Peace of mind

Many times, I am so uptight constantly reminding myself about the endless list of what I must to do, I don't actually have time to enjoy a moment $5.99 can buy.

How thankful Sam is not like me.

If I had a shop

I'd be buying so many props!!
(I think I'm more into props than clothes.)

Meeting people face to face,

exchanging greetings and comments would brighten up my day.

Once again, I was imagining and daydreaming BOiS pieces displayed in one of these boxes
In my own mortar and brick shop..

This little drawer is lovely!

It is a jewellery organizer, and I instantly fell in love with the rigid yet classic design, colour and details.

Again, daydreaming where I would place the drawer in the shop.

I would leave one or two drawers open on a shelf so that people may feel free to open and touch the drawers to discover the hidden treasures.

I've seen many and bought a few of these jewellery hangers but this one is special.

It's made of wood and fabric!

Its texture and tone of colours is eye catching.

Plus, I think the leaf patterns go well with this type of fabric.

I usually do not like female figures turned into these props, some of them wearing dresses or body suits, if you know what I mean.

They look cheap or too fancy.

In one of the corridors of the shop, something caught my eyes again.

I would've bought the pair for Danielle!

Only if she was older..

Good that they had these in children's section and no sizes for adults.

I would've seriously battled with myself against compulsive buying.

Anyway, it was a Courgar kind.

Every time a pair of boots on a shelf grabs my attention, it is Cougar.

In fact, a pair I bought for myself early this year was Cougar as well.

Love Cougar boots.

Their designs are unique, pretty and functional.

And, their boots come with tags with numbers which indicate the lowest degree of temperature they can protect our feet against harsh weathers.

The weather in Toronto sure asks for a good pair of boots.

I had to leave all these beauties behind because there is absolutely no more space in the studio.

I didn't need them.

There was no excuse.

Nevertheless..

The little lady is standing on my desk right now.

Well, it is space efficient. ; )

by BOiS and BOiScreation

Dreaming

A group of friends

Running a studio and shop

Fancy little espresso machine in one corner

People dropping by for a good cup of coffee

Exhibiting art, gifts and something pretty

Educating artists

Sharing our thoughts and passion

Killing time

And chilling

And working

And pep talking

Exchanging ideas

Worshiping. .!

by BOiS

Singing a lullaby

Brielle calls for comfort in a low pitched agitated humming sound until I finally wrap up my chores, put her in my arm and sing a lullaby. 
Then immediately her agitation turns into soft cooing sounds and she falls asleep in my arm just like that. 
Even this little one without the capability of knowing or speaking any words pushes her way to communicate with her mama! 

God's most awesome creature, 
a master piece..!



by BOiS & BOiScreation

Chinese Market

On Saturday lunch, Sam excitedly woke me up from my sweet nap and took us to a food court in a Chinese market.
It was not the fancy kind but the trip was interesting.

The whole building was a very Asian like market place, a small version of the kind you would see in Hongkong or in China.

Grilled beef and rice noodle on an iron plate was only $5.50!

Jumbo size bubble tea for $2.

There was a photography studio with a sign saying "$7.95 for passport photo".

I will be coming here next time I need to renew my passport.

Last December I paid $50 for Danielle and my passport photos at Black's.

And I don't even like me in that photo!

I look very ghostly... and I need to endure that ghostly photo for five years... :"(

When you don't like your passport photo, you don't want to travel abroad. Urg!

Overall experience to the Chinese market place was unqiue and fun.

The highlight of it was seeing those hard working cooks behind the counters.

It really challenged me to think about life and values.

by BOiS & BOiScreation

Little Touches

Little things make life beautiful and worth paying attention to.

A friend of mine was about propose to his girlfriend and I advised him on the kinds of rings she would like.

The couple gave me a small gift after the proposal, and I like it!

To start with, my favourite wrapping material: Kraft paper.

Instead of phony plastic bows, she used this unique flower made of pretty fabric.

Besides the flower, see the piece of tape on the side of the box.

The tape is matte and translucent with roses on it!

Little touch brings out so much.

Really like the neat and clean ruffle rim of the cup.

Embossed pattern on the glass surface gives nice textures to feel on your fingers when you hold it.

Translucency of the glass; its weight and thickness; ivory colour of the candle; everything goes so well together. 

And, what a nice card to bring in colour!
Sweet coconut scent adds on.

My big compliment goes out to her, the bride-to-be.

I'm sure she will have a beautiful family and home. : )

by BOiS & BOiScreation

Yellow Cup - my new niche

The place has been around for a while and I usually went for coffees.
Recently my sister and I realized they offer great dessert menus: different kinds of waffles and crepes!
Now, I'm there for the treats. : )

I'm not a big fan of music
but they do have live music on some weekends.

Love the old and warm atmosphere.

The style is one of a kind.
Has a niche of its own. 

So unlike North American.

Isn't it?

Bit crowded to bring a baby around but people manage it somehow.

If babies can't taste something sweet, they deserve something pretty after all.

Best part of the store is the ceiling.

They've created this beautiful vintage pattern using old coffee sacks. 

What a creative way to turn the ordinary white office ceiling into a work of art!

Whoever designed the store didn't miss a thing.

And the garbage can.

Messy newspapers suit the look.

Voila!

Here goes the food.

Bon appetite. : ) 

And of course a yellow cup of coffee with coconut flavour.

Full moon shone our way home.

BOiS & BOiScreation

Ballet

Danielle started ballet on Saturday!

Her two years of longing gets fulfilled.

Thank God He led us to a good program.

And now, our week begins

but my body and emotion is not quite ready to gear in.

And Danielle went to school with drops of tears on her cheeks because she didn't like the clothes daddy picked out for her and I couldn't tie her hair.

Ah! I get so angry and tiresome every time she does that.

I feel like a failure.

Gray Monday, gray hearted..

But after all, here I write again that my day turned out to be fine.

I was able to get some work done during the day and Sam willingly suggested we go over to my parents' house even though he came home tired and he knew there would be loads of work waiting for him, only him.

For me, visiting those people there is always such delight.

I just love the luv-vibe! 

And, came back with two full hands of food and fruits.

Ahhhh! 

Time to feed and put Brielle to sleep.

Nighty night. .

BOiS & BOiScreation

Christmas rush

Cold and crisp December afternoon at sunset 

BOiS Christmas rush is almost over!

I know most of the sellers are still hectically busy to wrap up the biggest and happiest season of the year. As for me, Canada Post is way more expensive (and without tracking codes! urg...) compared to U.S.P.S. and takes longer to deliver since two thirds of BOiS customers order from abroad, which leads to the early finish of Christmas rush for BOiS. Otherwise, Christmas gifts won't arrive in time for Christmas.

It is certainly not beneficial for business but now I get to use some time to do other somewhat procrastinated projects: translating one of Earl's speeches, Potter's Clay art project for the upcoming conference, preparing the presentation, cleaning up Danielle's room, finishing up of the studio moving, organizing the new room, household & business bookkeeping for the past two months... And the list can go on.

Plus, there will be a major make over done for BOiS Etsy store approaching a slightly new direction. A little heads-up? Shop-wise: new photography. Jewellery-wise: more art and more Holy Spirit inspired with personal touch and taste. This will be the long time project of 2013.

Yes, yes, I need to get things in gear.

Oh, the announcement for the last minute Christmas orders:
If you're willing to pay for the cost, fast shipping is available to meet the deadline and you're more than welcome to drop by my studio and pick up your orders in person if you live in or near Toronto.

Happy December!

BOiS & BOiScreation

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Winter flower

Winter flowers are blooming for the first time!

Danielle got this cactus plant from one of the elders she knows last winter and it came with red-pink buds at the ends. However, the little buds disappeared soon after and only the greens remained for the whole year. Some parts of the leaves dried off and showed brownish yellow lines which were the evidence of my extreme carelessness. The trunk seemed very loose in the dirt, almost showing off its poor roots. I thought I withered away yet another plant, even a cactus one.

Autumn came, calling in on the winter.

A couple of weeks ago, on one typical winter day, something pink, something very unusual, caught my meaninglessly grazing eyes. Oh my! Those were the baby flowers budding out their pink heads! I had never thought I would see them again. After a couple of more careless days, suddenly one of them bloomed to the full.

My first time seeing a cactus flower in the winter.
And, I say, the cactus kind can survive in my home.

BOiS & BOiScreation

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Strength

A pot of little flowers under the window embraced by morning rays of light on a dry winter day.

His mercy renews my strength once again this morning. I long to live under the grace of God.

BOiS & BOiScreation

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True jewel

Sweet Danielle..

Many months ago, on a warm late-spring early summer day, I was sitting on a sofa at my mom's living room and Danielle was busy following around her grandma while she was doing gardening in the yard. After some time of quietness, Danielle bursted in from the front porch and excitedly brought these cute pair that she had found in the garden right before my eyes. She yelled, "Mommy, Mommy! I got these earrings. Just for you! Like you make jewellery! I got these! For you!"

Wow. How did she know bits and parts of the nature are the true jewels for all?!

These will certainly be the earrings of my life time! And absolute one of a kind. : )

Intricate details and exquisite masterwork for such transient pieces... A glimpse of the Creator's competence.

BOiS & BOiScreation

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Christmas 2012 Poster

My favourite season of the year is just around the corner!

I so hated all the horrific decorations of Halloween and couldn't wait for it to pass. I don't understand how an anchorwoman of a news channel points to those horrible displays (I don't want to call them decorations because decorations suppose to decorate) and say, "Oh, look at the cute Halloween displays!" Cute?! I only see dead corpse drenched in red blood with an axe or knife in their heads. We must have completely lost our aesthetic taste or out of our mind. The month of October was a very displeasing time that saddened me deeply.

Anyhow, it gave me a good motivation to gear up my lazy hands to prepare for Christmas early in time this year. : )

Hope you enjoy the announcement banner I created for BOiS Facebook!

BOiS & BOiScreation

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Fresh look

I am rearranging the studio as of right now. Phew~ It's taking longer hours than I thought. Anyhow, this is how it looks! I got a new table and raised it high so I can do all the packaging and assemble jewellery standing up. Much more work to be still done. Book shelves and raising of the table done by the world's greatest husband JB.

BOiS & BOiScreation

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Reality check

Suddenly, I realized...
that I've lost my gut and innate vigorousness along the way,
not because I desired to follow the narrow path that Jesus walked,
but just to get along with this new community which I call devoted Christians,
to be accepted
and gain respect which I had never been able to cherish in the secular party.

I could say about myself that I acted gutsy and vigorously in my early years because it is the attitude that secular people like and respect. And, then, as the new chapter of my life began, I gradually picked up these characteristics of peace-making, kindness, integrity, and so on.

Now, let's be honest with myself here.
Who am I?
What am I really like?

I'm not kind.
I'm sharp tempered and sensitive.
I love peace but hate peace-making.
I value integrity but I lack.

It's time to get down to earth,
work from there and up.
For the right reason and purpose this time.

After all this talk and thought,
what I need is God's forgiveness and acceptance.
Needing to hear "I already loved you for who you are."






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New project

Yay!! I'm working on a new project and the cards I ordered just arrived today!

God answers prayers so faithfully; I'm just amazed. My story is this. I am planning to donate minimum 30 pieces of BOiS jewellery to YWAM Toronto and we will be selling them at Campus Conference 2011 for three days to raise funds for YWAM. So, in my clever wisdom, given by Him of course, I was able to order 250 cards desigmated for the event. I was happy to order the stack because not only I could hang each piece on a card in display but it would also be a good memento for the students attending the conference.  Only thing is that I didn't calculate the shipping time and the package was supposed to arrive here by the 27th which is the starting date of the conference. I needed at least three days prior to the date for preping the pieces. Timing was just too risky. The 250 cards and my good work effort were on the verge of falling to nothing because of a split second of my heedlessness. Only if I read over the descriptions before hitting the order button one more, after the 10th time.

Last Sunday, I asked a couple of my friends to pray that the package would arrive in time. And, VOILA! Here it is today! I had initially paid for 21 day slow shipping. But for some reason, God of course, I received an email from the card company yesterday that the shipping method was upgraded, and today I actually received it by UPS Expediated. This fast! I'd thought about three days prior would be good enough. How amazing is that? The kind of work God does. : )

So, here you see the card I will be using during the conference from December 27 to December 30, 2011. The theme of the conference is "Fire Of Love" so I chose this passionate design. Pretty, huh? : ) I'm very satisfied with the weight of the paper and its glossy finish. (On the other hand, BOiS cards I ordered in matt finish are quite disappointing and I'm sad. Stuck with hundreds of them. Sigh.) I guess this would be the last event happening at BOiS for the year. Merry Christmas, everyone!

BOiS & BOiScreation

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Complaining

I sat down in my studio with full of creative energy ready to work at 11 p.m. It is about time I put my baby to sleep and have some quiet time on my own. It is a precious and rare opportunity that you get living as a mommy. But right then my eye was caught on one of the chores in my agenda left undone. Someone asked me to translate 5 pages of questions in English. The amount of work would easily cost me about 10 hours. So, I chopped the work in bits, 2 hours of translation per day. As I was doing today's allotment, translating and using my brains, frustration started to rise up in my head because all my golden time was rushing out. By the time I finished it, I was exhausted and all my energy was drained. And, I am still suffering from a headache! Urgh! (This severe headache must have been caused by the frustration I had. I can barely hold my head up.) And, it's too late to do any work. Complaints, commplaints, complaints... 1:27 a.m. to be exact. 1:30, 1:31...



by BOiS






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Fall getaway

 Unifying pink and black, very classic

Butterfly brothers taking a nap

A strong one, his wings flaked off a bit

Looks like they are drinking from a water fountain : )

Beautiful delicacy

Kissing the flower

Details, details

Amazing variety

Fall flower, love its colours, shape, texture

European, eh?

Dreamy volubile with a sign

They went down the trail while I was taking this ↓

Niagara river and the U.S. on the other side

These amazing delicacies, orders, varieties aren't possible to 'just happen' after a crash. My Designer has such magnificent sense of colours and ideas, not to mention His artistic skills and techniques. Just beautiful.

On one Thursday night, my husband asked me if I would want to get away out of the spur. Without a moment of hestation, we reserved an Inn and there we were. After my friends' visit this summer, I decided to spend more time and money on family trips because good memories shared with loved ones, especially with family members, are what it takes to cherish and appreciate life all the more. I have been keeping my promise very well since then. To prove it, I'll say this little trip was the second one already.

We went to the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara for the sake of our little one but I'd have to admit that we had more fun. The conservatory has about two thousands butterflies. Or twenty thousands, I don't recall. It wasn't important because there were sufficient enough butterflies there. At least one butterfly flew in my arm's reach every time. We were very careful not to accidently step on or hit one of them while moving. I fell in love with their delicate wings, detailed structures and beautifully unifying colours. It felt like I was in a fairy land, one similar to where Tinkerbell lived. I can't even imagine how heaven would be like if the earth is this much amazing. It was fun.

by BOiS

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