Ah-Ah-Ah-CHOOO!

I have neglected my blog for so long (2 months? 3?) that a nice layer of dust has formed over it.  I can't really explain why I haven't been blogging. I guess I am not a real blogger.  That must be it! I am just a wanna-be blogger who has failed miserably at trying :(  Truth be told, I just don't have the urge to make public what I am doing, how I am feeling and all the little itsy-bitsy details that those twitterers love to share and do so well at.  They are called twitterers, right?

Anyway, a big part of my absence is that life just got very busy. So busy that all I want to do when I have any time left at the end of the day is sleep.  Yes, I yearn sweet sleep every night. At least 8 hours of it. And I realised that when you have had not enough sleep, it gets kind of hard trying to catch up on sleep. It's not like if I only manage 6 hours tonight, I can try to make up for the shortage of 2 hours the next night. It just doesn't work like that.  I yearn good quality sleep so much that sometimes I fantasize checking into a hotel just so to sleep.  But with 2 active kids, a household and a home business to manage, it will have to remain a fantasy for now.

Perhaps when the haze clears (can the Indonesian farmers stop their slash and burn practice please?), the air is cooler, and the long school vacation starts in a few weeks' time, I might be able to savour sweet and long uninterrupted sleep.  God willing.

Creative Exchange

I recently was invited by my friend to participate in a Creative Exchange.   It's basically an art swap and those who take part will in return receive 36 pieces of art in return.  What a great idea!


So I made this for a lady, Kyoko, from Japan. It's a beaded pendant handstitched with Swarovski crystals and pearls.  What do you think of it?

How to Accessorise Your Tops With Style

Have you ever agonized over what jewellery to go with your outfit? I sure do.   And it doesn't help matters when I am running late and rushing to leave the house.  So, I did a little research to bring you a few simple guidelines you can follow when matching jewellery to your tops or dresses.

Generally, try to match the gemstone colours in your jewellery to those found in your outfits.  If you plan to wear attention grabbing necklace or earrings, then go easy on the other pieces of jewellery. Choose simple ones to match your statement piece or perhaps even none at all.  Balance is key.  You don't want to look like a Christmas tree!

Round neckline
Pick a short necklace, for example, a simple strand of pearls or beads.  For more formal occasions, wear something with a little sparkle. I love Swarovski crystals because they give the right amount of bling while being easy on your pocket.

V neckline
With V necklines, there already is a visual frame created around your neck.  Go for a Y-drop necklace or statement pendants.  Your necklace should be a one to two inches above the V neckline or else it makes the neckline look messy.  If you want to wear earrings, choose simple ones to match your necklace.

Strapless tops or dresses
With strapless tops or dresses, there is lots more exposed skin and therefore, a larger area you can accessorise.   For day, a  delicate necklace worn as a long single strand really livens up a strapless blouse or dress.  Alternatively, you can also double it and wear one strand choker style and the second strand longer past your neckline.   For glam nights, go for a chunky choker style necklace to really jazz up your outfit.   


Halter top
With halter tops, pick large statement earrings such as chandelier or hoop earrings.

Open collar blouse
When wearing an open-collar blouse, there is not much skin exposed and your necklace with be partially covered by the collar.  Choose a chunky necklace that can still be seen when it's peeking out from the blouse. Or just wear a brooch closer to your face to add some sparkle.

High-necklines such as turtle neck or mandarin collar
With such high necklines, your necklace will have to sit on top of the fabric.  Choose a bold chunky necklace that will stand out against your top.  If you prefer more delicate jewellery,  double or triple up a long delicate strand of necklace. Alternatively, skip the necklace and just wear a pair of striking earrings. To show them off even more, you can wear your hair up or pinned back. 

Square neckline
A square neckline features sharp lines that cut straight across the upper body.  To soften and compliment such a neckline, go for a choker necklace or a long strand of necklace that go past the neckline, both which are flattering. 

Scoop neck
A scoop neck, also called a boat neck, gives quite a bit of space to work with.  To accessorise simply,  a single strand of pearl or gemstone necklace that sits just below the collar bone will accentuate the scoop neckline.   A large pendant sitting just above the neckline works well too.   Pair your necklace with matching ear studs or delicate earrings or ear hoops.

Try out the above tips and let me know what you think!

Recycled waistpouch - old made new

So I have not been blogging for a while now - more than a week I think. In the bloggers world, that's a no no, right? Well, my excuse is that I have been busy with other pursuits, apart from jewellery making.  One of which was to make myself a new waist pouch.  I have been using this ugly black waist pouch (a free gift) for nearly 10 years now whenever I exercised.  It has the ManU logo smack right in the middle of a black nylon fabric and to me, that was quite uncool, although I am sure ManU fans (like my dear husband) may beg to differ.  For the longest time, I had swung from wanting to buy myself a new hip cool pouch to making it myself and I procrastinated year after year while still using the ugly black thing. Just last week, I finally decided to make myself one out of a nice Ikea fabric that I have had for a while now and searched the web for a tutorial on how to sew a pouch.  The funny thing is, I can find many tutes on how to sew make-up bags, zippered wristlets, totes and such but I only found 2 on how to sew a waistpouch, both of which I didn't quite like. I wanted one that was easy to sew as I am a novice at sewing.   To make things even harder, a waist pouch goes by different names in different countries - fanny packs, bum bags, hip slingers......   Seems like a waist pouch is quite an uncool thing to carry, ManU logo not withstanding.  But I didn't care. I was quite confident that I could sew myself both a pretty and functional pouch to carry my mobile phone and keys so that I can keep my hands free when I am at the gym or taking brisk walks.  So since I couldn't find a tutorial I like on making waist pouch, I decided to adapt one online tutorial for make-up pouch found on Up In the Rainbow Creek blog.  http://uptherainbowcreek.blogspot.com/2009/06/envelope-style-makeup-bag-tutorial-boho.html

This tutorial was great as it has photos, pretty clear instructions and looked simple enough for a novice like me. What initially looked like a one hour job took me nearly 2 1/2 hours in the end but I was quite pleased with the results. I reused the nylon strap and plastic parts from my ugly pouch (save the earth!)  And voila! Here is my new waist pouch lined in hot pink!

I also made the straps adjustable and even added a pocket at the back to hold my iPhone but I forgot to photograph it. So what do you think?