Turning the coaster into an Afghan square

I posted the pattern for a 12-petal coaster a few days and I was going to make another for the Knit-A-Square project today. Unfortunately, my browser refused to worked, so I was not able to search for another pattern to make. Yeah... I have an obsession of making a different pattern every time. ;p

So I decide to turn the coaster into an 8" Afghan Square. The pattern is posted below.

12 Petals Coaster Pattern - with business updates

Wow! It's been five years since I posted. How did time just fly by?! A lot has happened in between and I am not going to bore you with that. I can only say God has been good! Let's stay focused.

Business update - We have moved back to Singapore! Our Facebook page is still active to serve both the Singapore and US customers. The website is for the US customers and the Carousell site is for the Singapore customers.

I have been actively working on the Knit-A-Square project with the church aunties who bought yarn in bulk on Tao Bao at only 60 cents each. If you are a crocheter or knitter, and have some free time and loose yarn on hand, do consider supporting the project!

I have been asked so many times about when I started doing yarn craft when I was seen working on the squares outside. After saying I started at 11 yr old so many times, I decided that more kids should get a chance to learn the craft! Let me tell you my experience though. I made my mum take me to a yarn shop, chose a project for a black and white top, paid more than $100 and sat down to learn. Although I preserved and finished the project, the teacher measured the top so wide and so short I never ever got to wear the top. :_( I believed I spent no longer than 3 hrs in the shop but I did have to pop by a few times to fix some mistakes.

Therefore, I am offering 1 to 1 knitting/ crochet classes to kids and teenagers at $20/hr, allowing them to learn at their own pace with a very simple project, like a coaster or pouch. Instead of paying for all the material and realizing your child is not interested, I will supply all the material needed to get started. There is not even a need to commit to another lesson unless your child enjoys it. If your child wants to pursue a bigger project, you can buy the material at that time and I'll be happy to teach at the same rate. Spread the word and contact me if you are interested!

With the Knit A Square project, I try to make a different pattern for every square, in a bid to learn more techniques and patterns. I finally attempt to write one myself today. I started with making the coaster before writing it down. I used a lot of double crochet 2 together because I love that stitch : )

Enjoy the pattern for now!

Business on the Go! (Read till the end for a bonus!)

Wow! Look at that! Another 5 months have flown by and we totally skipped winter! One snow-day picture to prove we had snow at all.

We already had our first little bloom last weekend after the "overwintering" and definitely our first success at "gardening" without a garden.

For those who read my last blog and prayed for our Costa Rica trip, thank you thank you thank you! We were definitely more ministered to than we ministered to the Costa Ricans. 

What I really wanted to talk about today is taking your shop anywhere you want. Have you ever had customer who decided they cannot make the purchase because they do not have enough cash or their checks on them? How about answering "Yes I do" the next time they ask "Do you accept credit?"

I was intrigued by the idea of accepting credit cards on the go when I first saw the card readers being sold in the Apple store for $20. My husband had offered to get it but that was way more than what I would like to pay for something I may not use in a very long time (or at all) and still have to pay fees on.

All that changed when I chanced upon the idea of "Free app + Free card reader". I was adamant that there must be a catch somewhere, so I looked very closely and would like to share what I found here. I started my search on one of the Top Ten Reviews article reviewing "Mobile Credit Card Processing". So you can go there for the full suite of offerings, prices and features. I am just going to focus on Square and Intuit Gopayment and on features that matters to me as a sole proprietor of my little craft business that relies on face to face sale much more than online sale. For obvious reasons, I chose those two because there is no merchant account fee and gateway fee involved for pay-as-you-go options. Truth be told, the transaction fees are overall lower than Etsy and Paypal fees that you don't even think about anymore.

Let's talk about the similarities first. As I have mentioned, the apps and card readers are both free. Square is still limited to the the Apple mobile devices and Andriod while Gopayment claims to work on any phone with internet access. The card readers are sent to you once you sign up and request for the dongle and both companies work out fine for me. Both card readers fit into the audio jack and Gopayment suggest that volume be turned up for optimal performance but Square did not say that. In any case, I have tried swiping 5 different cards that I own and both are able to read all the cards well and quick. Square reader feels a little more fragile than Gopayment reader though, but I have read reviews where the Gopayment does not fit because of the phone case.

Now for the differences, it is a catch 22 situation. While both apps allow you to key in or take a picture of the item you are selling, Gopayment app allows you to set up your inventory in advance so that you can charge it right away. However, it does not allow cash as a payment option, thus losing its usability as an inventory tracking app. Square, on the other hand, allows cash payment but not inventory setup. Here's what I figured I would do: Use Quick Sale (not updated anymore) or Ring it up (just got it, not tried it yet) to track all inventory and all payment record and use the invoice number generated as the "Item description" when you charge the card using either of the credit card processing app. So you don't have set up inventory in one place and be frustrated about not being to keep track of the sale.

Another issue deals with security and privacy. Square requires your SS number and bank account information for fund transfers. So you need to use your official name associated with your SS number in order to set up successfully. I had some trouble but all I had to do was email Square and they deleted my account, so that I can set it up again. Gopayment do away with the need for bank information by issuing you with a debit card. Funds gets banked in on a separate account. I really do not mind either one as long as I receive the payment eventually. That I will have to wait till I try them out. 

I am unbiased with the user interface but I have seen reviews where people do not like to have to log in to Gopayment every single time the phone locks itself (even if it is running in the background). While it provides security, I am not sure how you would lose any money even if somebody picks up your device and manages to get into the app without logging in...

Now, how about a bonus for trying out Gopayment? This was the reason I signed up for it (after I got Square). Ebates.com offers $10 cash back for users who sign up with Gopayment! If you would allow me to refer you to Ebates, click HERE and both you and I will get $5 for the referral and you can go on to sign up for $10 cash back with Gopayment. Note that you will still get $5 for signing up without my referral. Just saying it will be very kind of you let me refer you. I have received checks from them, so I know it works : )

Hope you feel empowered by the knowledge that you can now choose to accept credit cards on the go! Till next time!

Our first Fund Raising

In our (Asian) culture, we were taught to be self-sufficient. Asking for money was not honorable. It is in fact, disgraceful. Well, here's the truth. We are not splitting hair over money and we are certainly not expecting to be paid for the ministry work that we do. No, that's the last thing on our mind. But having said that, ministry work cannot be done without costs involved. Travel expenses like transportation, accommodation and food are necessities and real cost and they can often work out to be a pretty decent amount. This is true for all those out there on the mission field, trusting God to provide these for them.

The question is then, do we set our money for daily expenses aside and spend it on one mission trip? Or, can we request for fellow believers to partner with us and contribute financially to the work we do, continue to survive and do many more trips that make a difference in the lives of others? An old chinese saying goes "有钱出钱，有力出力"，literally meaning "give financially OR physically as you are able". I guess it is true in many cases, especially in disaster relief, where most of us cannot be physically present but can most certainly help financially.

Those who know us personally, would know that we are thrifty with what we have, and we do not hesitate to work for a little more. That explains my little jewelry business, that has recently spun into bakery sale and soon to debut, needlecraft sale too. I consider all business sales as part of the financial blessings to us from God through each of my customers, whether they are believers in Christ or not.

Thus for our first mission trip to Costa Rica, we are raising funds for the first time. This trip is part of the travel class on the Book of Acts with Asbury Theological Seminary. The students will be imparting what they have learn in the class to the pastors there. Yes, you are right, I am not a student, but my husband is. Spouse are encouraged to participate as mission trips serves for spiritual growth for the couple too. We are also exploring our calling together, to serve in a different culture, and possibly providing multilingual ministry. Thus, we are glad for this opportunity.

Your prayers for us are greatly coveted. If God so impress upon your heart to give a free-will donation, it is most certainly welcomed. Gross earnings from my business till the end of this year will also contribute to this trip, so your patronage will be greatly appreciated too. Speaking of that, I made two sales yesterday right after we committed to putting the earnings to this trip. I have not had a sale since Independence Day craft fair, so I know this is God's go-ahead for our fund raiser.

Thank you for reading and keeping us in prayers. God bless you.

Feeling so bumped!

If you have read my post on Etsy or ArtFire?, I am back with the struggle a month later now. ArtFire has recently announced a change in suspending all Basic account and charge all sellers $9.95 a month. I have stopped using the word Pro seller, since you can only be a seller if you pay that fee. Not cool at all...

I have reopened my Etsy shop but since the listing expires once every four months, I am on the hunt for free sites to sell. Instead of trying to promote my Etsy store here, I am going to try to list some of these sites that I have found and hopefully explore them. If you have a site to recommend to those of us who cannot afford to run our own server, do leave a comment!

webs.com - Create your own free website and be able to sell up to 5 items at a time. This is what I use as my own website since the free URL is short enough and just right for the entourage of angels. No fees except Paypal and Google checkout fees as applicable. Good for the speciality of your shop that you would not want to incur listing fee with.

eCrater - Free to list and sell and you are only responsible for the fees to Paypal and/or Google checkout when you make a sale. Low traffic but I have managed to make a sale before. Low maintenance since the listing does not expire.

Handmade Craft Show - Pay to advertise for a minimum of $9 with 5 weeks exposure in the "aisle" with least traffic. It looks like you can use your Etsy mini in the craft show directly.

Zibbet - Free account with 50 items limit. Etsy and ArtFire importer included in the free account. I decided to set one up right away! The importers made migrating a breeze. It is awesome even just using it as an additional store. I will be able to use it to display items that I sold without worrying about the listing fees. Each listing is active for 180 days. Premium account ($9.95/mth or $69/yr) required to make coupons and use some other features. Very much like ArtFire Basic but I simply love the user interface.

madeitmyself - Feels like a pretty quiet market but it is free to list and sell. I don't like the idea of having to say how much it cost in retail and how much my listing cost though, because the item I made myself are not available in retail... Anyway, it cost $0.49 to feature the item, which I have not yet figure out what that means. My new listing was put on the front page and I was on the most active shop list. Anyway, you can definitely get away with selling without paying fees at all.

Three Sisters Marketplace - Free to list and free to sell, but you need to be juried and approved to sell. Sellers apparently have high quality items. Worth trying if you are confident of your products.

Storenvy - Compulsory use of Paypal for payment method, not a bad idea I guess. Much as we believe most people have Paypal account nowadays, we may potentially lose customers who don't. You are allowed to make coupon codes and each store comes with a Facebook app store. This is probably my favorite thing about the shop.

Silkfair - Different price tier to meet different selling needs. You can get the free account but there is still a transaction fee of 3% no matter which account you choose. Coupon function not available yet. I did not bother to set up an account.

ShopHandmade - You can choose to list for free with ad sponsorship or pay the 25 cents yourself. You can also choose how much commission to shophandmade.com. Therefore, you can totally get away with paying nothing to sell. I tried one product but I felt the user interface can be improved.

Concluding my online shop shopping experience, I liked Zibbet the best as it was totally painless to do migration, from both Etsy and ArtFire at that! You have the option to upgrade too, if 50 items limit or ability to create coupon is important to you. I would definitely take some time to set up my Three Sisters Marketplace as it seems to be a market of a different level. Storenvy might the only other shop I would maintain, based on its traffic and tools available. With all these options out there, I really do not think I would want to continue selling with ArtFire... If you have other great shop sites to recommend to those of us who are not able to run our own shopping sever, please throw your suggestions this way! 

Win a FREE Swarovski Crystal Angel!

Here's your chance to win a FREE Handmade Swarovski Crystal Angel, on any attachment of your choice!

I was wondering why my angels turn out quite different each time I design. So I took the opportunity to estimate the number of color combinations I can have, based on Wings, Hands, Heart and Crown COLOR, based on my inventory (I have currently removed the inventory of colors obviously). I am amazed and in shock.

Take a shot and guess the number by replying to the post on the FB page within the next 48 hrs. Up to 3 winners with the same closest answer will be picked randomly. Shipping charges applies as per normal and winners are more than welcomed to add on to their free package! 5% FB fan, 15% one-time discount for blog follower OR 10% VIP discount are applicable but are not to be used at the same time. Customer who leaves a review are entitled to additional 10% discount, on top of any other discounts.

The "correct answer" needs to be within 10% of the actual answer. Spread the word and have fun!

Etsy or ArtFire?

I had been struggling for a while with not putting items up on Etsy. Well, I cannot afford the time and money to keep re-listing my items since I only really get an order every once in a while. You may think that this is a chicken and egg problem, where it is necessary to spend on promoting before you will get traffic and sales. Honestly, who don't wish for more sales but realistically I may not be able to keep up with the cost. I have been on ArtFire, which is very much like Etsy, just without the fees, for a while (2 years) now. I have not yet paid a single cent to ArtFire but have used it successfully to display my inventory and made a little sales. Other tools I have used are website, Facebook page, eCrater and this blog of course. 

I did a little experiment last week by making a Treasury collection on Etsy and Curated collection on ArtFire using the same theme: Clowns that make you smile. Before I move on to the results of the experiment, I just wanted to thank the artists whom I have used in the collection. Clowns used to give me creeps but after I explored Grandma Phyllis' cupboard of clown collection, it opened up a whole new perspective for clowns for me. Their job is really to make their audience smile. They do it regardless of how they are really feeling. The professionalism of clowns are worth applauding and saluting, because they are artists in their own right. We have a musical clown, Happy, who sits on our TV and sings "It's a small world afterall" while rotating her head. She never fails to make me smile and I will always turn to her when I am feeling a little blue.

Back to the results of my little experiment, the collection was up on 1st June 2011. It has been 5 days and the number of views of the collection for Etsy and Artfire were 26 and 58 respectively. The number of comments I got were 2 and 7. Only 1 guest comment was recorded in the ArtFire collection. Apparently, I got a lot more traffic on ArtFire than on Etsy although most people swear by Etsy?! Maybe it is not a very popular theme but a direct comparison gave me the confidence that I can stick with ArtFire. Have you been struggling with the same issue as me? Share your experience with us!

While on the topic of being featured, I got curated again! : ) This is the second time Shower of Blessings got selected in a collection. Enjoy this Soft Summer's Day collection:

a soft summers day

  Curated By: starryhomecra...

ArtFire.com

Unique Gifts

Chocolate Cheescake - Pure Indulgence

Last week was a fruitful baking week. Tiring, but totally worth the effort when I hear the raving praise about the cakes I had made. There'll be no pictures for this post as there was simply no time to take one.

I mentioned in my last post about trying to bake a chocolate cheese cake. It was for the undergraduate's graduation party at Dr Perlin's place. I had baked my chocolate cheesecake based on a recipe from allrecipes.com. Opps, I just realized that there were 40 photos attached to the recipe to show what the cake would look like and mine was completely not like those because I refused to dump the chocolate chips on top of the cake. 

In an attempt to forge a perfect recipe, I ran through all the comments and tried to incorporate all that are suggested. Our love for nuts in baked goods also meant I had snuck walnuts and pecans into the crust. I had almost completely adulterated the recipe that the original chef who post the recipe may not want to claim this as hers. I would still gladly acknowledge Jessica as the originator of my recipe though. Everyone who dared to try it at the party did love it. If you do try this out, let me know what you think : )

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Ingredients:

1 cup ground vanilla wafer

1/2 cup walnut, grind

1/2 cup pecan, grind

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 8-oz cream cheese (leave at room temperature to soften)

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Tip: About shopping for ingredients, I again strongly advocate going for the best you can afford for the ingredients that really matters. For example, I used Philadelphia cream cheese, Ghirardelli chocolate chips and Hershey's special dark cocoa powder while all the other ingredients were house-brand goods. (I have a special Mexican vanilla extract though)

Directions:

1. Melt the chocolate chips completely and leave to cool.

Tip: I used a 16-oz glass measuring cup and place it in a medium saucepan, with the handle outside the pan. This allowed me to measure the chocolate chips into the cup, double boil in the saucepan to melt, with complete control over stirring and be able to remove the cup easily when it is done.

2. Preheat the oven to 300°F.

3. Mix well with hand, crushed vanilla wafer, walnut, pecan, sugar, butter and cocoa powder, until you obtain an evenly mixed "playdoh-like" dough.

4. Press thinly and firmly onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in springform pan. Set crust aside.

Tip: I had just found out that springform pans are leaky. Therefore the firm crust serves to keep the batter in the pan.


5. Beat cream cheese until smooth.

6. Gradually add condensed milk.

7. Add vanilla extract, eggs and sour cream, and beat until smooth.

8. Add cooled melted chocolate (lukewarm is fine) and mix until smooth.

9. Pour batter over crust.

10. Place a roasting pan filled with water on the lower rack of the oven and bake 1 hour.

11. Turn off the oven and leave the door shut for another 1 hour.

Tip: Step 10 and 11 are meant to prevent cracks. I managed to resist the temptation to open the door although the smell was overwhelming in the house. I still had small cracks along the edges but the center was beautiful.


12. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Tip: Placing the pan on a wire rack helps with the cooling.


13. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight before enjoying it.
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I baked a second chocolate cheesecake on Sunday since I had other friends I had intended to share the cheesecake with. I also baked a chocolate oatmeal cake for Jinny's birthday. My criteria was that the cake must be able to be enjoyed as it is. It wasn't easy to find one that had unanimous good comments about it. The only thing I changed was to add an additional teaspoon of cocoa powder, as suggested by another user. This turned out to be a hit too.

If you enjoy whipping something together once in a while, do share it with the rest of us.

Seemingly disconnected but yet....

Angel Hope was featured in this week's ArtFire Member Curated Collection: Touched by an Angel. It is a beautiful collection and I have to say I had come across a few of them before when I was testing the search engine for pulling out my items. : ) I would like to thank the curator, Risen Phoenix Design for including Angel Hope in the collection.

Touched by an Angel

  Curated By: RisenPhoenixD...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

God always knows when to send an encouragement yeah? Of course He knows! : ) This Mother's Day week marks the 2nd anniversary of My Angel Now! I am constantly reminded of the fact that my mum is still in Singapore and I have not seen her for almost 2 years now. It may be another year before I get to say Happy Mother's Day to her in person. So, I honor her again on this occasion, since she was the first recipient of my handmade Swarovski Crystal Angel and that was essentially how the whole business started. If you following the clues, you would realize that there are three disconnected events and they are 2nd anniversary of My Angel Now!, Mother's Day and being featured this week. To me, they are most definitely closely linked.

Don't forget to give your mum a big bear hug and and wish her "Happy Mother's Day". They are the angels of our lives!

Early Spring - Swarovski Crystal Earring Tutorial

Another 3 months have flown by. It must have been the most unproductive 3 months I've ever had with my hobbies, just because graduate workload has taken precedence and priority and all the time I had. I finally picked up my knitting again last weekend and am going to experiment making chocolate cheese cake this weekend. Thank you everybody who has stuck out with me and still supports me. I hope you will find today's blog worth the read.

I have thought to myself many times, why do I put so much thought and time towards designing each piece of jewelry but not want to make a few pieces of the "perfect design"? That way, I can probably sell more and think less. My motivation was to keep myself from the temptation of falling on typical designs and make for profit only. I wanted each piece of jewelry to "experience" an equal amount of effort and attention from me, as if they would be jealous of each other. I think I found another motivation recently.

Early Spring was one of my simplest and favorite design. When I first made it and placed it on sale at The Front Room, it was gone the very next time I went back to the shop to add other items to the shelf.  Last week, when I showed a fellow graduate student, Janhavi, my Artfire Studio, Early Spring caught her eyes immediately. She requested for a remake of the pair and specify for me to make it in time for her trip back to India at the end of this week. Gosh, I was proud and filled with joy! That's what makes the difference: when someone request for a remake, it is an encouragement and compliment that shouts, "The design is so awesome and I like it so much that I don't mind the fact that there is one other person who has it already!"

The teacher in me is creeping in again. So I would like to make use of this opportunity of remaking Early Spring, to write a simple tutorial for those who are interested in making your own jewelry. It is not hard to start at all, but you may find it difficult to stop : ) The tutorial is specific to this design but you can throw in any focal or accent findings you like for your very own design.

Being a scientist made me look at everything as an experiment. Be it cooking, knitting, crocheting or jewelry making, I will always have the "Materials Required", "Equipment/Tools Required", "Procedure" and a bunch of "Notes" in my mind. By putting these down in writing today, I hope you will find it useful as a quick project. Here we go:

Design Inspiration:


It was Spring 2010 and flowers were blooming everywhere. Butterflies are just one of the many insect pollinators but they are depicted to be beautiful and elegant. I'd like to put that picture on a pair of earring. Specific technical goal of this pair of earring was that it must be simple and not use any jump ring at all.

I looked through my photo album today and look what I found:

This picture was taken in "Jardin Botanique" in Montreal, Canada on the 3rd July 2010. Early Spring was designed before this picture was taken.

Materials Required

A pair of 16mm Rhodium French earring hook
2 x 4mm Fuchsia bicone (Article no. 5301, or upgraded 5308) Swarovski Crystal
2 x 10mm S-shaped linker
2 x 9mm by 11mm Butterfly charm
2 x 30mm (minimum length) metal tone eyepin

Note:

1. When selecting material, go for the best ones you can afford. Pure Rhodium earring hooks are not as well-known as 925 sterling silver, but they are comparable in price, hypoallergenic and tarnish-free. It is my hook of choice. Unfortunately, it is metal-tone in color, which you may want to reconsider if you are using sterling silver findings (bright white in color).
2. Buy Swarovski crystals in bulk from online suppliers, or else you may be paying 3-4 times the price in the shops. In my opinion, bicones are the most flexible for designing.
3. Not all Swarovski colors can stand on their own. Go to a shop to learn the colors you like before you purchase in bulk.
4. Size plays a big part in design, too. Very often, you need to put your focal items and accent items side by side to make sure they are balanced.
5. I am not associated to Swarovski in any way, but I have to mention that you do not want to settle for anything less. The difference is noticeable.

Tools Required:

Chain nose plier (Non-serrated preferred but serrated is ok for non-delicate metal)
Round nose plier (A full size pair is easier to work with)
Side wire cutter (Normal wire side cutter will do just fine)

As with material, go for the best you can afford but accumulate slowly. Getting the right tools for the job is important but these three basic tools are good for a start.

Procedure:

Before you begin, find a conducive workspace where you can have white light over your work, a comfortable seating position and a surface lined with felt or velvet type material to keep your beads from rolling off the table. A beading tray is ideal but not absolutely necessary. Lay out all the materials you need.


1. Take one 30mm eyepin and insert the 4mm bicone bead.

2. Make a 90° bend against the bead using the chain nose plier. 

Note the direction of bend.

3. Leaving about a quarter to a third of an inch from the right angle bend, cut the wire with the side cutter. The length of the "wire tail" determines how big your loop is going to be.

I like to use my index figure as the gauge for length because feeling it is more consistent than looking at it for me. That's provided you have a fleshy finger like mine : )

4. Repeat Step 1 to 3 on the other eyepin to ensure you have a consistent length of "wire tail" for making the loop. 


5. Hold the round nose plier with turned-out wrist and grab the end of the "wire tail".

This is the most difficult step for ALL beginners because you need to gauge the size of the loop by the position of the round nose plier you use. The nearer to the tip you are, the smaller the loop you will get. Insert the plier into the loop that is already made on the eyepin to have an idea of which part of the round nose to use. 


5. Roll the "wire tail" towards yourself, applying pressure on your supporting index figure and righting your wrist at the same time. 

You can break the motion down by going back to the turnout wrist position, or make smaller turns from a less turn-out position. You may be able to achieve a nicer loop that way. All you need is practice, so don't give up just yet.

6. Adjust the loop with the chain nose and round nose plier so that it sits directly above your crystal (makes a perfect 8 around the crystal) and are in the same plane of angle.

There are few ways to check the loop. Insert either loop into your round nose plier and let it hang to check for balance. Visually the end of the loop should be centered and makes a perfect circle. The loop reveals the skills of the artist. I take this step very seriously. If you are unhappy with it, it is better to start over than to live with it.

7. You are now ready to assemble. Push the loop on the earring hook open by pushing one half of the loop away or toward you.

Do not open the loop like you are opening a coconut. You will spoil the wire.

8. Insert the S-shape linker and close the loop on the earring hook.

9. Open one loop on the eyepin with crystal in the same way and insert the other end of the S-linker.

10. Open the other end of the loop and insert the butterfly charm.

11. Do the same with the other side and there you have a pair of beautiful casual earring ready for Spring!

Enjoy the earrings! Yes, the organza bag comes with every purchase.

Disclaimer: I did not paint my nails for the purpose of the tutorial photos. It was purely coincidental that I had my nails painted.

Catching up with the new year

Where did all the time go? 

I finished exams and classes and had a really nice long break with my hubby. With the inspiration to teach one of my labmate, Jinny, to crochet, I got hooked on needlework all over again. From then till now, I have finished a knitted scarf for my hubby, a crochet baby blanket for Missy's baby (born yesterday!), a bunch of crochet Christmas ornaments, doilies & coasters, a crochet baby bib for another baby shower, a knitted beret for whom I have found a deserving recipient after realizing my head is too big for it and a knitted pig in need of stuffing. I have also taught Janhavi how to knit. I have to say it has been a fruitful 3 months.

Anyway, I actually forgot all about repairing Richa's necklace?! So here I am, unpacking all my barang-barang (stuff) again. Here's a quick blog for the repair that I did. The sterling silver necklace had a soldered jump ring and for whatever reason, it has disappeared. So, I added a 2mm crimp bead to the free end of the necklace using the standard crimper tool to create an artificial protrusion. Next, I used a side open crimp (like Charlotte but opens on the side) to cover it. Before closing it, I added enough hypocement to cover the excess volume. Finally, I added a jump ring and the necklace should be good to be worn again. Here the final product.

Since I have unpacked my stuff, I wanted to make something for Valentine's. Not much inspiration running through unfortunately. I came upon my beautiful 3mm Swarovski Light Siam bicone and decided to make a puffy heart. Well, as all wise crafter would do, google "puffy heart beading instruction". I came upon forum after forum, mainly promoting their own pattern for sale or a bunch of dead links. May I point you to this instructional video, which I could basically follow through alongside and made a puffy heart I am proud of. I used Japanese 15/0 white seed beads for the bail instead. I have not decided what to do with yet though : )

Thanks for reading and I hope you have had a good start to the year too!

Following up on my silliness

Finally, the crazy exams are over. 3 weeks before I dive into trying to do 4 exams in 2 weeks. Pray for me please! I spent 6 hours catching on orders last night and I shall continue tonight. I am really enjoying this short break and look forward to the end of the semester!

Well, I tried to remedy my rough treatment to the bracelet the past two days. I believe this is working. However, I would like a baby tester to test it out. So, I will be putting together a giveaway for this bracelet, to find out how durable it really is. Keep a lookout for it if you are interested.

Back to how to make the memory wire end beads do its job work: Before putting in the hypocement, roughen about 2mm of the end of the memory wire by marring with the cutter or serrated plier. This gives surface for the hypocement to hold on to. I tried the same method with E6000 and it did not work. So I am sticking with G-S hypocement as my most excellent adhesive and reinforcement glue. The rest of the method is the same as previously described. Give it a try : )

I also want to give thanks for 3 pairs of earrings sold in The Front Room last week during their anniversary sale. Congratulations to The Front Room for their 3rd anniversary and thank you Linda for making sales a breeze for me. The ArtFire studio is not updated with which are the sold pairs though, since I have not have time to visit The Front Room for a while now. So do make an enquiry before making a purchase to avoid having to do refund. I do not remake any pieces of jewelry unless specifically request by customers. Thank you everybody for your support!!! 

Alright, getting back to work!

New Website Launched!

Yeah! It's finally ready! My new website has been revamped and launched!

Why did I choose to move to webs.com? Let me tell you why and see if you are tempted too.

1. Free and short URL and free webhosting. I am not making huge sales here, so not having to pay for website is great!

2. Easy to use site builder with exactly the function I need. Eg. Navigate to another site directly, and posting of links to other webstore

3. Built-in shopping cart and easy to manage items. Only disadvantage is that free members get to post only one picture.

4. Beautiful and simple template

Hmm... these were reasons enough for me to move out of google sites. Now I have to crawl the website and make sure I change my URL. 

Tell me what you think!

Silly me...

Now, this is what it looks like after chewing away the crimp bead. I love it!

Well, this was the final bracelet... Unfortunately... I wanted to make sure the bracelet could withstand the rough handling if a child were to wear it, so I pulled at the end bead real hard.

Hehe... Of course it came out! Silly me.... Trying the process again and will look into whether hypo-cement is sufficient for the connection. May need two part epoxy instead.... Need some advice on this...

Tips on using Memory Wire End Beads

Have you ever had the experience of buying a product because the description makes it sound like it will make life easier for you? After getting it though, you feel stupid for not knowing how exactly to use it to your advantage?

That was me tonight... I bought some memory wire end beads a while ago but had not had the time to try it. Or rather, I kinda forgot I had them while I was putting together a pearl bracelet, suitable for babies or toddler as baptism gift. I had made loops to hide the ends of the wire from the wearer before I remembered about my packet of end beads. These end beads have half drilled holes, so can act as a end stopper. This was what I had before using the end beads.

For those who are lost already, memory wire is a very hard coil of metal wire on which you can string pretty stuff on. They have standard size for necklaces, bracelets and rings. It is the kind of jewelry that goes round and round and doesn't need a clasp to put on because you can just uncoil it and it will coil back like a spring. They are called memory wire because they retain their original shape so well. They are so hard a need a pair of specialized memory wire shears.

Here comes the problem. I had put on one end of the end bead and allowed the hypo-cement to cure overnight, and I tested to make sure it was secured enough to string on now. At the end of the stringing though, I thought long and hard about how to put on the other end of the cap. Well, the glue will be too wet to let the rest of the beads go back on the wire. It will definitely be pushed out. I could hold the pearls further down with pliers when applying the cap, but does that mean I have to hold on to it the whole night?!

Haha! I think I can share this tip with fellow crafters out there feeling frustrated with this little thingy. What I did was to put on a 3mm crimp bead as far down as possible to hold the string back! Note that I can comfortably push the rest of the pearls back because the other end was allowed to cure overnight. So no shortcuts!

Now you can apply the end cap and sit back, relax and allow the hypo-cement to do its job. Once it is secured, the crimp bead can be easily chewed off! 

And tada! The bracelet is now securely sealed on both end with no sharp wire poking out! (I will add the picture tomorrow after I remove the crimp bead) No marks, no trace that a crimp bead was ever there.

Enjoy the new technique!

I am being featured again!

What can be happier than being greeted by a "Your product is featured on...." email? Oh my gosh! That's two in less than a month. I am so grateful. I am also grateful for my very first follower, DeeCee, my all time best customer, Yeing Yeing and other new followers, Ellie, Runwaycrochet and Sunflower Rosie and all the 213 fans at Facebook now. Thanks for being here! I am in the process of revamping the website. Please be patient while I deal with 3 exams this month at the same time. If you have any questions, just drop by here or facebook anytime!

Since "Japanese Beauty" is being featured today, let's talk about Tensha beads : ) The first time I saw Tensha Beads was precisely from today's curator, mybeadpoint. I bought the 12mm round milk flower design. My first impression was that it feels like an acrylic bead but looks like a beautiful porcelain bead. I have since been "stuck" with 12mm round Tensha. There are times I did not like it too.

From the look of the bead, it looks like printed transfer onto a plain bead. The print, although pretty with flower, may sometimes look pixelated. The acrylic seal, if not done well, may also cause the print to peel. Therefore it is important for the artist to choose the design carefully. Therefore, I cannot agree that every design is pretty. I am happy to report that the earrings that I had made with Tensha beads usually flies off the shelf.

Now, be sure to look into beautiful Tensha beads collection. Have a wonderful week ahead!

The Beauty of Ten...

  Curated By: mybeadpoint

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