SEW MY NAME

At this moment I am busy with orders for my brooches and a lady from KL wanted me to make many different colors for her after she saw the ones that I make for my cousin . For her benefit I am capturing some photos in the slide show for her and the rest of the readers who may wish to order while stock lasts as some beads may not be available anymore.
I am using beautiful Japanese tensha beads, and also polymer claybeads and lampwork beads which I ordered from the States teaming them up with Swarovski crystals, stones and quartz. You may contact me  at fatia123@gmail.com to customize order or make enquiries.

A few days ago I was treated to to fish head curry by my blogger friends at Muthu’s Curry, one of the most popular banana leaf restaurants here in Little India. It was really a delicious meal with spices in every dishes, including the desserts. At Muthu’s the fish head curry is a modified version of South Indian recipe. Fish head curry is uniquely Singaporean dish as Indians traditionally do not eat fish heads as a meal in itself. It’s a welcome change as I don’t usually eat spicy food and the good thing is one of the bloggers is an Indian so he gave us recommendations for the dinner. I am not particular or fussy about my food so I’m just too happy to have someone ordering the dishes for me.

Even though we chose a weekday for the dinner, the restaurant was packed with diners of different races besides the Indians themselves. There were many Westerners, Chinese and we even noticed a big group of Koreans. It is an amusing sight with the diners (including me) tucking in lustily while sweating from the spiciness of the curry. Even the vegetables are fried with curry spices that I cannot identify the original form of vegetable. But the meal was delicious and who cares if the nutritional value is zero. Once in a while we should just put our guards down and eat and do whatever we like. Read the review here if you like and it is also quite pricey for a casual restaurant. But we truly enjoyed the food, so it’s actually worth paying for it.

As usual and for the fun of it I make new beaded accessories for myself. This time the beads in the necklace and the bracelet are wired instead of using ready-made chain and jump rings. I love the pretty claybeads as it has the fun and casual look. The accessories brighten up my otherwise plain t-shirt.

So don’t forget the name, Muthu’s curry, if you happen to be on this side of the planet. And I think I can hear Liudmila saying that life is not fair. Don’t worry my friend, I’ll treat you to fish head curry if you visit me.

I love the Russian malachite beads and did this set for my lunch date with my friends. I was wearing green skirt with a black top and the malachite accessories went well with my outfit. I was enjoying my first plate of food when I received a call that my dad has just passed away. He wasn’t too well for the last few weeks and would be 83 end of the year.

Liudmila, my beautiful blogger friend introduced me to the Russian malachites. Since I couldn’t find them here I ordered from the States. After that I began to order many more beads like azurite, jade, carnelian, jasper, amethyst and many more that I can now open a mini bead shop. It’s really fun shopping through internet at the comfort of my own home and using Paypal is so convenient.

I made a set consisting of a necklace, bracelet, a pair of earrings and a pin. The malachite beads are really elegant and exude class but I make simple design for myself to suit my simple self. I showed my mom and she complimented the green and the pattern of the malachite beads. I love showing things to my mom as she has very good taste. You can see the malachite beads clearly in the bracelet picture.

The necklace is about 26 in long with chain attached to wear it long but can easily be shortened like in the picture. I use tear drop malachite beads for the earrings .I already have some orders for my beaded jewelries so I will be quite busy these coming weeks and will put my sewing aside. Anyone interested can drop me a note too.

My kids pc is down and while waiting for my nephew technician who is actually an IT student who is busy with a job attachment now, my laptop is now the target of the kids.

Take care.

Today is my graduation day. He..he..he.. No, I did not take any diploma or degree course. Instead I have completed 2 months of Air Reservations and Ticketing Course. It has been a busy time for me and oh boy to be learning at an old age like this is stressful. But I’m happy to announce that I survive.

And I was wearing my favorite color, pink. Long live Pink. I did not do any beaded jewelry for the last two months, so last night after choosing my outfit I sat down to make a set of bracelet, brooch and matching earrings. Going through my collection of my beads I found pink cherry quartz and polymer clay beads to match.

I use the tiled polymer clay bead as the focal and mix with black round onyx and pink rectangle cherry quartz for the bracelet . You can see the pretty design of the polymer clay beads in the earrings . The brooch is beaded with cherry quartz and a white pearl and it really goes well with my shining pink top.

Tomorrow is another round of get-together where my friends and I will go for buffet lunch. Sunday is Mother’s day celebration with all my sisters and this is a high-tea treat from our daughters. So I will have to prepare outfits for the weekend and probably make some more beaded jewelry to match them. I can be quite vain at times and each time I make something nice for myself I will show off to my Mom when I visit her and she never fails to compliment me.

I have been busy for the whole week that I did not touch my patchwork quilt. For those who don’t know me I love to sew patchwork and fabric crafts, I love to make beaded jewelry and I also love blogging and surfing the internet. Let me see what I have been doing for the past whole week.

I managed to do a matching set of pearl beaded watch, bracelet and ring for my youngest sister. She wanted in combination of black and white. I did a simple white freshwater beaded pearl watch for my younger sister-in-law who is a sweet, simple person and a teacher by profession. And my eldest sister-in-law who happens to be my favorite for she is a very good cook, wanted her pearl watch in gold. And I can see that she loves it very much. All my sisters and sister-in-laws each has got a watch hand-beaded by me. So, one woman’s craze is other women’s gain.

I have always loved the classic look of pearls so the reason why I bought many strands of pearls. Moreover Swarovski and freshwater pearls are quite reasonably priced here. But not gemstone or semi-precious stones which are quite expensive. I guess that is why many enthusiastic beaders use crystals, pearls and other glass beads for their beading projects. Jewelry making hobby is popular here because it is not as difficult or time-consuming as sewing and patchwork. But it is also an expensive hobby once you are addicted. Each time I visit a bead store I can easily spend a hundred dollar, so I try not to go often. And I do not want to calculate or keep track of my beading hobby expenses, else my hubby faints.

Recently my dear friend Liudmila has bewitched me with her malachite beads that I have been busy buying them and other gemstones over the internet as I cannot find malachite beads here. So, soon I will be beading gemstones instead of just pearls and crystals. And guess what else I did? I have just bought another domain name www.beadedgemstone.com and right now cannot figure out how to make time to maintain another site. So I shall just park it with my hosting company until I am ready.

One more thing which I have been busy with is that I am helping a friend who is a Forex trader to produce and launch his Forex Ebook. Digging another grave for myself? The reason why I do this is because I get to learn by helping others. I don’t have a product or Ebook to sell right now but who knows in the near future?

And I have just changed hosting company and many graphics are missing and need to be restored. So pardon me if I am slow in updating my site but I intend to get the quilts for my sons ready as soon as possible.

Talk to you again next week for update of my quilts and meanwhile happy stitching, crafting and happy blogging too. Please check out Mr Linky at Blogger Craft Club to see what others did.

I have completed making handmade gift for my third PIF commenter, a blogger who I admire very much. She lives a simple healthy lifestyle and take good care of her family health matters too.

As for me I do read about nutrition and health but I do not have a strong determination to keep healthy. I succumb to many sinful fried foods, coffee and chocolate is my weakness. I eat what I like but I do try to take things in moderation as to lessen that guilt feeling. As we aged I believe it is important that we watch our weight else our legs will not be strong enough to support us. Like many people, I swear upon health supplements like fish oil, EPOs, vitamin B and C even though I don’t take them religiously. And my greatest problem is I’m just too lazy to exercise! Thank goodness I am one of those with high metabolism rate, so I still can maintain some figure with present BMI rate of 21. But I strongly believe regular exercises is important for our health.

So do check Vivienne at dietinfocare.com to know more about health and wellness.

I have sewn a set of kitchen accessories - a hanging tea towel, a tissue box cover and a set of potholders with prints of flowers and vegetables and sew them with matching check print. Sweet aren’t they?

At the same time I did a simple beaded watch with freshwater pearls. So I am letting Vivienne to choose between the kitchen accessories ( watermelon table runner not included) and the beaded watch. Ha..ha.. Viv, you are welcome to pick your choice.

Do check out your BMI just as a general gauge of health. Take care and stay healthy.

It was another Girls Day Out. My girlfriends and I, 10 of us, went for high tea at Carousel, my favorite restaurant. I always look forward going out with them and as usual we had a lovely time eating and chatting. It’s really wonderful being with friends and some of them I have known for 2o over years.

The date gave me reason to discard my Cinderfella rags and put on something nice. Nothing great or flashy as I have always been a simple person. A few hours before leaving home I managed to string a bracelet, do a simple wiring for a ring and make 2 simple pins to match my outfit. I was wearing a polka dots skirt and a white top. Since I have some black onyx and Swarovski pearls in my collection I beaded my accessories in black and white to suit my outfit. I guess that is the advantage of having knowledge of beading. You can easily create something, even at the last minute, and voila - you have new accessories.

The beautiful pearl watch was a gift from this group of friends last year. Bracelet in black onyx and white pearls.

Pearl ring with butterfly charm. I had a great time flashing it.

Onyx pin with Swarovski crystals.

To all the friends I know and love, online and offline, the poem (author unknown) is for all of you girls and guys.

Miracle Called Friendship

There’s a Miracle called Friendship
that dwells within the Heart,
and you don’t know how it happens
or when it gets its start.

But the happiness it brings you
always gives a special lift,
and you realize that friendship
is God’s precious gift.

I was in the mood to make pearl straps for watches requested by my sisters and niece, so now you can see the outcome of 6 watches. Compare to sewing and patchwork, making beaded jewelries and accessories is easier and not as time consuming as sewing. Of course, provided you have the necessary tools, beads, stones and findings. I completed beading for 5 pieces of watches yesterday and 1 more today.

Except for the watch faces , the straps look similar. Actually I am using a combination of 6 different colors. It doesn’t show clearly as I am using my mobile phone camera. I have always loved pearls with it’s simple and classic beauty. And you can find Swarovski pearls in many different colors in any fine beading store.The last bracelet watch is a combination of mauve pink and white Swarovski pearls joined together with wires instead of using stringing method.

My sisters do not have the patience for sewing and crafts, so I always end up doing these things for them. But most of them excel in cooking and baking which has never been my forte. Where my family is concern, we eat to live and they are just too happy if Mom puts food on their table. Looking at the bright side of things, we will never be threatened by obesity or worry too much about our weight!

I have always loved the sunshine and rainy days make me down. Since it was raining and I could not go out, I decided to make myself a beaded bracelet and a pair of earrings. I use a combination of 3 colors for the briolettes or teardrop beads – yellow, orange and green. The result is something sweet but nothing great to lift my spirit. I should have chosen red or something bright and cheerful.

Click here to read about what does your favorite color tell about you, adapted from “The Healing Power of Color” by Betty Wood. I guess I like pink because it is such a soothing and sweet color, but I am far from charming and gentle as stated in the color revelation. And I like red, blue, green and yellow too! So to summarize, I prefer bright colors when it comes to sewing, crafts and accessories but I wear conservative colors in my dressings as I do not like to appear loud and outstanding.

It was my girl’s birthday yesterday and only yesterday I went out to my favorite beads store to get some stuffs to make her birthday present and also to grab a birthday cake. She presumed I have forgotten all about it and was out to celebrate with some friends when I reached home. That was fine so I have a few hours to get the gift done before she returned.

And ta..daa… I managed to make for her a bracelet and matching earrings in turquoise, her birthstone. I think the Swarovski crystals and the silver findings makes the jewelry looks trendy and interesting.

Not a bad effort in such a short time. And sometimes I wish I have more than 24 hours in hand so that I can have more time to pursue my passions especially sewing which is time consuming. But I know deep down even though I have 48 hours in a day it will never be enough, for I will just find more things for myself to do.

Now back to my patchwork which I am hoping to finish before Christmas. See you soon.