Tuesday, February 02, 2010

February Birthstone ~ AMETHYST



~ AMETHYST ~
FEBRUARY BIRTHSTONE


 Amethyst is the Birthstone for February.
It is also the Zodiac stone for the constellation of Pisces.

The color purple is traditionally the color of royalty and amethyst has been used since the dawn of history to adorn the rich and powerful monarchs and rulers. Today, amethyst is a lovely and affordable gemstone that is fortunately available in a wide variety of cut and uncut stones that we can all possess and admire.


The name "amethyst" comes from the Greek and means "not drunken." This was perhaps due to a belief that amethyst would ward off the effects of alcohol, but most likely the Greeks were referring to the almost wine-like color of some stones that they may have encountered. Its color is unparalleled, and even other, more expensive purple gemstones are often compared to its color and beauty.

Although it must always be purple to be amethyst, it can and does have a wide range of purple shades.


Amethyst is the purple variety of the mineral quartz and is a popular gemstone. If it were not for its widespread availability, amethyst would be very expensive.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010




My Creation Got Featured !




I was updating the item listings of my etsy shop today, 27th January when I came across my conversation page and found out that one of my works got featured by a previous etsy member "check2box " in a blog found in  http://foundhandmade.com/



Garnet : by admin on January 3, 2010

1. galit ($33.00)
2. artisanfield ($45.00)
3. AspiringtoGrace ($12.00)
4. stonesofhealing ($25.00)
5. MySECRETCorner ($18.50)
6. maryellendoran ($39.50)
7. hypho ($65.00)
8. SimonandRuby ($32.00)
9. citydetails ($48.00)
10. fussjewelry ($158.00)
11. artjewelryonline ($360.00)
12. MarcusBerknerJewelry ($135.00)
13. hadas1951 ($68.00)
14. onegarnetgirl ($126.00)
15. BriarandtheRose ($40.00)

Thanks so much for the special attention given to my item and looking forward to having more communication with all of you out there !
 


Saturday, January 16, 2010

January 2010 ...




I'd been away from my blog for quite a while and I must say I can blame it on the past holidays ha-ha ! Christmas was long way gone ( thanks a lot ! ) new Year was spent with the kids and hubby in the mountainous area of Chiang-Mai in the northern part of Thailand. We had seen several  waterfalls, hot springs, tribal villages where the famous Kayan ( Long Neck Women ) live, Tiger Kingdom , Elephant camps and the spectacular scenes surrounding this part of Thailand.


Visiting a small village near Pai ...


A young Kayan girl weaving a shawl


A Brass Ring from One of the Kayan Vendors


One of the numerous Breathtaking waterfalls ...


Hot springs in the middle of nowhere !

Although the Central city of Chiang- Mai where we were staying was loaded with tourists like me and traffic was so congested during the new Year celebrations, my family was happy to have seen a different world out there compared to the busy city life of Singapore. We were so happy to see the other basic side of life ...
The early weeks of January when we came back to Singapore were spent catching up with friends , of course ... party here and there plus the most special event of the month ... my birthday bash ! Oh gosh ... one more year was added to my ever piling age ! But worry free me spent time with all female friends having dinner with them at an Italian Restaurant in Roberston Quay and then some real dancing  until 4am in the morning at " Pump Room " located in Clarke Quay. Of course I came home sober coz I don't drink alcohol while dear hubby and  kids were fast asleep like babies at home.



But wait, let me extend my sicerest thanks to all my friends who celebrated my special day with me. hey ladies of " FEWS " Thanks so much  for being such a great company. A million thanks for your gifts too. You were all so thoughtful !

Ok, what else do I need to tell you ... oh yeah, new topic ... something new at home had came up lately. I finally had the chance to remove the old toys of my kids from their toy room and had the room converted into a Beading class room. Pity I was not able to take a photo of the toy room before I trnsformed it. It was such a big make over ! The Beading class room was designed to cater to my friends and their friends who had been asking me to teach them how to do jewelries thru beading. I had 2 tables with 6 chairs from the storage ( God knows how long they had been kept in there for years ! ) put up and a nice Teak Wood bookshelf moved into the room filled with beading books and magazines . I had decorated the room area with some finished jewelries, some beading paraphernalia and see what I've got :



It was such a cozy, quiet place . Well lighted and fully airconditioned . Excellent for beading & other art crafts.  An ideal venue for total relaxation . Since I will only use it during the daytime and mostly in the morning,  room can be used by my kids as a study room during the afternoon till  night.

To enhance the look & feel ,  I had added a few fixtures today ( 16th January 2010 )
 like the following :


standing half body mannequin so I can hang my finished necklaces neatly and nicely ,


a standing mirror which is always a must to see how we look like from time to time,


a rotating wire mesh rack to keep my beads / findings hanged & well organized in one corner


last but not the least, ( that I always hope lol ! ) was a copper brass table top Necklace & earrings holder.

How I really love the way this beading Class room was morphing so far. I already had a student last week for the 1st time to use this room and more friends who are eager to learn would be coming in the next few days .

2010 is giving me such a great start !

CHEERS TO A GREAT NEW YEAR !!!



Saturday, November 28, 2009

"ANGEL'S TOUCH " Fund Drive




~ " ANGEL'S TOUCH " ~
- Fund Drive -


When help is much needed ...
 it doesn't really cost anything to be there for them ... Does it ?





DECEMBER 2009 - Donate SGD$5.00 or more and get either a pair of Angel Inspired earrings ( Designs varies ) , a key chain or an Angel charmed phone strap as a token of appreciation for your generosity.







The proceeds  would go to  My-SECRET-Corner's "ANGEL'S
TOUCH"  fund campaign that would benefit ( for the month of December 2009 ) the poor flood evacuees in Sta. Cruz Laguna, Philippines who were  gravely affected by the previous typhoons Ketsana & Santi .






I was originally from this  province . I was born here as well as all my siblings . Santa Cruz  is a 1st class urban municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. It is also the capital town of the province of Laguna and considered as the service and commercial center on the eastern part of the province


 I had visited the area after the devastation to check on my mom and son's living situation. I came home hurriedly just after the said typhoons flooded our small bungalow house . I had moved my family to a different place few days after my arrival to make sure they're safe when it rains.





My house was also not spared by the past typhoons and water was waist deep inside it destroying all my wooden furnitures. I'm just happy that my mother & son were safe despite of what had happened. They were fortunate compared to people whose houses and way of living were strapped away from them by the gushing waters of the overflowing river of the said province. Some were extremely unlucky loosing the lives of loved ones. It was really so heartbreaking. Even just to see these poor people living presently in makeshift tents in open basketball courts and school grounds with small children without any belongings except for what they were wearing would cause your eyes to swell from non stop crying. I had seen the evacuees from a distance and couldn't come closer coz I felt so bad to come near them and got nothing to offer them I told myself that one day I would be back there to lend them a hand when I'm ready to do so. With hope and determination , I'll be there soon for sure !




 I just couldn't bear the sight of  the evacuees crowding in one site.  This memory of them gave me the push  when I got back here in Singapore ~ to do something for them to at least ease their sufferings somehow . On my own, I started organizing a fund drive called :

" ANGEL'S TOUCH "




I made  60 pairs of Angel inspired earrings, a few keychains & phones straps to start with. The items were designed with different Angel charms I have in stock.






So far, I had sold all the 60 pairs and a few other things just by attending  a charity dinner & dance at the Hilton Hotel, attending my friends' parties and selling them in other venues like at the recently held Sporty Joe's  Sportsfest, selling to the staff members of EZoo Music School , NKF Singapore Office Personnels , clientele of Lazy Lizard Pub as well as sales online via facebook  ). The support was overwhelming !
This week , I had sent the partial payment for a few sacks of rice to be distributed among the people living in the school grounds.
Presently, I had made more Angel items Hoping I can sell more so more funds for relief goods can reach these poor people before Christmas ... If you feel like joining me for my cause, please let me know @ taszel14@my-secret-corner.com


I extend my sincerest gratitude to the donors who supported the Fund Raising for our disaster-stricken countrymen.

List of Donors :

FEWS Charity Dinner & Dance Guests ( Hilton Hotel )
Sporty Joe's Staffs & Students ( Sportsfest )
EZoo Music School ( Staff Members )
Mr. Michael Roggeman
Mr. Steffen Kohler
Mr./ Mrs. Jean Marie & Werner Meier
Ms. Nenty Asmary
Ms. Zeenat B. Ho
Ms. Cindy Craft
Ms. Wilma & Ms. Maryann
NKF Office Staff
Ms. Karen Chee Hansen
Ms. Jojo Hardy
Ms. Suz ( Facebook )
Ms. Kim Voorwalt Ho
Ms. Wenn Chan


Thanks so much for your generosity & support !








Saturday, November 14, 2009

NOVEMBER 2009




Busy, busy, busy is what I would say for the month of November. I Had just finished the Asian Civilization event last week and it was such a huge success ! Being in the event was Indeed a wonderful experience ...





Kids and adults were lining up for the necklace workshop ...







 Age doesn't matter at all since I have even kids as young as 4 years old and even boys too who were very eager and interested to make a necklace of their own !



Bonding between parents and their children





and between siblings was a great sight that day too !




A girl wearing the pearl necklace she had created !
Good job girl !

 I had sold some pieces to the museum visitors as well .
People were amazed by the handcraftship and designs invested in every piece of jewelry in the displays.


Ms. Jenny Astbury wearing a pair of  dangling Semi-Precious stone earrings ...


Ms. Jovy Gillet was wearing the long Multi Color Pearl Necklace while Ms. Bheng Javier - President of FEWS ( Filipino Expat Wives Singapore ) wore the crystal pair of earrings bought from the display.



 I even had an on the spot interview with celebrity host Ms. Pamela Wildheart before my necklace making Demo on the 2nd day of the event ... Gee, I feel like a celebrity too ha-ha !

 I was so thankful to all the assistance, support given by the organizers ( Mr Zachary and his staffs especially ) who allowed me to put my jewelries on display for FREE for 2 straight days !

To all New friends and existing friends of course who came over and visited my stall.

Thank you, thank you and more thank you guys !



Thursday, October 29, 2009



Special Exhibition :
Land of the Morning: The Philippines and its People


The Image courtesy of Jeffrey and Jenny Co and Dr. Eleuterio M. Pascual

When : 16 Oct 2009 - 10 Jan 2010
Location: Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) ,
1 Empress Place Singapore



Website or Map: http://www.acm.org.sg/

Land of the Morning: The Philippines and its People explores the identity of the Filipino people, created by the blending of indigenous local cultures and foreign influences.
Learn about the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines - an eclectic blend of indigenous local cultures and Spanish, Chinese, Southeast Asia and Islamic influences.



This unprecedented exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum features more than 290 rare and important artefacts - ancient gold, Catholic imagery, tribal artefacts and contemporary Filipino artworks – from museums and private collections in the Philippines, some of which will be on display for the very first time.

This exhibition is organised in collaboration with the Ayala Museum, Manila.

Exhibition is Now Open until - 10 Jan 2010

One Of The Highlights on Nov. 7, 2009


~ How to Make a Pearl Beaded Necklace ~




Simple basic beading , stringing & wiring technique to be demonstrated  by Wella Dela Cruz Cornelis of:

Tutorial is free as well as the use of  all materials & tools.
Lessons are fit to apply with kids 6 yrs and above & Adults
Duration of lesson is 20-30 mins in (1 ) hour intervals.
First Come - First Serve Basis
Maximum of 4 students per seating so be there early to get a spot !

Free Admission To galleries 9:00am - 7:00am


Organized By: Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), FEWS

 
,