Merry Christmas! :)

Hello world!

Its almost Christmas time! I feel extra blessed this year because, despite having a retail position for a job... I still got time to off to go home during Christmas! I was a little worried that I would be spending Christmas Eve at work, so I'm very excited to be able to get almost a week off. :)

Short post tonight, cuz I'm tired. Haha. But here are some Christmas bears, just to keep things in the season.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117554977/christmas-bear-with-tree

Christmas bear holding a Christmas tree. This one's not decorated yet though. ;P I kinda debated whether or not to first make the bear ears, and then put a hat over it... or just put a hat there and not have an ear under. I guess it wouldn't really make a difference except... if someone ever dropped it or if it ever broke, it would be an anatomically accurate representation of a bear. Haha. XD

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117555306/christmas-bear-with-snowman?ref=v1_other_1

Winter and Christmas always make me think of playing in the snow and making snowmen. I would love to be able to have a mini snowman to carry around with me, providing that it wouldn't melt on me and turn into a puddle of water.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/117555612/christmas-bear-with-candy-cane?ref=v1_other_1

Candy cane! :D Striped items are always fun to make because its rather easy and yet somehow very satisfying and fun to make. If that makes any sense at all. Haha. XD

This bear was my favorite. This picture is also my favorite. Unfortunately, in the process of taking the picture, I dropped it on the floor and it broke into 3 pieces. BUT, that meant that I could glue it back together and keep it for myself! :D Its hanging from my bag right now. Haha.

All of the backgrounds for these bears are courtesy of my friend's Christmas tree. I looooved the fact that I could take pictures from the tree. I had actually been wanting to take pictures of these keychains from a tree for a while, just cuz I thought it might look snazzy and cool. Haha.

Okay everyone, stay warm for Christmas, regardless of where you are. Remember to bundle up! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. May this Christmas season be filled with joy and laughter as we celebrate and rejoice over the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. :)

Blessings,
Joy

Going Once... Going Twice... Sold!

This is just a short post just to say, I sold stuff!! :D :D

Haha. Not much to post about, but it's something that excites me. :)

These sales actually happened a few weeks ago:

Originally I received a message from someone asking whether or not I could custom make two bears for her. I, of course, happily obliged because well, let's face it, my profits were not shooting through the roof. I was also very excited just to have someone, anyone, interested in my products. My bears were not a total flop after all!

While this exciting exchange took place, an order was placed!! I was so happy I could have screamed and jumped up and down (if that sort of response were in my nature).

This happened over Thanksgiving, which made things slightly hectic. For one thing, I was supposed to be preparing for my Japanese Language Proficiency Test. :( Second of all, this item had not yet been made. And, lastly, I was going home over the weekend, and a little more, so I would need to ship it from home in order to be on time with my shipping policy. But, everything worked out in the end and, according to the USPS tracking number, the package arrived safely and on time. :)

The custom made items were completed at the same time as the robot (pictured above), but it took a lot longer for my customer to actually purchase the item. I got a little bit worried and wondered whether or not I had made the items in vain, but thankfully they were purchased in the end.

So yay! Yay for people actually looking at my Etsy, and for people actually buying stuff. Its definitely a learning process. Purchases are made very rarely and slowly, but I believe it's good training for my patience and, in one sense, trust in God. I know I'm not out to make a living with this website, and so whether or not I make money off of this habit, is all up to God... and I'm learning to be okay with it. I'm learning that its okay not to be super successful in everything in life, because, well, that's just the way life is. God never created life to be smooth sailing and successful all the time. Instead, God wishes for us to be patient and allow Him to bring blessings into our life in His time.

:)

Finding Time to Make Art

Hello world!

Again... It's been a while. Now, I would say... "I've been very busy. So busy, that I haven't had time to update this blog!" And... despite that being very true... I still feel like it will just end up sounding like an excuse for not blogging. 

Excuse or no excuse... I wanted to share a little art project I did a while back. My friend from church had a baby shower (the baby has already been born, healthy and happy, praise the Lord!!) a month or so ago, and one of the activities that we did included decorating a onesie.

That day I arrived late to the event because I had work earlier during the day. And so, when I had arrived, the event was pretty much winding down. I looked at some of my friend's onesies--and they were amazing! So. I resolved. I wanted to do something amazing too! Haha.

Well, in all honestly, I was kinda wondering if mine would look sorta lame compared to my friend's. But, luckily, I had one thing to my advantage: Totoro. :)

I don't know if you guys all know the Japanese movie, My Neighbor Totoro, but the character from the movie looks like this: 

Well, the character looks like the big grey and white one, sometime wearing a leaf on his (or it's?? ) head. Here's another picture of some of the characters from the movie (these pictures are totally unnecessary... but I really like this one cuz its super cute. :D )

Now, why did I have an advantage, you ask? Well. This couple happens to LOVE Totoro. So, I was pretty sure as long as I drew a giant Totoro somewhere on the shirt... it would be well accepted.

In any case, knowing myself and my perfectionist attitude when it comes to art, I didn't want to just slap on Totoro and call it a night. I wanted something that had a big impact, and something that looked... I dunno... AWESOME? Haha.

So, after looking through many, many pictures... I finally sat down and drew my first onesie:

I wanted the Totoro to be super bold... but with the markers I was using... the color wasn't super solid. Which made me rather unhappy. Close up, you could see all the areas where I shaded multiple times, and there were these bags underneath and around Totoro's eyes. Very not cool. :(

So, I tried another one. This time, featuring a little girl in a Totoro costume trying her best to fool Totoro:

I liked this one better, just because it kinda was more original and had a little "story" to it. I was getting more and more comfortable with using the markers on the shirt, so I think the coloring turned out a little bit better on this one as well. Up to this point, all my Totoro's were blue. One reason was because that was my personal favorite color. Haha. The other reason was because I didn't have grey to work with. And I felt like blue was more suited to replace grey, more than any other color.

I still had one more onesie left to decorate. I had completely ran out of ideas by now, and so I kinda left this one blank for a while. Then, when I was talking to my parents and showing them the other designs, my dad said: why don't you make a baby Totoro?

It made sense: the onesie was for a baby, soo... why not? This time I finally used another color for Totoro because I thought that I really needed to stop using blue. Haha. I chose red cuz... well... it looks more girly? Haha. Here's what I came up with:

Totoro with a pacifier, a milk bottle, and his very own blankie. :) I was actually quite pleased with this

one in terms of the color overall image. Plus, by this time, I was able to get a nice solid color with the markers I was using (I tried to go over the first Totoro with blue marker, using the same technique, but it just made things worse. Haha. XD ).

Anywhoo. Long post this time. Cuz I had lots to share. Haha. More coming soon! Eh well, maybe I shouldn't promise too much. :P But I'll try! I don't have anymore hardcore studying to do anymore, so hopefully I'll have more time to post. :)

If anyone's reading this, and is truly bored, comment and let me know which one you guys liked best! :)

<3

Eh heh heh.... >.<;;

Helllloooo World!!

*Awkward pause*

Yes. AHEM. It's been a while. Haha.

Did I not say that I would be terrible at this whole uploading business?? And have I not fulfilled what I said? Haha. Not an excuse I should be leaning upon, but... well, that's the best you're going to get out of me.

SO.

Why have I been away so long?

A number of reasons:

- I went on a vacation
- I started work
- I'm lazy

Prrrooobably kindamaybesorta mostly the last reason. There, the truth is out!

Anyways. Lets move past my awkward attempt to appease those that read my blog, and move onto something more exciting!! :)

Technically, I still have more keychains to upload, which I will... eventually. Maybe, if you read all the way to the bottom... you'll see some more of my creations! *Gasp!* [Sidenote: I'm really random and animated today, especially for a written blog. Hmmm...]

One day, my friend emailed me saying we should try making some earrings... so we did! Now, I don't have pictures of them, but they are ON THEIR WAY. So, no worries folks, you'll see them soon!! Plus, I'm assuming a vast majority of the people reading my blog know my friend.. and therefore know her instagram account, and have already seen pictures of said earrings. Hence, rendering my future post moot. Fantastic. But, I'll post those pictures nonetheless.

But, before I leave, here is a bear holding a heart. I love you! Forgive me! Haha. XD

Yay! Bear holding a heart! There's really no interesting story behind this bear. It just seemed like a rather simple thing to make, so I made it. Haha. Fascinating, I know. :) I had another bear that I made holding a heart, but the bear was lighter color, and the heart was lighter as well. But I kinda like this one better because the heart is shaped better, in my opinion.

ANNND. To top this post off, I'm going to post something that I did NOT create. :D

A few weeks ago some friends came over to prepare for welcome week for UCSD. In the process, as the hours grew later and later, we all started procrastinating more and more, and also got distracted at a MUCH faster rate. It was great fun. Here, this very rabbit, is the result of our procrastination and distraction. To the person who created this rabbit, yes, I'm posting without your permission.

But...

It's just so...

Cute!

;) Hahaha.

Wedding Fun!

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege and honor to witness the marriage of two friends from my church here in SD. It was a fairly simple wedding, but very cute and sweet. :)

I also had the honor of making their wedding cake topper!

Now, I've never really made anything bigger than an inch tall. So, this wedding cake topper was a bit of a challenge for me. Not only was I trying something new, thus feeling anxious and nervous about the challenge, I was feeling particularly lazy about making the thing. :P

I think, when it came down to it, I just had to set a time limit for myself, and pressure myself into sitting down and finishing the wedding cake topper.

One of the more difficult aspects of the cake topper was doing research for how I wanted to make the cake topper. At first, I considered using animal figures to replace the bride and groom, but I didn't want to have to go through a ton of details on the animals. Also, I thought doing the bride and groom themselves would be more personal. However, as this was my first time making human figures... I got rather frustrated. Haha. Not only that, I wanted to make it look similar to the actual bride and groom, which proved to be another challenge. I had to get information about the bride, the colors they were using, the dress she was wearing, the type of flowers she had, etc. etc. Usually I make things straight from my imagination, so there's no need to look at a picture and copy anything. But, this time, I had to pay attention to what I was forming.

All in all, wedding cake toppers are quite time consuming and tiring. But fun. Definitely fun.

I stuck pieces of wire through the middle of the figurines because the groom was starting to bend to the side a little bit as I was forming him.

I also added a cork bottom to the base of the topper so that... I dunno, it would seem more professional?  Haha. I wasn't sure if people just simply place clay on top of cake. I suppose that would have been okay as well, right?

The two little birdies I kinda threw in there because I had some extra clay and I thought it would add a nice touch. Haha.

People said that I should try to go into the wedding cake topper business. Maybe go and learn cake making and start decorating cakes. Haha. I'll have to think about that. It would definitely be more lucrative than making little keychains that sell for less than $10 a piece. Haha. But, then again... I think I have to actually get business in order for anything to  happen. Haha.

Something A Little Different

Hello!

It's been a while since I last updated, so my apologies about that. :P It got a little busier than I planned. Haha. I traveled a bit over the weekend to see my best friend, and so I didn't do any updating on my blog or website.

Last week on Saturday, I had my friend's Bridal Shower and another friend's birthday party. Both back to back, one in SD and one in LA. I can tell you now that I shall never (willingly) drive long distant during the afternoon. Hahaha. It was pretty terrible for me. Not because of traffic or anything... but because I was SOOO tired the entire time I was driving. And, I couldn't pull over to go to sleep because I was rushing to my friend's birthday party. Haha. Needless to say, I've learned my lesson.

In any case, I'm still glad I made it to both events because they were both super fun.

So, instead of showing some of my keychains today, I thought I would show what I made for my friends. Well, the cards I made, at least. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the actual gift (well, that... and I kinda just forgot. Haha).

Sorry for the rather blurry quality. I didn't take the pictures with my nicer camera.... so now you guys get to see the difference between my point and shoot/DSLR camera quality and the itouch camera quality. Haha. XD

This was the card I made for my friend's bridal shower. Not too fancy, but still kinda nice,  I think. I had originally cut out a total of three flower designs, and I was contemplating squeezing all of them onto the card, but it ended up looking too cluttered and messy. So I took out two of the designs, and opted to only have the round, pink flowers. Which, in my opinion, probably worked better. I didn't want to add too much to the card, so I just added a simple "Congratulations!" on the bottom.

Whenever I have to write words on cards, I get a tad bit nervous. Somehow, all the words end up looking like they are spelled incorrectly. Or, when they look like they're spelled correctly... they actually aren't. I remember when I first came to college at UCSD, I made a card for a friend's birthday (for everyone to sign), and I spelled "Happy Birtday" rather than "Happy Birthday."I guess it's not that big of a deal that I spelled something wrong. But... it was the beginning of the school year, and I wasn't that close with anyone yet. Haha. XD

Good times.

Anyways.

Moving on.

This next card I made for my friend, I was (and still am) rather proud of it. It took me a really long time because Buzz is a LOT more detailed than I thought he would be. Haha.

My friend really likes Toy Story, especially Buzz Lightyear, so I decided to make a Toy Story themed birthday card. Here is what resulted:

I don't think there was anything paricularly difficult about this card. Rather, there were just a lot of smaller details that took a lot of time. But, it was all the more satisfying when I finished the card, and handed it to my friend to watch her reaction as she opened it. :)

Anyways. That's all for today.

I'm hoping to get back on making stuff and uploading stuff. However, next week looks pretty packed as well... but I'm going to try my best to make some time for more arts and crafts! :)

Popularity Contest

When I first started making these clay keychains... I invested a lot of time in making these little bears that would each hold a unique item. For those of you who have been on my Etsy's site, you would know that I have more items that feature bears than anything else.

However, sometimes I randomly made other things, such as a duck... robots... aliens... or turtles.

Like... this one.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/104335486/turtle-charm?ref=af_shop_favitem

This one I made on a total whim. I felt like I needed a break from making all these teddy bears, so I thought I would make something random. Green happened to be the first color I picked up so... turtle it was. After making it, I didn't even really think I did a good job on it. It wasn't made very well, and I messed up on the bottom. The stomach was so big that the legs didn't even really stick out enough to be considered legs.

Fatty legs that don't even touch the ground. XD

But... I thought, since I made it, I might as well go through with it and put it on the web.

The results surprised me. 

I definitely did not expect so many people to like this little turtle. Personally, I find the teddy bears more endearing and cute... but I obviously don't know my own customer audience. I guess that's what makes business interesting, huh? Over the past few weeks, the item that has gotten the most "likes" and "favorites" has definitely been this little turtle. And, I must say, I am pleasantly surprised by this.

I wonder what it is about this turtle that people like. If you guys have any idea... let me know. :P I need to do mor markt research, I feel like. Haha. XD

Sometimes this makes me wonder if I should hold off on making bears and start making some other items. But then... I don't really know what other animals to make. More turtles? Haha. XD

Perhaps.

Robots

When I first started making clay keychains, I made a little robot with a heart on it. I was going to give it away... but I liked it so much, I kept it for myself. Haha. It's hanging on my wallet now, so I can see it all the time. :P I don't have a picture of that one though. But, its okay, I have other pictures to show today. :) What's kind of funny about my robot keychain is that the arm fell off once, so I remade an arm and attached it back to the body. However, because the parts were made at different times, the color that I mixed were slightly different. So... now my robot has a gray body.... but its arm is a different color in the sunlight. Haha.

Anyways. Back to my story about robot-making.

From then on, people would comment on the robot, saying that they thought it was super cute and whatnot. So... I decided to make more! Throughout the days, I've slowly made more and more robots.

This couple robot keychain I made for one of my conversation students before she moved back home to China. She never asked for me to make her anything, but I thought it would be nice for her to take something back home that was unique. I don't know if she actually liked it... but I had fun making it! Haha.

Couple robot keychain. I wonder if she ever gave the other half to her boyfriend...

These next two I kind of made because I wanted to use my random clay colors. Because I generally make bears, I use a lot of brown and tan and stuff... but not really any of the other interesting colors. So, I wanted to use up some of the more random colors... and bam! Blue and purple robots. Haha.

I've actually made another robot similar to this one. Except it was gray, and the tie was orange. I made it for a friend at church.

Purple robot with tie
https://www.etsy.com/listing/104890170/working-robot

For some strange reason, I really like making robots with hearts. I think its the juxtaposition that robots are cold and emotionless, and a heart is... well... the opposite. Haha. XD So I like putting the two together so that it warms up the robot. Hahaha. I dunno. XD

I haven't posted this one up on Etsy yet... I probably should soon. XD
EDIT: Now posted on Etsy!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/105361960/hopeful-robot-with-heart?ref=v1_other_1

Following this robot... my friend asked me to make him something as well. Apparently, he saw the robot I had on my wallet and wanted a keychain. I, of course, said yes. Sometimes... I think I really need to stop making these for free for people, and just have them buy it. Haha. XD But then, I feel really mean about it. I mean, I started making these items for fun and to give away to people, so I like giving them away. But, after I started Etsy... I'm starting to wonder when I should give them out and when I should make people pay me. Hahaha. XD Anyways. This friend told me to surprise him... and so I did. He had this whole backstory about him and robots... so I made him a heartless robot, with a matching robot girlfriend (holding the heart for the heartless robot). Haha. In the future, he can give one of them to his girlfriend. Hahaha. 

I though it was pretty clever of me. :P

I gave the boy sad eyebrows because he's a robot that is sad he doesn't have a heart.
But now... I realize that it kinda looks like the robot is sad because the girl has taken over control. Haha.
Ah... well... I guess it can be taken both ways.

Finally... I made another heartless robot, without a robot girlfriend, because I liked the idea of the robot having "a hole where it's heart should be." Haha. That seems kinda contradictory to what I said at the beginning of the post. Well, this still kinda combines the whole robot and heart/emotion theme. Just... in this case, this robot is looking for a heart because it's missing. Eh, whatever. I give up trying to explain my train of thought.

Sad, heartless robot
https://www.etsy.com/listing/104890012/heartless-robot

Anyways. That's all for my robot collection as of now.

Maybe there will be more in the future. Well, I know there will be more in the future... I just don't know when I'll finish making them. Haha. XD

First Sale...!

Kind of.

Haha. I made a sale to one of the members of my church. :) To me, it wasn't an "official" sale because it didn't occur on Etsy and therefore there will be no review/feedback that will show up on my Etsy store. BUT. I still appreciated the sale so, so much. :) Thank you!! She bought the honeybear keychain because that's what she calls her husband (I hope its okay that I'm sharing! :3 ), which, in my opinion... is super adorable!! Haha. Super super cute.

Honeybear: First "unofficial" sale!! :D

Anyways, I kept the link of the honeybear on Etsy though, so if people order it, I can still try to re-make it. We shall see how that goes.

Its actually very encouraging to see the stats on Etsy. Even though the numbers are few, whenever I see that people have been checking out my site and liking certain items, I still get very happy. Haha. It's definitely a confidence booster!

When I first made the honeybear, I actually made two other bears as well. That day, I took all of my craft supplies out of the house for the very first time... and made them outdoors! Haha. Usually I'm sitting in front of my computer, looking at pictures, watching dramas, or listening to music. But, this time, because my friend invited me out to hang out, we decided that we wanted to go to the park and chill while doing other stuff. So, while my friend read, I decided to make keychains! It was kind of a hassel, just because I had to take a lot of random stuff in a big bag (which was rather heavy), but I think I quite enjoyed being out in the sun/shade/nature rather than being cooped up in a room.

The results were: honeybear, ice cream bear, and watermelon bear.

I was actually super grateful and blessed because I hung out with my friend that day, because she gave me the ideas for each of the bears! Without her, I would have ran out of ideas of what to make the bears hold. Haha. XD Recently I've been losing steam with ideas of what to make them hold, but I've come to realize that it helps a lot when I talk to friends. Not only do they give me ideas of what to make, they help the time pass faster. 

Plus, I always find it much more worthwhile to have good fellowship (hanging out time) rather than just sitting at home vegging out to a drama (although that kind of alone time is nice too. ;) Haha). Anyways, in this case... yay for friends with wonderful creativity and ideas!

The resulting three amazing bears. Super summer themed. :)
Hopefully people like it!

Teehee, lots of pictures today. Haha. Makes the blog posts look like they are super long. :P

The Shop Has Been Opened! :D

Hello All!

So, after much pushing and pulling from my father, I finally set up shop on Etsy! I've talked about setting up an account for so long... but I never had the guts to do it. My dad has been bugging me about it for a while now, but I still didn't want to put in the effort of posting pictures, figuring out prices, etc, etc. Another part of me was also scared of going into it. Despite the fact that this was just going to be a side hobby, it's still a scary thought to start something new. It's like being your own mini entrepreneur, which, I am not that confident in. Haha.

But!

Here is it! I have finally opened up my shop. Please go and take a look around and spread the word! :D

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SubtleSmiles?ref=si_shop

I think after a while, I might take some time and make a cooler looking banner. Haha. This one I threw together in approximately 5 min. using photoshop. Soo glad I took that photoshop class a few quarters before I graduated! Granted, it was for photography, but it still encouraged me to experiment in photoshop. Yay! 

Annnyways, here is a photo of my storefront! So exciting! Haha.

I think the hardest thing about starting this Etsy storefront is that, now I have more pressure on me. Haha. But, its a good pressure that will keep me occupied when I'm not looking for a job or feel stressed about job hunting. So yay!

Okay, that's all I have for today.

:)

Fruit Picking

Teehee. Strawberry! Yum. :)

In my memory, summer was always a time for fruit picking. In particular, I remember picking cherries, apricots and peaches. Usually my parents would take my brother and I and a group of friends out fruit picking for the day. We'd always come home with buckets/boxes of fruit, and our stomachs filled with fruit as well. It wasn't until I grew older that I came to the realization that we weren't actually supposed to be eating all the fruit. Haha. XD

A few months ago some friends and I went fruit picking--strawberry picking, to be exact. It was my first time strawberry picking. The sun was out, it was bright and sunny, with just a hint of a breeze. We went early(ish) in the morning, but it wasn't long before families started showing up. There were a lot of parents holding his or her son or daughter's hand while maneuvering through the strawberry patch. So cute. Suddenly I felt really old. Well, at least a little bit too old to be picking strawberries. We had about 10-15 college students running around picking strawberries. Haha. Oh well, at least it was fun.

What's even more fun about picking fruit is going home and eating. (Although, in my honest opinion, eating fruit while you are picking it is quite fun as well. Fun when you're a kid cuz... there's unlimited fruit. Fun when you're older cuz... you feel empowered? Hahaha. I did feel quite sneaky.) We went back to one of our apartments and ate and ate and ate. Haha. XD

Maybe I should go fruit picking again. This time... cherries? :P

Sunny California

Little bear holding a little orange.
Hopefully people can tell what it looks like. Haha. XD

After calming down from my depressing post this morning... I thought that it might be nice to post something a little happier. Haha. XD

The weather in SD has been pretty cloudy and cool these past few days. Its strange, considering how its summer right now. But a few days ago, I even wore long sleeves and I felt fine. I think its finally starting to get a little bit warmer though. Yesterday I went catfishing with a few friends, and it was pretty warm out. Caught nothing, but it was still a lot of fun to hang out and chill on a boat. :)

Today its pretty sunny and warm as well. I think its a good reminder that, even though life doesn't always progress like you might expect it to, the sun will eventually come back out and warm everything up again. Haha. Sounds so cliche. But, sometimes I like cliche sayings. :)

I hope the weather continues to stay nice an sunny. It makes everything happier when the sun is out.

Decisions, Decisions...

Its Monday morning, 9:30. I've been sitting in front of my computer waiting for a phone call from the company back home. I know the recruiter has other things to do during the day, and I know that I'm not going to get a phone call immediately... but I'm so anxious. I haven't been able to focus at all... (granted... its only been about an hour an a half since I woke up).

This keychain reminds me of my church because of the colors.
For some strange reason... I think these colors reflect the church. Haha. XD

This is the kind of person I am. Someone that worries and someone that overanalyzes and has a one track mind. I know that, once I pick up that phone call, I will have to honestly consider what I want to do with my life. Where the church stands in my heart and where I want to go. The reason why this is such a struggle for me is because I love my church in SD. Its taken me four years in college to finally find a church that I love, and that loves me back. I'm not saying that there are no other churches out there that are solid and loving and caring... but God brought me to this church... and I love this church. But now, with this job offer hanging above me... I don't know what to do. From a spiritual standpoint, there is no competition.

And yet, I waver.

Haha. I feel like my last few posts have been super serious. I think its because, like I said at the beginning of this post, I have a one track mind. I honestly reflect whatever is going on in my brain into whatever I'm doing. So... you guys all get to see what's going on in my head.

Phone Call

Today I received a phone call from a Japanese company back in where I'm from (I'm currently living in SD). I don't know how I feel about that. In all honesty, when I went to this interview, I tried hard not to think about this opportunity. Why? Because I had already set in my mind that I wanted to stay here, in SD. Like I mentioned in my previous post. I don't think finding a job is about luck. I think God is guiding my way and leading me.

So, I trusted.

Or maybe I didn't. I think, through my mouth, I said that I trusted Him and that I would follow whatever path He had laid out for me. And now, now that I have the job offer in front of me... I'm starting to regret my words. I think, in my heart... I somehow believed that He would find me a job here in SD and that I wouldn't have to move back home. Not that I don't love home. I love home. I love spending time with my parents. But... I had already decided I wanted to stay in SD for my church and for the people here. So... what is God trying to say to me? Is there something back home that He wants me to go back to? Or does He want me to turn down the job offer and learn to trust Him here, in SD?

I made this for my friend a while back. The body took me forever, but I think it was worth it. ;P

Sometimes, I wish I had courage. Like how a lion is associated with courage, I wish I had that kind of courage and drive in life. I wish I had the courage to trust God fully, and I also wish I had the courage to walk along a path where I was uncertain of the future. But, much like the lion in "Wizard of Oz," I have no courage. I'm timid and afraid of everything in the world. I put up a front like I know what I'm doing and I know God has got my back... but inside I'm afraid.

I'm particularly proud of the mane and how I made it. I didn't want to have to put each hair on one by one, so I took pliers and pinched the clay until I felt that it resembled the mane of a lion.

Well, that's my post for the day. Perhaps in the next few posts you guys will be able to see whether or not I stayed in SD or moved back home. If any of you guys who are reading this are Christian... I would appreciate any prayers. :P Haha. I've only started this blog for a few weeks... and I act as if I have a bunch of followers. Well, I know at least one or two people are reading this, and I appreciate that. :)

It's Not About Luck

Like I mentioned in my first post, I'm a recent graduate. Which means, I'm looking for a job right now... Which means, I'm currently unemployed... Which means, I have no income right now... HAHA. Sad life. I've only been looking for jobs for about two weeks, and I don't really know what I'm supposed to be expecting. Even though I've interviewed for jobs before, I don't think I was trying very hard. Well, that doesn't mean that I'm trying super hard now... but I'm looking for jobs with a different attitude now, I think. XD

By far, one of my favorite little bears that I've made. Not that I'm a believer of luck...  ;p

Quite a number of people I know have already found jobs and are beginning to start work, or have already started work. Some people might call finding a job "luck," but I don't think its about that. Rather, I think that God is the one that will guide me in finding a job. Some people might think that sounds ridiculous, but that's what I truly believe. Now, this doesn't mean that a job is just going to fall out of the sky, but I think my outlook on finding a job has a lot less pressure because I have God behind me. As I do my best in sending out resumes and applying for jobs, I have a lot less stress because God calms me and gives me peace about the whole process.

The bear that I uploaded this time I made quite a while ago. I've been making bears for a while now, and I've been giving them away. This one, I just couldn't bear (HAHA. I'm puny, I know) to give away, so it's now hanging on my Japanese electronic dictionary. So, whenever I use it, I can see it. ;P 

Siiiggghhhh... But now, whenever I look at the bear, I see my Japanese dictionary, and I think about how I'm supposed to be finding a job in the Japanese/Chinese industry... and then I come full circle and think about how I have no job. Haha. What a bleak outlook on life.

Maybe if I look at this bear more,  I can gain more strength from its cuteness?? Haha. XD

Photography Fun

I've always enjoyed photography immensely. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, anything artsy is always interesting to me. While I was an undergrad, I took one photography class because... well, no matter how hard I try to play around with cameras myself... it would probably be more beneficial if I actually learned from someone else that was a professional.

It was a fun quarter. My TA was strange and quirky, but she made the class very, very interesting. I could never please her with my photos though, at least I don't think so. I came to the conclusion that, she thinks very far outside of the box in the land of abstract while I... I tend to stay inside the box of prettiness.

Needless to say, those were some fun times. Sometimes, when the weather is really nice, I would rather go sightseeing or something. Go outside and enjoy the sunshine and take some photographs. And I'm sure my little bear can agree, going out and taking pictures is a lot more fun than sitting at home and applying for jobs. Haha.

Hello, World!


This is my first blog post on this site. :) My name is Joy and I recently just graduated from UCSD! Now, with so much time on my hands... how can I make full use of the time I have before I start working? I've always loved arts and crafts, and I've been told that I'm quite decent at making little art creations. So... why not share it a little bit?


My childhood can only be characterized as filled with arts and crafts. My mother, a landscape architect, loved art and encouraged me to explore art--any form, any way. I've drawn, I've painted, I've sculpted, I've carved, I've cut, I've pasted--and yet I've hardly just begun. Last summer my mother asked me to make some figurines out of polymer clay for the children at our local church and, with nothing to do in the summer, I happily obliged. That's what started my polymer clay craze. And I love it. :) Even though it takes time and effort, I've never made something unwillingly or hated what I made. Sure, they each have their imperfections, but hey--that's who I am. An imperfect being creating imperfect creations... but thanking the Lord that He gave me the talent and capabilities to enjoy such a hobby.


Well, in any case, I've been told a number of times I should do something more than just hide my creations in a closet and so... here it is! My blog of little creations. The little things that bring me joy. 


Enjoy! :)

It's summer! Doesn't it make you just want to go to the beach everyday? Especially since I live in sunny San Diego, when the suns out... it's time to hit those waves!