My First DIY Watch/Bracelet/Hairband Holder

I saw a Youtube video on how to make a watch/bracelet holder and wanted to try making one since it looked very easy. Sorry, I don't remember the Youtuber who did/uploaded that video. What she did was just roll up a magazine, stick them together and cover with another magazine paper. Then place the rolled magazine vertically. The magazine was thick enough and was able to stand without falling.

I did it in a slightly different way. I rolled up a women's magazine and stuck them together with scotch tape. Then, I took a piece of cellophane paper and taped it over the magazine. 

The picture above was how the end product looked like, standing on its own with some belts on it. I realized that it was more suitable for those chain and cloth belts that could be wrapped around it easily. It was not so suitable for the other types of belts that I have. As I didn't want my belts to be scattered all over the place, I put them back into my drawers and put some watches on it instead. 

As my family did not have many watches, I took one step further and added a stand to the watch/bracelet holder so that I could place all our hairbands on it. I took a rectangular box and cut 2 semi-circles as seen in the picture below.

I folded down the sides and covered it with cellophane paper. I put a small piece of cardboard at the bottom of this box to make it more sturdy when standing. Then I placed the rolled magazine on top of this box. 

The picture above showed how the finished product looked. Let's call it a T-stand. I could glue them together if I wanted to, but I preferred to keep things simple and have more flexibility. So I just placed the rolled magazine on top of the box without sticking the 2 items together to make the stand. I was glad that the box below was able to hold the rolled magazine with all its stuff on it without toppling down.

Sera said the T-stand looked like a watch store. Glad she liked it too. :)

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My First DIY Earrings and Necklace Holder/Display

The picture below was a jewellery/accessories organizer that I had previously bought from  Mustafa Centre. Mustafa Centre always has items not found in heartland stores. This organizer was good because I could hang it on the inside of my wardrobe's door without taking up extra storage space. However, after some time, the plastic cover of one of the slots started to tear. I  also realized that it was not that easy to see all the stuff in the pockets at a glance as I had more than one item slotted in most of the pockets. So it was not easy to choose or decide on what to wear and I ended up not using the costume jewellery and accessories at all especially when rushed for time. I also used those small plastic boxes with partitions to store my earrings and put in the drawer. So out of sight always means out of mind (at least for these).

Jewellery/Accessories Organizer 

After I made my first ring box, I was also looking for ways to display or keep my jewellery in such a way that I would be able to see everything at a glance and, at the same time, keep them in good condition. 

There was one very easy method to display necklaces that I found on YouTube which used a curtain rod to hang the necklaces and bracelets. I had a spare adjustable curtain rod but I did not have a suitable place to place it. Bearing in mind that Singapore has high humidity, it would not be a good idea to place the costume jewellery in an open area. I also prefer to keep these jewellery in an enclosed area like my wardrobe, drawers or boxes lest they oxidize or get dirty. Another easy method was just to put hooks on an unused mirror, a wall or door to hang necklaces and bracelets. However, this would mean I had to buy extra hooks. 

Another method that caught my attention was using a scarf to poke in all the earrings and then placing the scarf on a hanger. Necklaces were then hung on the rhinestones that were glued on the hanger's slanting sides. I didn't want to sacrifice any of my hangers to do this since I am not that good at art and craft as mentioned in the previous post.

After considering all the factors and methods, this was what I decided to use.

The above was something that we had bought previously and had set it up so that the kids could display their soft toys. However, as time passed, the connectors (the white round things in the picture above) dropped off. It was not easy to fix back once it dropped so we dismantled a few of the partitions recently. So I thought instead of just throwing them away, I might as well use one of them for this project. 

I used the square frame and cut away the orange cloth (not sure what type of cloth this was called). Then I slotted the square frame into an unused white legging/tights that I had bought for Lynn a long time ago and tied the "leg part" of the tights at the bottom. 

I tied a string to the top part of the frame so that I could hang it on the inside of my wardrobe's door. If I do not want to hang this in future, I can also place it on a book stand so that it can stand on its own and can be displayed on a table top.

I had some extra curtain hooks, so I just slide them onto the top of the frame to hang my necklaces. I can also just open the clasps of the necklaces to hang them directly on the middle part of the metal frame. Paper clips or even bobby pins could probably be used as hooks but I prefer non-metallic hooks in case they rust. The earrings could be poked through the legging easily. 

Now I can see everything at one glance. I do not have many bracelets, so I did not make a bracelet stand. I just placed them in my small storage box.

I hope this earrings and necklace holder/stand works well.

My First DIY Ring Box

I was contemplating buying a box specifically to keep rings so that it was easier to see or find them. However, I have many empty boxes lying around so I thought maybe I could make use of these boxes to make a ring box. I had thought of using a fleece blanket to make the bumps in the ring boxes but wasn't sure how to make the finishing touch. So I went to search on Youtube.

The first video I came across used a fleece blanket and a nice silky cloth over it as a finishing touch. Then I went on to watch more videos to get more ideas on what materials to use. I wanted to use materials I already had at home and not spend extra money. I am also not good in art and craft, so I used the easiest possible method. 

Protections Sheet

I used the protection sheet that I had previously bought from Daiso and cut it into smaller pieces to fit the width of the box that I wanted to use. Then I folded them into the shape below. For this project, I made a fold at every 1.5 inches.

After folding nine of these, I put them into a box. I had to make sure the protection sheet rolls were just enough to fit the box so that they could hold the rings well.

Then I cut a piece of cloth the same width as the box but left it longer on top and bottom. Then I used an old credit card to press in the folds. See the picture below for the end product.

I was glad that the ring box was able to hold the rings in place. The rings did not fall off even when I turned the box upside down. 

For this project, I used the protection sheet to make the bumps in the box as I had some at home which I had no use for. A fleece blanket or magazine paper can also be used in place of this.

Below is a video with instructions on how to make this ring box.

Hair Bean Hair Brush

I first saw this Hair Bean hair brush at Mustafa Centre a few months ago. This is an "As Seen On TV" product. The packaging claimed that it can remove tangles gently. I did not buy it initially because of its shape. I was not sure if I would feel comfortable using this hair brush as it does not have a handle unlike the other hair brushes that I have. 

Subsequently I noticed that there were also sellers selling these Hair Bean hair brushes on Qoo10.sg. I read the good reviews on this. Hair Bean uses alternating bristles with Memory-Flex Technology that gently separates and removes tangles. A few weeks ago, I went to Mustafa Centre again to buy some things. I bought a new comb for Lynn and I thought it would be a good idea to get a new comb or hair brush for Sera too. Then I thought of this Hair Bean hair brush and searched for it. I managed to find it. It is only available in one colour - purple - and we bought it at around $5 (can't remember exact amount).

The Hair Bean hair brush came in a purple case with a small mirror inside the case as can be seen from the pictures above. Sera liked it with the case. It did remove tangles from her hair without causing any pain. I also realized that the shape of the brush actually made it easier for her to brush her own hair compared to other hair brushes and combs that she tried previously. 

No regrets buying this. 

Quotes from Episode 1 of 《浴女图》"The Enchanted"

《浴女图》("The Enchanted") is a new drama serial that started airing on Channel 8 from 15 August 2013, every Mondays to Fridays, at 7.00 pm. 

Five good friends, Qian Jiayi, Chen Jingli, Liang Lulu, Qi Mingxing and Bai Xuena met an eccentric man while having a vacation together. This man (whom we knew later from episode 2 that he was a famous artist Zhou Yilin) was inspired by them and painted the “Beauties in Bath” (《浴女图》）. 

Chen Jingli caught him drawing them and chased him to his place. They started talking and this was what Zhou Yilin said to her which I thought was something interesting.

“人与人之间，有兴致偶尔在街上手拉着散步，就叫‘激情’。这手一拉能拉上十年，勉强叫‘感情’。如果拉上二十年就叫‘亲情’。可以拉上一辈子，这才叫做‘爱情’。”

This was translated as:

"When two persons occasionally hold hands in the streets, we call it 'passion'. If they hold hands for 10 years, we call it 'relationship'. If they hold hands for 20 years, we call it 'family bond'. If they hold hands for a lifetime, we call it 'love'."

"Men's Talk"

"Men's Talk" is one of my favourite songs from 张清芳 (Stella Chang). 张清芳 could sing high notes powerfully. Most of her songs have a high tune.

The tempo of "Men's Talk" is a bit fast. The lyrics were mainly talking about her boyfriend confiding in his male friend rather than her.

作词：郑华娟
作曲：郑华娟
编曲：刘安健

你说你有个朋友住在淡水河边

心里有事你就找他谈天
直到月出东山你才满脸抱歉

告诉我你怎么度过这一天
你说你有个朋友住在淡水河边

相识在你最沮丧的那一年
直到我的出现你才满心快乐
把我们的事对他说了又说

不像平常那样的沉默

爱人不能是朋友吗

你怎么都不回答

你的心事为什么只能告诉他
我其实也想知道

你有多么喜欢我

你怎么跟别人形容我

后来我才知道 有些话你只对朋友说
你们叫它做 淡水河边的 Men's Talk
后来我才明白 有些事你只对朋友说
我和你就像天和地 

你是云天上飞 

而我的泪水滴成了河

which can be translated as:

You said you have a friend staying beside the Tamsui River
You will confide in him whenever you are troubled
Until the moon rises from the east
You then appeared and apologised
And told me how you spent the day

You said you have a friend staying beside the Tamsui River

You got acquainted with him at the time when you were most depressed

Until I came into your life 

You were filled with joy

And told him all about us

Unlike your normal quiet self

Can't lovers be friends too

Why don't you reply

Why is it that you can only confide in him

I want to know

How much you like me

How do you describe me to other people

Only later do I know that there are some things that you will only tell your friend

You call it "Men's Talk" beside the Tamsui River

Only later do I understand that there are some things that you will only tell your friend
You and I are like the sky and earth

You are the cloud flying in the sky

My tears flow like the river.

Jigsaw Puzzle

I have finally completed this jigsaw puzzle!

This is a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle that I bought a few years ago, long before Sera was born. I just didn't get down to doing it. As time passed, I forgot about it.

Last week, as we were clearing a study table to make way for a new one for Sera, we found this in one of the shelves of the study table.

Lynn was sick last weekend, so we were stuck at home. So, I thought I should get Sera to do this jigsaw puzzle with me so that she would not be bored. She helped me sort out the pieces according to the colours and after that, she got bored and went on to play her toys and watch cartoons. So, I went on to complete this puzzle myself. It took me a few days to complete this. On certain days, I was just too tired to piece the puzzle. In the end, I took almost a week to complete this.

Now, I am wondering what to do with this puzzle...

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Winox 4 Piece Kitchen Knife Set

A few days ago, Ardon and I went to Giant Hypermart for groceries shopping. We saw that there were many knives on offer. I was pretty much attracted to those knives because they were very colourful. Initially I thought they were ceramic knives due to the colours of the blades. On closer look, I realized that they were made of metal. As I had always wanted a better cleaver, we looked more closely at the 4 piece knife set that consisted of the 1 cleaver knife, 1 Santoku knife, 1 utility Knife and 1 steak Knife. 

The above knives were available in yellow, blue and purple. I held the sample cleaver to get a feel of its handle. The grip was comfortable and the cleaver was not heavy (unlike the one I had at home). The blade of the cleaver was thin enough to do slicing job too. So we bought one set at the offer price of $17.99 (usual price was $24.99).

These two days, I had tried the cleaver knife to slice some vegetables as well as to chop the bones of a raw duck. It was relatively easy to use compared to another cleaver that I had. :)

Alternate Ending of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers") on Toggle - Jason's Choice

I finally had the chance to watch the alternate ending of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers") on Toggle. 

There are two other alternate ending besides the one shown on Channel 8 on 2 Aug 2013.

First Alternate Ending - Jason Chooses Neither

For this version, I noticed that there was a part whereby Fang Tongling was being interviewed by some reporters after getting the Best Actress Award 2013 (one year after Jason left Singapore).  This part was not telecast on TV.

The show ends at the point whereby Jason won the Best Director for Documentary  - Culture in Asia. He then sent sms to both Tongling and Fei'er informing them that he had renewed his contract with the overseas company and would stay there for another year. This part was shown on Channel 8 on 2 Aug 2013 before the viewers' choice of ending was shown (at a slightly later time).  

Second Alternate Ending - Jason Chooses Fei'er

2 years after Jason left Singapore, both Tongling and Fei'er were still good friends. They went to the airport to fetch Jason. Both of them hugged Jason. 

For this version, Jason and Tonglin walked away and chatted happily instead, leaving Fei'er behind. This left Fei'er thinking that Tongling was Jason's choice and walked away quietly. Then Jason turned around and could not find Fei'er. Tongling then urged him to look for Fei'er. Jason found her just outside the airport and they embraced each other. 

Related posts:

Quotes from 《志在四方》("The Dream Makers")
Quotes from episode 12 of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers")
《志在四方》 - To vote for Our Preferred Ending
Final Episode of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers") and Jason's choice

Final Episode of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers") and Jason's choice

Yu Fan had a sudden heart attack and passed away. Due to his demise, Zhu Kangli (played by Chen Liping) and Yao Jianguo (played by Guo Liang) realized that life is unpredictable and they should cherish what they have now and decided to reconcile with each other. 

Fang Tongling decided to break off with Jason temporarily so that they could pursue their dreams, and at the same time, gave Jason time to think about who he really loves.

Fast forward to 2 years later, both Tongling and Fei'er were still good friends. They went to the airport to fetch Jason. Both of them hugged Jason. Jason and Fei'er walked away and chatted happily, leaving Tongling behind. This left Tongling thinking that Fei'er was Jason's choice and walked away quietly. Then Jason turned around and could not find Tongling. Fei'er then urged him to look for Tongling. Jason found her just outside the airport and they embraced each other. 

So, Tongling was Jason's choice by viewers' votes.

At the end of the show, we were informed that we could use a mobile app called Toggle (for iPhone/iPad and Android phones/tablets) or go to http://www.toggle.sg/page/free/491  to see the other alternative endings. You need to register to activate the membership if you do not have an account with Toggle.

Related posts:

Quotes from 《志在四方》("The Dream Makers")
Quotes from episode 12 of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers")
《志在四方》 - To vote for Our Preferred Ending
Alternate Ending of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers") on Toggle - Jason's Choice

Dolphin Door Curtain

I was quite happy when I saw that Metro was selling door curtains at their fair on the ground floor of Compass Point. Ardon and I had always wanted to get a door curtain but did not know where to get one that is nice and at affordable price. (We didn't actually search for it since it wasn't critical that we must have one.)

Initially, we (Ardon, Lynn and me) only saw those designs on display and nearly wanted to buy the door curtain with some fishes and Japanese words in it. However, while searching through their unopened door curtains on the shelves, we realized that there were many other designs that were not on display.

The salesgirl was very patient with us and showed us a few more door curtains with other designs. They also varied in terms of length and materials. Eventually we bought the door curtain with the dolphins in it. 

Sera was also happy to see this new door curtain in the house. We had always liked pictures or items that had dolphins in them. They just make us feel good. Click here to see the symbolism of dolphins. We really loved how this door curtain looked when hung on the wall. :)

On a side note, I asked the salesgirl how come I had never seen these door curtains inside Metro store. She told me their company participated in this fair but they are not under Metro. That was why I had never seen this in Metro store itself. The door curtains were from EJ Home deco and that they have a web site. However, I was not able to find their web site. 

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《志在四方》 - To vote for Our Preferred Ending

Mediacorp is doing this again for 《志在四方》("The Dream Makers"). Viewers can vote for who Jason Lam (played by Qi Yuwu) should choose to be with - Fang Tongling (played by Rui'en) or Zhao Fei'er (played by Jeanette Aw) and the ending would be shown on the last episode on 3 Aug 2013. I wonder is it because they want to give a popular ending so that there are less complaints, or .... 

Lynn asked me who I think Jason should be with. Hmm. It is a hard choice. Fang Tonglin and Jason Lam have many things in common, both have the same ideals. Fang Tonglin is very nice and had always liked him. It seemed that Jason Lam had already accepted Fang Tongling's love and enjoyed her company too. I am just not sure how much Jason Lam loved Fang Tongling.

On the other hand, Zhao Fei'er is portrayed as very pitiful now that her grandpa had passed away, Gao Jian had left her and she was conned by that despicable Lawrence. On top of that, Jason had been with her for so many years. She gave him up once but that was when she was emotionally very weak. Jason was not there to help her when she needed him most whereas Gao Jian changed his schedule so that he could go and help her. The story was written such that it was not entirely Fei'er's or Jason's fault. So, does Fei'er deserve to have a second chance since she already realized her mistakes? Zhao Fei'er still loved Jason Lam.

Initially the votes were 30 over percent for Zhao Fei'er with majority votes for Fang Tongling. As of 31 Jul 2013, votes for Zhao Fei'er were catching up at 40 over per cent. 

When《志在四方》first started airing on channel 8, I told Lynn that the characters played by Jeannette Aw and Qi Yuwu always did not end up together in many other drama serials such as 《九层糕》（"Beautiful Connection"),《最高点》 ("The Peak") and 《小娘惹》("The Little Nonya"). True enough, they broke off halfway through the show. The only drama serial that the characters played by Jeannette Aw and Qi Yuwu ended up together was 《任我遨游》 ("The Champion"). That was also the only drama serial mentioned above that allowed viewers to vote for their preferred ending. 

I wonder who will get the majority votes - Fang Tongling or Zhao Fei'er ? We shall see on 2 Aug 2013, 9.00 pm.

Related posts:

Quotes from 《志在四方》("The Dream Makers")

Quotes from episode 12 of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers")

Final Episode of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers") and Jason's choice
Alternate Ending of 《志在四方》 ("The Dream Makers") on Toggle - Jason's Choice