The Boy with the Golden Star - Brooch

The Story of The Boys with the Golden Stars 

- a Romanian Fairy Tale -

A herdsman had three daughters, and the youngest was the most beautiful. One day, the emperor rode by with attendants. The oldest said that if one married her, she would bake him a loaf of bread that would make him young and brave forever; the second, if one married her, she would make him a shirt that would protect him from any fight, even with a dragon, and against heat and water; the youngest, that she would bear twin sons with stars in their foreheads. The emperor married the youngest, and two of his friends the other two.

The emperor's stepmother had wanted him to marry her daughter and so hated his new wife. She got her brother to declare war on him, to get him away from her, and when the empress gave birth in his absence, took away the twins and killed them, then buried them in the corner of the garden and put puppies in their place. The emperor had to punish his wife to show what happened to those who deceived the emperor.

Two aspens grew from the grave, putting on years' growth in hours. The stepmother wanted to chop them down, but the emperor forbade it for a long time. Finally, she succeeded, on the condition that she had beds made from the wood, one for him and one for her. In the night, the beds began to talk to each other. The stepmother had two new beds made, identical, and burned the beds to ash. While they were burning, the two brightest sparks flew off and fell into the river. They became two golden fish. When the fishermen caught them, they wanted to take them alive to the emperor. The fish told them to instead let them swim in dew, and then dry out in the sun. When they did this, the fish were turned back into babies. They grew up in days.

Wearing lambskin caps that covered their hair and stars, they went to their father's castle and forced their way in. Despite their refusal to take off their caps, the emperor listened to their story. At the end, they took them off. The emperor executed his stepmother and took back his wife.

The Making of..... Something Tiger-ish

This time, Patch decided to try her hands on something “Tiger-ish”. Right after Black & Patch decided on a Tiger picture that they both like, Black started to work on the cameo pendant right away. (fast and furious!) Black’s skills on the resin cameo pendants have really improved! Guess that's the result of trying, trying… and more trying....  And once Black was done with the pendant, it's Patch's turn to start working on the design of the necklace.

Days of pondering passed and Patch FINALLY got her hands moving. To avoid “over-indulgence”, Patch would occasionally seek Black’s opinion such as “Should it be this length?” or “Is this too much?”  Black always give her views, though sometimes they do get a little too abstract for Patch.... such as “hmmm...A little bit more.” or  “Yes, almost there…”.

Patch was in momentum and the necklace was near to finish until she had a “mental-block”! The design was lacking one important bit – the secondary pendant. When worn as a short chain, Patch wanted a secondary pendant to give a more unique look to the accessory. But this secondary pendant had to be interesting, yet it cannot outshine the Tiger pendant. The colour, the size – these have to be carefully thought through. After toggling with the various choices, Black gave her ultimate input by creating THE ONE - what you see on the chain now! =D Once that was put together, both Black & Patch said “Yeah!! and now you have it – Blackpatch’s first Tiger accessory!



On a more serious note, Patch was really hoping that this accessory can catch people's attention and thus interest them to find out more about tigers.  Patch knew that tigers are victims of illegal animal trading. But what she didn’t know is that there are less than 3,200 wild tigers in the world today. It may seem like a large number, but think again… a century ago, there were about 100,000 tigers in the world. That works out to mean, about 968 tigers die each year - and that's not exactly a small number. Sadly, one of the reasons for the decline is that tigers are hunted to feed the illegal wildlife market. As long as there is demand, there will be supply! So hopefully as people know more about tigers, they learn to love them and eventually stop buying tiger part products. And maybe these beautiful animals may still have shot at having a future. 

Do check out some local news  http://www.acres.org.sg/wildlifecrime/tiger2.html

Lion - The King of the Jungle

I’ve always thought of lions as symbols of courage and strength. Whenever i see a lion, I'm ALWAYS awed by its magnificence! For those of you who remember the Walt Disney animation “The Lion King”, you may recall the final scene where Simba, after his victory fight with uncle Scar, walks up Pride Rock and lets out a powerful roar (which was joined by the lionesses). 

Lions have sandy colour fur, but males have manes of darker hair on head and shoulder that make them look powerful and threatening. The mane also protects a lion from bites and scratches if he gets into a fight with another.  Known as the King of the Jungle, do you know that the lions are in fact NOT the biggest cat in the feline family? The tiger is actually the largest of all cats. And you may ask – “ Then why is the lion the King of the Jungle if he is not the largest?!?”  Well , lions attack so quickly that their prey usually doesn’t get much time to protect itself. They attack big animals like buffalos and giraffes from behind and tears them apart with its paws and teeth. And due to such excellent quickness and power, some believe that's how they earned the title "King of the Jungle".

Some of you may not know that the lions are the only social cat – that is, they stay together in a family unit known as a pride and exercises teamwork during hunting. Remember the youtube clip on the heart-warming big reunion between Christian and John and Ace? That clip captured everyone’s attention some years ago, and I believe has everything to do with a lion’s natural need and appreciation for companionship. Youtube video - Christian the Lion

As much as the lion is “man of the family”, a male lion does not hunt. Maybe his mane makes him too difficult to hide/camouflage during a hunt. So the lionesses hunt while the male lion stays home to defend their territory, protect the cubs, and even play with the cubs. Lionesses hunt in a very instinctively cooperated manner, especially the way they stalk and fan down the prey and pressure the prey into exactly the direction the lionesses want it to. And when a hunt is successful, the lion, being the man of the family, will still be the first to eat.

You may think now it's all nice and glam- being a lion. But stop and think again. Many of these big cats hunt to survive, but are hunted for pleasure. I stumbled upon this distrurbing article on National Geographic some time ago and will like to share this with you as a takeaway from my post today. Do they really deserve this? Lion Hunting Scandal

The Making of.....Small Cats Inspired Brooches

  

BLACK played with black lace and enjoyed 'rounding it up' into a circular shape. Still obsessed with creating brooches and pins, she decided to explore fabric along with the cameo casings. Lace forms the base layer of the brooch with crochet or printed paper as the second layer.  Right on top as a centre piece is the image cast in the cameo casing. Not sure if others would like it but BLACK sure does! These brooches and pins can indeed spice up your outfit or be used as embellishment on your everyday bag! 

Circle of Life - Leather bracelet with silver animal charms (featuring lion, lioness, zebra, crocodile and buffalo charms)

Remember our magnificent wildlife with this bracelet! Take a close look and you'll notice the intricately detailed lion, lioness, zebra, crocodile and buffalo dangling charms. The tarnished silver colour, together with the leather and red and grey beads, gives this bracelet a sense of character and ruggedness. 

Whether you’re simply looking for a unique one-of-a-kind handmade bracelet or a wildlife fanatic who wants to spread the word of conservation, this bracelet may just be what you’re looking for! 

This ready-to-deliver piece measures abt. 17cm long (from hook to end) with a chain extension of additional 7.5 cm. To give you a feel of the size of the charms, the lion charm measures abt. 2 cm long and 1.4 cm tall. 

SOLD! Leather strap bookmark with Owl charm

A bookmark to accompany you with all your reading adventures! The owl charm is set in a bezel on a black background and attached to a short chain. The charm is made to hang out over the front of the book while the leather strap sits neatly within the pages of the book. The leather strap measures 15 cm in length and 2 cm in width. The charm and chain adds another 5 cm to the length

SOLD! Handmade Unique Brass Owl Brooch

Looking for something to zest up your outfit? What about this owl brooch? It’s handmade! - means it’s unique and each piece will be different from the other.

Owls are sometimes spotted tilting their heads to one side, as if being curious or playful. This curious-looking owl, together with the intricate details of the brooch, brings out a simple yet exquisite look. The colour of brass further gives it the authentic flavour. With just one accessory, you can easily perk up your outfit!!