Saturday, January 31, 2009

Result For The Poll

The result is out! Thank you for the overwhelming response. As I have stated in the poll earlier on, I will only be counting the number of comments and not the votes from the voting list. I think it is more accurate this way.

It had been a close race between 'A Letter For You' and 'Waiting Forever'. But the winning entry goes to........ 'A Letter For You'!!!! Congratulations to those who voted for this entry.



People who voted for 'A Letter For You'.

1. Wendi Schoffstall
2. The Bird Lady
3. LB Accessories
4. mamaroots
5. Fat Cat Crafts
6. Jan (janny.jay1990@gmail.com)
7. duringmyheyday
8. PrinkerWink
9. jacjewelry
10. Caroline D.
11. devonrose
12. Light and Writing
13. Elena
14. Christina (peasantsoup)
15. Bob

And the 5 lucky winners are...... tah-dah!!!!

1. mamaroots
2. Jan (janny.jay1990@gmail.com)
3. PrinkerWink
4. Caroline D.
5. devonrose

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for participating in this poll. It was definitely fun and exciting. Stay tuned for more interesting games! ;)

Saturday, January 24, 2009

The MeMe Game

I've been tagged by The Bird Lady to list 10 random things about myself. So here they are,

1. I am a Pescetarian.
2. My daily boost is a cup of bubble tea (A sweet tea drink with tapioca pearls, originated from Taiwan).
3. My favorite cake is Tiramisu and I prefer those with rum content.
4. I love the sky and I always like to imagine what animal or person the clouds look like.
5. I can't leave the house without my Mp3 player. Basically there are all types of music in my Mp3 player. From rock to pop, to classical and chant. You name it, I have it. Haha.
6. I love anything related to Angels.
7. My favorite day of the year is Christmas eve.
8. My favorite color is Blue. Though I will never wear blue clothes.
9. The one and only perfume I will wear is True Love by Elizabeth Arden.

The last and longest but very important fact about me,

10. I am VERY addicted to the smell of my little bolster and won't go to sleep without her. She has the shape of a peanut so yap, her name is Peanut. :) Due to consideration for the weak heart, I shall not post her picture here. Because you see, Peanut is coming to 27 this year (same age as me), you might not be able to take it if you see the state she's in now. Lol.

PS: I just think it has to be a 'she'.

Ok, now I need to tag 1 person. halloweeniesmile, over to you! :)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Postcard Poll

Hi everyone, I need your help! Which of the following 8 images do you think I should choose as byrheea's FIRST postcard print? You know, I would love to have them ALL but for now I can only afford one design. :( So please save my headache and decide for me.
Each of you are only entitled to ONE vote and closing date will be 31 Jan (next Sat). On 1 Feb, I'll announce the winning design and handpicked 5 lucky winners to receive this very first byrheea postcard set (3 postcards per set), titled and signed at the back.

Voting list is right beside this post.

1) Bear in mind that you can only vote once. To ensure each person only cast ONE vote, I'm going to count the votes by the number of comments I receive.

2) Be sure to leave a comment with the title of image you've voted. This is VERY IMPORTANT. Sadly, the poll does not have this function so there is no way I can know who voted for which image and thus it wouldn't be counted.

I'll contact you if you're one of the lucky winners. Good luck. :)











*Have you casted your vote and left your comment with the title of the image? If you do, thank you. :)

Friday, January 16, 2009

Inspiring Videos

I was chatting with a friend earlier on when she showed me the video of Randy Pausch. He was a Computer Science professor at Carnegie Mellon University and passed away from pancreatic cancer after battling for many months. Randy Pausch gave a 'final lecture' to over 400 students at the University. Some of you might have watched or heard of it but for the benefit of those who hadn't, here it is.

'Last Lecture' by Randy Pausch



I hope this video has reminded you about the important things in life. :)

The next video I would greatly recommend is by this pianist better known as, 'The Four Fingered Pianist' (Lee Hee Ah). She came to Singapore in 2007 for a one night only performance and I was lucky to be there. As she moved her fingers along the keyboard and played those beautiful tune, I was close to tears. Somehow, it was her spirit that had touched me. Watch this video and you'll know what I mean. :)

The Four Fingered Pianist



Lastly, I would like to share this short video with everyone. Funny but inspiring. :)

Never Give Up!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Spread The Love~

Meet little Bobby! :D Few days ago I bought this lovely 9'' tall teddy bank and name him, Bobby. I think the name suits him perfectly. :) The 2nd pic of him is taken on my bed. Love the stripe effect. Haha.





The reason for getting a coin bank is to do my bit for the SPCA society. For every $20 purchase on my product, 50 cents will be dropped into Bobby and at the end of the year, I'll donate all to the SPCA Singapore. Of course I hope as my business prosperous, I could increase the amount. :)

Everyone out there especially if you have pets at home, I hope you could spare a thought for those poor animals out there and do your bit for them too. Look into the eyes of these lovely animals, don't you wish you could care for them or at least give them a cuddle? Sometimes it really makes me wonder how some cruel owners could abandon their pets like that. So, if it is within your ability, please help them. For more information on how you could help, please visit www.spca.com



Another organization I would like to mention here is the World Vision. I'm sure most of you are aware of this humanitarian organization dedicated to working with families of the poor and helping them to build a sustainable future.

What is $35 to most of us? But for only about $35 a month, we can help not only a child but his/ her entire family. With this money, the family gets clean water, nutritious food, health care, educational opportunities and most importantly we bring them HOPE. Oh, and we'll get to connect with them by writing or even visiting them. My goal for 2009 is to adopt one or more children. What about you?



Now that I've set my goals for the new year, production becomes more meaningful. Because I know that with each product made, a few cents are set aside for the less fortunate.
~Spread the LOVE everyone! :)

Monday, January 12, 2009

Some Works Byrheea

Guess most of you are more familiar with my Dollgift label since it is also on Etsy. For those who missed out my introduction on byrheea (1st post, dated 10 Jan) here are a few pieces of byrheea works I would like to share with you.



This is one of my favourite watercolour painting titled, To Where You Are. I did this on acrylic paper for a different texture. Because acrylic paper couldn't absorb water well, I had quite a hard time on this particular piece. However, I'm proud to say I love the finished painting and it was exactly the same image I wanted to portray in my mind. :)



This drawing titled, Trapped, was the very first ink drawing I did for byrheea. From then on, I fell in love with ink and was inspired to come out with my dollgift series.



This is the latest piece of work I've done a couple of weeks ago titled, A Little Too Late. I would say ink medium is harder to control compared with the watercolour I'm more familiar with. This piece is a challenge for me especially with the little details but I must say, I'm quite satisfied with the end result :)

Hope you've enjoyed what I share with you so far. Please note that above images are copyright of byrheea. To see more works or know more about byrheea, please visit www.byrheea.com. Alternatively, you may purchase byrheea merchandise at DeviantART. :)

I'm Loving It

First of all, I would like to announce that another of my item ('Push The Limits' notebook) is listed in Etsy treasury today! Yay! Thank you Karen (EarringsByKaren), nice winter sky theme :)



Y'day I made a post in the forum asking everyone to checkout my blog and within a day, all the feedback/compliments flooded in. I was overwhelmed with excitement! And just y'day, I received 17 more little hearts in my Etsy store :D Thank you everyone! My only 3 days old blog has a total of 12 followers now, how sweet is that. :) A few months ago, I was still hesitating whether to start a blog. I didn't like blogging and I didn't like to read blogs.. but now I'm beginning to love it! haha. For those who like to read my blog, stay tuned for more interesting posts ;)

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Lovely Etsy Sellers

Today I received a compliment on my blog by yet another etsy seller, Light and Writing. I made a visit to her blog and saw two of my items listed in her Etsy favorites. Happy! :) And I must add that she has a lovely blog with loads of beautiful photographs. You got to try her 'Feed the Fishes' application (on right side of the page), cute!



Come to think of it, I've joined Etsy for a couple of months now and I would like to say that Etsy sellers are indeed amazing. Not to mention the many inspiring artists but more importantly, they are very supportive and helpful in many ways. If you don't believe, checkout the Etsy forum and you'll know what I mean. I'm sure you Etsy sellers out there will agree with me too. ;)

I may not be strong in my vocab but still, I would like to take this opportunity to mention a few such great people I've met there. First of all, Karen from EarringsByKaren. She was the very first person who dropped me an encouraging message when I joined Etsy last year (Oct). I hope she is doing great with her jewellery making now.

zJayne from zJayne and Fiona from fionachapman. For dropping me a message just to make sure I did not miss out their post after I posted a question in the forum (Dec). Thank you for being so thoughtful! :)

Then there was Marcie from marciejanedesigns (I've mentioned her in my blog a few days ago, dated 10 Jan). This wonderful lady has inspired me alot and she even went on to promote my work to everyone. Haha.. I have no idea of her real age but she does give me this motherly feel. (That's a compliment Marcie! :p)

Of course there are many many more of you out there. Btw, I've only made ONE sale in Etsy so far.. haha. But I've learnt alot there. :) Thank you everyone!

The Story of Teddy

I came across this touching story posted in my friend's blog (Sylvia) and would like to share it with everyone. Long story but worth reading :)

Little Teddy Stoddard (as told by Dr.Wayne W.Dyer)

There is a story many years ago of an elementary teacher. Her name was Mrs. Thompson. And as she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same.

But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath and Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around.

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death had been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag.

Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to."

After the children left she cried for at least an hour.

On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy.

As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets.

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer-the letter was signed, Theodore Stoddard M.D.

The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.

Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

Lazy Sunday

What are you doing on a Sunday? Lazing around at home? I prefer to relax at home on a Sunday.. spending time with my family, checking the emails or reading a good book.

I'm currently reading this book 'Angel Inspiration'. My third book by Diana Cooper! If you've read/ watched 'The Secret' before, I'm sure you'll be able to relate to this book 'A Little Light On The Spiritual Law' , also by Diana Cooper. In fact, I prefer her style than 'The Secret'. With stories and logics explained, I find it alot easier to understand. Just personal preference.



The first book that changed my life was also a book by Diana Cooper, 'Angel Answers'. That was when I began to fall in love with Angels and all books by Diana Cooper. Thank you Adele and Sylvia for sharing these great books with me! :)

Though I come from a Buddhist family, I firmly believe that all religions are the same. Guess I shall not go into that. Haha. But honestly, I do believe that Angels exist!!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

My featured work

My work is featured in Illustration Mundo!! Yay!! :D



While googling, I found this pic posted by allencompanyinc in flickr and realised one of my postcard made it to the front page of etsy! Guessed this must be the reason it won me quite a few little hearts in etsy. Thank you allencompanynic! To purchase this unique postcard (silkscreened and fabric wrapped), please checkout my etsy store.



I came out with a similar design for Valentine's Day. This 'I Heart You' print is available for sale on etsy now.



My 'Dancing In The Rain' notebook also made it to the treasury posted by Marciejanedesigns on 5 January. Thank you Marcie! Sadly, I forgot to do a screenshot of it. :(

Friday, January 9, 2009

About Byrheea and Dollgift

Hmm... How should I start.. I’m sure there are more than one side in everyone. We feel different emotions at different time and different stages of our lives. byrheea (by rheea) portrays the more emotional me while dollgift reveals the childlike side of me.
Since music plays an important role in my life, it has to be one of the main themes in dollgift. And of course, this ‘doll’ represents the little girl I’ve created in my drawings. Oh, you might also see a cute little doggie in some of my drawings. He is none other than my lovely Dashund boy, Nono. :)


Nono on brother's desk.


Can you guess the length of his body?

My first blog, wish me luck!

First of all, I have to admit I dread blogging... Simply because I have no idea what to blog about and it is definitely time consuming. Do people really care to read about your daily life? Alright, for now I'll TRY. Anyone out there, if you happened to pop by or you really like my blog, please leave a comment. Thank you :)