Introducing...the Expression Bear...

After the successful launch of my Friendship Kokeshi Doll range few weeks ago, I was busy preparing another range of product. It took me awhile to make it as per my expectation, since they are so common in the market! LOL

Here it is...proudly presenting to you...the Expression Bears...

A little introduction to the bears...they are based on the colour of rainbow. You know, rainbow always brings joy & hope to people, I love the rainbow. Hence, there is no doubt that I make my bears based on the rainbow color. Each of the bears carries a different characteristic. Check out below for their names...:D

Just so we are clear how the rainbow colors order like...it's Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. (Abbr: ROY G. BIV - I saw it in 1 of the websites, it's a brilliant way to remember the order...)

I have searched up the language of all the 7 colors from varies sites on the web so that we can understand more of each color.

Each of the bears is about 3.5in tall & it sits perfectly on my palm.

Here's the bear line up:

1) Red Bear - LOVE

Red is the warmest of all colors. Red is the color most chosen by extroverts. For the Chinese, red is the color of prosperity and joy. Brides wear red and front doors are often decorated with Red clothed lanterns. Red is the color of Mars. Guess who is from Mars...no wonder my hubby loves Red...LOL

Red is also the color of passion, love and lust. That is the reason why we give Red roses to our loved ones most of the time.

If you need more love in your life, or courage to chase after your dream, bring Love, the Red Bear home. She will definitely shower you with lots of love...

2) Orange Bear - WARMTH

While red is associated with fiery heat, orange is associated with the benign warmth of the sun. A dynamic color, Orange offers a more thoughtful control than red. Curiosity is a driving characteristic of orange, and with it comes exploration of new things.

Orange is a power color. It also stimulates enthusiasm and creativity. Orange means vitality with endurance. People who like orange are usually thoughtful and sincere.

Hm...the description sounds like my younger son...no wonder he loves Orange color...

If you are an Orange person, or you'd love to be one, do bring Warmth, the Orange Bear home with you...

3) Yellow Bear - JOY

Yellow means joy and happiness. Like the energy of a bright sunny day, yellow brings clarity and awareness. It also symbolizes wisdom. People of high intellect favor yellow.

The shade of yellow determines the meaning. Pure, bright and sunny yellow is the easiest color to see. People who are blind to other colors can usually see yellow. Yellow is full of creative and intellectual energy. 


This is my younger son's 2nd favourite color after Orange.

Bring Joy, the Yellow Bear home if you need some happiness in your life or you need to see things clearly...

4) Green Bear - BALANCE

Green is the color of balance. It also means learning, growth and harmony. Green is the color of nature, fertility, life. Grass green is the most restful color. Green symbolizes the master healer, the life force, self-respect and well being. 

Green is favored by well balanced people. Green contains the powerful energies of nature, growth, desire to expand or increase. Change and transformation is necessary for growth, and so this ability to sustain changes is also a part of the energy of green.

Does that mean my elder son is a well balanced person? Hm...

Balance, the Green Bear will help you find some balance if you feel your life is in a mess...

5) Blue Bear - PEACE

Blue is the coolest color - the color of the sky, ocean, sleep, twilight. A pure blue is the color of inspiration, sincerity and spirituality. Blue is often the chosen color by conservative people. Blue promotes peace and are used to calm ragged emotions. It also enhances the quality of communication.

Blue gives a feeling of distance. Artists use it to to show perspective. This is a good way to understand the energy of the color blue - it allows us to look beyond and increase our perspective outward. It contains a cool vibration that is helpful to communication.

Peace, the Blue Bear will help you relax & encourage feelings of communication and peace.

6) Indigo Bear - FAITH

Indigo is the color of the deep midnight sky. Indigo symbolizes a mystical borderland of wisdom, self-mastery and spiritual realization. It increases personal thought, profound insights, and instant understandings. While blue can be fast, Indigo is almost instantaneous. Inventors use indigo skills for inspirations that seem to 'come out of the blue'.

Having Faith, the Indigo Bear around will sure help you to improve your confident & hope.

7) Violet Bear - PASSION

Violet is the color of purpose. Violet brings a new dynamic to the expansion of blue and the activity of red. Red brings practicality to the undirected expansiveness of the blue, and allows more creative energy to emerge. For this reason, Violet is associated with imagination and inspiration.

Violet is also the color of good judgment. It is the color of people seeking spiritual fulfillment. It is said if you surround yourself with purple you will have peace of mind.
Violet has been used to symbolize magic and mystery, as well as royalty. Being the combination of red and blue, the warmest and coolest colors, purple is believed to be the ideal color. Most children love the color purple. 

Oh, Violet is my favourite color!

Bring Passion, the Violet Bear home if you need to give you some inspiration into your passion!

So, do you like my bears?

Why don't you bring one home? :)

The Expression Bears will be available for sales at my Etsy Shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/joeychin28

Go grab one now & enjoy! :D

Farewell Ms Sharon...All the Best!

Christopher's home class teacher is leaving end of this month for family commitment, so we were thinking to give her a present!

This is what I made in 2 days:

Half a dozen of Roses, in multiple colors

I wrapped the flowers with ribbon so that it looks more like a real stalk. I don't want to use the normal green tapestry as it is very sticky & difficult to wash it off. Plus, the dust will stick on it, making it looks very ugly over time.

I added 6 stalks of wild flowers, in various red & pink colors, also wrapped with ribbon.

Then, I add 4 stalks of Japanese Beads, each stalk has 3 beads, all wrapped with ribbon as well.

I made a Purple butterfly, this will be seen clearly why I make it...:)

For vase, I used recycled 500ml mineral water bottle, cut it according to my liking, decorate it with ribbons. 

Ta-daaaa...it's done!

Did you see the Purple butterfly?

It's on a clip of which I clip it on a leaf...the card is still blank as I want Christopher to write it himself.

Like it?

Sometimes I think my kids are very lucky to have me as their mom...I make beautiful things that money can't buy...LOL

I hope his home class teacher, Ms Sharon, will love it as much as I do!

All the best to you, Ms Sharon!

Let It Go...Let It Go...

My sons are into Frozen's Let It Go song lately & we have been you-tubing & singing our hearts out! LOL

It's kinda hard to sign without a lyric sometimes, so I downloaded the lyric for them:

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight

Not a footprint to be seen

A kingdom of isolation,

And it looks like I'm the queen.

The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside

Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried!

Don't let them in, don't let them see

Be the good girl you always have to be

Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know

Well, now they know!

Let it go, let it go

Can't hold it back anymore

Let it go, let it go

Turn away and slam the door!

I don't care

What they're going to say

Let the storm rage on,

The cold never bothered me anyway!

It's funny how some distance

Makes everything seem small

And the fears that once controlled me

Can't get to me at all!

It's time to see what I can do

To test the limits and break through

No right, no wrong, no rules for me I'm free!

Let it go, let it go

I am one with the wind and sky

Let it go, let it go

You'll never see me cry!

Here I stand

And here I'll stay

Let the storm rage on!

My power flurries through the air into the ground

My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around

And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast

I'm never going back,

The past is in the past!

Let it go, let it go

And I'll rise like the break of dawn

Let it go, let it go

That perfect girl is gone!

Here I stand

In the light of day

Since this is the 'season' for Frozen...I have to make something out! Plus, I have a request for it too! :)

Here's my version of Princess Elsa...she has thick hair, big eyes & she is only 15cm tall...LOL

This one with her hair at the back...

After making this, I have to make it into keychain/bag charm...you know, since I am hooked into making Bag Charms & Keychains so much...LOL

So here it is...smaller in size, about 13cm tall, with a pair of smaller eyes & longer but thinner hair...

From different angle...

I even made 2 snowflakes to go with it...cool huh?

Just to compare the 2 versions...

What do you think?

These cuties are available for sale at my Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/joeychin28

Hello Kitty - Part 3

Recently, I've got an order for a Black Hello Kitty. This friend of mine says black is her lucky color & so, requested me to make a Black Hello Kitty for her...

This is what I made:

Somehow the eyes & nose are still not up to my expectation.

I always have this problem with Hello Kitty...from my last 2 experiments until now...

You may refer to my Hello Kitty blogs here:

http://www.designedwithpassion.blogspot.com/2012/02/hello-kitty-anyone.html

http://www.designedwithpassion.blogspot.com/2012/02/hello-kitty-part-2.html

Hm...could it be because I am still very stubborn & refuse to use felts for the eyes & nose?

Should I give in? But I have no confident with felts. I worry it will come off after awhile...

Friendship Kokeshi Dolls - story continues...

After completing the Big eyes Friendship Kokeshi Dolls range, I made 1 set of small eyes Kokeshi Dolls, using the prototype I made when I experimented the dolls.

2 reasons: my mom said small eyes resemble the real Japanese (she said Japanese don't have big eyes) & the other is because it is for my girl's playset. I don't want her to bite the eyes off the doll's head! LOL

Comparing to the original big eyes dolls, this range is also cute in its way. They look shy...but of course, it doesn't resemble the characteristic of the 4 friends. The only one that is close enough is Alice...the rest definitely is not shy...LOL 

My impression of Japanese girls is that they are shy & kawaii, especially when they are in their traditional costumes.

So, what do you think? Do you prefer the big eyes range or small eyes range? :D 

Big Eyes range:

Small Eyes range:

To make it easier for comparison, here's the individual dolls line up:

Sue

Alice

Jo

Iris

Green is the color of Balance

I have a friend who loves the color of Green. She has no idea why she loves the color though...

2 weeks back, we decided to meet up. So I made her something Green...these are my latest projects, so I just make additional for her since I don't have much time to come up with a new design (been busy fulfilling orders...LOL)

This dear friend of mine happens to be a Workaholic too, so I prepared a card for her with the following message:

Dear XXX,

Have you wondered why you love Green color so much?

The secret language of Green is Balance.

Since you devote most of your time to work & most of the time complaining that you don't have time for other things, could it be the reason why you love Green? As maybe it is trying to tell you to find some balance in your life?

I hope you like this Green bear. Her name is Balance. 

I added a Lucky Star for you. Hope it brings you luck. Plus, since a star has 5 points, it represents work, health, family, friend & self. 

With this, I hope you will be able to slow down & find some balance in all 5 areas of your life...

The doll is Jo. I dressed her in your favourite color! Much like you, Jo is hardworking, ambitious, passionate about her environment & loves power. She is one of the dolls in my latest craftwork Friendship Kokeshi Doll.

Hope you love the gift...

When I passed the gift to her & she reads the card, she laughed out loud...

But, I'm glad she loves the gift...:D