RCHP

I was recently asked to make a few items that I don't usually dabble in, more due to my fear of the colours more than anything.

I'm so happy to say that after much practice, I possibly might have quelled those fears :)

Misplaced my dime again, so a dusty, dirty finger will have to do for scale. Red and green chillies are approx 1cm in length, ~2mm at widest.

 And cos I'm a fan of these little hot peppers aka chilli padi here in Singapore (I believe it's also known as bird's eye chilli), I had to make some. The longest of these are ~3mm x 1mm. (excluding stem)

These capsicums (bell peppers?) were deliberately dirtied and bruised up by me. But only on one side XD they're rather fun to make! I don't like eating these though blegh.

Camera battery died on me before I could take pics of the rest of what I've done today. This weekend is gonna be a fun one, Eva will  be visiting Sans, and I'm gonna tag along hee hee! I've made a little something for her as a surprise, I guess it's a good thing the battery died or it wouldn't be a surprise anymore? XD I'm not good at keeping surprises!!!

some more 1:3 items

group shot! here are somemore 1:3 items for a customer. the taiyaki isn't exactly 1:3, but she liked it and yea, it does look like a cracker of some sort anyway.

almost all components of the bento box are made out of air dry clay. only the bottom half of the box is glued down, and for the first time ever, i've signed and dated the base :P i seldom get such elaborate requests, so i'm pretty pleased at the results of my first ever commissioned bento box! yay!

closer look. the box is actually a mini soap box out of a travel kit i got from Daiso ;)

donuts, a coupla cookies, and some frosted cupcakes with 'pearls'. the only items made out of polymer clay here are the cookies, cos i can't seem to find a nicer ADC option to 'frosted' finish than PC.

also made some cheese wedges and crackers. crackers are made out of polymer clay, cos....it's also really hard to work on ADC (for me anyway) when it comes to such thin pieces....

i'm testing out also a new photoshoot area, picked up a few lights from IKEA, cleaned up my desk so i can update my customer. hope she likes the work so far :S

and of course, i made a few extras since it's hard to mix the exact quantities of frosting and such.....don't feel like wasting it :P if anyone is keen you can email me at snowfern at gmail dot com for more details :)

k, got some other stuff to do...oh it's already time for bed :S nice and cool here after the light rain~~

TDA Recap, now that i'm a little more composed *ahem*

that's me, "tak glam" (totally without glamour) as we say here in Singapore as usual. i don't think there is in my whole history a 'proper' and 'decent' photo of me. for my funeral, they would probably have to make do with my grainy identity card photo, which bf describes as 'psychotic'. nice. 

*snort*

ANYWAY! i'm baack!!! yea i'm still so happy from TDA, and the nice day out with bf yesterday :) had to source for some 1:3 bento boxes and such, but my mind is still reeling from the AWESOMENESS of it all. most of it is relief that it wasn't a total failure.

i had actually written a whole lengthy post, of the people i met and whose names i could remember, then it occurred to me that they might want to lie low. so i'll just thank in general all those who came and supported us. it means, really. more to me than i can express. but just to give you an idea of why i was so frenetic and frenzied, well. last tuesday, i was napping with the help of painkillers (my neck bunched up from all the tension + anxiety) i dreamt that i didn't sell anything. i dreamt also that the organizers helped me shift my booth to an area with more traffic, but everyone simply walked by without a glance! T-T i tried to deal with all this anxiety and lack of confidence, and finally cracked and told my closer friends Asuka and CH how i truly felt. they were both so encouraging, and later, i told my cousin and Sans too.....i think short of holding my hand throughout the event, they were all constantly reassuring and now that i have a chance to calm down, yes, i was being silly *embarrassed*

so truly. thank you. thank you. thank you. i already named and linked in the previous post people i am more acquainted with...so here are some highlights to my day :)

- to all my customers, and flickr friends and dA friends who popped by to say hi! i'm sorry if i didn't get a chance to chat more....i donno what else to say now but i was truly feeling so much panic!!! did i look like a maniac grinning all the time? i was trying so hard to hold myself together LOL!

- my apologies to one of my first few customers, i hadn't even gotten the booth arranged properly and i know i should have used my calculator LOL i feel so silly now. the exchange went something like this:

me: *count count* eh, should be X amt.....right? (to no one in particular)
customer: Uh. ya. use your calculator....
me: OH YA *bash bash calculator* ok ok (to self, phew, maths never fail)

-_-""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
so thank you, my patient customer...hehehe *paiseh*

- also a special *wave* to Shu, who came down in 2009 too....always so happy to see you :) sorry hor i was really confused that day.....heheh

- Alvin, so nice to finally meet you! and thanks for hanging around and showing me the pics...i am serious about that collaboration suggestion hor! ;) (CHUN IF YOU ARE READING THIS OMFG YOUR EARS GOT BURN OR NOT WE TALKED ABOUT YOU LEY ;) )

- Jennifer....you are such a sweetheart :) i am so grateful for your support through these years, silent you may be hehe! hope we'll get a chance to play with clay together some time!! ^ ^ now that you're in blogland too, CONCENTRATE ON YOUR STUDIES O~ :P ganbatte! (yea i know, i'm such a nag, my maternal instincts kicking in LOL! gomen!)

haha i'm not accepting an award ley, why like that huh!??! *sheepish*

i also feel so thankful and grateful for the smooth and wonderful organization of the TDA committee, which i believe consisted of only 2 people this year :O :O :O!! Jamie and Sharon, THANK YOU!

this year felt a lot more intimate, i think due to the location, and also because i am now familiar with the process and also the fellow booth holders who were at 2009! some of whom became friends too :) i know that when i get my doll, i promise i'm saving up to collect from as many of them as possible :D

on to the pics, all of which i've grabbed from my contact lists on flickr, i do hope more can give me permission to use theirs. for those i've used here, i've gotten permission, otherwise, you'll have to click on the links....sorry for all the extra 'work'....haiz, i still feel so sheepish for forgetting to take pics :-/ i don't think i even traversed the right side of the hall.....yikes -_-"

i think mainly because my booth was such a disaster zone, and NO DOLL, there will probably be few to no pictures :( sadness....aiya nevermind. credits for the first 3 pics go to Asuka (ARIGATOU~) who this time round, had her wits about her, unlike me.

i was most surprised to see that none of the french pastries sold :O in fact, most of my customers who even noticed these asked me what they were.....:O i had totally neglected to take into account that since there's no Laduree in Sg, and since Marie Antoinette isn't such a popular movie here either, that they wouldn't be aware of the existence of these items? i'm pretty sure they are recognizable for what they're supposed to be judging from the online attention....but gahhh lol bad move on my part. no matter. i'll put them up for sale here/etsy/and see if anyone else is interested..

i did make some packaged sets, like the rose rakugan boxes, as well as the chocolate boxes, but they too went largely unnoticed. bleh, -i- thought they were cute :P oh well! i had forgotten to take pics of my favourite sets, the usagi manju, but luckily Jennifer did.....thank you for the lovely pic! they look quite cute peeking out from the box hhaha!

i also stupidly neglected to make new namecards, had only 13 pcs remaining, 12 of which went rather quickly. someone even commented that they didn't realize it was a namecard until i mentioned it....gah haha! *doh* the boxes went rather quickly, i made only 7 of them. and did not take pics -_-" so i really treasure this pic cos the boxes were my fave ones of all the packaged items! ^ ^

PERSONAL STUFF, QUITE ICKY, NOT FOR THE ICKY-ADVERSE (eh then probably they wouldn't be reading this disclaimer cos my blog does tend to go on the TMI route...kekekeke)

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a few noteworthy things happened after the event too, most notable of all, is the discovery of another allergy. although i always had a strange allergy to soyabean milk and soyabean curd (i go into a coughing fit, can't breathe properly and somehow generate alot of bubbly phlegm, followed by a fever), i could always take tofu (which is made with soy beans!) and drink yong tau foo soup, eat soy beans whole etc.....so i thought it might have been an anti-coagulant that i was allergic to....but we had some grilled rice cakes at MOF (YUCK they didn't grill it long enough, it was still stuck to the plate, gummy, no brown-toasty-goodness ACK) and i didn't even finish the piece with the Kinako....i must have only ingested miniscule few stray grains of it and BAM. few seconds later i'm coughing and wheezing, and off to the toilet. GAHHHHHH!!! ok stay away, Cindy, STAY AWAY. bf thinks powdered soybean might be the culprit. sounds entirely plausible!

just wanted to write that down so i remind myself. it's so stupid how strange allergies pop up later in life, and you're like so used to the way things 'used to be' that it takes extra effort to learn to avoid stuff. i hope i don't develop anymore allergies, CRUD.

OK! i will try and get back to whatever normal is for this blog soon. i still want to host that 400-follower giveaway, but i think that'll have to be in a separate, less wordy post, since nobody mentioned anything in the previous one HA HA.-_-"

The Doll Affair 2011 - roundup and fond memories

GAH! it was such a flurry of activity at our booth yesterday, i didn't even get a chance to take pics of my booth! this is just a mock setup i showed Asuka on friday. i do hope that those who took pics wouldn't mind passing along links to their pics so that i can enjoy a virtual tour of the event, which is just silly seeing as how i was kinda sorta there T-T will really appreciate it! so far i know only one acquaintance who has put up pics, you can view them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/96785691@N00/sets/72157626864677509/

Thanks, Sossage! ^ ^

so to my readers who were looking forward to pics, GOMENASAI~~ T-T i hope you don't mind a worded account of what i can remember....

i had an awesomely AWESOME time, it all started with breakfast with Asuka, who is not only supertalented, she is also my closest 'mini' friend, boothmate, and overall cutiepiepanda :P we staggered our way to the convention hall and thankfully did not get totally lost! hee! we started our setup a little before 10am, it was loud, crazy, and funny as Asuka and i giggled and roared our way through our displays. damn noisy, sorry to our neighbouring boothmates :X

CH was there early, so we caught up as quickly as we could (dammit i really wish i could play 3D games, stupid motion sickness, <3 your new haircut!) chatted swiftly with Aki (i can't believe i didn't get a chance to view her booth except from the side, haha it was always crowded!), who got me mad insane about wanting an Unoa. only managed to chat with Jo a little, her adorable outfits sold pretty quickly, by the final hour i believe she was already 'stripping' some of her models XD XD XD. also stopped by Rui's booth, her blog is chock full of tips on air dry clay and deco items, made me wish i had discovered it earlier (only found her blog like, 2 days before TDA T-T or maybe earlier than that but i forget SORRY!!!!) Stephanie dropped by a few times our booth, she's always so sweet and fun to chat with ^ ^ looking forward to her pics and her GORGEOUS dolls! it was sooo nice seeing all the familiar faces from the last TDA! please check out their blogs/flickrs :) i 'stalk' them cos wahhh i so want a doll too *desperate* ehhehe 

ooo so much link love XD

my cousin, Denise, helped me out again this year ^ ^ she makes me feel so anchored, i don't think i'd want to do any events without her....we grew up together and although she's 2 mths younger than i am, she's much wiser, she's taught me sooo much (esp social skills), i'd be a much stupider person without her :) <3 you much ^ ^ she helped gently nudge and guide me as i ran circles around myself all frazzled. 

last but not least, we had a guest appearance by Sans!!! thank you for coming down to lend us your support ley, you caught me at a really bad time, could you tell i was panicking???? i frantically messaged my cousin trying to hold myself together once the doors opened ROFL!!!! see you in 2 weeks!!!

to be frank, the whole morning i was a zombie and on auto mode..i still feel a little that way really! 

(hahah am chatting with Asuka online now, am kicking myself for my shitty looking booth HAHAH serves me right for being so ambitious and yet......GAH ANYWAY MOVE ALONG MOVE ALONG!)

 ok la, i gotta head out, let's finish this up and write a little more cohesively if and when i get pics from friends ok??? Asuka is sending me some now as i type :) so here are pics of what i got, AFTER the event -_-" Denise had just returned from a trip to Bangkok, she got me a lovely Naraya (sp?) bag! ok admittedly it is not a style i'm used to, it's time i learn to add colour to my life. i'm glad that she picked a colour 'other-than-black' hehehheh. not so good news for the bf, who often helps me carry my bag when i'm in pain (which is pretty often dayum). so funny, when i showed it to dad, without missing a beat he went "that would go much better if you wore a dress"...i had to crack up cos after i replied, "Eh! you also know i don't wear dresses one." he went "i give you some $, you get yourself some nice clothes ok??" OMG OMG hahah i think i'll forever be a little girl in his heart. :) oh yeh, today's father's day....i want to get something nice for him later. he's not been well lately, i'm monitoring him and he's ok, but imma try and convince him to see a doc earlier than his scheduled appointment. oops, rambled....

and then, eagle-eyed Asuka spotted these CUTE CUTE CUTE punches at carrefour!!! we'd just come out of a nom-nom japanese dinner, and whaddya know, GACHAPON MACHINES!!! TEEHEE i got 2 of these stitches, the matching one is now with Denise ^ ^ i'm glad, cos it now replaces the hot dog one that i got at STGCC last year :( i donno how but i lost it some time last month T-T

it has been a memorable experience. i want to write a more personal entry, but i shy la :P i'll probably do that over on my more personal journal at deviantArt later if anyone cares to read it :P

ok! it's Date Day Sunday, gotta get ready to head out, have some commissions to complete and preparations yet for the workshop, and that catalogue that never seems to materialize GAH! but it's SUNDAY!! *whines*

say hi to me! i promise to reply a lot sooner this time (HAHAHAH omg you still trust me after hearing that so many times???) and and i didn't forget my promise about the giveaway, which will come up in my next post ;) please comment IN THIS POST to tell me what you would like to see as gifts, and i'll take inspiration from that to create the giveaway post.

my heart feels like it's swelling with love today. <3 YOU ALL!!! (OMG I"M HIGH)

3 days to TDA 2011!

 1:3 cupcakes

1:6 cupcakes, with variously scaled ispahans

 1:3, 1:4, 1:6, 1:12 strawberry/raspberry parfait

Chocobanana parfait and previously mentioned Chocolat Liegoise (sp? lol i can't even pronounce it) with strawberry sundaes waiting for a final gloss in the background

 1:4 carbonara spaghetti and fettucini

and 2 plates of 1:4 spaghetti bolognese

 finished up the religieuses with the teeny tiny pipings up the sides

 and then more piping with some 1:3 and 1:6 alice sets i'm preparing (need to make the 'drink me' bottles)

also wanted to make some cabochon cookies...alas, i think this might be as much as i can get done given the little time i have left.

of course, more WIP LOL. the macarons look so cute like this ^ ^

BACK TO WORK! boxes boxes boxes............................BLEH! wish i had time to write more, i'll write that essay after TDA ;) haven't yet decided on the layout either, nor have my display items set up yet. hwa hwa hwa. -_-;

WIP: More pastries, and drinks

you probably have seen most of these, but i don't have 'nice' photos this time round save this one, heh. put together a few items to see how they would work with the stand. not bad! they aren't varnished yet in this pic....

lol they make me laugh cos the religeuses remind me of fat laughing Mi Le Fo! anyway these have been given a coat of satin varnish to make them look yummier. :) i used liquid sukerukun on top of air dry clay 'choux pastry'....they're in 1:3, 1:4, 1:6 and 1:12 :)

and yet another food item i've yet to taste (alongside the religeuse and st honore). these are 1:3 and 1:6 Chocolat Liegeois. and a vanilla variation to it? ionos. i was randomly surfing for pictures of desserts on flickr, looking for i think religeuses when i chanced upon the concept of a hot cocoa drink, with choc icecream and whipped cream, and it totally captured my attention. the drink portion was made with acrylic + 2-part epoxy resin, and the whipped cream portion with Grace whipped cream clay. it's all very messy stuff and i had to take a pill to curb the allergic reaction i seem to have developed working with epoxy. i broke out in hives all over my hands after an afternoon of making these (and other drinks which i haven't completed yet).

MILK! in 1:12! yay!! oh and uh some vanilla type concoction too heh. was planning to make more of the chocolat version, but gave up after the hives showed up. another day perhaps :(

 on a side note, Eva went for her annual vaccination today....she'd  been having this persistent rash on her right ear for a while now, the vet gave her a cream for it and suggested we put her in the 'cone of shame' (lol i love love loved Up!)

 the poor girl hardly moved after i put it on her. when she finally did, she did so gingerly :P

and here's ahma laughing her head off at Eva's predicament LOL i gotta admit, i laughed real hard too XD XD XD Eva's resting now, i think she's getting used to it.

back to work!