Arts and Craft: The Mountains are Calling

Saw this post sitting in my drafts and was wondering why it hasn't been posted. Then I remembered, I was clearing some back log on my travels to the Kootenay Rockies and Yellowstone.

Must have had an overdose of mountains and overlooked this trio here. Heh.

I hand felted this after my series of trips to the mountains. I adore snow-capped mountains and had a blast making these tiny weeny models, especially after I have seen the likes of the Grand Tetons and the Kootenay Rockies.

Like all first-time felters though, I pricked my finger a few times before learning my lesson: Keep your eyes on that long, thin evil NEEDLE!

It was really funny because Jo came over in the afternoon after our power walk, and I was excitedly demonstrating to her my new found skill.

"See, it's pretty easy! You just keep poking at it all over really fast like this... OOOUCH! S***!"

"OMG, Graaaace!"

I had punctured my finger again. One more bloody hole.

What do the Chinese say, about something being the work of blood and sweat? Yeah, The Mountains are Calling is pretty much it.

But would I felt again? Yes, definitely.

The end product is too nice to give up, just because of a few holey fingers!

Arts & craft: Foxgloves in Yellow

 

 

 

One last creation before madness begins.

 

We will be travelling even more in May. First, we will be heading south for Panda's work trip. Then, the Fantastic Four will soon be arriving. Dad, Mom, Gugu and Gu Cheung. We will be squeezing six people in our small house on some days. And there will be endless squabbles on who gets to drive the car.

 

In other words, it will be chaotic but awesome.

 

Foxgloves in Yellow was inspired by last month's visit to Filoli. I was hoping to do one in pink, but it has been a really hectic week. Perhaps, when I get that one-week break from travelling in May.

 

Can't wait to get more inspiration from the wonderful places I'll be going.

 

(Special thanks to Jo and Wendy for that outdoor shoot!)

 

Arts & Craft: Ocean Deep

It's been such a long time since I last created something for Etsy. I thought I should start again with something simple.

 

It's like exercising. If you haven't been doing it for some time, start with gentle stretching and a slow jog first.

 

So I doodled on a few pieces of paper, played around with the fabric, and got a really painful backache (the dining table is so not made for working/crafting). An hour or so later, I came up with... *drums rolling...* 

 

Ocean Deep!

 

Can you see the rolling, rolling waves?

Am happy to see the stark contrast of neon blue felt against army green suede. Rather pleased that I did an asymmetrical design for this too. Because having too much symmetry is kind of boring.

Sometimes we need a pinch of inconsistency, irregularity to spice up life.

And that's me, the conformist, talking?

Only when it comes to accessories.

On a separate note, I used the tripod to take product photos for the first time. I didn't realise how difficult it was to get the camera to focus properly. You can only estimate where to run and stand, and then you hope to get a nice, clear picture of the product.

There were several over-zealous photos of me puffing out my chest, hoping the camera could capture the pendant. Needless to say, they all came out looking very, very wrong.

I'm lucky there were a few usable ones.

 

After the umpteenth try

 

As usual, editing photos took another eternity. When I finally put up the item, it was already night time. My sore throat had worsen, and poor Panda had to cook dinner for the both of us because I just wasn't up for it.

 

Behind every successful woman, there's a man who does all the stuff.

 

So thank you.

Your love runs ocean deep. So is my gratitude.

Updates before I snooze

Gosh. This blog has been put on the back burner for a hundred reasons. Some day I'm gonna look back and regret for not being more diligent in blogging about my life in USA.

Anyway, quick updates:

1) A SALE! Yay!

Ever since I took on that part-time job, I haven't been creating anything! I will make a point to get back at it after Chinese New Year. More unique items and original creations. Thanks for the encouragement, buyer from MA!

(Oh, and I bumped into a fellow Etsy seller at the post office. She was doing her first international mail and we chatted a little. It felt great to meet fellow craft lovers.)



(Post-script: Received positive feedback from buyer after shipping off the item. Very touched.... :))

2) WLXH 大驾光临, 又回家了。

I had so much fun this time round, mainly because there was no need to queue up to use the toilet and I had plenty of rest as a result. (Thanks Jo, for offering your house!) I did fall sick though - something that happens a lot when I have visitors. But I recovered quickly because the girls were quite understanding, and they went out to tour the city by themselves so that I could nap.

We also did something different this trip. We cycled at Yosemite and Napa Valley! The former was a leisure ride. It was so awesome because we had the whole valley to ourselves! Winter is apparently a lull period for Yosemite.

The latter tested our stamina and patience the most because it was a 14-mile (22-km) long ride. XH gave me a murderous look at the end of it, because I kept telling her: "Almost there! Almost there!" Whoops... Bad Grace! And I do admit it would be much prettier in spring/summer. In winter the vineyards are rather bare.

We also went to Big Sur for the first time. Love the sea view and the picturesque Bixby Bridge. Quite worth the 30-min drive from Monterey. The road was surprisingly easy to drive, so it's safe to bring my folks there in May.

[Note: Remind me not to commit the mistake of driving to Point Reyes with my parents again. My dad will disown me for driving too fast on the narrow winding roads, and for trying to plunge the car off the cliff. That is, according to him.]

Alright. That's all for now folks! Snooze time. Tomorrow is the eve of Chinese New Year and we have a guest!

I'm back after a week of silence

Oops. Why the silence since Halloween? 

I've been busy with the usual - preparing for Sunday School, going for French gatherings, trying to read etc. On top of that, I'm starting to prepare for my visa extension, and expanding the scope of the online part-time job. Work will be more regular in the weeks to come! Yay!

Have also been working on Wendy's 'order' of five clips for her friends' daughters. She's pretty open to new ideas so I tried a flower design. Instead of sewing the name on the leaf, like what I did with the apple, I placed the name on the stem instead. Was quite pleased with the results!

One more to go!

 

And I've decided to extend the 3rd month promotion to free international shipping. For the month of November, from my Etsy shop:

"Happy Holidays PROMO!! Receive FREE shipping with your purchase from now till 30 Nov.
For US: Please enter code 'OCT13SHIP' - no minimum purchase is required.
For other countries: Please enter code 'OCT13SHIP2INT' - minimum purchase of $20 is required.
It's the season to be jolly! Happy shopping!"

Let's see how this goes!

 

Another major update: Sheena has arrived in US yesterday! Her 2nd trip in half a year. She's out shopping at Livermore with Panda now while I stay home and prepare dinner. I woke up this morning with a slight sore throat and much lethargy, despite popping 2 Nyquil last night. I decided I should do the right thing and not to go for Veterans' Day sale. Yes, it required every ounce of willpower, but I think it's more important to listen to your body!

Arts & craft: the apple of my eye

This is for bb O, who will be flying back to Singapore with her parents next week. The family is returning home for good, which means we will have one less neighbour to hang out with in FC! :(

The design is called Apple of My Eye because I think that's what bb O is in her parents' eyes. She has the softest hair, sweetest rainbow-eyed smile, and heartiest laugh. And if you know her story, you will understand how just by looking at her, one is reminded of God's grace and providence in life. Oh, all the aunties are gonna miss her!

I thought long and hard whether to put this up on SGUS because I wanted it to be a special thing for bb O. In the end, I decide to go ahead because it's still a cute design which I love very much and want to share with others.

Already, it has two 'favourites' within the first 5 minutes of listing. It's always an encouragement to know there are people viewing and liking, even without purchase.

In any case, hope bb O will be able to use this someday, and remember Auntie Grace.

God bless this little baby!

Arts & craft: The journey of the pink raindrops

I thought it would be good to dedicate one day to arts and craft, just like what I did last week! Otherwise I will be all over the place with my long to-do list.

I sort of made this while waiting to fetch Jo from the airport the other day. So today, I went ahead with the photo session. It was surprisingly difficult, unlike the previous time. First, I had to dig through my limited pile of clothes to get the 'look' I wanted - I wasn't sure if I was going in the right direction. Then, it was a question of capturing that shade of pink.

Natural light + neon colours = not ideal!

 

 

Panda was trying to clear his work before the trip, so I didn't want to take up too much of his time. He thought the photos looked OK, but somehow I wasn't as confident. I thought it's a little poseur-ish and it looked weird when I cropped off the face. 

 

And I was rushing to fetch the Leows from the airport. So I changed back to the grey sweater I was wearing this morning and took a few more shots of myself before running off.

 

In the end, after consulting the girls (I needed female opinion), I changed the photo on Etsy to the one I took in my grey sweater. While Panda thought the stripes background was distracting and preferred the balcony photos, the girls thought the second colour combination was better. And I concurred!

 



Phew. Taking and choosing photos takes longer than the actual product creation, sometimes. When a listing goes up, you don't see all the work behind-the-scenes!

Another arts & craft day!

I have been spending too much time with babies and kids! I was just telling Wendy and Winifred that I can't be around kids for too long because I tend to get really hyperactive when I'm with them and I'll cause them to get overly excited too and so at the end of the day we will all be deflated.

 

But I love being around with kids (that is, if their parents don't mind)! Their positive energy rubs off you and they are a source of inspiration!

 

Well today is my arts & craft day. I have started to doodle throughout the week so that I'd remember some of the ideas I have. It's amazing how the final product always turns out completely different at the end of it. I had intended to twist a wire cube pendant, but after playing around with the wire I realised I could actually make a swing!

 

And then the big blue bead in the middle is the adult that refuses to grow up - could that be me (?)

 

 

I made two of these, but decided to only put one up at SGUS for sale because I really like it. Panda helped me to take some photos at the balcony. It's fun to get the hubs involved in silly girly business.

 

 

 

 

I was lamenting to Panda this afternoon that I still haven't made any stranger sale yet! But he just simply asked: "Are you enjoying it?" 

 

Yes, I said.

 

And to him that's all that matters.

 

I think he'd only mind if I start adorning him with all my unwanted creations come Christmas time.

2nd month promotion

Into the second month of my so-called business, so am doing a little promotion.

From my Etsy shop:

"PROMO: From now till 31 Oct, receive free domestic shipping in US when you favourite our shop or any of our items (to avoid spamming, coupon code will ONLY be sent when you alert me via Etsy conversation)! To thank you for your purchase, we will also give a $2 off thank you code to be used for your next purchase (thank you code expires on 31 Dec). 

Have fun shopping!"
:)

Changing seasons, changing moods

I feel absolutely lazy today. The weather has been a little off lately (we are going into fall!) and the temperature at Bay Area has been going up and down like a swing. We had warm, cool, warm, then cool weather again today.

According to The Weather Channel, we are gonna have some showers tomorrow too.

No complaints because I love all seasons. While summer was a time for tanks and shorts, fall is the time for light scarves and boot boot! The only thing is that I have to remind myself to be diligent in putting moisturiser after shower. I could get away with that in summer. Fall and winter is a totally different story.

And in line with the changing seasons, I made another hair clip yesterday. Mustard yellow for fall. Jo said it's like a blueberry tart, so I have named it Blueberry Dreams. Yummy, yummy!

So back to my lazy mood, I am supposed to be preparing for the coming Sunday School lesson (I've started teaching Kinder/1st Graders with a sweet young lady!) But as the gloomy weather would have it, it's a slow, slow day.

Case in point, it's 4pm and I'm still too lazy to make my lunch.

And perhaps I'm still recovering from the all-nighter I pulled for an online assignment I took up. Check out the page if you can read Cantonese. It's actually quite fun and it gets my rusty old brain going again. But I was knocked out at the end of it, at 6.30am.

Old age + lack of sleep + changing seasons = one dishevelled looking woman at home.


Picnic lunch at Coyote Point Park



Our picnic spread - we are all small eaters!

The FC Housewives Club had a picnic lunch at Coyote Point Park today! It's a mere 10-minute drive from home and can be easily reached by the Peninsular Ave exit from US-101.

Yelp's review of the park is so varied and I guess it really depends on which time of the year you go. To us on a weekday afternoon, it seemed like a secluded place by the marina. There's barely any other visitors except for the occasional seagull or goose which threatened to come too near to our food. (Ok, I have an irrational fear of fowl.)

There are also plenty of BBQ pits and picnic benches around the park, all surprisingly clean. For families with kids, there's a big playground with swings and slides. We kept trying to find the one with the dragon mouth for Z but guess it's not near the BBQ pits! Still we had fun on the swings; with every push Z giggled and sang "Wheeeeeeee!"

At the end of the picnic I started to grab 'victims' to help model my new felt flower hair pin. (It's pretty hard to do selfies with hair items!) Poor Jo, the birthday girl, had the 'honour' of having a flower planted in her hair. But I think the photos came out really nicely. The flower looked pretty with her long flowy mane! Love the effect!



That little white jasmine flower as modelled by Jo! (more photos here)

We packed up early cos I have to prepare for my Toronto/New York trip the next day. We didn't visit CuriOdyssey - a science and wildlife centre within the park, nor explore the trails further. I'm pretty sure that's much more to Coyote Point Park than what we've seen today. Pity that we'd have to pay another $6 to go in again next time!



At least I did as I believe

Simple chic with sandstone felt. Work involved lopping the wire within, and sewing the centre to secure it.

Ever since I set up SGUS on Etsy, I've gone back to my working mode. I can't stop thinking about new creations; there's always something to look forward to everyday!

I think Panda is half-amused, half-worried about my little project. He has always wanted me to start something since I have all the time in the world. He suggested writing children ministry programmes, writing story books, or setting up a personal shopper business like one of my friends.

But he knew I had an interest in doing crafts, so he allowed me to indulge a little in materials and tools. I go to him for advice on designs, pricing and everything else.

It's wonderful to have a husband that supports you. It may seem like a small thing to him, but it means a lot to me.

It's fun monitoring the shop stats and even though I haven't have any real business yet, I'm happy to have taken the courage to do it.

That's the Silicon Valley spirit, isn't it? Have an idea, do it. If it works, great job. If it flops, learn your lessons and keep trying.

Don't be afraid of success or failure.

加油！

P/S: I just occurred to me that I went to Joann and Michaels the other day with (Joann)a and (Michael)Angel(o). Heeheehee. I think it's quite funny!