Halloween Mantel Decor

It’s Halloween!

And if you are on a last minute decorating, here’s a very quick mantel decor idea you can do in no time. Just make sure to put the tealights in a glass or something so that the paper will not catch fire.

I matched the paper luminarias with red vases of varying heights, a couple of red glass lampshades and Ashrie's large Belle and Boo paper doll in a witch costume.

Easy-Peasy!

Lia's Pretty in Pink

I can't even.

Lia Ahryn's 5th Month

Wow! Lia's five months old now and what a month it has been.

There are a lot of hurrahs the previous month, lots of major milestones to celebrate.

Lia liked her first meal, it was mashed organic Japanese pumpkin. She also started to roll over and doesn't want to be carried horizontally unless she's very sleepy. She also started to crawl and reach for her favorite toys. She also loves touching your face when you talk to her.

What I like the most? Her giggles! Her laughs during peekaboos are contagious to say the very least.

Looking forward to more fun times as she turns 6 next month! We love you Lia!

Paper Gem DIY

We have seen a lot of geometric designs this year, in architecture and in interiors. We can see it in furniture, textiles, glassware, pottery, basically it's almost everywhere. So this Christmas, I would like to merge our holiday color theme with this trend.

I'm adding accents of these geometric gemstones on the mantel and coffee table perhaps. You can actually make more as these can also be used as a Christmas Tree ornament and so versatile that you can also use it even long after the Christmas season is over, during parties or simply to decorate a bookshelf.

Unlike the banner/bunting tutorial which is very easy to do, this will need craftier hands to execute. It took me at least 30 minutes to finish my first gemstone. I hope I'll get a little bit faster on the next templates. Also, I think those who have thinner fingers will find it easier to assemble and close the gems. (And that's me saying I'm not one of them.) If you want to try it out, here's a list of what you will need.

Materials:

Printed Paper Gem Templates
A4 Card Stock
Cutting Mat
Cutter
Scoring Tool (optional, I just used a regular ballpen to do the work)
Double-Adhesive Tape
Metal Ruler

*Choose a card stock that is neither too thick nor too thin. It'll be easier to fold and fasten it together when you have just the right thickness. 

Procedure:

1. If your card stock has a shiny texture (like mine), you might want to print the template on a piece of A4 paper first, and then tape it temporarily on the underside of the card stock before cutting. If not, you can directly print on the underside of your card stock and cut along the template lines carefully.

2. Once it is cut, score the lines so that it will be easier to fold the card stock. If you do not have a scoring tool, you can use a regular ballpen to trace the lines, leaving a groove for easy folding.

3. Assemble the gemstone by pasting the flaps together. I used double-adhesive tape so that it will have an instant bond. 

4. If you are going to use it as a Christmas Tree ornament or if you wish to hang it somewhere, make sure to add a string at the center top portion before closing it.

Here's the finished piece!

Now, I'm going to try the other shapes as well. Let's do this! 

Christmas Banner DIY

Christmas is coming and it's time to decorate!

This year we have decided to go with a Black and White Theme with touches of Gold. I have started off by changing the slipcover of our sofa in the living room from Beige to Black and following that with this simple and easy Christmas Banner in the same color theme. You can download the free printable here, and follow on with the materials and procedures below.

Materials:

Downloaded PDF of the Gold Banner/Bunting

Card Stock for printing

Color Printer

Ribbon or String

Masking Tape

Cutter

Cutting Mat

Metal Ruler

Procedure:

1. Print the letters that you will be needing. I scaled it down to 45% because the original PDF is way too large for my wall. I went for the classic MERRY CHRISTMAS greeting.

2. Cut your letters. I suggest using a cutter rather than scissors to make your lines straight.

3. Measure the amount of ribbon or string that you will be using and how high or low you want its curve to be on the wall while hanging. Add a few more inches for allowance.

4. Fasten the letters onto the string. I used masking tape at the back to secure the letters to create a cleaner look rather than using a puncher to slip the ribbon through. Start from the center letter of your word or phrase and don't forget to include the spaces in counting.

4. And lastly, hang your personalized DIY banner. 

I have yet to update the bureau top with Christmas decorations. So stay tuned for more!

Happy Crafting and Happy Holidays!

Sparkly: Ashrie's School Project

Ashrie had a one-week school break last month but the school gave her (or should I say, us) a parent and child project.  The criterion was that it should be done using recycled materials and to be animal-themed. We checked the materials that were available at home, played with its form and see what animal it look liked. We agreed that the box sculpture indeed looked like a puppy so we went ahead with the idea.

Meet Sparkly (as Ashrie named her), a cubist ballerina puppy donning a pink tutu, a pink bow, two pairs of sparkly shoes, and a sparkly pink heart diamond necklace.  Here’s how we made this craft.

Materials:

Old Boxes

Tape

Paint

Paintbrush

Color/Permanent  Markers

Stickers

Scrap Ribbon

Scrap Paper (we hand-painted it with pink the cut it into strips about 2 1/2 inches wide)

Double-Sided Tape

Procedure:

1. The box we found was a reed diffuser box. It has an interior casing that we used in making the head and flappy ears. We also made the legs from it. We secured them all together using transparent tape (as shown in the first photo). Then we added a small box for the snout.

2.  Paint the box sculpture using craft paint. We used our leftover, no-odor, non-toxic wall paint to cover the entire exterior of the project. Let it dry.

3. Meanwhile prepare all the things to accessorize your craft like the skirt, the shoes, the bow, and the necklace. You can also cut-out the facial features if you do not want to draw directly on the box sculpture.

4. Assemble the project by pasting everything onto the painted box sculpture. And it’s as easy as that!

Our craft project was submitted to the school for an exhibit to be held on the parent-teacher conference happening soon.

Have fun!

Baby Lia's Dedication

We have waited for the church registration to open and finally it's here! Baby Lia's Dedication Day! We've specially picked seven of our dearest friends to be her godparents and the event was held last Sunday 19 October 2014. Below is a photo grabbed from Evangel Family Church's Facebook page.

At night we hosted a very simple dinner for the godparents who are here in Singapore. The two other couples are in Canada and the US. We always celebrate and invite friends on Saturday nights except for Baby Dedications which were always held on Sundays. Also it's our Farewell Party for Jane's sister who's going back to Manila the next day. With her here, Jane and I were able to have movie and date nights and extra hands in the house. But for now, it'll be just Me&MyGirls again. 

Legoland Malaysia (Part 2)

After lunch, we proceeded to the LEGO Kingdom which for me is the most visually and sensory-appealing area in the park. Fiddler music and trumpets create the mood of being in a different place. And the noise of the blacksmith’s hammer against the anvil added to the drama. Ashrie did the Royal Joust here and guess what? The three of us took on another roller coaster ride. It’s The Dragon Apprentice, and this time Ashrie enjoyed it. Having gone through Project X, I think this was peanuts for her.

And the last roller coaster ride, which I almost did not take but did anyway due to insistent family demand, was The Dragon. I sat at the end and was silent the whole time. I find it awkward to shout and revel after the ride because I’m not together with any friend or family member, so I just held tight to my seat and enjoyed the ride, quietly.

To rate the experience, I still find Project X to be scarier than The Dragon. The latter has multiple seating which makes you feel secured although it plunges down into darkness at the beginning of the ride. It feels like were flying, fast and furiously! It glides smoothly and the ride was finished before you know it. While on Project X, it’s just this 4-seater carriage that slowly carries you up then plunges you all the way down then suddenly up again and slowly zigzags its way, dragging you to the to the very end. You feel very vulnerable and uncomfortable. It's like you’re being towed by a newbie driver. Whew!

 As I said in my previous entry, there were not many people when we visited and to do one activity, we just need to wait for 2-3 persons (the most) who came ahead of us, but most of the time, the rides were just there waiting for us. There was even an instance like when we took on the Observation Tower where only the three of us plus the operator were on board! It was indeed a special moment.

Ashrie and I did the Kid Power Tower, which was supposed to go down when you release the rope. Well, as the others went up and down the tower, ours got stuck after we pulled it up to the maximum and we were on top until the time has gone up. Fail!

And finally before we went to the Water Park, we did the Dino Island Water Slide. It's basically a boat ride which slides off a waterfall in the end. Free showers in the finale!

At 3 PM we decided to go to the Water Park. I think It's just about 10 minutes when the management decided to close the Water Park because of the impending thunderstorm. True enough, a few minutes later the rain starts pouring - to the dismay of the excited patrons but to the undeniable smiles in the eyes of the lifeguards (one even shouted in glee) once the pools were closed. Good thing, we were done with the main park because they had to close some attractions there as well and great that Ashrie had a dip in the play pool even for a little while.

What can you do in a theme park while it's raining? Eat! So we did. We also bought Wi-Fi tickets so that we can check on Baby Lia back home.

After the rain, it's almost five and we headed back to the main park. We bought a few things at the shops, and after an hour, it was time to head home.

Our reliable bus service was already parked outside the park when we reached there. It took another two hours going back to where it all started, the Singapore Flyer.

Will we go back to Legoland Malaysia? Definitely, and in that time, we will be with Lia.

Legoland Malaysia (Part 1)

We booked our tickets earlier this year because this trip was supposed to be a celebration for Ashrie's "single-daughterhood". Apparently, Jane could not travel any more as her pregnancy became very sensitive in the final trimester. So we rescheduled it to a later date. It's also good that Jane can enjoy the rides as well and not just look after the bags and be a photographer.

Since my sister-in-law was here for a month to help us, we grabbed the opportunity to be away for a day and leave Baby Lia in her able hands.

So it's just Me&MyGirls sans Lia headed to Legoland Malaysia. Hey, that rhymes!

We bought our coach tickets from WTS Travel. I chose them because they have a branch in Causeway Point which is just a walking distance away from our place. Turned out, I made a right choice because we had no problems with regards to transport. 

I think having chosen a non-peak date was the start of the streak of good things that day. The immigration process was a breeze, vehicular traffic was A-okay (from Singapore Flyer to Legoland Malaysia in more or less than 2 hours was not bad at all). And to visit a theme park that is not crowded was really delightful to say the least.

When we reached the park, it was about 11 AM, we headed to the ticket counters to pay the reschedule fee. Nobody's in line! We went in and the park was not packed. Actually, it was unexpected and a very pleasant surprise. I'm sure it's a different story altogether during weekends and holidays.

We wasted no time and went on our first ride. It was a roller coaster! We were hesitant at first but did it anyway. If we will not try the rides then there's no sense of being there, right? It was exhilarating! It's not just our first ride of the day but also our first time to be in a roller coaster. Ashrie had the shock of her life and said she would never ride the Project X ever again. 

 

There was a photo booth at the exit (actually almost every ride has a photo booth and there were park photographers all over the place). We decided to buy our photo. A moment of undeniable courage and being adventurous needs to be immortalized. Take a look, we bought this for $20 SGD but our reactions are priceless!

Here's a video on how it's like to be on that ride:

After that extreme adventure, all the rest seems easier and we took our time to try almost all of the rides. Jane and Ashrie took on the Wave Racers and the Twister then Ashrie and I did a relaxing Boat Ride.

We walked through MiniLand.

Ashrie did the Junior Driving School. She even got her driver’s license there. After that, we headed for lunch. 

Will we conquer the so called "Scariest Ride in Legoland Malaysia"? Will Ashrie ever ride a roller coaster again? Answers to these and more on the second leg of our Legoland Malaysia adventure.

Stay tuned for Part Two.