Inspired by Tangled

I am in love with the  floating lantern scene from Tangled.    Right this moment, my thoughts are way ahead of present time.  Thinking of Christmas and dreaming of floating lanterns around my home for the holidays. That would surely be awesome!!!

 

Rosary Bracelets

Over Christmas, I came out with Rosary Bracelets which unfortunately were never posted online until today. Tamara, a friend since college, was my main reason. She was fortunate to have consistently taken the first crack even before the actual selling happened. Whatever displayed and sold during the bazaars were actually the last few unsold pieces. And though limited in quantity, the beads used are my excess pieces which I then use for either Bracelets, Napkin ring holders, or Key/Bag Charms. In this case, Rosary Bracelets.

The bracelets are pre-fabricated and definitely not as simple as they look. With my style, I rarely keep things simple.

 

 

With 2 medals and a mix of charms, I love the frou frou. This piece is mine by the way. But

should you wish to order, here's how it goes.

 

 

STEP 1: Choose the color of your bracelet. Reminder, the quantity of posted bracelets depend on availability of excess beads. A few of the above have only ONE available piece on stock.

 

 

STEP 2: Choose two (2) medals and identify them according to number indicated on the photo. On the charms, I will take care of this :)

 

 

STEP 3: And lastly, post your order via private message in facebook or you may send an email to bybeadedstory@gmail.com.

Cheers! Hope to hear from you soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Full Bloom

Flowers brighten my day.  But what fascinates me more are the splash of  varied colors when flowers are in full bloom. And is it just me?  I see colors that blend so well despite mismatched hues and tones (example:  pink side-by-side with orange). On my end, I love it and refer to this floral color barrage as my guiding color palette when working with beads. 

A weekend ago was my first  to have ever watched and be amazed by Baguio's yearly Panagbenga Festival.   Flowers were everywhere.  My mother and Dad2, who are both in town, enjoyed the festival as well.  J. Bond drooled over one floral float as seen in the photo below.  To this day, I still think of everything that I have seen. Pure inspiration!  Here are some photos I keep looking at since my return.  Warning:  this post is picture heavy.

 

A pot of colorful flowers by the entrance of South Drive Manor.  This was where Cafe Red Orange was located.  They have now named their quaint restaurant as Secret Garden.

 

Since Baguio was in bloom, colorful butterflies fluttered everywhere.

 

 These flowers truly make my day.  They look so happy. 

Striking wild orange flower.

 

J. Bond with Dad 2 against a wall of pink and red flowers.  The story behind the pose...read:  "engagement".  Lol!

 

Then the festival.  Baguio hustled and bustled so early on the day of the Grand Float Parade.  From where we stayed, sounds of drums may be heard loud and clear at 4:00am.

 

 The whole stretch of Session Road was closed to vehicles.  Everyone walked.

 

Dole Juice's float.

 

 Bahay Kubo (Nipa Hut).



J. Bond said "WOW!" upon first sight. Read:  BEER.

 

The float that made J. Bond drool.  Again, it's not about the flowers.

 

Close-up of J. Bond's favorite float.

 

 

Flower garden float.

 

 I had to have my photo taken.

 

Then, I thought I should have posed this way.  Lol!

 

 Yellow flowers cheer me up.

 The "BIRD" float.

How I remember Baguio as a child.  Tribal and serene.

 

More soon....

 

Praying for Her

Only now have I realized that moving to a new house can be both exciting and stressful. But amidst the chaos (I try to hard to be organized by the way.  But things can  go really crazy), I finally found time  to visit my endocrinologist at Asian Hospital this morning.  No choice anyway.  Two things on the agenda:  to "present" my long overdue laboratory results (not too good!)  and to finally handover my Christmas gift. 

I'm glad my doctor loved the necklace.

As I was waiting for my turn, my doctor's secretary had requested to squeeze in a patient prior to my scheduled appointment.  I agreed.  Must be VIP I thought. True enough she is...the eldest daughter of a former President who had encountered a major accident ten years ago, and has unfortunately resulted with a damaged brain.  She is in her 50s but acts and thinks like a 3-year old.  Prior to the accident she was in tiptop condition as shared by the secretary.  Accompanied  by two caregivers, all she had in mind was ice cream on top of her sudden bursts of slapping shoulders of other patients including doctors.

 

At this moment, I still think of her.  The twists and turns of life.  And of  her Mother, her love for her daughter, and the pain.

 

Praying for her....

Vietnam Day Two: War Remnants Museum

16 days since New Year's day, I'm late with my greeting once again.  But Happy 2013 anyway! So how did you celebrate New Year? I spent mine with family, a good midnight meal and a bit of firecrackers, but unfortunately I was down with a bad flu.  No fun at all.

 

Anyway, I still have  a gazillion photos to share.  Remember, I've long been stuck working on photos of my Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) trip from two months ago, and I'm still exactly where you have left me.  Really slow progress here. Please bear with me.  One day, I'll get by and be more updated. I hope.
 

Day Two in Saigon was all about a tour of the War Remnants Museum,   shopping, eating and discovering more. 

My view from the car while on our way to War Remnants Museum.  Yes, even senior women drive  motorcycles without a slight tinge of fear.  I don't think I'll ever survive this part of Vietnam. 

At the War Remnants Museum.  Weather on day two was comparable to Manila weather. Hot!  Yet less pollution.  Saigon's garbage disposal and pest control system are worth exploring (for Manila). Systematic disposal of trash and no mosquitoes nor flies.

The War Remnants Museum exhibits all that pertain to the American Phase of the Vietnam War.  In this part of the museum, one may see dioramas and photos of how Vietnamese prisoners were tortured.

Torture related photos and write-ups.

 An actual photo of a Vietnamese about to be beheaded.

 The beheading chamber.

A diorama of a prisoner.  At this part of the tour, J. Bond had made his exit.  Scenes like this make him uneasy. 

 

A display of weapons used during the war.

 

Ammunitions.

 

Comparative figures of 3 wars with U.S. participation.

 

A Nikon Camera used by a Japanese photographer during the war. 

 

 

Despite my brave front while walking from chamber to chamber, room to room,  stories of war truly make me sad.  In some way, I felt the negative emotions  still lingering around.  In fact, Thuy (my guide) remained intense about the subject while on this tour. So, I focused on images that mattered to me instead. Well, it didn't help either.

 

A wall of photos showing Agent Orange's effect on children.  Click here to know more about Agent Orange.

 

More photos showing Agent Orange's effect on children.

 

Strikingly sad image of a Mother and Child. 

 

Shares why  pain still exists.  The effect of Agent Orange is felt to this day. 

 

Another sad image of a Mother and her children.

 

As written, "...At night of February 25, 1969, a group of Seal Rangers (one of the most selective rangers of U.S. Army) led by Lieutenant Bob Kerry reached Hamlet 5, Thanh Phong Village, Thanh Phu District, Ben Tre Province.  Three grandchildren of Bui Van Vat hid in this sewer, but the U.S. rangers caught and stabbed two (Bui Thi Anh - 10 years old and Bui Thi Nguyet - 8 years old) and disembowelled Bui Van Dan - 6 years old)."

 Note:  a diorama. 

Now, the fun part.  Thuy had directed my pose.

 

The only display that I liked and loved.

 

Remember this photo from an earlier post?  My tour of the War Remnants Museum led me to a group of gifted beaders, who unfortunately were all "products" of Agent Orange.

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Beading in progress :)

 

A few of their finished animal bead works. 

 

Floral arrangements made of beads.

 

They had beaded bags too.

 

I chose this.

 

Like what I said previously, I have more than a thousand Saigon photos to work on. 

 

So more soon....