closing a chapter, welcoming the new ...

i made these as thank you and farewell gifts for Z's classmates and teachers. he's bid his preschool years a fond farewell, and will be starting the big school next month.

: the CRAYON BOX collection - as take-along calendars for Z's teachers :

: the STENCIL collection - for the classmates to colour in + decorate each month's initial :

: the WORDS collection - for the classmates to search for hidden month names :


as we close the chapter that is 2009, we usher in and welcome a new one ... may 2010 bring us better days through bigger hopes, dreams + happy endings.

for calendar orders, kindly drop me an email at mika.haj@gmail.com

climbing to greater heights ...

:: Stairway by Tamara Thomsen, via 20x200 ::

... one can definitely hope + strive for, yes?


this painting reminds me a lot of the time i was perched on the stairs at my college, sketching + painting my study on the staircase. put aside the occasional 'visits' by other students + tutors walking up and down the stairs, i was mostly on my own, trying my best to create some decent piece of work in my little corner. many years on, that stands out as one of my fondest art moments in college. fondest, and possibly one of the trickiest too. certain projects/studies/paintings/sketches no doubt left a bigger and more inspiring imprint in me than others.

today, i find myself creating my pieces of work at any little chance i have to take my eyes and attention away from the kids, even if just for an hour, or less. that leaves me working almost literally everywhere in the house. even my bed's seen my brushes + acrylics. secret's out then. if any of you ever imagined me sitting pretty + calm painting in a designated work space at home, i thank you much. in truth, i stand more than i sit when painting, and i don't always work in the work corner i've created myself.

it would be good to be more disciplined though. well, there's always 2010 to cue the resolutions list. should put that on the list then ... work only in designated work space.

anyway ... i digressed. this was supposed to be about stairways. below, some other images which have caught my attention ...

:: via Freshome ::

:: via Home Designing ::

:: via Design Age ::

:: via Traveller Boats ::

:: via Schlicken Blogsome ::

:: via Abodesign Co. ::

:: our very own stairs at Big Lime (image previously used in an earlier post here on the blog) ::

: painted canvas flashcards - baby Alex :

for those who know me, it's no surprise that i've a thing for names (among other things i have a 'thing' for). when i was pregnant with my first Z, that keen interest for names - their meanings and the sounds that they make - grew even more. it's a natural progression then that i try to incorporate this in the little pieces of art that i create.


my latest project was a painting i made for a friend's baby. they live all the way in the land i fondly call my 'home' *wink*. we attended the same college back in our A-Levels days, kept in touch on and off throughout our university years, attended her wedding back in her hometown in Penang, and last weekend met up again with her 3 month old bundle of joy.


i see them (my friend and her husband) as a pretty classy, yet modern young couple. they appreciate the finer things in life, yet still kept well-grounded by the daily ups and downs that surround us all. on that note, i had the colour scheme for the painting in my mind as soon as i decided to give them one of my 'canvas doodles'.


i'd love to see how the painting rests in the little corner or nursery created for their baby back in their home in that lovely faraway land of theirs.


meanwhile, here are photos i took of the painting at home ...

Zarif transforms into a 6 year old ...

we threw a very last minute small party for Big Z over the weekend.
so last minute was this party planned, i decided to go against my own tradition (as far as parties are concerned) and made do without invitation cards. guests were invited via Facebook.

this was also the first party i threw which had a character theme to it.
Big Z's at that age where his views and thoughts pretty much need to matter more now. he wanted a Transformers party. in steps the rebellious mummy ... i agreed on the theme, but with some tweaking here and there, i made it a little less commercial and conventional a Transformers party.

below, some photos of the party.

our world in our hands ...

one thing i do love to indulge in time and again, are my travels abroad. *guilty!*

on that note, i'd love to start a small, but worthy collection of globes of various makes, styles and finishes. beautiful and playful works of art and craftsmanship. in one single object that is the globe, one gets to enjoy art, science and geography. that to me, is a pretty good deal.

below, some images of globes put on display in interesting and very beautiful ways.

: family :

: vintage :

: elegant :

: chic :

: explore :

: grounded :

: all images via Desire to Inspire :

Ladybugs fluttered + partied away ...

the LADYBUG party's come and gone. birthday girl's some many more presents richer now too, i'm sure. as for myself, i'm just happy to have been part of the party's 'dressing', if you like. below, some photos of the ladybugs that kept me busy past couple months.

: the invites :

: the boys' party bags :

: the girls' party bag :

: the LADYBUG memory game cards as favours :

:: the personalized name art for birthday girl ::

:: the whole order; party packs and party invites for 80 kids plus the framed name art ::

play + live a little ...

made this piece for a lil dude who turned 3 recently. as i only just (finally!) met him and his parents over lunch today, i can now (also finally) put up the photos of the painting. i do hope the painting goes well up against some wall in his room or playroom or play corner at home.

personalized with his initials, i had them initials flanked by two 'friendly reminders' for us all. amidst all the crazy chaos our days may bring us, every so often we ought to remind ourselves to play and live a little bit more. a bit of play makes for a longer and happier life, i'd like to think. :-)