Yesterday afternoon, Ms Postlady knocked on my door so hard that I had a shock. She said my door bell is not working and worried that I couldn't hear her. It never does... =P Then, thankfully, she passed me the parcel... :)
I've received this special gift from my swap partner, Usha for my birthday.
I like the shawl very much... Usha called it a 'broomstick' shawl and pretty long too, I think at least 1 1/2 meter long. She sure has the patience to do it.. Thanks Usha for this lovely gift...
This evening, we went to visit ATC* Parade @ Bishan National Library. It is organized by Moses, Pauseability.
*ATC - Artist Trading Card.
Pauseability organizes monthly ATC meeting every 2nd Thursday of the month with a theme @ Bishan National Library. You make your own ATC of a size of 2.5 inch by 3.5 inch and trade with someone else during this meeting. Find out more here.
This year ATC Parade, I'm impressed by all their handiworks!! Very creatively done. I've 'secretly' snapped shot a few to show (Oooopss... No Photography in the Library)
By Moses, the organizer.
By my good friend, Betsy from Knotty Bicsie
By my friend from Shuttle And Needle (SNN) Group, Ellen. She is also a tatting guru!
This is by Joey and Kristine, Ellen's two wonderful daughters.
By Ee Wei, who is currently in Canada. She posted back the ATC to Moses... ;)
And some other nice works by local and overseas artist.
I'll be joining them on the next session. However, with Joel around I won't be able to attend. So, told Moses that I'll just post my ATC to him and he'll trade for me... =P
Joel is sick for the first time... He has running nose and cough... :( Thank God, no fever.
Last night, he didn't sleep well. Due to his nose block, he kept tossing and turning to find the right sleeping position. Then followed by coughing that cause by his mucous...He didn't make any noise or cry. He just quietly snuggled toward me and sucked his thumb for comfort. This is totally a new experience for me. I didn't know what to do. All I could do were patted his back and kept praying...
Then this morning, he vomited because he coughed too hard. And again, he didn't show any discomfort, but smiled at us when we cleaned him up... Total HEART-ACHE!
Thank God toward the end of the day, he was better. Despite his cough and runny nose, he still smiled & played a lot!
When my aunt told me what worries her most is when her son fall sick cos she'll be very stress, I thought she's over protective. But now I totally understand that feeling... All moms want their children to be healthy and happy.
Joel is 6 months old today! Time really flies.
He is really our bundle of joy...
I've been staying at home with him for the past months. Initially, I wasn't comfortable and felt insecure cos no stable income and I never really like the feeling of asking money from my husband.. However, God has been very very kind to me by blessing me with some "side incomes" that enough for myself and Joel.
Taking care of Joel by myself is really rewarding and full of excitements, especially witnessing his 'first-time'... =P I've also successfully get him into a routine. With this routine, I really have more time for my own. I learn one important thing, never let your baby decides his routine! It'll be a chaos.
Joel's routine (reference):
| 10:00am | Wake up & feeding |
| 10:30am | Bath time |
| 11:30am | I'll go downstairs with Joel to buy my lunch |
| 12:30pm | Feeding & nap time |
| 3:00pm | Wake up & feeding Some activities: - Play cards - Watch baby's program - Etc |
| 5:00pm | Short Nap |
| 6:00pm | Feeding Some outdoor activities *Usually at this hour, we'll be waiting for my husband to come back* |
| 7:00pm | Dinner *My husband will drives us out for dinner* |
| 8:30pm | Wipe body and change to PJ |
| 9:00pm | Feeding & Bed time |
Well, sometimes not that punctual but most of the time he'll follow this routine. :)
His progress since 3 months old:
Last two weeks, I've rented a toy for Joel... It was my first time and I think it's practical! I didn't know what Joel likes, cos he still very young to appreciate toys and infant toys are not cheap... One simple toy can costs more than S$50!! What if, he doesn't like to play, then it will be a waste... Then, storing the toys is also a challenge...
In S'pore, I've found 3 sites doing toy renting service. I've chosen rent-a-toy.com. From what I know, they have been around for quite sometime and they have varieties of good toys... Besides that, their pricing is pretty reasonable too.
For a start, I've rented this educational toy: Little Tikes 5-in-1 Adjustable Gym.
There are hanging toys and a motion activated "kick pad".
Joel loves to kick cos there are sound and lights. But after awhile, he'll get bored and he'll kick the whole toy away...
Renting it @ S$22.80 per month. Pretty reasonable, right?
Gosh! The drilling & hacking sounds are driving me NUTS!!! The whole block is participating in this upgrading program. Upgrading program includes: lift upgrading, replacing toilet and kitchen piping and installing new clothes hanging rack...
The noise has affected me greatly but I have no choice but bear with it... Thank God Joel is fine with the noise. He still can sleep through the noise!!
What I've been doing for the past week? Well, despite the noise, I've completed a few stuffs... Mainly helping Betsy on an order and making something for my dear brother. Will blog about them soon. Stay tune!
This is a tatted doily that I've made during my confinement... Suppose to give to someone but I was too late... :( Will have to post over then...
I love the color very very much. It's Flora thread that I've bought from Jessica.
Made these beautiful brooches for sales @ MAAD over the weekends. You can find out more information by clicking on this link...
I've made them in green, yellow. pink & blue. Perfect for your blouses, bags, hair bands, hats/beanies, scarves and etc...
I'm selling one piece @ S$8.00. Buy any 3 @ S$20. They can be found @ Knotty Bicsie's store. However, I won't be there because I have to take care of Joel. Betsy, thanks for helping me.
Steph wants an angelic doll... She wants her angel in white and dusty pink dress... So, I've made her an angel with white and dusty pink dress & dusty pink wings with halo of paper flowers. Hope she'll like it.
I've made this beanie for SY's niece from Australia... She's one year old this year. I really hope she can wear it...
I'm using cotton yarn for this beanie...
Joel is 4 months old today. :) Specially for Joel, mommy and daddy are very proud to have you. You are God's best gift for both of us.
Joel's progress:
I think that's about all...
I'll like to apologize to those who wanted to see listing of dolls that I'm selling. I don't really have any ready made dolls. I made upon request. But following can be your guideline. ;)
It's better to contact me and at least 1 or 2 months in advance.
From beginning, I never like to make repeated dolls. I like to accessorized them and make them different. If you observed carefully, all my wedding couple dolls are different.
The foundation of the dolls is straightforward. It involves sphere, cylinder, square and cone shapes. So, it's up to me how to assemble them and accessorize them. With different outcome, it always gives people the 'WOW' effect and this motivates me to continue making...
I won't claim that my designs are original because most of these dolls are inspired by my buyers!! They requested and I made them. ;)
Ivy has bought a pair of wedding dolls from me couple of month ago. She brought them for her wedding shoot in Hong Kong! Wah, I've not been to Hong Kong before but my dolls did! Not bad!
Photo contributed by Ivy (with the blurry couple)
Their big day is coming soon. During month of March, she contacted me and wanted me to make 10 dolls for her sisters (姐妹). All her dolls had to be different. It was a challenge then, cos I was doing my confinement and not sure would be able to deliver. Thank God her big day falls in month of June and she needed them by end of May. THANK GOD! That's mean I have 2 months to complete them.
I had no clue what to do, so I asked for her all her sisters' profiles. To make my life easier, she asked me to make 5 angel dolls with different colors and another 5 customized according to her sisters character & favorite colors.
For these set of dolls, I'm using plastic eyes. My brother was the one who suggested that I should put eyes. Since he is the arty person, I should just listen to him. ;) The outcomes are AWESOME!
Doll 1: She's married. Has a bubbly & chatty personality. Also loves beaded stuff. Well, Ivy said she like to act cute. =P
I've made a doll with a bum at a centre and tie the bum with crocheted flowers. She looks mature but at the same time, cute.
Doll 2: She loves purple. Very artistic person and always tied her hair. She loves nature.
So, I've made a doll with side bum and wears a lilac dress with small flower.
Doll 3: She is romantic and likes to dream. Her favorite colors are pink and blue.
Hmm.... Dreamy, so I've decorated this doll with lots of flowers.
Doll 4: She's a teacher and has short hair. Her favorite colors are darker colors, like black, gray and dark red. Ivy said, she doesn't like cute stuffs...
Making this doll was a challenge because I don't really like to use dull colors to make my dolls. It took me awhile to think of what I should do. Well, the outcome is pretty cool! My brother likes it a lot.
I've made a red & black dress for the doll & crocheted a cardigan for her.
Doll 5: She's love pink! She loves to bake...
When I read her profile, straight away I knew what I wanted to make. A doll with a chef hat! Ivy loves her the most. Cute right?
Lastly, 5 angel dolls... Loving all of them.
I've made crown for them instead of usual halo. Besides that, all of them hold a heart.
I'm glad that Ivy LOVES them all!!! Her mom even asked whether any of these was for her. She plans to keep one of the angel dolls, but now, seems like she needs to give it away, to her mom.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY USHA!!" Belated birthday greeting to Usha.
She is my swap partner for Birthday Swap that organized by Faizon from Shuttles and Needles group (SnN). But her birthday was in the month of March. Well, month of March and April, I was very busy coping with my new life. =P Fortunately, Usha is very understanding and had given me ample of time to prepare her gift. ;)
Usha told me she would like to have big size crochet needle that able to crochet 3/4 strings of 4 ply acrylic yarns. So I got her 3 big size crochet needles and she likes them!
Besides that, I also given her my new version of crocheted doll. Well, will blog about it soon. Then, 2 packs of button maker and also 1 pack of heart shape button since she also collects buttons.
Usha seems to like flowers, so I've also included some paper flowers that I got from Bangkok
And of cos, YARNS.... Hope she likes all of them.
Packed in a box and I've posted it FINALLY! But also with the help from Betsy. Hehehehe =P
With Joel around, I'm not able to move around freely or do whatever I want like before :( Thanks to a bunch of good friends who are always there to encourage and help me.
My brother, Jin ordered this pair for his friend. He requested for plastic eyes cos he finds them look more real. Due to his 'last minute' order, I had to rush so, I had simplified the dolls.
I'm surprised with the result. Pretty cute! My brother also find them quite cute especially with the plastic eyes. What do you think?
This pair is smaller than my usual wedding dolls. It's around 3.5" tall. Besides that, less accessories too.
Don't you think with plastic eyes, these dolls look livelier? I may use plastic eyes for my other dolls, including my wedding dolls. :)
Since I've made 3 beanies, I decided to make one 'beanie hat' for Joel... Beanie hat?? It's a beanie with a short flap so that the flap can covers his eyes from light. I'm using Egyptian Cotton yarn and it's not too warm to wear.
I took this picture while he was asleep in his carrier. The beanie hat fits well on him.... And the flap works well too...
Last week, I was helping Betsy to make 3 beanies for one of her buyers... Wah! Stress man! Cos all beanies had to be completed within a week. I was kinda worry whether I could deliver or not. At last, I managed to complete 1 full beanie, that means with accessories, I completed the other two but without accessories... Thank God, Betsy rushed the other two and also corrected one of them for me before delivery... =P It's a good collaboration, even though there's some hi-cup here and there. Thanks Betsy for giving me this opportunity....
Aren't they cute?!! Can't wait to see baby Chloe to wear these little beanies. Hope they fit!
Needle & Shuttle (NnS) has organized a swap during new year. I was excited cos my partner is Faizon! She is our tatting guru! Visit her site and you'll be impressed by her tatting works.
This round of exchange, we'll have to make a string pouch. I've made a simple crochet cum fabric pouch for Faizon. I've also bought her some button makers, hopefully she can used it for her new projects. Actually I've tatted a small zip pouch, but I didn't send cos it wasn't nicely done... I promise to make her another one next time when my tatting is better.
Managed to send it out before my delivery.
Last few weeks, I've received these from Faizon!
GOSH!!! Beautiful tatted pouch and a tatted mat... Besides that, a pair of tatting ear rings! And other stashes like needle holder, button and eyes! Loving all!!! Thanks Faizon. This is really a great exchange.
It has been a month since I've blogged. What happened?? Some of my friends wrote to me asked me what's going on cos they have not been seeing me online for awhile...
I was busy coping with Joel. Since my confinement lady left, I was left alone with Joel during day time. Initially was indeed tough, I suffered from slight depression. I cried with no reason and felt so hopeless & lonely. =( Due to stress, anxiety and lack of sleep, I fall sick. I had bad gastric and severe asthma attack... :( Was on medication for 3 weeks, hence I had to stop breastfeeding Joel. Thank God, I had recovered and today I've started breastfeeding Joel. Scary huh! On positive side, I've learnt a lot from this experience. All I know, being a mom is not easy at all! There's a saying, Mother is the GREATEST, that's really true!
During this time, thank God for few of my good friends, who came over to visit me and once awhile called up to check on me. I'm grateful for my husband too. He is very supportive and understanding. Despite his busy schedule at work, he would try his best to come back early to help me and he was on night shift for the past 3 weeks taking care of Joel! Father is also the greatest!
Joel is growing very well.... Now he is weighed at 5.5kg! He was only 2.8kg at birth!
I'll be starting a new blog on my experience bringing up Joel as a 'full-time' mom soon... Hopefully, it will help some of new mummies out there... ;)
