Beading & Stitching Along

First off, wow! A huge THANK YOU to everyone for the wonderful comments you’ve left on my Giveaway post. You’re awesome! I’ve had over 50 comments which is an all time high for me. If you’ve yet to participate on my “StarZanite Giveaway”, do drop by. I’ll be drawing the winners on 1 November so there’s still plenty of time to join in the fun.

Well, your interest has spurred me to make more fobs. This is what I came up with so far:

This time, I’ve decided to take the close up pictures on a white background as I think this shows off the colours much nicely. (Should have done that the first time round.)

Ice Storm

Mango Confetti

Mike and I have been having trouble agreeing on whether the colour on the beads are yellow or green. Which do you think it is?

Amber Voyage

Chili Pebbles

Yes, the “misspelling” of Chili Pebbles is intentional. It’s a word play on Chili Peppers because I think the brown beads look like pebbles.

Frosted Sapphire

Cathy asked if I have any prices in mind. I’m thinking US$15–US$18 per fob plus shipping. Opinions? Do you think that’s asking too much? I plan on setting up a Paypal WebShop on a separate page right here on my blog. Have yet to get around to that but if you see something you like, feel free to email me.

On the stitching front, progress on Garden Verses has been slow. (Gee, I wonder why?) Here’s a photo to give you an idea.

I don’t think I’ll be able to complete my goal in time for the competition unless I buck up and stop messing with my beads.

Thanx for staying with my ramblings this far. I truly appreciate it.

StarZanite Giveaway

Lately, I've been lagging on my stitching. Thus, there is not enough progress on Garden Verses to warrant a photo. Instead, I’ve a newfound obsession hobby – beading. To be exact, I’ve been making beaded scissors fobs.

The stitching community has been more than generous to me and it's my turn to give a little back. Hence, of the five scissors fobs I made, I’ll be giving them all away. Yes, that’s right! There will be five winners :)

To be honest, I’m thinking of making more and perhaps selling some in the future if there’s enough interest. So I guess this giveaway is kinda a blatant “testing of the waters” if I may. I even have the name of my shop already in mind – StarZanite. I think it suits the glitter and sparkle of beads, don’t you think?

With that said, this will be the StarZanite Giveaway!

To be eligible for this giveaway, please...

1. Leave a comment on this post only that you would like to be included and also state your favourite fob/s. (I rather the winners receive one to their liking if possible.)
2. Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link to mine for a second entry. You can use the picture above.
3. Become a Follower or let me know that you’re an existing reader of my blog for yet another chance to win!

Please also remember to leave a way for me to get in touch with you if you win. This giveaway will close in two weeks. Names will be drawn on 1 November 2010.

Here are more detailed photos for a clearer view. As you can see, I also gave each of them names ^.^

Tropical Jade

Grape Ink

Winter Cherries

Ocean Waterlilies

Desert Rose

This is my first attempt making beaded scissors fobs. As such, they are by no means perfect. I chose to use cell phone straps instead of lobster clasps because they are more flexible. (Think flash drive fobs, cell phone fobs, rear view mirror fobs, camera/camera case fobs, ornaments, etc... the possibilities are endless!) Moreover, it would not wear away your fine scissors finishing due to friction.

I really hope you like them. Opinions and comments welcomed.

Garden Verses Update

Thank you, everyone for your kind words on Garden Verses. After another week of working on her, here's the latest progress:

She's still a pleasure to stitch. However, sometime last week, I found out that I've made a huge placement error when starting her. Instead of being centralized on the fabric, I've stitched her half an inch to the right. Now while half an inch might not be much under normal circumstances, Garden Verses on the other hand, fits just nicely in a fat quarter, leaving only 2 inches of fabric on both sides for framing. Usually, I tend to leave 3 inches of framing space so 2 inches is already pushing it. Now with my placing error, there leaves only 1 1/2 inch for framing on the right side. Oh how I was kicking myself for it. This is the first time I've done something like that. I guess the saying "Never Say Never" really does apply here, huh? Luckily, the ladies on Mirabilia Stitchers has assured me that a good framer can definitely work with that. What a relief! Maybe I'll get her frame by Jill Rensel. What do you think, eh? Mikey? Hehehe...

Speaking of the forum, the Mirabilia Competition will be starting soon... On 6 October. I'm thinking of switching my goal from stitching her skin to finishing the yellow part of her dress. Fact is, not only is having to stitch one over one within a given time limit is intimidating me but as Mike pointed out, her skin, especially her face, is an intimate part of the design and as such, should never be rushed. Besides, I have a good rhythm going on her dress that I don't wanna break.

I was informed by Meari that I had won her TMQ Contest. Late last week, I received the package she had sent me. This is what the prize consists of:

A couple of Christmas charts, DMC thread and Vikki Clayton's yummy silk perle. I like! Thank you so much again, Meari.

Here's a close up shot of the silks. Isn't the lustre scrumptious?