Have been busying myself with a few tiny projects lately.

Ever since I bought those new books I've been sucked into a vortex of obsessive reading. Anytime I find myself with a moment to spare, my mind wanders to the story I last read, my hand reaches out to the book which will not be too far away from me and soon, I find myself engrossed in reading until I tear myself away after much reading to only go back to reading it in the next moment.

even so, i still managed to find some time for some handiwork projects... and erm work of course.

soon it'll be my 2nd year anniversary with wilson. yes it's been two years and time does fly. the official date of our anniversary falls on the 25th which will be a sunday, and already, wilson thought of what he would like me to cook for him.

besides that, i launched into a mini-project to make a card, or rather, display card for him as a gift. it will be framed up in my room once it's done but still, a gift from me to him.

it's not quite completed yet. i still need the frame.

here's just a sneak preview for you of what it SORT OF looked like.



you'll get a better look once it's all done. wouldn't want wilson sneaking a peek from blog to know what i've made for him. i'm quite happy with how it turned out actually.

besides that, i've had two colleagues with their birthdays coming up. one is next week so i've not made a gift for her yet.

as for the birthday girl who's birthday so happened to fall on the valentine's day EVE,

i made her two stuff.
one i made her chose a design and colours.
the second was impromptu but it turned out great.

the ring

ok this is the impromptu one

i took two shots.

one with the new owner's hands...



she's the same height and about the same size as me to i used my fingers as the guide for how wide my ring should be and it fitted her fingers just right!

AND, i took another shot on its own and played with this technique sano showed me from an online professional tip. turned out really nice.



...and the phone strap.

i took quite a while to finish this up. it's not toooo easy but it's not that hard either.

since i'm using a nylon wire, it's a little stubborn and warps in direction less than desirable and i had to sorta twist it into shape and FINALLY, and thank god, i managed to pull it off.

i did learn alot about what kinda beads would be right, pro and cons, techniques to use and avoid and why it is impt to choose the right beads of the right sizes or it'll be a waste of effort and money when you can't finally complete the project right.

it's all the more frustrating since though i'm not a perfectionist to the core, i'm a perfectionist nonetheless when it's gifts from the heart that should be totally sincere. one wrong twist or a wrong knot or missing a bead is very intolerable. i often find myself cutting up the wire in frustration (3 times in total) when near completion and simply re-do.

but in the end it's all worth it i guess.


(click to enlarge)