Tractors: A lil' obsession

At 2, Boy was obsessed with cars. But his little brother seems to prefer big, larger vehicles, specifically tractors.

On any car ride, he would point out every construction vehicle in sight. We would know exactly how many tractors there are on a 4-hour highway road trip, thanks to his non-stop commentary. 

This lil' obsession seemed to have rubbed off on Mummy, hence a separate blog category just for it :-)

Newest addition: a preloved ride-on Kobelco excavator

Art: Jumble Sale Makeover

Picked up a pre-loved Mega Blok truck from a jumble sale recently. I love Mega Bloks, and my boy loves trucks. And I couldn't pass on a great bargain.

The truck works fine. Only problem was the really sun-faded red ... looked almost pink!

That's when I decided to put my Sharpie collection to good use. After all I was always thinking of trying my hand at art.

Trouble is that I don't really know how to draw non-girly stuff. So after some thought, I decided on some bugs would do the trick. I did add in some flowers later one to fill up the space :-p

So voila ... better than new! (I hope ;-))

Malaysia: Cartoon time

We started off the New Year with another exciting initiative by Kill the Bill: Malaysian can draw cartoons for Academic Freedom at KLCC without police permit.

This was really interesting for us as we got to be up close and personal with some of the big names in cartooning in Malaysia, especially the more "controversial" ones like Zunar. It also exposed the Girl to all the different talents and art forms in cartooning.

Art: Make a Badge

My girl had a Girls Only Badge Maker for Christmas, so we decided to try it out one day.

It came with its own design sheets that you could cut out, but I decided to personalise it a bit by creating our own designs on the computer and print out in colour.

The badge diameter was a lot smaller than I'd expected, so I had to reduce my designs to fit. After 1-2 tries, we succeeded.

Malaysia: New Year Wishes

I love my country, and I do whatever I can to instill the same love into my children. Following the Bersih 2.0 rally in July 9, 2011, I've been participating in more citizen movements, such as Kill the Bill, to push for a better Malaysia.

For starters, we've been wearing yellow every Saturday since 709. And while I haven't exposed my kiddos to high-risk events (water cannons, tear gas and all), I do bring them for "safer" outings, just to instill love of country, teach them about standing up for their Constitutional rights, and allow them to join in the camaraderie of fellow countrymen who believe that this country is fighting for.

One such event was the LRT ride on New Year's eve. We were supposed to gather at the main station and head over to KLCC and spread some New Year's wishes to shoppers.

Onboard the train

Party: Ahoy Matey!

De nephew had a maritime-themed birthday party, and the kiddos and I got to help out with the decor — our first attempt at party decor, and what a splash it was!

Hand-painted anchor and ship's wheel and makeshift life buoy

We painted cardboard boxes to resemble crates

The photobooth assembled — a badminton net doubled as a fishing net 

Pirate hats and other props

Starfish for the special touch

She sells sea shells by the sea shore

A boat for extra effect

Personally designed and wrapped Polo sweets (substitute for LifeSavers)

Art: Batik fun

A beautiful traditional art form that is simple for kids to attempt is batik painting.

We had an arty birthday party for the Girl and her friends, and I bought several batik painting kits, which came complete with a wax-drawn design, paint brush and paint.

There are no hard and fast rules with this sort of painting, as any colour combinations blend well together tie-dyed style. Even my 3yo Boy, who hates colouring, did an impressive magenta piece of a parrot.
 

Was wondering what to do with the many finished masterpieces. In the end, decided to get them framed nicely and hung on our kitchen wall. They sure add a splash of vibrancy to our kitchen and a good way to preserve the kiddo's early artworks.