March 17, 2010 why are you frowning? SMILE :)

I have been using these smileys for the Pharmacy lately because of our upcoming activity "LIBRENG BUNOT" (free tooth extraction).

Aren't they cute?!!! I love looking at these smileys because of their sunshine faces that  make my day bright. Even the missing tooth smiley makes me smile wide.

Because of these smileys, I came up with the idea of  jotting down a "What made me SMILE today" list.   I came up with 5 yesterday. . . 

Smile 1

I smile to the song "SMILE" . . . I often listen to Nat King Cole's version but I found out yesterday that the music was actually composed by funny man Charlie Chaplin.  "Smile" was originally used as an instrumental theme in the soundtrack for the 1936 movie of Charlie Chaplin entitled Modern Times. Amazing, right?! 

Click on the link below to listen to the song Smile and watch snippets of Charlie Chaplin's years in the entertainment biz.

Smile 2

Remember this blog about losing my 2006-2007 bead photos http://bybeadedstory.blogspot.com/2010/03/march-11-2010-lost-and-found.html?   In my search, I came across photos which I have put together because of the smiles :) 

Smile 3

Guess what?  I have been picking small white flowers from this plant every morning (reason why I have been buying bread from a nearby bakeshop instead of my favorite French Baker). This plant is found near the Village gate and I think I have been picking too much flowers.  The flowers you see  are the last two.  But I smiled yesterday morning because lots of buds are soon to bloom.  Will check it out again in a bit . . .

Smile 4

Slept late Monday night and woke up with huge eyebags . . . all because of a suspense - I say horror! - TV show my husband watched (my eyes were hidden behind my hands all throughout the show).  Husband slept well even with my intentional act of leaving the lights on (Lol!).  But I woke up to the aroma of my favorite Hazelnut brewed coffee served in my "Mother's Coffee" mug :)

Smile 5
And of course, I smiled to this  . . . . while . . . .

. . . I watched this yesterday afternoon! ☻

Photo courtesy of http://www.kabayancentral.com/video/regal/rfshtogether

Now I wonder what will make me smile TODAY? . . . I'll let you know tomorrow . . .

March 1, 2010 LASO COLLECTION

I thank the age when ribbons were discovered.

Do you know that.....Ribbons appeared when civilizations began crafting fabrics. They are among the oldest decorative or adorning materials. When all textiles were handmade, items with the finest threads were the most expensive. But the simplest, most coarse textiles in plain colors could be made more elegant and individual with a bit of ribbon as decoration.

 In the Middle Ages, ribbons were so identified with luxury that, during the sixteenth century, the English Parliament tried to make the wearing of ribbons a right of only the nobility. They were also identified with certain orders of merit; the Knights of the Garter wear broad blue sashes to this day, and the Knights of Bath wear red.

Photo by http://www.zeitlerweb.com/midages.htm

By the seventeenth century, ribbons stormed the fashion world. Both men's and women's clothing of this period were extravagant, and every accessory from gloves to bonnets was festooned with ribbons in many forms. A length of ribbon could be given as a gift to decorate clothing, for use in braiding and curling hair, for ornamenting baskets and furniture, or for brightening linens. Ornately patterned household fabrics were further bedecked with ruchings (gathered ribbons), frills, and rosettes.

The huge demand for more elaborate ribbons prompted a manufacturing revolution in which Coventry, England, and Lyons, France, became hubs of ribbon design and generation.

Photo by http://www.topicalstamp.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?type=search&search=minor&minor=Animals:+Cats&shop=stamp-search&amount=10&num=3

This ribbon industry sprang from the silk trade. Merchants who traveled the "Silk Road" to and from Asia sold raw silk to middlemen in Europe who boiled, cleaned, and dyed the ribbon yarn and sold it in "twists" to weavers. The enormous demand for ribbon was one of the sparks of the Industrial Revolution.  

Peasant costumes of many lands are often distinguished by single or braided ribbons that are dyed bright colors, decorated with lace or beads, or patterned. Unique designs came to characterize cultures.  During the Napoleonic Wars early in the nineteenth century, the ribbon industry suffered a major decline because skilled weavers from England and Western Europe were recruited for military service.

Photo by http://www.festiveattyre.com/gallery/jacobean/index.html

The next ribbon "boom" occurred in 1813, when picot-edged ribbon (with tiny scallops along the sides) became a fashion must. Ribbon-weavers reaped the benefits for the two years picot-edged ribbon topped the fashion charts. Ribbons often followed fashion trends. Deaths at the courts of Europe stimulated the demand for black ribbon; military tapes, jacquards, and medal ribbons became symbols of military regiments and the highest awards nations could bestow.

 

The Victorian Era was the last to see a ribbon boom when the dresses, underclothes, coats and cloaks, and hats of Victorian ladies used yards of ribbon. Trade agreements between European countries killed the English manufacture of ribbon because cheap labor and ever-larger looms could not produce competitively priced products. 

Photo by http://hubpages.com/hub/victorianhairstyles

The development of synthetics and paper fibers for use in making gift wrap quickly extended to the ribbon world in our times, and ribbon became as adaptable to modern living as other fabrics. Many types of ribbon today are colorfast, shrink resistant, and able to be washed or dry cleaned.

In the 21st century . . .  I use Ribbons for my Laso Collection.

***History of Ribbons by http://www.answers.com/topic/ribbon

February 22, 2010 TALA SQUARE COLLECTION

It's Monday again.  Have a long list of things to accomplish this week.  Before I begin with my tasks, let me share with you a few photos of my 2010 Tala Square collection.

Overview of the Tala Square Collection

This was a 2009 Collection. 

Due to queries, I decided to make a few more pieces this year.

The design highlights a square-shaped glass pendant

with small round glass beads used as accent and as lock.

It is bound by an 8-strand wax cord.

Each piece comes in limited quantities (2-6 pieces only).

Note:  Save the Earth by donating P50 when you purchase any By Beaded Story bead work.  This will be donated to World Wild Life Fund Philippines and your order will be delivered in recycled packaging.  For more details, visit www.bybeadedstory.multiply.com.