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Thrive and Trove Yard

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The girls and I were very fortunate to have been invited to the opening party of a new creative space and craft shop in Marikina City called TATY. That stands for Thrive And Trove Yard! Formerly known as Woak PH on Instagram, TATY is essentially a kids' maker studio that promotes skill-building activities and provides space for children to navigate risk as well as develop grit in art and making. You don't see a lot of kids' learning spaces in Manila where they are allowed to use real tools and do actual carpentry work. But in TATY, children as young as three are taught to handle hammers Read More

Stamp Story Sale!

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Last month I was finally able to release and sell the first batch of stamps from my 100 rubberstamp project from 2020. I'm feeling quite relieved because selling these babies have always been part of the plan. I knew in my heart of hearts they are meant to be let go and made available to those who can get creative with them. A lot of work goes into selling these stamps, in my opinion, simply because I refuse to sell them as is. The process includes mounting each of them on wood, testing their stamping quality, pricing them, actively promoting them on my personal page, packaging them Read More

Jo Paints

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Jo, my youngest daughter, lost interest in painting early this year. As a result, I also held back on giving her painting projects for a time. Remember a couple of years back when the girls and I did various painting projects almost weekly? We stopped doing that almost completely as I let them explore their other interests, like Roblox and make up. But recently, when Jo learned her cousins have been taking up acrylic painting, she told me she also wanted to try. We checked out YouTube for some acrylic painting tutorials (there are tons!) and I let her pick the designs she wanted to work on. Read More

Looking Back 2019

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2019, the year before the pandemic, was a pretty eventful year. It was the year we let go of Kendo Creative (a small cafe and art hub we ran in Cubao), the year I went on a solo trip to Taipei, the year we went on many mini road trips as a family! A few months ago, I finally finished putting together my 2019 Project Life album. This is my sixth "year in highlights" album to date and maybe my last for now. I have been documenting our years in this pocket page system since 2014 when Jo was but an itty bitty newborn! It has been a lot of fun to make and my family seems to always enjoy Read More

September: Garden Impressions With Claude Monet PART 2

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Picking up where we left off, I am sharing two more Monet inspired projects my daughters and I did at home last month which I'm pretty sure grown ups will enjoy just the same. These projects invite you to go spend some time outside the house, just as far as you can manage while still practicing social distancing, and appreciate the natural elements around you. If you have a garden, no matter how big or small, it's a chance to see it in a new light and find fresh beauty in it you may have otherwise missed. It has been raining quite a lot lately but when the sun does come out, I invite Read More

100 Rubberstamps in Quarantine

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In the face of all the many different things that were cancelled or put on hold this year, I managed to push through with my 100 Day Project. I've been taking part in this challenge for the last 5 years and I always enjoy the process of delving into a new creative venture and seeing it through to completion. This time, I decided to create 100 rubberstamps. I thought that going through with it in the midst of the pandemic would somehow give me some sense of normalcy because, let's face it, almost nothing is as it used to be. I also thought that the quarantine would give me more than enough Read More

SEPTEMBER: Garden Impressions With Claude Monet Part 1

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If David Hockney prompted us to explore the minute details of the indoors last March, Claude Monet inspired us to look outside and enjoy the natural beauty of the outdoors throughout the month of September. Unfortunately, we didn't go walking in the woods or traipsing by a bubbling brook, as one would imagine Monet doing to get inspiration for his work back in the day. It would have been wonderful if we had but the girls and I could only go as far as the backyard garden. As city folks though, I actually feel that we are, in fact, quite lucky to have an access to our own lush patch of Read More

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. 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, sculptures and plates out of clay she 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 the 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