Believe

I finally managed to complete a piece I've been working on for weeks. It took me this long not because it's a complicated piece but ever since I took on a part-time job 3 months ago, I'm having trouble finding a balance between my part-time job, rest and Dollgift. I'd promised myself to draw something on my off days, but all I wanted to do after 3 long days at work, is nothing.. I became depressed because of this. As each week passes, my fear of picking up my 'pen' to draw again increases. I was so afraid I'd lost touch with my creative self. But still, no matter how hard it gets, I chose to keep my faith. And one line at a time, I completed this illustration. Coincidentally, this piece is about holding on to our faith - trust every process, even if it means slowing down or taking a break. :)

''Faith is not about everything turning out okay. Faith is about being okay no matter how things turn out.''~

Art print available here.

❤ Blessings, Charllotte

Updates and new product

Happy mid-week!

We have some super ADORABLE skirts in store (size ranges from XSS to XXL)!

Please visit our Redbubble store for more details and full product range, http://www.redbubble.com/people/dollgiftbyrheea/shop


Over the past week, I've been sharing little doodles on my Facebook page/Instagram and received feedback from some of my followers that they'd enjoyed them. Thanks for letting me know! It means alot to me to have your support. In fact, I created these little doodles to remind myself to be a little better each day. I hope they inspire you to do the same!

One of my favourite doodles say, 'Be silly'! Wouldn't it be great if we can incorporate some fun and laughters into our daily lives? Let your hair down, relax and be a little silly today. Let us spread some love and laughter~

Don't forget to follow my Facebook page or Instagram to see more cute doodles!

Today I was tagged in a photo by a friend who had customised a drawing for his daughter some time ago... I must say, I was really surprised, flattered and humbled by this sweet little girl. Thank you, Casey, you really made my day. :)

Screen Shot 2015-05-13 at 5.27.24 pm.png

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Quote of the week & Mini Nono

As we, the whole of Singapore mourn the loss of one of our nation's greatest heroes, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, let's not forget to celebrate his life and what he had done for us. I'm sure he has fulfilled his life's purpose, leaving a significant legacy. And I'm really proud of him. Enjoy your well deserved rest, 'grandpa'. You'll always be remembered.

Let this also serves as a reminder to us that nothing in life is permanent so treasure what we have at any given moment and do the best we can. We only have one life. Celebrate it - live, love, dream.

*Art print available on Etsy >> https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift

So, I bought some Jumping Clay (made in Korea) from Art Friend and had some fun making miniature Nono over the weekend. This clay is easy to play with as it is very soft and can be easily moulded into the desired shapes. What I also like about this clay is that, it doesn't stick or stain on your hands/desk like some clay would, yet it is 'gluey' enough to hold different parts together. For instance, I did not even need to use any glue or stick to keep the different parts in place. I did however had trouble removing them once I put them together; that was the downside about this clay. You need to be very accurate in where you intend to place the parts or you'll end up having to redo that area over again. Oh and I haven't tell you another brilliant thing about this wonderful clay - it doesn't require any baking; simply air dry it and ta-dahhh, you get your rubber-like miniature character. BUT, you pay for what you get, this clay is not that cheap.. a small pack of 50g clay cost me $4.70 (about US$3.40). I bought only black and white ones since I can easily knead the two colours together to get grey.

Time to assemble the parts!

First attempt! Does it look like a little penguin? :p

Well, I made a second one and he resembled a baby elephant.. Third try, he turned into Ratatouille. Ha. Finally I'm satisfied with the 4th attempt. He's looking more like my boy with longer body. Ohhhh I miss him so much. :( :( :(

Then Mini Nono meets Ponyo for the first time... Ponyo seemed a little wary. I guess they need some time to warm up to each other.

Mini Nono enjoying his day out and some Starbucks on Day 2.

Sharing a slice of Oreo cheese cake with me.

Want to know what's mini Nono up to next? Follow us on Instagram to find out! :D http://instagram.com/dollgiftbyrheea

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Let's Be Happy~

We can be happy when we make up our minds to be. Let's all be happy!~

What are some of your favourite quotes? Share them with me and I'll see what I can come out with in my next inspirational post. :)

*Art print available on Etsy >> https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift

If you're looking for unique invites for your wedding, engagement or save-the-date, I might have what you need! You may choose the designs from my existing portfolio or request to customise a new design exclusively for you. The best part is, there is no minimum quantity requirement; you can choose to print as few cards as you like.

More details can be found on my website under the Customisation tab or simply click on this link >> http://www.mydollgift.com/customised/#/custom-invitation-cards/ .

Feel free to get in touch if you have any question. Have a sweet day!

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Wedding Invites & Quote Of The Week

Lovely wedding invitation cards customised for a German couple! <3

‘We are all one-winged angels. Our task here on earth is to find another one-winged angel who will share his wing with us, to hold us. And together we can fly back to the most high.’

We can print as little as 10 cards. No minimum quantity is required. To customise yours, please get in touch. More details can be found here >> http://www.mydollgift.com/customised/#/custom-invitation-cards/

And here's the quote of the week:

That's right. When life knocks you down, you have two choices; you either get up or you roll over and look at the stars. :)

Art print available on Etsy, https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift

Have a wonderful week ahead~

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Hello 2015!

Happy New Year everyone!!! I hope you had a wonderful countdown.

No matter what resolutions you are setting for 2015, I hope you can add one more to your list: 

'Be an Angel to yourself'.

Please know that you are very loved! 

(Art print available on Etsy >> HERE.)

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Updates

HELLO!

It's FRIDAY once again!! Are you doing a happy dance behind your desk? Speaking of dance, you wouldn't want to miss Nono tap dancing in his sleep. Catch the adorable moves on our Facebook Page! He must have smelled Friday.

nono_dollgiftbyrheea.png

Before we proceed, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who went down to show us your support at MAAD last Friday. I hope you had fun and managed to bring home something you like. 

As some of you may know, I've been working on my greeting cards line lately. Getting into the greeting card business is my next plan for Dollgift. Though I've designed and produced two collections in the past (everyday and Christmas collection), those were illustrated for my very own line. With much research, I've learnt a great deal more about the real greeting card business out there.

The very first challenge for me is to create illustrations that consumers would want to buy. And I'm not talking about a handful of consumers.. Greeting cards companies have to make sure my illustrations would generate lots of sales for them in order to want to carry my works. Almost all the the articles I came across would recommend doing more colourful designs. With that said, I'm known to create illustrations with very little colours (usually as highlights), sometimes simply plain black and white. I love clean, minimalist style and have been very happy with this signature but I'm ready to step out of my comfort zone to explore more colourful works. I already have friends commenting that my drawings are looking happier with more colours now! :)

I decided that several pieces of my drawings were a little too dull for greeting cards and probably need some changes. Here are two pieces I re-worked on. 

 

 

Faith (before)

Faith (before)

Faith (after)

Faith (after)

 Fly Me To The Moon (before)

 Fly Me To The Moon (before)


 Fly Me To The Moon (after)

 Fly Me To The Moon (after)

Fly Me To The Moon (after)

Fly Me To The Moon (after)

Do you like the experiment so far? Let me know your thoughts! :)

By the way, these illustrations are available as art print on our Etsy store HERE. Remember to LIKE us on Facebook for more updates.  

Oh, and I got to mention our Pinterest. I've added a couple more boards for illustrations; categorizing them under different styles eg. dreamy, surreal, cute, fashion etc. You can easily find the style you like now, so go follow us there!

Have a FUNtastic weekend~~~ 

❤ Xoxo, Rheea (and Nono... zzz)

 

I Believe I Can Fly

My very first attempt at Adobe Illustrator and a tablet!

Since I'm so used to hand drawing and Photoshop, doing everything from scratch with a tablet, on a new software came as a big challenge. I nearly wanted to throw my computer out of the window a few times when I was working on this. Thankfully, I love my less than a year old Macbook too much to do anything silly.

Of course I'm still not very satisfied with the end result, but somehow I love the fact that I can now have the flexibility of changing the dimension of my drawing without compromising on the quality. Big YEAH!

I promise myself to practice hard on it (and promise to my Macbook that I'll never scare her again).

Artwork titled: I believe I can fly~ 

i believe i can fly
i believe i can fly

''Never give up.And most importantly, be true to yourself.Write from your heart, in your own voice about what you believe in.''  -Louise Brown

❤ Xoxo, Rheea.

Which Way To Go?

'“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?""That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.  "I don't much care where..." said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go,” said the Cat.'

- Alice in Wonderland.

Image

Is this what you want for your life; not caring where you're going, just like Alice?

If not, perhaps it's time to make some planning and changes. ;)

Have fun! And have a great weekend.~

❤ Xoxo, Rheea.

Letting Go

I'm sure at some point of your life, you meet dishonest people and you're taken advantage of. It makes you angry, and it question your faith not just in humanity, but also.. your self-worth.

As a freelance/ indie designer, this is nothing new to me. Many consignees do not pay up on time, or better still, some would try to avoid paying you at all. These people would come out with tons of excuses. Some impressive ones I came across include, 'Oh, we've already mailed out your cheque. Maybe we've sent it to the wrong address.', 'Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought I've already replied you.'.. And my all time favourite has to be, 'I'm having a depression...' (Right! I'm having a depression because of you too!) This particular woman is darn good at coming out with all the award winning reasons every month and they'd always be one that pulls on your emotional string. Check this out, 'I'm sick.', 'I'm in the hospital.', 'I'm still having my depression.', 'My dad just passed away.' (I swear I'm not lying). Thank God, she didn't tell me she's having menopause.

This went on for a year. Yes, she did pay me after months of pursuing, BUT more often than not, her cheque would be problematic. Finally one day, I came to my senses. I decided to pull out my works from her store and demanded for my outstanding payment. Not surprisingly, she used the tactic she knew best. When I would not take her shit no more, she told me, 'I have no money.' Suddenly everything became even clearer to me. She has been taking my kindness as a weakness all those while when I'd choose to give her the benefit of doubt. Things turned ugly when I threatened to go to the Small Claims Tribunal. Anyway, fast forward that horrible experience, I managed to get back my merchandise and money from that store (and many other stores).

Since those unpleasant experiences, I'd cut down on consignment partnership and direct my attention to copyright licensing. Recently, something similar happened. This art publishing wholesale company from US approached me to give them the right to use my artwork. After everything has been agreed; contract signed, artworks emailed to them, they slowly disappeared. Few weeks ago, this guy told me he was busy at some trade show and promised to get in touch when he returned the following week. But you guessed it, he disappeared when I emailed him again weeks later. Well.. It has been a year since I worked with them AND I HAVE NOT RECEIVED A SINGLE CENT. I can't understand why people would do such a thing. Does it makes them happy to know they'd successfully make another fool believe in them?

I get upset with people who hurt me and violate my trust, but try as I might, I can never bring myself to hate them. You can call me naive or stupid (I guess I'm both. Sigh). I may hate the thing someone did to me but I can never hate them as a person. I always believe everyone has a kind nature and I choose to see the good in them. Sadly, the society may have turned them into someone 'unlikeable', but the soul always remain pure and kind.

Sometimes we just have to let go of the thing doesn't make us happy to make space for the thing that does. Be thankful for the experience and what we've learned from it, then move on.

What have you been holding on to? It's time to let go.

Afterall, we deserve to be happy. :)

❤ Xoxo, Rheea.

Hello, September. Hello, new blog!

HELLOooo.. Welcome to my new blog!!!

I'm so excited about my new blog! Not only is Wordpress much easier to work with, it has a prettier typeface too! I hope this will motivate me to update more often. :p

Well, the weekend is here once again! What are you guys up to? I'm typing this post at a Starbucks, sipping my favourite green tea latte... With a breathtaking scenery outside and  a cute boy sitting right next to me, what more can I ask for.. sigh ;)

There's a song I'd really like to share with you. It's my latest favorite by Jason Mraz called, 'Living in the moment'. Simply love the lyrics and catchy tune! What a great reminder for us to be present and enjoy each moment everyday.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/ZoG-r34LokE]

Have a fabulous weekend!

❤ Xoxo, Rheea.