: a TWOty FRUITtea party for our little gift :

this little girl turned TWO last week.

this little girl has filled our home with plenty of laughter + chaos all the same. this little girl is like no other (honestly, you'll need to spend at least a whole morning or an afternoon with her at home to know this). this little girl, in many ways is very much her own unique self ... just like her insisting on wearing the pink tank over her stripey dress in the above photo, nevermind that it was a crazy hot day.

...................................

we hosted a small birthday party for her last weekend.

the theme was 'TWOty FRUITtea', honouring her age and her love for all Vitagen (fruit) flavours, plus her liking every new fruit introduced to her thus far.

below, some photos of the party and pre-party (the mad last-minute preparation done by yours truly).

: the theme palette :

: personalized placemats :

: little handbags for the girls :

: little cups for the boys :

: the non-hanging 'birthday garland' :

: the little fruit stall - guests were invited to mix their own bags of fruits as part of party favours :

: the birthday 'cake' - fruit loops cereal bars :

: fun pinwheels in fruity hues :

: our lil diva! :

: thank you for all your birthday wishes + gifts :

: painted 'flashcards' - baby Harez :

another little painting for another little guy.

this time, a friend bought this for her new nephew. i do hope they like the piece.

: celebrating with fairies :

worked on these invites for a girl turning three.


birthday girl's mom has great party ideas herself, i can only imagine a fun-filled pretty party to be had by their guests this coming weekend.

happy 3rd, hanna!


**two days before the party, birthday girl's mommy ordered some thank you tags.
made just over 50 of these lil fairies ...

: taming the wild - PINK ELLIES and GREEN HIPPOS :

this next party order was for a little girl turning one.

currently living in the United States, the girl and her parents came home for a short holiday to celebrate her first birthday with the girl's mom's family. the theme was pink ellies + green hippos. i thoroughly enjoyed working on this order. it always helps too when your client is very easy to work with.

this one's for Zadie! and Zadie's mom and dad.
thanks much for your support, and for bringing the pink ellies + green hippos all the way back to the States, for Zadie's second party with the American family and friends.

some pictures of the items ...

: memory game cards as part of party favours :

: thank you tags :

: favour bags :

: personalized art for her nursery :

RING in the new year ...

how's this for rustic modern any-day-is-a-good-day-to-flash-some-(quirky)-fashion-sense perk-me-up style? i absolutely adore these designs, cleverly done by the very talented Maria Cristine Bellucci. these pretty fashion pieces originally lived as coloured pencils. like i said, genius!

oh, on another note, happy 2010! make this YOUR special year.



: all images by See Saw Designs :

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) ::