Heartfelt & Handmade Cards - Card Atelier

Since young, I cultivated the practice of making my own greeting cards for friends and family for special occasions. I enjoy making greeting cards partly because I enjoy art and enjoy seeing those smiles of my loved ones when they receive my handmade cards. 

Here are some of my creative handmade cards made years ago:

I still have these cards as they were given to my husband, my then boyfriend. This is just a display of my few cards. 

This card is my personal favourite. It is a scroll. I had to hand-stitch the velvet cloth onto the wooden chopsticks. 

This card is my second favourite! I made the 'cover' too. The card splits open in the centre and gives 'wings' to the heart. That was the concept for this card. 

This card was made for my husband when he graduated from university. This was a simple idea of using the mortarboard and it opens into a book filled with my messages and a golden ribbon as a bookmark.

Making greeting cards was like escaping into my world of creativity. I get excited when I want to create a card. Card-giving tradition has slowly faded away. Many tend to just send a 'facebook' or a 'whatsapp' message. Messages are no longer heartfelt or sincere. 

It is very upsetting. Thus, I made it a point to give cards with or without presents. Giving handwritten cards are the best way of expressing our love and appreciation to our friends and family. We don't appreciate our loved ones openly. Only when we give a card for an occasion, we naturally tend to pour out our emotions. It could be that Asians tend to be very shy and 'closed'. We don't easily open up and verbally appreciate our loved ones. Thus, giving a card solves that problem. We tend to express more in writing than speaking when comes to sharing personal emotions. 

This excitement for making cards and the strong believe in the card-giving tradition soon turned my believe and passion into business. Thanks to my friends and family who also constantly pressured me to do something about my passion. 

I started Card Atelier in January 2014. I offer customized unique handmade greeting cards for any occasion. This is an attempt to revive the card-giving tradition through offering unique and fascinating design to impress their loved ones. 

Here are some if the unique cards:

Yes, it is a lot of work. It takes a lot of time to carefully create these beautiful cards. I normally take about 2-3 hours to make one card. However, it is very therapeutic. I enjoy making cards for my customers. 

If you like my card designs and would like to purchase or customize it for your loved ones, do check our website, cardatelier.com and follow us on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sgcardatelier

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cardatelier

Twitter: @cardatelier

for regular updates on our creative card designs. 

If you have been making cards or have any comments on my card designs, please comment below! 

Simple remedy for throat related illness - "Salt-Water"

Hello everyone! :D 

I'm back with another home remedy which is very easy to do! Some of you may have heard your mothers or grandmothers asking you to try this when you were sick! Old school traditional remedies are awesome, never underestimate its' powerful effects!

Usually there's a pattern before you fall ill. Based on my personal experiences and observations, most illnesses, such as flu, fever, sore throat tend to begin from your throat. You will feel discomfort in your throat and the next day you might find yourself down with flu or fever.

Today I am going to share how to keep your mouth and throat free from bacteria so as to prevent from falling ill. This method works well when you have ulcers or sore throats.  

Recently I had 2 ulcers on my gums and also having tonsils at the back of my throat causing discomfort. I totally forgot about the "Salt-Water" remedy. 

To be honest, you may not enjoy the process. However, I assure you that you will enjoy the after effects of this powerful remedy! :) 

"Salt-Water" in just 2 simple steps:

1. Add 1-2 teaspoon full of salt to 1/2 a glass of warm water. The temperature should be hot enough to gargle it in your mouth. 

2. Gargle the solution for 10 secs or more and then spit it out. Gargle till you finish the 1/2 glass of "Salt-Water" solution! 

Source: www.thefermentedfoody.com

Ta-dah! You are done! 

You may gargle this solution as and when you need it. When you are down with sore throat, I will recommend you to gargle this solution 2-3 times a day for speedy recovery! I would also strongly encourage everyone to gargle with "Salt-Water" 1-2 times weekly to keep your mouth and throat free from bacteria! This will be a great preventive action from falling ill! :)

Points to take note:

• You may not like the super salty taste, however it is very effective if treating sore throats and ulcers.
• If you have ulcer on your gums, keep the solution in your mouth particularly targeting the ulcer area, without gargling the solution. Gargling is mainly to target the throat area.
• Especially when you have ulcers, you will feel burning sensation when your ulcers come in contact with the "Salt-Water" solution. Endure the discomfort and keep it there for more than 10 seconds each time.

Some useful links about the "Salt-Water" remedy:

• Today's dentistry
• Mayo Clinic
• The New York Times

Hope this was another useful post to improve the quality of your life! If this remedy has benefited you, please kindly share your experience with us below! 

Natural Facial Recipe - Honey Lemon Sugar Scrub

Hello ladies and gentlemen! 

Taking care of yourself is important and this facial tip is not just for ladies! We are meeting people everyday for various reasons and it important to look confident and natural. I do not believe in layers of make up (thick foundations and concealers) to hide the scars or damages on your faces. Instead, I will highly encourage to take care of your skin and look beautiful naturally. By taking care of your skin, it not only brings out your natural beauty, it brings out your inner confidence too! 

Today I am going to share a recipe to scrub off the dead cells on your face! It is good to do this facial everyday, but due to heavy commitments, many will not have the time to take care of your skin! It will be highly encouraged to do it everyday for best result, but if you can't, at least do it 3 times a week! 

This recipe that I am going to share is a facial that I have been using consistently for about 3 years. I have also indicated my experience and pointers to take note right after the facial recipe.

Here are the steps to clear skin:

1. You need less than a teaspoon of honey. Please try not to use a metal spoon, instead use a plastic or a wooden spoon to scoop out the honey. Honey is a great moisturiser for the skin.

Less than 1 teaspoon of honey, remember not to use a metal spoon

2. Add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar to the honey. Brown sugar is make the paste rough for easy exfoliation of the dead cells. Mix the paste well before adding the next ingredient.

Less than 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.

Brown sugar added to the honey.

3. Squeeze few drops of lemon (about 8-10 drops) into the mixture. This is to make the thick mixture smoother to apply it on our faces. Do not add to much as it might start dissolving the sugar. Make sure it is enough to make it easy for application. Lemon is a great lightening agent. It helps to lighten the scars on your skin. 

Few drops of lemon into the thick, rough mixture. 

4. Wash your face with your usual facial foam and clean it dry. Then apply this paste on your face and leave it on for just 10 minutes, and not more than that. Do not be forceful when applying this paste. Adjust the pressure of application accordance to your comfort level. Avoid the areas near the eyes.

My face with the honey, lemon, sugar scrub paste.

5. Lastly, wash your face with cold water and gently dap your face with towel.

Points to take note:

• Beginners may feel burning sensation on certain areas, especially near upper lip and around the mouth. This is usually due to the few drops of lemon in the paste and it is normal. However, if the burning sensation is unbearable, wash your face immediate and consult a doctor.
• Some may experience pimple breakouts when they try anything new. Initially I experienced about 3-4 small pimple breakouts. But subsequently there were no more acne issues for years. I believe it is due to deeper cleansing of your skin and getting rid of the acne. However, if you are not comfortable, you may stop. 
  
  
• After washing your face, please wash your sink area well. I always notice ants crowding around after washing off the sugar and the honey from my face. :|
• I am not sure whether this facial paste will work fine with sensitive skin. If you experience and other abnormal reactions, wash your face immediately.

Here are some links to share the benefits of honey and lemon for facial use: 

• Times of India - Benefits of honey
• Women's health magazine - 11 ways to use honey
• Huffington Post - 9 Awesome facts about lemon
• Women's health magazine - 11 beauty uses for lemon

Hope you like my quick and simple facial recipe, and the useful links above! If you try it, please share your experience and improvement if there is any, in the comments below. 

Poker Card Collection

Hey everybody!

You guys would have noticed from my previous posts that I love collecting old and new Singapore currencies. Now, I am pleased to announce my new hobby! Collecting unique poker card designs! 

Presenting,

1. Zombie collection:

The zombie collection is definitely a unique and interesting collection. I like the fact that they tried to keep the actual poker card style of the royal pictures and modified to make it zombified. The surface of the cards are textured and yet smooth to deal out. 

Cost: SGD $16

2. Gold collection:

This gold collection is really classy. This card surface is also textured and yet smooth to deal out. It has a very intricate design and a beautiful shine on the back of the deck. It kind of reminds me of the "versace" design and also the medieval times. :)

However, if you look closely at the gold 'Ace' cards, you would notice that the gold is very light and it is not very easy on the eyes. The same goes to all the gold 'number' cards. :( The red ones are clear and good. 

Cost: SGD $20

You can purchase Zombie, Gold and other interesting poker card designs from The Magic Hall at Plaza Singapura outlet. 

3. Journey to the West collection: 

I personally like this collection as it is very asian therefore unique. I purchased this card deck from Taiwan in 2007. I do not remember how much or where exactly I bought this card from, my sincere apologies! :(


4. Jack Daniel's collection:

I'm personally not a big fan of the Jack Daniel's (JD) design as I find it plain and not that interesting. However, I am sure, the JD fans may like this collection very much :) This deck belongs to my brother and just wanted to share it in my blog. He could not remember where he got the JD collection from as he got it many donkey years ago.

That's all the unique collection we have. If I managed to collect many other unique designs, I will share it in another post for sure. 

A shout-out to all other poker card collectors: if you have any other interesting card designs, please do comment below and share it with us! 

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle! - Save our planet!

Hey readers! 

I know that you are discovering about me through my blogposts! Today's post reveals my interest in saving our planet! Yes, it may sound cheesy and cliche to talk about saving the earth. However, this is something I have been practising all my life! All thanks to my parents and some other life experiences that made me do what I do today!

We all know about the 3 BIG Rs - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! But it is not just about knowing them. Instead, we should ask if we have been practising them? What is the point of education if you do not apply what you have learnt when necessary? Just take few moments to recall whether you have done any one of the BIG Rs. If yes, well done and continue the good work! If not, its never too late to start, so welcome onboard! :D

I am going to share some of the ways I have implemented the 3 BIG Rs!

How it all started?

My parents are my role models when comes to the 3 BIG Rs. It is not that they are environmentalists or very keen in saving the earth!  Rather, they simply wanted to save money and not spend unnecessarily. Hahahha! Nonetheless, the efforts they took did help in saving the earth and set a good example for me.


How did it affect me so deeply?

This may sound ridiculous, but it is the truth. I became very interested in saving the earth ever since I watched the movie "WALL-E". Yes, you read it right; the animated, boring (according to some), slow-moving "WALL-E" movie affected me. I was somehow drawn to the story of what might happen if we take our planet for granted. Especially after knowing about how the ozone layer is being affected, how global-warming is getting from bad to worse and not much is being done! The climate changes are now very obvious; the weather is getting hotter and more unpredictable. These are signs of us taking earth for granted. And I strongly feel that we should appreciate our earth and help to save it from dying! 
:(

Yes, one person is not going to make much difference! But the effort definitely needs to start from a single person! If we keeping pointing fingers and not do anything about it, we can start saying "good-bye" to our earth from now and forget about our future generations! 

Ways to practice the 3 BIG Rs:

1) I am sure we all look for peanut butter cream and jams for our breakfast! Do not throw away the bottles once you finish them! Reuse them! See my parents' efforts in saving money from buying containers to store the spices!

Years of Skippy bottle collection by my parents to store spices for cooking!

Indian spices for cooking are stored in Skippy Peanut bottles!

2. Recycling/reusing does not always need to sound serious! Be creative and go crazy with the items to be recycled or reused. I made a mini drawer set from the thick card boards in the packaging of the bottle reed diffusers that I purchased.

I just added the brads for aesthetic purpose. It actually does not help in opening the drawers. hehe

I store safety pins, bobby pins, paper clips and hair clips in these 4 drawers!

3. I also recycled an unwanted spaghetti strap top to store and display my earrings neatly! This is hung on the inner side of my cupboard door. 

Earrings displayed neatly for easy selection! :D

4. If you don't have an opportunity to recycle, I am sure you would at least have plenty of opportunities to reduce! I always bring my own cloth shopping bags whenever I head to the supermarket for grocery shopping. I always do my best not to take plastic bags from shops. Initially my husband was very frustrated and thought I was just being very annoying and going overboard. Subsequently, he understood my concern and now joins me in saving the earth! He also reminds me to bring the shopping bags when leaving our house to shop! Now there's 2 of us! We need more! 

5. In Singapore, our government aids recycling efforts by placing recycling bins at most HDB apartments and private housing estates.  This is done by the National Environment Agency under the National Recycling Programme. 

To find the nearest recycling bin, go to OneMap.sg. Search for your estate using your postal code. Then, under the environment theme (bar at the top), click on recycling bins. This will highlight all the recycling bins near your estate

So stop giving excuses and start recycling today! I am proud that many of my neighbours in my housing estate recycle diligently! :D

Source: www.colex.com.sg

Source: irjournalist.blogspot.com

Hope these 5 ways would have inspired and encouraged you to start on the 3 BIG Rs! Don't forget that every small step that we take makes a difference and that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!!

If you have done anything creative or have any other ways to recycle, please share your ideas below! Have a great week! Let's be the real super heroes in saving our earth! :D

Product Review: June Jacobs Spa Collection - Green Tea and Cucumber Clarifying Shampoo

Hello readers! This is my first product review. I first used this shampoo when my husband and I did a staycation at Grand Hyatt Hotel on my birthday, early this year. Our stay there was awesome, but what made it memorable was my experience using this shampoo. 

50ml

After using this shampoo, my hair was super soft and I also love the fragrance. I have also tried the Citrus Clarifying shampoo. However, I was not as satisfied as the Green Tea and Cucumber Clarifying shampoo (GTC). I must also add that it is not easy to purchase GTC shampoo at shops. There was one particular shop at the International Plaza that carried June Jacobs products, however, they do not carry GTC shampoo anymore! :( 

I managed to order online at amazon.com. It cost USD $35 for 8 bottles of 50ml and I ordered the last set. I really wonder whether they have completely stopped the production :( I hope not!

When I received the package, we realized that there was some spillage. 

So I immediately emailed Amazon, letting them know that there was a spillage. To our surprise, Amazon replied within an hour and informed us that they would normally have given us a replacement set. Since we ordered the last set of GTC shampoo, they refunded us the full USD $35. My husband and I were impressed with the efficient and prompt service recovery. Double thumbs up to Amazon services! :D 

Coming back to the GTC topic, If anyone knows where I can get this shampoo or if you have tried this shampoo before, please share your comments below! Thank you! :D

SG50 Commemorative Notes

Hello everyone! 

I am sure many of us would have collected the limited edition SG50 commemorative notes by now. I have collected mine and here are some of the pictures and my comments. Yes, I was very excited to collect the notes. However, when I received them, I was not that impressed. 

First of all, a little background information about myself. I love collecting Singapore currencies. I have currencies from the orchid series to the current limited edition SG50 series. 

The 50 dollar note of the SG50 series is impressive. I love the idea of gold as it represents the Golden Jubilee. Having the image of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew makes it very significant. I also like the idea of the lenticular printing of the years 1965 and 2015 right below the image of the Mr Lee Kuan Yew. However, I personally feel they could have added more colours here and there while maintaining an overall gold.

SG50 Limited $50 note - front

SG50 Limited $50 note - back

 What disappointed me was the 5 different designs of the $10 notes. I felt it was very uninspired. The designs were very "bleah". I only liked the 'safe and secure' design (the 1st note in the picture below). The rest had no design element, it felt as though they just threw in some designs to fill it up. :(

5 designs of the SG50 $10 notes.

Instead of printing 5 different designs of the $10 note, they could have considered releasing the $1, $2, $5 and $20 notes. To make it even more special, they could have released a $25 note. As someone who collects series of old currencies, this idea would have been spectacular. Below are the comparisons of our old and new notes. My husband and I prefer the $50 note of the Bird series. We think it is due to a mix of few colours, making it look unique and eye-catching. :) 

$50 Singapore notes are ranked from oldest to newest (front view). From the top: Orchid series, Bird series, Ship series and SG50 series.

$50 Singapore notes are ranked from oldest to newest (front view). From the top: Orchid series, Bird series, Ship series and SG50 series.

$1 Singapore notes are ranked from oldest to newest (front view). From the top: Orchid series, Bird series and Ship series.

$5 Singapore notes are ranked from oldest to newest (front view). From the top: Bird series and Ship series.

$20 Singapore notes are ranked from oldest to newest (front view). From the top: Bird series and the limited edition note.

If you have any comments about the new SG50 notes or the old ones, please feel free to comment! :) Hope you all enjoyed reading this post. Have a great week ahead! 

Simple home remedy for cough and sore throat.

Hello Everybody! 

We're back with the next great home remedy!

This remedy was shared with me by my mother-in-law when I was having horrible cough and sore throat. She kept asking me to apply castor oil. Being very skeptical I didnt take her too seriously. Eventually she bought for me the castor oil and asked me to apply. She also told me that I will experience immediately relief which obviously I thought was an exaggeration!

Now you readers are going to think that I'm exaggerating! hahaha It was amazing how soothing it felt after applying the castor oil on my throat. No pain in the throat which was due to the heavy coughing and the coughing completely stopped! It was almost immediate! However, the effect lasted only about 2-3 hours maximum. So I had to apply the castor oil again when I started coughing.

 Pure Castor Oil also known as Minyak Jarak in Malay.

 
You do not have to buy this particular brand. As long as it is pure castor oil, it should work fine. It does not smell bad, in fact it doesn't really have any smell. You may feel annoyed that it is oily on your neck area, but you wouldn't be complaining if it gives you immediate relief from bad coughs and throat pain!

You can purchase castor oil from any Indian provision shops at Little India, such as Jothi Store and Flower shop at Campbell Lane.

For more health benefits of castor oil:

•  Times of India
•  WebMD

You may try it and share your experience with us! 

*Please note that the above is not medical advice. I'm merely sharing what had benefitted me. If you experience any adverse reactions, please stop immediately and seek medical advice.*