Long Overdue - Blog Awards

This is a long overdue blog post. I received 3 awards back in June and July but delayed posting till today. Here they are:

One Lovely Blog Award

This one is from Diane of MyGemstoneBox - Thank you Diane, I am honored.

The Rules

Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered (some of mine are not newly discovered though :)). Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
* :) 15! That's quite a lot but I shall try. 
OK, I hope you all don't mind being my victims :) Here goes. I would like to pass this award to:

1. Robyn Hawk of A Fly on the Wall's Views and Reviews by Robyn Hawk
2. Marjorie of Puppy Love Jewelry
3. Susanna of Card of the Week.com  
4. Shuku of The Great Unknown
5. Jedda of This Little Project
   
6. Mandy of Beads Me 
7. Sharon of Live Wire Jewelry 
8. Melissa of The Wired Quilter 
9. Heather of Azure Islands Designs
   
10. Dianne of Art By Dianne
11. Kudzu of Bits and Pieces
12. Sandy of Sandy Petals 
13. Lynette of Dichroic Glass and Art 
14. Tania of Free Step-by-Step-Tutorials
    

The Premio Meme Award
I got 2 of this Premio Meme Award. One from Mortira of Inspirational Beading and another from Emma of Glitter Glow Beading. Thank you Mortira, thank you Emma.
Check out their blogs and get inspired especially the tutorial section. 

The rules are simple. List seven facts about yourself and pass the award to seven worthy bloggers.

1. I started this blog to share my wire wrapped jewelry with the world and I am afraid it is turning into something else...LOL....hope not....focus! focus!...
   
2. Best way to relieve stress - wire wrapping and laugh out loud and heartily.
3. Generally cheerful and happy go lucky kind of person. I can be funny but i reserve that for special occasions...:) just kidding lol.
   
4. Always want to do more than what I can, in terms of time.
5. Shy :), most of the time enjoy being alone and don't talk much.
6. I used to be a very patient person but as I get older, I am losing it.
7. Dislike people who constantly worry about their looks, extra quick with excuses and telling lies.

This award goes to:

1. Janice of Doxallo Designs 
2. Kerry of Kabs Concepts 
3. Cathe of Just Something I Made 
4. Lorelei of Inside the Studio 
5. Heather of Azure Islands Designs 
6. Shay Stone of Shay's Creative Journey 

Phew! Finally done...one of my longest post in recent months or is it year?
Now I am off to inform all of you.
Have a wonderful weekend! Cheers!

Here's the Pendant-Wire Wrapped Caged Earrings

Alright! It's not the headache. It is actually quite difficult to wire wrap this tiny crystal.
It just didn't want to sit still.
I managed but its a bit "wai wai!" (off center)!
Glad that I completed this set as they have been with me for a while :) but
* Reminding myself not to wire wrap this kind of tiny crystal next time. Must be at least 1.5cm.

Wire Wrapped Caged Earrings - Painful piece, almost gave up

Yeah! I almost gave up on this one. I was wire wrapping this pair when headache strike again last Sunday. Managed to finish it before the full blown pain. Maybe because of that I decided this is one of the more difficult and painful piece. Yeah! Blame it on the headache :)
Anyway, headache is gone now and the world is so very BEAUTIFUL again!

Secondly, these are really tiny heart crystals....heart shape not very visible due to the wrap.
They are less than 1cm. Had hard time holding them down with my "temporary" clumsy fingers while trying to secure the loops/wraps at the front. The crystals kept slipping away to the sides or out the cage.

I hope the pain doesn't show on the earrings :)
So, here's happy non-headache days ahead and wishing you will never ever get any headache in your life.

Catching Up - Wire Wrapped Cab

Got this done this evening. I thought it would be a breeze wrapping this piece but not really. I use 23ga wire for wrapping the frame and I have problem keeping all the wire together while fitting the cab in there.
A bit of flow there but if you look closely, the cab is positioned a bit off the center.

Special thanks to Bobbi for her tutorial.

Why Cathching Up? Because I have lots of catching up to do ;)

Wire Wrapped Cab - Embrace It

Today didn't go so well with the little boy (Henry). He didn't want to go to school. Well! he did but only halfway. He got into the car with William and we drove all the way to the school. Once there, he didn't want to get off the car. Started crying/wailing that he didn't want to go to school. Coaxed him and tried to bribe him for about 5 minutes but failed. I gave up and drove him home...late for work again! This little one is really unpredictable and sometimes I just don't know how to deal with him. His mood changes as fast as lightning......

OK! enough about him. Hope you don't mind my rambling.

Here's sharing with you a wire wrapped cab I completed last night. Another one to go.

Lapis Lazuli, the Healing Stone

Lapis Lazuli alleviates pain, especially that of migraine headaches.

This is the statement that got me attracted to this gemstone recently. As some of you may know, I frequently have migraine headaches. I've tried lots of things to help me cope with the pain - panadol, paracetamol (same thing), pain killer (can't remember their names), even 100 Plus, Chinese medicines/herbs, massage, etc. etc but non of them helps. When I got them, I'd be completely "useless" for one or two days. I'd be locked inside the bedroom and try to sleep the pain away. Of course I can't as the boys will come knocking on the door from time to time...mommy! mommy!
Yeah! I am very very desperate. Thank you to friends who suggested other methods to get rid of the pain. Haven't tried some of them out yet but will do.

For now, I have made myself a Lapis Lazuli necklace. They are 8mm beads and we shall see how it works out. I hope it really works :)
For believers, here are other attributes of Lapis Lazuli:

• Friendship, universal truth, harmony, peace of mind, tranquility, honesty, creative expression, expand awareness, intellectual capacity and communication, mental clarity, self confidence.
• Mental clarity & emotional healing, and enhances judgment and wisdom.
• Enhances psychic abilities and awareness & communication with higher self and spirit guardians.
• Helps to openly state his or her opinion.
• Energizes the throat chakra. Helps in recovery from surgery. Aids healing in the areas of the neck, larynx, and vocal chords. 
  
• Protect wearer from physical danger and psychic attacks.
• Cleanses the mind body and spirit of toxins and negativity.
  

Braiding with wire

It's been a while since I last braided with wire and I've never wire braid a ring until today. This is a "training ring" before getting into serious business :) ....Ehm! actually I was not sure if I can make a braided ring or not therefore this "test ring" :)

Why so many spirals? Actually, I don't know what to do with the wire ends. There are six of them. Naturally, I'd go for spirals as they are the easiest and cute too.
Overall, the ring looks fine and surprisingly very comfortable on the finger.
I will do better job next time around :)

If you would like to make your own wire braided bracelet, check out my FREE tutorials - 3-Wire Braiding.