Wednesday, August 05, 2009


I have a nice Original Special Edition Skagen watch studded with Crystal Clear and Light Rose Color Crystals matched with Pink leather strap given by dear husband 3 years ago.
Its Rectangular shiny stainless steel case is connected by genuine Pink leather embossed straps in this fashionable timepiece. The dial is white Mother-of-Pearl with indicators and the sides encrusted with CRYSTALLIZED - Swarovski Elements.
I haven't used it for almost 1 1/2 years now coz I don't really like leather straps for a watch . I always prefer those with metal bracelets either in Silver or Gold color. Also, he had given me another Skagen watch lately matching his watch and made with stainless steel strap which I prefer more . Thus, I wear the 2nd Skagen watch almost everyday.

I was actually looking for a silver bracelet to clean but I found my Pink SKAGEN watch instead and saw the damage on the strap. The Leather of the said strap is still good underneath but the upper lining was already peeling off , See ?


So I decided to remove the strap and replace it . Problem is, the strap needs to be ordered only from Skagen coz it's not the normal straps you can buy from watch shops. It was connected to the dial with 4 very tiny screws . So it was a special design and a trademark of Skagen watches. Oh dear, I had already cut the straps with scissors and there's no such way I can put it back . So, I need to think of how to replace the famous strap myself. My brains started tilting from side to side ... Few seconds after, comes a marvelous idea. A Strap with beads , Why not ? I'd never done it before in any kind of watch , be it mine or not. So this is going to be a good challenge for me today.
Immediately I took my boxes of Swarovski Crystals , TOHO seed beads , 925 Sterling Silver Findings and designed a solution to the watch strap which is now into pieces right infront of me . I decided to use Swarovski Bicone Crystals same color as the ones embedded on the dial for a perfect match and added some Toho Japanese Seed Beeds , Miyuki Delica Seed beads & 4 pcs of 925 SS Closed Jumprings that will securely attach the straps to the Dial and the tiny screws.
Patiently, I was beading the whole afternoon coz I'm very excited to see the final result of this project .





( 1 )
Watch Dial after the strap was removed






( 2 )
Preparing all the Materials To be used

( 3 )
Putting the Design on 1st side of the Watch Dial

( 4 )
Now doing the other half of the strap




Now in the Finishing touches where I surrounded the flower designs with Peyote & Herringbone stitches to make the strap more stiff / firm and making sure the size would be exactly the same width & lenght like the previous strap.

I was able to finally finish the whole strap ( after it took me at least 4 hours ) just by dinner time . Well, What can you say about this now ?


I'm very happy I can now wear it again but of course with much more added Bling !
YEESSS!!!!

Saturday, August 01, 2009




* * * AUGUST'S SPECIAL TREAT * * *


Know what ? I had just revised the look & listed more items into my ebay store ...
Please come & check it out !


- FREE FIRST CLASS MAIL SHIPPING -

( Worldwide with No Minimum Purchase Required )



Valid on All Combined Purchases of Any Finished Jewellery Items Only !!!
- Promo ends on August 31, 2009 -

Where Beyond ELEGANCE is the Style !

#CD226 = SEA FANTASY 925 SS Crystal Beaded Earrings
Price : SGD$30.00

( Now also Available in my ebay store )

This pair of sparkling earrings were made with Celestial Crystal Light Blue Color faceted Rondelle Beads , Vintage Clear AB Swarovski Faceted Beads with 925 Sterling Silver Earring Hooks , Bali-Silver Bead Caps & Findings .
Measures approx. 5.5 - 6 cms including hooks.
A Unique Sparkling Vintage design perfect for any day!


Discounts Available for Multiple items Purchased !


Earrings inspired by the clear blue sparkling water of AMANPULO in Philippines ( Pictured below ) where we had spent our October holiday 2 years ago ... kids would love to come back soon !


Don't forget to check some necklaces on sale too !

They're 50% OFF The Regular Price

Check below :

#ASN7 = MOP Donut Necklace

Regular price SGD$35 Now Only SGD$17.50

#ASN1 = MOP BUTTERFLY Necklace

Regular price SGD$25 Now Only SGD$12.50

Thursday, July 30, 2009

What I Had Created In Belgium




There is no way to stop me from beading ...


Being on Holiday doesn't mean I'm staying away from my beads for a while ! Of Course not. I brought with me a box of my beading armaments so I can do something and bead when I'm stucked in the house during bad weather days. True enough there are some bad days preventing me to go outside but advantageous for my sneaky hands and mind.


I was able to finish my Mother in law's Lariat Necklace in 2 days after my arrival in Belgium. It was a belated Happy Birthday present for her and She was very happy with it . She wore it proudly when we went to a Fine Dining Restaurant in Morsel for lunch one day. That famous lunch started at 1pm and ended up at 5pm. It was surely the longest lunch I had ever had in my entire life ! I had even seen the staff changing into the night shift.

Below is what I got for my main course too ... hellooo ... This isn't happening, You must be joking , Is that all ? I think I need a magnifying glass to enlarge the size of my fish compared to the size of my hot plate ... No wonder I don't like fine dining sometimes. Quantity is so small ... That's all and that's it ... period !!! GRRRRRR I'm still Hungry !

Anyway, Somewhere on the second week of my stay in Belgium I also had created a new necklace with Seed Beads using Combinations of Peyote Stitch & Twisted herringbone stitch for the 1st time.


The Necklace really came out so beautiful !

Even without the use of any metal embellishments or metal clasps at all . I had mixed the Toho seed beads with Swarovski Crystals & Fresh water pearls .

Although I came home to Singapore with the un-finished matching bracelet for it, then I must say that I've got something to do again & finish now that I'm back in my well missed My-SECRET-Corner Bead Room ...



So Sweet White Rose Flower Decoration on our dining table during our lunch in Morsel.

Back To Singapore ... At Last !





A super big yupppeee !

I'm now back In Singapore ! I arrived with my family on board Lufthansa Airlines yesterday afternoon with luggages much heavier than what we had when we left Singapore almost 4 weeks ago . I really wondered why and how come they're so full when I didn't do much shopping in Belgium despite of citywide sales of up to 70% off. Only 2 things I got for myself are : a small huggable stuff toy from Intertoys for Euro 6.99 instead of Euro 17.99 which I named " Toochie Patootsie " and a party tight fitting dress with tiger prints on it for just Euro 13.00 instead of Euro 79.oo ... what a great bargain !



See how cute Toochie is ? She was very soft to the touch and very useful in the plane giving support to my neck while I sleep in the plane yesterday ...

Holiday in Belgium was 50 / 50. Meaning half good and half bad. Just couldn't get all positive things without the mess... Oh well, at least this time, weather wasn't so bad.


The Church Tower in Grote Markt near the City hall of Aalst on one very sunny afternoon Nice blue sky with Cotton candy like super white clouds which is not a common sight when you're in Belgium .


I was able to have few good real hot sunny days to dry my laundry even I hanged the clothes inside the house ( you never know when the rain comes ) , clean away the spiderwebs in /out & around the house and visit some nice places too like the Theme Park called " WALLIBI " where I saw one of the most terrifying ride called " SAWBUZZ " which flips when you reah the top of the round. Actually I hate the rides coz I feel sick afterwards so You can bet that I didn't dare get into it ... what a chicken am I ..ha-ha ! But at least I took a good picture while Tacha & Hubby were in it ! See ? OMG !!!

And oh ... I've got real nice pictures of flowers in most of the places I'd been. Kids are complaining I had more pics of flowers than them ... oeps ! Sorry guys, mommy needs some entertaining too you know. It makes me happy to see and photograph the nice flowers I find so I have the camera most of the time to take shots.

Photo of a flower bud being checked by a curious fly in the flower garden of Mr. Albert De Raedt . He was the uncle of Koen ( my brother in law ) who has at least 1000 species of flower bearing plants in his wonderful back yard. Some of which he had planted about 28 years ago when he bought the land for his home and garden.

Flowers by the side street while walking around in Oud -Hevelee looking for a good & decent restaurant to eat dinner.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009



* * * SUMMER HOLIDAY * * *
Belgium Here We Come !


Ok, just a few more things to put in the last suitcase which happens to be that of my hubby ... Since he had lost 30 kilos lately ( no joke ! ) I'm not so sure which clothes to put in there. Flight to Belgium is at midnight so I still got enough time to wait for him to come from work and sort his things out himself . Then , I'll put them neatly and nicely in his luggage just to make sure they would all fit in that suitcase .


Sad to say bye-bye for the moment but I will try to post some blogs if I get lucky once I'm in Belgium. So don't be so dissapointed when you don't see any new posts in the next couple of weeks. I'll try my best to catch up ... Cheers !


Belgium ... here I come !



Please note that all online shops will be closed while I'm gone .


1st Of July ...
Is there Anything Special For Today ?


Wow, it seems like the month of June had just came to a halt and here comes the beginning of a new month !

July would be a great month ( I hope ! ) for Eauropean summer like in Belgium in particular. Kids are off from school now here in Singapore and that kickstarts the summer holiday. normally, we spend the summer holiday in Belgium. So tonight, we'll be dragging our bags to the airport probably with masks on to avoid the swine flu. Off we would go to visit Grandma & Grandpa, Hubby's friends and see what's the state of our "yellow House" out there.

See why it's called the " Yellow House " ?


But before I leave My-SECRET-Corner Beadroom with a heavy heart like as usual , I would have to close all my auctions on eBay & ioffer first , put vacation response on all my email accounts and put a sign on my online store that I'm temporarily close due to this " Summer Holiday " These are things I have to tackle yearly when I go away for " Summer Holiday". Complains , complains ... truthfully, these are the things I've got to do before I leave .. got no choice !

BTW, I also have to inform some special people that I'm not going to be in town until end of July. Most important is my Mom back in the Philippines. Not forgetting to greet her as well coz today is not just an ordinary day in her life. 1st of July is her special day coz it's her Birthday !

" A very Happy Birthday Mom ! "


I had been thinking about her last night after I had finished making 2 pairs of wired earrings. Suddenly, I came up with this idea of doing a necklace to match her name " EDEN ". Sounds like a good idea ! I had this urge to create something to remember her during her Birthday. So I grabbed some colored Pearls , seed Beads, Wires and Glass Beads and started creating what came out to be this piece of long necklace with wirewrapped pendant in it and I named it after her :

#SPN133 = GARDEN OF EDEN

Tuesday, June 30, 2009


Created Simply Out Of The Blue !



For almost a month now, I'd been hardly on my beading table creating anything. Revision of Websites had taken most of my time. But no regrets everytime I see my pages and my viewers coming from all over the place. Gee ! I'm getting known in the world although I'm just sitting here at home Lol !


Well Anyway, My Lariat Necklace ( see the poor thing ? ) is not even halfway , wonder when will I ever finish it. But, I had added at least 3 inches to its lenght this morning somehow in between my packing ( filling up 4 suitcases at least ) . What an accomplishment huh !

Then suddenly, something blinked on the side of my mind ( oh no ... I'll be taken away from finishing the Lariat again ... ) . I remembered suddenly the pair of earrings ( magazine indicated it's from a Shop called Ola ! ) I had seen on CLEO magazine last Sunday in the restaurant. My memory is quite sharp ( even I didn't have any good sleep the last few nights ! ) that I can clearly picture those earrings and the way they were wired. Absolutely simple but yet , stunning pieces of ornament. I make jewelries but when I see other people's creative stuffs, I get so fascinated ! Quite a pity I was not able to know who made those earrings to give some credits to the talented crafter ! Also too bad for me for not not being able to buy that issue of CLEO Magazine for referrence , so I just kept the image in my mind ! How I would love to create earrings like that for myself or as a gift to friends.


But with great liking to the earrings & with such inspiration, I took out some Seed beads in 3 different colors and sizes , 2 Glass beads, 2 Briolettes & A roll of Gauge 22 Non Tarnish Silver Artistic Beading wire . I'm up for a big challenge !



I started laying all the materials on my craft mat. For me its a challenge to make things out of what I can visualize in my head. Photographic memory I guess is working well on my advantage ! I'm not an expert in terms of wiring and never had any formal lessons about wiring stuffs ( but love to see the magnificent works of David Plumlee , Armored Hearts just to name a few ) . But for me, one doesn't need to be expert to create something, when there's a will , there's a way! So that pushed me a lot to start this project ...



A bit of turning wires here and a bit of twisting wires there using my bare hands to shape the earrings ( using pliers might break the seed beads so I stayed away from pliers for a while until I reached the part whenI have to cut the loose wires and put the Earring Hooks ). process took me at least 25 mins the most. Happy and contented here's what I had finished :


" #GBER150= Always In My Mind "
Wired Square Earrings

Materials Used :

2 Pcs. 15mm Briolette Beads , Size 6/0 & 8/0 Seed Beads
2 pcs 10mm Lampwork Beads
2.5 Ft. Artistic Wires
1 Pair Earring Hooks

( Excellent For Beginners & Intermediate )

BTW, I'm still in the mood to make another pair but in a different shape and color. So, Here's the 2nd Pair I made for about 45 mins soon after I finished the 1st pair ...

"#GBER151 = SUMMER WISH "

Wired Earrings

Materials Used :


2 Pcs. 18mm Flat Blue Chalcedony Teardrop Beads , Size 8/0 &11/0 Seed Beads
2 pcs 12mm Lampwork Beads
2.5 Ft. Artistic Wires
1 Pair Earring Hooks

( Project Suitable For Beginners with basic Wiring Knowledge & Intermediate )

Sunday, June 28, 2009


Farewell My Friend ... We'll Miss You in Singapore !


Living an expat life has its toll sometimes . What I mean is that after settling yourself and gaining friends in a foreign country , time comes when you have to leave again for good.

For 91/2 years now, I had known Dolores and her husband Peter ( Dutch ). They have 2 daughters , Nathalie ( my son's classmate ) and Nicole who both grew up with my kids here in Singapore.

Dolores and I were not close during the first few years even if we meet each other on friend's parties and get togethers. We had met in numerous parties : Birthdays of our kids, Birthdays of our friends, Pot Luck parties, etc.,

Photo of our kids during Tristan's Birthday in March 2004

Lately , during the last 2-3 years, we became closer knowing we were the only families who'd been staying for a long time in Singapore due to our husband's jobs. Both our husbands work for dredging companies .


Dolores & I had started meeting more for lunch, Bithday parties of friends and even with Yoga classes lately. For ladies night out, I would ask Peter if she can come with me. Oh, he's such a very sweet and gentle guy who always says yes to me when I want to out with her. Perhaps because I would watch over her the whole night ha-ha ! Mind you, I did all the time when we went out a couple of times ...


Photo with Laima During Matet's Halloween Theme Birthday Party ( Nov. 2008 ) Held in " 1 Rochester Park "

We had so much fun going out to dance in oue favorite dancing place in Chijmes. Infact, we went there in " INSOMNIA Bar " for the last time last night and met one of our friends from Yoga Class, Yvonne who was there with her American Husband Michael and 2 other American associates. Nice people !

Yvonne ( she's half my age, can you tell ? ) & I while waiting for Dolores in Chijmes last night ( June 27, 2009 )

Anyway, sad to say, our dancing days together in Chijmes is over now. Dolores would be leaving this week with her family to settle in Manila for good. It's sad but I wish her and her family all the best of health & luck in their new home back there in the Philippines.



Pair of Earrings I was wearing last night during the Farewell party in Chijmes . Made with Glass Briolette Beads, Lovely Venetian Beads with 925 Bali Sterling Silver Hooks.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Blogger Blog Thumbnail

- My BLOG's Thumbnail -



Okay , I had been revising websites left and right until I just realized that my own Blogger Blog has no thumbnail image. How could that have happened ? Well, I'd been so engrossed with my ranking site & Twitter lately. Most of my time had been spent there and my poor Blog got missed on the side somehow.



Lucky I was checking my URLs when I noticed that only my Blogsite has no specific thubnail. But now no worries, I made one as fast as I can. Took me maybe 3 mins to do it. Wow, I made another accomplishment for my site. Now I'm happy I can already upload a thumbnail of my own Blog in my other online sites !
Another Job well Done !



Picture of a Flower taken in my Mom's Garden in Laguna , Philippines.

 
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