7000 Bracelets Blog Hop

I seem to be signing up for blog hops a lot lately. This one is for a good cause. Organized by Sue Kennedy of Sue Beads, it's for the 7000 Bracelets for Hope campaign - a bracelet program for people or families who suffer from rare genetic diseases. You can read more about the program here. 

I was hoping to make a couple of bracelets but in the end, completed just one. 

 

I used dyed quartz rondelles that I've had for ages, a stamped metal blank and some Czech glass. I couldn't resist adding a pop of colour with the red flower beads. I hope whoever gets it will like what I made. 

I've listed the other participants of the Blog Hop below, but in case the links don't work (I'm having issues with my computer, which is also why this post is a day late), you can find them on Sue's blog. She also has information on how to donate bracelets if you're interested. 

SueBeads

Jewel School Friends

Silver Rose Designs

Klassy Joolz

A Half-Baked Notion

Songbeads

My Addictions...

Beads:  Rolling Downhill

Copper Diem

R. Baron Designs

Mirandack

Melissa Meman

Hippie Chick Design

KristiBasket - It's a New Day

A Polymer Penchant

First Impression Design

lajewelrydesigns

Becca's Place

Dreamstruck Designs

Whimsey's Wonders

Micheladas Musings

Shirley Moore

Fabric of My Life

Creative Designs by Cheri

Shaktipaj Designs

Terra Beadworks

Silver NikNats

Diane Hawkey

Carefree Jewelry By Lisa

Alankarshilpa

CianciBlue

Many thanks to Sue for coming up with this meaningful Blog Hop, and for letting me play!

A Special Blog Hop

It's probably not the brightest idea I've had - seeing as I'll be super busy in the next couple of months - but I've signed up for Lori Anderson's Memories and Thanks Blog Hop. I'm hoping to also play in her annual BSBP in March 2013 but I just couldn't pass up the chance to join this special Blog Hop. There's an amazingly moving story behind it and I encourage you to go here to read about it.

Back...with rings

Real life has been a little crazy lately, which accounts for the blog silence. I haven't been entirely unproductive however. Two weeks ago, I made a couple of rings using materials I had lying about. 

Plastic bag from Victoria & Albert Museum in London (isn't it pretty?)

+ glass domes + adjustable filigree ring blanks + glue / resin =

I think the rings are just about the darlingest things I've ever made. They've already found new homes, but I hope to make more and list them in my sadly-neglected Etsy store. They'd make wonderful and inexpensive holiday gifts. 

Lesson of the day: plastic bags are more useful than you'd think. Especially the pretty ones. 

My holiday beads post

I love going on holiday. Especially to some far away place. Apart from being a nice break from work and everyday life, holidays abroad mean that I get to shop for beads that I wouldn't normally be able to find here in Singapore. Of course there's always online bead shopping (which I periodically indulge in), but shipping costs can be dear.

This holiday, I discovered - and exercised - my normally absent self-control and didn't buy every bead in sight. So the resulting loot turned out pretty small, but I love every single piece I carted home.

My Paris beads. 

Top pic: vintage glass and lucite (acrylic? plastic?) beads. 

Note to self - next time, buy more. 

Bottom pic: Enamelled metal flowers, glass drops and acrylic nuggets. The purple glass beads on the left are from the UK and shouldn't be in the pic. They snuck into the picture when my back was turned. 

Beads from jolly ol' England - well, London to be specific. Still can't believe I only bought what you see up there. Oh, and a pair of froggy charms. Those charms have since been turned into earrings for a friend (see below).

Oh and I went a little crazy buying buttons. They were too pretty to say 'no' to.

I've never included buttons in my jewellery before and I have no clue as to how I'm going to use them. So you'll have to give me some ideas k?

Back. Finally.

Actually, I got back last week. I'm still readjusting to life at home, and to be honest, there are days I wish I were still on holiday. I had a grand time in Paris and London - and yes, I managed to squeeze in some bead-buying. I'll leave my beads post to later, but for now, I wanted to share some highlights of my trip. 

Highlight No. 1:

Vintage beads (ca. 1960s) at Les Puces de Saint-Ouen in Paris. Some other bloggers have mentioned this famous flea/vintage market and the great finds you can unearth here (beads! buttons! ribbons!). The store is an absolute treasure trove of vintage beads and findings and should definitely be on your list of places to shop at if you ever visit Paris. If you can, set aside an hour or two (or more) to trawl through the stacks of bead boxes. I definitely do not recommend going when you have just got off the plane and are clearly woozy from jetlag - which was the case with me. If I had been more rested, I would probably have bought more than the 16 euros worth of beads I came home with. Which - on second thought - might have been a blessing in disguise. Who knows how much I might have spent if I'd been my normal self :-)? I should also warn you that the place is mighty dusty, so don't breathe in too hard.  According to the elderly lady who owns the store (my French-speaking friend struck up a conversation with her while I was sorting through what I wanted), most of her customers are either Americans or Japanese. And she said the Americans usually buy huge quantities. Which made me wonder, is this where all the online vintage bead stores get their stock? 

Highlight No. 2:

Visiting the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club. I watch football - or soccer as some of you may know it - and have been a supporter of The Arsenal for more years than some of my co-workers have been alive. This is their brand new spanking home and it is amazing. In the face of disappointments and upheavals the club has faced in recent years - and it has faced many - it was good to be reminded of the club/team's rich history and also, that 'class is permanent', even if success may not be. However much I, and my fellow long-suffering supporters, may wish it were.

Highlight No. 3:

Freaking butterbeer guys!! Need I say more? There are only 2 places in the world you can drink this. Florida, USA and Watford, UK at the Warner Bros Studio Tour London. The drink is divine, and tastes like a root beer float with a touch of cream soda. Not as sweet as you think it might be. The only downside was having to drink this outside on a cold, grey, rainy day. The cold made me forget my plans of refilling my cup and pouring the drink into a thermos so I could savour it later. Wish JK Rowling would just give in and let some soda company manufacture and sell this drink worldwide. She'd be the richest person on the planet (if she isn't already). 

Is it sad that the highlight of my holiday would be beads, football and butterbeer? You'd think I'd have said visiting Monet's home in Giverny- which I did - or seeing Vincent Van Gogh's grave - which I also did. Huh. Who knew?

Taking a break

I've been MIA for the past few weeks. And I apologise. My creative juices have run dry and I haven't felt like blogging. I have unfinished projects lying about and I'm still making my way through the 3rd reveal of the BSBP.

The silence will likely continue as I'll also be going on a much needed holiday for 3 weeks. First to the City of Lights where I hope to make it to the Les Puces market where I hear vintage beads and buttons abound. I'll post pics if I'm successful in tracking them down.

And then, I'm hopping over to:

Yup, Jolly Ol' England where I hear it's been raining a fair bit. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather clears up because I want to do some bead shopping if I can. And to visit a haberdashery (does anyone still use that term anymore?) shop.

I hope to return in a better creative mood, and with bags of beads and buttons. I promise to post pics and also - possibly - to have a giveaway again. Till then, take care and keep well everyone!

Thank you & BSBP 3rd Reveal

I'd like to thank everyone who came by and read my Bead Soup Blog Party post. A massive thank-you also goes out to the lovely people who took the time to leave a comment. I read every one and did my best to either reply, or post a comment on your blog. If I've inadvertently missed you out, I'm so very sorry. I'll do better next time. But please know that I appreciate each and every comment I received. 

In other news, today is the 3rd, and final, reveal date of Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Party. I highly recommend that you visit each participant's blog to ogle the pretties they've made with their respective bead soups. You won't regret it, I promise! Head to Lori's site here to see her reveal pieces - superwoman that she is, she participated in all 3 reveal dates - before hopping over to the other blogs. Have fun!

Yay! Soup's on!

Hello and welcome to the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party from sunny Singapore!  Before I go any further, I'd like to thank Lori Anderson for putting this massive party together. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and better and better.

This is my second time playing in the BSBP and my partner for this round is Carmen Lau of Little Maketto. Carmen lives just north of the border in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which is about a 5-hour drive from Singapore. If you recall, she sent me a huge helping of bead soup. 

One that terrified me, and made me face up to my fear of - gulp! - pastels. Her soup was a genuine challenge and it alternately frustrated and inspired me. My biggest struggle was what to do with the focal, and the baby blue and pink crystal rondelles. 

Eventually, I made the following pieces. Yes, I made several - the challenge I set myself was to use as many of Carmen's beads as possible.

You wouldn't believe the number of times I made and re-made this necklace. Or maybe you would. My biggest headache was how to attach the oval focal to the chain. 

My next task was to overcome my deathly fear of pastels. I knew I wanted to use the blue and pink rondelles in a bracelet, but I didn't want to just string them. I finally made a connector out of air-dry clay, paper and resin. And I made it pink. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? In a stroke of luck, I also had some blue chain in my stash that matched the colour scheme perfectly. 

Up next were some simple earrings.

I thought I was done by then. But Carmen also sent some champagne-coloured teardrop crystals and tiny red glass drops that just begged to be paired up. 

I'm not entirely happy with the necklace, but at least it's a different style from my usual. Finally, I used up the bulk of the remaining beads in making a ring, and a bag charm/zipper pull. 

There are still a few assorted beads left (including two beautiful silver filigree hearts that I am so hoarding) but I think I did pretty well in attempting to use most of Carmen's beads. 

So, that's it from me. Thank you so much for visiting and reading till the end. My thanks also to Carmen for sending me such a generous soup that stretched both my skills and creativity. 

Now, if you aren't too exhausted, let's grab a drink (or two..or ten) and go blog hopping!

Hostess, Lori Anderson, Pretty Things

Adlinah Kamsir, Dream Struck Designs (you are here)

Adrienn Lukacs, Raszputyin Designs

Agata Grygiel, Cytherea Bijoux 

Alenka Obid, Pepita Handmade 

Amy Dickerson, Damyjo Designs 

Amy Schmidt, Amy's Treasure 

Amy Severino, Amy Beads 

Ana Krepel, Cat's Pajamas, Dog's Tuxedos

Andra Weber, Andra's Joyful Journey

Andrea Trank, Heaven Lane Creations

Anke Humpert, Anart Island Studios

Ann Rishell, My Critical Eye

April Grinaway, Brooklyn Bead Goddess 

Ashley Bunting, Miss Ashely Kate 

Astrid Boyce, Astrid Boyce Beads 

B.R. Kuhlman, Mixed Mayhem Studios 

Barb Fernald, Barbara S. Fernald Jewelry 

Barbe Saint John, Saints and Sinners

Beata Benkone Meggyesi, Beahobbi

Brandy McNair, Bella Vita Handmade Jewelry 

 Bryna Lumb, Bryna's Bead Box

Carmen Lau, Little Maketto

Cate van Alphen, Fulgorine

Cathie Carroll, Cathie Carroll's Studio

Cathy Khoury, Touch Jewelry 

Christina Stofmeel, Feng Beads 

 Collette Collins, Fire Fly Myst Artisan Jewelry

Courtney Breul, Beads by Breul 

Crystal Thain, Here Bead Dragons

Cynthia Abner, Created Treasures

Deana Hager, Just Deez'Art & Life

Debbie Davis, Natural Treasures by Deb

Debbie Phenes, Deb Joy Sing

Debbie Rasmussen, A Little of This, A Little of That

Dhea Powers, Java Bead

Diana Welte, Lilyweeds

Dita Basu, alankarshilpa

Dorota Zeranska, gdymamczas 

Dot Lewallwn, Speedie Beadie

Eleanor Snare, The Magic Square Foundation

Elisabeth Auld, Beads For Busy Gals

Ema Kilroy, Ema K Designs

Emma Todd, A Polymer Penchant

Eva Sherman, Eva Sherman Designs

Evie and Beth McCord, EB Bead and Metal Works

Francy Inman, Francy's Studio

Ginger Bishop, lilmummy likes...

Giorgia Rossini, Jo in Wonderland

Ine Vande Cappelle, Jewels by Ine 

Iveth Caruso, Creative Atelier 

JJ Jacobs, Coming Abstractions

Jackie Ryan, Kydo Jewellery

Jeannie Dukic, Jeannie's Blog

Jelveh Jaferian, Jelveh Designs

Jenna Tomalka, Twin Birch Studio

Jenni Connolly, Jenni's Beads

Jennifer Van Horn, Jennifers Jewels and Junk

Jo-Ann Woolverton, It's a Beadiful Creation

Johanna Rhodes-Nash, Fire Phoenix Creations 

 Joyce Blair, Bent Wire West Coast

JuLee Wolfe, The Polymer Penguin

Karen Vincent, Swallow Tail Jewellery

Karin Slaton, Backstory Beads

Kayla Potega, The Eclectic Element 

Kim Dworak, CianciBlue

Krafty Max, Krafty Max Originals

Kris Lanae Binsfeld, Cherish Designs by Kris Lanae

Kristen Latimer, MJM Jewelry Designs

Kumi Fisher, Malie Kai Designs

Kym Hunter, Kym Hunter Designs

Lennis Carrier, Windbent

Leslie Wayment, AA Beads & More

Linda Florian, Lilys of the Valley Jewelry Creations

Linda Murphy, Bonita Bead

Lisa Johnson, Whimsey Wonders

Lisa Lodge, Pine Ridge Treasures

Lisa Sittniewski, Love, Yesterdays

Lois Moon, Que Onda, Q'Town?

Lola Surwillo, Bead Lola Bead

Lorelei Eurto, Lorelei's Blog

Lori Bowring Michaud, Artfully Ornamental

Lori Callahan, Dancing Wire and Beads by Lori

Lori Finney, Using My Beads

Marcia Dunne, The Alternative Foundry

Margareta Saari, Mags-koruja

Maria Horvath, Horimarika Beads

Marian Hertzog, M's Place

 Mary Ellen Parker, BeeTree by m.e.

Mary K McGraw, MK's Creative Musings

MaryLou Holvenstot, time2cre8 

Martha Aleo, Ornamento

 Maybeline Tay, The Jewelry Larder

Megan Collins, Churchy & Her Sailor

Melissa Meman, Art. Life. Love.

Melissa Mesara, One-Eared Pig Beads

Melissa Muir, Kelsi's Closet Jewelbox

Paige Maxim, Paige Maxim Designs

Pam DeBoer, Purple Notes from the Studio

Pam Farren, re-maker

Pam Hurst, Pam Hurst Designs

Patricia Handschuh, The Color of Dreams

Patty Miller, CabariBeads

Penney Klapoth, Faerie Acres

Regina Santerre, Regina's Writings

Rhea Freitag, starrgazer creates

Rochelle Brisson, A Creative Chelle

Sabine Dittrich, PerlenDschungel

Sandra McGriff, Creative Chaos

Sandra Neights, Petalo Azul

Sandra Young, It's a Bead Life!

Sara Oehler, SoftFlex Girl

Saturday Sequins, Saturday Sequins

Shanti Johnson, Sunshine Bliss

Shari Replogle, Plays With Paper

Sonya Stille, Dreamin' of Beads

Stefanie Teufel, Stefanies Sammelsurium

Tammie Everly, TTE Designs

Tania Spivey, Moobie Grace Designs

Tanya Wiles, Tenebrous Hollow Studio

Therese Frank, Therese's Treasures

Tina Holden, Polymer Clay Bytes!

Toltec Jewels, Jewel School Friends 

Tracey Nanstad, A Beadiful Mess

Tracy Choy, BumbleBeads Designs

Valerie Norton, Hot Art

And the winner.....

....of my first ever giveaway is....drum roll please......Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures! Congratulations Lisa! I'll be in touch soon for your mailing address. I hope you enjoy the bead soup.  

PS. In the interests of transparency, please know that the winner was picked via the time-honoured, fool-proof method of picking names out of a bowl. Yes, I'm sophisticated like that :-). 

Bead Soup updates, new work and a giveaway

Warning...long post ahead. But do read till the end - you'll be greatly rewarded (i.e. there's a giveaway).

If I've been strangely silent these past weeks, it's because I've been in a tizzy figuring out what exactly to do with the bead soup I received from my partner, Carmen of Little Maketto. All those baby blue and pink beads have me seriously terrified, and the last thing I wanted to do was to blog. 

But I had a breakthrough yesterday, and finally created something that didn't look like it needed to be binned. I hope you'll come back on August 11 to see what I made. 

Btw, have you visited the BSBP participants who revealed their pieces on Jul 28? If you haven't, I suggest you do so by going here. I'm still making my way through the list but I can assure you that you'll be drooling over the stunning pieces everyone created. 

Now, despite my recent silence, I haven't been entirely up to nothing. Hair-pulling and teeth gnashing apart, I've been playing with resin. Again. A good friend in the US sent me some Jewelry Resin a while back and I finally took it out to play yesterday. I'm used to ICE Resin so the product wasn't entirely unfamiliar. It did need an extra step to prep it though, but the results were pretty good.

This pendant was a huge disappointment. You can see resin seepage at the top. I used 3 layers of Mod Podge to seal it but I guess I wasn't as careful as I'd thought. The little cloudy bit up top is also where I sanded away a tiny bit of fluff that settled during the curing process. I'll be brushing on a layer of resin to cover it up later. I hear that works. 

Now this is my Christmas in August pendant :-). My first attempt at including glitter in my resin experiments - boy, does it get everywhere! The glittery brads remind me of Christmas ornaments so I'm calling it my Deck the Halls pendant. I might list it in my Etsy store. What do you think...should I? 

Ah...this ring. I had a smidgen of resin left and didn't want to waste it. Desperation led to squished up paper and leftover rhinestones haphazardly stuffed into a ring blank. Not a complete eyesore. Surprisingly. 

And finally, to wrap up this (very) long post, I'm pleased to announce my very first giveaway. It was only after I posted my previous blog entry that I realised it had been my 100th post. An accomplishment for someone who often begins something, but doesn't necessarily complete it. Unless it's a book. So to celebrate this milestone, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who's come by, read my posts, left a comment etc by giving away the bead soup below. 

It's rather a mixed-up bead soup - by which I mean, I chose beads that had meaning for me and which I thought were pretty and not because they coordinated with each other - but I hope you'll like it. From top left, going clockwise: resin pendant (my handiwork), wooden squares (could be faux wood; I got them from Japan), small glass discs (also from Japan, they reminded me of candy), amethyst (my birthstone and if you believe in crystals, it guards against guilty and fearful feelings), vintage faux pearl clasp, brown/amber lampwork glass (again, from Japan), rhodonite (just cos it's pretty, and also raises self-worth and wards off negativity), dark blue lampwork w/silver foil, vintage orange  beads, and blue lampwork bead (from Japan too). 

The giveaway is open to anyone and everyone. Just leave a comment and I'll pick a random winner on Aug 9. 

New experiments - updates

Remember my previous post about my air-dry clay and candy mold experiments? This pic?

I spent a Sunday afternoon painting the little critters, rubbing on some gilders paste and sealing them. Basically seeing what would work and what wouldn't. Only 3 turned out passably well. I was aiming for 'stunning' but they came out more 'weatherbeaten' than anything else. 

One turned out frankly hideous and will not be photographed - ever. Another is pretty dodgy - I added a layer of Diamond Glaze on top thinking it might improve matters. It didn't. You're not getting a pic of that either. And the last one I quite liked, but then I dropped it and its little paisley tip broke off.....

I'm going to keep on experimenting with the clay and molds. Hopefully, I'll have nicer stuff to show the next time.

Bead soup has landed......in Malaysia!

Yes, my bead soup package has reached my partner Carmen in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Carmen will be blogging about the beads I sent on her blog Little Maketto this weekend, so be sure to check out what she says about them.

But in the meantime, here are some pics of the beads I chose for her. Carmen shared that she has difficulty using pink beads in her designs so of course, I couldn't pass that up. My bead soup to her has lots of pink!

Here's a closer look:

Btw, that resin pendant was one of the very first I made when I started experimenting with resin. It turned out pretty well - no bubbles! no smudges! - and since it's pink, I thought I would add it to the soup just for fun. The real focal of course is that beautiful lampwork glass bead by Susan Farley. I can't wait to see what Carmen does with all that pink! Tune in to both our blogs on Aug 11 when we'll reveal our pieces.

Amazing giveaway by Lori of Pretty Things

The fabulous Ms Lori Anderson - yes, she of Bead Soup Blog Party fame - is having a fantastic giveaway. Actually, she's having FIVE giveaways. How's that for generosity?

You can go here to see what you stand to win. But hurry, you'll have to comment on her blog and on yours by 13 July (today!) to have a shot at the giveaway. Good luck!

Bead Soup's here....Part 2

As promised, here are pics of my bead soup from Carmen. Earlier than expected. Yay!

The beads in their neatly packaged little bags. And a pretty little note card with a glitzy car charm attached (you'll see it up close later). Clearly, Carmen has a very good relationship with all things neat and tidy. She's nice and thoughtful too - see pretty notecard + sachet of sweeties (pic in yesterday's post). 

The beads after I broke them out of their plastic homes and got my dirty little paws on them. Carmen sent me a ton of ingredients. 

The focal:

Which is grey/silver with blobs of blue, pink and maroon-brown. All colours I never work with. And which also has no bead hole (ie. it's a donut). Help!

The clasps; Carmen sent me two - a toggle as well as a box clasp:

Kind, generous person that she is, she also sent bead caps, some butterfly spacer beads, 3 charms, 2 leaf connector components, a length of cable chain and two beautiful heart beads that I am sorely tempted to hoard for myself and not use in my reveal pieces. 

The coordinating beads:

Carmen really mixed things up when it came to materials. Here you have dyed shell teardrop beads, cherry quartz squares and freshwater pearls. And if that weren't enough, she also sent some faux pearls, Korean and Chinese crystals, wonder beads and Czech pressed glass. 

Finally, here's a closeup of that cute car charm she added to her note.

Phew! What a load of pics! Massive thanks to Carmen for sending me such a generous and challenging bead soup. I foresee a fun (but possibly painful) old time ahead of me as I try to figure out what to create from her varied ingredients. Those of you playing in the BSBP, I hope you get your bead soups soon - if you haven't already. Happy creating!

Bead soup's here!

Yes! My bead soup package from Carmen, my BSBP partner, arrived safe and sound this afternoon. As you can see, apart from the beads - no, she didn't send Swarovskis; Carmen's eco-conscious and uses recycled packaging, which I think is fantastic - she sent me.....candy!

A whole sachet of marshmallows and sour gummies that turn out nice and sweet after the initial face-grimacing sourness. Thanks Carmen! The candy will come in handy when I try to figure out what to do with your bead soup. Sweets always help me to think :-).

From the pic above, you can see that Carmen has been most generous with her bead soup. The 2 bags were stuffed full of beads and charms and other good things. I love the little card she sent, along with the tiny sparkly charm that was attached to it. And I have to say I was most impressed by the neatness of her penmanship. I just hope she's able to read what I wrote on her package; my handwriting is admittedly atrocious. I knew I should have been neater. 


As for the actual beads themselves, well, you'll have to wait. I want to photograph them in natural light to do them justice. Which means you'll get to see them tomorrow at the earliest - or more probably, at the weekend when I'll have more time to take pics. So check back soon to see what Carmen sent me!

Signed, sealed, delivered

Well, more like sealed and mailed. Yup, I finally sent off my bead soup package to my BSBP partner. Phew! I was a couple of days late, but I got it done in the end. 


I'm hoping the package will reach my partner, Carmen Lau, in a few days, since she lives just 5 hours or so away up north in Malaysia. You can find Carmen at her blog/blogshop Little Maketto where she sells the cutest girly accessories. 


Carmen shared that she usually works with ready-made chain, metal charms and simple wirework. Hey, kinda like me! She also said that she usually gravitates towards colours like white, black, blue and red. So I took all that into consideration and spent a happy weekend putting together a bead soup that would (hopefully) challenge her.


I hope she likes the choices I made. Below is a teaser pic of what I eventually sent her. 

New experiments

Paisley-shaped pendants made from air-dry clay using a candy mold. And one little hand-shaped polka-dotted heart. I had to pry the pendants out of the mold so they're all a little wonky at the top near the hole. I have to figure out a way to get them out of the mold without denting/tearing up the clay. If I let them dry in the mold, would they pop out easier? I know they shrink a little when they cure but I have nightmares of them being bonded to the mold. That happened to the resin I poured into a few of the molds. I didn't think I'd need to use mold release and happily poured resin into 5 of the little paisley molds only to find out a day later that the resin was now part of the mold. Sigh...

New necklace

I made this some months ago but never got around to posting a photo of it. I love the Jade Scott focal. It's so pretty that I kept everything simple and minimal. Which if you've noticed, is what I usually do. I don't know if this means I'm lazy - which I am - or if I'm just a sucker for uncluttered designs  - which I also am - or more likely, if I'm overwhelmed and paralysed by too many choices so I go for the easy one. 

Whatever. It's still pretty though.