Christmas Village with Duct Tape and Tissue Boxes

Good morning friends. It's snowing outside of my window as I type and it's looking like it just might be a white Christmas indeed. Yippee! Which means, after the snowball fights and snowman building, it is the perfect time to come inside, sit snugly indoors and create with my Littles.

I don't know about you but this time of year often brings about a case of the sniffles. Which means we have have number of tissue boxes lying around the house. Well the Littles and I discovered just the thing to do with them. Make a little Christmas village, using glitter and duct tape of course! So that is just what we did.

To make the structure of the roof tops, we just cut up a few other tissue boxes (or any other discarded cereal box, etc.) and created the roof shapes atop the tissue boxes. We then proceeded to cover them with the duct tape and then had lots of fun decorating them!

We were so excited to find this gold and silver glitter tape, from Martha Stewart, at Michaels, and knew right away that it needed to be used in our little village. I love how it makes the shingles sparkle and come to life (and an extra bonus - it's really easy to cut).

I also played around with our hole punch a bit and was able to create polka dots with the gold duct tape by spreading out the tape onto parchment paper prior to punching. With a little finesse, they turned out great! (In fact we have updated our duct tape cutting methods altogether. If you lay it out on the parchment, you can get a really nice clean cut with scissors and create just about any shape your heart desires! Best thing about it: the Littles can be more involved in the cutting stage now! Yippee! I'll have to do a tutorial of this new cutting method on the blog soon).

And our little vintage wooden angel is just the perfect friend to inhabit our little village. Makes me want to create a few more wooden friends for her to carol to.

And how cute would it be to cut out the window and door shapes and then add a few battery operated tea lights or even a strand of white Christmas lights on the inside? I just might have to do this variation in the next day or so. Would be so magical indeed!

Mountain Pillow DIY over at Design Sponge

Hi friends! Today I'm sharing with you my love for all things alpine and snow peaked with this cozy little mountain pillow for your home. Head on over to Design Sponge for the full tutorial!

Simple Paper Strip Wreath DIY

The boys and I have been crafting up a storm around here to get into the Christmas spirit. And there's nothing we like more than simple easy crafts like this paper strip wreath.

1. To make this we used the cardboard from the bottom of a frozen pizza (yes with the new little baby in the house we've been having one too many Papa Murphy's as of late...we all can't wait until mom gets back into the culinary swing of things...). We then cut up a bunch of strips from scrap paper we had lying around our craft room to be used as the foliage of the wreath.
2. A then traced a bowl onto the cardboard
3. and I used a utility knife to cut out the middle circle section.


4. To create the wreath A began by placing strips of paper along the center of the wreath
3. He then continued outward, choosing between a variety of green colored strips.
4. Until he reached the out edge of the cardboard where he finished off the wreath.

This was such a great craft for A (6 yrs) as he's really into repetitive patterns. And I loved it as you really can't go wrong. No matter what how you place things, it's sure to be appealing in the end


And we couldn't of course stop there. Little O wanted in on the action and we made this fun variation with a paper bag we had lying around the house. 100% recycled craft. Loving that.
 

And as you know I do love me a good circle punch, so I had to have a go at a snowball wreath as well. I'm just loving how all the textures of the papers pop out on this one. We then took the inside cardboard and made snowballs with them. Yeah, we got a bit carried away...but that is what is so great about these wreaths. The variations are truly endless and they are so easy and quick to put together, you just won't be able to resist doing all of them!

Our DIY IKEA RIBBA Picture Ledge Tree

I wanted to do something different with our Christmas tree this year and after a recent trip to IKEA, I knew just what to do. Using IKEA's Ribba Picture Ledges Jon and my brother Kenton (who was in town for Thanksgiving) helped to make my vision come to life.

I was hoping to post on this much earlier but with baby girl in the hospital all week last week (with RSV - she's doing much better) things got put on the back burner a bit. But let me tell you we've loved having this tree up (the boys too! I was afraid the wouldn't think it was as cool as a real tree but they tell everyone about it wherever we go!) and it was just the perfect thing to calm our hearts when coming home.

To make this tree we purchased three 45.25" RIBBA ledges, two 21.75" ledges and one of the small ones for the very top. Because of course this would be temporary, I decided to use Command Strips to put it up. Worked like a charm. We laid out all of our shelves to decide just how large we wanted this. In the end we came up with the following measurments:

top shelf: 9"
2nd shelf: 15.5"
3rd shelf: 23"
4th shelf: 30.5"
5th shelf: 38"
6th shelf: 45.25"

The cuts were simple and quick to make. To install, we took a look at our wall and determined that we wanted 12" between each shelf. Then using our Command Strips we put our tree up. We used a total of 6 large strips for the lowest shelf, 4 for the next one up and so on, adjusting according to the size of the shelf and what we wanted it to hold.

We then got out our holiday trimmings and decorated our new tree! The boys love it! We just have to advise them not to play with their toys on the shelves too much (yeah right! There's a good reason why the styling is off a bit on the bottom shelf ;).

I also recently tried another variation by adding all of our books from our advent to the shelves (something I actually had in mind from the get-go). I'm super happy with the results but I will advise that if you are trying to go this route, I might secure the shelves to the wall with screws as the Command Strips might not be quite strong enough.

This project was so much quicker than I had even originally imagined so you definitely could still do it this holiday season. There are so many different ways to go with this and the decorating options are endless. I already have an entirely new deco scheme planned for next year! (or maybe I'll do it this year...you never know what mom's going to rearrange around here).

A Simple DIY Thanksgiving Place Mat

I love Thanksgiving. Really I do. But I have to confess that I wasn't planning on doing much with it this year as I have been rather overwhelmed with work and the new baby. I actually like how Thanksgiving melts into Christmas as I feel like the spirit of thanks should be felt during the Christmas season so to me they naturally go together. I don't even mind the Christmas decorations everywhere and holiday music playing on the air mid November.


Well this got me thinking. I may feel this way but how are my kids going to appreciate gratitude if I don't do something to foster the spirit of giving thanks? So I decided to come up with this simple last minute place mat designed to give them a way to express their thanks on this special holiday.

You might notice that this resembles my gift to Jon I made a few years back. It's such a fun and simple idea I decided to apply it to the upcoming holiday. To make this I simply stitched together two sheets of brown packing paper. I then cut out a number of white paper flags in varying sizes. These were then straight stitched onto the mat.



And that's it! Give your guests some pens and let them express their thanks while you are finishing up those mashed potatoes and that pumpkin pie!

And you'll get a kick out of seeing what your kids come up with. Mario, among many other things, of course made the list for this little guy.  Love it.

And if you are looking for another last minute Thanksgiving craft, our turkey feather headbands are a great, easy craft to do as well!

Simple Scenes: Our "Haunted House"

This year, because of our sweet new little babe, Halloween in our home has been on the back burner a bit. So when mid Oct. rolled around, A asked "Mom, when are we going to decorate for Halloween?!" So after promising them in the morning that I would indeed pull out the Halloween decor, at about 7 pm (right before bedtime) I did finally manage to make it to the back shed and unearth our box of frightful delights.

A set out creating his own snowflake pumpkins (a family favorite tradition of ours) right away and then got to work on some goulish puzzles and mazes.

While Little O, well he pretty much consumed every last minute of it. I casually began placing items here an there around the house, such as fun little spider window clings that found themselves on windows and the glass of unsuspecting framed works of art.

While doing this, Little O asked, "Mom, are you making our house haunted?". I just love his perspective. So I replied, "Why, yes. That is one way we like to celebrate Halloween." He just smiled his mischeivious smile. I think we have ourselves new "haunting the house" convert.

And now to just finish (or start?) those costumes...

And what about you? Do you go all out with Halloween decorations? Do you do up the yard more or go full steam indoors? Or both?! Any favorite decor stories from years gone by?

Home is Wherever I'm with You: New Print in the Shop

Last month Jon and I celebrated our 11th year anniversary.  Crazy. I sometimes feel like we are the same young rock-a-billy kids who fell for each other so many years ago. I mean just look at that pompadour on Jon. How could I resist this cutie? I'm not sure what was going on with my fashion, but I think I was trying to channel the "skater girl" look? Who knows really ...anyway...those were the days, right?

On one of our first "dates" in college we walked around my neighborhood for hours into the night. We just walked and talked about our dreams. How we wanted to travel, create art, perform, change the world, you know all that sort of mushy "you just might be the one" type of stuff. We definitely had the rosy colored "starving artist" glasses on and I'm pretty sure we were both hooked from that night on.

Being freelancers - myself an illustrator, creator, and kids craft blogger, etc. -and Jon an actor, director, teacher etc., life together has definitely been an adventure. It hasn't always been easy - not having consistent income, stability, etc. - but I think it's the only kind of life either of us can really live (otherwise, believe you me, we'd change things up in a heartbeat! Security and comfort is so NOT overrated, especially with kids).

Throughout our journey together we've been able to travel and live in some pretty incredible places. We started our second year of marriage in NYC and loved it. I think we will always hold a special place in our hearts for NYC. So many things happened for us there and the friends and experiences we had there are unforgettable. We then switched gears and headed south to Knoxville, TN for Jon's graduate school. We bought our first home and that is where we had A (how has it been 6 years?!). Needless to say, this time of our lives, being first time parents, is very special to us.

Then Jon graduated and it was off to LA to dive right into Hollywood. We loved living in South Pasadena and we of course had Little O there. My boys loved Cali and still talk about their friends, the beach, the sun and of course the myriad of exciting amusement parks that were available there. Jon and I also made some wonderful friends who mean so much to us.

We have now moved on and Jon is living his dream as a college acting/theater professor. And let me tell you, he's a natural at it - students love him and he's most definitely in his element in the classroom. In addition to illustrating, I've loved where blogging has taken us and I'm so grateful for opportunities, friends and associations I've been able to make through Mer Mag. Baby number three is about to arrive and we are thrilled about what the next chapter in our life has in store for us (even if we are just a tad bit freaked out about it!).

So as you can see, we don't seem to stay still for very long. In fact, we sort of have a joke that we have a three year limit. When three years hits (right when we're feeling settled and at home) we start getting antsy and life calls for a change of scenery. With kids however, we do hope to find a spot we can call home for a longer period of time (especially for A who doesn't like change so much at all). But in the mean time I think the Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero's song, "Home is Wherever I'm With You" pretty much sums it up for us.

So as a gift to Jon, I created an original paper cut out based on this song (which we of course both love). I wanted it to be a companion piece to the I Lovely Love My Family paper cut out art that I gifted him a couple of years ago. (I think we have a thing for songs in our family...)

And just like the Lovely Love prints, I'm offering a selection of "Home is Wherever I'm With You" prints (in all the same Lovely Love colors!) in my shop for you to also place in your homes (wherever they may be!). Skip on over to the shop to take a look!

And what about you? Any good stories about how home has come to mean more about who you are with than where it is you live? I'd love to hear them!

DIY Hand Stamped Swaddle Blankets

I can't believe I only have a month (or less) left before our bitty baby girl arrives! I've been trying to do my best to prepare for her arrival amidst all the many things going on here - back-to-school, illustration work, blogging and more! Little by little things are starting to look like a baby just might be coming to stay in our home soon.

Last week I decided to create a few hand stamped swaddle blankets made out of a gauzy muslin fabric. I like how simple they were to do and how graphic they turned out.

To make these I cut up large squares of muslin fabric. (I referenced Dana's tutorial for this). I then used black fabric paint and a handmade stamp to create the pattern.

The trick for me was to apply the paint to the stamp with a paint brush before stamping onto the muslin. I got much better stamping coverage this way as opposed to when I just dipped the stamp right into the paint. The coverage of was still varied a bit but I actually like this as it gives it that "hand stamped" feel.

After hand stamping the blanket to my liking, I hemmed the edges of the muslin.

I then created another one from a pretty salmon pink fabric found on my LA Fabric District shopping spree (I think it's the same fabric as Dana used in her tutorial! what are the chances?). I then used a rain drop stamp for this one...which admittedly looks a bit like watermelon seeds with this color of fabric.

Rain drops? Watermelon seeds? You decide. Either way, I'm so excited to swaddle and cuddle up my little girl in these when she arrives!

Now to find a crib...and perhaps a rocking chair...and...

Impromptu photo shoot: with the help of One More Mushroom

My talented friend Meta, of One More Mushroom (killer new blog about desiging kids spaces that you will just die for), was so nice to help me out with an impromptu photo shoot involving myself and the boys and a few of our crafts that we have worked on. I realized that I didn't have any recent shots of myself and the boys and thought it would be fun to do a few before our family dynamic changes forever - with a new little lady on the way and all (which we are of course SO thrilled about!).

Now let me tell you, posing for a photograph at seven months pregnant is NOT my idea of fun. We tried a few shots revealing the baby bump I'm carrying around and I just couldn't get it right (Meta was great - my modeling on the other hand was less than inspired). But I think these ones with the boys in front of me are a great solution. And the boys look good no matter what they are doing, belly showing and all!

But I need your advice. Which of the three do you like best? I'm sure I'll use a few for promotion and I'm just not sure which one I like best. I like the interaction of me with the boys on the last two but then again I really like the first one with Little O interacting with our interlocking cardboard castle. What do you think?

And thanks again Meta for being so willing to do this last minute! You're an all star!

Mer Mag crafts featured in photos: animal box masks with duct tape; interlocking cardboard castle with duct tape; easy breazy kiddie scarves; diy triangle tshirt

DIY Dry Erase Framed Gallery For Kids

Head over to Handmade Charlotte for our latest summer craft project - our easy DIY Dry Erase Framed Gallery. You'll completely approve of this kind of coloring on your walls!

OH BOY have we got news!

So if you didn't catch my very subtle announcement at the end of this post we are expecting!! And we couldn't be happier. The baby is due Oct. 4th and...

And we couldn't be more thrilled! The boys and I are over the moon to welcome a new little lady into our home. And although I'll be sure to keep up with the "boy" aesthetic and gender neutral crafts that you've all grown to love from Mer Mag, I can't deny that I might throw in a bit more femininity here and there. I think it will only broaden the range of fun stuff we can do, right!?

We're having fun thinking of names, nesting, rearranging things, trying to figure out how she will fit in our little home while already making a place for her to fit into our hearts. A swears he will "change her diapers" (we'll see how that one will go, I'm happy if he ends up being willing to throw them out for me). Little O is so excited and talks about how cute she will be. He's quick to point out every little baby he sees. Once he squealed when he saw a little baby girl and loudly proclaimed "Mom! Look they have a baby girl and she already came out!". And I dare say, I think Jon just might be the most excited of us all. He's sworn she'll never touch her crib (he'll be holding her so much) and he's even started a pin board for little girl clothing which just blows me away. It's pretty adorable to see really. And me, well I'm just looking forward to meeting her, learning about her personality and trying really hard not to impose all my girly dreams on her :). So yeah, I have a plethora of pin board ideas as well and I'm pumped to start sewing, sewing, sewing!!!

So any advice from transitioning from two to three kids? I'm a little nervous, I have to admit. And what about having a girl? This is all new territory for me! I'd love to hear your thoughts and stories!

Painting Beds Peach: Or Teaching Your Kids to Love Work (and Design?) at an Early Age

Our family spent the weekend working, working, working! We've been rearranging our little home to better suit our current and future needs as a family and the boys were right there with us the entire time (OK, we did have to send them out to the back yard a couple of times and did put in a show for them from time to time when things got super hectic, but for the most part, they were right there in on the action with us).

We started the day with painting the boys beds, and let me tell you, the boys were really into it. I love the excitement and fervor little ones have when the are included in on "adult" work.
Wanting to take advantage of their excitement, I decided to put them to work. So we suited them up in paint gear (a.k.a old seasonal pj's) gave them some brushes and rollers and let them go at it. Well, we did have some guidelines for them, so things didn't get too out of control, such as:

1. Stay on the plastic.
2. Only dip your brush/roller into the paint after applying several coats to the beds.
3. When dipping into paint only get a little bit of paint, letting excess paint drip off before applying brush/roller to bed.
Etc.

Throughout this process I also learned that as a parent I needed to follow a few guidelines myself, such as:

1. Don't overreact when they make mistakes (which is pretty much a guarantee with Littles), such as when they get globs of paint in spots on the bed. Simply point out what is going on and help them to smooth it out.
2. If you need to go back over things, be careful to let them know that they did a great job, and that your painter job is the "follow upper", or something with an even sillier name.
3. Be patient.
4. Put on some fun motivating music to keep all of your spirits up (we tuned it to Pandora's Vampire Weekend station and rocked out).
5. Try to run with their enthusiasm and not to squelch it when they want to do something above and beyond what you had in mind for them. Realize that pushing your limits (as well as theirs) is just as much a part of this process.
6. But even still, remember that it's OK to have boundaries, like when they want to paint the underside of the bed. Say, "Oh I'm so happy you LOVE painting so much, but we don't really need to do that and we are done, so let's put the paint and brushes away now".
7. Teach them how to clean up (and the importance of it), even though you really just want to do it yourself as it will be much faster and a whole lot less of a mess.
8. Sigh in relief when it's all through, and then pat yourself on the back for aiding in creating self-actualized human beings and relish in the family work time spent together.

(notice how I had many more guidelines than they did throughout this process?! Remember, teaching kids to work, and to love it, is actually more work for you in the short term, but a huge pay off for both you and them in the long run).

I can recall a number of fond memories working with my family as child. One such memory involved my dad and my older sister and I deep cleaning our entire kitchen one Saturday morning so that we could then go to a water park later on that afternoon. I'm sure I initially wasn't into it but as we all chipped in together and cranked up the Beach Boys we all had a really really fun time. (I still think of this memory when hearing certain Beach Boys songs to this day! I think my sister also introduced me to Tori Amos that morning and I've loved her ever since.) I can remember feeling closer to my dad and sister in this moment than in our typical day to day interactions. Isn't it crazy how work can do this?! I also remember that the first water park we wanted to go to was closed down so our dad drove us all the way to Loveland, Co (another town just outside of where we lived) to catch the very last few moments of that water park before it closed. I can't say as I remember much of that water park experience, but I do remember the fun I had cleaning the kitchen with my dad and sister very well!

OK, so In addition to painting beds, we moved the boys into our larger room and put our things into a much smaller room (which I actually LOVE a whole lot more as it has a much more cozy, clean and simple vibe to it now). I got a quick snapshot of the boys new "in progress" room just as the light was beginning to fade (which explains the dark, graininess of the photo).
We love it so far (although I really want to change the boys quilts out for a simple grey and white patterned comforter, such as these from West Elm. Don't you just love peach and grey together?! Although Jon fears it will veer too feminine. What do you think?). Well I was sure to point out to the boys what a difference all of their hard work made, and they are definitely over the moon about their new beds. We have sort of a manta in our house that goes something like "sometimes things are hard, but we do them anyway". We are then sure to point out the pay offs, and stuff like, "it will get easier the more you do it", etc. I'm big on not letting my kids miss out on experiences in life just because they were too afraid or because it was "too hard" (or let's be honest, because it was too hard for me to deal with at the time). Jon jokes that I sort of lean towards a "China Mom" parenting philosophy in this respect. I'm definitely not all China Mom but I strongly agree with the last statement from this article: "the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they're capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away."   And hey, if I ever get too intense I think my mom's influence of laid back California parenting kicks in and helps to balance things out a bit - or at least I tell myself this to feel a bit better when I lean too far to one side or the other...

So what about you? Any tips you've come up with to help your kids learn to work and to love it? Do you increase the "at home work load" once school is out or do you just let them lazily dream in fields of green grass? Or both? How do you find the balance? I'd really LOVE to hear what your thoughts are on this!

xo
Mer