My interview with a children's interior designer

In keeping with the new craze of children's interior design, I turned to Medina Sam, of MK Kid's Interiors to find out the scoop behind what it takes to achieve the perfect room and what's it like having the responsibility of such a task.
Medina also uniquely helps children with autism create their perfect room, something that not only empowers them but can support in their growth and development.

1. What do you think defines the perfect children's bedroom?
It has to be a fun and exciting space, a room that also encourages sleeping (after all, a bedroom is for sleeping.)

2. What are your top 3 tips parents can do themselves to improve the environment of their child's bedroom.

De-clutter - often children's rooms are filled with items they collect, and gifts they receive. Often times they are thing that are not used. If you can't get rid of it hide it, which leads to my next point.
Plenty storage - invest in ample storage so that clothes, shoes, books and toys will have its place. This will teach a child how to tidy up as well as create a perfect atmosphere for relaxing and sleeping. It will also ensure that nothing is out of place.
Personalize - make your child's room special for them. Make your child's room about them, add furniture and accessories that reflect their personality. You can do this by hanging their own artwork, pictures, or favourite things.

3. What do you think about the pink and blue gender divide?
I think its a child's preference, however I love the gender neural themes as the possibilities are endless; one can experiment with accessories, lighting and furniture more than if the walls were painted blue or pink.

4. Your favourite room theme and why?
I like a mixture, but most importantly it must fit the context; childs's preference, age and the architecture of the building. I design a children's room based on and around their needs and wants.

5. What's the best children's Interior design job you enjoyed the most and why?
My most rewarding moment was completing the design of little Jaeden's room. The room was dark with a double bed, chest of drawers, wardrobe, cot and a side table. I totally transformed the room from start to finish, up-cycling some furniture and adding features that 2 year old Jaeden loves; numbers, and hanging monkeys. Jaeden fought to get into his room as we were adding the finishing touches. When he finally got in he jumped on the bed in excitement. When I saw his parents at a later date, they told me that Jaeden was praying for 'auntie Dina' (that's what he calls me). Though too young to verbally express his gratitude, I was absolutely touched by Jaeden's actions. The best designs are always the rooms that the children love!

6. What are your top 3 most important parts of a children's room to change, or give attention to?
1. Space - children need space to play and be themselves. Be sure to create floor space, by minimizing the use of the walls if the room is already small.
2. Bed - a quality bed and mattress are extremely important for good sleep. It is essential to get a sturdy bed that will withstand the 'jumping on the bed' stage and beyond. It needs to be a bed that can grow with your child. No one buys a new bed every year.
3. Lighting - as with adults lighting has the ability to affect our mood. You need to ensure the room is well lit in the daytime and is dark enough for sleep at night. It's also a good idea to incorporate night lights as some children can't sleep in the dark. Lighting makes or breaks the space as well as your child's mood.

7. You work with autistic children in creating their environment together with them. What are the benefits you found, that they get from that experience?
Autism affects children in various ways. However some fundamentals are the excitement in creating their own space. One of the boys with autism that I worked with, was extremely creative, therefore our Creative Consultation worked really well with him. He was excited and proud to create a master piece of art for his room. He was also able to express the things he liked and didn't thus creating a space that better suited his needs.

For more on Medina and her work visit: www.mkkidsinteriors.com

Children's Interior Design and Some

Having decided to open up a new children’s interior design arm to my mural and artworks, I have spent a considerable amount of time researching this subject.

From the gigantic and eclectic varieties of inspiration on Pinterest and Etsy, to browsing on various specialist websites the ideas are simply endless.

One thing is clear, that the environment a child grows up in and the environment it comes to from a hard day at school or a huge family dinner downstairs, is so important to their mind and soul. A room is the place we would relax and let our minds soar into the adventures of books, it's a place where we would feel that cosy not wanting to go to school feeling at 6am, and it's that place where we would play with our friends endless games and invent fantastical stories without end. 

The room is a safe haven and is where any child should be made to feel free and themselves and that's why it deserves to be special.

  

I remember growing up as a child and into my early teens, finding such amazing comfort in the TV show ‘The Queens Nose’. In series one, I was enraptured by her bedroom and the eclectic designs. She had wind chimes and secret hiding places, old English furniture and rustic coloured fabrics. Her room was where my imagination grew up. She was what I wanted to be.

Not to mention the fact they lived in a wonderful house in Chelsea and she was an artist like me.

And that’s where I developed my love for the look and design of a bedroom. I went through a phase when my father kindly offered to send me to university to study interior design, however the thought of mathematics and measurements frightened my right brain so much, I decided to stick with just being an artist. A decision I do regret, however it gives me the pleasure of working with those whose passion interior design really is. Especially in children's rooms.

It is incredible the design of kid’s bedrooms. There really are no limitations unlike grown up's rooms. I found a few I liked and wanted to share with you.

From magical princess rooms..

To shabby chic vintage Laura Ashleyesk...

From simplistic Nordic....

To full scale pirate theme galore...

From doing wall murals, one thing I know and is the challenge with interior design too; finding a theme that will carry the child through from the moment they get their room done, till as long as possible.
If the child is under 5 then perhaps that would be too much to ask. Although I do know some people who had the same room from birth till they moved out, minus some changes with furniture. However I do believe, that is not a thing of the new generation.

Nowdays anyone can make their child's room special on a budget. However for more help in creating that something much more special, please feel free to get in touch with me via my website: www.childrensartworld.co.uk

I will be blogging more about interior design and free design tips as well as kids arts and crafts ideas very soon, so keep coming back. 

By Siggistardust 
x

Giraffes Can't Dance But They Can Sure Tell a Good Story!

As 11am was approaching, the clock was ticking fast. The jolly toddlers and over excited babies piled through the doors, while the mums and dads chatted on the landing floors.

I flicked through my pile of books and was instantly drawn to my top 3 of the day.
'Two Monsters' By David McKee
'Owl and the Pussycat' By Edward Lear
And lastly, but certainly my favourite: 'Giraffes Can't Dance' By Giles Andreae.

The clock struck 11 and the little ones huddled round with their parents.
Up in the front for the first book, was me and my accomplice, Rob from the Children's Library playing the blue monster from Two Monsters, and me playing the Red one!
Two Monsters tells the tale of these terrible twosome, who live on 2 separate sides of a rather large rock. Sometimes they talk through the hole in the mountain, but they never see each other. One evening, they get into a silly argument about whether day is departing or night is arriving, which escalates into a rather verbally animated rock throwing fight, which eventually destroys the mountain. But lo and behold, the broken mountain reveals that they both were right, and that night was arriving and indeed, day too, had departed. So they become friends once again! 
The little kids of course enjoyed one thing the most... the colourful array of insults and hilarious abuse thrown between the 2 monsters. The parents also, couldn't help but let out the odd embarrassed blurt of laughter! 

Next we moved to a classic.  The Owl and the Pussycat.  We all know the how it  starts:

  'The owl and the pussycat went to sea, 

     in a beautiful pea-green boat.

     They took some honey, and plenty of money,

     Wrapped up in a five-pound note'

With a little bit of gentle guitar in the background from Rob, we were all drawn into this wonderful  tale of an epic sea voyage of these two courteous and mismatched lovers and their eventual marriage on the island of the bong tree; in the piggy-wig and his ring, the turkey vicar and the wedding feast eaten with runcible spoons.

Finally but by no means the least favorite, rather, the most favorited by all, was  'Giraffes Can't Dance' By Giles Andreae.

    This rather large in size book and wonderful tale, is Gerald the Giraffe who, as everybody know can't dance.
    Gerald is dreading the jungle dance. His skinny legs just can’t keep up, and his tangos and two-steps are always a disaster. What if the other jungle animals laugh at him? But one day, Gerald realises that it doesn’t matter that he’s different from the others. He just needs a different tune to dance to. 

    

    This joyous story about being yourself and playing to your strengths, was winner all round. With not only vivacious and charming illustrations, but a simple and beautiful moral about daring to be different and having tolerance to those who are different to us.

    There's nothing better than a story with beautiful pictures and a happy feeling in the end.  I know one thing for sure, everyone had a great time!
So much so, there were kids and parents who didn't want to leave, so I guess mission
accomplished; Gerald sure spread his happiness far and wide beyond the pages of the book.

Till the next story time, enjoy the sunshine and don't forget to dance when you hear some

music! 

By

Siggistardust

 

The last of the summer leprechauns

 With the autumnal leaves descending upon the foggy early morning grass, so too came the end of our summer Mythical Maze arts and crafts classes at the Old Chelsea Town Hall.

For one last time, did the Mermaids dance on the walls and the Medussa's twirl around on the mantelpiece, the naughty spiders crawled up their webs and big the fluffy Yeti's hide behind the plants. 

Yet today, looking around at all the beautiful creations conceived during the holidays, we just couldn’t leave with a tear. Rather, the only way was to go out with a cheer, an Irish jig of a cheer, to be more precise!

Behold, the Mythical Maze Leprechaun called Charlie.  With his golden ginger beard and his green charming hat, Charlie was today’s surprise and delight!

So yet again, here we were; the sequins out and the coloured green black and gold cards were all over the table, as a new family of Leprechaun brothers, were stuck together and created.

 The results, needless to say, were as charming and exciting as the end of the rainbow, where Charlie’s magical pot of gold was awaiting.

So, I know one thing, which is that as much as I'm going to miss the magical Mythical Maze, I know that it's left us with memories of beautiful smiles and exuberant paper cutting noises ringing through our ears. Of glitter, flying in the air and of proud parents doting from the corners. Not only that, but a new family of Yeti's, Dragons, Sea Snakes, Mermaids, Medussa's and Leprechauns I can now call my friends.

So till the next time, the first Monday of every month, thank you all for the Summer Reading

Challenge fun in all its forms.  Well done to all the local kids in the Chelsea and Kensington borough, who took part and may you spread your magic wherever you go!

Waving to you from the other side of the rainbow, farewell!

By

Siggistardust

 

Into the Yeti Forest and out to the Nessy Sea

Another week of calm reading and learning had flown by again, at the famous Chelsea Children’s

Library.  So when Thursday afternoon arrived, through the arch of the magical promised land, where books, dreams and stories come alive, once again, it was time to open up the arts and crafts extravaganza!

With abundance they flocked and excitement they smiled, in the frenzy of their post holiday cheer.  The mums, the kids and baby brothers too, all gathered around and huddled tight.

On the colourful little tables and little sized chairs, is where today’s arty challenge lay ahead.

Nessy the Loch Ness and Moris the Mankiest Monster, or Yeti, to be more precise, were on today’s menu of fun, through the charms of the stand up pop up card.

Glitter pens, scissors and a multitude of coloured cards, adorned the tables and said hello to the floors.

The kids and the parents carefully followed instructions and started to put together their very own pop up mythical creation. Focus and dedication was a treat to behold.

The end results were a feast of upright Yeti’s, with very white hairy bodies and big sparkly eyes, to very wiggly sea snakes with sharp pointed fins and big glittery scales. We had layers of cold crushing sea waves and pop up winter pine trees on a backdrop of the sparkly night sky. The results, were a feast for the eyes!

But before you could say boo to a ghost, the hours had passed. The kids said their big thank you’s and whizzed out of the room while proudly holding their, still very wet and wonderful creations!

Indeed, it was magical.

But one thing is for sure, other than the millions of tiny paper pieces needed to be cleaned in the end, is that when I go to sleep tonight and I fly into the magical night sky, I too, will be dreaming of cuddly big Yeti’s and the smell of fresh scented pine trees.

I think Christmas, may be on it’s way after all...

That’s all folks!

By

Siggistardust

Images copyright of Sarah McIntyre and Mythical Maze Summer Reading Challenge 2014

Planning the perfect kids birthday party

If by some very odd reason you haven't been bombarded with 20 reminders a day that it's your kid's birthday in either 3 months or 2 weeks, one thing is for sure on either scenario, the word panic and dread may be on your status update on Facebook. 

Unless of course you are a mum with time on your hands, or a natural taking to all things party planning!

So after being called for advise a few times lately on this very subject, I thought; what a great idea it would be to pop my advice on a top 7 guide to organising the perfect kids party ,no matter what type of parent you are. So here we go:

1. WORK OUT A THEME.

I cannot stress how important this is. Without a theme for a kids party, there are real chances it will become just... meh! . 

So pick a theme your kid and their friends will all enjoy. As it may be your kid's birthday, however, if his or her friends think its all a bit naff, unfortunately THAT'S the bit your child will remember in the end. Having a theme doesn't make it any more expensive, just focused.

Themes can be anything from jewelry

making party, superheros, colour theme, game related theme, Hollywood, Glee, One Direction, pirates, arts and crafts, Kareoke, Disney, princesses, racing cars... can be anything they will love. 

2. MAKE A LIST AND SET THE DATE

Lists are not just what you do during in therapy, albeit... after planning a kid's party you may need that too. But on a serious note, make a clear list in order of priority what needs to be done and set the date. Always try and give other parents at least 2 or 3 weeks notice as parent's book up their weekend in advance. 

3. BUDGET

What is your budget? Bare in mind, the party is not now but rather in few weeks away at least! Can you afford £60 only, or is £500 more your ballpark?

4. DELEGATE

What I often see, is mums getting really stressed, mainly because they do it all by themselves. Remember, unless you are one of those needy people who is always needing their friends and family for help or for a moan, people will jump to your assitance! Women often don't like to ask for help and feel they are expected to do it all alone, as its 'no big deal' but it is, especially when you are juggling cooking, cleaning, school runs, friends, family, work, erands, hobbies, social media. Ask for help. Your sister, mother in law, your own mother, your friends or dare I say.. your husband! 

5. SPREAD THINGS OUT

As soon as you know you have a date for the party, start ordering the decoration. Often the online themed party shops do the best deals and if you are in a 24 hour rush for delivery, you really will be saving yourself money!  The cake you can look into already the week before, and delegate that someone goes to collect it for you on the morning of the party.  Entertainers, should you have the extra budget, often can be fully booked believe it or not. So 3 weeks before is a great time to research and book them in.

Even arts and crafts folk like myself, need a few weeks notice in an ideal world too, so get on the phone!

6. SO LETS LOOK AT THE LIST

Things can accumulate on it over the weeks, however about a month or 3 weeks

before you can do:

A. THE INVITATIONS. 

Plan your invites list. How many people are coming? Do you want all, or some of the parents to stay or do you want kids only and give the parents a few hours off. I guess it also depends on how much you can't wait for a chinwag with your mummy and daddy pals. 

A great party size is 10 kids and some parents, however if your budget and space allows 25 also can work, but then you need to be very smart. 

Plan how are you inviting them. Email, text or proper written invitations. If it's written, pop to paperchase where you can buy packs of invites and if it's email, there are e-cards you can send, which might be far nicer than a plain old email.

Write them and send asap!

B. THE DECORATION. 

Go on websites like:  http://www.funpartysupplies.co.uk/ or http://www.partypieces.co.uk/

Not sure which one belongs to Kate Middleton's folks, however there are so many cool ones. TIP: Always look at the Offers or Bargain page, it's not always easy to find as they want you to buy full price (which is still cheap) however, worth a search. Party Pieces for example I just saw has 70% off, so you really never know. 

Anyhow, by looking on these sites you will understand why I stressed the importance of a concrete theme. As it will make navigating through, so much easier. You can even typing direct into Google 'Kids pirate themed party decoration'.

Place your order as soon as you know how many kids are confirmed. 

C. THE ENTERTAINMENT

So ok, with those who can afford it, go all the way. You can book clowns (unless you or your child has a huge phobia - Don't laugh, I believe it's the 3rd or so biggest fear) 

You can also book a band, magician, puppeteer, beautician for pampering, football coach, face painter, dancers, artist, dance teacher etc. 

They are not always very expensive, however you will be looking to add at least £150 more to your budget. 

D. ACTIVITIES

What activities would the kids be into? Jewelry making, football playing, movie watching, games, singing and so on. There has to be some kind of activity, as kids get bored quickly, so fill up the 1.5 to 2 hours well. 

E. PARTY FOOD AND DRINKS

No party is complete without a good buffet of snacks, nibbles and drinks. 

Of course for some mums Iceland and Asda solve the entire problem. To be honest for all parents, a good trip to Asda is great for this! Be it for a selection of about 3 variations of drinks. Say Apple, Strawberry and Banana Innocent smoothie and maybe a pineapple juice. (I am not a fan of fizzy, but as its a party, ok go on then)

Then you have the snacks and food. Couple variations of crisps, some hotdogs maybe, fruit platter or strawberries with dipping cream, crudites with hummus (everyone likes a bit of that), some fun biscuits and anything along this type of thing is good. 

Pizza ordering can save you this hassle, or can reduce the effort needed to half. 

Make sure the pizza is kept in a hot oven as cold pizza sucks. 

Of course you can bring the budget right down to snacks only, so crisps, crudites, biscuits and drinks.If you can afford a few bob more, Waitrose truly is fab for pretty choices.

 F. THE CAKE

Gluten free, parve, healthy, the options are all there! Are you buying it ready made in Asda or a bakery or are you ordering something special with a bespoke decoration.

Don't leave it till few days before, research few weeks prior! 

Remember, Waitrose sell great cake decorations like edible glitter and stuff that's like 1.80 or so each and make a world of difference to a plain cake or cupcakes. You can also decorate regular cupcakes yourself or get your son or daughter to help the night before.

G. THE DOGGIE BAG. OH... I MEANT GOODIE BAG

Getting a goodie bag right isn't always easy. But the right balance of things also depends on the theme of your party. Many of those websites also do goodie bag fillers so check that out. But usually things like sweets, stickers, glitter tubes, tattoos, keyrings, little fun toys etc. 

7. THE BIG DAY

If you have been super organized before hand and enlisted the support of your loved ones, this day should run smoothly other than a few drinks spillages and tons of crumbs on the carpet. But if that's the only thing that goes wrong that day, you know you did a great job!  

Would love to hear from you in the comments section or on the email box how your big day went and would love to answer any questions you have. 

Don't forget, I also organise kids arts and crafts parties, as well as offer face painting too, so if that's what your kids are into, speak to me for a quote. 

www.childrensartworld.co.uk

x

A Crafty Mythical Arts Session

So today we held our weekly arts and crafts session at our charming Chelsea Children's Library.
In keeping with the whimsical and magical energy sweeping through our corridors and stairways, through the promising library doors and to the adventurous isles of thousands of literary treasures; The Mythical Maze Summer Reading Challenge story, had to be brought to life!

Today's character and pick of the pile was the story of Medusa! The once vain and pride ridden beauty, who got punished by the god of Athens and transformed into a scary, slithery snakey green haired version of her prior self.  

If that wasn't bad enough, to make matters worse, our Medusa was banished from the very city who only knew of her vanity and she was sent away to live on her own so as not to poison the people with her pride. We can only hope she made good use of her time alone and had a little re-think her choices and priorities! After all, beauty is only skin deep.

Dear oh dear. Poor Medusa. Albeit, as one of our regular 7 year old punters added; 'It's ok Siggi, it's just a story.... Medusa isn't real!'
'Ah .... yes. Good point, I added' as I coughed awkwardly and started feverishly opening the coloured pencil pack.

So once the kids finished listening and enjoying the story, off flew the sequin tub lids and all one could hear from the other side of the room was the sound of coloring in pen tips squeeking forcefully on the papers and that was just coming from the grown ups!! Only joking, it was however the kids, who eagerly had started with their big exciting art quest; making their very own Medusa interpretation!

Before you knew it, there were pink loo rolls, rainbow coloured hair variations to the original green, sparkly stars stuck to her dresses, planets drawn on her blouse, the lot! Boy or boy did the kids get mighty creative!

We had few of our local regular kids eagerly on time and at their tables ready to begin and a few friendly surprises holidaying from abroad joining us today. ( In between museum visits down the road in South Kensington and local ice cream bonanzas!) 

By the end, it was hard to peel the kids off their tables and no, not because of the over use of prit stick... well, sort of a little, but because of the fun everyone was having.
The kids proudly took home their D.I.Y Medusa dolls to show their friends and families not to mention to their proud, doting mums sitting in the corners.
Naturally us adults also wanted to take our own dolls home to our doting proud spouses and parents, however with great sacrifice we all agreed to donate them to the fireplace shelf.
Ah well, the things we do!

Here is a cheeky photo of me with all my new friends. I think we even have the same hair! ...Kinda! 

Till next time, a magical, mythical toodle do!

See you laters, alligators.

X

A Christmas Mural With a Cause

We all know that giving something back to the world is key to being happy and making a difference, so after being asked by a group of mums whether I would embark on a very ambitious adventure, I guess me being me, I simply had to accept.

Kids who suffer with Lukemia and any other illnesses have always caught my heart and having volunteered much of my time to dealing with kids or adults learning and emotional, mental development, something about Great Ormond Street charity, got me! 

Raising money for any charity if you have done, is always a big task. Fundraising as hopefully many people out there have once in their lives been involved with, requires much organization, investment of time, calling on friends, families and acquaintances for financial support and lastly doing lots of very uncomfortable sacrifices. Sometimes you make friends and other times you loose friends. Sometimes you see great strength and support in the people you never thought would have it in them, and other times you need to be strong enough to not take people's decline to help as personal. 

So when I was asked whether I would donate a mural to ensure the bar of money raised would be far higher for the efforts involved by all, I thought it a brilliant idea.

I immediately called G.O.S.H's fundraising team to discuss the realities and soon I realized I would be embarking on a very different type of mission myself, let alone the mums who organizing this! 

After much deliberation and brainstorming, we thought we should just go for it and aim big; we would set up an nationwide auction. And seeing as the wards in the hospital have now gone for the more simplistic look, doing one on their walls via a nationwide donations scheme, albeit way easier, wouldn't be relevant. But as GOSH did mention, there's nothing more exciting for people donating when they feel they are getting something for it. That's why the charity galas and events always go down a treat.

We also agreed that seeing as my magical tree is one of my more popular murals, it will be the one going up for this December bidding bonanza. Christmas is the most generous time for anyone looking for donations apparently so let's see how generous Britain's wealthy parents really are. 

The next challenge we faced was like... how actually do you auction a service?

Was I putting on a gala? Was I going to host an event? Which auction house is involved?

The first set of questions fired at me from everyone. The answer was no, as in my opinion there is no use in spending thousands on an event to raise money for something unless its a huge event with many celebrities and billionairres involved and a nice charity spread in Hello magazine.

I remember I once did a bike ride for a children's charity and no matter what I did, I only was able to raise the amount that covered my costs; the bike equipment, the flight back, the hotel. In the end no money went to the charity. The only good thing that came out of it which will hopefully help the world somehow is my husband. But that's another story for another time. 

So in fundraising I think, one always needs to think of worst case scenario. What if I only raise a grand or two and the event cost me that or even half. So a virtual auction was the way to go, I thought. 

But even the Ebay's or Gumtree's of the world werent up for hosting this as no one ever put up for auction a 'service'. Auction houses too, declined based on the fact it's not an object. 

G.O.S.H also had never experienced this because no one ever donated something that wasn't tangeable or that could be packaged and posted. 

So luck wasn't on our side and we felt caught in a miserable catch 22. 

But we all agreed this is worth fighting for, as a mural can raise anything from 5k - 100k depending on who is bidding and this charity is in great need of these funds to continue all the work they do. Statistically fundraising for charity's albeit always so appreciated by all, struggle to raise the level of funds these charities really need to keep going so that's why I felt this is very important and worth finding a way. 

Things were looking bleak, but then I was recommended by GOSH to keep on pushing and call some magazines to at least see whether they would be happy to support and publicize this. After all, anyone in PR and marketing knows, there is nothing more powerful than good PR and word of mouth to the public. 

Lo and behold I was shocked to see how many publications and online magazines without hesitation agreed to help. Be it with interviews or write ups about what I am doing. I really felt my energy come back and felt that maybe it's not about the platform but about the quality of what I am sharing itself and getting some publicity. 

 All this has really been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and a real test of certainty in peoples humanity and knowing that if you are set on doing something good, the universe HAS to help. I am still half way through this and the test of it all will really only show in November December,which is nervwreckingly close, but also too far away. 

However, I need to always remember that one thing this country loves is people doing good things and one thing is clear, Great Ormond Street hospital has won the hearts of our nation and therefor is a charity I am only honoured to be involved with and to help. 

Stay tuned for more updates on this mission and for updates on progress!  If you have any ideas how you want to get involved and help please send me a message.
x 

What Is A Mural And How's It Done

So, many parents have asked me about the process of creating a mural on a wall. It seems murals are not something many people are familiar with, so seeing as we are not living in Michaelangelo's time, I would like to share with you a step by step on how I do it.

 I think first of all great planning is required. What image or story gets permanently added to your child's wall is so important to put attention into as what your child will be into now, is not the same as a year from now. Murals are paintings on the wall itself, they are not transfers or canvases. (If you live in a flat then perhaps a large painting on canvas would be better) Chosing neutral subject such as woodlands, magic forests, space, farms etc often are safest as they are subjects that as kids grow, it still feels safe. Often also adding more grown up elements to the picture, that perhaps you child isn't so familiar with or doesn't quire resonate with, is a good idea, as few years from now when inevitably they do become familiar with these things, they will grow to love the mural in a whole new way. 

I remember doing a magical tree for a little boy when he was 3, but I added many creatures in there that he didnt even understand what they were.

Later, when Oliver grew up and started learning in school about dissecting frogs and studying about many special insects, he was very proud to show off about his mural that depicted many of those creatures he just learned about. So where once his favorite element was the flowers and bunny rabbits, now it was the various breeds of spiders, ladybirds, caterpillars, frogs an so on. 

However, choosing Disney characters and specific stories is still a winner. I find normally playrooms are great for this. Especially families who have few kids all at different ages, and cousins or grandchildren at various ages. As Disney is timeless, and no matter which generation comes and replaces the next, these characters always stay loved. 

So once great thought has gone into the theme, the time for preparing the room begins. An area is cleared by the desired wall/s and plastic sheets are placed around. Paints are normally safe and unless the child has a known sensitivity to certain smells, no one has ever had any issues. I use a mix of acrylics from the art shop, child friendly wall paints for the larger coverage. Depends on budget or requirements, I love using textured or 3d elements such as fabric patches, rhinestone diamonds or plastic diamonds, glitter, glow in the dark paints and so on. I have also experimented with making the painting come out of the wall by using for example paper mache as the rockery and the rest of the landscape like the pond or sea painted on the wall as normal behind it. 

Often times, depending on the desires image, I find the whole wall/s need a new lick of

paint in line with the theme. So the rollers come out and the painter and decorator in me comes out. 
Also in the case of a painted sky on the ceiling, this would be the stage where I would call my Electrician friend to come and drill many little holes for the little

star lights to come through once the painting is completed.

To begin any mural, I like to normally grid it out so that after sketching the picture on a gridded paper, there's no room for loosing sight of perspective when dramatically increasing the size of the image on the wall. Saying that, depending on the image, freestyle can work even better sometimes! This magical tree is the most popular image parent's chose, as it is so versatile and unisex and can be part of many other scenes. This tree for example I can do without a grid, just some good planning on paper! 

Depending on the size and cost of the mural normally murals over 5k, come free with a hand painted story book to accompany the mural. In this story book I bring to life all the creatures, animals and themes and weave it into a beautiful children's story that the parents can use as an accomplice to their kid's nightly bedtime stories.

 This is a very special addition to the experience and gets created alongside the mural from the very beginning. To make the child a part of the process, I love to work with the child to come up with some of the characters and give them names and stories together. This is a very beautiful gift and kids love the idea of being involved in writing their very own children's story.

This storybook, for murals under 5k can be requested for £100. 

As you can see, a half done tree looks like a piece of Tim Burton's set design, however thankfully it's only half way.  I use a painstaking amount of details on my paintings, so even from the start you can start to see the many layers and techniques.

This magical tree in all its complexity takes on average of 5 full working days to complete, give or take a day or two. The starting price including materials is £1690 and is excluding travel and possible accommodation on commissions outside of London.  I also ask 30% upfront deposit.

Any additional requests to be added once price is agreed, are charged as extras. 

Additional elements  for example are, 3d objects like fences and real birdhouses which add a real feel. Painted, sometimes people ask for extra tree foliage coverage stretching across the entire top half of the wall. Other elements consist of ponds, streams, rockery and more creatures and wildlife. Also a background landscape and or a sky also have been requested.

I get my inspiration from everywhere, nature magazines, fairytale children's books, flower encyclopedias and so on. There are hundreds of plant species and what I love so much about murals of these type of themes, is that as your children grow they can learn about them at home. I normally add the different plant types as an encyclopedia in my children's mural storybook which serves as educational as well as for leisure. 

 Another element I forgot to mention, that I love to include in my murals is a more obvious educational theme. This various so dramatically from parent to parent, but some like to combine a growth chart into the picture, or a way of the child learning the alphabet or numbers or times table chart etc. Really the list is endless, however I will mention again, that your child/ren will grow fast and whatever you put there now, should be in combination with elements suitable for when they grow too. This only applies on the basis the mural isn't being used in a creche where there are always toddlers for example, or whether you are planning to produce a football team of a family over the next 10 years.

As you can probably see, I love fairies! Because many families have boys and girls I love experimenting with male and female fairies and mystical creatures of this sort. There are just so many to chose from! 

But normally having spiders and worms keep the boys happy, while the girls just adore their butterflies and flowers. 

And Lastly

Spirituality For Kids Foundation and How We Can Change the World at the Seed

With all the talk of charity and the Great Ormond Street Hospital auction I will be putting on at the end of the year, it has prompted me to talk a lot of my history working with children's charities. 

There is one in particular, that I feel has stayed with me till now and is something when doing my children's art classes, I often am overwhelmed with beautiful memories of. 

I was first introduced to Spirituality For Kids Foundation when I was 18 and having been so immersed in the world of children's art and stories, I naturally fell head of heels in love with this.

The aim of the charity is to bring spiritual education to children. By spiritual education I mean that thing, that had most adults had some of at that age, the world would be an entirely different place today.

It's that very education, that teaches kids that famous quote from Mahatma Ghandi:  'Be the change you wish to see in the world'. 

It's that teaching that teaches kids, that no matter what religion, colour, preference or level of IQ, that we all have the same spark that every other person does and the only things in life that overrides everything you will achieve or believe to be important, is how you treat others with human dignity and respect. It teaches that we all have the good voice and the opponent. We have that voice of our soul that tells us to be good, to share, to care about our friends, brothers and sisters, to not say hurtful things to our peers, to be tolerant of other people's issues and differences. Whereas the opponent is there to challenge us with a voice inside us, that only tells us to be selfish, to steal from our friends, to shout at others, to ignore the teacher, to bully others and to be totally into ourselves. 

We have one gift and that is the ability and freedom to chose which voice we listen to. The rest is just an effect of our actions and voice that we chose to listen to.

Anyone who doesn't believe this is the way forward in such a society, at least in my opinion clearly doesn't understand the real root of the issues we see in the world today.

In the old days I was one of the first volunteers to dive in neck deep into this programme in it's day 1 in the UK amongst some other amazing people.

I remember we all packed the boxes with all the arts and crafts materials and squeezed in to the car driving to Stevenage where the school kindly opened up a weeky hour slot for us. 

 I remember being so nervous, I literally felt sick the whole journey.

What would be the reaction to such teachings? How would the kids relate to me, seeing as I was only few years older than them? What if the kids can't pronounce my name? Would it feel like being back at school for me? How would the teachers feel about the effects of this course, if ever there were any? 

Cut to an hour and a half later and some very happy kids, my nerves had well and truly gone. We taught the kids about 'The rules to the game of life', the fundemental teaching of S.F.K. Through wonderfully simple and powerful art projects and examples, the kids learnt about the power of sharing and caring . These are lessons and visuals, that so long as I live, I will never forget and remind me every day to be a good person, to make effort to share and care about other people and thus have a more fulfilling and abundant life. As the more you are busy outside of yourself the more actually comes to you. If you want more love in the world you have to give more love in the world and it applies to everything else. It's just beautiful. 

These teachings are even what got me through the fundraising bike ride from London to Amsterdam, they were that inspirational. 

I spend many years involved with S.F.K in schools around London. I watched as countless children became more happier, independent, confident, and more loving to their friends and families and most importantly gave more care to their communities, school life and education. The courses are now run independently rather than teams of volunteers needing to raise the money and going in, school by school. Which is great as it's more accessible now. But SFK is ever evolving and I look forward very much to see where it goes next. 

There are so many examples I wish to share about what we taught, however in time I will. Meanwhile, please watch this video below to see how SFK has now been approved to be taught nationally, for schools that wish to take it on. 

Love and Light

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