From Lion Roar to demure cats

Yesterday we heared the Lion Roar with the F16's streaming across the sky and the One Nation to count on...

I am introducing the pussy cats today to unwind, curly, soft and with black embroidered cat eyes that cat lovers adore. The color and fabric used are of non-ruffled cloth and also available in satin cloth( the right cat). I had a hundred of them left after using them for a cat theme party, I am ready to offer them again as door gifts or The Straits Times Classified girls if they need it to improve their image. They are fed to a size of about 20cm length and about 20cm in height. I can part with them for S$5.00each. As if we add some mystery to it, you pay S$3.50 if you take 9 pieces at one go. (should know why...)

Last week, I put up a dog and now the cats, It reminded me of raining cats and dogs. This English idiom originate with the historical backdrop in the early London city where the drainage systems were still incomplete, still clogged up streets and o\does caused flooding. This was where stray dogs and cats are flushed out and their carcass straddle the road scape. So, they coined the idiom raining cats and dogs. Hope I got this right having heared this from the radio station.

9th August 2008, 43th Singapore National Day

9th August 2008 : 43th National Day for the republic of Singapore. A country of migrants fore-fathers from Indonesia, Malaysia, India, China and Arab world streaming in since the 1820's. One hundred years later, my paternal grandmother came from Guangzhou Province and business herself as a contractor in civil work, supplying workmen for the building sector then... primarily to build roads, shop houses, zinc roofed factory with cemented support pillars.

Immigrants were travelling the world in search of a livelihood. The picture on the left is a TRAVELLER PALM; it was the covering page of a 280 pages photo book produced 24 years ago saluting the 25years of Self Rule of Singapore since 1959. The photographs are of Singapore scenery taken by 41 world top photographers then. It was a mammoth project then. The Traveller Palm grows freely on this island and it traps and retains rain water easily...so it was what early travellers look for when they are thirty... thus its name.

As I went through the pages, daily scenes that we take for granted then become rare, young faces that grace the pages then are your aunties and uncles now. The uncle in the picture here with a trishaw load of paper mac hes would have left human abode then. Those
who have seen him does remembered. As a young boy and youth, this uncle with a trademark beard plies his trade along the old city routes, pushing and cycling his trishaw at the edge of the road. His colorful array of paper face masks is hard to miss, it spices up our imaginations of faces we read in Chinese story books. I had seen him along the road in Macpherson, Geylang road, Chinatown of course, Tiong Bahru, Redhill. This is his city route, but actually it is the PIE in its original version from east to west city roads. I patronised him twice in his life time, I cannot afford to buy those masks then, he offered a game of luck where you pay him 10 cents and you dipped your hand into a cloth bag containing various colored balls. You win a simple paper face mask if you pick up 3 balls of the same colour. I don't think I won but the chance to play give me a pretext to examine all those tiger, buffalo, Disney faces characters at close range, which is suffice.

Anyone reading these have memories of him, email me a note. Believe he have no successor to take over his skill of making these crafts. I remembered there was an article on him in the paper... but then again... we just read and past on, only now that when we dwell on memory and yet found information scare.

There were many interesting photographs beside these which can look back with pride as to where we have travelled from. On this National Day, am I to sell this book which can only add value as the years goes by... next year 2009 will be 50 years of self rule nationhood. The book costs me S$70.00 in 1984 which is not a small sum I forked out then. Let us see what value beside money this will worth many years down this nation road.

29th Beijing Olympic Games on 8th August 2008, 8.08pm

8th August 2008, A day that will stayed in the memory of many Chinese for a long, long time... Just as I remembered the 1973 Seap Games hosted by Singapore when I was a student.

In celebration of this auspicious day when even wedding couples and new borns registered this day as their entry into new life. I shared with you some pictures all things Chinese, as it meant that the Olympic games also chosen to start at 8.08pm on 8.8.08.

The Beijing Olympic stadium needs no introduction as it is much publicised as a Nest; (Just like Singapore Esplanade coined as Durian... I think it deserved a better name though). I shared with you the picture on the right here which give you a perspective of how the walkway under those Nest beam are like.

Instead of building a Pagoda themed stadium, the Chinese had built up this Olympic Park with contemporary pieces of
architectures... But they still rely on traditional costume and cultural items when performance and art are concerned BECAUSE it is the Chinese identity of with historical thread. You can recognised straight away it is Chinese dancers in their act on the left picture.

I checked out these 3 pieces of Chinese drawing/paintings while looking for articles for National Day. These are not printed copies of painting. It is a water color art piece, and it is done with a modernistic color scheme in mind, but the artist wants the essenceto capture Chinese women going about in their daily chores and recreation mode. So, one gets to see the on going revolution within the Chinese to catch up with time and yet displaying her
Chinese roots whenever and where ever possible. These 3 drawings are and should be displayed
together as a set. Why? It will give a definition to a statement of what Chinese woman is instead

of a single frame which you will not know what the artist is trying to communicate.

The prices of Chinese paintings had also inflated in value as people now recognise and appreciate the aspirations and styles of presentation done the Chinese way :- Chinese identity done in a touch of modernistic twist and paint medium.


These 3 pictures costs me S$225.00; Will anyone appreciate these enough to offer me a price that I transfer ownership. Try me but I am going to love these more after the impressive opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games hosted by this great civilisation!

My first soft toy dog which is a terrier breed.

You will love this dog just as most people who were confronted by it. It is a copy of a terrier breed. One customer of mine coined it the starhub*
dog... as to her, it resembles the dog which swallow a mobile phone and

where-ever he runs, the mobile phone rang out loud and clear from its stomach!!

To me, it is a toyrus dog cos it was labeled such which was found near its hind leg(right picture). So, I make a trip to ToyRus shop in Singapore and they do not sell this dog. All the dogs(Soft- Toy) there were selling about $30+ or more. The staff could only tell me they do not carry this model. So, I told my friends overseas to send me a couple of them, I am giving them away to my friends who love dogs, I am also parting them to those who are not friends but willing to part their money for this dog.
There was this Eurasian woman who asked for one for her dog... so that her dog can chew and tear on this... strange concept? She will buy new toy dogs once this one is dismembered.. Every dog have its day as the saying go...

She is well cut and proportioned, detail of eyes, nose were realistic, the fur are ruffled and can be counted instead of those furry cloth patch on most soft toys. She stands at 30cm and when you pulled her ears up to detect noises, she is 33cm tall. Look also at the little curly tail that can wag at you... this was not missed out in its creation. So, I am parting her for S$23 each... If you intend to have more than one, email me for stock balance? She will not disappoints.

What is the guava doing there beside the dog? Photographers know, Display artists know.

Roses for Romance, Roses from the Soapman

Roses, roses everywhere... symbolic of love though it rot and dies.

Man thus uses various mediums(beside the real roses) to capture the essence of giving roses as an expression of love.

One brilliant innovation are shown here... These are roses made of SOAP... soap sheet which are stamped cut into a 3 leaves petals, with different sizes. So, they put the smallest size on top and the biggest size below. They then fold them up and behold... it is a rose bud.

There are also fragrance added to it depending on the colors of the rose. It is then arranged either in these hearted shaped boxes or whatever shapes of box. Tied them up with a matching ribbon. Present it to your love one and it is a loving expression of a lasting rose collection with fragrance...

I got them in 2005 when it was first launched... It sold well for the following 2 years during the Christmas, Valentine Day, and lastly also as a wedding gift-away. Then, these become old ideas and soon newer version and mediums are invented. I am sharing with you here is that just like there are songs that are evergreen, and good wine which taste are remembered long. There are still requests for these as gift and tokens for their loved one. So, let me know if you have need of these... and we bring your need to past...

Info : a three bud rose in a heart shaped box costs S$0.70/each for bulk order.

A contingent of bear ready for your gift service

These are my favorite contingents of starry bears as I coined them. They are very useful give-away items for occasions. It serve as a token of remembrance, to emphasis a performing star, to show cuddliness and loving teddy care.
The bears in sitting position sits at 8cm height, while the standing blue bear is 10.5cm. They came attached with a golden braided string which you can latched it on to a bag, pouch, a hand phone. Each of them holding a shining star as if to tell the recipient that they can be a star.
Some of them even come attached with a pair of white wings stitched on their back... giving them an angelic look. They are an easy idea item as an add-on items to your main gift pack. I called them contingents because you can pick your choice of colors or have an assortment of colors according to the theme of events. Colors available are green, blue, and pink as viewed here. You can have them at S$0.75 cents each. Their looks does look impressive and engaging... Right?

Use recycleable bags for giving out gifts

The current colors is green and earth... the theme is

recycling and enviroment friendly. Products that do not need to take its source from mother earth more than necessary. So, the use of paper bags is becoming popular once again... together with those non-woven bag whose base material are from cotton. All these could be disintegrate into the soil and add as a source of fertilizers when disposed, or when collected and recycled by factories, it can be crushed and pressed, disinfected and put into production as raw material for bags, fabrics, fertilisers etc.

With these in mind, I kept with me a collection of earthly colored paper bags to help promote recycling and a good sense of taste as a gift bag where you can put in articles of most kinds : A teddy bear, shirt, dress, pen set, toys set, wine, electronic gadgets, wallet, scarf, hat, any things that can neatly tuck into its pocket. You then tape the opening with a tape or with a ribbons. Perfect gift with elegant gift bag...: The choice of pictures of a BEAR, ROSES, and HEARTS give you a lots of rooms to select for the recipient who may be - a young at heart, a sweet heart, or a respectable being. All pictures expressed a feeling of well being and well wishes.

Back to technical : There are 4 sizes : The biggest No1 bag is = 45(Ht) x 33(width) x 11cm(depth).

The second No 2 bag is = 34 x 26 x 10 cm.

The third No 3 bag is = 24 x 20 x 11cm.

The third No 4 bag is = 16 x 11 x 5.5cm.

The prices worked out as No 1 bag @ $1.20; No2 @ 0.90cts; No3 @ 0.70cts; No 4 @ 0.45cts each.

They come in pack of 10 pieces each bag. Not an issue as these are like stamps which you can keep and use it when that need arises... You never know you need it for the birthday gifts you need to hand out at office or colleges or among relatives.

The Mylar Foil Balloons story

Mylar Foil balloon is the proper name of such balloons shown here which originates from USA... Disneyland kind of balloons with colorful characters and
wordings on it. Mostly it is inflated by Helium gas which density is lighter than
air and it floats upwards to the delights of the children and the child in us.
It costs some money to blow them up in Helium air compared to normal inflation
by compressed air. You also need to look for company who provides the helium

air services.
These are more impressive than the rubberised balloons which are commonly available. The difference boils down to the budget you have in planning your occasions.

However, you can always devise plan to use such for certain section of your deco and the rest using the rubberised balloons... you can fill up a few pieces with Helium gas and the rest of foil balloons by normal air... so saving costs and yet having all the elements of a assorted balloons party.
I could help you with further savings here to supply you with these foil balloons. Savings come with conditions attached... ha..ha..

Conditions as follows:-
+These are not from the USA!

+These are from the country that hosted Olympic Games 2008! (**note)

+These are a fraction of the American/European made balloons!
+These are tested not suitable for Helium gas.( the seam burst readily).

+These are well to use for normal air and is doing the same as an USA made. So, if you intend just to blow these up using normal air... and unable to get a helium gas supplier and all its teething arrangement. Use these balloons at S$1.00 per piece, set of 50 pcs per pack. If i have loose pack, you can take smaller quantity.

+These balloons measured approximatley 16inches(40cm) in diameter or across flats.

**Note : There are factories in China that produces better balloons that matches USA made balloons. However, these balloons I have are not from such quality factories. I have yet to locate them. Regret.

Steamy Japanese Samurai await you

It is something steamy today... I retrieved this lady while searching for my ice grippers yesterday. It will be interesting to note that this figurine is made of plastic resins which is an improvement from those clay figurines of old. The manufacturing process is much easier as the mould are of aluminium instead of earthclay... giving it a longer lifetime... producing more quantity before they wear off ... which was the problem with earthclay mould.

This lady is from one those Japanese comic fighting character which I do not keep track. It is a piece of realistic art with good proportion and color tone. I have about 40 pieces of these resins of different characters... Man and ladies, fully and majestically attired as well as lightly as you can see from the one here. I brought them in as a Vietnamese gift company was interested in them. I took pictures, sent them some pieces with the photos.They came back many months later and placed an order . While waiting for their response, I came across a flea market and brought these figurines there for a weekend sale ... to get rid of them and to see what demand see are there for such stuff. I am not sure whether I got the right place but many sales were done and one gentleman took about 8 pieces of them in one go. He told me he collected these items... ( mind you he took all my scantily dresses ladies... I did not press him specifically whether he is only collecting this species only)

There were also children visitor to my booth were interested to look at Spiderman, Sailor moon, Baroq... I was watching their eyes and Ooh!! I have to do something. I used masking tape and taped up all the revealing nipples of these ladies assets. My mind then started to ask what the LAW says about such exposure, am I outraging modesty, am I selling porn?

Just hope for this day of sale get over with, best if all these are sold.

Another gentleman came along, took this up and flip open the masking tape and have a peep look... exclaiming " good idea to tape it up, huh". "Yes, Sir" was my reply. BUT I was thinking he is more into satisfying his curiosity of whether she have it or not below that tape!

Now, I am putting them up here for an auction sale. This lady here stands at 18cm height, when she stand straight, it should be 30cm but she cannot. Her 3 D's statitics is for you to estimate based on the picture shown. Her starting bid price is $18/only. I will close the auction on the eve of Malaysia National Day. Higher bidder own her...

Ladies... get one to motivate you to slim down!!! Gentleman... get one to have a closer look!!!