I'm still making!!

[let's make this a more laid back post and as non-technical post as can be :)]

And so I haven't blog in a while already. It's kinda difficult actually to be juggling so many stuffs at the same time. I've got the kids at the kindy to attend to in the morning and tuition classes to teach in the afternoon. By the time I get back home, it's almost night already and all I wanted to do is only to kick back and relax.

But when I've got a blog and a blogshop to also take care of.....susah sikit la.

But what to do? Jewellery making is what makes me feel most alive and teaching is well,..... because I HAVE to.

My life will just not be the same anymore if I don't make jewellery. If you knew the story behind it, you will understand why it means so much to me. Maybe I'll tell the story one day but not today because it's going to be a very emo post and today's just not the day to be emo la. :P

Therefore, susah susah also, nak buat jugak i.e. as difficult as it is going to be, I still am going to do it. Why?

It's my life.....it's now or never. I ain't gonna live forever...... I just want to live when I'm alive....

LOL!! Yes, it's Bon Jovi. Not that I'm a big fan but I just like these few phrases. They couldn't be more true.

So, what have I been up to?

Well, for one. Making jewelleries. Ideas keep flashing by but I haven't got all the time I need to actually make them. By the time I do, I forgotten what it was. That's why it's good to have a notebook handy for you to jot the ideas down so that you don't forget.

The thing with me however, is, I've got too many things going on in my mind everyday due to the 101 thing that some, I have to do and some, I want to do that ideas and whatever not is more often than not in a clutter mess.

Nevertheless, I am still making jewellery and working on a couple of pieces. Some are already done but I need to photographed them. Wanted to do it today but it was raining the whole day today, so frustrating la. Yeah, I'm one of those un-savvy photographers who rely heavily on natural lighting. I know you can adjust the exposure value of the camera but still, natural lighting is nicer. Or maybe you've got tips and tricks that you'll like to share with me? *grins*

I've read about those DIY lightbox. It's relatively simple and feasible to do but the lighting cost sorta put me off a bit. It doesn't cost a lot and making the box itself is not difficult but you do need a lot of lighting from the top, left and right to eliminate the shadow and come up with a great picture, no? But that doesn't mean I'm giving up on the lightbox. Just not now. Maybe, later?

So, that's one.

I'm also working on revamping the Atelier. Kinda bored with the current layout and I'm thinking of integrating some cool css navigation menu. I think it's also a bit cluttered at the top. No wonder my mind is also so cluttered.

Also, ever since I started this blogshop thingy, it has even got me interested in some basic web designing and also graphic making with photoshop and even digital art!! You see, I can get hooked on anything as long as it involves creativity and designing capacity.

Well, that's me. JackJane of all trades but master of none. I'll tell you why I don't foresee myself to be a master of anything. I get bored quite easily. It's the same thing with jewellery making. When I've been using too much of crystal beads, I feel the need to switch to using pearls. When I feel I'm bored with pearls, I need to look for glass. The same goes for the method. When wirework bores me, I feel the need to switch to beadstitching and when that bores me, I feel like I need to change other medium like tigertail, memory wire or whatever that I have with me. Or worse, if the urge to use some different medium is so strong, I ended up buying new findings. Burns a hole in my pocket and adding to the storage for the satiety of my whims. The eccentric artist in me...... If I really do have to be a master of something, I'ld rather be the master of variety and versatility! LOL!

That's how I ended up with the storage of beads and findings I have with me and yet I still feel they are lacking. Oh well, enough is never enough I guess.

So, if you read my previous post, you should know about findingbeads4u.com stock liquidation sale.

Unsurprisingly, I get my some stuffs. These are what I got from them.


nylon jawed pliers, 4mm bronze jump rings, tan thonging cord and silver plated spring cord end. And I almost forgot! A pack of silver tone nickel free chains. :)

And this is how much I had to pay for it.



I'm very disappointed with the nylon jawed pliers actually. Cost me around AUD$4 and that is even after discount! Why? Because the pliers is so huge and gigantic that it looks more for use for anything BUT jewellery making. And the nylon doesn't even feel like nylon at all!! It felt plasticky. Waste of my money!

The reason why I wanted to get nylon jawed pliers is because I'm very prone to mar my wires when I'm doing wirework. Somehow, I'm always very kan cheong that they might slip that I ended up gripping them so hard that it mars the wire. I've yet to master the application of the right amount of tension.

Well, I didn't just bought once from them during their stock liquidation sale. I got something else the second time around.


6 of the bead storage boxes on the left, 6 of the bead storage boxes on the right and 2 packs of 60 coils brown adult 5.5cm memory wire.

The storage box on the left and right are different. Even though both comes in 6 compartments, the ones on the left has a single lid but the ones on the right with 6 individual lids. They're kinda like those storage boxes for pills. I like the storage box on the right a lot. Small enough for me to store my Swarovski crystal beads.

I actually intend to give 6 of the storage box; 3 of each kind and a pack of the memory wire to my Aunt LB in UK when a cousin sis of mine is going over next month because she has been so supportive of me in jewellery making. But I ended up using 4 of the boxes on the left and all 6 on the right that I now ended up giving her only 2. Err....heheh, I've got more beads and findings than she does, so she probably wouldn't need that much boxes. :P

More importantly, how much did I pay for them?



Well, I didn't actually buy them. It's free. They were giving it away for free. All you need to pay is only the shipping cost and you can have as many as you like. I like the storage boxes so much that I actually thought of getting some more but they were only left with the other types and no more of the ones that I like a lot.

Bear in mind that the shipping charges will inevitably commensurate with the weight. There were like thousands and thousands of storage boxes waiting to be given away. Which means, some traders can even get some and then sell them off to make a profit right?

I've never come across something like this before. I wonder what prompted them to do so?