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.

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 :)))))

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 :)

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 !!!

PRETTY PRETTY FLOWERS

S$18 - Sold

Another cute 'lil doggie charm bracelet for children and doggie lovers, all sweet and feminine with pretty Swarovski Crystal flowers.
Petunias are Tania's all-time favourite flowers; she found them very tasty during puppyhood, but now that she's nearly 3 yrs. old and almost a lady, she takes the time to smell them instead :)



Pewter Golden Retriever Charm (U.S.), with the design on the front and the back; Fuschia, Light Lilac and Sweet Pink Swarovski Crystal flowers that sparkle as they catch the light.
Silver-plated fine cable chain, with extension chain to fit any wrist size.

SPLISH - SPLASH Bracelet

S$16 - Sold

Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy ........
Tania just L-O-V-E-S her swims every week, especially making a big splash into the pool !!
Its the most exciting part of her week ..... and she has the biggest smile ever :)
Does your doggie love making a splash too ? :)))



Pewter Golden Retriever Charm (U.S.), with the design on the front and the back, Czech Glass bright aqua blue & silver briolettes, Non-tarnish Rollo Chain.
Hook the lobster clasp anywhere along the Rollo chain to fit any wrist size.

PUPPY LOVE Bracelet

S$16 - Sold

A love bracelet for children, teenagers or the young at heart. Wear your puppy on your wrist, and you won't miss her/him when you're not at home.
I love my Tania .... and have one for myself :)))



Pewter Golden Retriever Charm (U.S.), with the design on the front and the back, Czech Glass Heart, Non-tarnish fancy heart Charm & Non-tarnish Rollo Chain.
Hook the lobster clasp anywhere along the Rollo chain to fit any wrist size.

DEWDROPS - Custom

2 pairs of 'DEWDROP' earrings with two different "moods"......

One pair with the feel of romance & "smell of rain" still in the air; with a drizzling of AB Hematite reflective Swarovski Crystals over big brushed silver "drops"
and the other, with Aqua Swarovski Briolettes like fresh morning dew.

Both with similar pretty filigreed "flowers" with a single czech crystal in the centre.

CANDICE

Many years ago, during one of his many golfing trips up to Thailand with the senior golfers, my Dad came back with the beautiful pink & white bi-coloured bougainvillea plant in the above RH pix. At that point in time, he'd never set eyes on bi-coloured bougainvillea and he was truly amazed and pleasantly surprised, as he'd never seen this species at the flower gardens here. When googling the name of this variety, how apt it was when I found out its called 'SURPRISE'.

My sister and I were reminiscing about plants and fruit trees he's planted in the garden over the years, and were tickled pink when we remembered how he actually brought this bougainvillea back here :)

Inspired to make a necklace, I was delighted to find that I had a strand of Kamoe-Clay Polymer Clay lentils with just the perfect design and colours to help me out with the piece in mind - smooth, highly-glossed and perfectly colourful with white and shaded pink flowers ... how perfect is that !

After adding a topping of pink gemmies like shaded Tourmalines & Rose Quartz to the Clay lentil, and a hanging cluster of green Peridot & Vesuvianite Rondelles + faceted pink Beryl briolettes, it really did look pretty, especially with more white accents in the form of freshwater and a couple of 8mm swarovski glass pearls along an etched pewter chain of 16", with an extension chain of up to 18".

14K goldfill and Vermeil elements and accents.
U.S. etched pewter chain.

~ you may double-dlick on montage for a larger pix ~

Spring Posies - S$55 - Sold

Its Lunar New Year's Eve, and what better way to welcome the new Year of the Rabbit, with SPRING POSIES, a pair of earrings in the bright auspicious colours of reds and golds.

Once again the familiar profusion of bright & exciting colours of flowers, kumquats, goodies, lanterns abundantly surround us !

SPRING POSIES comprises 14K gold vermeil crystal studded Flower ear-posts (think chrysanthemums, peach blossoms, azaleas, orchids ....... ), with a bountiful posy of Shaded Carnelians, Tourmalines, blue-flash Moonstones, Freshwater Pearls, and soft minty Prehnite, above gorgeously red faceted Beryl Briolettes.

Total drop is approx. 3.5 cm.

14K gold-filled accents, 14K vermeil floral ear-posts & pins.

"Prosperi-tree" 2011 (Custom Request)

Another "Prosperi-tree" Thai Silk Box, in a lovely Jade green, again, adorned with 8 kumquats, glass and frosted leaves and peridot chips.

(Czech glass components)

Same dimensions as the fire-cracker red box posted earlier.

"Gong Xi Fa Cai"

"Prosperi-tree" 2011 (Custom Request)

The Year of the Rabbit is just around the corner, and its that time of the year again, for Reunion Dinners, and dressing up homes for the coming Spring Festival.

Beautiful flowers and "lucky plants" splashing colour and waiting to bring luck to your home are everywhere.
I have wired up my Kumquat Tree again, with 8 "kumquats", the number 8, signifying luck of course. Kumquats symbolize Prosperity, and hence, my "PROSPERI-Tree" :)))

I made a very small & limited number of these boxes a couple of years ago, and was so pleased that I had some buyers in the U.S. and Europe. Check out this link if you'd like the see the previous box I made and a little explanation on luck and kumquats.

Dimensions: 4-1/4" square, has no compartments within, which makes it very versatile as a presentation/keepsake box for a CNY gift or the traditional "red packet" for a dear family member or someone special.

Peridot, Czech Glass kumquats & leaves.

LILLYBETH Necklace

Karin's Polymer Clay Heart here, looks very much like either a beautifully painted porcelain vase from a romantic era, or a lovely wrapping paper bouquet sleeve to hold this pretty floral arrangement of carved Shell Flowers, Garnet, Rose Garnet & Citrine Rondelles, Labradorite Brio. and a beautiful Ruby for that dash of colour.
Trailing etched chains complete this Spring-looking floral sweetie, which is snuggled prettily between similar etched chains lightly sprinkled with smooth pink Tourmalines and a blue-flash Labradorite coin.

Delicate, girly, feminine & flirty ..... that's LILLYBETH.

~ you may double-dlick on montage for a larger pix ~

LILLYBETH Earrings below match this pendant.

LILLYBETH Earrings

Spring blooms in flowery pinks, reds, tangerine ... so lovely for the upcoming Spring Festival at the beginning of February or whenever ... :)

These Polymer Clay Beads, from Karin, have been topped with petite blue-flash labradorite rondelles for a sweet pair of earrings to dangle just under your lobes. Approx. 15mm in dia.

In this Special Set, comes a matching Heart Focal with these beads, into which I've made a necklace (in the background), and will upload this soon.

Karin's Clay for (2010) Xmas gifts .....

The past 1-1/2 years or so have been pretty unproductive for me on the handcrafted side with so much of my time devoted to Tania's rehab. after her numerous operations.

During this time, of course, I've been hoarding Karin's clay beads, but managed to make a few pieces for Xmas. Friends and relatives who flew in for the Season, who had never seen Karin's gorgeous beads before, instantly fell in love with them and snapped them up for gifts.

With Karin's well-thought out colours, swirls, twirls and silver dust, not much additional enhancements were needed as their beauty speak for themselves. In all humility, I have to say that Belinda has done much more justice to these clay pretties than me (yes Madame Belinda ... I am your very ardent admirer ... heh heh) .... but there's nothing like people from other countries enjoying these clay beauties with fresh eyes. Haven't uploaded photos of a couple of other pieces, but will try to soon.
I hope this will make Karin very happy, and I have a few more orders for more pieces :) Thank you Karin !

- Carved Amethyst Leaves
- Freshwater Pearls
- 925 Silverdust drops/Onyx Rondelles
- Smooth Carnelian briolettes


All accents are 925 Silver, 14K Gold-filled.