{ Personal } It's Christmas!

Spent a wonderful Christmas with my good friends last Sunday. We had dinner at my place. No one cooked (really), I made some salad, B made some hors d'oeuvre and of cos we stocked up our fridge with drinks and alcohol! The Christmas tree was all decorated with presents stacked beneath. We had a Christmas wreath that were blinking with lights too! Check out all the photos below.

The whole gang. with the exception of J who is in NZ

My Christmas Tree with the presents beneath.
Check out my hot red sofa on the left and B's electronic piano on the right. You can also peek at the "Esc" cushion that E made for us. It is part of the "Del", "Alt" and "Ctrl" cushion collection.

B & I in our "Sushi" t-shirts from Threadless. Love love this t-shirt design.
It reminds me of us always sleeping and hogging the bolster!

{ Personal } Christmas Party Preparation

It's Christmas this Sunday and I have got some friends coming over my place for a small party. B & I have been busy with stocking up our fridge with drinks, alcohol and chocolates! We also went grocery shopping today to get some fruits & snacks. I am making a fruit salad while B will try his hands on making some hors d'oeuvre (sausage franks + cucumbers, cherry tomatoes + cheese).

We have also setup our Christmas tree, wrapped our presents for our guests and cleaned the house. I bought the final present today. :)

Can't wait for Sunday... Oh, we are also watching Wicked the Musical on Saturday too. :) Looking forward to that too. Been a while since I watched a musical.

What are you doing this weekend?

{ NEW } Ninja Death Star Necklaces

New Ninja Shuriken Collection with 3 different Shuriken charms with different designs. 2 of the charms are 4 bladed while the other charm is a 3 bladed weapon.

Shuriken is the traditional Japanese weapon that was used for throwing. Mainly used by Ninjas back in the day, Shurikens are also known as "death stars" and "throwing stars". Shuriken could also be used to stab, or slash the opponent.

{ Personal } Shopping on Saturday

I went shopping with my good friend EP yesterday as she has just completed her exams. I stopped on my tracks when I saw the beautiful window display of the Bottega Veneta shop at Ion. Guess what are the "white bags" on display?.... *drum roll* They are actually candles! Can you believe it?! If you take a closer look, you can actually see the wicks. :) Awesome design!

{ Like } Bunting Craze

Hello Necklace bunting banner with birds in sterling silver

Red Birthday Bunting Cake Topper

Wooden Bunting Flag Necklace

Tiny Bunting Necklace Felt and Lace

Banner Flag Bunting Lined Notepad

Not sure if it's just me but there seems to be a bunting craze... and.. I LOVE IT! There is something about these triangle flags hanging along each other in various colors. You can even get them in jewelry, wall art, cake toppers ANYTHING! Here's my top finds.

{ Personal } Huey

That's Huey! My brother Josh & Blink (my SIL)'s new puppy. It is a JRT. How adorable! The rest of my siblings are totally excited. However, I can't say the same for my parents. They do prefer grandchildren to dogs. :p

{ Make } Sam's Necklace

Custom made this necklace for one of my good friend, Jac. The necklace is actually for ... wait... Sam, her cat! Yes, how adorable is it to make a Hello Kitty necklace for a real Cat! Jac's cat is called Sam. He is an Aquarius, thus the Hello Kitty Aquarius charm from my Hello Kitty Zodiac collection. I shortened the chain and used a much thicker chain for Sam. Can't wait for them to receive it!

{ Preparation } Valentine's Day

Just got these little acrylic hearts as tags for necklaces in preparation for Valentine's Day 2012. All necklace orders made in January & February next year will have these little tags while stock lasts. They come in Opaque Purple, Blue, Red, Black and Clear Neon Pink. Can't wait to add them to the orders.

{ Like } Going Geek with Star Trek

Okay. I am not a self-professed geek but I got hooked onto watching StarTrek (NG only) because B loves the star trek series and introduced me to it. After a few series into the show, I found that STNG is not just some geeky sci-fi series with lasers and gadgets but one with character growth, story lines, politics and themes that resonates with current affairs. That intrigued me. Since then, I have watched Star Gate (SG1), Sanctuary, Alpha, Warehouse, Eureka.. all things to do with the abnormals and unexpected. While browsing on Etsy today, I stumbled upon these Star Trek inspired items that simply brings a smile to my face.

Star Trek Kokeshi Dolls Figurines by CreativeButterflyXOX

Star Trek Handpainted Wine Glasses by ImpulsiveCreativity

Star Trek 3 piece Christmas Ornaments by YellowBugBoutique

{ Personal } Reflection

It's Sunday. I missed church and cell today. Just 3 hours from my mum's birthday dinner, I am sitting in front of my laptop reading and checking out new blogs. I am envious of those blogs where the bloggers seems to be able to write and type out their experience so easily (not just pure ranting but in a way that made readers intrigue and interested). Maybe my heart is just not at the right place... something to think about.

Black Friday has been a great day with sales "pouring" in. I love packaging my orders and sending them off to the post. To me that is the best part of the process. (Photographing the items is the worst part of the process for me. Not something that I enjoy." Customer service is also one that I really enjoy. I love conversing with potential customers or even just Etsians who will drop me a convo clarifying about the items. I always find it a treat if I can help a customer make their decision between items to purchase especially if it is for a friend or love ones. The experience is gratifying. Definitely more so than making the item itself!

Here's what I go through....

1. Sourcing Materials (enjoy - cos that's shopping)
2. Constructing an idea and making the item (enjoy - cos it involves thinking, reading & making)
3. Taking photos of the completed pieces (boo - hate that. I always end up with a fix set of positions.)
4. Editing photos (ok boo - it doesn't take too long but not enjoyable)
5. Listing items on the shop (ok boo - I often take a while to think of a new name and what to write in the description.)
6. Promoting the items on FB/Twitter (ok boo - doesn't really take that long)
7. Receiving an order / receiving a convo (hurray! - love that feeling)
8. Packaging the order (hurray! - love picking out the little tapes, brads and other stationery in making the package complete.)
9. Off to the post office (enjoy - although my hubby does that for me these day.)
10. Informing customers of posted items (enjoy - a sigh of relief.)
    

That's my life outside my day job :) . Of cos, there are others like planning ahead of places to market my items and the promotion to run.. what's your process like and what's your favorite part of it?

{ HEARTED } My Favorites for the week

I have been really busy at work this week, fell sick on Thursday with a really bad migraine / headache. I thought it might be due to the way I sleep (flat pillow) but I think it might be due to a lack of sleep. I work in a bank during the day and after work, I come back and work on my Etsy shop. It has been a great week at the shop with the Black Friday and coming Cyber Monday. Still I managed to pick out some of the items that I adore this week.

Bells Earrings by liliumjewelry
"I totally love the bell shaped flowers of these earrings. As my mum is a florist, I really love how the artist creates these jewelry inspired by nature.

The Engagement by meluseena
"I totally love this print. It reminded me about the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland and Alice would be the one next to him. This would be a plausible reason with the Syfy's version of Alice. I love the animals engaging with humans as equal, very surreal."

Felted Soap Red Flower with White Bunny by SoFino
" I love the red and white contrast in the soap. I have not used a felted soap before. In the Asia, people tend to use liquid soaps more as compared to bar soaps. I think it is more convenient. When I was studying in Australia, I tried using bar soaps as there are alot more variety (esp the essential oil ones) as compared to the liquid soaps."

Bunny Rabbit Studs Earrings by DestinysCreations
"I love these earrings! They reminds me of Miffy. One of my favorite childhood characters. I read the Chinese version though."

** Noticed how most of them are rabbit / bunny related? :) I love them! Rabbits are cuddly and adorable.

{ New } Globe Coverage

Started a fun project today. I plotted round the globe (world map) with little red stars where my customers came from based on my 2011 sales. I had a great time guessing the US states based in their initials. I am not great with geography but here's where we are now.. I will keep this going till the end of the year and do a final plot.

{ Like } Blue Fever

I have a recent case of Blue Fever. Bought 3 blue jackets (same cobalt blue shade but with different lining). They seem to be the coolest shade around and I look really good in them especially with jeans which I only get to wear on Fridays to work or over the weekends. B always calls them my Friday Jackets.

I managed to find great blue dresses (on Sale!) while ishopping (internet shopping) and I paired them with some of my jewels from my Etsy shop. Check them out!

ASOS Premium Shift Dress in Lace $43.13
Little Blue Hearts Stud Earrings $8.00
Chinoise Chain Necklace in Blue $38.00

ASOS Dress with Scallop Detail $26.96
I Love You Locket Necklace $26.00
Cinderella Drops Vintage Glass Earrings $16.50

{Personal}
Spent the day with B celebrating his birthday. We started with an awesome breakfast at Wild Honey (although there was a sudden power shortage!), followed by a Tin Tin Movie (loved the comics version better.) Also spent some time browsing at Kino (last surviving bookshop chain in Singapore). B got some books for his birthday and I bought some tissue wrapping paper for my Etsy Shop (I am crazy over packaging and these were on SALE!). Oh! We also got new swimming gears. Ah.. Love to go downtown on a weekday. (although there are many teens out and about today, don't they have to go to school? *sulk*)

{ Personal } Scorpio's Birthday

It's my hubby's birthday tomorrow (technically today, it's 1.20am in Singapore). And I am on leave! Great to be out of the office given the recent low mood but also I get to spend some quality time with B. And yes, he's a Scorpio an unlikely match for an Aries if you asked me. :) We are going to have a nice brekkie (fingers crossed that I will wake up on time. I am so not a morning person) & followed by catching a movie (Tin Tin!). I need to drop some orders off the post too and buy a swimsuit. We planned to spend some time at the pool on Friday. Yes I am on leave on Friday too :) LONG Weekend for me..

In honor of his birthday, here's sneak peek into a new collection of mine, Hello Kitty Zodiac Collection. I have launched a couple of necklaces. Counting down the zodiac signs.

{ Personal } Exits

Yesterday, our department went through another round of exits. This is the 3rd round this year (or should I say these 2 months). Though the boss has reassured that this will be the last round this year. Many staff are concerned and worried. Morale is not great. Being responsible for people engagement for the department, I found it hard to bring myself to brainstorm for Year End celebration ideas with the current exercise. Will also be losing a staff end of the year. While I am pretty much prepared my heart and team for the new changes. It is still a sad situation to lose a staff. Hope the economy will change for the better soon.

{ Inspired } Zipper Stud Earrings

I find it amazing how some really great ideas that came out from handmade artists made it into the high street & branded fashion. Here are various takes on Zipper Stud Earrings.

Zipper Ear Studs Collection 1 Limited Edition - Huiyitan

Zipper Funny Earrings by StarkatBeads

Zipper Earrings - PaperBiscuit

Zip it Brass stud Earrings - Marc by Marc Jacobs

{ Inspired } Heart Charm Bracelets

Here's a selection of different versions of Heart Charm Bracelets. Similar inspiration but totally different style and take from one another. They would be make perfect Valentine's Day gifts.

Tiffany - Return to Tiffany Heart Tag Charm Bracelet

Marcs by Marc Jacobs - Heart brass and acetate charm bracelet

Juicy Couture - Starter Charm Bracelet

Piggy's Little Shop - Rhinestone Clasp Heart Bracelet

{ New } You are TAGGED!

You are TAGGED!
Just received my custom-made jewelry tags for my shop! Now all my necklaces will be tagged with my shop name. Very cool! These tags are specially made for my shop by a wonderful Etsy seller, emilydeweesjewelry.

{ FEATURED } Treasury : Men Suck Sometimes

My Black Hearted Angel Necklace is featured in nerdymind's "Men Suck Sometimes" treasury inspired by broken hearts.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from the collection.

Red Broken Heart Necklace by DrCraze
"I love the lightning flash that splits across the heart."

Love Charm Ceramic Heart Wall Sculpture by Mudgoddess
"I really like that 1/2 of the heart was stabbed in nails while the other half was stepped over like scum! It really amplifies the feeling of a broken heart."

Black Hearted Angel Necklace by Piggy
"I really like how the black heart dangles below the silver plated angel wings charm. I like how the charm was made in a shape of a ribcage with a black heart hidden underneath it."

{ Personal } Threadless

Just requested 2 reprints from Threadless. Don't you just adore the designs!

Eggs, Milk ....

Sushi

** Update 29 Nov - The above tees are available on Threadless and they are at $10! :) I took the opportunity to snap them up. Even bought a matching one for B.

{ FUN } Get INDEXED - We're all going to Hell

Just for laughs! Found this wonderful depiction of the 8 deadly sins and what happens when they are combined in reality. Check out Jessica's blog for more Indexed fun!.

{ FEATURED } Treasury : H2O

My Raindrops are Falling Necklace is featured in AnnaPoli's "H2O" treasury inspired by water.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from the selection.

Long drop clear color water pear shaped sterling silver earrings by thestudio8
"I am so intrigued by the non-toxic water in these pear shaped earrings."

Large Drink Me Glass Vial Necklace by TheSpangledMaker
"Love the Alice in Wonderland inspired theme and the beautiful color. Drink up."

Raindrops Keep Falling Necklace by Piggy
"I love the rain, the smell and the sound. Rain inspired treasury and items are very hot this season."

{ FEATURED } Treasury : I dreamt that I could fly

My Black Crystal Butterfly Earrings were featured in Aki's "I dreamt that I could fly" Treasury inspired by wings that take flight.

Here are some of my favorite pieces from the selection.Edible Butterflies by SugarRobot
"Beautiful & delicious at the same time. I love them. I would want them on my wedding cake."

Trio of Feathers Ring by HeatherKent
"I love the delicate details of the feathers. I can't imagine that these are handpainted."

Black Crystal Butterfly Stud Earrings by Piggy
"The crystals give these butterflies the extra sparkle when you wear them on your ears."