My Latest Developments

Hi ladies, I am sorry that I have not been updating my blog for a while but I was busy with my ETSY shop. I had been listing supplies everyday but at least I got some sales to make it worth while.

Anyway, I think I will go into supplies, I have been sourcing around for what to get for my next batch of supplies & I come up with so many things & ideas.

I also had a good laugh. It seems that some of the ESTY sellers have been buying goods from wholesalers & passing them for their own creations. Damn, don't u hate this kind of people! It is bad sheep like them that let people think that handmade is cheap stuff.

Anyway, I have always been playing with the idea of featuring sellers or handmake creations on this blog but never seems to have the time for it. So for now, I am going to have this complimentary service for my supplies buyers but they must have beautiful photos. It is always wonderful to know what other people have been up to & the masterpieces that they created. N the stories that they can tell us. OHHHHH....., I can't wait!

U all have seen my stuffs but the story behind my handmade pendants, rings etc... seems to be buried somewhere out in the cyberspace so I will start with mine 1st. Hopefully, if I can get the photos ready in time.

So many things to do, is Santa's little helpers reading this? I can definitely use your help.

Handmade Pendants (13mm x 18mm)(US $20)

Handmade Pendant (P131807)

Handmade Pendant (P131808)

Handmade Pendant (P131809)

SHAPE: oval

ESTIMATED LENGTH: 18 mm

ESTIMATED WIDTH: 13 mm

PRICE: US $20

They come with a complimentary 18 inch chain!

I created these one of a kind pendants on a bezel. Each piece took me about 3 hrs to make. I did quite a lot of these beauties in this size. Each one of them is different.

My Latest Developments

Hi everyone, I have stopped some of my teaching classes for a while. So at last, I am now able to have time to concentrate on my accessories range & photography. Thank God!

I have been very busy lately taking photos. My finished handmade pendants & rings are shouting at me to hurry up & start taking photos. But goodness, you have no idea the amount of pendants & rings that I have done over the months.

I will try to update my blog everyday with at least 3 designs for now. I do not wish to do everything at once cause I find that stresses me out. 2 many things 2 do at once isn't good 4 me.

Do keep a look out for my ETSY shop! As I am trying to keep the course fees low for my students, I have ordered certain lucite flowers in bulk. I will be selling the surplus items there.

Anyway, I have shifted to Wilkie Edge, #01-03. It is at 8 Wilkie Road, next to Peace Centre. Pls contact me at 8298 9190 for your nail appointments as for now I only go there when I am booked or else I be at home backlogging my work.

Regards,
Michelle
16 Mar 10

Handmade Pendants (13mm x 18mm)(US $20)

Handmade Pendant (P131804)

Handmade Pendant (P131805)

Handmade Pendant (P131806)

SHAPE: oval

ESTIMATED LENGTH: 18 mm

ESTIMATED WIDTH: 13 mm

PRICE: US $20

They come with a complimentary 18 inch chain!

I created these one of a kind pendants on a bezel. Each piece took me about 3 hrs to make. I did quite a lot of these beauties in this size. Each one of them is different.

Handmade Pendants (13mm x 18mm)(US $20)

Handmade Pendant (P131801)

Handmade Pendant (P131802)

Handmade Pendant (P131803)

SHAPE: oval
ESTIMATED LENGTH: 18 mm
ESTIMATED WIDTH: 13 mm
PRICE: US $20

They come with a complimentary 18 inch chain!

I created these one of a kind pendants on a bezel. Each piece took me about 3 hrs to make. I did quite a lot of these beauties in this size. Each one of them is different.

Handmade Pendants (18mm x 25mm)(US $20)

Handmade Pendant (PAAMC01)

Handmade Pendant (PAAMC02)

SHAPE: oval

ESTIMATED LENGTH: 25 mm

ESTIMATED WIDTH: 18 mm

PRICE: US $20

They come with a complimentary 18 inch chain!

I created these one of a kind pendants using acrylic powder on a bezel. Each piece took me about 3 hrs to make. I did only these 2 beauties.

I was actually playing around with the powders that I had just bought. They had flakes of glitter in them. The photos didn't do justice to the pendants. If you look at the actual pendants, you will notice the flashes of light that was reflected off by the flakes inside the pendants.

Overall, these pendants have a very opal like effect!

Handmade pendants (13 x 18 mm)

I have just came up with my new range of pendants. They are 13 x 18 mm in size, silver color. So far, this is the smallest size for my pendants.

They are created due to feedback from people that they wanted a more affordable range. These 10 pieces are only available at BEADHUB. The 3 pendants in the last photo are priced at S$33 each while the rest are at S$29 each. Customization is available.

I will try to come up with a few more of these soon but I have been busy trying to improve my photography.

1 of my friends had been giving me some tips. She was a professional photographer before. She was at my place on Saturday to give me some pointers & wow...... my photos turned out so much better. They aren't so dark. It turned out that I wasn't fully utilising my camera's functions at all. I am starting to fall in love with my DSLR all over again.

Actually, I have another new range of rings done but they are not yet available for sale. I was having some problems with their photos previously. Hopefully, with this new photography knowledge, the photos I take now will do justice to them.

The 4 photos shown above are taken using my new knowledge. You will notice that they are brighter, less shadows, the colors are also more exact. The only editing I did is sharpening & cropping.

I was so amazed at the speed which I took them. It was so fast. Normally, it will take me forever to take photos which is a part of internet selling that I hate. Now, it is a breeze.

Lucite Flowers

My new stock of Lucite flowers has arrived last week but it took me forever to do stock check, take photos etc. I still have a few boxes left to check through. But so far, I have some that are of fantastic quality while there are some that give me problems. There is this particular flower that is 40% unusable. I am so disappointed. I had a few designs in mind using this flower. I have to make do with what is available now.

Well, that is the problem for buying wholesale. I also had a lot of other issues with this company. I am overcharged for shipment, long waiting time etc... I am not going into my long list of complains regarding them but I believed you get the general idea.

But in all fairness, there are some Lucite flowers that are beautiful in terms of quality, colors etc. I have taken a few shots of them to show everyone. They are shown in the photos above. As I have a healthy stock of them, I will put some of them up for sale in my ETSY shop soon. There are 8 colors in all.

Photo Lockets......!

I did these photo lockets last night. 6 in all, each representing a primary or secondary color of the color wheel.

My personal favourite is the locket with the purple theme. The one with fishes swimming around. I have decided to add it to my personal collection. Haha......!

The rest will be available for sale at Beadhub.

I actually had them for quite a while. It was an impulse buy. I wanted to do earrings with them at that time. It was an idea that I was toying with but things didn't turn out well so they were left lying about the house.

I remember them when I wanted a new look for my pendants. Took me quite a while to dig them out of their hiding place. I sort of misplaced them. Haha......! Well, my room is a mini treasure chest..... ok... that is an understatement......!

So after a night of fiddling with them...... I present to you all these one of a kind photo lockets. Enjoy!

My latest creations

I have been trying to come up with a simple version of my art these few weeks. At last, these beauties have emerged. I created 6 of these in total, all 1 of a kind.

They are adjustable & the best part is that u can mix & match them. They may very well be the only ones that I will be doing in gold rings & of a 10mm bezel setting. I am not able to get any more of these. I have been searching but so far it has not been going on well. Sighz.....!

These beauties are now only available for sale at Beadhub. Their contact number is 6223 3662.

New Workshops coming up soon...

WOW... I can't believe it! I can jump for joy! My handmade acrylic pendants are now available for sale at BEADHUB, a high-end retailer for beads, findings etc... in Singapore.

I will also be conducting workshops there to teach the students how to do the pieces themselves.

It used to do a time consuming process but after around 1.5 yrs of fine tuning the process, it is definitely much faster & easier now. Of course, I will still try to make improvements whenever necessary.

I am also going to conduct a whole range of workshops starting from end FEB onwards at a shop in Bukit Timah on a more permanent basis. Sighz... still doing the ground work for these workshops! HEADACHE...!

I used to wonder why my friends prepare about a month earlier for their workshops. Now I understand why. haha...

Some flowers out of the blue......

I did these pretties a few months back when I was decorating my nail corner......in the shop.

They are fairly easy to do. It helps a lot if you got tons of papercraft & jewellery making items lying about in your house......like me! ......sighz......

Spring cleaning is always a chore for me! No points for guessing why. The answer is pretty obvious.

Handmade Pendants (US $25)

Handmade Pendant (P3DPP01)Handmade Pendant (P3DPP02)Handmade Pendant (P3DPP03)Handmade Pendant (P3DPP04)
SHAPE: oval

ESTIMATED LENGTH: 1 in (without bail)

WIDTH: 0.75 in

I created these one of a kind pendants using acrylic powder on a metal tile. I then filed the pieces manually & did the final finishing with gel to make them shine.

These pendants comes with a complimentary 16in choker (while stocks last)!

All of my designs are either a one time piece or part of a limited edition. I prefer to keep my creativity flowing. I can also customize a piece for you.

Airbrush French Manicure - Before & After

Just did this set of french the other day. I had them airbrushed on. They looked more natural. Unlike with normal nail polish, which looks bulky and uneven at times. Airbrushing is actually a very fine layer and the nail tips all look consistent.

Designed Nail Tips, Flower

My latest Designed Nail Tips. The base was done with pink & purple glitter gel. I did a set of advance flowers on it. I spent quite some time on these beauties but it was worth it.
Check these lovely Designed Nail Tips & many others more out at NailzImage's Shop!You won't be disappointed...!

Nail Design - Wild Delight

I had this photo submitted today to a magazine. Actually, I had no intention of submitting this design in the first place so I did not pay much attention to the structure. This is more of a fun piece that I was doing.

To my surprise, some of the photos turned out very well. They speak to me!! So after much inner struggle, I decided to share it with other people. Enjoy...!!

Professionalism in the Nails Industry

- Don't use & sell inferior products to clients. It is not ethical & lowers your credibility.
- Have proper training. Years of experience doesn't mean that u know what u r doing.
- Don't tell clients that they have fungus infection just to sell ur products. U r not a doctor.

Discoloration of the nail plates

A student asked me the other day why her nails turned yellow. This is actually a question that is asked all the time.
In general, nail discoloration is caused by dyes, damage, drugs, disease, injury or illness. Basically, our nail plate can absorb a lot of substances as it is porous. For example, smokers will find that their nail plates turned brown because nicotine is actually absorbed. Intensity of the stain increases as nicotine accumulates. Other substances can also cause discoloration.
Dyes can also stain the nail plate which is why I always recommend using a high quality, professional nail polish. Some inexpensive brands cut corners & actually use large amount of dyes to reduce cost thus discoloration is more likely to occur. At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.
Some topcoats can also cause yellow or light brown stains when applied to the natural nails. Therefore, always use a good base coat as it also help seal & protect the plate from staining.
Damaged or injured nail plates also tend to be more absorbent.

Nail Design - Twilight Flowers

I just finished this set of nails & had the photos submitted today to a magazine. I am not too happy with the way the photos turn out. I did not have the time to take a lot of photos as I was rushing to go to a class later. I will take more photos of the design on Friday & post it up on this blog.

One of my students said that these are the empress dowager Cixi's nails. haha... The rest are shocked & they wondered how I did these pointed beauties. Well, they will know in time to come...!

Mini Cards (2 in x 2 in)

I have just finished some of my Mini Cards. These 3 are my favourites. I love the intensity of the colors. The PINK flowers also add a nice touch. I managed to get the last bottle of flowers in this color. LUCKY ME!

All are handmade by me. You can see more of these MINI CARDS at my shop.

I am now shooting in RAW format so I am able to capture the colors better. It took me weeks to learn how to use it. But the results is so worth it. At last, my photos are able to do some justice to my creations. Of course, there will always be room for improvements. On the bright side, I will have less sleepless nights because I do not need to worry so much that the colors in my photos are off.

I shown the whole collection to my colleagues & they went wild over all of them. Each of them has their own mini favourite. Haha.....!

I taught a new batch of students for ITEC today. They are one of the better classes in polishing. Signz..... I need to redo the ITEC nails tutorial steps one of these days. There is some revision.

I also need to do more Mini Cards. Need to clear my table first of them so I can then concentrate on doing jewellery later. Wow.....! Come to think of it, it seems like ages that I picked up a round nose to do a loop.....! Haha.....!

My Handmade Pendants

At last, after 1 month of starting this project. I have finished these beauties (9 new pendants in all). All are handmade by me. You can see more of these pendants at my shop.

Now, I am going to take a break. Doing them are neck breaking. Going to concentrate on papercraft for a while. I did a lot of mini envelopes the other day but i still need cards too so that will be my next area of concentration.....! I am going to die cut away.....so happily.....! Just finished die cutting a whole stack of baby bunnies & butterflies.....! I also need to get my hands on some black paper so I can start doing my HOLLOWEEN series.....PUMPKINS.....anyone?

I am also teaching a new nail course from 010709 onwards, it's going to take up a bit of my time but I LOVE NAILS.....!