Jace Makes

Something for you to look at ;)

2012-01-12T01:56:00.008+08:00

I made these hook bookmarks at various times last year as gifts for family and friends. Actually, I made more than these, but just didn't photograph the rest.

to enlarge, click beside/next to the pic

Wave Rib Scarf

2012-01-06T16:02:00.004+08:00

I made this for a dear friend as a Christmas gift. Had tons of fun while making it. :)

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll notice that I enjoy working with a single solid colour, be it a crochet or knit project. This is because I love textures. And we all know the only way to show off textures tremendously well is by using a single colour. ;) My preference or idiosyncrasy - take your pick. ;)

Purity

2012-01-03T11:52:00.004+08:00

Price: RM26

Product code: EPRL1

Materials used
* 8 mm 'white' freshwater pearls
* 5 mm 'peach' freshwater pearls
* 3 mm 'sheer pink' chinese crystals
* silver-plated ear wires and other components

Measurement
* approx. 4.5 cm (1.75 inches) from top of ear wire to bottom of earring

Happy New Year 2012!

2011-12-31T13:28:00.004+08:00

Dear all,

I wish you a Happy, Healthy and Fruitful year ahead. May your dearest wishes become reality.

See you in the new year!

Indigo Seduction

2011-12-28T08:14:00.006+08:00

I bought these gorgeous lapis lazuli stones a while ago, not having the faintest idea how I was going to use them. Then, I saw a picture of the plumage of a peacock and was immediately inspired. Here is the result.

gorgeous dark blue with golden flecks

Price: RM28

Product code: EGEM1

Materials used
* Lapis lazuli gemstones 8 mm x 12 mm
* 6 mm green glass bicones
* 4 mm clear chinese crystals
* silver-plated ear wires and other components

Measurement
* approx. 5.5 cm (2.2 inches) from top of ear wire to bottom of crystal

Colour of 2012

2011-12-27T12:21:00.002+08:00

Pantone has revealed their Colour Of The Year for 2012. It's called Tangerine Tango, a vibrant reddish orange. You can read about it here.

It's a lovely shade of orange, isn't it? I like that it's darker toned. It's not my colour but I can see using it in moderation with other colours. :)

It's Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T00:30:00.006+08:00

I want to wish all my readers who celebrate Christmas a Blessed Day! Love, peace and joy to all of you as you celebrate this special day with your family and friends.

Have fun; eat, drink and be merry! ;)

In Love Again

2011-12-22T02:37:00.006+08:00

Price: RM28

Product code: ESWA4

Materials used
* 10 mm 'Grey' Swarovski Crystal Pearls
* 6 mm 'Sheer Pink' glass bicones
* Silver-plated ear wires and other components

Measurement
* approx. 4.5 cm (1.75 inches) from top of ear wire to bottom of bicone

Moonlit Rose

2011-12-20T14:09:00.004+08:00

Price: RM22

Product code: EGLA2

Materials used
* 12 mm lampwork glass beads
* 6 mm 'Dusty Rose' Swarovski Crystal Pearls
* 4 mm 'Clear AB' Chinese crystals
* silver-plated ear wires and other components

Measurement
* approx. 5 cm (1.95 inches) from top of ear wire to bottom of crystal pearl

Magnolia Blossoms

2011-12-19T12:34:00.005+08:00

Price: RM22

Product code: ESWA2

Materials used
* 10 mm 'Cream' Swarovski Crystal Pearls
* 4 mm 'Clear AB' Chinese crystals
* silver-plated ear wires and other components

Measurement
* approx. 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) from top of ear wire to bottom of crystal

Rose Copper Swirls

2011-12-18T01:18:00.005+08:00

Price: RM26

Product code: EGLA1

Materials used
* 15 mm lampwork glass beads
* 6 mm freshwater pearls
* copper wire swirls (on top of lampwork beads) and other components
* rose gold-plated ear wires

Measurement
* approx. 4.5 cm (1.75 inches) from top of ear wire to bottom of pearl

A Rose By Any Other Name

2011-12-17T03:14:00.008+08:00

Price: RM20

Product Code: ESWA1

Materials used
* 10 mm 'Dusty Rose' Swarovski Crystal Pearls
* 4 mm 'Clear AB' Chinese crystals
* silver-plated ear wires and other components

Measurement
* approx. 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) from top of ear wire to bottom of crystal bead

Simplicity Itself

2011-12-17T02:47:00.009+08:00

Price: RM20

Product Code: ESWA3

Materials used
* 10 mm 'Cream' Swarovski Crystal Pearls
* 4 mm 'Clear AB' Chinese crystals
* silver-plated ear wires and other components

Measurement
* approx. 3.5 cm (1.4 inches) from top of ear wire to bottom of crystal bead

An Update

2011-12-14T09:45:00.006+08:00

Hey all,

Wow, it's been more than 4 months since I last posted! I had just completely lost track of time! My apologies to all of you who are following this blog ... thanks for still being here. To all of you who emailed and messaged me, thanks for your concern and support ... your kind words mean a lot to me.

I've been unwell over the last 2 to 3 months. I've had to go in and out of specialist clinics, got x-rayed and scanned, and pricked for blood tests (no easy task, this, since I've got fine veins and it's hard to get blood out of me). In fact, I've got to go back to the hospital next week for another round of blood tests and scanning. Fun!

My recent bout of ill health launched me straight into a small depression. I say "small", because I'm generally an upbeat, optimistic sort of person. I generally don't feel down often or much. But this time, I just wanted to hibernate for a while, to stay quiet and center myself, and figure out what the heck my body was trying to do!

I've been reading a lot during these 4 months. I've read 175 books so far, and that's very good. :) I escaped into books to forget my troubles for a while and they'd been most helpful indeed.

Oh yes, one more thing.

I've also been getting some enquiries about my jewellery (specifically, earrings). People want to buy and they want to view the catalogue. Unfortunately, I don't have a catalogue yet. What I'm going to do is I'll post the earrings here over the next few days. Just so you'll know why when you see earrings after earrings in the near future. ;)

Temporary closure of Etsy shop

2011-08-03T14:06:00.004+08:00

Dear all,

I've temporarily closed my Etsy shop, with immediate effect. I'm facing some distribution and shipping issues so I've closed my shop until I've resolved them. I look forward to the day when I can reopen it.

I'm still selling my handmades locally, just not at Etsy at the moment.

You can contact me here (in the "Comments" section) or email me (jacemakes at yahoo dot com).

Thank you for your support and for reading. I wish you a lovely day.

More clustery things

2011-06-17T14:04:00.006+08:00

Those of you who think that I don't make stuff for myself often enough, here are 2 things I did make recently, for my own pleasure. :) More clusters, of course!

click on images to enlarge

Decided to make a new cell phone charm.
Used 4 different-coloured bicones to achieve this look.

If you want to know, the black stick-like thingy in the 1st pic
is the stylus for my phone. :)

Cluster charm hook bookmark. :)
Also used 4 different-coloured glass pearls to make this.

This is a mini hookmark, which measures approximately
8.9 cm/3.5 inches in length.

This size is perfect to use with paperback books as it
fits securely to the spine.

Cluster Crystal Pendants

2011-06-14T00:12:00.006+08:00

This is actually a continuation from the last post. :)

My Aunt Cami had a string of amber crystals and she asked me if I could rework them into a bracelet and pendant for her.

click on images to enlarge

Aunt Cami's crystals in their original form.

I used some of them to make the charm bracelet (of the last post).

Then I used the remaining to make 2 pendants.

I made this one to match the charm bracelet.

I kept this one simple.
Somehow, it ended up being a cluster as well. :)

If you must know, yes, I mad about cluster-anything right now. I'm making them not only for earrings and bracelets, but bookmarks as well! You'll see what I mean in the next post. ;)

Crystal Charm Bracelet

2011-05-24T13:39:00.005+08:00

I made another bracelet for my Aunt Cami. This is the first one I made for her.

click on images to enlarge

The charms are made of amber, clear, blue and green crystals.

My aunt gave me the amber crystals (largest) and asked me
to design a bracelet for her. I decided to add all the other crystals
to make a colourful and sparkly bracelet. :)

I feel like making one for myself. :)

You wouldn't believe what happened!

2011-05-17T17:21:00.002+08:00

My home PC has conked out again! If you remember, this happened once before, in March. However, it wasn't raining when my son was using it this time. (Yup, we've definitely learnt our lesson and never used it when it rained.) We heard a loud "crack" sound and the comp just went dead. This was yesterday (Monday).

So, I'm glad I've got the laptop to tide me over - never mind that I'm still not fond of the small screen and miniature keyboard.

The hubby will be sending the PC to the repair centre in the next couple of days. Keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get it back quicker this time.

Keeping my hands busy

2011-05-14T13:26:00.003+08:00

I'm making a stash of this...

click on images to enlarge

and a few of this...

for a special event. :) Details to come. ;)

For my aunt

2011-04-21T15:51:00.011+08:00

One more bracelet. :)

My aunt (my mom's youngest sister) heard that I'm making jewellery these days so she asked if I could make her a bracelet to match a necklace that she has. I was delighted to accept the challenge! :)

click on images to enlarge

Freshwater pearl & crystal bracelet for my Aunt Cami

Is it just me or does this look like a bridal bracelet to you?

I hope my aunt won't mind its style, which, I personally think,
is just a bit sweet. I hope she doesn't mind "sweet".
I shall see what she thinks. :)

For a friend

2011-04-18T15:58:00.007+08:00

My brother asked me to make a bracelet that's similar to mine (see the post below) for his close friend. He liked the combination of silver-grey freshwater pearls, crystals and bright silver wire.

click on images to enlarge

To make this bracelet a little different from mine, I used light
blue crystals instead of clear ones.

After making the bracelet, I thought, why not make her a matching pair of earrings? :)

I don't know why but I love cluster earrings.
And I make what I like. :) So, my jewellery recipients
have no choice but to accept what I like. ;)

I was running out of the pearls so I made the clusters with crystals
instead of pearls as I originally intended.

My bro was surprised and pleased with the earrings because he didn't ask for them. He kept saying, "So pretty!" :D He thought his friend would love the pieces and I hope she does. :)

Freshwater Pearls & Crystal bracelet

2011-04-13T11:57:00.010+08:00

I had a bit of time to spare last Saturday so I attempted to make a bracelet like I've always wanted to. I have a rather unhealthy fixation on bangles and bracelets ... and bags and books, of course, but those are stories for another day. :)

I have a stash of freshwater pearls of various colours - rose, peach, silver-grey and white - that just beg to be put to use. :)

click on images to enlarge

Silver-grey freshwater pearl & clear crystal wire-wrap bracelet
I really like how this one turned out. :)

These silver-grey pearls are quite unusual and they look really nice
against the bright silver wire. The crystals provide subtle sparkle.

My brother watched me making this bracelet and made some
complimentary comments on the colour scheme and the whole look.
I found it rather amazing and funny because he actually noticed!
I mean, really, how many men would pay such close attention
to feminine stuff like women's jewellery? And able to comment
on even the most minute details? :)

My bro liked this bracelet so much that he asked me to make
another one for his close friend. I said, "Sure". Always happy
to make stuff for family and friends. :)

Ming Red book thong

2011-04-08T14:42:00.003+08:00

It seems so long ago since I last made a book thong. It seems I couldn't get into "the zone", as far as the book thong is concerned.

You may think I'm joking about "the zone" - the place I need to be in order to create something nice - I'm not, I tell you. :) "The zone" is where everything comes together effortlessly; the perfect balance of creativity, patience and happiness that brings forth a nice creation. I can't tell you for sure when and how I get into "the zone"; all I can say is that I know when I'm there. :D

So, when you see this, you'll know I was in "the zone" recently. :)

click on image to enlarge

Ming Red book thong

This book thong was inspired by the largest bead, the blue & white
ceramic bead. It reminds me of the blue & white ceramics of the
Chinese Ming Dynasty, hence the name, Ming Red.

See more pix and info here.

While creating this book thong, I got the idea of using the same (book thong) concept to create a different accessory. I have to go think some more and work the idea. If it turns out as I envision it, you'll see it here. :)

A Beautiful Heart hook bookmark

2011-04-05T00:38:00.002+08:00

A new addition to my shop.

click on image to enlarge

A Beautiful Heart hookmark

More pix and info here.

The colour scheme was inspired by the lovely foil-lined pink & black
glass bead. The pretty metal heart charm ties the whole look together.

By the way, I've got back my PC! All in all, it spent about 3 weeks in the repair centre. I'm so happy to be typing on a full-length keyboard and looking at the 23-inch screen! I'm keeping my fingers AND toes crossed that lightning doesn't strike twice!