Thursday, February 19, 2015





Gong Xi Fa Cai 
 ~ 2015 ~

February 19, 2015 ~ My-SECRET-Corner is ringing in the Lunar New Year — in Chinese astrology, the Year of the Goat —


Today marks Chinese New Year - the longesr and most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. Chinese New Year is the longest national holiday in China, spanning a total of 15 days.

Here in Singapore, the celebrations had already started since last night. Parts of Chinatown located in Northbridge road were so colorful. Adorned with well lit lanterns as well as chinese themed red and orange decors. The streets of Chinatown were beaming with lively colors and Goat lanterns adorned a major float situated right in the middle of a junction of 2 major street roads. The views were just spectacular especially during nighfall.











Goat or sheep?

2015 is the year of the goat, but you may see it referred to as the “Year of the Sheep” too.
The confusion stems from the Chinese character “yang”, which can translate in colloquial Chinese as either sheep or goat.
Those born in 1919, 1931, 1943, 1967, 1979, 1991 or 2003 are goats, who can count their lucky colours as brown, red and purple.
Their characters are supposedly kind and peaceable, while their best months are supposedly August and November and their lucky flowers are primroses and carnations.





Chinese New Year is celebrated by dinners , parades, dragon dances, reunions and gift exchanges .
Red clothing and elements are essential for Chinese New Year, as the mythical monster at the centre of the New Year, Nian, was supposedly scared of the colour red and fireworks, which have also become a key part of New Year celebrations.
Cleaning the house on the twentieth day of the second lunar month before the New Year, and subsequent house decorating, are both major rituals in the run up to New Year.


Each day has its own celebration: while on Day 2 it is traditional to visit friends and relatives, on Day 3 people tend to stay at home as it is not seen as auspicious to socialise.
The final day, Day 15, sees the Lantern Festival, where red Chinese lanterns are released into the sky.

( Part of an article in The Independent )


Sunday, February 01, 2015

Having a New Project ?





February 1, 2015 ~ Good morning everyone ! 1st day of the month again. Sunday, 1st of February 2015. I had awakened to the barking of my neighbor's Husky puppy dog replacing  my usual weekday alarm . But it's ok... time to get up anyways and do my normal routine of  houseworks even on a Sunday ... feed my doggie ( Gabby ), wash dishes from last night, mop the floor to remove muddy paw prints, do all the laundry  so on and on . Haaaayyzzz... I wonder how I could still sneak into my beadroom to update my blog LOL!

Today I don't know what to tell you except that I am now looking at my table top littered with all sorts of beads and rubbish while I sip my morning coffee. Uuuufffffff ...



It's kind of messy  around here ... see what I mean ? Awwwwwww ... decisions to make on new projects for competition. Yup... you heard me ... now I am in the mood to compete again for the upcoming Fire Mountain Gems Seed Bead Contest 2015 ( Wish me luck again please ! ). But first, I need to sort out and clear this table top to have some space for my new project. Then later, I do my house chores of course.

My goal for this month of February 2015 is to come up with a new design . I'm sure you're about to ask, A new one again ? I would gladly reply ...Yes, Something that would kind of stand out from the rest. Unique will be the perfect word to describe it. But then, I will have to provide lots of patience and time making it for sure. Loads of patience to tolerate the many times the beading needle is gonna poke my poor fingers.


 I often get hit by needles while I am beading.  One particular time about 3 years ago, I was hit in my nerve that my finger got a feeling of being electrified everytime I moved it and it lasted for about 6 months. I feared and thought it would never go back to normal again. It really hurts and it affected my beading for quite a while. Luckily, my finger got over the pain and is now working as good as ever. So now, I always take care with needle works and never force the needle again if it won't pass thru the bead anymore. Experience had taught me to be more observant and careful nowadays.

 I make use of a beading needle in almost all my beading projects except when I do wiring.




Size 12 beading needle is my favorite one coz it is very flexible and it can pass through to just anything. The "PONY" brand is good and sold in a pack of 12 pieces for as cheap as  Php45 -50/ pack in the Philippines.A Very good 2.25" long quality needle for seed beads 11/0, 15/0, 18/0 and pearls with fine holes. I buy loads of them everytime I come home to Manila. It's a very good size thin stainless steel needles that is very flexible to go even thru curves but it bends easily after going through the beads several times. It looses its form after a while and I always have to straighten it with a flat pliers.Another flaw I find with this needle is, the hole is quite small so I spent so much time trying to get the thread through the hole. I need a threader to direct the thread into the needle hole just to make it easier. But still, despite of its flaws, it's my best tool when it comes to beadworks. I just keep a bunch of them ready in my Needle Nest in case I break or disformed the one I was using. So problem solved... easy !

As you can see I just don't easily give up on anything ..especially when I'm having a new project , obviously !



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