Genee Gala and Dance Competition 10th August 2009

This week my daughter had the privilege of dancing Pas De Boom Boom Pow, a fusion of classical ballet on pointe and hip hop. Together with 9 other dancers from The Dance Station, they had a grand time rehearsing with choreographers Ros Ong and XYZ and performing. Here are some photos of their experience.

Alethea and Victoria

Fiona, Sandra, Cheryl, Ying Yan, Janice and Alethea

Carissa, Victoria, Sandra, Alethea, Ying Yan

Fiona, Janice, Cheryl, Maybelle and Rachel

Special Order for W

This week I helped my daughter's dance teacher to sew sequins on the tutus of 10 girls who will be performing on Monday 10th August at the Genee Dance Competition. Their item is called Pas De Boom Boom Pow! It's a fusion of classical ballet on pointe and hip hop!

I've been kept busy with a few special orders and new designs in the pipeline. One order was from W who wanted a 6.5 inch bracelet in shades of green as well as to match her watch which is silver and gold. Below is what I made for her. I hope she likes it!

Photos by Rebecca Yam

Versatile Necklace

This week my daughter got sent home again from school for having a slight fever. A visit to the doctor found a mild throat infection which warranted two days off school. My plans for work have to take a backseat while I tend to her needs. She's scheduled back to school on Friday.

I did manage to complete a simple, yet elegant necklace which can be so versatile. This silver (gold is available too) bangle-like necklace has removeable ends which means you can have several different types of pendants for one necklace to match your clothing and occasion. The necklace is 16 inches (you just slip it onto your neck, no clasps to struggle with!) and the pendant drop is 1.75 inches.

This piece is not for sale. However, if you like this design do drop me a line. You can then select your own pendant designs, colour and quantity!

Photos by Rebecca Yam

Completed Bracelet!

I finally managed to sit down for a while today to complete the long overdue blue bracelet! Check out the bracelet section. I'm now starting work on a rose quartz bracelet with pinks, lilacs and perhaps a hint of peridot greens as well.

A Birthday Present!

A good friend of mine had a birthday this past weekend. I made this necklace for her but haven't given it to her yet. The pendant is surrounded by Swarovski crystals and the necklace picks up the theme together with Swarovski pearls to give visual texture. The necklace is held together by a gold-filled lobster clasp. I hope she likes it! Happy Birthday, IL!

Photo by Rebecca Yam

I am still trying to do some work but the days have been filled with all sorts of activities which leave me with little time to sit down and settle in to design. Thank you for the special orders that have been coming in. Photos will come out as soon as I'm done! Have a great week, everyone!

Working very slowly...

Last week was a little hectic in our household. My daughter got sent home from school 3 times last week for having a slight fever, 37.6! This meant we had to go to her school personally to pick her up from the infirmary. To make matters worse, we had to park really far away, sign in, temperature taking, then go to the office to wait. Apparently half of her class was down with the common cold and with the H1N1 still around, the school was not taking any chances. Funny thing is, my daughter was not sick at all! No sniffles, no sneezing, no nothing!

I'm still working on the blue bracelet, completing a couple of special orders and designing something new. Will show you when the week settles down.

Below are some of the bracelets I've made in the past I thought you might enjoy looking at. They are no longer available for sale but if you see a design you like, I can make something similar in your favourite colour.

Photos by Ethan-Zuriel Yam

Something blue...

I've been busy with family this week but work instill in progress albeit a little slower than I would like. Here's a blue bracelet I'm working on. It has a sea theme with seashells, coral twigs, coral rondelles, mother of pearl nuggets and amazonite chips. As usually I add Japanese glass seed beads and sew everything with special beading thread.

Here's what I used!

This is the base I sewed using the Ndebele stitch and size 8 Japanese glass seed beads.

I completed about half of the bracelet as shown here. Looking good I think!
Photos by Rebecca Yam

I'll try to complete this by next week and post it up for sale. In the meantime, keep those special orders coming!

A New Bracelet! (Custom Order)

Have you ever gone into a bead store and felt tempted to buy those endless strings of long gemstone chips? I know I have! However, just wearing these strings around your neck is a little boring, don't you think? Well, I have a solution... make them into something unique and special! This was what happened when one of my customers bought a lovely string of carnelian chips. I made it into a bracelet!

I started with a base bracelet using size 8 Japanese glass seed beads, using the peyote technique. Then I proceeded to embellish the base with my customer's carnelian chips, freshwater pearls, Czech fire polished beads and Swarovski bicones.

If you'd like your own special and unique bracelet or chunky necklace, I can make you one in any colour you like!

Trying to get work done!

It's been a hectic two weeks in the Yam household since the school vacation started. I've been working on two bracelets (at the same time!) and I guess it took me a while to figure out it somehow takes twice as long to complete! Will try to post photos next week if all goes as planned.

Thank you for the orders that have been coming in. I'm happy to be kept creative and busy! Below are photos of some other necklaces I've made. Enjoy!

This is a 16-inch 49-strand stainless steel necklace embellished with a beautiful Swarovski rivoli cube. I used 6 rivolis, sizes 11 and 5 Japanese glass seed beads, and Swarovski bicones. First I had to capture each rivoli individually then sew them together into a cube. Stunning for evening wear.



This is a 19-inch four-sided necklace using an African technique. Definitely different looking and a choice of any colour palette to suit any occasion.

I made this 16-inch spiral rope necklace in two cool colours, green and blue with a silver flower pendant incorporated. Suitable for day and evening wear.

New Ear-rings!

I managed to complete three pairs of ear-rings yesterday afternoon! My photographer came home early from school and was able to take the photos. For the weekend, I'll be working on two bracelets and hopefully will be able to show them off early next week.

Have a great weekend!

Dimensions for Ear-Rings added

Since I started this blog in February of this year, many of you have given good feedback and some suggestions for improvements. I've really enjoyed making special jewelry pieces for you and appreciate your trust and confidence in my work.

This week's suggestion is for me to add the dimensions for my ear-rings. I have promptly done so and trust it'll help in you making the right choices. Thanks LH!

I'm working on some new ear-rings and a couple of necklaces this week. It's still slow going since I can't sit for long at my table. Will try to post them by the end of the week.

Take care,

New Items!

Today I managed to sit down long enough at my laptop to upload photos of some of the work I managed to complete after my injury. A couple of new ear-rings and necklaces. This week I hope to make new ear-rings using mainly gemstones.

This is a ribbon collar I made for a friend. It's worn like a lariat and at 48 inches she can pretty much do almost anything with it! When I feel better I will attempt one that is wider, maybe 3-4 inches wide.

Still resting...

Thank you to those who asked after me. My calf is doing much better and I can walk well now. Another problem has surfaced and that has to do with my knees, making me unable to sit long enough to do much beading. I hope I can get back to work by next week. Lots of ideas at the tip of my fingers!

Please continue to check back and meanwhile, lots of items still looking for new owners!


Take care,

Happy Mothers' Day!

To all mums out there, have a wonderful day enjoying your family! Here's what my daughter, Alethea-Faith, gave me:

You're a HUG to the heart,

a SMILE to the soul,

ENCOURAGEMENT to the spirit,

a CARING HAND to hold,

UNCONDITIONAL love,

my LIFELONG friend...

Mummy, you are

truly God-sent!

Resting...

Yesterday at my jazz dance class I tore my calf muscle while doing a perfectly routine step! Now I'm resting comfortably at home. During this time I will attempt to work on a few big projects.

Items on the blog are still for sale. Do let me know if you see something you like.

New Ear-rings

Happy May Day, everyone! Thank you for your Mothers' Day orders and compliments on my work. It means a lot to me when I know there are people out there loving what I do and supporting me by wearing my jewelry! You can be sure of good quality materials and workmanship plus the fact that what you choose is not mass produced.

This is a 16-inch bone-shaped coral necklace I made specially for a customer but I still have a few strings of these special beads. Let me know if you'd like a bracelet or necklace!

Today I posted some new embellished pearl ear-rings in different colours. Check out the EAR-RINGS section of my blog. If you like the design but don't see the colour combination you want, drop me an email and I'll make it for you at no extra charge.


How's my geometric belt coming along? Er...not very well...I started about 10-inches and then decided to make other pieces of jewelry instead! I'll try to get down to completing it soon. So many ideas, so little time!

Check back in a day or two when I post many more geometric ear-rings you're sure to like!

Working hard

Just to let you know I'm working hard at fulfilling custom orders for Mothers' Day as well as anniversaries and birthdays, and still making ear-rings which seem to be very popular as gifts these days. I'll post new items by the weekend so you can make your selections. Do contact me if you need any special jewelry for that special loved one.

Meanwhile, back to my studio, beads and inspiration!

New designs and CUSTOM ORDER

This week has been a little hectic but I enjoyed most of it. First of all, I managed to complete 3 necklaces and 10 pairs of geometric ear-rings (will post photos next week)! I also managed to deliver a few custom orders. I'm a little disappointed I haven't managed to start on my geometric belt yet but will try to get to it this morning.

Photo by Rebecca Yam

My son, Ethan-Zuriel (also my resident photographer!) attended his orientation this week at Nanyang Polytechnic where he'll begin studies for his diploma in Sports and Wellness Management on Monday. I wish him all the best in his new chapter of life and will sorely miss his companionship these past 5 months!

The necklaces have been duly uploaded so check out the Necklace section. See you next week!

Necklace - CUSTOM ORDER

One of my friends asked me to design a necklace for her in "warm green." Besides choosing the right green tones, I added orange beads to make it look warmer. This is a 25-inch necklace with a beadwork triangular toggle that can also be worn in front as a centrepiece. This necklace was given to it's owner yesterday and she said it was lovely. Here's my creation!

Photos by Ethan-Zuriel Yam

Do remember to plan ahead for your gifts this year! I'll be working on a geometric belt for those who love the one-of-a-kind accessory. Will try to be done in two weeks while working on other orders.

Lariat - CUSTOM ORDER

Photo by Ethan-Zuriel Yam

This is a 39-inch lariat with Mother of Pearl laser cut doves, small peach coloured freshwater pearls, gold filled beads and wire, Swarovski bicones and Riverstone beads.

Beadwork ear-rings

This past weekend, I spent time making geometric shaped beadwork ear-rings. I had a blast with shapes, colour combinations and different bead sizes. Check out the Ear-rings section of this blog! If you don't see a colour combination you like, do check with me.

I'll be working on more geometric shapes this week including 3-dimensional ones. Keep a lookout for them!

Busy painting...

This week has been filled with paints, paint brushes, tape and ladders! I decided to paint one of my living rooms (yup, I've two) and the dining room since Ethan's still home on long break. We spent 4 days priming and painting so no new items to post this week. Will try to post something next week.

Meanwhile, remember that Mothers' Day is coming so if you need to place special orders, do send them my way soon. Have a great weekend!