What I've been up to..

Christmas is fast approaching. I've been busy making custom orders and some new designs for my Etsy shop. Here's what I've been up to last month..

Doll lockets 

 Custom order lockets

Wedding and a Surprise..

For the past 3 weeks, I was busy making stuff for an upcoming wedding. It was my first time to make a ring plate and a wedding cake topper! Making the topper was really a challenge but I had fun. As for the ring plate, I followed a tutorial that my brother sent to me and just added my own touch to it. I also made a brooch for the bride that she will pair with her faux fur shawl. Here are the things I made...

Taking a break..

Funny but when I say I'm taking a break from making a project..it means I'm stopping that certain project to make another one! haha So while I'm "taking a break" from making the doll lockets, tutorial and a gift..I made two new pieces. I planned on making new clay canes so I used up all of my old canes and made these..

still here..

I've neglected blogging for months now. I haven't had the time to write and share with you my claying adventures. :( I was  busy with Liam's school activities and house work. And also my mood for claying took a leave of absence too. haha The mood just comes and goes. Sometimes, I am really fired up and ready to clay but at times I  just sit in front of my work table and then nothing comes! So frustrating! My friend just told me that when nothing comes just spend a day not thinking about claying or beading (that would really be a challenge for me haha). But I tried what she suggested and luckily..inspiration presented itself to me and I made these...

New projects...

I love giving handmade gifts. So if you're my friend/relative and you will be celebrating your birthday soon..expect a "made by hand, made with love" gift from me! ;) I really like the process of thinking what to make! 

Here are some of the handmade gifts  I made recently..

jewelry box

Music Box

Finally, I'm finished with the music box! I bought it in New Zealand during our last trip there. There were so many melodies to choose from. I thought I can't find some here in Sydney but luckily I found a shop in the city carrying kikkerland music boxes! yahoo! I think the next tune that I will buy is Hey Jude!:) 

I really didn't know how to make the box. I tried surfing around the net, hoping that I would find a tutorial about it. The only link I found was about a workshop with Doreen Kassel! I wish I was somewhere near the US so that I can take her class but sadly I'm too far:( In the link, I saw the materials that they were going to use for the music box workshop. Included in the list is a cardboard box. A light bulb moment!! I have cardboard boxes in my stash and the music box fits inside! I'm sure you can buy these boxes in your local craft shop. Next step is to figure out how to secure the music box inside. It has holes for screws. Luckily, I have screws that fit in the holes! yahoo! With all the materials complete, it was time to start covering the box with clay and making the top design. It was something for Liam, so I thought cute animals on top will be the perfect design. But honestly, I was really torn into making something cute or making something elegant (yes! the usual flowers, leaves and  butterflies!). But decided in the end to make something that Liam will like. It is also the melody that I sang to him when I put him to sleep when he was still a baby. 

ready to be covered:)

Here it is..

             

Here's how it sounds...

 I'm off to make another project! Have a wonderful Friday everyone! 

The hardest part..

Assembling the elements/materials that I have/made is the hardest part for me! Sometimes I just go blank and no matter what I add/turn/remove..it just doesn't work. I sent the pic of the necklace to my client and then deleted the message because I think there's something wrong with the design. I thought she didn't see the pic, so I disassembled the necklace and tried to make another design. I think I changed it about 5 times!! But it turns out that my client already so the pic before I deleted it and she said that she loved what she saw! So....I just put them all back together again using the first combination. haha! 

Here are the flowers I made for the statement necklace..

 This is what I came up with..

After you put out all your containers of beads and findings while looking for the right combination..you have to put them back and clean up!! Another hard task! haha:) But it's all worth it because you know that your client loved what you made! 

I also made these animal lockets. Making them gives me so much joy! 

 School holidays for us here in Sydney...2 weeks of rest before term 3 starts again!:)

 Happy Weekend!

Thoughts...

...that I want to share with you. I know some of you will agree and some won't. But I hope these thoughts will help you in some way..

Criticisms should ALWAYS be looked at POSITIVELY. 

How can a group function well if the people involved are not HONEST with each other? 

ISSUES should always be resolved.

It is really hard to know if people are really TRUE. 

Strive to make your own style. If you are just constantly "inspired by" the works of someone, it will not help you that much in developing the style that you can call your own. 

"Utang na Loob" is a pinoy trait that will live on forever. 

Good night everyone! TGIF tomorrow! 

('',)

Flowery Pieces again...

Just a quick post before I clean the house haha:) 

I made two new floral adornments again. I was inspired by this plant..

Picture was taken by my husband when we went to the Royal Botanic Garden in Melbourne. 

I thought of making lots of petals for each flower..each on top of the other. I came up with two new designs. Here they are: 

More pics on myFB Page 

I will list them soon in my Etsy shop. 

Yahoo, friday already! Have a happy weekend everyone! 

Been a long time..

Whaaat?!?! I haven't written anything here for almost a month!! Time really flies so fast. I was really busy finishing orders, making projects and taking care of my family. I woke up early and checked out my blog and was so surprised that my last entry was in May! So here I am trying to make it up to my blog! Hello blogger, nice to see you again! haha :D

For the past month, I've been really addicted to using the UV resin gloss I bought. I kept on thinking of so many things to mix with it! It is really very easy to use and I already bought my own UV lamp for curing it. It's so hard to just wait for the sun to shine just to cure it, esp. now that winter is coming. So far, most of the lockets I made with it  were easily sold. So I think, I will be making more! Here are some accessories I made with the gloss..

lockets..

rings...

And I used it on the tummy of this doll locket! :)

I had this pocket watch base for the longest time. I still didn't know what to do with it. It was from a pocket watch that I disassembled because I used the cover as a mold. I found it again while going through my stash of recyclables! I thought of a romantic design for it. So here it is..I called it "Dance like no one is watching" ..

I will be listing this soon in my etsy shop:)

I also made my first doll locket keychain! A client requested for this design and I was very happy to make it for her! She also asked me if I can put a cute heart inside. She will be going overseas and she wants to give this keepsake to her best friend. Here it is..

I think I'm getting the right shape already for this doll lockets. An "egg-shape" does really make them cuter and more adorable! haha

here's the heart inside! :)

I will be starting on more new doll lockets that I will sending to the Philippines. So another busy month for me. Wish me luck! 

How about you? What are you up to now with your crafting or claying?:) 

Have a happy weekend! Liam and I will just be spending our day at home...wishing daddy will be home soon. 

Busy, busy...

I've been busy these past few days making new stuff and completing some custom orders. I really love the thrill of experimenting and thinking of new designs! Recently, I've been playing with  the Lisa Pavelka Gloss I bought months ago. I used it with clay a couple of times already.  And then I thought of using it without clay and try mixing it up with the charms, rhinestones and watch gears that I haven't played with for so long and are left untouched in their plastic boxes.  I had so much fun and I really looooved how they turned out!!! Here are the lockets plus a pair of earrings I made..

I also made another animal locket. I already tried making an elephant twice. But the ears and trunk weren't that strong and fell off. Oh poor Elephant! haha So, a dear friend named, Oshee taught me how to make it stronger by adding wires inside! Now, I'm happy as a bee because finally I made a very strong "ear-d" and strong "trunk-d" Elephant! yey!! 

 I also made new russian doll lockets.

This is my WIP now...already baked and ready to be turned into something Swellegant. haha:) 

I'm hoping for good weather again tomorrow so that I can start taking good pictues of the new stuff. They will all be listed soon in my Etsy shop! Good night everyone! 

A Turtle, Bee and Stained Glass Cuff...

Finally, I made two new animal lockets! A turtle and a bee! 

Thank you again to hubby for taking the pics. :) I will be listing them soon in my Etsy shop! 

 I also finished a custom order...another stained glass cuff!! Making it was quite a challenge! It went in the oven 3 times. Applying the fimo deco gel (and letting it dry using the heat gun) took me an hour. After applying the metal coating, I need to wait for 72 hours for it to completely dry. So after 3-4 days, finally ...I finished it! haha Here it is..

I hope my client will love it!:) 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 

LightBox, Orders and Liam's cartons...

Hello everyone! The past week was so busy...finishing orders and first week of school for Liam. Here are pics of the custom orders I made..

This is the prize for the giveaway I had in my FB page! 

And here are the new stuff I made! The steampunk locket is already sold but the pair of earrings is still up for grabs! I listed it already in my Etsy shop. 

I am so thankful for having a very caring and thoughtful husband who supports me and my craft! Look what he made me....a DIY Light Box!!! yey! 

And lastly, I just want to share with you what Liam loves to do with the cartons that we get from appliances bought or from our pizza orders. This is his Digger with solar panels (the black thing on top)!! haha He loves conceptualizing these things and asking us to help him put them altogether. No need to buy toys, these cartons and plastic containers make him happy. haha! The other day, I thought I already threw the carton of the pizza that we had...but no! Liam kept it all along and showed it to me..asking me to attach it to his digger (its the one in front)!! (parang basurero na tong anak ko! hahaha) 

I hope everyone's having a good start for this week! Have a very productive and crafty one!