There's No Better Way ...

to start your week, than with a SMILE.
xo - TANIA

Tania's 3rd Christmas

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Tania's 3rd Christmas, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

Its a couple of hours to Countdown here in Singapore, but Tania wanted to share a little of her 3rd Christmas with you ...

A package arrived just at Christmas-time; looking at the message, it was obviously for The Princess


A little bit of pouting went on as she had to smile for the camera before she could have it ;-)
We told her what Santa said about "not pouting" ... ;)



So she put on some of her best smiles ....


Nowwwwwww .... ?????? !!

LUCY

LUCY, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

I had a request from a friend last weekend, to customize a necklace for someone she was visiting overseas. Described as a lady who is still young at heart, a tad flamboyant and who loves colour, I thought "vibrant" ! She asked for unique beads to be incorporated into this piece, so I turned to my stash of Karin's clay beads, and found exactly what I had in mind - gloriously colourful clay lentils with swirls of red, purple, burnt orange and yellow flowers, on a fiesty orange background ... so nice and vibrant !

To these I added Lavender Amethysty Coins, dark purple Amethyst nuggets, and a large freeform Amethyst stone in the centre, faceted Carnelian ovals in flaming shades of fun and spunk, little light yellow and amethyst rondelles dotted here and there, and a pretty petalled pewter flower for some whimsy/femininity.

At 38", it can be worn long or doubled-up in various ways. Versatile in that it'll look great with a LBD, spark up a jeans and open-collared white shirt, or bring you nicely into traditional glamour as in the photo above, on a bright lime green Peranakan Nonya Kebaya.

TAPESTRY

TAPESTRY, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

A very special piece for a very special friend.

Four sumptuous beautifully faceted soft yellow Lemon Topaz stones and a crystal-studded 14K Gold Vermeil Flower were the main feature of this piece when I first started on it; then all kinds of other things came to mind and I added more and more. Each and every golden element & cluster of precious stones, symbolizes something meaningful of the golden life, spirit and soul of a phenomenal girl to be encapsulated forever.

Icicles

Icicles, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

Here's a fun bracelet in pretty juicy popsicle colours, looking cool & refreshing especially as their facets catch the light !! Czech glass rondelles in ripe raspberry, lime, peach, etc., etc., with clear glass nuggets, and a 'frosty' white little swarovski crystal at the end of the extension chain.

Looking at again, it also kinda reminds me of flowers in a vase, but hey, I'll stick with sugar pop icicles anytime - - Tania will tell you they're so much more fun :)))))

C-R-U-N-C-HHHHHHHH !

C-R-U-N-C-HHHHHHHH !, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

Yummy icicles !!!!!

Tania just loves crunching on ice cubes, especially on hot afternoons after a long walk. She stands in front of the fridge, huffs, points to it with her nose, and gives a huge grin. Well yeah .... we Moms are supposed to be mind readers, but then again, I know that familiar "huff". It could only mean one thing ..... ICE CUBES !

Helene - Custom order

Helene - Custom order, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

Request for a Birthday Gift Necklace with a Peranakan flavour for a Peranakan lady.

The first thing that came to mind were the brightly coloured ornate tiles on the facade of Peranakan homes, designs of which were an inter-marriage of East and West. Turning immediately to my stash of Karin's gorgeous Polymer Clay Beads, I found the perfect design in the bright vibrant colours of mustard yellow, red and green - yes, especially the red flower !

The East/West fusion of a German-made tile with Asian elements like Yellow Butter Jade, Green Aventurine, Red Sponge Coral and gold filigreed bead-caps for more 'pernakan ornateness' morphed HELENE effortlessly into a Pernakan looking necklace. How cool is that :) I'm sure A.H. is gonna love wearing this piece with her traditional kebayas as well as her modern pieces.

(14K gold-filled & plated).

SHELLEY Necklace

SHELLEY Necklace, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

Watching our little terrapin friend climb up his/her rock and slowly glide down, reminded me of the beautiful Labradorite Nuggets I've been hoarding.

A gorgeous 4-sided faceted twist-shaped drop sits in the centre of this piece, with smaller fancy cut labradorite stones along the chain, all emanating amazing blue flashes. Swarovski Crystal Pearls and Thai Karen Hilltribe Silver (97%) Turtle and Hammered Ring, Crystal Quartz and Fluorite Rondelles complete the Shelley necklace.

SHELLEY Necklace

SHELLEY Necklace, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

It was dusk and the sun was going down fast, so unfortunately I couldn't capture the blue flashes in all the Labradorite stones in one pix, and luckily for me, my son's friends were visiting from overseas, so I grabbed hold of one of the gals, who very patiently turned this way and that for a few pixs.
She modelled a couple more necklaces for me, and I was so touched she loved this one, and the dear hubby got it for her :)

Hi there 'lil fella .....

Hi there 'lil fella ....., a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

Greed .... sheer greed !!!

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE ...

THANK YOU Karin, for your wonderful Birthday Surprise. I LOVE it and the colour is just perfect for me :) Most of all, I appreciate your

thoughtfulness. I've met some totally amazing friends in cyber-space, and I hope that some day soon, we'll be able to meet in person :)

THE SAFETY INSPECTOR

checking out some b'day gifts I received from overseas :)

The Safety Inspector, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

All clear Mum ... hurry up and open them ... the suspense is killin' me !!!!!
Open the one from Aunty Karin first .... pleeeese, pleeeese ........



WOW, what a gorgeous pretty necklace .... OH HAPPY DAY !!

Nia Necklace

Nia Necklace, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

Miss Ta-Nia with the Zin-Nias

Miss Ta-Nia with the Zin-Nias, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

We visited the Curious Gardener to catch up on happenings with her new plants and flowers not too long ago, which also doubled up as an outing for Miss Tania to visit her cousins - Cookie & April. Could she sit still for a couple of minutes for me to take a shot of her with the flowers ...... of course not. Clearly her attention was focused on what she was missing out on, keeping her eyes intently on what 'the girls' were doing, but I have to thank her dearly for the few moments of precious her time ;-)

The white Zinnias and yellow Marigolds (behind Miss Tania) were the inspiration for this sweetlet of a necklace.
A beautifully detailed enamelled Zinnia Pendant sits in the centre, from which hangs a pear-shaped 6mm Swarovski Crystal in Golden Shadow, 'capturing' the soft glow of the evening/dusk light gently. Trailing upwards along the golden chains are little czech fire-polish beads, white czech glass flowers (more Zinnias), Topaz Swarovski Crystal Connectors (Marigolds) and etched gold-plated leafy vines.
Length of necklace: 16.5" with an extension chain.
Curious Gardener (zinnias)
Curious Gardener (marigolds)

(Photographed with permission from The Curious Gardener)

'Smoke on the Water' Set

With the luxury of time on my hands, thanks to a 'bum foot', its been great catching up on reading, listening to music, sleep, and the not so fun, but necessary pile of filing.

Listening to Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" inspired these earrings and the matching bracelet which is 'almost done', using Hexagonal Smokey Quartz with Apatite, Brazilian Onyx, Blue-flash Moonstone & Labradorite Rondelles, accented with Balinese 925 Daisy wheels, pins & ear-hooks.

DEONE Necklace

DEONE Necklace, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

This necklace was made for a very caring, wonderful Mother of 3 with a very big heart. She never spoils herself, always putting her kids FIRST. As she's been through A LOT in the past few months, I wanted to surprise her with a Mother's Day gift as she is so deserving of it.

I figured her as a person who would feel comfortable wearing timeless, elegant, undertated pieces, and as I wanted to incorporate something from this part of the world, I chose handmade Thai Hilltribe Silver & artisan made fancy Balinese beads to go with the lovely Onyx barrels.

It reached her safely, about a week after Mother's Day, having travelled over the oceans and thousands of miles between us, and I was ever so touched when she sent me a photo of herself wearing it, and not only that, she said that she loved onyx + silver :))))) Yeay !!!

Birthday Pastries

May 29, 2011 - TANIA turned three !
[double-click on pix to see more]

Birthday Pastries, a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

She had to choose ONLY ONE !!!

And I just knew which one it would be ;-)
(more in comment box)

A Tania-mania week .......

Its been pretty much "Tania-mania" week, with therapy, therapy, therapy.

Zoe is back for only a short period of time, and armed with her course completion of the WaterWork at the PetMassage Institute in Ohio, USA which is a higher level of water therapy to aid dogs like Tania, we brought her for her FIRST ever visit to the beach. Needless to say, it was a very exciting day for her.

After aqua-therapy in the sea, she had physio in the van - with music & aroma-therapy (oh lawd - the Princess, if only I should be so lucky), but to be fair to her however, living with daily pain, she does deserve to be a happy girl :)











" Nice wind blowing ..... "


"Oh oh ..... here comes the rain - time to escape to the van "


Looking all dozey and relaxed after her physio, music & aromatherapy :)


Will post the FUN pixs later.

She's Back ! She's Back !

a photo by trishastrove on Flickr.

Yes, "she's" b-a-c-k from California for a few weeks to check on all her beloved "patients" !!

Tania wouldn't be where she is today without this pair of healing hands since she was 7 months old, after her first hip op., and guess who would have been a total wreck not knowing how to handle her post-op. therapy correctly. That's right - "moi".

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Life's Journey can be full of Bumps .....

and sometimes, they can be closer than you think ;-)

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