Love And Blessings

For everyone celebrating Valentine's Day this weekend (although I think everyday should feel like one). Extend the love to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbours, your pets and even the strangers on the street! 

*You can personalise this card/ art print here, https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift


*You can personalise this card/ art print here, https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift

Stay blissful~ 

❤ Blessings, Rheea

OSCAS & Quote Of The Week

I was very honoured to have the opportunity to donate some of my cards to Oasis Second Chance Animal Shelter – OSCAS , my second beneficiary of the year. I met up with Clara and Mary (co-founder of OSCAS) at Scape last Sunday where they held their 'Oldies Only' Senior Pet Adoption Drive event. This event is actually organised by Old Is Gold, a final year project of a group of undergraduate students from NTU. Do checkout their Facebook page Old Is Gold to show them some support for this amazing initiative!

Behind-the-scene... No Nono now, so I had to prepare these stocks all by myself.

Behind-the-scene... No Nono now, so I had to prepare these stocks all by myself.

Very lovely folks Clara (left) and Mary (right) from Oasis Second Chance Animal Shelter – OSCAS 

Very lovely folks Clara (left) and Mary (right) from Oasis Second Chance Animal Shelter – OSCAS 

If you know of any animal shelters which might benefit from my contribution, please get in touch. :)

And here's last week's 'Quote of the week' (sorry for the delay. Please do follow my Facebook page to ensure you receive my newest updates >> https://www.facebook.com/DollgiftByRheea)

This week:

Have you done anything courageous today? :) 

Both art prints are available on Etsy, https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift

Have a lovely mid week!

❤ Blessings, Rheea

All Dogs Go To Heaven

My heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all your love and words of encouragement over my loss. I know many of you were deeply sadden by the news especially those who have known Nono through my blog and drawings over the years. 

A lovely lady wrote me this:
'I hope you find peace in your heart knowing that I enjoyed seeing him in your art, I hope you don't stop.' 

It means alot to me knowing what I do bring joy to people. Although Nono had left us physically, his spirit remains. So no, I wont stop drawing him. I hope his mischievous antics will continue to bring smiles to your face. :)

Well, I've no doubt my boy is having the time of his life above now. 

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

Have a fun-filled weekend!

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Goodbye Nono...

With a very heavy heart, I'd like to announce that my beloved boy had left us yesterday. He was very blessed to be surrounded by his loved ones when he passed. He looked as though he was taking his nap on a usual afternoon, except he's no longer in pain.

We weren't prepared for this to happen so soon. Afterall, his condition seemed to have stabilised over the past 7 months after the diagnosis. He was reacting well to his changed diet, Chinese medicines and supplements. The tumours on various parts of his body (with new ones forming now and then) had all disappeared, except for the one on his fore paw but even that seemed under controlled. Without any warning, everything just went downhill at a rapid speed within a few days. Then he was gone. I kept asking myself what had I done wrong or not done enough. I was struggling with so much guilt. His vet however assured me that sometimes our sick pet may seem completely normal on the outside, active and running about, but we wouldn't know what's really going on inside their body; the cancer cells could have spread to other parts of his body without us realising. I felt a little better.. just a little. I guess we just weren't ready to let him go. But then again, we'll never really be ready. I keep reminding myself at least he is no longer in pain.

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Thinking back, I'm really grateful to have that 'extra' 7 months with him. If he were to leave right after my dad's passing, it'd have been alot harder for us. And because of that, we treasured the moments we got to spend with him more. I'm sure he is in a beautiful place, possibly with my dad now. For now, I'll just have to continue to miss hugging him, sniffing his head, having him greet us at the door when we return home, staring intently at us whenever we're eating, letting him naps on my bed as I work at my desk, our evening walks in the park, and most of all, miss having him around.

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Run free my boy. You'll always be in our hearts; our mischievous darling boy. Till we meet again. :') 

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Quote Of The Week

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Sorry for missing on quite abit of updates. I've been busy with reconstructing my website. Just a little more to go! 

Alternatively, you can always follow me on Facebook to receive all the lastest news >> https://www.facebook.com/DollgiftByRheea 

I'll be sharing a weekly quote on Facebook from now on. Just in case you missed the one last week, here's it:

'Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to the person you were yesterday.' 

How often do you catch yourself comparing your looks, ability, skills, status, etc. to someone else's? I'm guilty of that; feeling demoralised when I see other artists/ illustrators doing 'better' - their talent, skills, success, to the number of Likes on their posts. Yes, I know HOW absurd it sounds. I've been learning to use that as a form of motivation or I'll simply have to learn to love myself more.

(Art print is available on Etsy >> https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift)

Last week, I'd also made a visit to SPCA - our first beneficiary of the year! Come to think of it, the last time I'd been there was probably more than 10 years ago? Yeah, I was still a teenage girl back then. Time flies! Now it's so much easier to get around SPCA with the MRT Circle Line (Bartley Station) located just beside the rescue centre. 

 The adoption area is open to public for viewing at the following time slot: Monday to Wednesday and Friday to Sunday and Public Holidays: 11.00am to 4.00pm. Of course there is a long list of rescue centres other than the SPCA. So the next time you plan to get a pet, please please please seriously consider adopting one instead of buying.

You can purchase my cards and many other products at their merchandise section or online store here >> http://www.spca.org.sg/onlineshop.asp
Shop for a good cause today!

Before I go, I'm going to leave you the quote for this week: 

'Today is a gift. Don’t forget to enjoy and bask in every moment you are in.'

''If you ever think you have almost nothing, remember to be thankful for the sun, the water, the earth, and all of the love in your life. You will soon realise that you actually have everything.''

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Have a mindful 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

Thank you 2014

I was overwhelmed by all the encouraging words pouring in on my earlier post on Facebook (read about it here >> www.facebook.com/DollgiftByRheea). Thank you so much! I feel very loved. ^^

I know there are people who have been through (or are going through) tougher times than me but please keep your faith! Everything in life is temporary, we just have to learn to dance in the rain (and enjoy it!). The best part is, challenges make us stronger and wiser too. 

With this whimsical illustration, I wish all of you an adventurous and fun-filled new year. Be bold, be happy, be yourself. 

We’ll chat again in 2015. Wooohoooo~~~

❤ Blessings, Rheea & Nono

PS: I wasn't very active on Instagram in the past; sharing only work related stuffs. But I've decided to share more about my life outside of work in the coming new year. You're welcome to follow me on Instagram >> http://instagram.com/dollgiftbyrheea

Updates And Result For Giveaway

A few things to update today.

Over the weekend, we had two events going at the same time. Both of these shelters, Gentle Paws and Causes For Animals Singapore (CAS) are one of our beneficiaries. Thank you for those who were there to show them your support. If you know of other animal shelters who might benefit from our merchandise donation, do drop me a message and I'll be in touch. :)

Our DOGs campaign perks...

The parcels were finally packed and delivered to our beloved funders! Yay~ You could be receiving them this week if you reside in Singapore. In fact, some of them told me they'd received it. International shipping usually takes about 2 weeks but since it's the festive period, it could be longer. I hope you'll like your items! :)

Now, the result for our giveaway! Woohooo~~

It was nap time and my boy was reluctant to help, so I had to do the pick myself. Congratulations to Christina Siew, the lucky winner of our giveaway! I'll get in touch with you soon.

Thanks to everyone who took part. I hope you had fun like I did. I'm hoping to do a giveaway every month. Do like (and 'follow') our Facebook page or subscribe to our mailing list to ensure you don't miss our next giveaway.

Have a great week ahead!~

❤ Blessings, Rheea

A Season Of Giving

Helloooooo~ It's my favourite time of the year again. I'm so excited! I hope you've started your holiday shopping?

Well, it's the season of giving and I've decided to give away my latest creation - a 8'' x 10'' custom art print (worth over $90)! You'll get to customise the name, date, hairstyle, attire, colour of the hearts and even have your pet drawn in! Of course you don't need to have a partner to customise this for. You can choose to send it as a wedding/ anniversary/ birthday gift or have me draw two girls instead, for your BFF too! 

For full details on the giveaway, please visit, www.facebook.com/DollgiftByRheea

Casual look

Casual look

Wedding/ Formal look

Wedding/ Formal look

Also, from now till the end of February 2015, when you subscribe to our mailing list, you can enjoy a 10% storewide discount at our online store, https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift

We'll send you the code word once you signed up. There's no limit to how many times you can use it! Sign up form here, http://www.mydollgift.com/(sidebar 'subscribe to mailing list').

Happy shopping~ 

❤ Blessings, Rheea

DOGs Campaign Update

Hello everyone! 

We managed to raise a total of US$1219.40 + S$260 (less Indiegogo and Paypal fee) for our very first campaign. Yeah!! And this wouldn't have been possible without you. So thank you for your kind contribution and support in any way! 

Although the fund raised was only 52% of my targeted amount, I'm very happy, not because of the result but for the experience. Raising the money for printing these postcards is never my main intention of initiating this campaign, but rather;
1) To challenge myself to do something out of my comfort zone. This is something I would not have done in the past. People who know me well would know about my lack of confidence in my works and social anxiety issue. Even doing the monthly bazaar at MAAD is enough to make me so nervous I want to cry. BUT I managed to break through these barriers, one after another (with the encouragement of friends and fans of course!). 
2) I'm hoping to get more people to know about my works and to interact more with them. In the past, it'd have been contented for me to hide behind my desk and communicate with people from my laptop but I felt it's time I show you how much I appreciate you by connecting more closely.
3) I'm pushing myself to commit to the cause I'm passionate about (animals). This will motivate me to continue to improve on myself and my skills. By knowing that I'm able to make a difference to the life of simply one more being, I know this is all worth it. On the other hand, it changes the negative thoughts I've on what others think of me/my works into something greater. I realised once I got this perspective shifted, I was able to give of myself more freely as I no longer worry about other's opinion. So you see, it's a two-way thing. I'm not the one helping these animals. They help me grow too.

Through this campaign, I was able to count my blessings. People I know and those I've never even met in real life. It also made me realised who are the ones who genuinely love and want to support me. I even got a surprise from one Backer! This lovely couple, Mr and Mrs Bechard, made a contribution to my campaign and dropped me some words of encouragement on Facebook. Little was I aware then that Mr Gorman Bechard is actually a film director, producer and writer in America! All I knew was they're really sweet and are animal lovers. They even went out of their way to promote my works. Boy, I'm SO honoured! 

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I hope you can check out this latest documentary by Gorman Bechard, A Dog Named Gucci

"A DOG NAMED GUCCI is a feature-length documentary that looks at animal abuse laws in the United States, told through the compelling story of one determined man and one loveable dog who made it their mission to change the laws in their state."

Here's how you can support the campaign of this moving documentary, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/a-dog-named-gucci.

I've sent the 6 DOGs illustrations for printing yesterday. Because it's holiday season, our printer requires a little more time for printing. Hopefully I'll be able to get the postcards by next Friday and mail them out the following week. 

As mentioned, a portion of the cards will be donated to various rescue shelters for fundraising and I'll be selling the rest online, in consignment stores and art fair. Half of the profits will be donated to a local dog shelter, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD). In fact, when you purchase ANY of our DOGs merchandise, 50% will go to them, not just the postcards.

10% of our profits from other merchandise and commissioned assignment will also be donated to SOSD. Feel free to check out our merchandise range or contact me for customisation, 

Etsy- https://www.etsy.com/shop/dollgift. (art prints, postcards, tumblers, etc)
Redbubble - http://www.redbubble.com/people/dollgiftbyrheea (ipad/phone cases, pillows, totebags etc)

The end of this funding project doesn't mark the end of this campaign. The journey to promote the welfare of animals has only just began.

Do stay tuned for more updates!

PS: I've emailed all our Backers to get your choice (design) for the Perk since a few days back but I've yet to get a response from a few of you. Do check your spam/junk mail if you've not received my email.

Thank you! 

❤ Blessings, Rheea

More exciting Perks (4 days left)!

Time is running out... We're down to the last 4 days of our campaign but still far from our target. Please continue to donate and help us spread the words! Help us help more animals! 

We've added a few interesting Perks too - You can now have a portrait of your pet or any animal of your choice drawn in my style.

You can also personalised a balloon house art print with your name(s), and add in a significant date

You can frame it up and give it as a wedding/ anniversary gift!

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AND even have your beloved pet drawn in!

The best part is, you can get these while helping other animals!

More images and details can be found here, www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard/x/8916509. Hurry, you only have 4 days left!
 

Meanwhile, you can start to pick your choice for your Perk if you've already made your contribution. All the 6 illustrations are in! :)

For those of you who have not and would love to get any of these illustrations or all 6 of them, you can find out how to do so here, www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard/x/8916509. But I have to remind you that you only have 4 days left, so hurry!

Please continue to help us spread the words too. 
Thank you!~ 

❤ Blessings, Rheea

DOGs 6th Illustration

Completing the 6th illustration of my DOGs series with a night mood. I hope you like it!

Thank you for all the new shares and funders for our campaign over the past week. If you'd like to show your support but haven't done so, you only have 6 days left to do so. Every little support will mean alot to us and the dogs we're helping. Here's all the detail on how you can get our merchandise while supporting a good cause, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard

Please continue to help us spread the message!

Thank you and have a wonderful week. 

❤ Blessings, Rheea

DOGs 5th Illustration and Updates

FINALLY, here comes our 5th DOGs illustration! I'm really sorry for the delay. It took me quite some time to come out with the desired 'look' for this piece. I hope you like it! 

Hide & Seek

Hide & Seek

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

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

Thank you to all my new funders and your sharing on social media about this campaign! I can't tell you just how much I appreciate the constant encouragement and support I'm getting right from the start of this campaign - people I know and people I've not even met before. Thank you for putting your trust in my works and for your love for the dogs.

I'd spent my Sunday at a local dog shelter Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)'s flag day event. Seeing soooo many adorable dogs make me wish I can bring them all home! Unfortunately I'm not able to do that. But what I CAN do is help in small little ways such as promoting the welfare of animals through my drawings and donating a portion of my earnings to aid them in running the shelter. I hope I'll be able to do more as time goes by. 

We're down to 12 days before the end of our campaign. Have you already made your contribution? You can donate as little as a dollar or more to receive one of our Perks. Half of the sale proceeds from this campaign will go to a local dog shelter. Every dollar counts!

Find out how you can get one of our adorable DOGs illustrations while supporting a good cause here, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard

Please continue to help us spread the message too! Thank you~

❤ Blessings, Rheea

It's that time of the month

HELLO~

It's that time of the month again! That's right, we'll be at MAAD again this coming Friday, 7 Nov. Our DOGs art prints will be ready for sale too. Do come by for some shopping and to say hi!

We're left with 19 days to the ending of our campaign and still very far from our target. :( Please continue to help us spread the words. Every little contribution will go a long way in helping our fur-kids.

Here's a snippet of what you'll get for our 5th DOGs illustration. 

By the count of 10. 9, 8, 7, 6..........

By the count of 10. 9, 8, 7, 6..........

Oh and did I mention there's a new Perk added to our list just today? I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss our special *1 for 1 Perk* - 14 postcards, 2 signed art prints and 2 greeting cards. All for the price of 1!

Find out how you can get this amazing reward while supporting a good cause here, https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dogs-postcard

Thank you very much in advance!

❤ Blessings, Rheea

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! ^^

What are you dressing up as today?

Whatever it is, have FUN and have a fabulous weekend!~~

❤ Blessings, Rheea and Nono

More about our DOGs campaign

Our DOGs campaign is now live on Indiegogo! As mentioned, the objective of this campaign is to promote the welfare of dogs through a series of adorable dog illustration merchandise, starting with postcards. I'm doing this to also challenge myself to take my venture to the next level by contributing to a cause I'm really passionate about.

A portion of the postcards will be donated to a few dog shelters for their fund-raising events, sold on Etsy, consignment stores and art events in Singapore. Finally, half of the sale proceeds from this series will be donated to a local dog shelter. 

Below is the 4th illustration of this DOGs series that you'll get to see printed. You can make a contribution for as little as $1 or contribute more to receive one of our exciting Perks! Every amount will go a long way in helping the next dog.

Click on the link for full details of the campaign >> here.

Pure Bliss~

Pure Bliss~

The art print is already available for sale on Etsy as with the rest of the illustrations.

The art print is already available for sale on Etsy as with the rest of the illustrations.

Thank you in advance for joining us on this beautiful journey. 

I'll be posting more updates as we go along, so stay tuned and continue to spread the love! Have a great week ahead~ <3

❤ Blessings, Rheea

 

About DOGs project and my last basic illustration lesson

On Saturday, I attended the last lesson of our basic illustration course.

Besides imparting more Photoshop skills and tricks to us over the past few lessons, Jimmy also did paint-over demo over each student's assignment to show us how we can improve on our works. It was really exciting to see the transformation of each piece and more amazing to witness the improvement of each student in a mere 12-session course.

Here's what I did for my last assignment. A guardian mermaid of the ocean.

Version 1

Version 1

Version 2

Version 2

In conclusion, I'd thoroughly enjoyed this course conducted by Jimmy. I certainly feel more confident in working with a tablet now, using various brushes/ modes to create special effects and light source to make an illustration more dynamic. Therefore I'd highly recommend this course to anyone who wishes to take your Photoshop skill to the next level. If you've missed any of my post on this course, you may read them all >> here.

Those of you who have been following my works will know that I'm currently working on a project about dogs. Here's the 3rd illustration I'd completed for this project. You may see the previous two illustrations >> here.

Rain or shine it doesn't matter. As long as I've got you and you've got me, it's enough... <3

Under The Mushroom

Under The Mushroom

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Art print for this series are already available on Etsy >> here. Other products will be available soon so stay tuned!

A little more about this project:

When I started out my creative venture in 2008, I dreamed to put a smile on faces with my light-hearted drawings. Today, it’s even more rewarding knowing I can do more with this gift. I’ve always love animals especially dogs. Over the years, I often donate my works to animal rescue shelters for fund raising events and contributing a small portion of my sale proceeds to local dog shelters. As time goes by, this has become one of my greatest motivations. 

This year, I got involved in designing collaterals for a dog shelter. I'm also working on a campaign to promote the welfare of dogs. The idea is to promote the welfare of dogs through a series of adorable dog illustration merchandise, starting with postcards. Half of the sale proceeds from this project will be donated to a dog shelter on top of the 10% from my other merchandise/ commissioned assignment. If everything goes well, I’ll work on another collection with various animals theme. Of course, your encouragement and support is very important!

Please join me on my journey towards helping more dogs (and animals). I'll post updates about this project as we go along, so do remember to subscribe to my blog by clicking on the RSS link below to make sure you don't miss out on any update. You can also follow us on Facebook >> here. Note: Choose the 'Follow' option when you hit the 'Like' button. 

Thank you so much for your love and support! Have a lovely week ahead.

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Thank Youuu!

A BIG thank you to everyone who came down to support us at MAAD last Friday! We actually made the most number of sales that day. Of course this wouldn't have been possible without your love and support. It was really heartwarming to see familiar faces among the customers.

Special thanks to my bunch of crazy and awesome friends - Claire, Berri, Alivia, Adric, Ezra, Dennis and Don who popped by just to say hello, bought me yummy food (because they said I'm too skinny) or offered their help! I'm really blessed. ^^ 

With Berri and Alivia

With Berri and Alivia

With Berri and Claire

With Berri and Claire

Looking scared sandwiched between two hulks. lol

Looking scared sandwiched between two hulks. lol

Oh! Do remember to check our Facebook page to find out if you're the winner for our lucky draw! We hope to see you again next MAAD.

Have a fabulous week ahead~

❤ Blessings, Rheea

Dollgift @ Maad (Market for Artists & Designers)

HELLO HELLO! 

It's been a really busy week for me but a happy one! Sorry that I'll have to skip my illustration class recap this week as I need more time to complete the assignment.

If you're free this Friday, 10 Oct, I'd hope to see you at MAAD, Red Dot Design Museum! We'll be there from 5pm till midnight. Admission is FREE.

All our products will be on SPECIAL price that day. Plus, 10% of our sale proceeds go to a local dog shelter when you shop with us.

More details can be found on our Facebook Event page, https://www.facebook.com/events/473525849454269/

Hope to see you there! :D

❤ Blessings, Rheea