...Candie Cooper's Blog...

Open...Sesame.

Yesterday, I was inspired by this little number I put on the dress form.  Is it nerdy that I put stuff on a form to see how it looks together or just to look at?  Love that ruffley net shirt I got for 5.99 on the clearance rack.  The necklace I bought up in pearl town in Suzhou for $3---pleasantly simple with romantic textures and colors.  BUT!  I've had it for 2 years and forgot to wear it!  Oh, brother!!  Sadly, today it has to take one for the team because I need more pearl beaded beads so I'll disassemble it.  Bummer, but what's a girl gonna do?  Take a picture and try to replace it later.....

Ornamentea has some beautiful ribbon in lots of colors---it's called organza (I think.)  Fire Mt.Gems has the pearl beaded beads last I checked.  So, I guess it's safe to start chopping it to pieces.  :-(  I don't know why I'm feeling bad.  I did not wear it once.

Squeezed in a yummy lunch yesterday---yes, that's my kitchen table right now covered in beads and pliers.  I'm working on my book projects in all corners of the apartment at the moment. The lunch was super good and easy to make.  It's peanut sesame noodles from this website.  Just spicy enough with lots of flavor....Mmmmm.  This website has some nice and authentic recipes if you like Ch!nese cooking.  Today I'm making braised tofu.  Tofu:  my new best friend.

Bead Market: Take 78

Sorry for the MIA the past couple of days.  I think I had some sort of pinched nerve in my shoulder, but the pain was really in my arm and wrist.  It was weird and I didn't feel like using the computer too much. I'm happy to say it's mostly gone today.  Tuesday I and a few other ladies took a road trip to the bead market.  I shop at this store frequently and these are two of my pals that help me dig through the bags, looking for the most perfect beads.  I had to laugh when I saw how I looked sitting on that stool, knees up to my ears.  The girls insisted this was much better than sitting on the floor---so nice!  I never wore crocs until I moved to Ch!na---they are the best shoe to wear here with the damp floors and dusty side walks, just in case you are coming this way.

Here's my loot from the day.  I think I did ok.  I guess I was gravitating towards naturals and blues and greens.  They've come out with some new cloisonne beads that are really luminous.  I hope someone State-side will carry them.  Lots of dyed stone and saw some crazy Swarovski-look-a-likes.  Crazy!  Don't you love laying all your stuff out after a big shopping trip?  Inevitably, I have a few pieces that I don't remember buying, because after three hours in that place, I've got more than a few loose beads rolling around in my brain.  Whadaya-gonna-do.

I also found these little treats to take home to all the girls in my family.  Faux cinnabar bangle bracelets! Mmmmm.

Earthquake Relief...

Horrifying stories about the earthquake in our neighboring province, Sichuan, were rolling in and we wanted to do something....  So, about a week after it happened, we were sitting at our friend Chuk's restaurant and I turned to him and said, "Chuk, have you heard of anything going down with fund raising for the earthquake relief?"  He says, "Oh, yeah, Loads!"  I told him about an idea and he said, "there's Kate (sitting at the next table) she's organizing some stuff at the international school." 

 

So, I hopped up, talked to Kate, explained my idea, she said when and here I am....repairing jewelry and stringing beads for donations to the relief efforts.  Don't you love it when things fall into place like that?  It really was meant to be.

 

I emailed all my pals and explained the scoop.  Kate put up signs, friends told friends.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I fixed around 25 pieces of jewelry---most repairs were easy like a loose jump ring, a charm that fell off or a broken clasp.  Each piece of jewelry had a story to tell---who gave it to them, how it got broke, where they bought it, why it was meaningful.  It was neat to hear all the stories.  Some people came by just to visit and chat.  Made some new friends too!

Then................the school bell rang.  School was out.  Beads were IN!  I brought a big bowl of beads and elastic in case some folks wanted a little craft therapy.  Man, we strung some beads.  Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, teachers, dogs (ok, not dogs) all stringing beads for good!

It was a blast!  After a few hours, there was 1400 RMB stuffed in my little donation jar!  The power of creativity and craft continues to inspire me.  Thank you to everyone for your support.  Thank you to QSI for letting me hang in the lobby and fix jewelry.  My heart goes out to all the victims-people and animals-of these disasters.  Hugs to you all.

Pearl Market...

Here are a couple of pictures from the pearl market up north.  If you look past the man, you can see that this place is pretty much endless.  Pearls and shell in every shape imaginable. I can only last about 3 hours before I start to get a little loopy and start buying random, sometimes ugly stuff.  The next picture is kind of gross, so don't look if you are turned off by slimy stuff.

My listening skills were little to be desired by this point (I was more concerned with the large knife used to cut this sucker open), but I think these are freshwater pearls.  See them on the sides of the shell?  She cuts away some of the muscle and the pearls just fall out.  Congratulations!  It's a pearl!  (sorry couldn't resist)  I don't know about you, but this site pretty much erased my cartoony pearl and oyster vision of how pearls are made. 

The cool thing about pearls is they can look really classy or really arty depending on the design-especially with dyed pearls.  They look good alone or alongside other materials.  Here, they are strung  onto ear wires with a crystal.  The cloisonne bead is strung on a ball/star head pin from Beadalon.

 

Tons of info on the web including a few videos on knotting pearls. Definitely get a bead reamer if you are going to string pearls.  They make enlarging holes easy.  As our dear Martha would say, "it's a good thing."

Find the findings!

Candie: Um, do you have any of those clip on findings in the black metal?

Shop keeper: Yeah, right here.

Candie: ok, I'll check them out. (there must have been 400 variations on this finding)

Shop-keeper:  What size do you want?  What color?  Black or (no idea what she said here) black?  What size?  Square or round?  Oval or cone?  What size?  This kind or that kind?  What size?

Candie:  Uh.  I don't know, I'll take a look.

Shop-keeper:  How many do you want?

Candie: Two. (that much I did know)

Shop keeper: Two?!?!  You have to buy 3 dozen.  You can either have two for 30 HKD or 3 dozen for 30HKD.  You might as well take the 3 dozen.

Candie: Uh, 3 dozen? Ok. (30 HKD is about $3.00ish)

Shop keeper:  OK!  I'll start counting.

Candie:  I need one of these too (pointing to a different finding).

Shop keeper:  You just want one?!?!?!  Take two.  Go wash your hands.

Candie: ok.  thank you.

It was just another day of shopping for findings in Hong Kong.  Thankfully the lady let me off the hook with two dozen of the findings and my other latches thrown in--all for 30HKD!  She was hilarious.  It took a long time to adjust to sifting through and shopping in bulk (not to mention a different language).  It's sort of like the first time you buy a case of mac and cheese from Sam's Club or Cosco.  At first it's totally bazaar and then after awhile it becomes absolutely normal.  I think.

Christmas...

This is what Christmas morning looks like for Candie and Butch, the Expats.  We called home so we could talk to everyone at my family's Christmas eve party.  It was fun to hear the background hustle and bustle with chatter and whispers of what Santa was bringing.   That night we did the same thing, calling Butch's family.  I can't really describe what it's like to spend Christmas away from home...or any holiday for that matter.  I did the same thing for 26 years until I moved here.  Will it ever feel normal?  I hope not.  It was easier this year, but I'm too sentimental to do this every year.  And besides, my Gram informed me I was coming home next year.  Don't question Grandma.

This is my dog on Christmas present crack.  By the second box, Rocker expected to find a gift or two for him in every box.  He even took to one of my toys from my Grandpa!  I hid it and he found it the next night!  Unbelievable.  I have pictures of him with his head buried deep down trying to sniff out his next present. Thank you everyone who sent Rocker presents.  He says he loves you even more.  He also said to me, "Grandpa needs to send over another panda Bear for you because this one is now mine."  I'd show you a picture of Panda, but it's too painful.

All the while this week, I've been needle felting.  This is my clean kitchen table that I promised myself I wouldn't craft at anymore.  That idea lasted about ten minutes.  I hope you're all having fun playing with your new crafty toys and such.

Merry Merry!

Greetings Friends,

Just wanted to drop a note wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.  I'm always amazed at this whole blogging thing...and the internet.  So much has come into my life because of it; old classmates from high school, funny notes from my family, people who like my projects, fellow designers dropping by and more.  Thank you for all your notes of hellos, encouragement, love and care.  Rocker says thank you for always telling him how cute he is too! 

I hope all your stockings are filled with sweets be it skeins of yarn, findings, glittery hot glue sticks, gummy bears or chocolates!

Love from Ch!na,

Candie

Christmas Kitsch Ch!na Style...

C'mon, you know you want one!  Do you love these bazaar little Santas with exagerated pink boots?  I've never seen anything like them.  A couple weeks ago, my friends and I took a trip to the "tree farm".  We were all feeling a little low on holiday cheer.

There wasn't any spiced cider, but the spirit was definitely present.  Every square inch of space was filled with something tinsel-y.  We had so much fun sifting through the goods.  And don't you love it when your face hurts from smiling and giggling?!?! 

The rest of the elves...   

We jammed the van full of trees, baubles, and cheer then giddily headed for a festive lunch.  Thank you girls for a very fun day.

On the plaza...

Rockefeller Plaza in NY has an enormous Christmas tree.  We have an enormous Santa with an even bigger mug of beer.  I have to say I did a double take when I first saw this sight.    It's just that I never pictured Santa as a beer drinker.  We also have a building with a huge light up scene of a reindeer rubbing a magic lamp and a Genie-Santa coming out of it.  Santa's arm toggles up and down and you guessed it!  He's drinking beer.  There's a first time for everything and living here, brings many firsts.

Potpourri Weekend...

I'm sitting here listening to the "Retro 80s & 90s" internet radio station.   It occurred to me that I always thought of "retro" describing funky silver Christmas trees and swanky lounge music.  Crap.  In other news, I seemed to have turned into the casserole queen over night.  When we lost our cook, I started "cooking."  (well, I can see this is going to be a quote-y posty, sorry)  Anyhow, I did what any Midwestern girl would do, go to the Campbell's soup website for recipes.  So far it's been successful.  I was telling some friends about the fabulous enchilada recipe they have.  Did you know not everyone in America "cooks" with Campbell's soup.  In fact this is the third or fourth time I've met someone who has never heard of this.  Gasp!  I always respond with "you don't know what you're missing."  "Really?"  "Yeah."  Maybe my pallet is little to be desired, but...I can sure put a meal on the table fast.

Peace of Toast, Candie Cooper 2007

Get it?  "Peace" of toast.  The piece of felt ended up looking like a piece of bread.  I stitched it to some blue felt, added some buttons and a dove.  It was a happy accident.  Or cheesy?  I don't really use chopsticks to eat toast, but they matched the wool and plate.  Here's one for you.  We own four pairs of chopsticks, one normal spoon, and three forks.    Something happens when you move to this culture.  I think it's that the "little" things aren't so important anymore.  I watched Imagine, the movie about John Lennon, the other day.  Interesting and inspiring.  Speaking of bread or Peace bread for that matter, I love the part where he talks to the random stranger that had been living in their garden.  He asks the man if he's hungry and then invites him in.  They all sit around the table and break bread together.  Incredible.  We need more peace.

I'm working on the next class for Second Saturday, the crafty class for kids.  I'm thinking about felted ornaments.  This was supposed to be a star or a heart, but once I finished it, I couldn't cut into it.  Sometimes you just have to follow the process instead of wrestling it into place. 

And with that I shall close to go make a cup of tea.  I can't shake this nasty, yucky cough.  As it turns out, my friend, knitting teacher, and nurse in her "past" life told me Friday she thinks I had pneumonia. "Huh," I said, "that makes a little more sense now doesn't it."  Oh, thank goodness for friends that can help shed some light through all the polluti()n over here. 

Ch!nese Dinner...

Last night we went to Mr. Savvy's vendor's house for dinner and to see his new baby.  Cute baby.  Which reminds me this apartment had posters of babies taped to the wall everywhere.  I had to get the scoop.  Apparently, they have a theory; if the wife is surrounded by pictures of beautiful babies to look at each day while she is pregnant, their baby will be beautiful also.  In response Mr. Savvy says, "we just hope the baby comes out looking like the mother!"  Nice.  Thank you Butch.

Most Ch!nese families have the wife and husband and then the husband's parents living together.  It's grandma's job to raise the baby for the most part---even get up with her in the middle of the night!  The wife and son work crazy hours.  And that leaves grandpa to do all the cooking.  At least in this apartment.  Grandpa made a feast for us last night.  He knows my husband loves chitins and spicy food so he made accordingly.  But not too spicy as he somehow knew I don't eat spicy.  Can I just tell you I had chitlins for the first time last night? Well, one anyway.  Kind of rubbery.  And I tried this preserved black egg.  Looks rotten really, but it just tasted sort of like a hard boiled egg.  Survivor here I come!  I didn't have my camera, sorry.  He also made pork and different vegetables, all very yummy.   They gave us a bag of Ch!nese handcrafts and ornaments that the wife's mother had made.  The photo above is a neck rest pillow. 

The whole evening was overwhelmingly thoughtful.  Even though we don't speak a load of Ch!nese, it didn't matter as eating, drinking, and being merry together is the same wherever you are in the world.

I've been on a tour...

A whirlwind tour, that is...

It all started on Monday when my pal K and I went to Guanzhou to buy materials for some projects and classes...and a few just for fun.

In terms of fun stuff, it's really easy to blow your allowance in a four story mall filled with beads and findings of all sorts.  Do we look a little tired?  We are.  I believe we got up at 6 am to make the journey, but it was totally worth it!  Nothing beats delirious bead shopping.

This is one of my favorite places to buy kitschy glass beads.   They're always happy to see me go as I only buy one strand of this and one strand of that.  Most folks buy fifty kagillion strands of a single bead, you know?  That's just how they roll here.

On Tuesday I taught how to make a "garden variety necklace" and then on Wednesday I hopped a ferry to Hong Kong to go to the Gem and Jewelry show. Holy Smokes!

This picture doesn't really do the show justice, but I always wimp out taking photos in places like this.  I went to check out trends and to simply see and experience the show.  It was pretty crazy.  That night I caught up with some fabulous folks from Beadalon.  Seeing people you know on this side of the planet is so surreal, I can't describe it.

And speaking of Beadalon, you've got to get yourself some of their new CZ Drops:

I whipped up a few pairs of earrings on Sunday.  I couldn't get off the sparkle train!  These things are marvelous! 

And that's about all on my end, really.  I've got a shipping deadline tomorrow morning so I'm off to tidy that up.  Tomorrow is Mr. Savvy's birthday---as of now he has to go into the factory to work.  Yay.   I'm going to attempt to surprise him by baking a sugar free blueberry cheesecake.  Yahooooo!

Beads On the Beach...

Who doesn't love bead shopping on the beach?  Really!  What's better than having beautiful beads brought to your doorstep?!?!  Vendors at the beach walk around with their baskets of sunglasses, fruits, and my personal fav, pearls and funky shell jewelry.  The last time I was at the beach, I only brought home a few bracelets.  Not this time!  Check out my loot!

Needless to say, I stocked up.  I will stash a few pieces away for gifts and the rest I will cut up and use the parts.  Those green shells in the front are calling my name right now, "Charm bracelet, charm bracelet."

It's always fun to use beads that remind you of a place you visited.  I will associate these with the sounds of waves, the sandy beach, my friends, the cabin where we stayed and so on.  Even though they didn't cost a fortune, I know whatever I make with them will be a treasure of beach-side memories.

Beach or Bust...

Saturday morning we took off with seven other friends for a trip to the beach.  When I grow up, I want to be a beach bum.  I'm not joking.  I think I am a quite good amateur beach bum.

These photos were taken from the porch of our cabin.  Quite a view and so nice to hear the waves coming in throughout the day.

Who doesn't love a mysterious ghost boat floating out at sea?  The rocks and boat with overcast skies reminded me of Goonies.

Our bamboo cabin had this traditional ornamentation on each corner and roof.  I forget what it means, but I love that the builders took the time to put it on.

Rocker loves the beach.  He tears down through the sand to the water as fast as he can and then circles back up towards the cabin.  This was taken as we were leaving.  You can gauge how tired or relaxed Rocker is by where his ears are.  Horizontal equals he's near passing out.  Poor thing can barely keep his peeps open for the picture!  I'm looking at him now, curled up in a nest of blankets sound asleep.  I must admit, I'm a little envious. 

I hope you all had a nice weekend.

Birthday Beading...

Last night we went to a surprise birthday dinner for our friend Meg.  Meg took one of my beading classes last spring and has been hooked on jewelry making ever since.  As an extra surprise, I and another friend brought a handful of beads and charms from our stash to the party.

Earlier in the day I connected one end of a toggle clasp to a bracelet length wire so it would be ready for some birthday beading.  That night at dinner, while we were waiting for our food to come, this festive bowl o' beads was presented to Meg along with the wire.  The idea was for each person to string one bead or charm onto the wire and pass the bowl on to the next person, creating a special bracelet made by all of us.  We started with the birthday-girl and went from there.

Another crafty pal, Nancy carefully selecting her bead.  Of course you know how hard it is for women to pick just one bead.  "Can I put one spacer bead AND a bead on?  How about a charm AND a bead?"  So sneaky!

 

Who doesn't love to watch men pick through a bowl of beads?  Really searching, searching, and searching for just the right bead.  It was very amusing to see who added what to the bracelet.

Here's Meg with her finished bracelet.  There were ten of us and the beads and wire went around the table two times which was just about perfect.  I brought along a crimp bead and crimping pliers so I could finish the bracelet on the spot.  Meg was thrilled when we gave her the leftover beads and charms for her future creations.  If you are celebrating a friend's birthday, this was definitely a fun activity.  We had some great laughs while assembling and the birthday-girl got to take home a special keepsake from the party.

Check out my Savvy Crafter column in this month's Simply Beads magazine for more fun like this.

Ooodles of Noodles...

We've been eating a lot of noodles lately.  Why?  Because they are cheap and the restaurant is close.  This little bowl cost $1.25.  I don't believe I ever mentioned this, but we used to have a lady come to our apartment and cook twice a week.  Here's a picture of her...

Yes, I made her hold the ginormous prawns so they were smooching.  When we first moved here, I was spending around $30 on five things from the import store. 5 things!!!???  It's so expensive to buy stuff from home, but sometimes you have to when you can't read labels and Ch!nese style cooking is not in your repetoire.  Believe it or not, having someone come to cook Ch!nese style food was much more budget friendly....and fun. It sounds insane, I know.  We were so spoiled by this woman just as we were spoiled by the deli and lettuce in a bag in the States.  lol.  A friend (who she also worked for) needed her for more hours, so she can't come to our place anymore.  We're missing her in more ways than one.  One of them being that it was good for our health.  In the last month, with the move and her not coming, we've been eating out more than ever.  We've also felt overly anxious and stressed as well.

We camped in last weekend and I did all the cooking morning til' night.  Monday morning I was standing in the shower thinking, feeling unusually calm, happy and Bingo! it hit me.  MSG.  MSG. MSG.  It is such a key ingredient in the food here.  They sell it 50lb bags in the groceries.  I've seen them shake it over veggies to the point where it looks like a glittery Valentine's day card.  How can plain ol' stir fried lettuce taste amazingly good?  I mean AMAZING, the best lettuce your tongue has ever met.  MSG, that's how.  I've read and heard that MSG is bad stuff and now I'm a believer.  It's bad.  If you have to eat it, drink lots and lots of water.  We've been pretty much off it for a week and have felt better than ever.

But, we love those darn noodles, so I attempted to make them myself.  First step, go to the store and buy noodles.  Seems simple enough....

until you have to pick which noodles.  I could safely rule out the greenish brown tinted ones and anything that was clear.  That only left thirty more to examine.  I went with the brick o' noodles...

How do they make them layer like that?  I made a broth and cooked the veggies, added the brick, threw in some stones and here you have it:

It doesn't quite glisten like the restaurant's but, it was tasty.  There's definitely room for improvement.  If anyone has any good Asian style recipes, could ya help a sister out and send them my way?  Thanks.  And on that note, it's time to think about lunch!  I hope you're all having an MSG free weekend.  hugs.   

Doin' the DIY Shuffle...

Make that Crafty DIY shuffle.

Yesterday a friend and I hopped the 8:30 ferry to Hong Kong for a day of crafty shopping.  Mission accomplished.  We checked out the new Spotlight store, which reminds me of a JoAnn Fabrics Bed, Bath and Beyond fusion.  It was a solid hour of pouring over all things lovely and crafty.  Then we had lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen.  3 words.  Crunchy Thai Salad.  Awesome.

After lunch we road the MTR over to the DIY market in the Sham Shui Po district; several rows and blocks of craft supplies.....in bulk.  Yes, it makes your eyes bulge.

Do you know the scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where Willy Wonka shows them the candy room? Yeah, it's like that.  The sun always shines on this place.

Bags, buckets, baskets, drawers, and more are loaded with beads and charms.  Reel after reel of ribbon and trim.  Countless bead woven creatures made with Swarovski crystals.  It is insane.

Here's a few of my favorite finds from there. If you are crafty and heading to Hong Kong, you don't want to leave this off the travel itinerary.  Give yourself at least two hours to take it all in....if not a day!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy...

You cannot come to Ch!na and not get a little obsessed with gold fish and koi.  Or at least I couldn't.  They are everywhere!  I've even wondered if Rocker needs a pet goldfish.  My aunt always says, "if you keep a goldfish on your kitchen table, it will never die." 

There's something quite soothing about these creatures.  I'm sure it has something to do with how slow and fluid they are in their movements.  Calming.  Here, they are a symbols of wealth and abundance.   

The other day I picked up these hand painted gold fish beads from one of my favorite vendors. 

They are glass bubble like beads where the painting is done on the inside.  Seems very tedious to me.  I've been to this vendor three times and every time he shows me his paintbrush with the tip bent at ninety degrees so he can get inside to paint.  Now, I only wish you could see the paintbrush he claims to use for these super intricate beads.  Seriously, there is no way this brush could do that.  It looks like a road killed paint brush with porcupine needle like bristles.  C'mon dude.  Really, do I have gullible tattooed on my forehead.....in Ch!nese?!?!  However, I always find it a tiny bit amusing that he thinks I believe him.   

And on the other side:

I know I over paid a ton for this one---they guy totally knew how badly I wanted it.  What was that bit about goldfish bringing wealth and abundance.  Worked for the vendor! As for what I'm going to do with them, I have no idea.  I have a small (but growing out of quite fast) box of special beads like this.  I call it my bead bank and it's pretty much a piggy bank of unique beads.  When I need just the right touch for a piece I go to my bead bank.  Or when I have not a clue where to start on a design.  Or a rainy day.

Good Morning, Good Morning...

I've been awake since 4am.  I tried all sorts of go back to sleep techniques, but it wasn't going to happen folks.  So here I am.

Here's a shot of the moon from my soon to be old office window---it is still so huge and bright.  I've never seen that before.

What actually got me out of bed is this:

It's a boat full of fishing birds.  My friend John told me about them before we moved here and in all honesty I thought he was nuts.  Sorry John.  :-)  Anyway, it works like this:  the birds are tied to the boat, they go into the water after a fish, catch the fish, and go back to their perch.  Why don't they go ahead and eat the fish?  Because the fisher-lady puts a steel ring of sorts around the bird's neck to prevent the fish from going down the chute.  I have to say, I was more intrigued with the fisher-lady's glistening strand of pearls.  For $1 I could have gotten a private demo of the fishing process, but I passed.  So, there you have it John.  Fishing birds really do exist in China!