Blessed Christmas

Here's wishing anyone and everyone who drops by here a Very Blessed Christmas and a wonderful year ahead!

P/s: For those who are interested in history, myths and legends, I will be blogging about these too in the near future in addition to my crafting and occasional financial planning insights :)

Quirky

I've been tagged

I had to search online for the meaning of the word, meme. Eventhough I read the definition on A Keeper's Jackpot's blog (she's the one who tagged me.. :P ), I was still a bit unclear and looked up the meaning in dictionary.com.

meme (mēm) Pronunciation Key
n. A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.

[Shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme, from Greek mimēma, something imitated, from mimeisthai, to imitate; see mimesis.]

Erm, I hope I did understand the meaning and learnt a new word *grins*

So, I'm supposed to share 7 random and/or weird things about myself :) Here goes...

1. I am addicted love coffee and can't function properly unless I have my cup of joe first thing in the morning.
2. I am rather uptight about cleanliness/neatness. My old friend from primary school calls me a neat freak tidy person :P
3. I am in love with chocolate (who doesn’t? Hehe).
4. I just love being online. Blogging, reading blogs, checking on Etsy. I’m addicted to the World Wide Web.. (aiks!)
5. French fries bought at a drive-thru can’t survive the trip home. I start munching while driving home..hehe
6. Eh-hmm, I sing-along with the radio in the car when I drive..alone.
7. I’m quite a loner. I love doing things alone. But I get energised in people’s presence too. I contradict *yeah*

That’s my 7 random things. And now I tag Moonfish, Su Chee, Wall Candy, Monaco, Titled Unnecessarily, Subu and Poco Mutts.

Here are the rules:

-Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

- Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.

- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

- Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Quirky

This week's feature - Uniccarirus

My feature artist of the week is Uniccarrius from Etsy :) My favourite place. You can find so many talented artist of different kinds there and all things are handmade, meaning it's one of a kind and of better quality! hehe..

Let's see what our feature artist has to say and dig in the pictures. She's got an excellent eclectic collection of copper jewelry :)

1. Can you tell me a bit about yourself/family and where you're from?

Well lets see, I'm 26 years old. I've been married to my husband Charles for nearly 7
years, we have one son Westley Russel, who will be 2 in feb.
Born and raised in the Central Valley of CA.

2. How & when did you started falling in love with copper and jewelry making?

I first fell in love with making jewelry about 4-5 years ago. My husband knew I loved hand made things, so he got me a Fire Mountain Gems catalog. I went crazy!! I didn't have the money to buy anything from them so I went to Michaels. I knew from that day forward that I was going to make jewelry.
My love for Copper came about quite suddenly, I had always liked wire wrapping stones. So once again my husband being so thoughtful tells me "Babe if you want some copper wire there is a whole spool outside from the old well" I almost cried when I saw how much there was. Over 100' of 3 strand copper wire!! So I started making rings, & pendants.

3. How would you define your style? What/who are your inspirations?

I would say my work is Eclectic, some might say Strange, and that is also somewhat correct. I like different, unusual, out of the ordinary!
I get my inspirations from nature, I see all the beauty around the world and try to make it fit into my jewelry.

4. Do you have any other shops besides Etsy?

I have sold on Ebay for over a year off and on (fees are too much now), I sell out of my house from time to time depending on the season.

5. How did you first discover Etsy?

Once again it was my Husband! He was looking for electronics when he came across a place to sell hand made items, and signed me up.
I would say that without him I'd be in some miserable profession!

Wow..you have read what Uniccarrius has to say about how she began her journey in jewelry making and insights to her life.

You've even seen some of the arts she's created, so go visit her shop and see what else you can find there. It's always a suprise!

:)

Quirky

B&R..what's that?

B&R or BNR is a relatively new term I learnt from Etsy :) It stands for Buy & Replace.

Here's how it works...

The post-master lists the first (original, main) list of sellers in a forum (this one, for example). Other sellers/buyers can buy from this original list of sellers, anyone of them and list their transaction link (e.g receipt link) on the forum as proof of purchase.

The shop that has been bought will be knocked off and the buyer's shop will be listed on the main list. Anyone can purchase from the list and get their shop listed up on the list. Anyone who's been bought off can buy their way back in too.. as many times as you like.

It works as a symbiosis process .. Win-win situation.

I've been bought off... time to craft more, and lurk to buy my way back in on the list :D


Quirky

Where does my future lie?

Have I actually left the crossroads I was in a year and a half ago? Or am I still stuck there... never having actually left, but I thought I did? Physically having moved on, but mentally still rooted in that place, having not chosen a path to trod on?

It has been a year and an half since I left my first job, my first industry. Since then, I've dabbled in a few (well, maybe just 2 other) industries but am feeling like I've not found my footing. Do I prefer the latter? Do I want to climb up the corporate ladder? Is money more important than status?

Questions, a sea of questions in my mind. Answers, I need answers. On top of it all, I need directions. Where does my future lie? In the corporate world? In the numbers game? In a field of daisies...?

Where, oh where does my future lie? What does it hold in secret for me? How am I to unravel the path to it? I need answers to my questions, directions for my feet... I need you, Lord but I feel so far from you.
Quirky

An Interview with Abyssal Gems

Who is this Abyssalgems? :) She's a friend I found on E-force, Etsy!

Here's a piece I love from her shop. A victorian beaded chain necklace.

I had the opportunity to interview her and this is what she says :)

1) How did you get started in making jewelry & stuffs?

I originally made jewelry for my own self and then decided I wanted to make money too along the way. Doing what I love to do and what makes others happy as long as they enjoyed showing off my pieces to their friends and family.

2) Who are your inspirations?

My inspirations has to be my grandmother, my family and my boyfriend. My grandmother used to have a dress shop, where she catered to women and she also sold jewelry that she would buy from the garment district in downtown LA. My family and boyfriend are also a source of inspiration to me. They encourage me to keep trying and to not give up on what I love doing. Creating jewelry serves as a great stress reliever for me and allows my creativity to flow.

3) Do you make custom designs and how do you ship them?

I do and have done custom pieces for people, which i really love doing. It's a wonderful challenge for me and I learn new techniques as well.

As for how I ship my items, they are shipped in plastic gift bags along with my business cards and stickers and they're placed in bubble wrap mailers. I also have my packages insured, like everyone else.

4) What kind of materials do you particularly love?

Hmmm, its really hard to narrow down which material I particularly love. I love working with any material, be it swarovski crystal, gemstones, acculon, etc. I suppose if I really have to narrow it down, I'd say it would have to be swarovski crystal, its just most flashy and tends to catch the buyers eye more and intices them to want to shop more.

5) How did you first discover Etsy?

I discovered Etsy from a girl I talked to at at bead shop in Arcadia, California. I had told her I wanted a way to get more publicity and more people to notice what I do, in hopes of gaining more customers and I've been here since Jjune of this year and I love it. I love the people, the administration team.. everyone here is so very helpful and very nice.

My jewelry can also be seen on myspace at: myspace.com/abyssalgems. Not only do I sell there on myspace and here on etsy, I also sell at various events and clubs.

Everyone come check me out :-)

Abyssal Gems

Come See What's in THEE Abyss

Here's another piece I love :)

Thank you very much to Abyssalgems for the interview and thank you for reading!

Quirky

Treasure Trove :)

A Holiday Shopping List!

Check it out! I'm on it!! :D

*skippity-skippity hops*


Do click on the image above to enlarge it for better viewing :) My item is the handpainted photo frame on the bottom right.




Quirky

The one with the Yellow Boots

Do you know who this guy in yellow boots is?



Yes? No? Ahhhh..who?

He is Phua Chu Kang. Best is Singapore, JB and some say Batam.

Still don't know who he is? haha.. Well, he is a contractor. One of the best :P

Well, not exactly. I'm kidding. But he is a great entertainer and he makes one laugh with ease.

Phua Chu Kang is a fictional (I hope) contractor from a sitcom in Singapore. Speaks broken English (proudly known as Sing-lish) and wears his famous yellow boots:) Loves to dig his gold mine (a.k.a nose) with his long pinky fingernail. Bosses his employees around. Irritates Margret, his sister-in-law and pays for his wife, Rosie's, constant mahjong & slim wrap sessions.

The inspiration to write this? I am dreaming of yellow boots, not! And nope, I'm not Singaporean. I'm Malaysian. And proud of it. sometimes :)


Quirky

More nightly news

Haven't been bloggin for a while. Too many things on my plate. I sometimes think I tend to bite off more than I can actually chew. Not a good idea, kids. Bad for digestion. Bad to waste food too.

I'm juggling between a few things other than my day job :) Well, I love handcrafting. I love Etsy. I'm addicted to it. What can I say? LOL

Well, what I can say is that I will be featuring some Etsyians and their shop in my blog. Very soon. Look out for it. Don't be left behind.

Catch you folks soon :D


Quirky