Christmas Came Early

Last Wednesday night felt like Christmas eve. Thanks to dear hubby who has been cleverly cooking a surprise up his sleeve. Well, he couldn't contain his excitement himself that he decided not to wait for Christmas anymore.

He got us this.

Jovan Benito Oil on Canvas

When all I wanted was this.

A few months back I wrote about dreaming of hanging a Benito on our walls. All I wanted was a mother and child rendition. What hubby got was a market scene with the rare ivory carabao. Of course, I couldn't be more pleased.

I was even more surprised that he was able to keep this from me for 3 months. He said he felt like now is the best time as he wanted it to bring me some inspiration for the movements and home improvements going on around the house of late. (He's been asking for a mood board  since a week or 2 ago and I haven't given him anything..)

This is our first ever serious art piece. And what we wanted for our first was something that we truly like. Something that would make us smile each time we look at it. And every morning since hanging, this Benito does just that.

Thank you M. You are most thoughtful when I least expect it.

Art Day Friday

As you may already know, we're back in the (not so sunny anymore) island of Singapore and back to regular programming of mummying full time with everything else I've got going in between.

That is why I am so grateful for friends like Ann. Mischka loves her to bits. She came by yesterday with some art supplies and a whole lot of energy to burn with Le Misch.

And so, here are some scenes from our Art Day Friday.

Supplies: non toxic paint, carrots, mixing dishes, manila paper (in this case mahjong paper).

Apron.

Mixing.

Shapes.

The artwork.

Little dirty hands.

Team Mischmash.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

of wangs and benitos

I was obsessing on this

and was on the brink of buying it until I met this

 

I was smitten by the Alexander Wang Rocco Duffel seasons ago. I wanted the black but when I saw the tan, I was confused. However, when I got a hold of it in Barneys 2 months ago, I was put off by its weight and apparently so was a lot of other admirers.

And then they put it on sale at almost half the price. Very tempting. I would check it online almost everyday until one day it was no longer there.

And then I was introduced to Jovan Benito (her work) by my art connoisseur friend Mia. I said to myself before that if I ever buy myself a painting, it would be a mother and child rendition.

I fell in love with it the moment I laid eyes on it at Gallery Joaquin. Mia had little convincing to do with me, but I had a lot—with hubby.

Up to this day I still haven’t decided between a Wang and a Benito. (They share almost the same price tags, mind you.)

But I have gotten some progress with hubby. I sparked new interest in art on him and now he’s hooked on Benito too. Now were torn between this

and having one commissioned.

Though there are days I still dream of that mother and child rendition hanging on our bare walls... We'll see.

one night while waiting

While waiting for hubby to come home from a long day at work one night, Le Misch and I were inspired to decorate one wall in her room to surprise him.

Here is the outcome. Frames and lamps all from Ikea (where else?) and wall stickers from Baby & Co. Nothing fancy but its little things like this that count.

We Got Crafty!

It's a challenge to keep a toddler occupied the whole day especially when most of her toys have lost their novelty already. But there are so many things that we mums can do for them and with them! We just have to be really resourceful and be veeery patient.

Yesterday, my good friend Ann (an early childhood education expert) came over and all three of us got down and crafty!

The "Baaah" Project

I caught her playing with the cotton balls while we wait for Tita Ann to arrive.




Step 1: Prepare the materials. Cotton balls, Black Marker, Glue, Scissors (I know, I know my scissors are not child-friendly at all); Pink paper (I couldn't find decent art paper here! Oh National bookstore, how I miss you.) Paper plate (which I forgot to include in the picture). And of course, let us not forget the inspiration of this project, "Baah" the sheep




Step 2: Delegate the tasks. Tita Ann and Mischka will create the body of the sheep by gluing cotton balls on the paper plate. While Mum cuts out the legs, head, and tail.




Poor girl didn't like the sticky feeling of glue on her hands!




Tita Ann explained to her that it is okay to get dirty sometimes. So she got a hang of it and went back to gluing.




Baah's Body Parts




Step 3: Stick on the legs, head, and tail.




Finish! Le Misch and her Pink Baah




Now on to the next step: Destroy the artwork.




We did one more side project while the "Mr. Sun" song was playing on the background.

We had a couple more lined up but Le Misch could only take 2. Tita Ann says it's normal as activities like these are tiring for them. According to her, its like going to a board meeting. That made me laugh! But what do I know? She's the expert.

Thank you Ann! Please come again anytime you want.

Mummies, you can try this at home too! You can google more easy toddler art projects and get down and crafty yourselves with your little ones. Enjoy!

A Trip to the Imaginary Storyland

Singapore's National Museum has interesting installations targeted to kids as part of this year's Arts Festival. They commissioned artist Tay Bee Aye to come up with a place where kids can use their imagination to mix and match pieces of soft sculptures and create their own visual landscapes.

The Imaginary Storyland



Le Misch busy with her creation

Enjoying every moment of it



She likes all things that function as bags, like this basket



Older kids enjoy the costumes



We went with the boys (our yoga mates) who were more content with the blocks and Jason, with a DS!

It's things like these that I always look out for. Art-infused, kid-friendly, and best of all-- it's free!!!