Beautiful Barcelona

My maiden trip to Spain has taken my breath away. Wow, is all I can say. Barcelona is a fantastic city and I now understand why its a wildly popular destination of travellers to Europe. My trip can be described in one word - fabulous! I had a magnificent time exploring the sights, sounds and tastes of Barcelona, checking out its quaint little pedestrian lanes, walking around the Old City, getting culturally acquainted with its museums and galleries, admiring its fantastic and unique architecture (thanks to Gaudi!) and sampling its wonderful, heavily seafood-based cuisine. The days I spent independently sightseeing were the most fun, I absolutely relished the complete freedom and autonomy I had in creating my own travel itinerary and I was reminded of how much enjoyment I could derive from my own company. I was having so much fun even though I was moving around alone, hubs locked away in his day long seminars. But of cause, it was nice being able to return back to the hotel in the evenings and share details of the wonderful day I had with him.

Oh, and the weather was simply beautiful for winter, plenty of sunshine. Nothing tops Mediterranean climates. Oh boy, do I miss Perth!

And surprisingly, I did not miss my beads as much as I thought I would, till towards the end of my trip. Time to get the fingers working! I can't wait! :)

The Barcelona

I had actually made this charm bracelet a while ago but had yet to post it online. Looking at the components of the bracelet now, I can't help but feel that it embodies the spirit and fire of the seaside metropolis that is Barcelona. Maybe its the effect from having (finally) read the guide book on Barcelona that inspired me to name this bracelet such.

Barcelona really seems like a melting pot where the past is married with the future and where the present is a constant buzz of activity and action. I really can't wait to go and see it for myself!

Btw, read in Jan 08 issue of HerWorld mag that one of the trends for 2008 is Charm Bracelets! Gee, this is great! I'm "IN" without even knowing it! haha

Ingredients: Czech fire-polished glass beads, glass pearl and metal charms, finished off with a floral clasp

Everyday charm bracelet

This piece is to round up my "Everyday" collection. I had already made an Everyday necklace and a pair of Everyday earrings. So I guess its befitting that this Everyday charm bracelet rounds up this trio.

Refreshing colours to match any outfit!

Ingredients: Various glass beads in different shapes and metal charms finished off with a floral clasp

My first bag charm

This is my first attempt at making a bag charm. I wanted to create something that came across light and fun. These beads had just the right playful touch, finished off with a gold heart.

Great to hang off that new (Coach) bag! (I confess, I was inspired to make this piece by my Aunt's Coach bag as I reckon the signature brown Coach monogram canvas could use a splash of colour!)

Pacific Ocean

Ok, reality is sinking in, I'm going to be away from my beads and internet connection for a week. Hmm, I guess its good though for me to have this bit of time away, to spend with the hubs. I confess, since I took up beading a few months back, I have been neglecting him a tiny bit. Ok, fine, quite a lot actually.... *oopsies*

Hun, thanks for being so nice and sweet about it and not complain (yet) when I spend much of my non-work waking hours with the beadies! You'll have my full and undivided attention in Barcelona, promise! :)

So before I head off tomorrow, I will be posting some items which I have made already but been procrastinating to post.

The above bracelet is made from various Swarovski crystals in bicone and round shapes, linked with a delicate gold colour chain. I love the light refreshing colours! Reminds me of the beautiful Pacific Ocean coastlines I used to get pampered with back home!

Cherry Ripe!

I received a request from two of my gal pals late this afternoon who had "commissioned" me to custom make a necklace as a birthday pressie for a mutual friend.

The catch was this: ~ the birthday was next week and I'm going to be off to Barcelona on Sunday for a week and I already had a jammed packed weekend schedule which meant I had to get it done before the weekend.

So, that didn't leave me with much time as its already Thursday evening. Fret not, I was determined to deliver the goods before I fly off. I guess my brain had already been subconsciously picking out colours for the necklace and I rushed to the bead shop after work to select my materials as I had mentally calculated I did not have sufficient beads in stock at home to complete the necklace.

Well, as a result of probably being inspired by my outfit for Chinese New Year (it has cherry prints!), the colours of this necklace are stemming from those of cherries! Think red plump cherries dangling from their vine green stems....

So girls, here's the special order you have placed.... I hope she likes it!

Ingredients: Beads in various colours, 14k plated gold extender chain and a "Made with Love" charm to finish it off!

Louis Vuitton Monogram Canvas Tivoli PM

This post isn't directly related to beads or jewellery, but it is definitely related to fashion trends.

The above bag is apparently a new model from LV, released only in November 2007. Response to the Tivoli design (which also comes in a bigger size called the Tivoli GM) was very good, with the bag apparently sold out in Singapore and many parts of the world. Apparently the waitlist in Singapore for this bag is already full, with the next shipment possibly arriving in February 08. Oh, and for those wondering how much this little baby costs, its apparently retailing in Singapore for SGD 1480.

Now, I am not a LV fanatic, definitely not one of those hard-core collectors. The above information I managed to gleam from doing a quick Google on the Tivoli PM. Which is why most of the sentences were filled with the word "apparently". Haha.

However, this morning, I woke up and found an SMS from the hubs (who is away on biz trip at the moment) that I am now the owner of a LV Monogram Canvas Tivoli PM. This is probably the first (and likely only) time that I have what is considered as close to an "IT" bag as it can get.... the phenomena which I've never really understood. In hub's SMS, he said that he managed to get me the last Tivoli PM in the store, and the salesgirl said he is lucky as that design is almost soldout worldwide.

Wow. And all I thought was the bowling bag shape of that bag was cute, so unlike the other "boxy" LV types which you keep seeing on the streets..... Haha

Everyday earrings

My first customer, miss K wanted a pair of earrings to match the charm bracelet I had custom made for her (see the post "My First Customer!"). Her specification was really simple : a simple design which she could wear everyday and not too long!

I decided to keep the colours neutral, so she could match it with whatever colour outfit she chose to wear. I wanted the end result to be simple yet elegant. Hope I achieved that!

Recipe: Tiny metalised gold Rose bud beads (a smaller version of the big Rose bud used in the charm bracelet), cream glass pearls, clear glass beads and tiny bicone Swarovski crystals in Golden Shadow

Beach Party

Was given the following request by my girlfriend whom I gave the "My First Charm Bracelet" to for her order of a charm bracelet (my second customer!):

- along the lines of the fashionista bracelet - she loved the margarita charm and the "made with love" charm

- like the colour combi but especially something red; it had to be striking

The rest was up to me to decide. She told me "I trust your taste and judgement". Thanks dear!

Hence, I came up with the above creation. A fun bikini brass charm adds a bit of zing to a bracelet adorn with striking red Czech fire-polished glass bead, olivine oval drop glass bead, black tear drop glass bead and neutralised with a clear tear drop bead. All finished off with a lovely heart and arrow toggle clasp!

So, do you like it??

Ingredients: 14k plated gold chain, imported brass charms, Czech fire-polished beads and other glass beads, and imported brass heart & arrow toggle clasp.

Thanks for your support!

A big 'Thank You' to those pals who visited my little space on the web and the feedback given, and for those who took that leap of faith to ask me to make trinkets for them!!!

My first customer, K, bless her kind soul, liked her charm bracelet enough to suggest that I come up with a pair of earrings to match! Wow, you blew me away with your request babe! Thanks soooo much for your faith and supportiveness!

Another two dearies bit the bullet and allowed me to design a charm bracelet each for them... whee, this is so fun! Thanks babes, I promise I will come up with something yummilicious! :D

I'm really enjoying this burst of creativity, been having these wonderful ideas in my head the whole day, thinking of my beads and what to make! Can't wait to get working on my ideas! In fact its making me more excited than my trip to Barcelona this weekend! (sssshhh, don't tell the hubs! he's paying for my trip! hehe)

Ruby Red

This necklace is in the spirit of CNY, a dash of red amongst gold.

Perfectly striking against a black top!

Vine leaves on a rainy day

These earrings are like water trickling down vine leaves. I really love the soothing Erinite and Light Sapphire colours of the Swarovski crystals. Finished off with a small fleur-de-lis brass charm.

Cupid Strikes!

One of the pairs of earrings I made last weekend, an asymmetric dangling pair.... I think Cupid's adorable! :D

Ingredients: Adorable Cupid brass charm paired with yummy Swarovski crystals

Trinkets for sale

Last weekend, I went into "earring mode" and made quite a few pairs of dangling pieces. Realised that if this keeps up, I'm going to end up having more accessories than I could possible wear! Haha.

As such, I've decided that if someone out there likes the stuff I made, enough to want to buy them, my trinkets are available for sale.

Note that at present, I have made only one item of each piece, and some pieces that I've made have already been given away as presents to friends. However, depending on whether there is available material, I could recreate these pieces if necessary, but with variations to ensure exclusitivity.

Interested parties, please drop me an email at mytrinkettrove@gmail.com and let me know which piece you are interested in! Cheers!!

My first customer!

Thanks to my dear friend K who gamely placed an order for a charm bracelet with me the other day. She like the "My First Charm Bracelet" design and gave me pretty much free reign with only the requests not to have a purple colour theme as she already has quite a lot of accessories in that colour and it being along the lines of "My First Charm Bracelet" with the floral clasp.

Although she has a lot of black outfits, I wanted to create something versatile, which she could wear with almost any kind of outfits she chose, be it for work or play. So I borrowed the style from my previous creation to create something similar but different.

Babe, let me know what you think!!

Ingredients: 14K gold plated bracelet, Czech glass beads and brass charms

Look what the postie brought in...

My latest order of beads finally come in the mail! Yay! Aren't they drool worthy?? Can't wait to get creative with them.... but its going to be one heck of a busy week, so many other things to do! Whee!

Another happy girlfriend!

Update on Trinket from the Sea necklace:

Had dinner with my girlfriend who likes chunky accessories tonight. She fell in love with this necklace and has happily accepted my belated Xmas gift and declared that she is going to wear it tomorrow! Yay! :D

She kept gushing about the mixture of colours of the beads and how pretty they looked.... hehe, thanks babe! Enjoy it!

Its really satisfying when someone truly appreciates and likes something you have made specially for them.... I can't describe that feeling but I love it!!

A Bed of Roses

Had lunch today with a dear friend whom I have not met in a while. Had received really smashing news from her on new year's eve that her long time bf had finally proposed and they are getting married this year! Congrats again my dear! Really thrilled for you! :)

The glowing bride-to-be was looking sassy in her short 'do, after she had snipped off her precious long locks a couple of months ago "for a change". And it was such a refreshing change! It was with this new 'do in mind that I made this pair of not-so-long dangling earrings for her, in a blend of rose and lavender hued Swarovski crystals which suits her snow white complexion extremely well.

Hope you enjoy them my dear and thanks for "adopting" the Gingerbread couple :)

May your life be as beautiful as a bed of roses!

Pastel Princesses

Experimenting with the various pastel coloured Swarovski crystals I had, I was trying for a look which advocates the mantra that "less is more". Here are my attempts.

When Gingerbread Boy Met Gingerbread Girl

They had stars in their eyes! Hehe

Aren't these brass charms simply the cutest?? I absolutely loved them the minute I saw them... such an adorable gingerbread couple!

So fun making this piece! :)

Ingredients: Brass charms and metal stars