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August: Color & Expression With Alma Thomas

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Last month, the colourful, abstract expressionistic paintings of Alma Woodsey Thomas gave us life! Summer picked her as our featured artist for August and we enjoyed recreating her work. Alma Thomas in her studio, ca. 1968 In fact, if you are looking for projects that can put your mind at ease and cheer you up at the same time, Alma Thomas's work is the perfect inspiration. But before getting into the activities, let's get to know this legendary woman a little bit more. MEET THE ARTIST Alma Thomas has always been a creative child. As a little girl, she enjoyed making puppets, Read More

JULY: Imagine And Play With Joan Miro

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My 7 year old daughter Emma selected Joan Miro for July's Artist In Focus. We studied and took inspiration from his playful art style which has some similarities to Picasso's. They were both known to be the best Cubist and Surrealist artists from the early years after all and were also good friends. Joan Miro was not only a painter, he was also a sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona, Spain. It's understandable why his work appeals to children like mine. There is a very child-like and carefree quality about them that was, historically, revolutionary during the 1930s. He re-defined Read More

Garden Walk DIY Activity Zine

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These days, unable to explore and go on trips as much as we usually did pre-Covid, the backyard garden is a piece of heaven. There is an almost-too-small- swing which my kids always gravitate to. They sometimes set up a table and some chairs then pretend to have a tea party or they lay out a blanket where they relax and enjoy their snacks. I try to join when I can. When I do, my favorite thing to do is watch the birds flutter about the trees or spot the many different flying insects that circle the lawn. It's quite surprising to discover the variety of wildlife that thrive in and frequent this Read More

Raggedy Pocket Dolls

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My children often come to me with ideas for projects. Half the time, I simply help them get the materials together so they can get it done themselves, but there are times when they really have no clue how to go about it so they ask me for help. Sometimes, we run to Google and YouTube for tutorials but I specifically enjoy the times when we just figure it out together. Last week, Emma remembered about the tiny handsewn La Pomme soft doll I made for her when she was two years old. She seemed to have misplaced it and wished she could have a new one. So I suggested that we make a new rag Read More

Travel Diary: Singapore, March 2020

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I made it a point not to rush into completing this travel journal entry. I like the idea of letting some time pass before documenting a trip or travel experience instead of working on it right away after getting back home. The space helps me let the experience sink in more and allows me to fully process what I've learned and how it all meant to me. I very much enjoyed going back to these pages and working on them in short spurts over the quarantine period. It became a momentary escape into my memories of exploring foreign cities and far off places. Here is a flip through Read More

Online Creative Classes With Skill Skout

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There has been a huge upsurge of online classes all over the world in the last few months. As people hunker down in their houses and children end up having to do school from home, we all find ourselves scouring the world wide web for sites and services that will help us make our time at home worthwhile and keep our children occupied and educated. Full class making Painted Paper Collages last May 27th As someone who makes a living holding art events and physical craft workshops, the quarantine has definitely forced me to rethink how I do things, adjust and adapt to the times. I have more Read More

From Our Windows At Night

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A Poem & A Shadowbox You set fire to the freedom we builtWhile we're home protecting our youngYou threaten to shut us up, clamp us downBut we won't cower, we're not done From the kitchen counter,from the balcony,From the nursery and the nightstand,We will take our shots,write down our rights,our authority, our fightWe will launch our words into the darknessFrom our windows at nightWhile we sing our lullabiesLet our light burn ever so bright Because we won't stop speakingOur truths that you so terrorizeWe will sing if we have toDance, make art, write poems,Tell it to our Read More

MAY: Objects and Stories with Betye Saar Part 2

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In this second series of art activities inspired by Betye Saar, we work on whimsical projects using miscellaneous materials. These were a lot of fun for the kids to work on because they were given freedom to make use of almost anything they could find. PROJECT 3: BRIC-A-BRAC OUTDOOR MOBILE Materials: Sticks, string, random objects to hang such as dried flowers, fuzzy wires, muffin cups, bottle caps, felt, beads, bells, etc This project is similar to making an assemblage as it involves collecting objects to put together, but instead of building inside an empty box, they string them Read More

C+V AnniverZine

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Last May 22nd, Kayo and I celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary. It's a pretty huge milestone for us and we are amazed by all that we experienced in the last decade together as a couple and as a family. There is definitely a lot to be grateful for and we could not have imagined or predicted all the wonderful things life brought us in our marriage so far. I really wanted to give Kayo something special but my shopping options are limited at this time so I decided to make something for him instead. I turned one of my handmade notebooks from my previous posts into an AnniverZine Read More

Collected and Sewn : DIY Notebooks

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I love paper. There's just something very soothing about working with it. And it's precisely why many of the craft projects I do involve cutting, pasting, folding, decorating and printing on paper. But even with this great big love for paper products, I do acknowledge the fact that I really ought to be conserving and recycling them more instead of hoarding and tossing them right away. This led me to upcycling projects such as collaging, making my own paper and junk journaling -- just simple, fun ways to keep me from wasting paper so easily. Lately, I've been really enjoying Read More