Tips + Ideas

Bin Bin Tan In Life, Musings, Relationships, Tips + Ideas

Capturing My Journey Towards Parenthood

Photo from Bin Bin

I’ve never really considered myself to be a very maternal person. In fact, there was a time in my youth where I wasn’t even sure if I wanted kids.

What changed? It could merely be the passage of time and the perspective gained along with it, or finding the right partner to parent with. Whichever it was, since making that decision to have children, it’s been such a journey of self discovery for me and my husband and I’ve realised that this is such a precious time that only happens once in our lives.

Below are the moments in the journey towards parenthood that I now look back on and savour. If I could go back in time, I would have done more to document this experience – especially taking many more photographs!

Grace Tan In Musings, Studio, Tips + Ideas

Corporate Profile Headshots

A good corporate profile headshot can make a huge difference to someone’s perception of you! It can exude warmth, show a hint of fun or maybe a whole lot of crazy. If you have been using your passport photo in your resume or as your LinkedIn profile shot, it’s time to update that headshot of yours.

Here are some tips on how to prepare for a session with us.

Sarah Lim In Musings, Portraits, Tips + Ideas

How to Style Your Photo Wall: Interior Designing Tips by Clover Buildcon

If you’re a visual person, you probably know that your environment can affect your mood and daily productivity levels. It is also likely that you place importance in using your home to channel your personality and individuality. If so, you don’t need a huge budget. This can be communicated through home decoration using your own family photos! Hanging pictures is a balancing act of spacing, colour, and proportion. The way a photo is displayed can be significant and transformative not only to the space it is in, but it can further express the feelings in the photograph itself.

Image by decorpad

Here are a few brilliant tips by our friends at Clover Buildcon Interior Design on how you can use personal photos or artwork to show off your most precious moments in a stylish way!

Which wall should you choose?

Choosing the right wall is essential. Not all walls can be used to display photographs. When we place photographs in the wrong place, it can look odd and confusing. So picking the right wall to feature is fundamental, don’t just pick one randomly. The wall you choose to highlight should ideally be a space where your eye is first drawn towards when you enter the room. Which wall is that?

Also, photographs look best when they are placed on a solid wall without doors or windows. Some common examples are the walls behind sofas and beds. Avoid placing your photographs on walls where there is too much competition for attention or walls that are too small. When we place photographs on the right walls, it creates an interior that adds excitement and importance to the space.

Sarah Lim In Parties & Events, Tips + Ideas

‘5 Styling Tips For A Cosy Party at Home’ by I Heart Party

Image by iheartparty

It’s already December! Just because we’re social distancing, doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate this magical holiday season with a small party at home. :) It’s a good opportunity to end the year well and make it special for our family and loved ones. To make sure we’re equipped with some home party decor styling tips, we had a chat with the talented event stylist Alice Tan from iheartparty. If you’re planning to host a small party soon, or even if its just for your family, here are five tips to help you get started.

1. I’m hosting a small party at my home and I would like to decorate the place really well. Where do I begin and what does the process look like?

This is where the fun begins! You can start by choosing a theme and colour palette. Easy tip, go on to Pinterest and look for some inspiration or use a colour palatte tool like Cooler to help you find a suitable palette. Then create a budget so that you don’t overspend. Don’t feel discouraged if you have a limited budget to work with. There’s always a creative solution for party decorating!

Image by iheartparty

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Parties & Events, Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Tips for Planning Children’s Parties

When I was growing up, I remember the most epic birthday party I had was when I was 8. Growing up in Malacca in the 80s, it wasn’t really common to have major parties for children my age, but my parents had organized my birthday at the new McDonald’s restaurant (the one and only in Malacca at that time!). It was totally memorable for me, especially since my mom baked a gorgeous cake for me, and my friends and I packed into the walk-in freezer to see how long we could stand the cold. I am grateful to my parents for organizing such a party for me.

Now that I have children of own and with the growing influence of Pinterest, DIY groups on Facebook etc, I feel a little ‘pressured’ to do something fun. So a few years ago when my daughter turned 5 and my son turned 3, I organised 2 parties – a unicorn party for my 5 year old and a fireman party for my 3 year old. It was quite fun doing some of the DIY stuff on my own, but unlike my mother, I can only bake instant cakes from those pre-mixes in the supermarket. (Needless to say, I didn’t bake these cakes).

It was a little stressful, but after all that organising, here are some tips to share with other mums who intend to plan their own child’s birthday parties.

1. If you are not good at something, hire someone to do it.

I realised that I was putting additional stress on myself in making some of the decorations myself. I went shopping for goody bags, was busy sorting out the guest list, planning food, AND thinking of how to keep everything under budget. Unless you are the kind of mum who truly enjoys this process, the best way to avoid unnecessary stress is to hire someone to do things for you. There are many great decorators / stylists who are great at what they do! (For my son’s 1st birthday, I had an Up themed party and hired Moments). For his 3rd year party, all I did was call the local fire station, do a site visit, and then let the firemen entertain the kids! (You need to give a donation to hold the party at the local fire station. Some fire stations do not allow parties)