. Christmas spirit is everywhere, and I have been busy making some Christmas order items, and have been busy going to the post office to send out parcels and things. Most items were custom-ordered, so it was really fun for me to work on them.

I've also found that giving handmade jewelry is a wonderful personalized way of telling someone that you're thinking of them. I would've liked to make Christmas pressies for every single one of my in-law's family, but it's just not possible. I'd be sitting down for weeks on end making gifts for at least 50 people! Lol. It was hard, but I decided to only make gifts for the direct family members, and a very close friend of mine (and her daughter- a beautiful newborn named Kathryn!)

I kept the gift-making simple, although it was still pretty time-consuming. A choker necklace for my sister-in-law, Christine, and a pretty Swarovski crystal heart bracelet for her eldest daughter (and my lovely god-daughter), Maya, and a cute lollipop pendant on a silver chain for the younger rascal, Leia. A gorgeous embellished dolphin bookmark with clusters of beautiful purple glass beads, pearls and amethyst chips for my step-mother-in-law, Joanne. Another dolphin bookmark with a blue theme for my childhood friend, Michelle, and a pretty little charm bracelet (it's so tiny!) for her month-old daughter, Kathryn. How much fun I had making all these things!

Will be posting up some pictures soon, just for fun... !

Meanwhile, I will be away for holidays from Christmas Eve until the 27th of December. However, keep the orders coming and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm home. Cheerio!

Gothica

Recently, I discovered that one of my favourite suppliers had come out with a new line of finished brass pieces. These are called Brass Noir, which is an almost-black kind of brass, perfect for creating Gothic pieces of jewelry. I got bits and pieces of Brass Noir findings and focals, and paired them with vintage antiqued brass lockets for that mysterious Gothic look.

MYTHOLOGY

This large, filigree dapped round leaf medallion made of brass noir is truly magnificent on its own. I thought it such a remarkable piece that it didn't anything else to go along with. For a touch of colour, though, I added on a short roll of hem tape in deep red, very Gothic, I thought. Remove the ribbon if you don't fancy it. This brilliant focal piece hangs from an 18-inch brass noir curb chain.

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MYTHOLOGY

There was ample sun-light when I took this shot, so the focal piece looks like a gunmental colour. In reality, it's a deeper shade of gunmental, so deep it looks almost black. Gorgeous.

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MYTHOLOGY

Another view of pure gorgeousness

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MYTHOLOGY

Hem tape made of rayon. I have a few yards of these in 4 colours- all vintage-y looking.

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BYZANTIUM

A vintage, giant antiqued brass daisy-patterned locket takes Gothic to a whole new level. Wear this and remember a timeless era when anything was possible. Enhanced with a faceted red agate stone and antiqued brass filigree bead cap, a black gothic stamped rose charm and a twisted antiqued brass ring. Hangs from an 18-inch brass noir curb chain.

RM43

BYZANTIUM

Such a gorgeous locket

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BYZANTIUM

Close up of the fine detailing

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BYZANTIUM

Another close-up view

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BYZANTIUM

The perfect symmetry of dark and light comes together in perfect harmony, making this one of the most wearable pieces you will find.

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BYZANTIUM

Under the sunlight

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BYZANTIUM

A truly breath-taking, eye-catching piece to adorn your throat

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RELIC

Argh- another blur picture

SOLD!

RELIC

A close up view of the antiqued brass connector

SOLD!

RELIC

A vintage, giant wing locket in antiqued brass, hangs from an antiqued brass filigree connector with 3 loops. To add symmetry, I've added Swarovski crystals in Siam and Light Siam to 2 of the loops for a balanced look, and to spice up the overall dark tone of the necklace. Take a look at the very pretty bail which I made myself by twisting a Celtic knot filigree bar.

SOLD!

RELIC

Wing-patterned locket hangs from a flat, black velvet cord which lends a Gothic touch. Velvet cord measures about 16 inches, which can be worn choker-style.

SOLD!

RELIC

Great detailing of wings on the locket

SOLD!

ANALOG HEART

A shiny heart locket in a semi-shimmery gunmetal tone, etched with patterns of tiny flowers and tendrils, differentiates itself from the soft focus of traditional heart-shaped lockets, usually feminine and sweet. This is an edgy piece, with a gothic rock outlook. To soften the look, though, I added on small round semi-flat lampwork glass beads in black with very tiny flowers, just for that touch of feminity. The heart is uniquely shiny, so I opted to match it with a gunmetal tone curb chain as well.

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ANALOG HEART

A picture (sorry, it's a little blur) of the heart locket and lampwork glass beads

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ANALOG HEART

The heart locket was so shiny that it was difficult to take a good picture without the light reflecting back into my camera lens.

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ANALOG HEART

Shine on, baby

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ANALOG HEART

So I moved to a darker part of the house to take another picture. Didn't really work as well. The heart was shiny as hell, and resulted in this very strange stone, with gold flecks. Note: there are no gold flecks on this locket, this is merely a reflection of light from the camera.

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Marabello

I don't know why, but this piece makes me think of something delicious. Something edible. Like marble cheese cake. Served cold from the refrigerator, a large hunk of a piece. And when you take that first bite, an orgasmic taste of perfectly-creamed cheese rolled into a dense beautifully-buttered cake, explodes in your mouth, stunning you into a voracious silence as you yearn for more and more.

Maybe it's the marbled pattern on the locket, I don't know. I almost wanted to take a bite out of this locket when I bought it. I also have another one in a pretty turquoise-teal colour- that looks even more appetizing. Maybe that's why I'm keeping that for myself, for the time being. Like sweet, richly-sugared candy. The kind that gives you an instant toothache, with every bite drilling down into your gums, and you think "Oh damn. Cavities."

Damn, I have a sweet tooth. Anyway, here is Marabello.

MARABELLO

Hmm...most of my first pictures in today's posts are kinda blur. I wonder if that's some kind of strange coincidence.

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MARABELLO

So the flash is a little harsh here. But look at the pretty creamy white locket. It's gorgeous to say the least. A vintage find, to boot. And those pretty shades of purple and a brilliant emerald-like green: damn, I want to eat those pieces of candy! They're Czech glass pearls, by the way. The locket hangs from an 18-inch sterling silver figaro chain.

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MARABELLO

A twittering (if you listen hard enough) antiqued silver swallow charm. I'm guessing it wants to eat candy, too.

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MARABELLO

Another blurred picture

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MARABELLO

Pretty as a picture.

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MARABELLO

This is probably my favourite photo of Marabello. In case you haven't already noticed, I love little clusters of beads and embellishments. I think this paints a really pretty picture, whoever thought green and purple could go so well together? The cluster and swallow charm hangs from a twisted antiqued silver ring.

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In The Meadow

I had a dream prior to making this locket necklace. In it, I was lying in a gorgeous meadowful of flowers. Green stretched in an expanse over the horizon, for miles and miles beyond where the eye can see. And suddenly, that wonderful forest-green met with a brilliant shade of cerulean, and that was the beginning of the sky. The air was cool, touching my bare skin with an almost-erotic caress, filled with the sweet intoxicating scent of flowers I couldn't even name. A silent hush fell across my entire being- so quiet, so strange, that I could hear my own thoughts.

And my thoughts were saying, "So you'd better hope no one finds you here in your birthday suit." I looked down at myself, startled to find that I was completely naked- but my skin was unlike my skin. A shade of olive perhaps, but smooth and silken to the touch, with an inner glow that lit my entire being. I watched myself in fascination, never thinking that I could own skin like this.

I remember touching the base of my throat lightly- and there, hanging from a delicate silver chain, was one of the prettiest locket necklaces I had ever seen.

So here it is- as close as possible to the necklace I wore in my dream. I spent hours scouring the internet to look for the locket in my dream. This isn't the exact locket, of course, but it's pretty close. I hope you like it as much as I do.

IN THE MEADOW

Sorry, this picture is a little blur. I wanted to show an aerial view of the locket necklace.

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IN THE MEADOW

A turquoise stone bead for the sky, a silver corrugated bead for the strange dimension of time I was in (in the dream), green lucite bead caps for the grass, leaves and all of nature, and Czech glass bell flowers in ruby red and tangerine.

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IN THE MEADOW

Here's a better view. The locket is etched with delicate patterns of flowers all over, a vintage piece that has acquired an old patina over the years. Locket hangs from a twisted antiqued silver ring and 18-inch sterling silver chain.

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IN THE MEADOW

A close up view of the locket.

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IN THE MEADOW

Pretty glass meadow flowers.

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Estate Jewelry

And what in the world is that, you may ask?

Estate Jewelry doesn't necessarily mean that a piece of jewelry comes from a particular estate. It simply means jewelry that has previously been owned. These can be divided into either antique or vintage jewelry which has been in a family and passed down through the generations.

Estate Jewelry has a long and colourful history as to how they came about- they were extremely popular in different periods of history: Edwardian, Victorian, Georgian, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco, amongst others. In each era, the jewelry presented of that era would have a distinctive look and design. For example, lockets and brooches were very popular during the Early Victorian times. Georgian jewelry was big on flowers, leaves, birds and depiction of nature. Diamonds, rubies, emeralds and intricate, elaborate designs were the call of the day in Edwardian jewelry.

I stumbled upon some beautiful pieces which I thought would be perfect for replication of Estate Jewelry. Most of these pieces I bought were also vintage pieces, at least 30 years old or so- so even though they aren't as precious as antiqued jewelry, they still retain a very elegant, old-world charm about them. In fashioning them, I kept simplicity and elegance in mind. Nothing elaborate whatsoever.

Here's a sneak preview of some I have made. Proper posts will follow very soon.

Holiday Craft Project

A few days ago, I laboured over what I could do at home to keep my young daughter occupied. Since the school holidays, we had been gallivanting at the malls, almost every other day, with her taking little train rides, making arts & crafts stuff at Art Attack (out of corrugated board), chilling at the play-centre. Of course, there was also the mess of painting at home, doing origami, cutting things up. We have several art masterpieces now capable of rivalling Van Gogh, I tell ya.

An unexpected trip to Ikea a few days ago (while I was still thinking up ideas to keep her busy and un-bored) gave me a great idea. Some time ago, I bought some coloured felt cloths and foam sheets, and lots of little buttons in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours, thinking I could do something with them, with her. A scrapbook was what I really had in mind, but daughter didn't seem keen.

And like a big shining neon light as we walked past the frames section, I saw the perfect craft idea: and it was only RM5.90 for a pack of 3 pine photo frames. I grabbed 2 packs immediately, telling daughter that we could embellish the photo frames and make them look fun and interesting. Very keen she was, too!

So we started on the photo frame project the very next day. I gathered our arts & crafts materials: acrylic paints, gloss paint, glitter dust in a few colours, glitter glue, buttons, craft glue and E6000 glue. We both sat on the floor in the living room with the art materials all spread out on a small, low Dinosaur-themed table my father had bought for daughter some time ago. And then the work began.

For a control freak like me, it was somewhat frustrating. I know it's terribly mean when your painting/crafts partner is a 4 year-old, but I have this thing: maybe it's OCD or something. But I am very particular about getting things just perfect, or at least, near-perfect. Sometimes, daughter and I wrestle with each other over stickers, because I can't stand to see them pasted haphazardly. So whatever she sticks, I remove, and stick them back again in orderly fashion. It was the same with the photo frame project.

For a 4 year-old, she is wonderful at colouring and painting. Her teachers at nursery tell me she is the best at arts & crafts in her class. Ah well, I hope my young one has inherited by slightly artistic creativity. And it is quite evident when she sets about splashing paints in a fierce arc over a huge white piece of art block. Or when she tells me, "Mummy, I'm going to draw you a picture" and all I see are 5 little floaty things each with 2 eyes and a wide mouth. And perchance I asked the young one, "What are these, darling?" And she looked at me as if I were dumb or something. "Ghosts, lah, Mummy!" To say I was shocked is an understatement. How the hell does a 4 year-old know what ghosts look like?

Anyway, I digress. Daughter and I literally fought to paint the frames, and after 5 minutes, I checked myself and told meself, "You are an adult. You do not fight with a child to paint." So I let it be, as difficult as it was for me. But I found it was really very fun, because once I let it go, and didn't treat it as the next sculpture for the Olympics, or a painting that was to be presented at the Louvre, things moved along much easier. I cleaned up after her. Assisted her basically. I kept the designs very simple so that she would be able to do everything herself (well, almost). And because I did- oh, how that little one looked at me with such love in her eyes!

Sigh.

I'm a terrible mother sometimes, but oh, how I love my little one, I really do. How can I explain how happy she makes me? And that she adores me because I can paint cool things, and make jewelry, or play Silly String with her, or laugh as loud as she does while watching SpongeBob Square Pants (which, by the way, is f****** hilarious in the stupidest way possible) is the greatest joy imaginable for me.

RAM unfinished pine photo frames from Ikea (RM5.90 for a pack of 3). These measure 10x15 cm (or 4x6 in).

The first of the frames that was done. Daughter chose all the colours, by the way. We swept 2 coats of acrylic paints over the frame and all over. I think these are pretty cute.

For good measure, I threw in 4 of the amber resin cabochons I had made some time ago. I didn't know what to do with them, so I put them into this frame and thought they looked kinda sweet.

Pretty and sparkly heart buttons from Jesse James.

The second photo frame. The emerald green colour she chose didn't blend too well here, so I had to slather on an extra 2 coats of acrylics after we painted on the first layer together. I got lazy by this time, and let her choose the buttons. She stuck them all over the frame. I added on a butterfly button at the top.

The butterfly- my touch! And she wanted blue glitter dust, so I coated the top of the frame with Diamond Glaze, and scattered dust all over. We stood outside the driveway to do this and had great fun. My driveway now looks like a sparkling path of diamonds, by the way. (I wish).

I really liked this dark violet colour. Like the green, it didn't take too well to the pine, so we slapped on like, 3 layers of paint. I had these cute little Halloween-themed buttons and she wanted to use them. I was worried at first because they weren't flat-backed buttons, but had little jutting loops. Thankfully for E6000 glue, though. I love that shit! The silver glitter dust here was a little OTT because she spilled a whole spoonful on one section. *grin* And of course, I had to make the other sections look consistent with that one.

Check out the cute little Book of Spells. Adorable!

And a witch's pointy hat!

Autumn Leaves

"The falling leaves drift by the window

The autumn leaves of red and gold

I see your lips, the summer kisses

The sun-burned hands I used to hold.

Since you went away the days grew long

And soon I'll hear old winter's long

But I miss you most of all, my darling

When autumn leaves start to fall."

~ Original Music by Joeph Kosma (original French lyrics by Jacques Prevert), English lyrics by Johnny Mercer (1945/47)

AUTUMN LEAVES

Another vintage heart-shaped locket, but in an old-school patina of aged brass. Absolutely beautiful, carrying a general feel of warm, earthy tones. Hangs from an 18-inch brass ox necklace that closes with a spring clasp.

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AUTUMN LEAVES

Beautiful leaf charms signifying autumn, in brass ox and antiqued brass, matched with cool lucite leaf beads in amber and magenta, pooling from a twisted antiqued brass connector.

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AUTUMN LEAVES

A close up view

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AUTUMN LEAVES

A close up view of the leafy cluster

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AUTUMN LEAVES

The locket necklace in all its splendour

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