The mushroom took  less than a  quarter of an hour make, and the only time I used a needle is  at the points where head and stem connect. The stem is wrapped in thread and knotted.

The onion took almost 20 minutes, but required no sewing at all, just wrapping thread all over the place.

Being an instant-gratification kind of girl, I’m liking this a lot!

1. May, why do you like doing collages? I love prints, and I always find myself collecting anything that has them – paper, fabric, books. I like rummaging through racks in thrift shops for boho-chic clothes that have interesting prints. I love patchwork, especially. Recently we bought a house, and instantly I knew what I wanted to do with the patio floor – a patchwork of printed tiles!  I suppose it’s this mix-and-match aesthetic that naturally drew me to making collages. I suppose I have horror vacui. Of late, I like cramming as much pattern into every artwork, hahaha.

2. You’re doing pieces inspired by fairytales for La Pomme. If you were a fairytale character, who would you be? I like Cinderella.  I feel in my real life I am a Cinderella who has an inner diva she keeps hidden most of the time, till occasions arise for her to reveal it, of course. And I like nice shoes.

3. I know your son reads a lot; is he interested in art-making too? At his age, six, I can’t really tell yet. He has a natural talent for it. He does amazing watercolor work, but he doesn’t really like doing it if I leave him alone. He usually likes to paint when he sees me working. Otherwise he would much rather read a book or play.

4. Where in your home do you work? And at what times do you work best?  With my collages, I like working in the garden, especially now that the weather – and the light – is perfect. We have a couple of really old, giant trees that give out a generous, cool shade. I like working best with natural light, and I have this between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with just a brief break for lunch.

5. What one thing most inspires you? Nature inspires me. Especially flowers. I love the surprising color and shapes I find in nature. And I especially like fire trees, sunflowers, and the very common bougainvillea.

Enjoy May’s artworks here.

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At the last pop-up shop, furniture designer Ito Kish came and said, “Why didn’t you do this at my place?” And so we are. On 21 and 22 June. Please come!

Anyway, as Lilou was going to a summer kid’s workshop this morning, some kind of wing was needed for her to feel completely dressed. And so, to the rescue, comes maman with the easiest DIY fairy wings ever!

1. Get a meter of gauzy fabric, bought for P35 (about 0,70€) from Tagbilaran’s BQ department store.

2. Fold in half, lengthwise.

3. Tie twice under toddler’s chin.

4. Give toddler a pinwheel as wand. (“This is my power!” Lilou exclaims in her sometimes strange English.)

5. You’re done.

Told you it’s the easiest.

Despite all our suddenly million-and-one projects, we are our own bosses, so a yaya seems somehow superfluous. Also this: As this other person prepares our child’s meals, watches her as she takes her walks on the beach, spends playtime with her, and bathes her, we’re scared we’d be missing out on too many moments in Lilou’s life. And she’d be missing out on something too. I grew up practically raised by a succession of yayas, and didn’t like it.

I think that this is how it will go from now on, just the three of us, yaya-free, but with some cheating on the side. With this maman wanting a break from the cooking and cleaning, we have hired a cleaning lady to come in thrice a week! Yehey!

P.S. One thing about having your child with you almost 24/7, you’ve got to be creative about keeping her occupied. Lilou loves to draw, and doubly so when she gets to do it on fabric. The novelty of it, I guess. A recent project is this little family garland, that she’s decided to hang on the back of one of our chairs.

These tiny fish that the locals call bolinao, tossed in salt, flour, and pepper and then deep-fried, are a hit with Lilou.

Poor giant moth, we found him floating lifeless at sea.

I find it hard to resist these clay stuff you find in the local markets. Here the latest addition to our kitchen , a pitcher.

Another moth, stuck to our child’s gallery of a wall.

Then followed it up with this:

And this:

And this:

Finally we tried to badger everybody with this:

And it worked.

The pop-up shop went well. It was, in fact, wonderful! I was nervous about doing an event in Manila as it had been 10 years since I left the city, but I so felt the love from friends, old and new, who gathered to chat and to shop and to just hang out.

For photos of the event, I made this album in our Facebook page if you’d like to check it out.

And we’re already thinking up the next pop-up. Soon! Like our Facebook page or sign up for our mailing list to be the first to get news of that.

P.S. Manila, I love you.