Baby Z's BIRD-day party!

for some reason unexplained, i was drawn to birds during my pregnancy with Baby Z. not birds in the life form though, but rather, the design motif. i made some origami cranes and turned them into a simple wall-hanging thing for her corner in our room. and i even persuaded the husband to get her a stroller with bird motif. so by the time she was about 6 months, there was no other theme in mind. it just had to be a birds theme for her FIRST birthday party.

below, photos of few of the things i made for her first BIRD-day party ...

:: the invitation ::

:: the opened guest book ... ::

:: which really were 3 sheets of scrapbooking layouts mounted onto canvas boards ... ::

:: detailing her growth over the 12 months ::

:: the party packs in pink + brown ::

:: detail of the bird motif ::


:: browns for the boys; cookies + paper bird plane + handmade BIRDS memory card game ::

:: pinks for the girls; cookies + birds fan + handmade BIRDS memory card game ::

:: balloons in theme colours ::

:: store-bought bird softies + homemade-handmade BIRDS gift tags as prizes for Quiz game ::


:: 'pass the parcel' prizes; all BIRD related + Quiz prizes ::



:: the party's centrepiece with the wall art i made back when she was still in my tummy! ::

:: homemade-handmade origami cranes adorned cream + pink butter cupcakes ::


:: part of the completed 'guest book' ::

:: Baby Z kissed by Big Z = love! ::


photo credit goes out to the talented Nadia Fauzi.

personalized 5th

i can't believe i never got to posting photos of the favours i put together for Big Z's 5th birthday back in August last year! only moments ago when i was about to post Baby Z's birthday photos was i reminded of this one missing entry.

a very much back-dated entry this one is then ...

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

there was no birthday party in the grand scale of his previous parties. for his 5th birthday, we decided to celebrate it in Hong Kong Disneyland instead. so, at exactly 1:36pm (5 years to the time and date of his birth), he was with us having our lunch at Hong Kong Disneyland.

prior to his birthday though, there was a little celebration among his classmates. and then another small celebration with the immediate family members. for both occasions, i managed to put together some very simple favours. below are the photos of them (favours).

:: celebrating his 5th with his classmates ::

:: favour boxes with personalized tags ::
:: for the girls ::

:: for the boys ::

:: personalized (by first initial) favour bags for Z's cousins ::

looking at this ...

:: image via At Home with Kim Vallee ::

... makes me want to build me a charcoal wood cabinetry of sorts just so i can display the key something something(s) at home. maybe against the dining wall.

it also makes me dream yet another dream.

say, opening a restaurant or cafe specialising in soup + cookies, maybe?

yes, true. not entirely the best kind of culinary match there, but soup + cookies, i do like very much indeed. the potato + leek kind. or clam chowder. or carrot + coriander. or plum tomato + basil. and yes too, i do like thick soup.

party-schmarty!

it's a month away now. the planning + preparation have begun. still a lot to do, but am not complaining. planning a themed party is always such fun. to me, at least.

here, some random photos picked from various sources, just to show the festive spirit that is me (or should be me) these coming weeks.

hypnotic hue

how's this for hypnotic genius? and a hue-full one too at that. just clever, i say.

artist Jen Stark turns paper and cardstock into brilliant art pieces through her apparently simple cutting process. this, i'd like to know how. but let's not get ahead of meself ... i won't be attempting any paper sculptures. i'll simply admire from afar the genius that is her work.

all images via PaperChick

weaving between cultures ...

in design work, i admire the successful fusion of the old meets new, east meets west approach. whilst many gravitate to the rigid and precision that are modern design pieces, there seems to be a large following too for those reviving our 'traditional' pieces, designs filed under (i'd imagine)conservation and/or heritage.

ikat is one such art form.

Ikat, or Ikkat, is a style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp

or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design.

Ikat means "to tie" or "to bind" in the Malay language.

:: taken from Wikipedia ::

seen today are many product designs originating from the ikat process. what is even better, to me, is that the Westerners seem to be loving this art form so much that they're producing ikat-designed home and fashion items and commercialising them. true, there's the desire to keep things within yourselves (culturally), but when it comes to art, i think a fusion between the East and West is always a good thing. just give due credit to origins of design. ;-)

:: Pottery Barn cushions, image via Apartment Therapy ::

:: Anthropologie cushions, image via Design Sponge ::

:: chair by Oregon-based designer Jen West, image by Design Sponge ::

:: image via Patricia Gray ::

:: image via Design-59 ::

bowled over ...

these pretty patterns on these adorably moulded bowls. moulded bowls ... has a cute ring to it, don't you think? :-)

:: bowls beautifully made by Aida Dirse, image via OhJoy! ::

.... but back to these bowls, grouped together, i think they make quite a display on a special lil corner in your home. love them!