OKH Dance Camp 2008

After three full days of ballet, latin and broadway, Alethea performed at the ACS Drama Centre last night together with about 50 dancers (some from Brunei and Jakarta). She even sang a broadway solo! To complete the week and evening, she won the Best Dancer Award Senior 2008! We are so proud of her! Here are some photos to share our joy!

Jewelry show 2008

My dear friends,

Thank you to all who came and supported my recent show. It was a fun time of renewing friendships and catching up. I've decided to leave my jewelry room set up for anyone who wants to drop by and get something special and unique. Please call to make an appointment first.

Here are some photos of that weekend.

Some of the ear-rings I had on sale. I must have made about 100 pairs for the show and had another 90 pairs on order! Many of these are beadwork or wirework ear-rings so unique and exclusive.

I was so proud of Ethan who helped me in more ways than one! Here he is, serving Aunty J. Great job, Ethan!

Here are some of my homemade traditional fruitcake. I didn't make much this year because of a hectic schedule so had a complete sell out! Thanks for all my supporters out there!

Some of my "old" friends from 25 years ago!

I'm now trying to fulfill special orders by Christmas and then take a break to think through what I've been doing the past year. Next year I'm hoping to launch my business on-line and see where that goes.

In the meantime, have a blessed Christmas and a lovely time with family and friends. May we remember why we are here and fulfill the calling on our lives!

Christmas Collection 2008

My dear friends,
You're warmly invited to my show on Sunday 7th December 2.00pm-6.00pm and Monday 8th December 10.00am to 4.00pm.

I'll send out invites later but this is just to alert you to start making lists and checking it twice!

Cupcakes!

Last night we had Christmas dance rehearsal and I baked chocolate cupcakes for the dancers. They turned out well and looked really attractive, don't you think?

Wirework Ear-rings

Don't you just love the twirly effect of these ear-rings? I started out with 22gauge non-tarnish silver wires and Delica beads, then twirled these on a 20gauge wire to create the beads.

The same idea using gold wires and omitting step 2.

Here's a shorter version of the silver ear-rings using gold wire and bronze glass beads.

More, more photos!

This is a 16-inch woven Swarovski pearl necklace.

The same style in peach and creamrose. Will make a beautiful bridal piece. I do have a few pieces suitable for brides and her bridal party.

This is a beautiful 18-inch good quality freshwater pearl stick necklace coupled with coral beads to complete the marine experience!

Another "mini fan" style necklace with unakite gemstones. I love the intermixing of salmon and greens. Really striking.

This is a 16-inch woven Swarovski necklace with a long drop. Will look good with a V neckline or strapless dress.

More new photos

Sorry for the long delay in getting these photos out. I've been really overwhelmed with orders (thank you!) and other home duties. Here are a few more photos for you to enjoy.

This is a lovely 16-inch 10mm Amethyst bead necklace coupled with 3mm Peridot rondelles.

A 17-inch pink opal oval flat and nuggets definitely not for the fainthearted! It's chunky and a little weighty but definitely a head turner! I added gold-filled 3mm beads to bring out the colour. Isn't this beautiful?






Snow obsidian is the name of this 17-inch gemstone necklace in a mini fan style. I added Swarovski pearls. Really lovely with almost anything!

Get ready to turn heads with this 17-inch red New Jade seahorse! I added carnelian twisted and round beads together with gold-filled beads. One of my favourites.






By the way, the candle cup in the background was a gift from IL. Thanks!

New collection samples

Thank you for being SO patient, my dear friends! I've designed and made more than 50 pieces the past few months but it's been really hectic at the YAM household hence the tardiness in providing photos for your viewing pleasure! Anyway, here are just a few to whet your appetite for more to come! Do remember I'm still taking orders for Christmas and my sale is slated for end of November/early December.

This is a lovely 17-inch asymmetrical necklace using 3 different techniques of beadwork. First, on the left is a spiral rope, the right is the St Petersburg weave and finally the centrepiece is coralling uusing freshwater pearls. The Japanese glass seed bead and fire polished bead colours are the same but notice how the accents change with the different techniques employed.

This totally different and unique piece uses a 50-strand stainless steel 16-inch necklace with a 925 silver clasp to hold a lovely New Zealand paua shell cabachon which I embellished with Swarovski crystals and Japanese glass seed beads using the same colours off the shell.



I totally love it!











Another totally different 16-inch necklace employing the Cellini spiral method and stringing. For the Cellini spiral, I used different sizes and shapes of glass beads which gives it the spiral twist. For the rest of the necklace I used Swarovski pearls in graduated sizes which gives it an elegant look.

Nails made into a Cross!

A few weeks back, Pastor P asked me to make a long necklace from a few nails he got off his old church building roof. After much deliberating, I came up with this 32-inch design. I used antique bronze wire and chain, and mahogany obsidian beads in two sizes. My main difficulty was in stabilising the cross which had a tendency to swing. Any comments or suggestions? What do you think, Pastor P?

Not lost at all!

My dear friends,

I've been working very hard preparing for my Jewelry Open House to be held sometime in late November. I've made lots of pieces, fulfilled many orders and still trying to complete more special orders that have come in. Thank you for sending these in so early! I like to have time to think and design.

So for those of you who have been checking the blog, please be patient! I'll post some completed works next week. This week has been filled with dance rehearsals, ballet exam and other family activities.

The other day we were walking along Joo Chiat Place and saw this cutest little car! Alethea couldn't resist standing next to it for a photo moment!

See you next week!

Necklaces!

Here are a few of the ones I recently made:

This is "Crown Jewels" using 6 14mm Rivolis and made into a cuboid. 17-inches with a magnetic clasp.








This is 16.5-inches using 4mm Sawrovski bicones to make a "Crystal Ball." Very lovely.

This is my personal neckace using 6mm Swarovski bicones to make the centrepiece and strung on a stainless steel necklace.

I experimented with bugle twists using the spiral rope technique to make this 17-inch necklace. I liked the way it turned out. I used Swarovski
pearls to complete the necklace.

CLusters of Grapes

Ever so often, I do go back to wirework! Here are two different clusters. These come in any colour combination requested and various sizes of Swarovki pearls desired.

Flower Power

Here's a few of the flower ear-rings I made. Again, these come in any colour possible and make great Christmas gifts!

Ear-rings

Here's a few pairs of "crystal ball" ear-rings I made. These are available in any colour and sizes imaginable!

I'm Still Kicking and Beading!

I know it's been a while I posted. Rest assured, my faithful customers, I've been beading faithfully non-stop! So far, I've made about 80 pairs of ear-rings (special ones, mind you) and about 50 necklaces! It's just that I haven't had time to take photos with my brain making up new designs every day! So much inspiration, no time to bead!

Last week we had SOTA's inaugural Arts Festival. Alethea danced extremely well in three dances. Here's a photo of her with her friends.

It's been another crazy week of rushing around like a mad dog! A's taking her ISTD Grade 6 Tap and Grade 6 Modern exams today so we had to pick her up from school and send her to dance coaching every day. Most days we barely had 15 minutes to make it! She's becoming really good at eating and changing in the car, at the same time!

Last night I attended her dance open house and am so proud of the way she has matured and grown in her dancing. This morning I've got to braid her hair and reach the examination centre by 8.45am. Her Tap exam is at 9.30am and her Modern at 11.45am.

This past week I spent time working on an order of five necklaces. I've completed three so next week I hope to complete the whole order and work on another one! I'm planning to have a gallery sale sometime in October/November. If you have any orders please get them in as soon as possible. After the sale I will be taking a break.

I do make more jewelry than I post on the blog. I only post the more exiting, interesting or complicated ones or my favourites! In the next few weeks I'll try to take photos and make an album for those who want to see everything! It may take a while because I've quite a few pieces!

Until next week, have a great weekend!
Reb

New Design and Collection

Last week I managed to design and make a few pieces for my new collection. Here's a preview!

One of my favourites (which took forever to make!) is a 16-inch choker necklace. I used purple, pink and green to create this floral garden effect. For the centre I used 8mm Swarovski pearls in powder rose. Surrounding the pearls are size 11 and 15 Japanese glass seed beads and Czech 3mm fire polished beads. The clasp is "hidden" in that you can't tell it from the rest of the pearls!

Here's the same necklace using 10mm Swarovski pearls, which makes it a little more chunky.

I can make these necklaces longer and using larger pearls for those who love bigger necklaces. However, from my experimentation, 8mm are the smallest I can go without compromising the floral design. This style will also work well as a collar necklace (which is shorter than the choker and hugs the neck like a Victorian style necklace).

Using the same pearl flowers, I have made ear-rings in any colour imaginable and will work on bracelets this week.

For those who love Y necklaces, here's one for you! About 17-inches and a spiral rope of 4mm Czech fire polished beads pulled together by a pearl flower clasp.

Finally, last one for today is this lovely 16-inch necklace which hugs the base of the neck comfortably and has an attention seeking drop! Will look really nice for day or evening wear.

This must be my ultimate favourite!

Until my next post, have a great week ahead!

Reb

I'm Back!

After five weeks of hiatus, I'm finally back posting! It's not that I've been slacking. I've been working really hard at designing new pieces and fulfilling orders. It's just that the children's schedules have been different and it's hard to have extended time working or blogging.

How did the STILL dance go? Very well, thank you! We had good reviews and lots of encouraging words. The gals were absolutely professional even though they were wincing inside from bruises while executing the kneeling and rolling on the floor movements. We're very excited about participating at the Christian Counselling Conference on July 23rd. Our very first "outside" appearance!




A couple of weeks ago, I was cutting some paper with a blade and sliced off the tip of my finger together with some nail bits so was helpless for a couple of days! Yes, ouch it was!! It's all healed now, no worries. Lesson learned is to let my son help me in all future cutting! Here are a few new pieces.


This is a 16-inch collar style necklace with tons of freshwater pearls! I must have used at least 4 strands of the lovely green pearls and about 200 Czech fire polished beads! Also incorporated tiger eye beads and Swarovski bicones with the usual Japanese seed beads in sizes 11 and 15. The base of the necklace was made using the netting technique and the luscious bottom was made using the coralling technique. Very comfortable to wear and very distinctive but certainly not for the fainthearted.



Don't you simply love this delicate flower necklace using a large freshwater pearl for the centre and graduated sizes for the necklace itself? A 16-inch necklace, the peachy pink is so light and fluffy in feeling. Goes with almost any outfit, casual or formal. I made another necklace in bronze and almond colours but slightly longer, 18 inches. Looks wonderful too.



That's all for today. Hope to show you my collection of ear-rings at the weekend but no promises. Have a great week!

Another Week of Opportunities!

This weekend has been quite fruitful in terms of beading. I managed to complete quite a few pieces and am pleased with them. Right now I'm working on a series of necklaces, bracelets and watch bands for Christmas. I'll probably have them all ready by late October for a gallery showing. If there's anything special you want me to make for you, do let me know. Remember, I don't post all my designs on the blog, just the ones that are different and a bit more special. I do make lots of other jewelry as well.

This is a lovely lime green 37-inch lariat and 5-inch drop which took 3 days to make! For the main lariat I used size 8, 11 and 15 Japanese glass seed beads, Swarovski crystals and Czech fire polished beads. For the drop, in addition to the glass seed beads I also used lots of freshwater pearls, amethyst gemstone beads and Czech fire polished beads.

The colours are youthful and simply gorgeous.

Here's a lovely bling-bling 17-inch necklace made from Swarovski rivolis. I used 16 and 18 mm rivolis. The main necklace is made from Swarovski bicone crystals. Really nice for evening wear.

And the last necklace for today is an 18-inch spiral rope necklace with a pyrite centrepiece. Pyrite is also called "fool's gold" because there are lovely shiny gold coloured speckles which catch the light nicely.

For the spiral rope I used size 8 and 11 Japanese glass seed beads together with Swarovski bicone crystals and Czech fire polished beads.

Now off I go to get more inspiration and work done for this week. Have a wonderful week everyone!