Blog-a-bing. Blog-a-boom.

Papier Macheniacs: Kadayawan Festival!

2019-09-15T09:11:00.000+08:00

4 months?! Seriously?! Have I been away that long???
Well, there's good reason for that. We haven't been doing much papermacheing unless it was for some event. And this was a huge event. Linggo ng Wika representing Davao's Kadayawan Festival!

The Kadayawan Festival celebrates all things bountiful. A bountiful harvest, a bountiful business, a bountiful life --which Davaoenos visualize with strings of beads hanging from colorful masks and elaborate headpieces. Kindla like this one.

Mind you, this was noy my original design. This was.

I had wanted a do-rag kinda thing with bead attachments. But as luck would have it, I got a fabric that was way too thick to fold. And I was pressed for time so I just had to do with it what I can. *sigh* I think it still turned out great in the end. Although as a piece of advice for all you crafters: Always make sure you have the right materials with you beforehand. Don't get stuff at the last minute. *lesson learned*

Okay, onto the dangling beads! Well, you know I'd like to do those by hand and I wanted to give the visual representation of the Filipino capiz. I went to town with a few sheets of cardboard for that.

Papermache'd them, as per yoosh.

And painted them in Davao's favorite festive colors. These colors represent vegetables and fruits and nature.

You can see the colors better here. :P

We strung them all up with tie-dyed yarn to create fun danglers. We weighed them down with clipped on coins so that the yarn would stay stretched. Brilliant brain fart there, eh? Haha!

We attached them to the freshly-painted on headpiece. Of course, we made the necklaces, too. It was fun painting the bigger 'capiz' pieces.

Oh! I made two designs for the headpiece paint job, by the way. Both designs also come from patterns most commonly used in the Kadayawan Festival.

And here they are worn by my boys. I think the tie-dyed shirts made a great match to these hyper colorful papermache'd pieces. Howeverrrr... my boys weren't too pleased that the headpieces didn't turn out to be do-rags as planned. *sigh*

Here they are again after I forced them to be happy about their miscalculated headpieces anyway. Mwahahaha!

So that's it!
Will I post in Halloween? Nobody knows. :D

Papier Macheniacs: From Grocery Bag to Tribal Headdress

2019-05-23T09:01:00.000+08:00

Yay! One more week to go and it's summer vacation already! Yesssss!!!

But before I prematurely bask into that relaxed feeling, allow me to stress myself out first with a Year-end Celebration costume creation for my boys' final 2019 school event.

The school will be having a musical that focuses on Filipino culture. Dude, that means tribalwear. Uh-huh. Right in my park, baybeeeh!
The boys are assigned to be Ifugao warriors and I'm just over the moon with that. The school will be providing the basic costume so all I have to do is fashion some kind of tribal headdress for them. Of course, for the Papier Macheniacs team, that means another bout of fun recycling in order to create --THESE!

And believe it or not, these headresses used to be recyclable grocery bags. Yep. I kid you not. I would've gone full on paper mache like I always do for headdresses, but the teachers wanted the costumes to be kept in the kids' lockers for dress rehearsals. So I needed a material that wouldn't bend and break when shoved in a locker full of books and gym socks. So grocery bags it is --with the most tribal-ish designs on them, too. Shout out to SM Markets for making my life so much easier! *mwah*

So what I did was fold the grocery bag so that the design comes up as the focal point and then measured my boys' skulls so that I can cut the recyclable fabric to the right length. I sewed on the sides to keep the material neat and sturdy.

Then, I conned the neighbor to give me her old feather duster. Would you believe she even wanted me to pay for the dusty old thing? Lol! I painstakingly paper mache'd each feather onto the fabric.

I also paper mache'd a couple of skulls --a bird's and a shrunken head's. Because I'm going for THAT kind of warrior. Haha!

I added a dash of fabric paint and --HEY, YEAH! WE GOT TRIBAL HEADDRESSES!

See how easy that was? And I didn't even spend a single cent. Mwahahaha!

If you want to create your own tribal headdress for whatever reason, feel free to do what we did. Recycle. Your grocery bag will thank you for its new purpose in life.
Happy paper mache-ing!

Papier Macheniacs: Benguet Strawberry Festival Masks

2018-09-02T11:06:00.000+08:00

Buwan ng Wika.
A celebration of our language and culture.
And an ideal time to get cosplay crafting!
PAPIER MACHENIACS --ACTIVATE!

This year, the school assigned the Benguet Strawberry Festival as the theme for my boys' class. And because I was so sure every kid will be coming in Benguet native attire (read: red and black weaved cloth), I knew I had to push my boys gear up a notch. Naturally, that meant making strawberry masks! Creepily fruity, huh! :P

We found these eerie Jason canvas cloth masks at National Book Store and I just went nuts with glee!

Post haste, I went down to making paper mache leaves --which, by the way, was a very therapeutic exercise.

Can I be a dingus and tell you now that I totally forgot to take a picture of the freshly paper mache'd masks? Ugh. It was past midnight. I was working against the clock. Still, that's no excuse, you pathetic blogger! *whimpers*

Slathered the masks with red and green paint, complete with white teardrop details --and BOOM! We got strawberry masks!

I am extra proud of the leaf details!

Made tiny strawberries for necklace embellishments to complete the look, too.

And there you have it!
I was informed that my boys spent most of the school celebration sneaking up on people and scaring them with killer strawberry delight. So I guess that means this project's a success! :)

HAPPY BUWAN NG WIKA, GUYS! See you with more of these insane crafts next year!

Papier Macheniacs: Lemon-Scented Infinity Gauntlet

2018-07-10T18:46:00.000+08:00

Wow. Another late post. We finished this project like ages ago. Ugh.

Okay, enough whining. Bottomline is that we did something awesome and seriously went nuts with gold! Man, Thanos can be so tacky. lol!

So, the boys wanted to make their very own Infinity Gauntlet. And with how much that thing costs at Toys R Us, I'm just happy they decided to go the creative route on this. The caveat though is that they wanted the Gauntlet to be wearable. As in they wanted to actually move their fingers and possibly do the snap to end all life on earth or something like that. I'm down for that. I love a death-defying challenge.

That meant I couldn't do a full-on paper mache on the Gauntlet. I needed a flexible base that can carry paper and glue, and yes, stones. We needed a glove.

And here it is. Haha. Okay, okay... it's a lame lemon-scented dishwashing glove. It's all I got, alright?! Oh, look at it snapping!

With a huge amount of self-doubt, we managed to slather the thing with tissue paper and glue, about 3 coats so it stays sturdy. But again, we needed to keep the thing flexible so we made sure to avoid covering up the finger joint areas and the wrist.

After leaving it to dry overnight, we went on ahead and spilled a ton of gold on it. Oh, and precious stones! Yes, yes... I do realize that we only had green crystals. That's like Thanos binging on the Time Stone. We'll just paint over them later.

There you go! Not too shabby!
We used a combination of gold and brown paint just to give the design dimension. More dimension happened when we used rope as the base of each stone. It was all a matter of sticking the rope around each stone with glue and painting them.

Body detail was a load of fun! Especially since we didn't cover the whole glove so there was a lot of paper mache play that went into the design.

TA-DAH! In full use and moving! Perfect for murderous snapping...

And nose-picking, apparently.

The best part: It still smelled like lemon! FRESH!

If you want to make your own Infinity Gauntlet, just follow the steps I've outlined here. Dishwashing gloves are available in a variety of fruity scents. :)

Papier Macheniacs: How to Turn Hulk Into Thanos

2018-06-09T12:59:00.000+08:00

Painfully late post, friends. But this is worth the wait.
This is the official HOW TO TOY TRANSFORMATION from The Big Green Smasher to The Mad Titan!

Riding the Avengers: Infinity War hype, we came up with this neat little paper mache project that had us cross-eyed with how little it is. No, I'm not kidding. Other than Mr. Bean's tiny Teddy, we have papermache'd anything this small. Anything this small with this much detail.

But I'm just whining like a little girl. The project came out great so it's well-deserving of the eye strain.

We started off with an old Hulk toy that lost his head, thanks to our chunky pooch, Luna, and her unfathomable hate towards action figures.

We did a test on the color change and it looked pretty good. Well, after a few tries and a dollop of Fixative. The paint kept sticking to our hands.

Then, we went with the body modification process. This was a lot of fun. Especially that part where we molded boots to cover Hulk's gigantic toes and got a Pink Power Ranger's head to play stand-in.

A bit of waiting time for drying and then we went down with painting in colors. the details followed soon after. The head, much much later. It literally took us 7 tries to get Thanos' features right!

Finally, we did it. YAY!

Hard to tell this guy used to be Hulk, huh? Definitely one of your craziest transformations, Mr. Banner. :)

YouTuber Spotlight: FunnyMisterM

2017-11-08T00:17:00.001+08:00

Give me a minute here, okay?

Voice + Animation + Sound Design. All done by one kid. How insanely awesome is that?!
I can't even find the freaking Channel Select on my universal remote!

I know they say parents shouldn't allow their kids to be completely glued to their gadgets. But if they use that for good instead of evil, how can you possibly lose? I call that good parenting!

Follow FunnyMisterM on YouTube. He does fanvids of the coolest games. All from scratch.

When they say kids can be entrepreneurs as early as they start tinkering with technology, man, they weren't kidding. Daaang...

Papier Macheniacs: Quick Warrior Armor

2017-10-13T10:07:00.002+08:00

Another occasion, another costume.
This time, it's United Nations Day. And I am pissed that I didn't have enough time to do this. :(
You see the boys were representing Korea. And naturally, they totally bashed my suggestion that they go to the school event as colored-hair Kpop idols. Yeah, I have the lamest suggestions sometimes. My boys wanted to come as ancient Korean warriors. Yeah, why not? Kill me with that, huh?
I never back out of a challenge, so yeah --bring it!

Just in case you're tasked into making a warrior costume for your child under short notice, here's a short cut that I personally think still worked.

Just hunt for a huge box and fashion sleeveless shirts out of each side. These cardboard pieces are your warrior armor foundation so a lot of measuring is in order. Add texture.

Paper mache through the night. Only one layer will do if you're using a cardboard box of the hell-sturdy kind.

Add gold or silver paint for a metal finish and shoe laces to tie the two boards together. Kinda like a sandwich board at your favorite deli.

Throw in a quick paper mache head piece and you're set!

Honestly, I would've wanted to make shoulder and arm plates as well. :( But sometimes, a Papier Macheniac isn't given that luxury of time to go full-on.*le sigh*

Still happy how that armor turned out though. :)

Paper Macheniacs: PINTADOS!

2017-08-25T09:25:00.000+08:00

Buwan ng Wika.
An entire month dedicated to celebrating the beauty and depth of the Fiipino language. It's myriad of dialects. And the culture that ties its more than 2,000 islands together in solidarity and love.

It's also that month when we get down to costume-making. Hey-yeah!

This year, the boys came to their school's Linggo ng Wika event as the Pintados of Leyte. A little backgrounder: the Pintados were warriors of this region, distinct for their body art that covered them from head to toe. Each tattoo showcases the accomplishment of the warrior. The more tattoos, the more the warrior is revered. And, boy, did I got to town inking!

I got two tight-fitting long-sleeved shirts and a bunch of markers and let loose with the nature and tribal art. No rhyme or reason. If I'd really put my boys' accomplishments on there, the shirts would have a drum set and archery gear which don't really look that good as tattoos. I mean, duh.

But wait --this is a Paper Macheniacs post, isn't it? Where's the darn arts and crafts?!!

Right here. the husband did the accessories and he can be quite as rabid as I am when inspired. So these paper mache'd head pieces and jewelry happened --complete with aquarium pebbles, shoe laces, and bristles from my trusty broom.

My dish rags were thrown into the ensemble, too.

And there you have it --PINTADOS!

Oh, did I tell you that I inked the pants, too?

Like I always say, 'Do it crazy or don't do it at all'. :)

Papier Macheniacs: PINGU!

2017-07-04T19:06:00.001+08:00

Okay, okay... so June had been a busy summer month. But, as dedicated as we are, we still managed to squeeze in a couple of paper mache projects. You know about the land formation project, right? Yeeeah... I'm just gonna have to assume that you read that blogpost. Other than that, we also had our little Pingu project.

Hey, you know Pingu --that adorably naughty claymation penguin on TV? He was one of the most popular TV characters in this household. Well, back when we still watched TV. Now it's just all about Markiplier on YouTube.
But I digress. My kids decided to pay homage to their past fave so we did a little crafting.

You know the drill, re-use and recycle. Other than the usual glue and tissue paper, we never buy anything when crafting. The point is to always make something new and awesome out of something that other people may deem as junk. For example, this old Christmas tree silver ball ornament and this empty bottle of Vitamins. Just tape cardboard around these items until you get the shape you want. Before you know it --BOOM!-- the beginnings of an arctic flightless bird! I'm sure it looks like a tired astronaut right now, but give me a minute here.

We mummified the shape with glue and tissue paper. Basically, paper macheing the figure to hard, smooth goodness.

Then, we added the details. Alright, I added the details. Isn't it crazy how I went over the eyeball outlines like a thousand times?!! Ugh. Thank God that mess will be painted over. But still, Pingu looks more like a monkey here, doesn't he? Double ugh.

PAINTED!

This deserves a back story. We ran out of black poster color. BLACK. The single most important color on Pingu's body. Because patience isn't exactly our strongest suit, we went to the neighbor --who incidentally fixes cars for a living-- and got some left over paint. We're talking car paint. The kind you put on metal surfaces.
So yeeeeah... that's how our Pingu got that brilliant shine. Uh-huh, this Pingu won't need to bob sled himself over ice bergs. He can just glide over frosty slopes on his shiny tummy. Hehe.

Okay, okay, I'm done.
That's Pingu for ya! If you want to make your own Pingu or any other old TV show character to immortalize some glorious childhood memory --paper mache it!

Papier Macheniacs: The Plateau Project

2017-06-07T14:42:00.001+08:00

Has your kid ever gone to you with a homework paper that tells you he needs to submit a diorama of a land formation? Maybe. We did a week before the last day of school and we were ecstatic! Yeah, dioramas rock our boat. Uh-huh.

And just like that, it's Family Project Weekend in this household.
Land Formation: Plateau.

You might think it's easy making a diorama of a plateau --and believe me, we thought so, too. I mean, it's just a bunch of boxes, right? Yes and No. Because we Papier Macheniacs don't do anything the easy way. Wahahaha!

So after getting some old boxes together, we rolled sheet music to to create a semblance of rocks and cliffs along the side of the mountain.

Then, we paper mache'd. That's when the magic starts to happen. The moment you start slathering your rough sculpture with that glue and tissue combo, the surface you want takes shape. Now it almost looks like a plateau! Okay... maybe an ice berg at this point. :P

But we don't stop at 'surface'. We wanted 'texture'! And that's how stealing sand from the neighbor's front yard rock garden got us to this part of the project. Hehe. Pepper your wet and sticky sculpture with sand and let it sit for about half the day. As soon as the whole sculpture is dry, you can shake off the excess sand.

Now... paint!
Let me tell you now that painting on sand is tricky as heck. You should use a dabbing kind of painting style so you hit all those tiny nooks and crannies.

And there you have it --PAPER MACHE'S PLATEAU!

The kid scored the highest and now has his project on display at the school library's Geography Department. BIG JOY! I call this another win for Team Papier Macheniacs. :)

Make Brushing More Fun With The Minions

2017-06-06T14:42:00.001+08:00

The most challenging part of parenting --other than making your kid eat vegetables-- is making him brush his teeth. Brushing is such a chore and a bore! Boo! No fun! Despicable!

Well, moms, you came to the right place. You have reached the fun time mecca for cleaning those cute little pearly whites --and your kids will love it! Count 'em. Three Fun Brushing Tips:

1. GET THEM INTO THE GAME.

Nothing thrills kids quite like getting their hands on things parents won't usually allow them to. So let him brush his teeth all by himself! Let him SQUEEZE the toothpaste, let him BRUSH like a boss, and let him RINSE like a hyper-pumped geyser. The more you make it a game, the less it becomes less a chore. Take it from my yellow friend here. He's got pearly whites to die for.

2. GET HIM HIS OWN FUN GEAR.

Since we're on the topic of giving your kid free reins of his brushing activity, heck, give him his personal tools to get the job done. No, not job. The FUN done!
Check out Colgate's Minions Toothbrush and Minions Toothpaste! Now we're talking. I mean, seriously, what kid does not ROFL on the Minions? This is the perfect pack to make him look forward to brushing all the time. And since it's from Colgate, you know you're getting a healthy quality toothpaste and a state-of-the-art, feast-for-the-eyes kiddie toothbrush. It's a win-win!
This special comes in a Colgate Minions Kids 2-5 Years Old (Junior) Oral Care Pack and a Colgate Minions Kids 5-9 Years Old (Youth) Oral Care Pack.

3. GET HIM ALL PACKED FOR FUN!

Well, don't stop there! Get him this fantabulous toohushing cabinet which he can call his own. It's a special number from Colgate featuring the Minions. It looks exactly like that adult medicine cabinet you have on top of your sink --except 500 times more fun!

It comes complete with Minion-decked swinging doors for privacy and joy.

Sliding see-through panels for your kid's toothbrush shelf and toothbrush shelf.

And those fun brushing instructions to boot!

It's kinda like a board game with all the pieces that will guarantee a bubbly kid from after dinner to bedtime.

If you're ready to put the fun into brushing, Colgate and the Minions got your back --aaand your kid's teeth, laughs, and giggles. Check out this Colgate special in your favorite supermarkets now!

Papier Macheniacs: The Grim Reaper

2017-06-02T06:31:00.000+08:00

Whoa! I've been gone for 4 months?! That is so unlike me! I bet some of you thought I'd died or something!

And THAT, folks, is my train wreck of a segue to our latest Papier Macheniacs project: THE GRIM REAPER!

Handsome devil, ain't he? Who would've thought that this vile face was once a pretty little China doll mask?

We just love disfiguring the pretty little China doll mask. It's like a sport to us.

So we hacked away at the doll face's perfectly flawless chin without an ounce of remorse. Then, we proceeded to add abomination-like details. Rope for eyes, thick board for craggy teeth, and --oooh!-- more cardboard for that disturbingly skewed, hanging jaw.

Then, of course, we even things out by slathering the monstrosity with paper mache. For those who have just tuned in, that's a tissue-glue-water combo AND the very foundation of Papier Macheniacs' existence. Oh, look-- you can hardly see perfect little China doll mask in there now. Hello? Where are yooouuu?

Aaand,,, BOO!
Nothing like a spot of paint to bring out the color of its eyes, huh?
Okay, one tiny bit. If you're painting with your kid (provided creepy skull masks don't creep the heck out of him) and he accidentally spills over the lines, or if his strokes are a little too scraggly for Van Gogh --calm down. This is the Grim Reaper we're making! Believe me, this guy isn't the kind who'd drop by a salon before having a good time.

Now grab a black cloak and you or your kid is ready to go!
Oh, wait --Did you see the tiny add-ons we threw in there, too? THE SCYTHE Never leave home without it. This weapon of destruction we paper mache'd used to be a roll of cartolina. The blade is plain box carton.
Another add-on: SKELETON HANDS! These we made with surgical gloves. Surgical gloves have that bony color to it that makes it perfect for this project. For authenticity, we lined joints with a thick, black marker.

There you go! Now go ahead and scare people! When you own a Grim Reaper mask... everyday is Halloween!

Assassin's Creed: The Non-Gamer Review

2017-01-11T10:07:00.000+08:00

Now, before you raise a condescending brow, let me put it out there --without the slightest qualm-- that I am no gamer. Until last weekend, I wouldn't have known the difference between Aguilar de Nehra and Gordan Freeman. But I do have 2 teenagers who who have done the popular Leap of Faith, so I consider myself schooled. Crash coursed, more like it.
I am also a nerd. So before our weekend Assassin's Creed movie date, I did research. I went through the Assassin's Creed storyline, watched every game trailer, and felt my brain implode. I also found myself going through movie reviews. It was a pretty daunting experience because most of them were on the negative end of the spectrum. Something about how weak the movie plot was, about how the story should've delved more into the Spanish Inquisition past rather than the Animus Experiment present. Picking up the pieces of my brain, I went and told my boys about this. They were unfazed. We were going to watch Assassin's Creed no matter wahat. And I'm like, "Oh, heck, Michael Fassbender's in it --sure, let's go!"
And, boy, was I glad I got so easily swayed!

To the true blue gamer, Assassin's Creed may not have met their standards like most movie translations flop to every video game imaginable. I remember how Doom was criticized. Wait, that was too kind. Doom was adequately bashed.
But from my perspective, Assassin's Creed was amazing!

1. The story line of good versus evil, past versus present may not be the most original, but the storytelling was on point. While some people complained about the unbalanced editing, I found it crisp and clear. Keep in mind that jumping from past to present and back again can be quite confusing. But Assassin's Creed delivered through its simplicity.While I do agree that the Spanish Inquisition past served as better eye candy, for an intro phase in this Assassin's Creed series, the present needed to be played up more. It made the entire plot more believable. I even believed that there could be a cure to the disease called violence.

2. The action was insane! The parkour-heavy fight scene that ran almost 10 minutes had me riveted! The horse-drawn carriage chase scene was incredible. And every one-on-one mano-y-mano was brilliantly choreographed. Case in point, Aguilar's ghost versus Callum Lynch. And don't get me started on Maria's 2-against-1 number. That one almost had me screaming 'Girl Power!' in the theater.

3. Cinematography. Damn, those wide angles! Thanks to the iconic CGI eagle, we were pitched into the landscape of a cruel past. I dig that. From the GoPro shot of a mountainous terrain, to the dramatic caress of a stage of burning bodies, to the rustic dusty skyscrapers and towers specifically built for Aguilar to jump off from.

4. Are you seeing this, cosplayers? The costumers were on point --from the ominous garb to the tattooed skin. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing an imaginary character come to life in its most faithful detail. Heck, I squealed the first time I saw a Morrigan cosplay, thinking, "So that's how you keep that impossinle bustier up..."
Anyway, you should've seen my boys geek out to high heavens every time a hidden blade was unleashed. Kudos to the movie's production designer, seriously.

5. The cliffhanger was done clean. I know that some movies or TV shows have cliffhangers that give too much (I'm looking at you, Marvel) or too little (I'm looking at you The Walking Dead), and that kills the magic all together. Whereas, Assassin's Creed held its breath just enough to make you want a sequel.

Bottomline, even if you're not a gamer, you can enjoy this movie. You can keep up without feeling left out. It also helps that assassins, in all their mysterious glory, can be fascinating and crush-worthy. Oh! Michael Fassbender helped, too. :)

Assassin's Creed. It's still showing. Catch it.

Delicious DIY: The Chef's InstaMug Cakes

2016-11-28T23:45:00.000+08:00

What if I told you that you can make a cake whenever you want?
And what if I told you that you can make said cake in under 5 minutes?
Would you call the authorities on me and have me strapped in a straightjacket?
Oh, wait 'til I tell you that you can do all this in a mug! YES, A MUG! I must sound painfully crazy to you right no.

But with the innovative genius going on at Rebisco, this kind of astronaut treats technology IS possible. In fact, it exists and it has an awesome name: THE CHEF'S INSTAMUG!
You can make the cake in your own mug. But if you don't have one on hand, the Chef's InstaMug has you covered. The package comes with its own cup and tiny packets of delightful cake-making ingredients.

We chose the Creamy Chunky Mocha Cake to work on. Work --what am I talking about? It was practically play time. The kids had a blast in 6 easy steps.

1. We pulled out the microwavable cup from the box.

2. Then, using the tiny spoon that comes with the pack, we scooped 9 spoonfuls of water into the cup.

3. We added the cake mix and the cake flavor and stirred until the mixture was nice and smooth.

4. As soon as that's done, we microwaved our cake batter at medium-high for one minute.

5. DING! We carefully pulled the cup out and --lo and behold!-- we have a nice fluffy cake in a cup! Like magic!

6. We poured and spread the cake fudge on top of our freshly-baked cake. And, as a finishing touch, topped the delectable masterpiece with cookie bits and choco chunks.

After that, nothing left to do but smack our lips and gobble down our home-made treat. And it tasted fantastic! Fluffy, sweet, and Martha Stewart perfection have never been this effortless.
I guess a demonstration is in order, hmm?

Best DIY ever, right?!
If you're like me and you struggle with baking, The Chef's InstaMug is the cake for you --and your kids. Believe me, they'll love you a thousand fold for this incredible baking breakthrough. Try The Chef's InstaMug today!

Oh! And did I mention that it also comes in a Gooey Chocolate Fudge Cake flavor? YUM!

Canvas Cake Studio: From Conceptualization to Cake Perfection!

2016-10-06T14:27:00.000+08:00

I don't know how many times I've blogged about Canvas Cake Studio (formerly Midnight Snacks), but I'm letting loose another one!

Except this time, I'm doing a step-by-step --from Conceptualization to Cake Perfection. Wouldn't that be neat! This way, you can take a complete walkthrough on how you can order your personal, ultra-creative cakes from Canvas. It's really super easy.

STEP 1: Squeeze out those creative juices.

Think of what the celebrant wants. Make your cake idea as personal as possible --from the design to the flavor. Taking my boy Kenji's birthday cake as an example, Miro and I went for a Mr.Bean/Peanuts Crossover design inspired by Kenji's very own Go Animate channel, Can of Beans Productions. He does Mr.Bean and Peanuts funny video edits. How personal can you go, right?
For the flavor, we went with Kenji's all-time love, Oreos and Cream.

STEP 2: Send visual pegs.

This can just be the OC in me, but I'd like to scour the internet for visual pegs that would bring out my idea all the more. It helps the chef, too --especially when I have a tendency to be all over the place when I'm explaining in an excited fashion. You don't have to lay it out, but I do so when my design idea tends to be a little complex. That's mostly my fault. Haha!

STEP 3: Incoming... Canvas Cake Studio brainstorming session.

Canvas Cake Studio will email you back with a price list and a flavor chart. That's the challenging part. All of Canvas' flavors are to-die-for! That's the part where I usually take forever to decide. Canvas chief baker, Larisse, will also send you inputs that can make you cake design even better. That's the amazing part! That level of teamwork hits me all the time. :)

STEP 4: Wait with bated breath until the magic is ready.

Depending on the gravity of difficulty your cake design has, Canvas can finish their masterpiece for a minimum of two weeks. Sometimes even less. They can deliver your cake at your doorstep or you can arrange a pick-up point. See how flexible that is? All for your convenience. Let me warn you now that the first time you see your cake idea as a full-on reality, the emotional impact can be quite severe. get tissues ready for uncontrollable tears of joy. Hehe...

STEP 5: Serve the awesomeness!

What's absolutely cool about Canvas' cakes is that they are centerpieces on their own. Even when you have a too-plain set-up, the whole room just lights up with excitement with the cake sitting there. For example, Kenji had his birthday at his school canteen --his special day falling right smack into a school day. Even with very minimal decor, his cake (and HIM!) became stars of that mini-party.

STEP 6: Save (and Savor) the moment.

I'm big on surprises. So Kenji had no idea what his cake would look like. I'm also big on catching that expression my kids make when they first see their cake. And here is that perfect moment. Look at that smirk! You can tell he's all giddy inside but hiding it in a fluffy blanket of smugness. Haha! He's my boy alright!
I would've taken a picture of the kids eating the cake, too, but that never really happens when I'm serving Canvas cakes. They're so delicious, they disappear waaaay too fast!

There you go! Was this post helpful? I bet it was. Reading through it and it makes me want to order another cake for no apparent reason. :D

If you want it personal, if you want it special, get in touch with Canvas Cake Studio!

Ten Telltale Signs That You're Flunking Parenting

2016-09-26T08:15:00.002+08:00

Just a few off the top of my head.

1. When people ask you 'How old are your kids?', you provide figures from 5 years ago --and believe them to be true.

2. When, on the rare occasion you buy a present for your children, you buy them something they've outgrown ages ago.

3. When you try and strike a conversation with your kids, there's this air of unnecessary stranger-to-stranger cocktail dinner awkwardness hanging above you all.

4. When you're not around, your children don't look for you. When you're around, they'd feel better if you weren't.

5. When major school events and extra curricular milestones come around, your kids don't even ask if you're attending. They immediately assume you won't.

6. When you break a promise, your kids are fine with that. It's not like it's the first time.

7. When you engage in some physical interaction with your children, your kids give you that look that screams 'Child abuse!'

8. When you FINALLY try to parent them, your kids give you that look that screams 'Who are you to parent us?!'

9. When you look for yourself in your children, you don't find even the slightest smidgen. It's as if they were never your children at all.

10. When the Developmental Psychologist asks your kids to draw a family picture. your image doesn't even make it on the paper. And yet to your kids, the picture is complete.

It's a given that parenting is one tough business. But the simple act of BEING THERE --being a familiar, warm presence in your children's lives --means you've already succeeded most of the way.

Kodanda Archery Range Hits the Mark

2016-09-10T18:29:00.000+08:00

Painfully late post, I know. But this is worth the wait, believe me.

So last summer break, my son decided to wade out of his 5-year Robotics Camp comfort zone and dive into the unknown that is Archery. We had no idea what we were about to face doing that, but it was summer so we said 'What the heck!'.

So, off we went to Kodanda Archery Range.
And, lo and behold, a discovery: My boy's hidden talent is sharpshooting! Channeling his inner Arrow-HawkEye-Daryl Nixon combo, he went through each session with the drive of a survivor in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. He's pretty good! He was just claiming each target sheet like a boss! (I say this as a proud mom and as a totally impressed spectator sitting behind the glass-covered bleacher)

Of course, it helped loads that he has some really welcoming range mates. Some of whom have already leveled up from hobbyists to legit athletes who compete out of the country.

It helped all the more that he has a coach who saw potential in him and gives him the best kind of training.

My boy did so well in his first few sessions at the range that he was invited to take part in the Kodanda Fun Cup-- an event that puts together all three Kodanda branches for a target challenge. Cool stuff! It was a friendly competition of skills with trophies and a helluva lot of food!

It was his first competition ever and he loved every minute of it. In fact, he's training right now for the upcoming October Cup. :) Talk about drive, huh?

So if you're ever in the mood to change things up with your kid's usual activities, try Archery. Hey, try Kodanda! But I'm telling you now that you gotta prepare yourself for the long haul. When your kid starts getting into this kind of focus... it stays.

You can find the Kodanda Archery Range in Makati Cinema Square, Mall of Asia, and BF Homes.

Finding Originality in Finding Dory

2016-06-18T11:54:00.000+08:00

Finding Dory is basically Finding Nemo with role reversals and character changes.

1. Instead of Nemo, the lost one this time around is Dory. With this flip, Nemo and Marlin have taken on the role of the searchers.
2. Instead of a friendly pelican, the necessary air transport for these sea creatures is now a deranged seagull named Becky.
3. Instead of a jowl full of water, Becky conveniently carries an orange water-filled bucket.
4. Instead of the dentist, the accidental abductor is now Sigourney Weaver and her band of marine biologists.
5. Instead of Gil, the daredevil in this sequel is now a stealthy little octopus named Hank.
6. Instead of three sharks, we are gifted with three seals on a rock.
7. Instead of a band of surfing turtles, we have a couple of huge-ass whales and echo locating helping our fishy friends find their way to their missing friends.
8. Instead of a fishing boat climax, it's a delivery truck --with an intense car chase scene, I might add.
9. We got a double treat for the destination of choice in this movie though. Instead of returning to the ocean, there's Cleveland Zoo for Hank and going home to her parents for Dory. But just like before, everybody ends up in the ocean and live happily ever after.

The plot is still the same: Going through great lengths to be reunited with family. I suppose this concept is just so beautiful that Pixar just had to repeat it. It's just disheartening that the sequel feels like an alternative version of the first film instead of a continuing sage. But that's just me. Your kids will still like Finding Dory because the familiar characters are there. And kids love familiarity.

Oh, one last thing. Instead of a cute, bull-headed Nemo, we are presented with a cute, scaredy kitty baby Dory. Baby Dory is the movie highlight for me. Not just because she's so darn cute, but because she managed to really bring the hardships and realities of short term memory loss to light. And that being alone as a child in a strange world can be really heartbreaking. Made me want to hug my kids.
So with all the trappings that went with this movie, Baby Dory is what made it for me.
Other than that, Finding Dory is Finding Nemo. Only Finding Nemo, being the original, is better.

Papier Macheniacs: Turning Lucy Into Heather

2016-05-08T22:23:00.001+08:00

When McDonalds bundled their Happy Meals with Peanuts figures during the Peanuts' movie debut, the popular fast food chain never really got around to including the mysterious yet lovable little red-haired girl in the toy mix. Whether the reason was because she was overlooked, or McDonalds just wanted to preserve her enigmatic personality, is beyond us. And we don't really care.
Because...

We can make our own little red-haired girl! So there, McDonalds!

It's pretty easy as long as you have doubles in your Happy Meal Peanuts stash. And we kinda do. We have 2 Lucys. Now, who would want two of these sassy, cranky chicks, huh?
So off we go to transform one of our Lucys to Heather, the little red-haired girl.

We whipped out our handy dandy paper mache kit for this project. From there, it's all a matter of sculpting. The big challenge --and I mean, literally BIG-- is Heather's hair. The redhead's hair is all sorts of different compared to Lucy's. So we used a bunch of rolled-up paper to make that mane happen.
We also slathered a layer of tissue and glue for every part of Lucy that we'll need to re-paint to create the perfect Heather figure. You can tell Lucy isn;t exactly happy about the makeover. :P

PAINTEEEEED!
From a permanently scrunched-up face to a smile of complete and utter sweetness!

Just some quarter turns for your pleasure.

Look, even Charlie Brown approves!

Ah, we are such suckers for puppy love... :)

Do you have toy doubles? Are you tired of one particular toy? Do your own toy transformation with paper mache! You know you want to.

Papier Macheniacs: Something Original from 2D to 3D!

2016-05-07T19:42:00.000+08:00

My boy came up with an original character for his comic blog. And I (being the awesome mom I am --haha!) decided to surprise the creative spawn with some paper mache goodness!

TA-DAH!
This is a mask and a top hat for Miro's self-designed character, The Storyteller. And they're both made out of paper, cardboard, glue, and... love.
(Oooohkaaay... that was way too cheesy even for this blog. Moving on!)

As usual, we went with our favorite basic tool for mask-making: The Unassuming Paper Plate. Just a little cut here, a little sculpt there, and we got a semblance of a face. A creepy one at that.

Slathering on the tissue paper and PVC glue happiness! This, by far, is my favorite part of the process.

And I think I may have said that fact a gazillion times. Hehe...

And then, paint! By this time, I got the boy in on the supposed surprise since I don't want to make any mistakes with the colors. You know these young artists and their OC-ness. Sheesh.

And then the top hat came in.

Followed by these interesting embellishments. A flower made out of strips of cardboard and a Pringles cap!

Paper bag vines reaching to the stars.

I think the top hat deserves a Before-and-After, so here it is! Miro did the flower's smiley face himself. I mean, he would know how yo do it than I would, right? :P

Okay, now that we're done creating 3D reality out of a 2D design --what do we do next? COSPLAY, OF COURSE! Believe me, he has a big smile underneath that mask, too. :P

If your kid has a knack for drawing original designs, give them the surprise of a lifetime by paper macheing that baby into reality. He or she will love you loads for it. And for that, we tip our hat to you. :)

Papier Macheniacs: Embellish!

2016-04-18T18:08:00.000+08:00

Ah, your teenager's first Masquerade Ball.
This is the perfect time to get your creative juices going in the area of mask-making. Sure, you can buy masks for a dime a dozen in any department store or party nook. But that's too easy. Where's the fun in that?

So, here is where I teach you easy embellishments that should only take a couple of hours of your time. Heck, you can even do chores in between! :P

We start off with something that's already there. A plain white mask. This is your canvas. You can get it cheap since it isn't dolled up yet. You're handling the dolling up department after all.

Now, think of your masquerade concept. We went with the Phantom of the Opera, so that meant cropping the mask to size. And, because it's a ball after all, adding a bit of zing to it. By zing, we mean texture of the paper mache variant. It's pretty simple. Just cut strips of tissue paper and shape them according to your whim. Stick them on the mask with wood glue. Don't forget to sculpt your design with curves, dips, and rises. Like I said all about texture.

And then, PAINT! We went with a nice, shimmering gold --you know, the kind with the glitters in the paint --to make our sunburst explode throughout the party.

And just like that...
My boy masqueraded dat shizz!

So why not you and your kid start dolling up those white masks to the high heavens? I mean, these canvases aren't gonna artsify themselves. :)

Papier Macheniacs: Turning Charlie Brown into Linus

2016-03-11T14:39:00.000+08:00

Very, very late post.
Soooo….

Flashback to last month: We've been trying our darnedest to complete our Peanuts character collection from McDonald's --and failing miserably, thanks to some people who keep beating us to the Linus supply. So we have everyone except Linus and that's totally got my little man bummed out. Good thing the little man had a spark of genius:
"Mimi… why don't we just turn one of our Charlie Browns into Linus?"

Well, hot damn, why not!

And just like that, the Paper Macheniacs' Toy Transformation Project was so on!

We needed to do a bit of re-shaping and a ton of re-painting so we slathered one of our Charlie Browns with the basic foundation of glue and tissue. We used the paper mache to add embellishments on the 'new' toy as well. Notice the little blanket sticking out his hand there?

We were using water-based paint so it was easier to paint on Linus' clothes on top of Charlie brown's with the paper mache base.

Now… for the hair.

We twisted some glue and tissue --quite messily, I might add-- to create Linus' wiry locks.

It's a total score that Charlie Brown has a nice shiny dome, too. It gave us more wiggle room to plant Linus' hair onto it. And when I mean 'plant'… I do mean PLANT. And here you go… planting! :) This was so much fun!

Just a little trim off the top and sides and a date with some hair dye (er, black paint, I mean), and…

TADAH! Charlie brown has officially turned into Linus!

No more seeing doubles here.
"Goodness grief!", says Charlie Brown. Haha!

So if the mainstream market can't give your kids the toys they want, then by all means, do a little toy transformation. It's cheaper, more fun, and more fulfilling. And, THAT is how we roll. :)

If you've done any toy transformations lately, with or without the use of paper mache, you can share them in the comment box below.

Papier Macheniacs: The Chubby Atari Episode

2016-02-09T09:02:00.000+08:00

Stand back, people! I'm doing a vintage post!

My little boy --whom I'm pretty sure is a reincarnated ancient soul-- has a thing for old stuff. His latest subject of fancy are old gaming consoles. Obviously, hitting the top of that very short list is the Atari. While I'm still looking for a local museum that actually showcases one, a little Papier Macheniacs just has to happen.

TA-DAAAH!

To shake things up a bit, we decided to go with a Chubby Chibi-type Atari. That, and the fact that we only had chubby household boxes to work with. Teehee…

So how did we get from here…

…to here? Sit back down and I'll tell you.

Perpetually running with the recycling theme, we got drinking straws and folder clips to make our console switches.

And another box, a plastic dome, and an empty Push Pop for the joystick,

Oh! And coins for buttons. Shinyyyy...

We slathered those babies up with PVC glue and paper towel strips. Then, we twisted the clips through the holes we made on the switchboard. The console won't be working for real, so the least we could do was make the switches toggle. :) Ah, simple joys.

The same manner of folder clip sorcery was applied to the joystick. We slipped it through a hole we bored through the dome. So when you move the stick, it toggles, too.

Then, we went on to add the killer details to our soap box game cartridges. My boy chose the games himself. Not that he's played any of these games in his young life… but yeah.

Next was just a whole lot of painting and nitpicking. The operative word being 'nitpicking'. And quite possibly 'a whole lot of'. But then, that would already be an operative phrase. Hmm…

And before you can say 'PONG!', we were done!

We even had the time to work the back features. Family Fist Bump!

Now, I wouldn't know if you'd like to make your own paper mache Atari console. I don't think half the population is as nuts as my brood. :P But if you do get the itch, just follow this step-by-step DIY, get messy, and have fun!

Noob-Style Shirt-Painting

2016-01-29T11:12:00.000+08:00

NEW SUPERPOWER, UNLOCKED!

Ok, ok… superpower is too much of an overpromise. Let's just go with new 'possibility'. There. Safer. :P

It all started with the boys whining about how not every T-shirt idea they have is available in our local department stores. They somehow have this notion that department stores should be able to read their minds. lol! But really -- something as basic as a Charlie Brown zig-zag shirt isn't available at our Snoopy Store. No gaming outfitter sells Half Life 2 shirts either.
So, Best Mom Ever to the rescue! :)

I've never tried hand-painting on fabric before so this was a huge challenge. The odds were against me, too. I had the right paint, but the wrong brush. I had 100% confidence, but zero patience. So you can imagine me throwing measurement duty out the window and jumping into the painting job without as much as a Plan B.

For the Charlie Brown shirt, I cut out a cardboard template which my hubby had to help with. Measurements. Pfft.

The Halflife 2 Combine logo though, I did freehand. My boy liked it a lot, but I know it could be better.

Bottomline: I may not have done the best kind of work for a first timer, but this opens up a new door for me. Shirt-painting is fun! And it's nice coming up with something when it's something money can't buy. My kids were thrilled their imagined shirts now exist.

Next step: Buy the right tools for serious shirt-painting! And --damn it, woman!-- learn to measure!

Paper Macheniacs: Fallout 4 Pip Boy

2016-01-10T16:20:00.000+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM OUT HOME-MADE FALLOUT 4 PIP BOY!

If you're a certified gamer, you'd know that this fully-loaded little mechanism is awesome stuff for post-apocalyptic Boston. If you're a certified Papier Macheniac, you'd know that this little mechanism is a heck-load of hard work to make! The amount of details on this thing is insane!
But then… so are we.

I'd have to admit, our favourite part in the paper macheing process is hunting for the random parts that would make up the pieces of the prop. For Fallout 4's Pip boy, it was a mad hunt. We decided to use a T-shirt's plastic tube container, a photo frame box, and yep --my own mobile phone. The things I do for love.
Oh, a tip when hunting --make sure to choose items that are light and easy to get tissue paper and glue on. Everything has to be paper mache'd for consistency and a smoother finish.

YAY! PAPER MACHE'D! Sculpted details --not too shabby. If you're wondering about the bottle caps, they're there to keep my phone in place. Safety first. Teehee...

The attachments we had to sculpt and paper mache piece by piece. because we're OC like that.

Then came the assembly part which was loads of fun!

Now, like we always do, we went to town with the painting part. Our Pip boy came with the distress, the wear-and-tear, and just about everything you can throw at a nuclear war aftermath.

Glue stick bits for buttons and an old charger cable for the Pip boy's cable were pretty nifty touches, too.

And don't get me started on the Doop Doop Theme cassette tape!

So there you have it --us overdoing it with Fallout 4's Pip boy. And it fits like a glove!

Hey, why not make your own paper mache Pip boy and customise it to a fun prop like we did? Great weekend warrior project. Especially if you're into this futuristic wasteland scenario kind of thing.