Tag Archives: carving

DIY Project #25, Part 3

30 Jan

Finally, DIY project number 25 is a wrap! It took me six months, the longest ever, to complete a miniature set. And I had forgotten the sense of satisfaction and achievement upon completion because I had neglected my craft work for so long. So it’s nice to feel this positivity and accomplishment.

I should get back into doing my miniatures more this year. Last year, I was so busy with other activities and travel, and there was hardly any time for my hobbies. I did no carving, minimal felting, and only occasional miniature work.

My sweet little Jam Shop
Details of the shop

Perhaps this year, the priority is to focus on these activities again and have an enjoyable time.

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The Halfway Mark

1 Jul

As the saying goes, time goes by when you’re having fun or being busy. Suddenly we have reached the halfway mark for 2022! Goodness, what happened in the past six months? Was I having so much fun or being so busy – I don’t seem to recall!

The pandemic is still here, and we are so used to it now. After all, it’s two and a half years already since the beginning of the outbreak. And the country has been revising the SOPs constantly to circumnavigate the ever-evolving situation.

Despite the constant rules updates and changes, one thing has remained. People are still masking up whenever being out in public, especially indoors, although it is not a must now for open areas. The public has been ingrained since day one to do this. It’s a good and safe practice to contain the virus spread. Our mask supply is never-ending too!

This year, my crafting of DIY miniatures is taking less of my time because I started wool felting, and also my golf games have picked up. I suppose one can’t have it all. We’ll see how the second half of the year goes for me as far as my miniatures are concerned. There’s still a mountain of supplies waiting for me, and I intend to buy more!

Felting is quite a therapeutic activity whenever I want to do something. This activity takes less time, and the finished piece is just as rewarding and satisfying.

Carving has halted big time because it’s too messy and dusty. However, I still have a three-Gnomes piece to complete before the year ends. With six months left, I should be able to, I think. I need to find the time and focus on the activity.

Let’s hope the second half of the year will be exciting and not just fun and busy so that when we look back at 2022, it will be a year to remember and not be lumped together with the past two forgettable years.

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Big and Cute

26 Apr

As I progress with my new felting hobby, I find that the characters that I do get bigger each time. And they are just as cute. Maybe because I found a bag of beads to make the eyes, the size of the characters has to be proportionate to the beads.

Another cutie pie!

My latest character, another turtle, is such a cutie pie! A large piece does not necessarily mean harder to make – it only requires more material, which I have. I now felt each character with the off-white wool as the base, followed by color wool to dress it up.

It’s been a fun learning experience, and I find myself making a whole range of characters, unlike carving, where I stick to one or two shapes because wood is harder to manipulate. But both have their appeal, and I certainly enjoy felting and carving.

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Indulgent Shopping

25 Jan

The Lunar New Year is next week, my goodness! There are a lot of last-minute preparations to usher in the Year of the Tiger. Like shopping for new clothes, for instance!

The last two years, with the pandemic and lockdowns, we were homebound and did not venture out to the malls at all. There were grocery runs to our local grocer nearby, and basically, essentials but not indulgent shopping.

During the MCO phases, online shopping was my go-to if I wanted to buy non-essential things. And even then, it was mostly to buy my miniature sets and carving tools. But no clothes.

So over the weekend, we took the opportunity to go on a shopping spree to buy new clothes as it is the last weekend to shop. With no more restrictions on interstate travel, it will be a traffic nightmare next weekend when city-dwellers begin the exodus for Reunion Dinners with the family and loved ones afar.

I, for one, who usually buy golf clothes, suddenly find myself buying Chinese New Year clothes. I bought not one but two Cheong Sam outfits! It must be the festivity in the air or the sudden freedom to be able to go out and try clothes on.

My two lovely and elegant outfits

For someone who does not wear or buy dresses often, the purchases were an incredible feat by my standards. Well, lockdowns change people and their outlook in life, I suppose. I look forward to wearing the outfits to welcome the Year of the Tiger with good vibes and have a roaring celebration, pun intended.

Lion Dance at the mall

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A Break in Pattern

10 Jan

After several mishaps that have befallen me, there is light at the end of the tunnel. But this is as far as the garden yield is concerned, and not so much on my well-being.

The second papaya tree yielded a large fruit last week. At 2145g on the scale, it was the heaviest fruit by far. Then two days ago, we harvested another big papaya. The second one was a whopper. At 2294g, I believe this latest fruit is the heaviest papaya we’ve had from the garden.

Papaya galore!

Perhaps with this good fortune, it is a break in pattern from all the terrible things that have happened.

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A Terrible Start, Part 3

7 Jan

I can’t seem to shake off this terrible start to 2022, for it has continued! Dang. It was after dinner when the latest mishap happened.

It’s been a long time since I last rewarded myself with a piece of dark chocolate. I find that I will be alright eating dark chocolate but not milk chocolate because of my Endometriosis problem.

Two nights ago, I thought a piece or two of chocolate to reward myself would be nice after such a mentally draining day.

So there I sat at the kitchen counter and popped a piece of chocolate into my mouth. As I was chewing, I felt an unusual and solid morsel suddenly. It did not taste like honey brittle pieces or hazelnuts as the texture was different and felt more like a tiny stone. Dense and hard as a rock!

That is a one huge chunk off my molar!

I fished out the tiny stone-like morsel, and lo and behold – it was a chip off my molar! I was aghast. The last time I chipped my tooth was when I was eating crabs and attempted to bite the shell. It was not the smartest thing to do. Oh well.

But this, a piece of chocolate that pales in density compared to the crab. Could my year get any worse than this? Geez.

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The Year That Wasn’t Again

31 Dec

The never-ending year 2021 finally concludes today. I look back, and what a year it has been! I feel history has repeated itself, with the year being another year that fell short of expectations like 2020 because the pandemic has dragged on.

When the nation went into lockdown again in May, we were short-changed for several months to have a good year. And the lockdowns implemented under the Movement Control Orders (MCO) had so many versions, I lost track of it all.

But life goes on. With what we had experienced in 2020, we handled 2021 a little better. We became more accepting of the situation and were more productive, and the hobbies picked up in the year before continued. We also got vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, and it was our passport to venture out (if needed) without hassle.

Towards the end of the year, I picked up another new hobby – felting. What fun this turned out to be! Felting is immensely enjoyable and therapeutic when I am not carving or crafting miniatures as it is a short and fast activity to complete.

Looking back, being home this time around wasn’t so bad because there’s so much to do at home, and I love it. There is no rush or fear but simply comfort and ease. As long as there is good time management, the days go by quickly.

M2 came back for her Summer holidays, and it was great to have her home. My cooking skills improved from last year, and there were many great mealtimes together at home as a family since we couldn’t go out at all.

Then M1 came home for good after completing her Master’s degree, and both of us are very blessed to have the family as a complete unit. But soon after, M2 returned to Ireland, and M1 started working. By the third quarter, we were juggling work, albeit not much, and playing golf when the country reopened to more activities.

But just when we thought things were improving with vaccination and economies opening everywhere, the world saw a new virus variant! The Omicron. The pandemic management globally was sucker-punched with this new development. Travels, activities, and economies were restricted once more, and many countries faced fresh lockdowns. When will this onslaught of the unknown ever end?

So we start 2022 with uncertainty again. I see no point in toasting the New Year for better fortune and goodness. Just brace yourselves to stay negative (Covid-wise) in a positive way, stay healthy, and stay safe. Goodbye 2021, I wouldn’t say it was the best, but we survived. Happy New Year, folks!

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Hardly a Bumper Harvest

21 Dec

We finally harvested the mini brinjals, but it’s hardly a bumper harvest. Then again, it is more than when we had the sole lady’s finger.

The first harvest of the mini brinjal

I kept the yield in the fridge for several days as I have been super busy at the office. Last night, I finally cooked the brinjals, and they tasted pretty good. It will be a while before the next harvest comes around.

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Dinky Has a Friend

20 Dec

My latest felted character is a dinosaur, and my Dinky dinosaur has a friend! This character started as a stegosaurus, but as I progressed along, I decided to change the shape. Soon it evolved, and now it is a Tinysaurus, hahaha!

Dinosaur in the making

I had fun working on it. And I’ve decided to give it away as a gift to be loved by another dinosaur-loving person.

Dinky’s new friend to be adopted by someone

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Felting is Fun! Part 3

17 Dec

I have to admit this piece is my third character before the gnomes. Soon after finishing Mike from Monsters, Inc., I wanted to do something for myself. Hence, an owl to go with what I have been carving to make Gigglesville.

A felted owl to join the Citizens of Gigglesville!

It took some 3D visualization effort, and in the end, I am pleased with the result! It looks like crafting miniatures and carving are taking a backseat for this.

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