Eyes, Nose, Lips & Perler Beads

Hello everyone! It's been a crazy couple of weeks with work and crochet deadlines that I've barely had time to write anything. But now I'm at work, the old people are all asleep (I work at a retirement home) and I'm ready to show you all my perler beads. Now I'm sure most of you have no idea what I'm talking about. Perler beads are these small cylinder beads that can be melted together to create just about anything you want. Some may remember making them as children, but trust me it has come a long way since then. Now, young adults and adults alike create giant pieces of art that are so insane it's hard to believe it's hand made.

(credit goes to their creators I did not make any of these.)

As you can see Perler bead art can range from cute and small to large and incredible!

Although I am not as experienced as those artists, I work hard to create what I can, mainly chibi pixel art, animals, cartoon characters, and kpop related art.
my most current perler art:

Sehun From EXO

Rap Monster from BTS

Zelo from B.A.P.

G Dragon from Big Bang

Ravi from VIXX

Current project I'm working on it is going to be the HER logo from Block B's song HER

Shinee logo

Chibi Wolf Kai from EXO

My craft desk while in the process of making Chibi Kai

Un  Penguino para Areli

Although most of my perler patterns I did not make, simply tweaked to fit what I needed, I found it super convenient to use an Embroidery/Cross Stitch pattern creator to make perfect patterns for perler art. Embroydery(cross stitch) art patterns are normally pixelized and shown on a grid with little squares showing you what colors come next, and what it should look like in the end. Of course with anything pixelized, it can also make the final piece of art a lot bigger than intended.

The website I used to make patterns is called pic2pat.com . All you need is a picture (plus fiddling with the measurements until it looks right). It's really easy to sue and helps you on your way to creating something incredible.

Perler beads normally come in individual color packs (1000 count) or in a large tub mixed randomly. I prefer the individual packs because it is quick and easy to move them into my perler storage unit.

Before this baby, I had been "living on the edge" keeping my beads in open bags. Of course this was not the brightest idea especially after dropping the bags and getting beads everywhere. (You wouldn't believe how many beads I still step on to this day) I got the unit at Menards for $19, which may seem a little pricey but it was worth it.

~Tips & Tricks to Perler~

(1)  Always use parchment paper instead of wax paper when melting your beads. If you use wax paper, it will just melt the wax paper to the beads and leave big white marks on your finished project. It's also a huge pain in the butt to get off of the beads in the end.

(2) Sometimes your beads will shift. I recommend a toothpick or tweezers to adjust them. If you try to use your fingers, you could knock into your art and destroy it all.

(3) Always work on a flat surface and a low traffic area like your personal table or desk that nobody else uses. The last thing you want is your mom, brother, sister, aunt somebody coming by, bumping the table and the beads all scatter. It's not pretty.

If you have any questions just comment and I'll get back to you A.S.A.P

Alright now it is time for the Korean word of the week.

This week it was difficult picking just what work I should use, and after playing with a few words, I realized that it would be good to go over the Korean alphabet. So my next post will be all about the alphabet. But until then let's learn a set of  three easy words.

눈,코,입

(1) 눈
Romanization: nun
Pronunciation: n-uh-n
Translation: eyes

(2) 코
Romanization: ko
Pronunciation: go
Translation: nose

(3) 입
Romanization: im/ip
Pronunciation: like him without the H, but can also sound like hip without the H
(ill get to that in the next post)
Translation: lips

To show you an example of these three words is easier than it may look. I will have to give props to Taeyang of Big Bang for making my job so much easier with this song eyes nose lips.

Now if you like this song, there are many other YG (a korean music company) covers of the song done by AKMU, Tablo (an english version ft taeyang), and Lydia Paek (also an english cover).

Well thank you for reading! Any questions just comment below and until next time
안녕히가세요 (annyonghigaseyo) or go in peace ^_^

My Conch Piercing & Kpop Word of the Week!

Hey Everyone! Or should I say 안녕하세요( annyeonghaseyo )! So I'm Meg and this is my first blog post YAY! *throws confetti*

I am super excited to talk to everyone about my brand new inner conch piercing! For those of you who don't know, the conch is that inner grove of your ear that has super thick cartilage. 

Now, I currently have my lobe pierced twice on each ear, my cartilage (outer conch) on my right ear, and now my inner conch on my left ear. 

When I was deciding what kind of piercing I should get, my friend Areli told me about the conch piercing. Not knowing what that was, I immediately looked it up to find some really cool pictures.

When I told my family about it, they cringed at the idea, but hell, if I could go through reconstructive knee surgery, I could get my conch pierced. After realizing I couldn't get this done just anywhere, I turned to the only tattoo parlor I knew of: The Jade Dragon in Chicago.

When I called to check their prices, I was a bit shocked at the prices, but I didn't want to take my chances with any tattoo parlor and risk an unclean environment. The prices for a single conch piercing was this:

$60 for the piercing

$?? for the jewely.

Walking in to the Jade Dragon, exactly a week ago, with a wallet full of birthday money (July 21st I turned 22 whoop), I hoped it would be enough. I ended up paying a total of $86 including a tip for my piercer. I had gone in the middle of the day to avoid the crowds ( because who wants to have an anxiety attack in the middle of a place full of needles: NOT I). The piercer showed me the tiny barbell that would be lodged in my ear and I could feel my stomach drop. I guess the guy could tell I was nervous because he started making jokes and small talk as he sat me down and cleaned my ear. It helped a lot, and in a matter of seconds it was over. My piercer then gave me a bar of antibacterial, non scented soap to clean my ear with;  however, I found it more effective to soak my ear in warm, non iodine sea salt water for about 10 minutes. I also use a Q-tip and some lefter over piercing solution to do a quick clean. 

Now, you might be wondering about the level of pain. When I did my research, 80% of the people who got their inner conch done said it hurt more when they got it done that other piercings. I disagree. Like any other piercing there is a sting, a throb, and a slight ache. Here was my week.

pain scale: 0= least painful - 10= most painful

day 1: pain = 3

Day 1 was no bid deal, well, until I forgot the bar was there and yanked off my shirt, snagging the ball. It's liked that moment of shock immediately after you stub your toe. Sleeping was no big deal cause I don't sleep on that ear.

day 2-3: pain=1

No pain whatsoever. 

day 4: pain= 8 1/2

I was in extreme pain. My ear was scalding hot compared to my other ear, sore and throbbing. It even left me with a massive migraine!  After taking some excederine, my ear cooled off and I felt fine. I havent have any problems since then.

day 5-7: pain = 0-1

no pain ^^

So now I am able to twist and turn my barbell to get the crusties out (yes there is goop and a small amount of blood that seep out every now and then). Obviously after a week it's not healed, but it is feeling much more comfortable. 

알았어 (ah-rah-so) Okay so now, to finish off my first post, I want to try out  a new segment I hope to continue at the end of every post! 

disclaimer: Now I am not of the asian persuasion, but I am slowly learning korean through Kdrama's and KPOP/KRAP songs, and I would like to share the words I know with you all that may not know, or are also trying to learn. . 

This segment will be called: 

"Learn Korean through KPOP/Dramas"

So this posts word is:

사랑해 

romanization: saranghae

Pronounced: sah-rahng-hey

Translation: I love you

Base Word: Sarang  사랑 (love)

I find it much easier to learn Korean words when I hear them in music or on kdramas. 

Saranghae is a very common word one will hear in kpop songs since most of them will be about love.

One of my favorite examples of Saranghae would be the song 나랑하고 싶어 (sarang-hago shipo) a.k.a I wanna love.

So 감사합니다 (kam-sah-ham-ni-da) or in english THANK YOU and Saranghae to all of my new readers! 

사랑해!!