Pieces of Scookys

I shall start off this entry with a really simple emotive mathematical equation.

As some of you might already know (because I've been talking about it this quite a bit lately), I am involved in a joint venture with my closest friend to come up with a specialized creative services consultancy! Now this might all sound really cheem but it basically means I am now part of Scallop Inc.. We are a duo that's specially trained in the industries of graphic and apparel design and we provide creative solutions to special events, like weddings.

Yes, this is inspired by Daphnick's wedding, hehe. In fact, Daphne was the one who started us off last year by donating a domain for us! We're still working on piecing everything together for a proper, PROPER launch, but for now, here's our very first project for Valentines' Day.

Everyone, meet...

Mr Lam Ngan Gaeng,

Miss Fen Hong Mao and..

Little Miss Lovey Dovey!

Now, Mr Lam used to be Mr Simple, but one fine day as he walked into a Korean BBQ restaurant that was playing Lovey Dovey, he saw Miss Fen whispering the lucifer and his heart immediately went ring ding dong! He let out a hoot and was utterly mesmerized and due to a stroke of luck, Mr Lam managed to secure Miss Fen's number. That evening, he tried calling her but was unfortunately informed that he got the wrong number. He wished he could replay that fateful evening in his mind because he realised that love like oxygen is hard to find. Miss Fen really blew his mind away like a hurricane Venus, and ever since then he has had his eyes on her and her every action.

Mr Lam, Miss Fen and Little Miss Lovey Dovey are now available in the form of brightly coloured greeting cards, handmade and complete with goggly eyes, so you can let your loved ones know you've sent Mr Lam/Miss Fen/Little Miss Lovey Dovey to keep an eye on them!

They're printed on 250gsm Cyan, Magenta and Yellow artcards and have very movable eyes that come alive with a little shake.

These card versions of Mr Lam, Miss Feng and Little Miss Lovey Dovey are slightly smaller than A5 and are plain on the inside, with a little logo on the back. They come with a bright citrus green envelope, all ready for you to send you thoughts and kisses to that lucky recipient of your attention.

Each piece of Mr Lam, Miss Fen and Little Miss Lovey Dovey are only $4! To order, you may contact me by the usual methods (email, twitter or facebook). If you follow Scallop Inc. you'll get a chance to enter a lucky draw to win a card of your choice. There will be 2 winners and the draw will be held on the 8th of February so make sure you follow follow Scallop Inc. from today onwards! Share with your friends too and spread the goggly-eyed love.

And here's another little competition for you - If you can correctly name all the kpop songs in the short story above together with the artists that performed them, you get one card of your choice absolutely free! Please email your answers to contact@scallopinc.com by 8th February. Only email entries will be considered, please! The first person to get all the answers correct wins!

Alrighty now, I shall leave Mr Lam, Miss Fen and Little Miss Lovey Dovey to watch over you......... What is love, after all, if not attention?

<3

Helllooooo and a very good evening to you! I hope you're having a great Sunday so far. With this rain its perfect weather to take a nap or two. I spent the afternoon finishing up on some orders and *finally* started making the angpows for this year!

As you know, last year I handmade some Bunny angpows after a friend suggested the idea. At the end of the entire project I told myself I am not going to make them again this year because they were just so, so tedious. However, people who bought last year asked if I was making any this year because they/their family/the recipients loved it very much.. How could I say no to that?

So earlier today, I set about making the Little Dragon Buns red packets!

They are each cut from a large sheet of shimmery paper. Then snipped with scissors.. Folded and closed together with double-sided tape.. Before trimming the edge of the flap with scallop-edged scissors. To finish up, tape is added on the inside of the flap - for your convenience after you're done putting your blessing inside!

So this year, the angpows are available in 3 fresh, spring tones - Coral, Marigold and Peach! Each set comprises of 8 angpows in a mix of the 3 colours. And the back is plain except for the little Scook logo at the bottom.

Here're some closer looks at the design..

The same Chinese character 龙 is on the front, made up of the little dragon buns that you saw on the greeting cards. The oriental flower lattice border is an original design by yours truly too! They each measure 11cm x 9cm when the flap is closed. Palm sized, they fit into any little orange bag or purse you may be carrying, and whatever amount your blessing is, it can easily be folded into the angpow!

A set of 8 angpows cost $12. They are individually painstakingly handmade with good quality paper, featuring an original one-of-a-kind design! If you're interested to order, do reachscook@gmail.com, or tweet me up at @scookys. You may also comment on Scook's Facebook Page (:

<3

Good morning y'all! Lovely day so far with cornflower blue skies and a nice chilly breeze. I'm writing this on the road, my first real mobile entry! Ah technology is beautiful :D

Anyways just a short one to talk about my latest service offering. One of my newest fans happens to be what she'd call herself - a modern mother - and her son just started school this year. She was looking for customized (and I don't mean using a template online but changing the name and font) name stickers and asked if I could do some up for her.

Well yes, I can! So I did. Just wanted to put it out there that you can always ask if you'd like something to be done. If its within my ability I will make it happen!

So here we are, one-of-a-kind name stickers! These are printed on translucent sticker paper and are permanent. They cost $10 for the first print and $8 for every subsequent print. Each A4 sized piece comes with 32 stickers, but if you'd like I can adjust the size to whatever you'd prefer. They are hand-cut by yours truly, so any size is workable!

As usual, you can drop me a tweet/email/fb comment and I'll get back to as soon as I can.

Have a great day you guize!

<3

First of all I'd like to wish you, dear reader, a very happy new year! So quickly another year has gone by and Scook is already a year old. Thank you so much for all your support and interest this last 2011 and here's to an exciting and fulfilling 2012 for all of us!

As you all know, this year the Lunar New Year is a lot earlier than usual. As I type this we are only 20 days away from the first day of the Dragon year! Now the year of the Dragon is very special to me because some of my favourite people are born this time a few dozen years ago, but I shan't name who because you'll be able to gauge their ages.

Anyway, here's what Scook has to offer this Dragon year. If you've been a fan since one of my first projects, the Twin Bunnies greeting cards from last Lunar New Year, you'll be pleased to know I've kept some things the same but also updated the design so its more suitable for 2012. I mean, you can't be sending out bunnies in the year of the Dragon right?

But before I show you what this year's cards look like, I'd like to introduce you to a Chinese delicacy (one of my favourites too) - The 小笼包 (read: xiao long bao). It is a dumpling with piping hot soup inside its fragile skin, usually made with pork and was popularized in Singapore by the Taiwanese restaurant Din Tau Fung some years back.

To be honest, I can't explain my adoration for it. I mean its yummy and all that, but my love for it goes beyond the gastronomical properties. I translated the term into English directly from the Mandarin words and it literally means Little Dragon Bun. Although the Long character is different - 笼 means cage while 龙 means dragon - I've always thought "Little Dragon Bun" sounded really cute.

So for this year of the Dragon, instead of using a typical dragon motif I chose to use the Little Dragon Bun in my design. I wanted to do something very different from the usual ching-chong-ness of Chinese New Year (think red, gold and too much glitter) and go with a pretty pastel background punched up with bright, cheery colours.

Introducing the Little Dragon Bun greeting card!

The Chinese character Dragon / 龙 is actually made up of a lot of little dragon buns.. And they're all happy to see you! Now, don't mistake them for onions or garlic (even though a little bird told me this year the garlic plant is extremely popular at the florist [don't ask, I don't know why either!]) cos they're not. They were individually arranged so they would really look like the brush strokes of the Chinese calligraphy character. They're printed on shimmery platinum pink 200gsm paper, with the border cos it reminded me of green dragon scales. In the course of creating this card I kept thinking I must be mad to use such a gentle pink for Chinese New Year. When I bought the paper I challenged myself to do something different and yet make it relevant for the festivities. I thought this pink was really vintage and totally not something one would expect during CNY.

The text is shaped in the form of a Chinese seal, but I wanted it to be modern and happy so I updated the font and mixed in the cheery colours for Spring. It says 新年快乐 (Happy New Year) and 龙马精神 (To wish someone Good Health and Success), 2012. The cards are blank inside, with the Scook logo on the back. They measure 9.7cm x 13.7cm and are just slightly smaller than A5. Each card comes with a brown paper envelope (to enchance the vintage-ness of it all yo!) and costs $2 each. To order, simply drop me a tweet at @scookys or email me at reachscook@gmail.com. You can also contact me via Scook's Facebook page! Delivery by meetup or postage (usually around $0.50 - $1.00) is available, just let me know your preferred method when placing your order.

I'm really proud of this card because this is definitely something no one else is doing, a design so unique and so different. I set out to create something that isn't what one would typically expect for Lunar New Year and I feel I've achieved it. I hope you feel so too! :D

<3

On a lorong in Telok Kurau where this very fortunate kitteh calls home..

Is a very homely place tucked between pet shops and a famoose vet. Its a friendly diner called The Garden Slug and it happens to be one of my favourite places on this little island. They can has charming staff, yummy, original gastronomic creations and they've added a new "service" to their long resume of offerings - Retail Therapy!

From now til whenever the stocks get sold out, Scook's Yuletide Icons will be available on this unassuming Retail Therapy Shelf (read more about said shelf here). 

You can easily make your selection from the 6 designs organized between the prongs of the wooden dish-holder, or you can just pick up the already-folded cards blu-tacked on the edges of the shelf. Just remember to pay the good-looking cashier and take an envelope with you, the festive sticker is inside the envelope!

Did I also mention that The Garden Slug's annual Take Home Christmas Kit is back once again? On it they've got the essential turkey, premium sausages (the edible kind [oh wait]), trademarked WA-SU-GA (say it in Hokkien with some gusto, yo!) chicken wings and TIRAMISU. So if you're planning for a party and can't be bothered (or simple can't) to cook, how about giving the Kit a try? Place your order online here and save some trees while you're at it.. So remember, while you're paying for that delicious meal you just had at The Garden Slug, look over to your left and pick out an original design, handmade Christmas card to SNAIL MAIL to your loved one (as demonstrated here by a really good-looking hooman)! Limited stock available so don't hesistate yah, $2 only.

Ending it off with a shot of a familiar face. Yes, OH is home for the holidays and that's us on Sunday night settling our score with a round on the bumper cars at Uncle Ringo's.

<3

It all started out with a..... Not a kiss. But with a sketch.

A couple of months ago in July, I was given the opportunity to design my very first wedding dress, from scratch. My friend, Daphne was going to get married in November and we were just talking about customizing a dress on gchat and before I knew it I was sketching and whatsapping the above photo to her..

Well, what happened after that was a whirlwind of activity. We went through approvals, some minor changes, questions, franctic material shopping.. Even a sprained ankle and heart problems. But throughout the entire process I'm very grateful for one thing - Daphne never, ever doubted me.. And in times when she wasn't too sure, she always said this to me, "I trust you!". That means more to me than anything you could've done. I mean, this is someone's wedding, once in a lifetime moment.. And she tells me she trusts me. Wow.

Anyway, here's a very summarized version of my involvement in #daphnick, she and Nicholas' super awesome 20.11.2011, 1120 hours wedding at Rochester. I had the honour of making the bride's gown, bridesmaids' dresses and the (really last minute) veil.

Pardon the irregularity in the photos, most were taken on my iPhone on the move, some are from my camera and some are nicked off the official wedding album by Eng Hong of <a href="http://www.39eastimages.com">39 East Photography</a>.

The couple after we went shopping for materials together. We had to make quite a few trips because different things can only be found in different places.. It was pretty fun tho once, I made Daph wait 4 hours for me :x At the very, VERY first fitting! I was super excited because it was the first time seeing my design being realised. Daph was really quiet and then I got all insecure because I was worried she didn't like it.. Then I found out that it was because she realised that she is getting married, FOR REAL. After most of the bridal gown was settled, was the time to tackle the 5 bridesmaids' dresses. We wanted to keep in line with 60s theme, so I designed 3 options with a fit and flare silhouette for the bridesmaids to vote and comment. Of course, as all things involving girls go, it eventually went off tangent, hahaha. There were some challenges as 2 of the bridesmaids weren't in Singapore, but using modern technology and social media (Daph is a social media guru, after all), we exploited her baby sister as our model to guide how to take measurements. Picking out the materials for the bride was really easy, but the bridesmaids dresses were a bit more tricky. I didn't want a uniform fabric (that's really not my style) but something similar yet unique. In the end I settled on these cotton fabrics that Daph really loves too.. They are each of a different tiny geometric pattern and they were available in the colours of the wedding theme! This was at the second fitting, complete with bouquet! It was such a flurry because there were at least 12 adults and 1 baby in the room! Here is Daph sharing a moment with her sister, Serene, who was fitting her bridesmaids dress. At that point, we agreed to only reveal the back of the dress to keep people in suspense. This was one of the photos I posted and many people were asking to see the whole thing. A week after the 2nd fitting, the dress was ready for collection. If you scroll to the very first photo of the sketch, you can see there are details on the hemline. I went out to search for ribbons to stitch on and eventually we decided to use a white ribbon instead of a red as it could be overwhelming. Here be miles of ribbon, 32m, to be exact. In the end I used exactly 32m, amazed as my own estimation, I was. Thus began the mad sewing.. It was actually a really trying time for us both as Daphne just sprained her ankle and I had medical issues with my heart. We were planning to drop the ribbon hem idea because she didn't want to stress me out. But in the end, I felt it was my responsibility to deliver what was promised. I'm really glad I went through with it because after seeing the results, I was very satisfied! The ribbons had to be folded and pinned down before they could be hand stitched to the hem.. It took me a total of maybe 4 days (with 2 weekends cooped up at home) to complete the really wide hem! Random kitteh photo, JUST BECAUSE I CAN! HAH! My cat Yukio helped me out too, by sleeping soundly as I slaved ha ha haaaaaa. Anyway, back to regular programming. Here's one of the images I shared with the bride once I was finished. The full sweep of the hem was stitched with the ribbon in a special, origami outline pattern. While talking once again on gchat, I suddenly brought up the question on whether she had a veil. She didn't, we never really discussed it. So with 3 days before the wedding I ran out to get a giant ivory flower hairclip but I didn't have time to buy gauze.. Where did I get the gauze from, you question. In truth, I had to cut it off the can-can skirt of Daphne's down to sew it on. It was all really last-minute but I think looking back now, it really gives something to remember.

So here are some photos from the day itself..

Eng Hong taking photos of the bride in the dress <3 The super last-minute birdcage veil, flower clip stitched with gauze from the gown's skirt.. The full sweep of the dress spread out on the bed while waiting for the groom to arrive. One of my fav shots of the morning with Daphne's 3 sisters in their dresses. Ta-dah! My work of art (ha ha, I am so not shy), but here are all the bridesmaids in their pretty pastel coloured dresses with the bride. And the front of the dress. Yes, that's what y'all should be looking at (not that twacking).

At the end, I really felt a sense of achievement. Everyone was happy with the dress but most importantly, Daphne loved it. That was all that really mattered cos she's the one wearing it.

To my dearest Daphne, I'd like to say thank you very much, for giving me the chance to be involved so intimately with the most special day of your life. It was not without its downs, but the ups are definitely worth it. I'm also eternally grateful for you contributing to Scallop Inc.. I was really very touched that Friday morning when I received the email and after talking to you. I wish you and Nick happiness......... And that you stop sharing so much info with me! I don't need to know about your landlady anymore okay! (; Much love love!

If you're wondering what's Scallop Inc., its actually a collaboration between my friend Yu Xian and myself. She did the wedding invites and the poster for #daphnick. Scallop Inc. will be offering creative solutions to your wedding and other events. We look to provide graphic and apparel services that are fuss-free, 100% original and customized to your needs. We're still really new and working on putting the entire deal together, but please anticipate and support us when we launch before the year is over.

In the meantime, if you're planning to get married or know anyone who's looking for creative support for their wedding, connect with us on facebook, twitter or drop us an email at contactscallop@gmail.com. You can even ask us a question, any question, on formspring!

<3

Yep, those are actually the answers for the mini contest I mentioned in the previous entry, so congrats to Yu Xian for getting 2 of the 3 right first.. And although no one managed to guess holly, Christabel came the closest with mistletoe, so she wins the holly card for herself! You'll guys will be expecting mail very soon!

Thank you everyone for participating in this little shindig, some of you gave really funny answers but nothing beats The Garden Slug's #sibehnotshy answer of "Slug! Fish Nipples! and ........ MUSKLES!! ^_^", eyesmile included. Aiyoh so cheeky.

So here are the final 3 designs - stockings, holly and reindeers! This batch has big polka dots on the back instead of the stripes, so its something different!

Front and back view of the cards, they each measure 9cm x 9cm when folded and are printed on 250gsm shimmery champagne artcard. Here's the complete set of 6 designs of the Yuletide Icons Christmas Cards 2011 from Scook! Stripes - Christmas Tree (Pine Green), Candy Canes (Ruby Red), Present Box (Pine Green)

Dots - Stocking (Ruby Red), Holly (Pine Green), Reindeer (Ruby Red)

They are $2 each and comes with a white envelope and a festive sticker for you to seal it up!

To order, simply drop me a tweet at @scookys or email me at reachscook@gmail.com. You can also contact me via Scook's Facebook page! There is no minimum quantity and you can choose whatever design you want, however postage will be included accordingly (usually around $0.50 - $1.00).

Now is the best time to start placing your orders so you have ample time to send it out before Christmas actually arrives in.. Oh! 19 days! Stay tuned to Scook for another project coming up very soon!

<3

Hello and a ho ho hoooo! Once again, its the time of the year for love and cheer! Christmas is just around the corner (21 days away, in fact) and what better way to reach out to your beloveds than sending them a physical Christmas card!

Those who know me personally will know that I believe nothing beats receiving something tangible in your mailbox from someone you know/love/miss, especially in this day and age of technology when oldskool snail mail is long forgotten. Just think about it, the card was actually hand-written by this person, it travelled through the postage system to arrive in your hands! You can't touch email or sms or whatsapp messages, okay.

So here are 3 of the 6 Christmas cards from Scook this year..

I'm inspired by Yuletide icons like the Christmas tree, reindeer and tinsel balls. You know some things just YELL CHRISTMASSSSS the moment you see it, no matter what country you're in, or what language you speak. They're just so universal and I wanted to communicate that plainly across to people.

The cards are all designed and hand-produced by me. Repeated patterns on the front and bold, cheery stripes on the back, all on 250gsm shimmery champagne artcard. The first 3 designs (yes, there are 3 more coming up!) are of the Christmas tree, candy canes and present box. They measure 9cm x 9cm (palm-sized) and are blank inside.

Each card comes with a white envelope and a cute Christmas icon sticker! They are $2 each, and if you can guess any of the remaining 3 designs you'll get that one card (with envelope and sticker) free, so start guessing now, I have one of each to give away. Mini contest ends on Monday, 5th December at 2359 hours.

Spread some hand-written love this season!

<3

//EDITED

I forgot to mention how to order :x Anyway.. To order, just tweet me up at @scookys or email me at reachscook@gmail.com. You can also contact me via Scook's Facebook page!

I also forgot to include information on submissions of answers. You can tweet me once again at @scookys or write on Scook's facebook page, I'll be keeping a record of all entries in the order which I receive them!

Over last weekend was the great climax to the one big project that I was working on since August - DaphNick's wedding! Two of my favourite people on Twitter Nicholas and Daphne tied the knot on 20.11.2011 and I was involved cos I was making the dress and being a #daphnickslave but more on that in the next entry.

For now I must show off my huge angpow to the happy couple. I don't have a proper photo of it but here's the link to my mobile album of the entire shebang. Daph's holding the giant red angpow in the first photo and in the 2nd she's crying, hahaha.

I painted a watercolour sketch for them! Depicting their wedding day and ideal life with a dog and a cat :D So here are some features of the painting.. On the left flag is a wedding slug! Because The Garden Slug is such a significant part of the development in our friendship. On the right banner are the icons of Android, Twitter and Plurk, because those are what defines the couple! They met on Plurk (hey, who says online dating doesn't work?), I met them on Twitter and they are like THE. ANDROID. COUPLE. Who'relosingouttousApplekids,duh. 20112011, 11.20am with the hashtag #daphnick cos they is social media savy couple. Red roses, cos. Yah, I know the bride likes red... And roses. And a really confused cat. It was supposed to be an orangey Hello Kitty but then Daphne pointed out that I got the bow on the wrong side HAHAHAHA /FAIL.

Anyway, this was the first time I did a watercolour painting and I have to say it was therapeutic and fun. I'll be looking into doing more watercolour art in the future, if anyone's interested.

The monster blogpost on the dress (and the rest of the wedding) will be coming up tomorrow!

<3

This entry be write in cat language because it be of handsome cat.

Yesterday, I visit the legendary famoose Duke Orange at his office. His minion organise gathering with movie and pizza nomnom but I no can makes it. I still want experience Duke so I head over for a short hour of basking in Duke awesome glory.

He so awe-inspiring and soft and yummy, he left everyone in major wow. I posts more photos with captions on my twitter in a bit..