Painting Ceramics at Color Me Mine Hobbes & Landes

As early as I could, I influenced my niece to like artsy craftsy stuff. When she was around 3, I started bringing her to the Color Me Mine section of Hobbes and Landes.

Our most recent trip was to paint an angel. She's now into the more-complicated stuff. We started before with small and simple fishes or butterflies. The plaster figurines range from 300-1000 Php, depending on the size and complexity. There's also a painting and baking fee which is about 180 Php, if I remember correctly.

Here's photos of our most recent Angel figurine!

We first choose the figurine we want to paint

They lent us their tools and they gave us paint. We get to choose 5 at a time. My niece really wanted purple & pink.

Here's what it looks like after we finish painting! But we can't take it home yet...

We left it with Hobbes & Landes for glazing. General waiting time is 3 weeks.
When it comes back, it's all shiny and the colors are more vibrant.. :)

Here's what their station looks like. Lots of figurines and paint to choose from!

Here's some of the old stuff she did. We've done a lot more, but these were the only ones which I still had in my phone.

Here's a fairy

Freaky fish?

You can visit their international site at http://www.colormemine.com

Kaleidoscope-Kit from the Art Garden

Isn't it pretty? It's what it looks like through the kaleidoscope I made from the Kaleidoscope-Kit I got from the Children's Art Museum I visited in Singapore (Art Garden).

They gave us a kit (see below). It contains 3 pieces of something-like-glass (something not easily breakable). In each piece, there was a double-sided tape stuck to it. There was also a piece of paper where I stuck each glass-piece. After folding everything together as if it were a triangular tube, I now have my kaleidoscope! I guess I still need to color the exterior... it still looks so plain!

I got 2 kits, because the friend I went with wasn't interested in making one for herself. Now, I'm saving it for when my niece comes around in the weekend.

Here's a bigger photo of the view from the kaleidoscope. :)

To know more about the Art Garden in the Singapore Art Museum, visit here - http://www.singaporeartmuseum.sg/exhibitions/details.php?id=114

My Niece's Make A Ballerina Frame

My niece brought over her new toy, called "Make A Ballerina Frame". Essentially, it's a small picture frame that you can make from plaster. The box contains a packet of plaster, mold, paint, brush, adhesives, cardboard, and glitter.

Tips when making this:

• Use half of the plaster powder. You don't need the entire thing for such a small container. We ended up wasting the other half, when we could have just made 2 frames.
• Check the bottom of the container if there are bubbles. Having bubbles prevents that "smooth" look. Tapping the container carefully removes the bubbles. Just be careful not to spill.
• We used clear nail polish on some areas to highlight and so that the glitters stick on it. It adds to the sparkle. ;)
• The adhesives don't stick too hard. It didn't help that my niece kept touching the adhesives so it lost some of its stickiness. Maybe use mighty bond so the back really sticks.

It brought out the OC-ness in me, which didn't go so well with my niece because I got too overbearing that she cried when I got upset over the glitter mess... (meanie!) Next time, i'll keep my hands to myself and help her only when she asks for it.

See photos below:

After getting it out of the mold, we weren't able to get rid of some of the edges

My niece painting, snug on the floor

This is how I guess it's supposed to look like

The finished product! Cute shiny ballerina! No photo yet. :P

Griffinsol Drawing

This is something I came up with for work. We needed to enter something with wings that represent our organization (Financial Solutions or Finsol for short). It was presented a few days ago, so now, I'm free to share it - no need to keep it a secret anymore!

"Griffins are usually heroic symbols. They are well known for their speed, ability to fly and having eyes like an eagle, as well as the strength and courage of a lion. In hieroglyphics, griffins represent heat and summer. In Assyria, both the griffin and the dragon were symbols of wisdom. In Roman art, griffins are often pulling the chariot of Nemesis (goddess of justice and revenge)." http://www.kidzworld.com/article/1932-greek-mythology-griffin

For the drawing, I got the inspiration from this site: http://www.elfwood.com/~tnhawke/Griffin-Sketch.3291400.html

I drew it first on paper and then scanned it. After that, I used Paint.NET to add the colors. For the cloud background, that's actually from a photo I took before.