Charm Swaps

I was browsing through my favourite shops on Etsy, and I came across the blog of one of the sellers. Noticed on the side navigation that she joined Just Simply Charming. I clicked on the link and was immediately stunned.....

The awesomeness!!!!!

How this GORGEOUS bracelet came about? The hostess, Ruth Rae, organised a charm swap sometime late of 2006. There were 24 artists and crafters altogether in this project. Each one of them made 24 identical charms, according to their liking and preference. They then send them all to Ruth, who compiled each of the 24 different charms into a bracelet. There were 20 or so identical bracelets, which Ruth sent out to each of the contributors.

I so want this bracelet! The blog dedicated to this project, Just Simply Charming, was written by Ruth, and there are amazing tutorials on how to make each of the charms, contributed by the artists. There are progress reports too. :) Neat eh?

Besides this project, Ruth organised an earlier Fabric Charm Swap, also with the same concept. Check out each individual charm on her Flickr set. I'm just overwhelmed by the beauty of each piece.

I love this concept of different artists coming together to make something so wonderful. I hope I'll get the chance to participate in such a charm swap next time. :)

Strawberries Explosion Kawaii Grabbie

Yesterday night, I was suddenly very inspired to create more felt crafts. After all, we B1/06 just completed our 2nd class test paper : Pharmaceutics. There are still 3 more weeks to go lah, with 4 more papers. :( *Patience, patience*

I had in mind a few days ago to compile a strawberry-themed kawaii grabbie. And I proceeded to make a 2-strawberries embellished felt pin/brooch yesterday night. Continued making 5 strawberry-patch-themed 1-inch felt pin/brooches this afternoon. Included kawaii stickers and origami hearts. :)

Check out the listing in my Etsy shop :

Strawberries Explosion Kawaii Grabbie :

Hah.... Felt really productive la.... Still am feeling that. Probably will make more stuff tomorrow, IF I'm satisfied with my revision-studying outcome! :P

Tonight, just now, I went with my cell-group friends to a steamboat place at Sunway. The place's name is something like Yuen's Steamboat, and it's a 3-storey corner shop, with each floor accomodating around 20-30 tables that can take 12 people at each. And wah-lau! Packed like mad lah that place! Nasib Philip (our cell-group leader) booked a table for us. *Phew*

The food is good. I especially like the kuih talam and coconut-covered sago kuih, as well as the coffee agar-agar (jelly). *Typical me la - dessert lover*. There's a wide variety of steamboat ingredients for us to choose from - seafood, frozen meatballs, fishballs, all that kind of thing, tofu products, dried noodles, veggies (fresh and fermented) and loads more. There's also a selection of cooked food such as fried rice and beehoon (fine noodles), and masak merah (Malay-style chicken with masala, lemon-grass). And the famous BARBEQUE CHICKEN WINGS.

I tell you, the chicken wings kena sapu like mad. Once a new batch of wings arrived at the buffet table, people went fighting for it. Actually digging at the stainless steel container with plates! Without even bothering to use pincers, spatulas ar any form of decent food-collecting equipments. They just used 2 plates - a plate to shovel the wings into the other plate! I mean, walau! No need like that gua! One whole stainless steel container full of chicken wings suddenly became a container with only grease stains left. And what's more, people were actually lining up waiting for the next batches of wings to arrive! Walau!

But of course, there's a reason for those people doing that la. :P The wings were truly SEDAP man! Nice nice NICE! Mmm.... :9

I found that it's a great thing, going out with friends just to makan (eat). Love the atmosphere - it's relaxing and I felt no stress. :) Should do that more often. :)

Can you feel the LOVE?

Woke up this morning to a fine warm sunny day. Lazed around for bit. Then decided to do something crafty.

Lovely Wall Hanging

Yes, it is lovely - it is made of pink origami hearts. The card stock (brown and red) is actually a card box for cakes, from Secret Recipe. I cut off the top lid for use in this piece. The striped paper is one of the Pocky wrappers I've stashed just a few days ago. And the metallic pink hearts are folded origami-style using the Strawberry Chocs (Meiji) wrappers. :) For hanging and extra touches, I cut strips from a red plastic bag and tied them at the respective places. And the two white strips hanging from the end (attached two hearts) are actually wires that mostly come with new electrical items - used to bind the cables.

Yup. This whole thing is made from junk. :D

JSR #5 : Kinoko Noyama (Meiji) + Apollo Strawberry Chocolates (Meiji) + Strawberry Choc (Meiji)

Kinoko Noyama (Meiji)

Price : RM9.50

Weight : 89g

Found : Isetan KLCC

My bubbly buddy Farah came over this morning to use the internet in order to pursue her search for Korean and Taiwanese dramas NGs. We ordered pizza and I shared some Japanese goodness. Literally, I became 'The Chocolate Factory' as Farah put it. :D

The original milk chocolate mushroom biscuits are my all-time favs. But the bitter version is definitely a healthier choice, and with a much more chocolatey taste. If I have to choose, I'd opt for the bitter kinoko. :D

Apollo Strawberry Choc (Meiji)

Price : RM5.59

Weight : 46g

Found : Isetan KLCC

This is one of the versions of Apollo Strawberry Chocolates. The original ones are very small, with the same ridged cone shape with the top strawberry white chocolate layer and milk chocolate layer at the bottom. They come in bulk in medium-sized rectangular boxes. This version here has larger cones, and they are individually packed.

There are 2 types : original strawberry layer with rice crispies in the whole cone chocolate (pink wrapper) and smooth sour strawberry layered (blue wrapper). I prefer the original strawberry with crispies - the sour version is not so strawberry-like. :P

Strawberry Chocs (Meiji)

Price : RM14.59

Weight : I threw away the plastic wrapper - forgot dee. :P

Found : Isetan KLCC

One box has 28 individually wrapped chocolates. So, it's about RM0.50 per piece. Must make them last, though there's only half a box left now. :P This milk chocolates have a strawberry white chocolate filling in the middle. And as I've said, Japanese chocolates are the best - creamy and tasteful. :)

Space Junk Brooches~

While I was busy trying out the Japanese snacks and taking photos of them, the mailman came ringing my doorbell and he gave me package. :) From UK.

Love the packaging, with purple paper strips plus stars and hearts confetti. :)

Wohoo! It's from Jacqueline of HipHipHOORAY on Etsy. I traded with her; I really love her Space Junk Brooches. They're made from Friendly Plastic :

Friendly Plastic® Designer Sticks are a non-toxic plastic that can be used to create exciting jewelry, accessories, home decor, and wearable art projects. Finished pieces made with Friendly Plastic® can be used alone or combined with jewelry findings, picture frames, porcelain-like faces or anything that pleases your imagination.
Free form designs can be made with Friendly Plastic® Designer Sticks by softing them in warm water (140º F, 60º C) and then shaping with your hands, craft tools or any household object. Friendly Plastic® Designer Sticks can also be used to create two-dimensional designs by layering different colors then carefully placing your design on a cookie sheet and baking in a standard or toaster oven. Friendly Plastic® cools and becomes hard again in just a few seconds when placed into cold water but can be resoftened for reuse or to make changes when placed back into warm water.

I love love LOVE the pretties. :) Jacky uses all sorts of odds and bits such as coloured metal wires (shaped into spirals and circles), seed beads, acrylic star beads, pearls, fine metal chains and POMPOMS! Though they're made from heat-sensitive plastic, they feel hard as cement at the moment! :D

I feel so lucky that I could trade for them. :) There are still 2 more left in her shop, and they're only US$10 each. Under-priced I think. Works of art so beautiful as these should be priced at least $20 in my opinion. :) Grab them while they're there!

JSR #4 : Creamy Chocolate Mousse Pocky (Glico) + Cho-Pan Cacao (Meiji) + Kinoko Noyama Bitter (Meiji)

Creamy Chocolate Mousse Pocky (Glico)

Price : RM9.90

Weight : 56g

Found : Isetan KLCC

Yup... another mousse pocky. When it says in the description "creamy chocolate mousse", it means creamy chocolate mousse. Extremely good for someone with a bad craving for chocolate and a very sweet chocolate at that. :D

Cho-Pan Cacao (Meiji)

Price : RM6.99

Weight : 36g

Found : Isetan KLCC

This is sort of like a gourmet chocolate. Bitter sweet, very compact, very very filling and also extremely good for chocoholics. :) One other special thing about it besides the tart-like shape is the crisp puff-like pastry piece on top. Very very special! :D But like most Japanese snacks, the price is also very special la... in that one box, there are only 4 chocolates. 4! *faints*

Kinoko Noyama Bitter (Meiji)

Price : RM9.59

Weight : 89g

Found : Isetan KLCC

Mushroom-shaped chocolate biscuits. The mushroom 'head' is the chocolate and the stalk is the biscuit. Much more in quantity with a more reasonable price. The quality is GOOD. :) One of the best bitter sweet chocolate food around.

JSR #3 : Berry Mousse Pocky (Glico)

Price : RM9.90

Weight : 56g

Found : Isetan KLCC

*Phew*.... This morning, we (the 2nd sem BPharm students) just had our first class test of the semester. General Pharmacology. Walau! Sooo hard! Actually, if I had spent more time on revising and studying, I wouldn't have my conscience constantly reminding me that my poor confidence in doing well for this paper was all my own doing. :(

Anyhow, for cheering ups, I went on sampling one of the many varieties of Japan's most popular snack, Pocky. This 'humble stick of comfort' is marketed and recognised world-wide. People have grown so fond of this snack that there are hundreds of consumer products in the market nowadays that carry the trademark red box and biscuit sticks with 'POCKY' over them. Jewelry plastic charms, erasers, vinyl bags and button pins are but a few examples.

So, today's Pocky is of berry mousse flavoured. I tell you, this is probably the most ridiculously priced snack you can find in Malaysia. I don't know lah, but to me it seems that way. Why? In this one box costing RM9.90, there are 3 individual packs. In each of these packs, there are 4 sticks of Pocky. So, in total, there are 12 sticks in the box. That means one stick of mousse covered biscuit is equivalent to RM0.83. Walau! :P

But after eating it slowly *they're expensive what - must savour the taste while they last!*, I find that RM9.90 is worth tasting them. :) But of course, I hope to find a $$-full 'lau-gong' in the future so that I can continue trying out new Japanese snacks! :D

Yup... so.... the biscuit stick was nice - crunchy and just like any biscuits should be. The mousse cream was.... oh so lovely! Though somewhat heavy with the smell of berries, I find it delightful as it blends really well with hints of creamy milk and vanilla. :9 Mmmm.....

JSR #2 : New York Cheesecake Pucca (Meiji)

Price : RM3.99

Weight : 55g

Found : Isetan KLCC

I'm slowly savouring the different snacks one by one. Today, with only half an hour of lunch break before attending our haematology workshop, I opt for this fishy-shaped little biscuits.

It is much better then the Cream Cheese Yan Yan yesterday. The biscuits are sort of crunchy, not too hard, with a hollow center in each, filled with cream cheese filling. Very sweet and the cheesy taste is just right. :)

Cream Cheese Yan Yan + Kawaii

This morning, I went to KLCC to relieve myself of the urge to buy some things. *Kawaii that is* Got myself a mushroom die-cut memo pad with 2 designs and a San-X dessert bunnies mini memo pad. And also a desserts-themed envelopes pack with 3 mini envelopes and 5 large ones. I just love foodies, don't you? :D

Also, I got myself a CUTIE Japanese magazine, featuring kawaii rooms and living spaces of Japanese teenage girls. It's a very colourful mag, and fully loaded with detailed pics of possessions, furniture and decorations. Although I cannot understand the writings, hoefully I'll gain inspiration from the pics to decorate my room. :)

Besides that, I sort of over-splurged on Japanese snacks at Isetan. :( There was this Meiji (Japanese confectionery and snacks manufacturing company) promotion, and tons of Hello Pandas, Yan Yans, and Puccas were luring me to buy. Why I over-spended my $$ - one reason was my own un-alertness and greediness. I saw this sign saying that "Purchase above RM50 of Meiji products and you will get a lucky draw for a Meiji hamper worth RM300. 15 hampers avaible!" I saw the sample hamper and almost fainted with want. SOOO many snacks inside! Can last me for at least 3 months, even if I open one every day!

Of course this advert prompted me to buy as much as I can. Well, one other reason was I have not bought any snacks (at all) for almost 2 whole months. :) So, I thought it wouldn't do harm to treat myself once in a while.

Mana tau when I checked out and paid, I was told that I was not qualified for the lucky draw. Why? It's only for Isetan member-card holders. Walau-eh!!!! I felt so stupid la.... because this piece of vital information was clearly stated on the notice! T-T Guess I was too excited about the first part that I didn't finish reading the whole thing. T-T

Haih.... Lesson learnt - must never spend so lavishly anymore. That is still something I'm trying very hard to control. :P Also, must be alert all the time. Cannot make the same mistake twice.

Never mind that. On to Japanese Snacks Review #1 : Cream Cheese Yan Yan!

First of all, you might want to know what Yan Yan is. It's basically comprised of a plastic container with 2 compartments - one for the biscuit sticks, and another smaller one for the dip. There are several flavours of dips - strawberry, chocolate, milk and the more recent cheese. Japanese-manufactured Yan Yan has better-tasting biscuit sticks and there are quirky texts imprinted on each one. This Cream Cheese Yan Yan I bought today is a product of Singapore (under Meiji's licencing). And it sucks. :(

I thought the cream cheese dip is sweet. I didn't expect a savoury dip. *Blergh* And the sticks masuk angin already. Not nice. :(

Vintage CHERRY SODA Bottle Cap Trinket Charm Bracelet

Wohoo! I got my bracelet from Nicole of Vintage Nouveau today! It's a sterling silver chain bracelet, fully loaded with all sorts of charms : BOTTLE CAPS! *I LOVE!!!*, dice, lego pieces! (OMG! *faints*), lampwork beads, COLGATE TOOTHPASTE CHARM!!! *faints*, buttons, a vintage guitar pick!, wooden game piece with number '29' on it.... and..... a black high heel shoe! :D

Waseh!!! I'm sooo happy with it! It's a total mass of red, white and black, jingly-pingly, perk-me-up, jazzy little piece of paradise!

And what's more, Nicole sent a pair of free earrings!!! Black Cherry Soda bottle caps! Too bad I can't wear them. :( As I've mentioned before, I'm allergic to all types of earrings, you name them - sterling silver, fake silver, gold, plastic, copper, soft plastic,.... anything. I pop them on not for 30 seconds and the pierced points start to itch. *Bummer~*

Check out her etsy shop (Vintage Nouveau). She's one of the most talented kistchy jewelry maker I've met on Etsy. :) Here are some of her available pieces :

She has the knack of choosing the right charm pieces for each accessory. And I love the way she uses colour combination / suiting to make her jewelry look appealing. Very appealing. :D I'm definitely going to be her lasting customer. :)

Simmonette Tan Collection

Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised by the approach of a fellow Sibu-ian Etsy seller. Simmy is a freelance jewelry designer, and has been in the field for a few years. She convo-ed my through Etsy, after seeing my endless self-promoting efforts on the forum. She was curious to know if I'm really from Sibu, as I put my 'Location' on Etsy as 'Sibu'. We got to know more about each other. I was really very surprised to find out that there actually are other local crafty people who do these things (selling online and all). :) I'm not saying our local community has 0% creativity, but it's extremely good to get to know a local jewelry designer. :P

Check out her Etsy shop, and her online selling website. She makes the most gorgeous jewelry! And her prices are a whole lot more reasonable and affordable if compared to those of other Etsy sellers, whose works portray a similar style. :)

And the best thing is, she has asked me if I want to do a consignment with her! She's going to set up a new selling website, and would have a few other local crafters's works featured. And she wants to include me. :) Yay! I'm still thinking about it because this will be a HUGE challenge if I really do agree to it. I'm not sure my crafts are up to the expectations of the local community. Mostly, if you want to sell something marketable, you have to make sure it looks professional, sort-of commerciallised and presentable. I'm very much in doubt if people would be inclined to buy something hand-sewn or handmade, even if it is well-made. Probably I should get rid of this prejudice....

Another thing - I'm torn between studying for my class tests and EOS (End of Semester Exams), and polishing my craftyness. If I agree to the consignment, of course I'll have the benefit of getting local recognition (sounds so snobbish! :P), but then, I'll be jeopardising my studies. And flushing my parent's money down the drain. :( Yalah, because I wouldn't be able to focus and give 100% of my time for my revisions and all.

Yeah... have to think about this...

Kawaii~neh! Bloggo Freebie #1

Congratulations to EMILY!!!

enpdesigns.etsy.com

Contest is over. Thanks to everyone who participated. :)

To celebrate my new start on Blogger, I'm giving the opportunity for Etsy users (sellers and buyers) to win Kawaii-neh!'s trademark Water Drop Guy (Shizuku Blue)!

ONE user will be picked randomly as the owner of this little guy. It will be done on Sunday (18th March 2007), notification and announcement will be done on the same day. The user will be notified via email and Etsy convo. This post will also be edited to announce who won. :)

Do you want to win?

1. You must have an Etsy account. Etsy is a great place for you to buy all things handmade. :)
2. Post a comment on this post. Include your Etsy username and also your email.
3. Take a look at my Etsy shop - Kawaii~neh! and include in your comment which item (can be either sold or active listing) you like the most, and which item you are most likely to buy. You can have one item you like the most and it can also be the item you are most likely to buy. It doesn't neccessarily have to be 2 separate items. :)

Easy peasy? Start posting people! :D

p/s : I'd love to hear shoutouts on my cBox. :D

I LOVE Rainbows!

Yup. I totally heart rainbows. :D

Today, I'm really happy because 2 packages arrived. One is an order from an ebay store. The store name is haveonhand, and I ordered a one-band plain silver sterling ear cuff. It's ABSOLUTELY PUNK! Love the rougish look it gives me when I put it on!

It a queer thing - I can't find a single ear cuff in Kuala Lumpur. Not in the mega-happnening shopping complexes anyway. Early this year, sometime in January, I tried KLCC and MidValley. Searched and asked in jewelry stores like Sinma, Chameleon and Cindy. Even tried Teddy Tales. Non of these shops have any ear cuffs. I suppose it's partly because ear cuffs are out of date already. Maybe it's also because I didn't search thoroughly.

So, since I cannot find ear cuffs in Malaysia, I decided to buy one online. Actually, I wanted this ear cuff :

Only seen it in an ebay store, but unfortunately, the seller doesn't ship to Malaysia. *Bleh~* So nice right the ear cuff?

The other package is from Chelsea, a jewelry maker on Etsy. Check her out at resplendentredhead. She makes GORGEOUS kistchy jewelry. I was browsing the Time Machine on Etsy, when I came across her newly listed 57-inch Rainbow Necklace. I just had to have it. I contacted her and asked to see if she would want to trade for anything in my shop. She agreed and was glad to swap the necklace with my ice cream pins! I'm sooo happy! And I'm even happier when I got the necklace. :) It's just the thing I wanted, and in the most perfect colours! But I'm a bit sceptical of wearing it... because people here will just stare and stare if you wear something like that out to anywhere. :P At the moment, I'm content just staring and admiring it. :P