Courage (SGD$45/USD$27.30) - RESERVED

Bling-mix: Coral and Freshwater Pearl Beads
Bling "hardware": Bronzetone Metal Frame with Glass; Bronzetone Metal Chain
Dimensions: Pendant measures 1 1/2 inches long; Chain is 18 inches long

And here is "Courage" in its final form :-)

I decided to keep things relatively simple to keep the focus on the image of the gorgeous woman with the slightly pensive expression (it's all in the eyes ... oh, those eyes).

Beads of red coral and warm sunshine gold freshwater pearl are the only accents and the colour scheme continues on in the necklace portion as well.

The inspirational quote by e e cummings at the back of the pendant reads: "it takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are".

I LOVE this quote. I love that it reminds us to be true to oneself and be ourselves instead of trying to be someone else.

It's a life lesson I hope I'm able to pass on to the little one. When I was growing up, I remember wishing I were this person or that person or had these features or that features or had this talent or that talent.

But as life taught its lessons, I became more and more comfortable in my own skin and have learnt to explore what I'm good at or what I like to do. And it has been a really good learning journey so far!

Yeah, there are times I still wish things were different about me, but on the whole, I'm learning that it's best to be just you.

Still a work-in-progress - Courage

It has been a busy couple of days, with night-time teleconferences and all, so I've not had the time to complete this piece yet, as I promised the Blingalicious Pendant Alert subscribers I would ... sorry!

But this is what the pendant looks like for now. Here is the front:


And here is the back (LOVE the quote):

Frame is bronzetone metal and the image is protected in glass. Pendant measures about 1 1/2 inches square.

PS. I'm a little slow on the e-mail front too, forgive me. I'll reply to your messages today.

Believe, Dare - SOLD

Bling-mix: Faceted Rondelles of Iolite, Peridot, Citrine and Garnet
Bling "hardware": Brass (nickel-free) "Believe" Charm, Brasstone metal Chain & Clasp
Dimensions: I need to find my missing ruler! (But estimated length of pendant is about 1 1/2 inches)

Ta-da! Here is another glitzy, glamourous exuberant showgirl from decades ago.

She stretches her arms out boldly and shows off her colourful, dingle-dangly costume of red, gold & green.

While creating this pendant, she glam diva showgirl demanded that extravagance be the order of the day and so flourishes of wirework with complements of semi-precious gemstones in citrine, garnet, peridot and iolite glam up the image.

Wirework is in both brasstone artistic wire as well as 14K gold-filled wire.

Her message: "Believe". And when you turn the pendant around, the supporting theme is "Dare".

So interpret the sentiments whatever way you like -- Dare to Believe in Your Dreams, Belive & Dare & Make It Happen ...

Pendant comes on an 18-inch brasstone chain with toggle clasp (not shown).

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A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes - SOLD

Bling-mix: Garnet Beads, Faceted Peridot Rondelles
Bling "hardware": Lead-free Pewter Angel Wings Charm; Nickel-free Brass "Dream" Charm
Dimensions: Pendant measures about 6cm (approx 2 1/2 inches) in length

I woke up with this song in my head -- it's a tune from an old Disney Cinderella (or was it Sleeping Beauty?) cartoon, if I'm not mistaken: "A dream is a wish your heart makes/When you're fast asleep/In dreams you will lose your heartaches/Whatever you wish for, you keep ... "

And so I named this creation after some of the lyrics.

The pendant features a vintage image of a rose in bloom.

At the top, a little brass charm reads "dream" and it has accents of garnet (to represent the heart's deepest desires) and peridot (to represent the fact that dreams can grow into something real).

At the bottom are angel wings, to help your dreams take flight.

They're in the shape of a heart too, to reflect the heart's deepest desires.

Aaaaaaaaahhhh! I'm turning into a hapless, sappy thing :-))

Pendant measures about 6cm or 2 1/2 inches long and instead of a chain, I've used a deep bottle green velvet ribbon.

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Leap! (SGD$37/USD$22.40) RESERVED

Bling-mix: Carnelian bead and Swarovski crystal
Bling "hardware": Brass (nickel-free) butterfly charm; Chain is bronzetone metal
Dimensions: Pendant is almost 6 cm long; Necklace is 18 inches long

Look out for more creations with vintage-look showgirls as I managed to get my hands on a bunch of images of the sassy ladies.

Here is the first of the images and I just could not resist playing around with sandpaper and ink to give it an even more weathered look.

I then preserved the image with multiple layers of matt glaze which took a lot of patience (not my strong suit) because you have to wait for each coat to dry before applying the next.

The spunky lady is clad in a two-piece turquoise and yellow outfit (tame by today's standards) and sports an interesting headpiece.

In keeping with the showgirl theme of being bold and daring, I chose a quote I hope captures that can-do spirit.

The back reads: "Leap and the net will appear".

It's a Japanese proverb about taking chances.

Accents are kept relatively simple -- just a brass (nickel-free) butterfly charm with little danglies of carnelian and Swarovski crystal.

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A Will Finds A Way - SOLD

Bling-mix: Garnet Beads
Bling "hardware": 14K Gold-filled Leaf Charms & little bead; High-quality Enamel Ladybird charm from the US; Bronzetone chain and clasp
Dimensions: Chain is 18 inches long; pendant is about 6.5cm long (a little longer than 2 1/2 inches)

I've begun experimenting with different materials for pendants and here is one example. It looks substantial, but in reality, it's very light.

In the front is a pretty image of cheerful crimson and russet blooms set amidst lush greenery.

I don't know my flowers, but these look like what I imagine poppies to look like :)

At the back, the inspirational message reads: "A Will Finds A Way."

This message resonates with me personally too because it reminds me to MAKE things happen instead of sitting back and waiting for things to happen.

I fnd that too often, some of us become passive participants in this journey of life that we forget that we have to power to change things, to make things happen.

So really, i should stop about how messy the house is and get to cleaning already! Oh boy ... complaining is sooo much easier than wielding the vaccum cleaner and mop .... Hahahhahahhaha!

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Laugh Often, Love Much - SOLD

Bling "hardware": Wirework in 14K gold-fill and artistic wire, Bronze-tone frame with glass, bronze-tone chain with clasp
Dimensions: Necklace is 18 inches; Pendant is 1 1/2 inches long

The little saying on the front of this pendant kind of reflects my attitude towards life right now -- Laugh Often, Love Much.

After all, life is just way too short to spend time feeling bitter, unhappy or just plain fretful about the past and worried about the future.

Anyyyyyways, I decided to continue playing with the retro divas and this is one of my fave images.

She sports a sunny yellow flower in her hair and has the most glam dark red lips!

At the back, the inspirational message reads: Nothing Good Was Ever Achieved Without Enthusiasm". Nice reminder!

A subtle flourish of wirework in 14K gold-fill and artistic wire is the only embellishment dressing up this pendant which comes with a matching bronzetone chain.

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Sweet Geisha - SOLD

Bling-mix: Pink Opal, Pressed Czech Glass Flower, Swarovski Pearls
Bling "hardware": Chain is 14K gold-plated
Dimensions: Pendant measures a little over 5.5cm; Necklace is 18 inches long

Here is the first of the geisha pendants available for sale. This one is clad in a pink kimono with an orange and blue obi.

She looks demurely to the side and avoids a direct gaze at the camera which may be considered rude.

Carrying on the Japanese theme are white pressed Czech glass flowers which are supposed to represent sakura (cherry-blossoms).

A Pink Opal bead and Swarovski pearls gently pick up the theme.

The text behind the geisha is an image from a Japanese dictionary :))

This pendant comes with an 18-inch gold-plated (14K) chain.

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Mei Li (SGD$37/USD22.40)

Bling-mix: Garnets Beads, Citrine Rondelles and Carved Rose made of Mystery Stone (possibly dyed agate)
Bling "hardware": Chain (not shown) is 14K gold-plated
Dimensions: Chain is 18 inches; Pendant is about 5.5cm long

Mei Li means "Beautiful" in Chinese (or so I've been told, because Mandarin is not a strong suit ... I'm more familiar with Hokkien swear words -- HAHAHA!).

This lady with the demure smile reminds me so much of old Shanghainese movies, where the heroines sported fine eyebrows and crimson lips.

The image is protected by multiple layers of glaze.

To keep the focus on her face, I kept the embellishments simple -- just a scattering of garnet beads and faceted citrine rondelles atop a carved crimson rose.

This pendant comes with a 14K gold-plated chain (not shown).

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Oh Divas! (SGD$33/USD$20) RESERVED

Bling-mix: Black Onyx and Swarovski Pearls
Bling "hardware": Ear hook are 925 silver
Dimensions: Ear-rings are a little over 3cm long

Sorry, no repeats.

I just could not resist putting these two divas together in a creation!

They remind me so much of the glamour queens of yester-year, with flowers in their hair and slightly haughty expressions on their faces.

To tie the two different images together, I used the same accents for both.

Beads of faceted black onyx and cream Swarovski pearls also call to mind the old-fashioned black-and-white movies.

Ear hooks are 925 silver.

So who's ready to dress up their ears with some old-fashioned glamour?

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