Milestone

Mmm... Well, I'm not sure if this would be considered a "milestone," but it seemed like a fitting title. Somehow, "The time period where I'm trying to figure out my life and not be lame about it" was just too long of a title.

I guess I'm going though something that everyone goes through once, twice, three, four...?... (you get the point) times in his or her life. Its something that some people embrace while others... they shy away from it.

I'm talking about...

Change.

Specifically, I'm talking about my life after graduating from undergrad. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and I knew that I would go through a lot of struggles during this time. I don't have a degree in a very applicable area (Japanese Studies and Chinese studies are, shockingly, not specific enough to land me a job that I want), and I most certainly do not have enough experience in work to get anywhere in life. Haha. And it's been a struggle for me.

Now, I don't mean to write about this to point out how sad I am and how pitiful my life is. I don't want people to think that I am wallowing in my lack of a direction or anything. In fact, in all honesty, I know that I have many more blessings than I deserve. I have a roof over my head, clothes to wear on my back, a loving family, a loving church, a loving community, and a job.

So... Why am I struggling through this?


The other day, while I was sharing about my day with my pastor and his wife, he asked me if I was stressed. My reply was a quick and definite: YES. I'm STRESSED.

He laughed and said, "That, is very blatantly, sin."

What? Sin?? Can't a girl catch a break? Isn't it natural to get stressed when you're tired? There's no need to go as far as to call it sin...

... or is it?

But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how accurate he was. True, it may be just "stress" that I am going through. But, at the heart of it, I lack trust and faith in God's plan. I don't know what I'm doing with my life right now and, therefore, I panic. I want God to reveal to me exactly what I should be doing, exactly how I should do it, and... I want it all right now.

As of right now, I can honestly say that I'm... unsatisfied. The job that I have, though it is a blessing to even have a job, has nothing related to what I want to do in the future (of course, when friends and family ask, I can certainly twist it in certain ways that make it sound like it is). It's a small company that forces me to take on a lot more responsibilities than I expected for a part-time, entry level position. It's stressful and draining. And, while it does prepare me for working life and dealing with authority figures in the work place... most people will agree with me in concluding... I probably need to get another job.

Of course, God usually has something else in mind. :P

And, naturally, God has something in His Word that directly speaks to such a situation:

[Romans 5:3-5]
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not pust us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (NIV)

Whatever it is that I am going through right now... God is allowing me to go through it for a reason. I am to grow and to learn from this struggle and, hopefully, emerge wiser and more mature.


There. Simple right? Now that I understand why God is putting me through these challenges, I should happily embrace these challenges and thank God for allowing me to go through them.

But, I think there comes to a point in my life where I have to recognize when God is telling me to persevere and when He is telling me to take a leap of faith.

What do I mean by that?

I believe, in certain instances, God is telling me that I should stand firm to my ground, and accept my circumstances as challenges that will mold me and grow me. In other instances, I believe that it may be time to move on.

This is where change comes in. Now, I can sit here all night and talk about how, if I stay at my current job, I can learn about small businesses, learn about dealing with stress, learn about interacting with customers and people, etc. But, at the heart of it... I know that this is not a place where I can make a career. I know that God has something bigger and better planned for me, and I know that, one day, I will have to leave my current job and trust in God's plan elsewhere.

The question is: When? When will the change occur? Is it now?

As I pray and meditate on what God wants me to do... I lean towards the idea that God wants me to move and to change. And... here... is where fear enters. Fear of changing. Fear of taking the leap of faith and allowing God to be in control.

And that is where I stand now. At the edge of a forest (pardon me for my cliche), afraid to walk in because I'm afraid to discover new things. All because I'm too comfortable with this little patch of grass that I've been sitting on. And, even though the grass makes me itchy and annoys me sometimes, I'd still rather sit on this grass and convince myself that this grass is already plenty green and that I can still discover new and exciting things. Like that little ladybug that flew by, or the morning dew on the blades of grass. I'm too scared to walk into the forest and allow God to bless me and show me new wonders.

I'm not an adventurer.

But God calls me to have courage and embrace change.

新年快樂! Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Hello, and Happy Chinese New Year!!

My parents were in Taiwan this year, so I was unable to spend it with them. And my brother was too busy with other stuff to hang out with me... So I didn't spend Chinese New Year with him either... Haha.

But! I still had church family and friends to spend Chinese New Year with. And for that, I was extremely grateful and blessed. Good food and good company, what more could I have asked for? :)

Its the year of the snake! :P Next year it will finally be "my" year again... the year of the horse. I think the horse was my favorite animal growing up because it was my zodiac animal. Haha. I didn't really have a favorite animal, so I always used horse as my default answer. Haha

Anyways... On to other crafting business.

Yes, that's right, I have more to share. :)

Sometimes I find it very amusing that I'm making all these Valentine's gifts when I actually have no idea what its like to be in a relationship. Well... the relationships I know about are between family members, friends, and God. Haha. But anyways, that's besides the point. I think I watch enough dramas and read enough stories to kinda get the gist of it. Haha. XD

This is the last "sculpture" that I made for Valentine's Day. I made some keychains, but I have yet to put those up. Perhaps they can still work for couples, even after Valentine's Day has passed. In any case, let's get to it.

I always had this idea of using these square boxes to create a picture or a scene in. I originally purchased them so that I could be able to ship my keychains in a manner that wouldn't make the package too fragile. They are actually gift boxes that I got from the wedding section in Michaels. I got it cuz it was a large package of them that were on clearance. ;) My favorite. Haha.

Anyways, I contemplated making an actual background scene, but decided against it because it was too much work and I was too lazy. Haha. But I still wanted something to fill up the background (and not just be plain and silver), so I just put in a simple 3-blocked "I <3 U."

Its kinda similar to my previous post about the bears in a glass jar, except, this one was a surprise kiss. Haha. XD Like I said, I really liked the idea of using wire to create balloons, so I added them in this scene as well. I kinda like how the base turned out in this one as well. Normally, I mix every single color by hand (except for black and white) and I try to mix it so that each shade is evenly distributed throughout the entire block. But, I got a little lazy when I was mixing the base color, and I decided to let the other color run through the base, which created small patterns throughout the base. And effect I was rather pleased with.

Its kinda funny, but whenever I make couple items, I feel the necessity to put a pink or red (or any other "girly" color) bow on the female character... just for clarification sake. Haha. I recently started putting eyelashes on the girl to indicate which one was female. But, for this one, because her eyes were open, it was too difficult to add eyelashes, so I ended up just adding a bow. Haha.

Checkitout on Etsy!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/122610776/kiss-cuz-i-love-you-in-a-box

The base, as well as the cover, is removable. Although, in all honesty, I don't really know why it would be necessary to take the item out of the box. If anything, it would be for the purpose of looking at the sculpture closer and in greater detail? Haha. I don't know. :P

So, there you are... the final item I created. I don't have much to say on this one, cuz I think its rather straight forward. Plus, I have no stories to share about this item. Haha.

I think that's what makes blogging difficult for me. Because I don't document very well, the post that I put up is merely a lengthier description of the photos I put up. Which, I don't know if people are interested in listening to. Haha. Oh well, its not like you guys are forced to read my blog. XD Haha.

Anyways, next time I'll be posting up something that may turn out to be a very, very lengthy post. Haha. I foresee a large number of photos. Haha. Yep, I'm going to try documenting my crafts from now on! :P Haha. Don't get your hopes up though... cuz I highly doubt I will be able to maintain this kind of patience with extensive documenting.

We shall see.

:)

**Chuu!!

Hello, World!

Today, I'd like to share one of my creations... that I actually like! Haha. XD

If any of you guys are confused or are even remotely interested, "Chu" is the Japanese onomatopeia for "kiss." Go read more manga or watch more anime. You'll see. :)

Remember this "Sneak Peek" picture? ;)

After a few failed attempts to create something other than animals... I decided to revert back to my comfort zone... of bears! Haha. I think I really need to learn how to make other animals look cute. :P Or perhaps learn how to make cute looking humans. But that's something I'll attempt when I have more free time lying around. Haha.

This time, I actually have pictures of the process I went though!! I never have pictures of the process. Well... I shouldn't say never... but it is quite rare. :)

I usually make 6 separate pieces when making bears:

        - 1 head (includes eyes)

        - 1 body

        - 2 ears

        - 1 tail

        - 1 face/nose area (includes mouth and nose)

This time, however, because I needed the bears to show expression, hold stuff, etc., I had to also make arms and legs separately. Which turned out rather nice, in my opinion. Here is what the bears look like, before I add the eyes, nose, and mouth. Again, for the white/transparent part, I used transparent clay, which turned out less white after I baked it -- not what I wanted. :( But that's okay. Lesson learned!

Ahahah... you can see how my nail polish is slowly dying... XD

It was a little hard to figure out how to place the two
without having the ear of one bear be in the way of the other bear

I was a little worried when making these two bears because I wasn't sure how it woud fit into the jar. Having two figures in the jar takes up quite a bit of space, so I had to gauge it correctly before actually making the two bears. Also, I had to make sure I would be able to glue everything on the base properly, and still have the two bears far enough apart to make it look "un-awkward." Hah. That was an awkward way of putting it. :p

Anyways, I actually think I like the unbaked version as opposed to the baked version. But, that's okay.

I was actually extra proud of the "LOVE XO" letters at the bottom because I took the extra effort and went online to search for... you guessed it... scrabble tiles!! Haha. I didn't want to just slap on any sign that read "Love," so I, very cleverly (Yes, yes, this is where I insert an applause for myself), made it out of scrabble tiles. Again... I used the transparent clay... so the result was a little lighter than I wanted. Should have added more white into the mix (Whyy? Whyy didn't I believe the package when it clearly stated "transparent"??). :(

All in all, I was fairly satisfied with the result of this project. Here is the final product:

I'm kinda sad that the glass jar distorts the imagery of the sculpture,
making it look slightly funny...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/122108554/sealed-with-a-kiss-in-a-glass-jar?ref=v1_other_2

So yay! After two "ehh" attempts at making something to sell in a glass jar, success! I got really excited about the idea of using metal wire to hold up balloons... so I tried that again with another project. Haha. I'll be posting that one up soon as well. I'm really glad I actually used white for the balloon and not transparent. Haha. XD

In other, random news... I watched the Superbowl in its entirely for the first time in my LIFE today. Haha. XD 

Granted, I spent a good portion of the time sitting in the very back of the room, and my line of vision was covered by people (for a good portion of the time as well)... and I was drawing most of the time... hahaha. I still watched it! :P I'm not a huge sports watcher, and not at all into football. Its not that I don't understand the game... I'm just not into watching football. But I guess it was rather exciting watching it with a group of friends. Towards the end of the game I finally put down my drawing book and ventured closer to the TV. Haha.

As I got more and more invested, I became more and more anxious about the game. I'm from the Bay Area, originally, so I kinda naturally rooted for the 49ers. Plus... they made a preeetttyyy, darn good comeback after the power outage ended. 

Annnnddd then...

They lost. 

:(

Haha. It would have been pretty epic if they won. But I realized that I get way too invested and into these games. Haha. XD I can see why people can get really into cheering for a sports team, and I can imagine myself getting overly competitive. Haha. I would not be very encouraging and sweet (That's a strange word to describe myself with...) if my team were not winning. Haha.

Anyways. That kinda has nothing to do with crafts or arts... but I thought I'd share a "Joy's first..." moment with you all. 

:)

More postings to come soon!! :)

You've Got Mail!

BAM.

Two posts in a week!! 

That's cuz I'm trying to rush and put all my items up for Valentine's Day. Haha. XD So now you all get the wonderful privilege of reading more of my randomness throughout this week.

In addition, this week has been rough at work... So I really need to do something to get my mind off of work and life in general. Haha. YAY for crafting distractions!

This... is my second least favorite glass creation that I made. Again, I was trying to do something a little bit different, so I veered away from small critters and animals, and just put in random objets (well, not totally random, I hope. :P)

I usually start off by making the base by putting a blob of clay into the jar and pressing it against the bottom of the glass. Since the glass is slightly curved on the inside, its important to get the right shape. Unfortunately, while I made the rest of the sculpture... the base went flat... and so it kinda sticks out straight. Haha. But, since its glued down, it doesn't really move around or anything, so it doesn't really make that big of a difference.

Top View without the cap

I made the letters with "translucent" clay, which looked a little more white before I baked it. Sometimes, I kinda wish I mixed a little bit of white into the clay so it wouldn't turn out so clear-ish. But I guess the result still looks sort of like old-ish looking letters.

The back of my creation

ZOOOOOOOOM INNNNN. Looookit all the details. 

And.... There you have it. Mail in a jar. I was kinda playing around the idea of how snail mail is sort of lost these days. We have so much technology -- Phones, computers, tablets, etc. -- and connectivity is so close to us that we forget how difficult it was, in the past, to get a message across, even to the next town. Now, with just a click of a button, I can update myself on my friend living across the US or the world.

But sometimes, I think snail mail is the best. I love writing and I love handwritten notes. It makes everything so much more personal. Even if your handwriting is not the best, I still think its cute to pass notes and sent handwritten mail to people. Which is why I treasure postcards and letters from my friends. It also builds a kind of anticipation and excitement when I receive a handwritten note from someone, even if I live in the same city as them, and they personally delivered it to me. When someone takes the time to write out something personal, it means that they had to stop and take the effort to dust off their stationary or pen and paper (probably somewhere in the corner or hidden in their closet) and take time to record their thoughts. And that makes me happy.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/122106253/youve-got-mail-in-a-glass-jar

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go and write a handwritten letter to someone. 

But I won't tell you who. 

;p

Here We Go...!

Hello, World!

Okay, so I don't want to upload eeeevvverrryyything, all at once... so I'm going to take it slow and upload my items maybe one or two at a time.

I had planned on posting this up way, way, way earlier... but time somehow slipped away from me, and I didn't get the chance to post anything up.

ANYWAYS. That's besides the point.

I'll be honest with you. This first one that I'm posting up is probably my least favorite one. Why, you ask? :P Haha. I'll show you what I mean:

A looong while back some friends and I had a glass etching party, and so I got these cute, small jars to etch. (Ahh. I have no pictures of the ones I etched cuz I already gave them out for Christmas and never bothered taking pictures of them. :P Ooops. Haha) But etching will be another post at a later date. :)

In any case, the party was super fun and I got a chance to get to know some really cool girls at my church. :) Since we were all newbies at glass etching, we decided that we wanted to do a second crafts night the following week. I, all glass-etched-out, decided that I wanted to put my clay creations into the jars. Before, I had always made keychains or earrings or necklaces (functional pieces, basically), but I wanted to try something different.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/121896186/mini-be-mine-couple-in-a-glass-jar

This jar is probably the fifth jar that I decorated. Like I said, the other ones I already gave away without documenting. Haha. XD But this was the first jar that was plain (no additional glass etching and no additional decorations on the outside), as well as the first time I attempted to make miniature people.

In my opinion... it turned out quite terrible. :P Haha. Well, it looks okay, but I don't think it looks particularly cute or wonderful. Which... makes me sad. Haha.

Top view cuz... why not? It looks cute from above. XD

Backside 

I wanted to make them cute and chibi, like Anime characters, but the body turned out too bulky and heavy to stand up on its own. I got so frustrated trying to make cute looking people, that I just turned them into one long pole, and added a round head on top. Aaaannnnddd, this is what it looked like:

Before I added hair or baked it... >_<;;

It looked okay, from my perspective. Plus, I was super frustrated that I didn't even really want to finish this one. Mamma Wu took one look at it and said:

"They look creepy."

Annd, well, I couldn't deny that. They looked strange. Mamma Wu then said perhaps I ought to try and add some hair. So, I added the hair, albeit halfheartedly, and baked it in the oven. The result?

Blegh.

SO.

From this little experiment, I learned that I am terrible at making miniature people, and I don't think I'll attempt to do that anymore, unless I get a request to do so. I think its safe to say that I will be sticking to animals from now on because you can make them fat and round and get away with it without offending anyone. :P Plus, they just look cuter as animals.

The next post is another one that I wasn't really satisfied with, but... eh. It was another feeble attempt at trying something new and out of my comfort zone. :P

Stay tuned!!

:)

Sneak Peek!

Hello World!

I know I've been terrible at uploading pictures and showing you all what I've been making, but here's to me putting in the effort! Haha. I think it helps that, now that my phone has better camera capabilities (thanks dad!! :D), it's easier for me to directly upload onto my computer without busting out all my wires and stuff (my lazy side rejoices).

So, despite the fact that I only have one photo to show you all... it's still better than nothing, right? :P

And no, sorry to disappoint guys, but its not about MY love life or any relationships per say... but its about Valentine's Day!! Haha.

I know its a little bit early to be thinking of a holiday that's happening in FEBRUARY... but my oh my, how time passes quickly! I'm thinking, if I want to get anything up on my Etsy blog by the time it hits February, I'll need to start NOW. Haha. XD

So today, being the day I do not have to go to work, I started working on some ideas for Valentine's Day. Some of my creations are still in the works, but I'll let you guys in on a secret: it's bigger than a keychain, for once! I decided that I wanted to do something different, something new. So, I'm going to try to make something bigger. The only thing is, I'm not sure how I'm going to ship it. :O But that's only something I have to worry about if I actually sell something. XD Haha.

In other news... I finally submitted my application to grad school!! It's been long overdue, but I finally got everything together, and submitted it a few days ago. Now, it's all in God's hands. I can only pray and remember that, whether or not I get in, it's all up to Him.

I've also come to the conclusion that, YES, I do want to go to grad school for translation and interpretation. I've been kind of back and forth about going to grad school, or just going directly into full-time work, or changing career paths to do design. But, I think, for now, I'm going to do my best to apply and get into grad school. So, grad school apps are not quite over for me yet. But perhaps I'll be applying for next year (seeing as it might be cutting it close for some deadlines for this year). But, that's something else I'm still mulling over. ;P

Okay! Thanks for reading!

:)

New Beginnings

Happy New Year!!

It's hard to believe that it is already 2013...

And the fact that I have been graduated for about half a year.

What have I been doing with my life??? O.o

Haha. No worries, guys. Not having a mental breakdown quite yet.

This is just a quick blogpost about the new year. Nothing fancy, nothing crazy. I'm still going to try my best to upload my artsy creative stuff as often as I can. And, yes, I will try to stay on top of things. Hey, I did say at the beginning of all this that I'm a terrible blogger and have difficulty keeping up. :P But, I try. These kind of habits aren't born overnight (although I with they were).

One new and (perhaps, or perhaps not) exciting addition is that I'm going to try to interject some more creative "thoughts" in addition to my arts and crafts. Because... well, why not? Mix it up a bit. You get a little bit of arts and crafts, a little bit of my personal life, a little bit of my random thoughts. :)

Perhaps I'll think of some new year's resolution to put up here, and then have some sort of record of what I wrote... so that later on I can see how miserably (Shows how much faith I have in myself, eh?) I've failed to uphold them. And yes, you as readers can see how I well/miserably I do! Fun, no?

Well, in any case, its quite late now, and I still have work tomorrow. So its off to bed for me.

:)