Monday, June 30, 2008

Petit cards

Over the weekend, I have been busy making a new collection of Pastel b. cards and I decided to go petite. The actual size is suggested by Pascale, measuring 6cm by 6cm square.

I think the petit cards will be ideal as gift tags. Though tiny compared with the usual Pastel b. greeting cards, they are made with the same care, each petal hand sewn stitch by stitch.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Birthday Gift

The door bell rang and this is my birthday gift!!
Love it!!

Sex and the City - A Guy's Viewpoint

Confession : I saw SATC twice. The first time was with a gal pal who had never followed the series and was wondering what the hype was about. The second time was four gals who had followed the series in various degrees. We were all very excited the movie was on and disappointed about how hard it was to get tickets. One thing for sure is, we never thought of going to watch it with our male friends.

So, I was pretty surprised one day, when I received a call from a male friend asking me if I had seen the movie, and would I go to see it again. I told him I had already seen it twice. Then he said "Great! We can talk about the movie then". He proceeded to tell me the bits and parts that moved him and that he was actually a little teary. My mind went blank.

I was totally caught off guard and I cut him off in the middle of a sentence and said, "it's a chick flick". It's like I could not comprehend why a straight guy would go and see SATC and discuss it with me, let alone be moved! After rudely interupting him, his comeback line was, "I do have a feminine side, you know".

Ok....

I thought it's an isolated incident of a guy into SATC....

Am I wrong! I just heard from a gal pal that a male friend of hers had followed the series all the way through, and told her how real the story was. He could totally relate to the on going struggle between Big and Carrie. He said the characters were not fictional. It's a portrait of everyday women.

Ok....

I wonder how many guys out there would vouch that they like SATC. Guys who won't be embarassed to admit they saw the movie and wont' say "it's a chick flick" in your face. Instead of blaming the male friends who wouldn't go with us to see the movie, I guess I should reflect on my narrow-mindedness of categorizing SATC is a chick flick and Indiana Jones is a male flick...

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Camellia












The camellia is one of my earliest desgins, and is my favorite one. Real camellia comes in a lot of varieties and colors. After studying the petal shapes and formation, I have chosen the formal double row camellia for replica in Pastel b. cards.
All the camellias in Pastel b. have 3 layers of petals, totalling 12 for each flower. Petals in the center are sewn with pearl or amethyst beads as stamens. Four falling petals are added in the corner, to signify the fragility of the flowers.
Bathed in the palest water colors as close to the original, I hope I have done justice to replicating this beautiful flower.




Saturday, June 21, 2008

The Boleyn legacy lives on

I just finished reading 'The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory. Although there are some harsh criticsms concerning the accuracy and the historical facts presented in the book, it is an entertaining read. A best seller, but lashed by critics. Does "Da Vinci Code" and "Harry Potter" ring a bell?

The widely popular "Da Vinci Code" was said to be blasphemous and anti-Catholicsm. The "Harry Potter" series were criticized as promoting withcraft and JK Rowling is a practicing witch. Despite all these vicious attacks, these books still manage to draw huge readerships, and have been so popular they are adapted into movies.

"The Other Boleyn Girl" mainly revolves the court of HenryVIII and the rise and fall of the Boleyn and Howard clan. Mary and Anne Boleyn were thrust to the arms of King Henry by their family to secure their power and wealth in the court. Mary was the docile one, whereas Anne was the ambitious and reckless one who wanted it all.

Anne Boleyn was finally crowned the Queen of England after successfully eliminating King Henry's wife, Queen Katherine. However, she only reigned for 3 years before she was beheaded for treason, for going too far to get what she wanted. In the end, she had no friends, ignored by her family and jilted by King Henry.

The book is entertaining because it describes human behavior, you could ascribe the different characters to people around you. I guess we haven't evolved as much as we like to believe behavior wise, coz the Anne Boleyn, King Henry and the courtiers of the 1500's, still lives on today. Read the book if you have time, you would certainly find someone you know.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Pondering love

I had a chance to work at a cat clinic for a full day last weekend. The day went by in a buzz and I was exhausted after 10 hours of cleaning cages, learning the basics of animal handling, observing 4 surgeries and holding the cats still while they are being examined by the vet.

There were various ailments, from simple vaccinations, to neutering, a split paw, bad teeth, ear infections, eye ulcers, diabetes and kidney cancer. Although the cats came in for different reasons, there was one common thing threading them all, they are all loved.

The owner of the diabetic cat has to give insulin shots to her kitty 2 times daily. She missed one by 3 hours, that's why the cat was brought in coz he was very sick. The kitty is skin and bones, but the way the owner lovingly stroke her body, she is still the most adorable baby to her.

The kitty who is suffering from kidney cancer was brought in for his chemotherapy. After the injection, I brought the kitty out from the nurse's station to the owner. The vet explained to her that they'll have to use the left front leg for injections next time around, coz the right front leg's veins are too porous after so many injections. The owner thanked the vet profusely and told the kitty that they were going home now and kept telling the kitty that he was a good boy.

It's saturday and the clinic is closed on sundays, so all the cats have to be returned to their owners over the weekend. As I was cleaning the recovery cages after the owners picked up their cats, I felt a warm glow. The cats were to go home. When they were brought out in their travelling bags to their owners, you could see a big smile spread across the owner's face. They all greeted the kitties with "awe...are you ok? we are going home now..." As for the kitties, they would meow to complain and the owners would go, "oh, i know it hurts, yeah, i know....I am here now...."

Yes, it was an exhausting day, but also an exhilarating one. The vows that couples say when they wed rose before me, " for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us apart." Aside from romantic love, the love between the cats and their owners I witnessed that day certainly testify to this.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Sex and the City

I finally got seats to see Sex and the City last weekend. It was up for a week and the tickets were still hard to come by. As the four girls strutted down Manhattan and the famous SATC theme came on, I was silly with excitement. As Carrie so aptly put, "Girls come to New York to look for labels and love." The movie is certainly not short of labels, but there is plenty of love, too.

It was a reunion, not only for the lead characters, it was a reunion for the fans, too. Critics say the actresses look old. Yes, they have all aged. Well, so have we. The story line is more mature and goes more in depth about love, romantic love and love between friends.

When the credits roll, I wish the gals, Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and of course Samantha the best. It's a lovely 2 hours of laughter, tears, girl power, nostalgia and deja-vu. Walking out of the cinema, the question that Carrie wonders lingers in my mind. Does true love exists? I will myself to believe so....Afterall, Carrie has Big.

In case you missed it on 60 Minutes, this is what Andy Rooney thinks about women over 40:
60 Minutes Correspondent Andy Rooney (CBS)

As I grow in age, I value women over 40 most of all.
Here are just a few reasons why:

A woman over 40 will never wake you in the middle of the night and ask, 'What are you thinking?' She doesn't care what you think.

If a woman over 40 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do, and it's usually more interesting.

Women over 40 are dignified. They seldom have a screaming match with you at the opera or in the middle of an expensive restaurant. Of course, if you deserve it, they won't hesitate to shoot you if they think they can get away with it.

Older women are generous with praise, often undeserved. They know what it's like to be unappreciated.

Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to a woman over 40.

Once you get past a wrinkle or two, a woman over 40 is far sexier than her younger counterpart.

Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off if you are a jerk, if you are acting like one. You don't ever have to wonder where you stand with her.

Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal.

For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40, there is a bald, paunchy relic in yellow pants making a fool of himself with some 22-year old waitress.

Ladies, I apologize.For all those men who say, 'Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?', here's an update for you.

Nowadays 80% of women are against marriage. Why? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage!

Andy Rooney is a really smart guy!

Hooray to girl power!!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The package arrived!!

The much awaited package that Pascale sent me on Monday has finally arrived, carrying 10 precious angel suits from Petit enjel. What surprises me is how small the clothing is. Each angel suit is folded and packed in little boxes. The bags all have beige ribbons attached to the handle. When I opened the package, it's like OMG. Pascale was doki, doki the past week and I really think that the doki, doki should be replaced by pride and joy. The baby suits are adorable. Well done, Pascale!! To the success of Petit enjel.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

The Launch

Today is the official launch of Petit enjel. (Champagne glasses clink, clink and claps, claps here before reading on...). Pascale has created a lovely line of couture for new born babies and the line is launched today via the website http://www.petitenjel.com/. Featuring are these adorable angel suits, as Pascale calls them, coz they are made for newborn angels. From the description, you could tell that these angel suits are made by a mom whose love for her baby transcends words. These baby suits are made with love and care only a mom will know. Congratulations Pascale, you have done it and launched your baby clothes line!

Today is also a big day for me. Pascale has linked up my Pastel b. cards in her Petit enjel website. She has taken lovely pics of my cards and christianed the designs"petals". After the launch, she emailed me to let me know that her friends, many of them designers, asked about the creator behind Pastel b. and complimented on the cards. Well, you cannot imagine the happiness and pride welling inside of me when I read it. A collection of "papillon" and "laces" will be launched real soon. And here, my hearfelt thanks to you Pascale, for believing in me and my efforts. Hug, hug.
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