Pasek the Sock Monkey

After Belang the first Sock Monkey, I ventured on to my second sock monkey and ended up with Pasek the second Sock Monkey. The word 'pasek' means stripe in Polish. Am going to have to work on the eyes cuz they aren't as female and as flirty as I wanted them to be *grins* Do monkeys flirt? I have no idea.

Anyways, this is how Pasek looks like:


Am out of socks right now so will keep a look out for more socks when I'm out next time. Would be interesting to see if I can find some pokka dot ones or some other designs. My only rule for this is that I have to use real socks. Accessories for the monkeys are perfectly okay.

Belang and Pasek seem to be getting along okay. Only worry is that they will probably be up to mischief pretty soon. Yes, partners in crime :o)

Latest beading project.

Spent quite a bit of time sewing the last few months and not beaded for yonks. Then last week, had a very strong urge to bead and started work on some beads that I bought from Chatuchak Market in Bangkok from my last trips there. Frustrating thing was that just when I started beading, to my horror, I realised I didn't have enough bead caps. I was like ....huh....how can!!! And it was night time so couldn't head out to get it. I would if the shops were open!!!

Over the weekend, went to a lovely bead shop at Holland V to buy hmm...one item that I needed. But it is truly impossible to enter a bead shop and come out with only ONE thing. What I got instead were:

Yes, I didn't need like 3/4 of the things I got but they were just so pretty. How to tahan!! Anyways, worked on my beads and came up with a matching necklace, earrings and bracelet. I had no idea how I wanted the pieces to turn out, usually just got with the flow. This time, these pieces have a very vintage look about them and am please with the results. The bracelet looks like this:
So now it's back to my sock monkeys till something new catches my attention :o) Yes I am useless at sticking to one thing at a time! :o)

How did sock monkeys come about?

Belang and I were pondering some how sock monkeys came about. Here's how he looked like deep in thought. We found out that it was a big thing in the 1900s in the States.

Smallest sock monkey that I have seen online is 3 inches tall. And this person must have the largest that I have come across so far and he's called Buttons. Amazing how huge he is. Go take a look.

What's this sudden fascination with sock monkeys you may ask? I have no idea. I guess I am just amazed how you can get a monkey (or elephant) from a pair of socks. Like WOW!

So we decided to go our separate ways to come up with some answers. I googled some and found:

Sock dolls were popular around the 1900's. The Nelson Knitting Mills in Rockford Illinois first made the original rockford red heeled sock in 1890. In 1920 the mill soon began packaging the directions for the sock monkeys with each pair of socks after a customer fashioned a doll and sent it to the company. The Nelson Knitting Mills was purchased by Fox River Mills in the 1992 and now Fox River makes the Red Heel Monkey Sock.

And what did Belang do? He decided to do some yoga and hopefully will get some answers to the meaning of life for them sock monkeys.

New addition to the family!

I was curious after surfing sites and coming across them sock monkeys. I was intrigued how a pair of socks can be turned into a play thing. I have heard about them but being Asian and all, I don't think it's something that's part of my childhood. Barbie dolls maybe but definitely not sock monkeys.

Found a website that had the instructions to make one. I was curious and that became a project for me (a nice distraction as I have to complete a report for work that is due tomorrow *sighs*). Went to the Hari Raya Bazaar at Geylang Serai with my Mom and bought a nice pair of socks for this. Of course it was the wrong kind of socks but I couldn't wait. These are the proper kind of socks for making them monkeys - Rockford Red Heel Socks but since I have no idea where to get them here, ordinary socks will have to do for now.

Worked on it all day and this is the result of my attempt at a sock monkey. Please excuse my monkey for not being made from the right kind of socks and for have buttons for eyes (am I allowed to use buttons btw?). I just had to complete mine today so used what I had around me!

So here's my sock monkey, playing peek-a-boo with the camera.

Pretty interesting to find out how these sock monkeys come about. Was it about recycling old worn out socks to make it into a play thing for the little ones? Will do a little more research and see what I can come up with on the origin of sock monkeys. Please enlighten me if you know how these cute fellas came about.


In the meantime, will think of a name to give my very first sock monkey. I think it's an acquired taste - these sock monkeys. It's not the conventional cute soft toy but after a while, it kinda grows on you and now I think my sock monkey is the cutest ever. It's like how mothers seem to think that their babies are the cutest of them all *laughs*

By the way, it's also possible to make a sock elephant but I don't think I will be trying that one anytime soon. Alrighty, it's back to writing the report *sighs* Bummer!

Update 24 October 2005: Decided to name this little fella Belang the Monkey. 'Belang' means stripes in Malay and I think it describes him perfectly! :o)

Postcrossing - The Postcard Crossing Project

This is a real cool project that I signed up recently called Postcrossing. Here is a little snippet about it.

The goal of this project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost. The main line is: if you send a postcard, you'll receive at least one back, from a random postcrosser somewhere in the world.

Why? Because, like the author, there are lots of people who like to receive stuff by mail. If you add to that, the surprise factor of receiving postcards from different places in the world that you probably never heard about, you can turn your mailbox into a little surprise box.

I think it's a neat idea especially if you (a) enjoy getting postcards in this age of emails, (b) like checking out the postcards and stamps from different parts of the world, (c) enjoy sending postcards to other people around the world, (d) don't mind giving your address to perfect strangers! I think there's alot of potential for me to use this project for my geography classes. Probably can sign up as a class, and they will take turns sending out postcards and will have to do research on the countries they get postcards from. Hmm...lots of possibilities.

Anyways, got my first postcard today. Sent one to Germany and another one on the way to Finland. Got one from Netherlands today. Nice surprise cuz you really have no idea where the next postcard will be coming from! :o)

TGIF

As I was rushing off for my medical appointment today, saw some boys at school sitting by the newly built koi pond. It was quite a sight to see them sitting very quietly and enjoying the many koi that we have in the pond swimming about.

I was a little apprehensive when told that we were going to have a koi pond. My fear was that we would come back to school the next morning to find either the koi missing or floating cuz the kids were up to no good. But again, the kids surprised me and to date, no koi has been injured in their hands. If they died or got hurt it was on their on. On one occasion, a few of the koi jumped OUT of the pond. We've also had the little gold fish that were placed in there to 'test' the water conditions getting sucked into some hole in the pond.

But recently, no such mishaps. Maybe one Friday afternoon I'll join those boys and sit by the pond and reflect on how nice it must be to be a koi swimming back and forth all day! *grins*

Work In Progress

Hate it when this happens. Had a dry spell when it came to beading. Just didn't have any inspiration to create any jewellery for the last few months. Still into sewing them soft toys *grins* Yes, hopelessly fickle minded person. Anyways, took out some beads I had, looked at them (as I have done many times before today) and finally something hit me and after searching for materials I had, I started on a few beads. And happy with how the two beads turned out and alas, to my horror, I ran out of some of the bead cap thingeys (have no clue what they are called exactly). I was like....HUH? NOOOO!!!! ARRRGGGGGGHHHH!!! then followed by some other words that I shall not repeat here for the sake of the young and innocent that might accidentally stumple upon this.

Anyways, am very very pissed right now cuz I am IN THE MOOD to bead and can't *sighs* Took a picture of what I was working on.

Hopefully the shop where I got the previous batch will be open tomorrow. Will swing by Holland V and grab a few more of those beadcaps and work on them hopefully tomorrow night. Wish me luck! Lots of luck!

Belly Dancer from Portugal!

Had a long day today. Was getting all panicky at work cuz of a case that is giving me a real headache. Also have some reports to get started on cuz of the deadline that is coming up real soon. Hate writing reports but it comes with the job I guess *sighs*.

Anyways, when I got home carrying a disgustingly heavy laptop (kept thinking to myself the whole afternoon that I need to get a smaller and lighter laptop than the dinosaur one that I am using now), big bag full of paperwork, and a bag with my mother's present, I was greeted by a large parcel on the table. Dropped everything and opened it and found a gorgeous painting in there.There were also other goodies in there and you can see how talented artist she is. She has also made her illustrations into postcards which turned out so cool!!



Eloisa is from Portugal and she is truly talented. We were trading for one of the leather brooch I had and in return I would get one of her illustrations. She asked if I wanted any in particular and I asked if she could do me a belly dancer. And she agreed and within the day, she did a sketch of how it would look and I knew the actual painting would be awesome.

I felt bad trading one small leather brooch for a painting that she was doing specially for me. She was a sweetheart and was okay with the trade but it didn't feel like a fair trade to me. So I made a couple of necklaces for her and hope she likes them.

Anyways, am so in love with the painting that she did for me. Here's a few more shots of the Belly Dancer from Portugal :o)


And here's another close-up shot. Can see the gold accents on her costume and eye make up. Gorgeous or what!!!


I am a truly happy person right now :o) Life is good!

www.suzz.com

New pieces that I made recently are now up at Suzz's. Taking the pictures for each piece can be rather tedious as it has to be just right. Not as simple as placing it flat down and then taking a snapshot. Lighting has to be right etc. Tried to take a picture of a friend's watch jewellery today and it's real tough. Not successful yet but will keep at it :o)

Boy meets monkey.

My nephew Mirza came by today and got introduced to Snooze the Monkey who was in PJs. He squeezed Snooze, waved it around and then threw it aside *laughs* Guess unless it blinks or has music coming out from it, it will take a little time for Mirza to warm up to him.

A few more tossing of Snooze about and several more times of trying to put Snooze in his mouth (quite amazing how much of Snooze's foot went into his little mouth), Mirza went home with Snooze. Told my brother to keep a look out and make sure Snooze is taken care of *grins*

21/10/2005: Update from Quality Inspector (i.e. my Dad) - Body and head not proportionate. So what if I told him that the body is meant to be bigger so that it can serve as a pillow to but noooo, cannot according to Quality Inspector *roools my eyes in all direction*

25/10/2005: Mirza has developed a fascination for Snooze's tail. That's the part that is perpetually in his mouth when he is play with Snooze.

Fabrics Galore...

Alrighty, maybe I am exaggerating on the 'galore' bit but am darn happy with the fabrics I got today. Was done at the dentist and had a little time to spare before meeting Fiona and Mag. I wandered about a bit and behind the hawker centre, I chanced upon a small shop tucked away in the corner. There was an elderly couple arranging the cotton fabrics and I was like hmm...

I am basically a Spotlight girl. I love the things they have at Spotlight especially the materials - simply gorgeous. But the prices can be very very painful. Bought some recently and it came up to, quite a bit. As I rambled on before, needed to find cheaper alternatives.

And I am glad I checked out the little shop. They didn't have an extensive range like Spotlight but I love prices they had for the cotton fabric (they mainly sold cotton fabrics). I don't know what I am going to do with these fabrics yet but they surely made my day. Bought about 9 different materials (about 1 yard each - yes, they were still going by yards). They were mainly batik prints on cotton fabric. Yes, I went overboard by buying different colours of the same designs but they were gorgeous!!! For example, they had pieces with different bird designs.


There's also floral ones which I bought in different shades.


I think I made the couple's day cuz I don't think they get very much business and am sure I tired them out after my 15 minutes with them *grins* But they are such a lovely couple and I am definitely going to visit them every now and then to see what other neat stuff they have.

For those wondering what is batik.

The term “Batik” is an Indonesian-Malay word. Batik has come to be used as a generic term which refers to the process of dyeing fabric by making use of a resist technique; covering areas of cloth with a dye-resistant substance to prevent them absorbing colors. The technique is thought to be over a thousand years old and historical evidence demonstrates that cloth decorated with this resist technique was in use in the early centuries AD in Africa, the Middle East and in several places in Asia.

Because of the popularity of batik designs, many batik patterns are used in a wide variety of fabrics. Many fabrics are called batik although they were not made in the resist method.

Anyways, I have no idea what I will be doing with these materials. It's one of those buys where I am just glad I have them. Now will have to think of what I can do with them *laughs* Am useless when it comes to that!! Oh well.

Saying goodbye....

Graduation Day today at work. Simple ceremony for students and teachers to have their last say. It's always a touching ceremony especially when you have kids who you watch grow through the years. The last time I had a form class was some years back. I remember trying to maintain my composure as tears came from nowhere and I could do nothing about it. So all I could do was wept with my class as I went to each one of them to shake their hands and give them hugs to bid them good luck.

You kinda get a flash back of what great kids they have become. I remember that class being so motivated when they put theirs minds into doing something. We came in top for the cyclethon (fund raising effort by the school) and I remember being with the kids just minutes before the deadline and they were pooling in their savings and calling their classmates to part with their pocket money so that the class will be first for raising the most amount of money. Watching their enthuasism, I too parted with some money to 'round off' the amount they raised and they managed to outdo all the other classes. Part of the treat was that the whole class took part in the Cyclethon and spent a lovely day at the beach cycling as a class. Yes at times they irritated the hell out of me but those moments were rather insignificant when I think about the lovely things they did. For teachers day, they actually spent hours in the afternoon learning ballroom dancing (from watching an instructional VCD) so that they could incorporate that in as part of their performance for the teachers. Another activity where the class got together and all came in their ethnic wear for Racial Harmony and we came in on top again as one of the very few class that had 100% participation. And all that they did on their own without me having to nag at them. That was several years ago.

Today I had to bid farewell to another bunch of great kids. Some I have taught for the last four years. Many have grown into wonderful and responsible young ladies and and gentlemen. A few are still as irritating as ever but I guess they did give me something to complain about when us teachers get together. So for that, I thank them *grins*.

I didn't have a form class this year but I still felt sad knowing that as teachers, we had to let these kids go out to the real world. I hope that we have equiped them with skills that will help them as they face the many challenges and obstacles that they will come across in the future. I hope that we have taught them to dream big and to reach for the starrs. I hope we have taught them to not give up, and if they fall, to get up and start over again. I hope we have taught them to stand up for what they believe in and always help others who are not as fortunate as they are. And more importantly, I hope we have instilled in them good values that will guide them throughout their lives.

I am proud of each and everyone of them that made it and graduated today. I don't know if I made a difference in their lives but many of them definitely make a difference in my life and on days when I question why I am in this profession, I can look back and think fondly of them and reinforce why many others like me choose to ..... teach.

Monkeying around :o)

Am suppose to try and make a moose but it's just too tough for now. So experimented on a monkey and the result is this little fella. I like how he turned out and has a mischevious look that reminds me of my little nephew Mirza.


Used the same fabric as the cat. Am getting bored with using the same fabric so will start using the other ones that I have. But there's only one more that I have not used. Also have to move away from pink and purple fabrics *grins*.

Spent quite a bit on them fabrics already from Spotlight. They have the most gorgeous materials there but the cost of the fabrics are a real bummer. Will check out Arab Street and other haunts for cheaper materials but just as lovely. Am working on another monkey but not so PINK for my little nephew. So will see how that goes!

Have not done any beading recently thanks to the sewing that I am doing for the softies. Will like to make some jewellery so probably will try and balance out the two during the holidays.

Anyways, enough of playing. It's back to marking and it's another two hours before time to break fast!!!

Bunny hopping around ....

This bunny (normal size like the kitty cat) is the second softie that I made after trying out the kitty cat. Used a different fabric and the botton side of the bunny is made from dark maroon suede like the bit you see for the ears. But had a good feedback that I should have used a contrasting or lighter colour (e.g. white) for the face cuz currently, it blends with the fabric. Good point and will take note of that when I work on the next animal.

Am also trying to put my mark on these softies that I make. By the way, these softies are all done by hand. Every part hand stitched lovingly and I have sore fingers to show for that! *grins*

Also made them baby-safe with no buttons or any sort of embellishments as we know how babies love to put EVERYTHING they get their hands on into their mouths!

Size Don't Matter

Last night, I was packing my newly made softies into ziplock bags and a thought hit me. I was wondering to myself how small could I make these softies. Yes, anything to not mark basically. So stayed up and worked on it and made this little cutie below.

Susanna (friend at work) asked if I could make it even smaller, like the size of the ears on the bunny. Was thinking that it would be pretty cool challenge to make a 'nano' bunny *grins* I might just do that. I means there will be more sore fingers as I kept prickling myself well working on the little one.
Am probably going to make the little softies into keychains and if I can make it even smaller, might attach it to them handphone danglers. Lots of possibilities there!! Yay!!! More distractions for me!!!

Looking for a job anyone?

Oh my ... this is funny :o) Just what I needed to read to end my day. Love the 'skills', 'interests' and 'affiliation' sections *grins*

Can't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet!

It's still not over yet - the marking frenzy. Spent the weekend marking when I could have headed out with friends to the beach to test out my new sandcastle building kit! Real bummer!

But it wasn't all that bad as I received a parcel from another trade that I did with a talented young lady in Portugal. She makes gorgeous dolls and I traded one made from vintage cloth from the 50s. Love the colour and design. Definitely made me smile when I saw it! In exchange, I sent her some fabrics from here...batik cloth and Chinese brocade silk fabric as she requested for something Singaporean. Will have to look out for nice saree materials to send to her. Will definitely do that when I check out the Deepavali bazaar at Serangoon Road.

Anyways, here's a peek of the doll that I got over the weekend. Yes, child in me very much alive! *grins*

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty Kitty .....

After looking at the ladies and their cute toys, I decided to try my hand at it to see if I could create a cute cuddly toy myself. It took me about 6 hours to complete it. It's not perfect but it's a start. Am going to get my little nephew to take it out for a 'test drive' and see what happens at the end of it.

Things I had to take note of:
1. No buttons or any embellishment that could fall off or something small that kids could bite off and be in danger of choking.

2. Materials should not run as kids (especially little ones) have a tendency to put everything they get their little fingers on straight into their mouths (confirmed by personal observations of Mirzah).

Had a quality inspector (that is, my Dad) check the toy and he gave it a thumbs up! So yay, here's my first toy (not perfect but....) and hope there will be many more in the future!!

Toys for the new generation.

I enjoyed watching CARE Bear and Smurf cartoons as a kid and loved the cute cuddly toys I got. Those were the good old days when everything ended with 'happily ever after'. Recently, I bought a toy magazine 'Play Times'.

I thought it would be cool to read what interesting toys exist today. Some were cute but to my horror, I saw ALOT of toys which were rather scary looking. They had dolls that were neither dead or alive. They had teddy bears that came back from the dead to haunt the owners who neglected them. There were teddy bears with bloodied fangs and sharp claws. HUH?!?!

What happened to cute cuddly toys? Don't kids play with those kind of toys anymore? I know kids enjoying playing games that involve killing the other players, the more violent, the better. Am wondering if it's affecting the kids adversely.

More bullying cases in schools - I wonder why. Kids are angrier and lose their temper easily now. They have no problem hurting others and those watching have no problems watching and doing nothing.

Was pretty depressing after reading a toy magazine. Thankfully, there are still doll makers out there who make cute cuddly toys for children. One such person is Rosa Pomar who makes gorgeous toys that children can use their imagination to create adventures. Am eyeing her dolls and waiting for the right one and am going to get one. Here's another young and very talented doll maker and I am trading one of my necklaces for one of her red doll *grins* Yay! Am looking forward to getting that doll.

Not so depressed after finding out such ladies exist to make the world a less scary place for children, and yes, even adults!!

Another trade from USA!

Took a picture of the things I received from my second trade. It came all the way from the States. I love the floral bracelet! And it came with matching earrings. That was a lovely surprise as didn't expect the earrings :o) Yes, one item is missing and I had it this morning. A lovely snack that I have not seen here in Singapore.

Like I said before, this trading idea is awesome and it's also a great way to meet new people who share similar interests and share ideas. If only professional sharing at work was this much fun!

Day out with my nephew!

Had a marking free day today! And it was lovely. I took my parents and my adorable nine month old nephew out shopping at Orchard Road. Armed with a baby stroller and a knapsack with things the little kiddo would need, we started the day at Centrepoint Shopping Centre and ended at Takashimaya.

Several things I learnt today. My little nephew, Mirza is adorable. He is a happy baby who loves to laugh and has discovered the joy of singing, well at least we think it is singing as he produced baby music that was totally out of tune but he seemed to enjoy himself and being a little kiddo, he got away with it too.

Orchard Road is not a baby-stroller friendly place. Being single and having no kids of my own, this was the first time I had to maneuver the baby-stroller and I have a new found respect for mothers who get off and on those escalators with such ease and grace. I had this constant fear that my poor nephew would go flying as we took the escalator down. Going up was a lot easier than going down. Think Mirzah knew it was my first time and decided not to wail each time he went bumpity-bump (and trust me, it happened a lot). There are lots of steps along Orchard Road and too few ramps for people with wheels.

Each time we went into a shopping centre, the first thing I looked for was the location of the lift. We decided the safest way to get from one floor to another was for my dad to carry Mirzah and I pushed the stroller up or down *laughs*

Another jaw dropper was when I saw mothers wearing heels and pushing the strollers. I was tripping over my way-too-long jeans (kids at school call it my ‘skater’ jeans) and I my dad managed to run me over with the stroller three times during those five hours.

I salute all mothers out there who are not perturbed by how difficult it is to bring their kids out when shopping. I had a lovely time with Mirza and my parents today and it was an eye-opener for me. I learnt a lot more about the little kiddo and also learnt how it’s like when you have a kid with you. It’s pretty much all about him and there is no such thing as your own schedule. I will definitely jump out of the way the next time I come across a mother with a stroller and offer my cab to the family with little kids and help.

My first trade from Japan!

Finally managed to clear my exam marking for now. Another batch coming in next week and for this weekend, I will have to clear my test marking. Seems like that's all I do these days. But that's for tomorrow. For tonight, I am determined to do nothing. Well, not nothing but catch up on things that I have been neglecting for a while.

Did my first trade online with two lovely ladies. From Japan, I made a necklace for her a cherry quartz necklace with Czech crystal beads. Rather pretty I think. Made this while I was in Bangkok and feeling very inspired when away from home!

And I got this gorgeous bag that she made from Japanese designed fabric. It came in a pretty package and I was so reluctant to even open the packaging cuz the bag was nicely bundled up. Am just amazed how many people out there are making gorgeous things and trading them. Love this idea!!