nothing quite like...

... a little ballerina to make one smile :)

Happy week everyone!

are you normal?

Pepper Sneeze, by Flying Mouse 365

O, hahahaaaaa... I'm sorry, I'm just sitting here laughing -- out loud -- to myself, while reading all these people's posts. You see -- weirdo that I am -- I actually get really, really annoyed with myself when I sneeze. I guess it has to do with self-control or being interrupted or something. But anyway, there I was working on something, and I sneezed, three or four times in a row -- which I hate -- and I actually felt compelled to Google, "Do you get really mad when you sneeze?"

And, as to be expected, someone, somewhere in this big, wide world actually thought the same sort of thing (though the top Google results all had to do with people being annoyed when other people sneezed, not themselves). First though, I was amazed, nay fascinated, in fact downright tickled, that there was a site called, Is It Normal? "Are You Normal?" the subhead asks. "Curious how others might perceive your situation? Ask your question today and find out what others think..." O, fascinating, just fascinating!

So then, this was the question I clicked on: "Is it normal to just get absolutely FURIOUS when anyone around me sneezes? I have almost gotten in a fight because of it". O, hahaha... someone who actually feels the same sneeze-induced rage, albeit toward other people (he/she does sound a bit extreme though...)! And then -- o, this was the best part (well, to me, anyway) -- a whole bunch of people who actually bothered to reply! And what replies LOL!!!

For example: "I only get annoyed when the sneeze seems excessively loud. My mom and fiance (they're separate people, not one in the same) get mad at me when I tell them to sneeze quietly. They say they can't help it. Poppycock! I can hold back. They should, too. Stop scream-sneezing". YOU SAID IT, man!

Or: "I get irritated when people sneeze and then keep saying things like, "Whew" and "Oh man" and "That was a big one!" Like I need to give them attention cause they sneezed". I KNOW!!

And what about: "I agree with Satellite, My dad SCREAMS when he sneezes, He goes HACCCHEEWWWW instead of just a normal sneeze but some people are ridiculous sneezers". I TOTALLY get this!!

This one I just love: "OMFG LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Dude, i suddenly remember my grandma used to sneeze really loud like over and over and YES DAMMIT THAT PISSED ME OFF!! And my dad sneezes really loud too plus so does my mom! its because they don't hold their noses when they sneeze. sometimes they startle me!!
I on the other hand always hold my nose cause otherwise its painful for me. and i'm not too loud... but man i had a good laugh at the comments!! THANKS YALL!!"

And: "omg...so funny! I think it is normal to get mad at your family members' sneezes...because I have been dealing with my stupid brother's LOUD ASS AAAAACCCHHHHOOOO!!!!! without even covering his damn nose....my whole damn life. in the next room late at night, when I would give him a ride, at dinner....I hate it. But also, my brother just kinda bugs me. My mom also has a realllllyyyy loud HEP-CHU! sneeze that is very obnoxious....however, I don't think you should get so angry, it's just natural and don't be so high strung over it, mellow out!"

Or perhaps the most clear and concise of all: "F*** it, smack them one". O hahahahahaaaaa!

I'm sorry, I don't know if this just makes me really weird (but Jacqueline, that's not such a bad thing, right? ;)... It seems the original poster was considered "20% normal" hahahaa... So while I didn't get a direct answer to my own question, I did get over how annoyed I was with myself lol! I'm going to go check out the rest of this wonderful site now -- already I see the question "Is it normal that i don't feel alone when I walk into my bedroom?" Wahahahahaaaaa...

fauna

1. Rabbit original painting by Céline ArtGalerie

2. Pillow cover by inourgardentoo

3. Winter Bear brooch by Meghann Rader

4. Porcelain fox face necklace by Made by me me me

5. Reindeer necklace by Liliana Design

6. Horse necklace by By Beep

7. Personalized baby onesie by Simply Sublime Baby

8. Henry's Head print by Sea Lily Studio

Guppies!

I made a whole school of these sweet little fish for a lovely lady in Derbyshire, and decided I really had to add them to the shop!

Batik Guppy...

... and Sun Guppy are two of the fishies in the shop at present (the rosy turquoise one is a third). 

The Guppies were inspired by Ro's drawing of a flying fish (maybe I'll add wings at some point!).

I think they have such friendly smiles. 

These sweet, happy fish would look lovely in a nursery, or on a shelf or sofa -- anywhere really! They would love to listen to you ramble or watch you try to figure out how your computer works.

Guppy photo shoot outtake haha :)

treasury clipping

Animal friends, by Besty, crafter of elegant prints, cards and other handmade goodies. The entire list is here.

1. Giraffe photo by Lori411

2. Forest Festivities greeting cards by Jahna Vashti

3. Sailor Animal Boy softie doll by Bikbik & Roro :)

4. Vintage toy donkey from Bellalulu

5. Bunny cameo necklace by Five Forty

6. Animal magnets by Piping Hot Papers

Monogram bracelets!

I made a whole bunch of these for an order of party favours, and decided to add them to the shop. They're Monogram friendship bracelets!

Each bracelet is one-of-a-kind, and can have an initial or 3-letter monogram spelt out in silver alphabet cubes.

They're a slightly different take on my Name Day bracelets -- sort of petite-r and more delicate. They're sweet little things, perfect as goody bag stuffers, and look lovely stacked! Find them here.

* Psst -- don't miss out on this giveaway, ending April 16th!

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lookie-look

Sometimes one is so fortunate as to meet someone who's not only really creative, but super sweet as well!

Kristin of Carriage Oak Cottage was so kind as to feature me on her blog, and I just had to share her lovely home decor goodies with you as well. Just take a gander at these elegant, rustic beauties! Happy Sunday everyone :)

* Psst -- don't miss out on this giveaway, ending April 16th!

nothing says tropical...

... quite like a parrot -- just look at the colours on this fellow! Did you know that parrots can see parts of the ultraviolet spectrum? This, and other cool animal facts here. All the pictures were taken by Rebecca (except the ones she's in of course); I think she shows promise, yes?

Most tigers have yellow eyes, but white tigers usually have blue -- the same genetics that show up in Ming!

B writes that "In just a hundred years, the world has lost 97% of wild tigers" -- a very sad fact indeed.  I'm glad there are people like her in this new generation who care, and want to do something about it.

* giveaway: Conscious Box subscription! *

* This giveaway is closed; thank you everyone! Congratulations to Libby -- please check your inbox *

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you probably know how much environmental protection and sustainability mean to me. I think most of us have enough of a conscience to care, and want to do our part in protecting our natural environment; after all, our very survival depends on it. That's why I was gratified to learn of Conscious Box, a monthly subscription service that delivers pure, natural products right to your doorstep.

Conscious Box will introduce you to ethical, sustainable products that help lighten your carbon footprint and better show your love for the Earth. You'll receive a variety of unique, practical products every month; discover ethical, purpose-driven businesses; and receive content on daily living tips, exciting monthly themes, and creative ways to use your box. Earn points for leaving feedback and reviews, and buy your favorites at great discounts. Learn more here.

Thanks to Conscious Box, one lucky reader stands to win a 3-month Conscious Box subscription*! 

PLUS they'd also like to offer a 50% off discount for any Conscious Box subscription -- just use the code LOVELIFE.

Here's how to take part in this giveaway!

Mandatory entries

1. Be a follower of this blog through Google Friend Connect -- just click "Join this site" on the left there and leave a comment letting me know you did :)

2. Head to Conscious Box's FB page and like/share their page. Do leave them a comment saying I sent you :)

Extra entries

(Not mandatory, but you really up your chances! If it says 2 entries, please leave 2 comments)

1. Grab my button (it's over there on the right) for your homepage (please leave me the URL so I can check). Doing this is worth 2 entries.

2. Refer to this blog and this giveaway in a post on your own website (please leave me the URL so I can check). Doing this is worth 2 entries.

This giveaway is sponsored by Conscious Box. This giveaway will end on April 16th 2012 at 12pm EST.

* Currently, Conscious Box only ships within the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, and overseas to APO addresses, as well as US territories.

The winner will be chosen by Random.org. The winner will be notified by email and will have 24 hours to respond, or a new winner will be selected. Please be sure your email or email link is in your comment!

Thanks a lot and have fun!

spring party

1. Vintage mini-dress from Dandelion Daydreamer

2. Upcycled vintage tablecloth dress by A Piece Of Pie

3. Floral clutch by Sassy Stitches by Lori

4. Vintage flowers tattoo pack by Pepperink

5. Agate multistrand necklace by Susan's BeadHappy

6. Peasant blouse by Ananemone

7. Butterfly bib necklace by Lovisetto

8. Floral buttercream cake by BonaCeri

and speaking of tattoos...

... a lady in Los Angeles wrote to me a few days ago to tell me she was "so enamored" of my sailor Hep Cat, that she'd actually had him tattooed on her wrist! She wrote, "I love him. I had been in search of the perfect, fun cat tattoo", and had found Hep Cat's picture on Pinterest.

Well, I can tell you I was speechless for more than a few seconds at first! Who would've thunk it? Then I sort of screamed (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!) and thanked the lady for the great compliment, as well as for being so decent as to let me know (boo to people who shamelessly copy your ideas and work without first asking, or crediting you!).

When I told the hubs, he said, "Sue her for an arm" -- that's his humour for you! Do you have tattoos, or have you ever loved someone's art so much that you had it tattooed on you? The lady said she would send me better pictures of her new tattoo when it was all healed, so I'm looking forward to that! "Thank you for creating something so lovely that it inspired me to have it forever!" she wrote, which is certainly a sweet, though most unexpected, tribute!

lookie-look

So, as promised, let me introduce you to Dottinghill! That's Tammy on the left there, the lady we met at the flea market -- isn't she cute? As I'd mentioned, Dottinghill is a project of her and her husband's company, Dots Connection. Just take a gander at these adorable goodies:

As it says on their website, "[Dottinghill] is an online design community and e-store selling skin-accessories (for people, not gadgets) created by anyone who digs awesome designs and who is not afraid of being quirkily different. People who fit the bill join us as proud residents of Dottinghill to share their love for their design ideas, hang out with one another and shop for the most fly accessories to wear on their skins.

"In starting Dottinghill, we have lofty dreams to popularize skin-accessories as fashionable and wearable little pieces of art that anyone can use as an everyday alternative form of accessory to complement their outfits, moods, events, partners or just because. Our designs come from our frickin' amazing residents, be it our Creative residents who whip up original designs or our resident Spotters who help us scour the www to spot kick-ass artwork that they think will look good on our skin. So really, anyone can be our Creative or Spotter and yes, that includes you!

"The designs that are submitted then go through scoring by the rest in the Dottinghill community. The most popular designs become potential candidates to be printed as skin-accessories that will go on sale on our e-store for the community to get their hands on".

Shop Dottinghill here, or find out more about being a Dottinghill Creative or Spotter.

weekend fun

We were super excited this past Sunday to check out the BBB Arts Flea Market, held at the National Museum. I was mainly interested in the crafting aspect of course, though there were also supposed to be vintage and edible goodies as well. Crafting is not as big here as one might hope, and I was curious to see how many non-Louis-Vuitton-addicted craftsters there were out there.

A kiss before starting anything is always good.

The market covered two floors of the museum; this was the entranceway to the second level. The red chandeliers overhead are engineered to keep swinging in a continuous wave-like pattern.

The floor space was large, but many of the displays were disappointingly small. I heard two ladies describe the crafts as "factory-made" and "commercialised"; I think they meant that quite a few of the tables were displaying things which simply looked like mass-produced stuff you could find at the mall.

We had more fun on the first floor. There were lots of edibles, baked goodies and such; here, the kids choose from some rainbow-coloured cupcakes.

Then we met this lady -- Tammy -- who runs Dottinghill, a project of her and her husband's company Dots Connection (more on this in my next post!). They had this huge table of temporary body tattoos, featuring some really cool and unusual designs; not the usual, run-of-the-mill roses and dagger stuff, if you know what I mean.

The kids, of course, were all over the pieces, because they're just into the whole temporary tattoo thing, so I let them choose a few. They had the sweetest designs -- adorable little characters and animals -- in lovely, soft shades and intricate, henna-like patterns.

The young lady who was helping us introduced me to Tammy, who explained the premise of Dottinghill (which is really pretty cool and which I'll go into in my next post). Then, quite unexpectedly, she asked if the kids could help model some of the tattoos! Well, of course the kids were jumping at the chance to have the things applied to them there and then -- Tammy gave them each a really cute bear standing under a polka-dot gumball shower.

There's Ro admiring Tammy's handiwork, and Becky looking pleased as pie. Tammy was so thoughtful as to give us the tattoos we'd chosen earlier too!

One neat thing about attending the flea market was the fact that the rest of the museum was open for free. Since the kids themselves were keen to explore the place, I let them.

While a lot of the museum's architecture has been modernised, much of its 19th-century features have been retained, like this old spiral staircase.

The girls were fascinated by this poor stuffed toddy cat, otherwise known as the Asian Palm Civet.

It is apparently a ferocious little thing.

Ro listening to information on island ecologies. 

Heading into the photography gallery.

Expatriate children with their amah.

What having two wives looks like.

That's a life-size cutout he's posing with.

Aren't they pretty -- the lady on the left especially exemplifies the look of the roaring 20s.

A puppet theatre in the wayang gallery. Wayang refers to a theatrical performance with puppets or human performers.

Detail of above. I have no idea what is going on.

Antique puppets.

The elaborate costumes of the wayang. 

Fantastic embroidery work.

Becky using the museum's audio-visual guide. It's a handheld thing you use in the history gallery. Every time you reach one of those numbers on the floor, you key it in and the thing tells you stuff. I was pretty tired by this point and didn't bother getting one; I just followed the kids mindlessly.

Those were simpler times back then.

A picture because we were suddenly surrounded by mirrors and some film. Like I said, I had no idea what was going on.

Escalators at the train station. The things man can build...

While the flea market was a bit of a let-down for me, the kids had a grand time, which was the main thing. Here they are sitting in a pretend living room, happy as always :)