Miniature Japanese Lamp

Japanese Lamp, my version of
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

it's been a hectic and exciting weekend!

made my first etsy sale, and then some! i have a parcel all nicely packed and waiting for the post office to open tomorrow, it's going all the way to France~~ Vive la France! The buyer's really nice and made some really nice comments on my work, i'm almost embarrassed > <

anyway, prior to all that excitement, i made this lamp cos the weather's been so hot the clay is wilting in my hands. using washi paper, basswood and balsa wood, and a tad bit of varnish, i came up with this simple design. i quite like it it looks real elegant (to me) i might have to make a japanese roombox judging from the number of japanese themed items i've been making lately......

on another note, Eva's been moody all morning, and grandma says she had diarrhoea today while i was out :( poor doggy, i thought she was just mad at me cos i chided her for not finishing her breakfast (i thought she was holding out for human food, grandma tends to sneak in treats all throughout the day!)

tomorrow, errands to run, and SHOPPING!!!!! woot!

YAY! my very first Etsy sale!

YAY!!!! my raspberry cake sold!

my very first etsy sale ^ ^ sooo incredibly psyched! i just received payment a few hrs back, i took like, 2 hrs deliberating over bubble wrap and envelope > < i'd actually purchased them 'just in case' and they've been sitting here for over a month HAHAHA

i hope she likes the little freebies i included for being my first customer ^ ^

whee! hope i can sleep tonight, i'll probably be soooo anxious over whether the parcel will reach her safely or if she likes it or or or...ARGH!

funny but true, i wrote my return addy on top left corner of the envelope, reinforced the sides of the envelope with clear masking tape, and then realised i'd forgotten to include the country from which i'd sent the parcel -_-"

and while typing this, i realise that the stamp would probably indicate.....argh i'm so weirded out imma try and sleep now!

(and i went to a really cool exhibition today at La Salle with my cousin, took lots of pics, had lots of fun! but that should be a separate lengthy post ;) )

what a great day it has been, i knew it would be a good one. despite my tummy woes hee hee.

Ichigo Mochi Revealed, part 1 of ?

there's still more to be revealed....*winks mysteriously*

Introducing: Asuka Sakumo

look at these adorable bunny wagashi?

Wagashi on Wiki

and those boxes?
and those teeny weeny oh-so-cute bumblebees?


I first took notice of this talented miniaturist (is this the term for obsessive people like us?) when I saw a pic of her Totoro bento box.

took a double take at the size of it in relation to her keyboard (dang, even the KEYBOARD is pretty, neh?)


well, i know not many ppl read this blog, but i just want to post about her so that i can bookmark her, and also to 'steal' pretty pictures of her work! (don't worry i asked for her permission to post already!)

man. this post has too many exclamation marks. ANYWAY.

Asuka Sakumo @ Flickr
Asuka Sakumo @ deviantART
Asuka Sakumo @ Blogspot

see more of her cool stuff, she does conceptual art too :)

finally, her homage to one of my fave anime series of all time, Honey and Clover....
lovely, just lovely :) Thanks for sharing your wonderful work with us Asuka Sakumo!

Sneak Preview - Japanese Dessert - Mochi

Sneak Preview
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

so, this has been in my 'to-do' list on my handphone for more than a month now, i woke up in the middle of the night and wanted to make mini versions of mochi since i love eating them so much but am now on a diet > <

further inspired by a new flickr friend (am waiting for her permission to feature her!), i made some simple desserts.

this is just a sneak preview, when it's done imma post again! hope to get it together by tomorrow ^ ^

so exciting!

Evolution takes time....

made a new banner, it's actually for my etsy store, but i'd really rather play clay than tinker with this anymore.

so no image for this post, since it's right at the top of my page ;)

added a few more things, fooling around with stuff and stuff....probably try and get a new layout up over the next few days, maybe even a new tutorial ^ ^

stay tuned! add me to google friends and stuff, i love surfing like-minded ppl's blogs!

Think Pink: Cookies!

so. i tried making salmon sashimi canes and that was an utter failure. X3. i will post up pics of them (sigh) but meanwhile, here's what i did with the remaining clay. i squished them up and they turned pink, so i made cookies!

there's bonbon, waiting patiently for her afternoon tea ;)

on another note, i just cleaned up puppy puke. i gave her a piece of corn on the cob, and didn't know she'd actually eat up the cob as well :O well. since she loved the first piece so much (raw) i gave her a second one (cooked) and she happily chewed that up. i know i know, don't kill me i've never owned a dog before and the "what dogs should not eat" list did not include corn :( now that i've cleaned up her puke (she very considerately puked onto her blanket/towel too) i know better! she seems ok though, bouncing around crazily as always.

i hope she's alright. *stares balefully out door at cute little munchkin*

anyway. i've also finally put up more stuff on etsy, not really getting much traffic, not really knowing how to increase it either. but it's there! so buy stuff from me! so i can buy more clay!

time to play with a forlorn looking puppy (she always does this when i'm in the room, sit by the door and stare balefully at me argh!)

a trial wedding cake

wedding cake
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

been playing around with ideas in my head, and since wedding cakes are pretty standard (flowers, fondant..etc) i wanted to come up with something a little different.

well. it still has flowers but i think it looks a little different still! at least i hope it does.

ok the more i stare at it, the more typical it looks hee hee. but i guess that's a good thing! that way we know it's a wedding cake :)

Of flowers and butterflies

Rose Earrings 2
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

i love them both. and so, here they are together. :)

i am thinking of putting these up on etsy, but i might stress test a pair before offering any accessories, i do not like the idea that they might fall apart just after (or even before!) one wear.

i stuck the roses on with PVC glue, but i think i might need to reinforce them with superglue, anyone have any suggestions?

on a personal note, am just getting over a pretty bad bout of diarrhoea :( see what happens when you suffer from anosmia and do not know if what you're eating is spoilt? :( :( :(

macaron towers are finally up on etsy

all macaron towers
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

i finally got round to taking pictures of my macaron towers for etsy. and putting them up for sale.

i'm really not sure if they would sell, if they will, COOL! if not, i guess i'll have to open a mini bakery LOL

will be adding more stuff, like boxes of macarons, eclairs, mon blancs and more cakes. wonder how my kitchenware would be received though.

or furniture.

or flowers.

AHHHH ONE THING AT A TIME CINDY! CONCENTRATE! *neenooneenoo*

As promised, the Eclair Tutorial!

yes, i know it's humongous. :P

ok. time to get to bed. let me know what you think of it, constructive criticisms are welcome! i can take it! *puffs up chest*

chocolate eclairs, the ones you asked for > <

chocolate eclairs
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

ok 'ere be the darker 'uns!

getting the tutorial ready, but ARE YOU???? :P

boxes of eclairs and macarons, would you like a tutorial?

boxes of eclairs and macarons
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

i am quite pleased with the results of the eclairs! it is my first attempt at eclairs, i will be making darker coloured chocolate ones tmrw, hope they turn out well!

meanwhile, just to see if anyone's watching, would you mind commenting if you're interested in a tutorial on the eclairs? i'm not sure how others view the eclairs, i would be more than happy to share if enough people are keen (how many is enough? LOL? ) otherwise boo, means i need more work on these......

to sell, or not to sell?

i kept busy today. i made more macarons cos the tower needed modifications. made mini eclairs (but no pics cos i forgot to take them), made molds of containers, which was a total flop cos i messed up ha ha. made boxes for macarons cos i was sick of them cluttering up my workspace. made myself smile cos i got news that my cousin's bangle was featured on cuteable. probably made her smile too when i notified her.

made lunch for myself. instant noodles, whee.

made more boxes, packed up Joanne's order, made a mess of my room.

i think i need to spend tomorrow packing up before i can make up my mind on what to sell, and at what price, and if people would even buy my stuff :(

time to zzzzzz...g'nite world!

flickr friday on cuteable.com!

my cousin's bangle got featured! i joined the cuteable group on flickr just for the heck of it, seldom put up stuff there and decided that my cousin's bangle definitely qualified and TADAH!!! whee!!

so happy for her ^ ^

the blog post on cuteable.com!

lemon meringue pie

lemon meringue pie
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

a closer look...

hot, late nights

distressed better?
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

it's so warm, even Eva didn't complain when i chased her into the cage for bedtime.

phew.

anyway! here's my latest, it's a lemon meringue pie, practicing my cream techniques! i luvs it ^ ^

will make more pies tomorrow...i think...

busy days again...

this will be pretty obvious to miniature makers ;P

i was walking around with my cousin and i managed to spot these two tiny bottles on display. i asked how much they were (i usually purchase mine in a pack of 5 for SGD4.90, it's a 'nail art kit') and she said $2 per bottle. i politely declined even though i was tempted, since these were hard to find in Singapore. as i walked off, she beckoned to me and said those were her last two bottles, so she'll let me have them for $2 total! whee! i still think it's alot more expensive than if i ordered online (albeit in bulk), but i still thought it a steal!

cousin then went to get her eyebrows shaped, and i saw that the parlour carried many more other colours of the micro beads. for the same sized jar, the saleslady quoted me SGD$25!! omg! i rolled my eyes and said "NO THANKS, it's TOO EXPENSIVE"....she didn't even flinch, she simply turned and asked if i would like my eyebrows shaped instead...for SGD$5.

-_-"""""""""""""""""""
it's cousin's hols, and she decided to come play with me ;P our mini adventures begin here! let's unveil it tomorrow to see if it's successful :O
old stuff ...i still have to work on my caning skills but i think i'm slowly getting there....slowly............

on a side note, i've found what has been irritating my left eye. i think a tiny splinter of balsa wood got in :( i tried tweezing it out (it's on the inside of my lower left eyelid) but to no avail. i know i shouldn't have, but really! i thought it would be easy...it sure didn't hurt when i dug at it HAHA.

eva's in her cage now. not just because it's bedtime, she's taken to 'naughty' puppy stuff like chewing shoes. *heavy sigh* i really hate caging her up, but i don't want to encourage such behaviour...what am i to do? :(

my first proper hand made furniture item!

no vanity items to fill it with :( i found these 2 bottles, though i think they actually belong to a food set > < time to make some i guess!

bf says the drawer front looks weird with the print, but i think it gives it character :P only reason why it's there is cos i had spare paper lying around LOL

all packed up, neat and tidy! gonna varnish it tmrw when i'm not so tired and see how it works out ^ ^

am soooo pleased with the outcome! it was pretty interesting working with balsa wood for the first time.... btw, am i supposed to sand first then piece them together or finish up the item then sand??? *puzzled* i'm such a noob!

another macaron tower experiment

macaron cake tower
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

i like the colour scheme for this one! i think it's sweet and colourful and friendly ??

and it sits perfectly on the cake! a total accident LOL i'm not a great planner when it comes to dimensions :)

roti pranchis aka french loaf?

roti pranchis aka french loaf?
Originally uploaded by Snowfern

my first time doing breads! I LOVE IT!

in singapore, there is a version of french loaf that's also known as roti pranchis, where the slit is cut straight down the middle, and it has a slightly softer crust than traditional baguettes (I think, have never been to france :X )

here is my mini version of it :) i'm quite proud of it, save for the fingerprints, which are not really very obvious unless you're looking for it....

let me know what you think of it? constructive criticisms always welcome :)

measures 4.5cm by 1cm.