Mad-Made: DIY Cross Stitch Clocks

I may not look like it but I'm pretty nimble on my fingers. I can paint a perfect straight line and thread a string through a hole in the needle the size of the fullstop at the end of this sentence. Okayy, maybe more like between two fullstops.. but still.

I love to make stuff from scratch and then admire my masterpiece thereafter. I don't actually make a business out of it (even though many people have suggested that I do) as I just like to keep it my hobby. Work might just take the fun out of it, if ya know what I mean =)

I've tried almost everything, from making my own jewellery to painting T-shirts to scrapbooking (my newest endeavour). One of my favourites (albeit super time-consuming) is cross-stitching. It's a painstakingly long process that requires a lot of time and patience so I don't really have time to do that many. When I do, I make sure it's a massive project and is super unique.

Which is also why this particular piece is so special to me.

I made for our room that we were going to share together

Wanna know how I made it?

Well, for starters, you need to buy a cross-stitch kit (Spotlight has some nice ones) and sew a picture that you like.

Cross stitch picture of a bride & groom

As I was preparing for my wedding at the time, I chose a picture of a bride and groom. This one's still pretty manageable by my standards (I've been cross-stitching since I was 13 years old).

A tip for beginners: You may want to start off with a smaller picture to get the hang of it before proceeding on to harder ones. Also, sew the darker colours first and then the lighter colours as the lighter threads (especially white) may get dirtied by your hands over time.

Next, get a 3D photo frame that has a space between the glass and the picture. I got mine from Ikea, the very same ones I used for my last Mad-Made project.

Fitting the cloth into the frame

Wrap the cloth around the board that usually comes with the frame and check that the picture is positioned correctly.

Next, drill a hole into the wood (or poke through it with a pen-knife if it's thin enough) and cut a hole in your fabric.

Make a hole in both the wooden backing and the cloth

Make sure both holes line up to each other perfectly as this is where the body of the clock mechanism will be. The clock mechanisms (as seen below) can be bought from Art Friend. I bought the hands separately as the original hands that came with the clock body were tiny and not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Cost me twice as much too.

Clock mechanisms used for making DIY clocks

After fitting the 'stick' on the clock body through the holes in the wooden board (see above) and cloth (see below), fit the hands onto the 'stick' according to the manufacturer's instruction.

Fitting the hands onto the clock body

Once you're done, put the frame together, insert the wire (that came with the frame), add a battery..

Adding the final touches

..and voila!

My clock is hung above my shelves

You've got a one-in-a-million clock that nobody else has but you! =)

I'MM Getting Wet at the Water Playground!

We all love water playgrounds. Especially people like us who live in sunny Singapore, which is practically hot and humid almost all 365 days of the year.

So it is no surprise that on a particularly hot day like yesterday, it was off to a water playground for me and baby girl.

There are around 10 water playgrounds in Singapore and we've already visited a grand total of four:
1) Vivocity at Harborfront MRT
2) NEX at Serangoon MRT
3) Northpoint Shopping Centre at Yishun MRT
4) Singapore Zoo

We've yet to visit the one at IMM and as it is located closest to the hubby's workplace (so that he can easily pick us up after work), we decided to pop by for a look.

Covered playground at IMM

The above playground was not really suitable for baby girl so we skipped it and headed straight for the water fountains which were located just next to it.

Water Play Area at IMM

The area is about the same as the one at Northpoint but smaller than the one at NEX.

Exploring the place..

"Hmmm.. I like the water mummy!"

She can't walk yet so I had little choice but to allow her to crawl on the less than clean floor. She seemed to be ok with it despite the fact that her knees became really red by the time we left.

Sitting in the sun and trying hard to stand

I feel kinda bad for her. First, she had to crawl around because she can't walk yet. And second, she didn't have anyone to play with.

But she didn't mind at all! I guess just being able to play with water in the sun was enough for her. She had so much fun she almost didn't want to leave. But I had to clean her up after 20 minutes as I was just too tired with running after her. Plus I was afraid that she will catch a cold as a strong wind started blowing.

There's a nice place for you to clean up your kids after their play just next to the playground.

Girls' Outdoor Shower Corner

It's pretty convenient =)

Baby girl was so tired after all the fun..

..she looked like this.

She worked up a big appetite too and only fell asleep after a nice meal of bread and mango juice.

If you're thinking of heading down to IMM, they're be organising ice-skating lessons from 29 August to 11 September 2011. It is located right next to the playgrounds (it is in construction when we were there) so you may be able to kill two birds with one stone! =)

A Weekend of Work, Play & the MBS Wonder Full Show

Started the day yesterday helping Mr and Soon-to-be-Mrs P paint their spanking new house. I couldn't stay long as baby girl has a playdate at 3pm but as I already spent most of Friday afternoon helping out, I reasoned that it should be ok *laughs*

Girlee's playdate with Baby A was held at the hubby's ex-colleague's house at a condo along River Valley.

Yay playdate! =)

We hung around and chatted while waiting for Baby A to arrive. But soon, baby girl got bored with crawling around on the carpet (which she really liked)..

..and started playing with mummy's necklace and bangle!

She actually looks pretty good in them! =)

Not long later, Baby A finally arrived. The last time we saw him was during his 1st month celebration when he was only a tiny baby. He has since grown into a really tall baby and is still as smiley as ever.

"Hello! Who are you?"
(Baby girl still wearing my jewellery)

Of course we had high hopes of them interacting but kids at this age are just not cognitively developed to play socially with each other yet. Instead, they only acknowledge the presence of the other and play beside each other. So after a while both started to crawl around on the carpet trying to get their hands on everything but were promptly stopped as we probably might not be able to afford to replace anything should anything get broken. Thankfully, both kids were very well-behaved.

After a nice playdate, the hubby sent baby girl and I to Marina Square where we met up with my mum, sis and her bf (aka Styluxtakut). We then decided to walk to Marina Bay Sands (MBS) via the Helix Bridge so that we can admire the beautiful view!

Helix Bridge.. Love! =)

Then, as we were looking down on the MBS Skating Rink from Level 4, we had a heated discussion on whether or not the kids were ice skating on actual ice.

Me: "Of course it's ice! Like duh!"
Sis: "It's not ice lah!
Styluxtakut: "Look, the kids can just lie down and not feel anything!"
Sis: "And they are not wearing gloves!"
Me (in retort): "Maybe they don't require it? I've been here countless of times. It's ICE!"

So, in order to prove that I'm right (which hello, obviously I am), we went to check out the skating rink. And lo and behold, guess what? Yours truly was exactly right. Of course it's ice (albeit a little artificial)!

Anyway, we were at MBS to watch Wonder Full, which is also Southeast Asia's largest light and water show. The last time that we were at MBS, we were too lazy to actually sit in the audience and naively thought that we could view the show from our hotel room, which overlooked the arena.

View of the MBS Water & Light Show from the MBS hotel room

Obviously, that's ridiculous. But tell that to the hubby who really didn't want to sit in the crowd out in the hot and humid weather (which also explains why he wasn't with us this time as well).

We waited patiently for the show to start, some less patient than others..

"Gimme a break. I just woke up from a nap aite.."

Playing a fool with the camera while waiting..

Compared to Hong Kong's Symphony of Lights, the MBS fountain show was definitely way better!

The Water & Light Show at MBS

It was almost a 4D experience, with an array of bubbles, lasers and pyrotechnics peppering the fountain display throughout the show. I have to say, it was almost as good as the Songs of the Sea except that it is free!

You should really check it out! They have a show at 8pm and 9.30pm everyday.

9 yummy cupcakes from High Society

We ended the day with dinner and cupcakes from High Society at MBS. Yum! *licks lips*

Can't wait for our next family outing, which incidentally, is the Singapore Flyer! =)

Mad-Made: Little Scrapping Gifts

I had done some beginner scrapbooking for Girlee's birthday and sorta got hooked on it. And as I'm also very inspired by the LOs done by Mama J at Mum in the Making (check her out, she's really good!), I've decided to make some as presents!

The first one I did was for my friend E, aka the mother of Baby N, for her birthday this year. I thought it will be fun to do a 3D piece with a frame I bought from Ikea.

Gathering my materials.. I love to see everything laid out on my bed

I bought the paper, the butterfly sticker and the brown border from Art Republic at Novena Square aka Velocity.

Love this photo we took together..

I got the letter 'E' from Cotton On Kids (wanted to buy the 'J' too but they were out of stock.. guess cos it's a very common letter for names?) and the flowers were from Spotlight at Plaza Singapura.

The letter 'E' and flowers for the 3D effect

Added a little car in the side (which represented her little boy) and some journaling in the form of a signboard stuck on the car using a toothpick. And there you have it:

Happy Birthday E! Hope you like it! =)

And as I was feeling in the mood for more scrapping, I used the same 3D frame and paper but with a different design to make a gift for my mother.

I know how much she loves my baby (she has pictures of baby girl's face plastered everywhere in her house, and I'm not even joking..) so I decided to add a really large picture of the two of them together.

Added some flowers on both sides of the frame (both the flowers and stickers are from Spotlight).

I cut the 'grass' from ordinary green paper and stuck the wooden letters of the word 'mum' on some felt and a toothpick.

And the final product:

For you mama!

My mum loved it! It has since taken up residence in a very prominent spot in her living room =)

A Sunday Playdate at Go Go Bambini

We had a lovely high tea/play date with Baby N and his parents yesterday at Go Go Bambini.

Go Go Bambini @ Dempsey

This was the first time that both of our families are visiting this place which had great reviews when we googled it. It has a play area, a dining area, a party area and even a place for mums to workout.

(Sorry for the blurred photos, I only had my iPhone with me)

Waiting anxiously for the food

Interaction between the babies and their daddies

The food was alright but definitely not the highlight of the place in my opinion (you would not just come here solely for the food) although it's still rather appetising.

Halfway through our meal, both kids couldn't wait any longer and whined of boredom so we hurried through the rest of the food and quickly proceeded onto the highlight of the place: the playground!

Time to play!

You need to have socks on before entering the play area so don't forget to bring some for both you and your child!

Baby N and Baby J playing together inside the structure

Baby Girl loves sliding down the slide!

Jumping into the ball-pit

Baby N the driver with Baby J the passenger on this toy train
(Super hard to get a decent photo of both babies looking at the camera at the same time)

Kids nowadays are so lucky! I used to beg my mother to bring me to one of these indoor play structures when I was young but she refused as it was too expensive. My girl and Baby N are only 13 & 7 months old respectively and they are already playing in really cool playgrounds that gets better and better. Envious!

What other playgrounds (preferably indoors) do you usually bring your babies?

UPDATE:
Kid-friendly Rating: 9/10

This post is part of a Blog Hop hosted by Sandra at Sanses.

Head on over to read about the Top 20 Kid Friendly Eateries in Singapore!

The Necessary Evil (II): Periodontitis Treatment

Warning: This post contains expressions of grossness, incoherence and irritability as the author is writing under the influence of fading anaesthesia. Reader's discretion is advised.

If you're like me and don't floss your teeth like ever (until I turned over a new leaf last year), you might have a disease that you might not even know you have, Periodontitis. I mentioned in my previous post that my gum disease required super hard-core cleaning (i.e. pulling back your gums and digging the dirt out!) and thankfully under local anaesthesia (which totally explains the above warning).

I was late for my appointment because apparently my baby decided today would be a good day to wake mummy up at 5.30am for her feeds and then mummy couldn't go back to sleep till an hour later and ended up oversleeping (-_-"). Dr Alex (my dentist) wasn't too pleased of course, but he still decided to start the treatment even though I was a face of crankiness and only replied in grunts and nods (I'm really not a morning person).

Before starting treatment, Dr Alex injected anaesthesia directly into my gums.

Credits: sciencephoto.com

It is as painful as it sounds.. Ouch! And he injected me like a zillion times I think. *Sigh*

Once he is sure I'm suitably anaesthetized, he proceeded on to stripping my gums back and then scrapping and scaling the teeth that is hidden under my gums. Although I didn't feel any pain during the procedure, I did feel a lot of prodding and scrapping. I thought I was going to faint, what with the light shining into my eyes and water/blood accumulating in my mouth.

Dr Alex: Open your mouth... how are you doing?
Me: Ugh.
Dr Alex: I don't understand, does that mean you're ok?
Me (slight nod): Ess ('yes')

Seriously, how does he expect me to respond when half my mouth is numb, I've got tubes in my mouth and I have to open my mouth wide?!

(Sorry, Dr Alex. I don't think you're reading this but in case you happened to stumble upon this, I'm still feeling pain in my gums so forgive me..)

The whole thing took only 30 minutes but it felt like 30 hours to me! I thought it would never end! So after the final procedure of polishing of teeth, when he said the magic words, "ok we're done!", I was so relieved that it was finally over (yes, I totally forgot I have to suffer with the pain once the anaesthesia wears off).

Except that it wasn't over. I still have to come back one more time to clean the other side and remove my wisdom teeth. Sigh..

The thing is, if I don't get it treated, I'll really lose my teeth one by one. No teeth or treat gums? I really don't have a choice here.

If you thought this was really horrifying and never want to go through the same experience, well I have good news for you: you don't have to.

All you have to do is follow three simple steps:
(1) Brush before you sleep
(2) Floss your teeth (the more your gums bleed, the deeper you need to floss)
(3) Visit your dentist every 6 months

Do the same for your kids. Or they'll end up like me. Suffering.. (Owww..)

Schedule a dentist appointment for you and your child. Go do it. Now!

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Sentosa Holds a Key to Our Hearts

In the days when I was just 20 and the hubby 25, we made our first trip to Sentosa together as a couple.

Old-school monorails were still in service when we started dating in 2004

It bonded us together and I have many lovely memories of the place. Since then, we'll try to go there at least once a year.

Us at Sentosa in 2004-2006

Except after a while, we became busy with wedding planning, getting pregnant and having a baby. Although we still went to Sentosa intermittently, it wasn't with just the two of us. Especially not with a large belly and me feeling dizzy all the time.

Hence, it wasn't surprising now that baby is older that I started bugging the hubby to take us to Sentosa again, especially with all the new changes that Sentosa had gone through. We did spend a short time together on Siloso beach during the Disney Junior launch event but I wanted to spend more time exploring the place.

So, the hubby finally took leave to take us there yesterday afternoon.

Girlee was wearing her red polka-dot hat that daddy bought for her

We parked at the beach carpark and walked to Siloso beach, which was a change from our usual tradition of 'setting up camp' at Southernmost point of Continental Asia at Palawan beach.

Girlee's 1st time playing in the sea!

She was a little apprehensive at first, but the inviting waters and strong waves proved to be irresistable.

Splashing in the strong waves!

The clear blue skies and cool waters created the perfect playground for baby girl to have fun in the sun. Her happiness really rubbed off on us. We couldn't stop smiling and laughing with her.

Family photo taken with self-timer =)

But I think age has really caught up with us as we only spent about 15-20 minutes in the sea before mummy surrendered and insisted we get out of the water. Baby looked really tired and too sunburnt to stay out in the sun any longer anyway.

After washing up, we headed to the Underwater World which was just round the corner. The last time we were here, we were not even engaged yet.

At the same shark statue outside the Underwater World

And here we are 5 years later, married and with a baby girl!

The turtles we saw in 2006 are still there in 2011

Although the Underwater World didn't really change much throughout the years, the beach tram however has been upgraded.

Old vs. new beach trams

The new beach tram is wheelchair-friendly and able to accomodate our stroller quite easily. After our joy-ride, baby girl clamoured to be fed.

Nursing room at Sentosa

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that there was a nursing room at the beach station (my reviews here).

Then it was time for the fountain show, 'Songs of the Sea', to start. This show used to be situated in central Sentosa (where the merlion is) and didn't cost a cent to watch.

Songs of the Sea in 2004
(Apologies for the bad photo, cameras weren't too good back then)

Nowadays, the show has been relocated to the edge of the beach, boasts state of the art lasers and pyrotechnics and costs $10 (standard seats) / $15 (premium seats) per person.

The new and improved 'Songs of the Sea'

We bought the standard seat tickets and entered the arena about 15 minutes before the show started. Already there was a huge crowd of people eagerly waiting for the show to start.

Songs of the Sea in 2011

I was very impressed by the new 'Songs of the Sea'! The storyline was actually similar to the original one but with better effects. The hubby thought it wasn't worth $10 but baby girl and I disagree. We liked it! =)

Love our time at Sentosa! Will definitely be back again and again! =)

Oh yes, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!

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