Handmade lovelies

I've been buying on Etsy more than I've been selling lately, and that's due to my AS finals which are looming nearer and nearer. 

So here's a post about my favorite purchases. As a handmade artist, I feel it my duty and pleasure to increase awareness and support for handmade artists everywhere, and these sellers really have amazing handiwork!

I bought this bracelet and another pair of earrings from naturaler. Beautifully handcrafted flowers and great prices too! Well, for those of you who deal in USD, she offers the cheapest bargains on Etsy, including shipping. If you're converting to Malaysian Ringgit (like I am), it can get a little pricier, but it's well worth it nonetheless!

These elegant violin earrings are from The Queen's Dowry whose prices are on the high side =( but these violins were classic! I really wanted something to represent my love of music : singing, piano and the violin. One down, 2 more to go! I was a little disappointed that they weren't exactly as 3D as I imagined them to be though, but the intricate detail really made up for it : check out the shoulder rest!

This is a non-Etsy seller, Chatterbeads, and the owner actually attends a church not too far from mine. These birdy earrings are now one of my personal favorites and I wear them every few days. The jewelry she makes all show good taste and elegant design, reflected quite accurately in the price. 

Long live handmade! =)

Busy as a bee

Sorry for the lack of updates guys, trials are coming up and my to-do list is piling up like presents on Christmas day. Just not as pleasant.

I've been busy with the bulk order of 10 Love Spiral Pop Up Cards, and I'm thinking I bit off a little more than I can chew - it'll definitely be done on time, but oh, how tired I am of the colour red.

Never mind. It will all be worth it when I see a stack of 10 beautiful cards on my craft desk =)

Pop Up Red Flower Card

Lately college has been keeping me very busy, so I haven't had the time to try out new designs (and trust me, I've got lots and lots of ideas I'm dying to try out!). Still, I've been doing simple designs or remaking previous ones.

Here's a pop up flower that I made with Sabuda's template :

when the card is closed.

the outside is very very simple, just a little punched flower in the corner.

I have 10 cards to make in the next week *gulp*. It's a bulk order of the Love Spiral Pop Up Card that all of you seem to like very much =) Wish me luck!

Quilled Valentine's Day bookmarks

I made a couple of bookmarks for a friend and another friend's mother for Valentine's Day and forgot to share : here they are!
I don't know why but the colours are a little washed out. They looked beautiful on my craft desk, but the photos don't do them justice =(

I adore this little guy.

This was my first ever attempt at the technique of alternate side looping.

Kinda sad to give her away (yes, the butterfly's a her, though I didn't give her a name) but I'm sure she made that special person happy so that's all good.

Have a lovely weekend everyone =)

Quilled Flowers and Pop Up Card

I think this is the most elaborate quilling project I have made so far. The whole card took me all of 11 hours to finish, and I still hadn't done my college homework. Slept at 4 a.m. that night, but it was worth it! 

My little fringed pretty =) she reminds me of the pom poms I used to wave around when I was involved in high school Sports Day cheerleading.

Techniques used were : Basic quilling, fringing, double fringing and alternate side looping. Oh, and punching, if that counts. I punched out little pink butterflies to flutter around the sides =)

The inside of the card is my Love Spiral Pop Up Card - with a twist.

Instead of L-O-V-E, my customer/friend requested for the recipient's name to be the pop up. The spiral heart would take the place of an "A".

oh it's so pretty, my heart just broke to part with it. I do hope the person likes it! =D

p.s. I did this with inspiration from Inna, once again!

Winner of Giveaway

Hello! =) As promised, here are the results of the giveaway I had for the Life is Sweet blog hop. I still haven't figured out how to post an image of the Random.org results here yet, so it will just be typed out for now.

And the winner is.... *drum roll*

No 25. Yen Yen/Jolene!

I've never met Jolene in person, but whenever we talk, she fills the air with her cheerfulness =) Someone who really appreciates paper crafting, and is a published writer as well! *cue applause*

Congratulations Jolene! =)

I'd also like to say a big, BIG THANK YOU to everyone who participated and joined in the fun! We all enjoyed the blog hop. Thank you so much for your kind comments and sweet words about my work everybody =) you really made my day!

Quilled Totoro and Sun with Singing Cow

 

This was a really really tricky card to do. My friend asked for a Totoro and a cow singing "happy birthday" inside. 

When I first heard I was like, "oh no! no grey quilling strips! AND I've never watched totoro." 

Google to the rescue!

and here's the little tyke. I'm having so much fun adding googly eyes to everything! First the boxing gloves and now Totoro =)

Ironically, I never used any of the pictures I got from Google Image Search. I modelled my little darling on a Totoro plushie that belongs to my cousin sister. 

"MOOOO..."

p.s. if you look really carefully, that's not exactly grey paper I used. *guilty grin* It's silver paper! 

So the edges actually gleam in the light, though it just looks grey when it's quilled on edge. I used the same trick (substituting silver paper for grey) on this card.