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

Personalized Plates for Father's Day

Last week A and I met up with with one of his newly favorite friends (and his super cool mom, whose awesome idea this was!) for the most perfect play date. Together we made custom painted plates for Father's Day at Color Me Mine, a DIY ceramic painting studio. We actually had the dad's with us but sent them away with the wee ones so we could work on secret surprises (Little O was having a hard time sitting still long enough to create, but I think he'd love this otherwise. He was entranced by the many many pottery options and just couldn't leave them be, so away to play in the fountains he went).

I always love creating custom pottery and find myself wanting to spend hours in these places, scheming up entire lines of ceramic ware. Lucky for us however we had two 5-6 yr olds to keep us moving right along.

A was more than into this project and loved picking out colors for his plate. I think having a buddy there with him just made creating that much more magical. He didn't hesitate to jump right into painting and I love what he came up with. He's really been into layering outlines of colors, one after the other in what ever shape the art material is in. So for example, he's done a number of rectangular book marks with several layers of colorful rectangles inside one another. And with this circular ceramic plate, he created a number of various circular rings stacked within each other. I really like his choice of bringing the black and green back into the color pattern right in the very center.

As for the back of the plate, he enthusiastically painted the different portions of the plate (after trying for a dotted motif around the rim that just didn't turn out to his liking). He then wrote "DAD" in bold black letters and I just love it. I'm pretty positive that Jon will love it as well (who I've forbidden to look at this post until after Father's Day...so if there are typos it's because I didn't have my trusty proof reader to keep things in check for me on this one).
I knew that I wanted to make something for Jon as well that could be from all of us as a family (and something that Little O could present to him so he didn't feel left out for not having a plate - although I'm sure I'll have him make something with his own hands just for Jon, at some point). After much thought and debate I decided it would be fun to do simple illustrated portraits of the kids. And if we are representing all the kids, I knew I had to put our baby girl to be on there as well, which I'm sure will make Jon very happy indeed. And I have to say, it was pretty exhilarating for me to do this as well as it really helped to sink in the idea that yes, we are indeed adding another lil' rascal to our bunch! Zoiks! I'm getting more excited every day! (which is a good thing because I also just get bigger and more uncomfortable as the days progress on. Boy I'm not looking forward to the hot months of July and August...).
I finished the plate off with a "happy Father's Day" tribute on the back, commemorating this year, 2012. I think it might be a fun tradition to do one of these every year and show how the kids grow and change a bit each year. Wouldn't that be the most special collection ever!? I think I just might have to do this.
And if you are wanting to do something similar for a special dad in your life, there are a number of approaches you can take. Like me you can grab some friends for a play date at your local DIY pottery studio or you can create you own version at home with a simple white plate and some porcelaine paint markers, similar to what I did for our 2011 Santa cookie plate (which I'll now have to update at the end of this year!).

And don't worry about perfection. I think simple stick figures could be really cute as well as having your Littles draw on their own version each family member (similar to what A did for his embroidered family portrait pillow). You'll cherish it!

Custom pencil portraits up on Daily Candy Kids today!

Hello friends! So we all know it's helpful to drop a few hints before Mother's Day to let our loved ones know what would be extra special for us, right? And Daily Candy Kids is here to help us out! Today they were so kind to mention my individual pencil portraits, found in my shop here, as a great suggestion for Mother's Day. And I couldn't agree more!

For more information on how the ordering process takes place hop on over to my illustration blog to read more and see some great before photos and after portraits. And don't delay because slots for Mother's Day portraits will fill up fast, so order yours today!