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I just got back from LA last night and working on getting caught up on everything and enjoying seeing my Littles again (who I swear have grown in just a few short days!). The geometric painting for the GAP Kids event in LA at the Grove was a smashing success! I had such a fabulous time meeting so many little Picasso's and their parents. And the girls from A Squared Events, particularly Jen Truc, who ran the show, were phenomenal to work with. I love seeing everything all set up and ready to go. And then when the kids started coming, well it was pure magic.
I loved to see the many wonderful combinations and creative applications the kids came up with for our geometric art project. They were nothing short of brilliant! I am sharing a few photos from my Instragram feed from the LA Event, (as well as a few from other city attendees feeds), here to share with you. I'm just so thrilled with how everything turned out! (see the flickr page from all the geo painting events here! so inspiring!!)
And if you were not able to make it out to one of these events, and want your little ones to make some geometric art on their own you can now do so at home!
Materials:
- You will need either a canvas or thick sheet of watercolor paper (if you use paper, I would suggest taping it down to a firm surface).
- A fun selection of bright acrylic or tempera paints
- A paint brush
- and some masking tape (I like the 1/2" size)
Start by taping off sections of your canvas so that they make a variety of fun geometric shapes.
Now grab your first color of paint. Decide which shapes you want to be this color and paint them in within the line of the tape (overlapping is fine as the tape will be taken off). Then proceed on to the next color, until your canvas is filled with a variety of fun, colorful shapes!
Once the painted canvas is dry, you may remove the masking tape.
Now enjoy your new work of geometric art! I love how striking these turn out. There are so many options and directions you can with this.
I also love how this is a great art activity for kids of all ages. If your child is at the preschool age, and more into sensory painting, they can just go crazy and see what fun magic happens when the tape is removed. And if they are bit older, they can really get into disciplining their color selection and planning out their different shapes. They can be more precise and intentional, creating something really amazing.
If do this art project, we'd love to see pics of your final creations! And if you attended any of the geo art painting events accross the US and Canada, I'd LOVE to see your pics from that as well!
And for this weekend, get geared up for journal making! Your child's thoughts and acheivments will shine on throughout time as they record it all in their very own journal that they make themselves! See more about dates and locations for this event on GAP's Shine On Facebook page. And based on how successful this last weekend was, you won't want to miss it!!
I'm headed off to LA tonight for tomorrow's GAP Kids event at the Grove. And I'll be updating you on how the trip and crafting is going all on Instagram. Right now, while frantically packing, I'm having visions of the beach, catching up with dear friends, scouring Mood Fabrics and Michael Levine's...and thinking about what I can stuff in my luggage from Trader Joe's to bring home.
Should be fun fun fun!
xo
Mer
Little O is going to preschool this year (he has an October birthday so he'll be one of the older ones) and we have been trying to get him geared up and ready. He's known his shapes for some time but I wanted to push him a bit further in this area. And these simple printable dominoes are just the thing!
To print out your own dominoes, head on over to Handmade Charlotte for the templates and game play instructions. It's so quick and simple, you'll be able to print them out just in time for your weekend camping trip!
(I also love that these can double up as great black and white baby
flash cards for when little sister arrives! Maybe we'll make a mobile or
something out of them...).
 I can't believe we will begin our Shine On crafting weekends in just two days! I seriously can't wait!! If you live in the LA area please do stop in at the Grove and say hello! I'd love love love to meet you and see so many of your little artists!
Our first activity will be geometric art! You're little ones will be able to create and bring home a fun and bright, colorful, striking work of art. It's easy and the pay off is so great!
We will be doing geometric art from:
10AM - 1PM
And if you are not in the LA area, please drop on in on any of the following GAP Kids locations:
New York: 54th & 5th
San Francisco: Corte Maderta
Chicago: Sheffield
Boston: Burlington Mall
Miami: Georgetown
Philadelphia: Newton Center
Dallas: Dallas Galleria
Toronto: Eaton Center
If you do attend at any of these events I'd LOVE to hear how it went and to see pictures!!! I'd love to do a round up of all your little Picasso's on my blog after each event, so bring your cameras and share! You can also stay in the loop with GAP's Facebook Shine On Saturdays event page.
Hope to see you there!
xo
Mer
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
Friends, friends, friends!! If you haven't heard yet, Mer Mag is partnering with GAP Kids to craft the next three Saturdays and it's time to mark your calendars and get ready to Shine On!! Come on in with your Littles the next three Saturday's and craft with Mer Mag at any of the following GAP Kids locations:
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Miami
- Philadelphia
- San Fransisco
- Toronoto
- Washington D.C.
I'm so excited about the craft projects we have in store!! To celebrate your child's accomplishments and unique abilities to SHINE I've come up with three exciting crafts for your little one to delve into! Here's the break down on what we we will be doing on the next three Saturdays:
- August 11th (from 10am to 1pm): GEOMETRIC ART: Your little on will be able to make their very own eye popping geometric work of art! They will love exploring with paint and pattern and will be sure to leave with a personal masterpiece that you both will treasure!
- August 18th (from 10am to 1pm): JOURNAL MAKING: Your little shining star will be able to create their very own colorful custom journal to take home and record all of their hopes, goals, dreams and shining accomplishments!
- August 25th (from 10am to 1pm): ANIMAL CHARACTER BADGES: You know how special and unique your little one is. Now it's time to award them with a custom badge of honor. Your child will create their very own animal character badge that they can then pin onto their lapel, jacket, backpack or more!
And if you are in the LA area, I'll be at the Grove to participate in the first craft workshop, Geometric Art, this weekend! I'd be more than thrilled to meet you and your little one(s) so please stop in and say hello! (And if you don't have any Littles, please stop in anyway and say hello! No doubt GAP will have plenty of fun things you just won't be able to live without :)). And let's be honest, I'm planning on getting all my back to school shopping done this weekend. I already have my eye on a number of great GAP Kid's clothing items!
And don't forget about GAP's online Shine On Saturdays for those of you who don't live near one of the above locations. There is just so much fun crafting to get in on!! and if you like Gap's facebook page you can keep up on all these events that they have in store!! You can also get in on the conversation on Twitter using hashtag #ShineOn. I'll keep you updated by liking Mer Mag's facebook page and on Instagram (@mer_mag) as well. I even got all social networky and finally got a Twitter account (@mer_mag). Can you even believe it ;). This is going to be fun, fun, fun!
xo
Mer
 Friends I have been beyond excited to share some great news. Mer Mag has been asked to create crafts for GAP Kids as part of their Shine On Saturdays. I'm not only thrilled to be partnering with GAP but am over the moon about the concept behind their new Shine On campaign. The Shine On campaign highlights the talents and strengths of children in their own lives and within their community and has even chosen two adorable kids, via an open casting call, to help share the concept of Shining On. And over her at Mer Mag we are ALL about celebrating kids abilities and empowering them with creativity! So needless to say we are so super honored to be a part of GAP Kid's Shine On Campaign!!
To share the news with you, Little O and I made this little stop motion video together. Inspired by the efforts of GAP's Shine On kids, who painted a mural at an LA Middle School, we decided to create our own little piece of vibrant geometric art. Take a look at how it all came together in this video!
And if you want to create your own piece of geometric art, along with two other shining crafts we have in store for you, just mark your calendars for GAP Kids Shine On Saturday's!!! In fact, I'll be making and appearance at LA's Grove GAP Kids store (one of my favorite shopping centers in LA!). So if you are in the LA area, please do stop in and say hello! And bring your kid(s), ready to get their craft on!  GAP Kid's Shine On Saturday's will be taking place in their flagship stores on the following Saturdays:
- August 11th: Geometric Art
- August 18th: Journal Making
- August 25th: Animal Character Badges
These events will be taking place at the following GAP Kids US stores (And if you don't live in the US, don't worry, I believe they are still doing this outside of the US with other international crafters. So cool right?!):
- Boston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Los Angeles
- New York
- Miami
- Philadelphia
- San Fransisco
- Toronoto
- Washington D.C.
And for those of you who don't live close to one of the GAP Kid's stores mentioned, don't worry! There is still a load of online crafting fun that you can take part in starting this Saturday! Take a look at the first project her on GAP's facebook page.
We can hardly wait to get our Shine On!! We do hope you'll join us!!
xo Mer
(Oh and Little O is wearing a GAP Kids orange fall sweater. And if he was wearing some of GAP's new action stretch denim pants, I'm confident he wouldn't be picking a wedgie ;)).
 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!
 Bit by bit I've been trying to stock up on a wardrobe for baby girl (Due Oct. 4). With my two boys, I had it down as to how I dressed baby: soft knit kimono tops paired with knit pants or the occasional skinny jean. Simple soft soled shoes that came on and off easily. Onsies, and pjs with the occasional statement shirt, jacket or suspenders. Then as they got older, I could really get into the more fun fashions wit a bit more structure.
This will be my first girl but I still think I'll follow the same sort of philosophy: comfortable, cuddly, easy with a few pops of WOW! (and of course dresses, dresses, dresses!). Or in other words, I'm stocking up on an assortment of staples with a sprinkling of fun statement pieces. And one of my favorite go-to clothing lines to do just that is Tea.  I can remember the first time I heard about Tea. I was pregnant with A (so 6 years ago!) and was shopping at one of my favorite kids stores in Ft. Collins, Co, The Clothes Pony. The clerk noticed that I was expecting and rushed up to me so excited to share news of this new line that she was in love with. She proceeded to tell me about Tea clothing, about how soft and organic it was and more importantly, that it was Julia Robert's first choice for her baby. I couldn't help but laugh to myself about the use of a celebrity as a selling point (something I'm not really big into). Well I was skeptical and was now about 80% convinced that I didn't need it just because Julia Roberts did. And then I saw the clothing for myself. I was immediately in love with the simple, graphic and tasteful patterns used. And when I felt the fabrics, how soft and high quality they were, well...I was sold. The clothing didn't need anything to back it up. It spoke for itself. And I've been in love with Tea ever since. So of course this was one of my first stops for baby girl and I've been so happy with what I've ordered so far. I still adore their simple and soft graphic layette options so I had to snatch a few of these up. And for a statement, well I had to snatch up this darling pale grey and
purple ikat blouse (pictured first in the post). And paired with these
darling purple leggings, well...I can hardly stand the cuteness. I'm also drawn to their adorable little rompers and I can just picture my future little lady crawling and toddling around in these. Such a great assortment to start out with! 
I have more favorite layette options to you share with you from Polarn O. Pyret. Another fabulous line to acquire a great selection of staples and statements. So stay tuned!
And if you want to know what is inspiring me for kids clothes these days take a look at my Little Style pin boards for both his and hers (back to school is just around the corner!).
As usual we had a fabulous time at my family's Fourth of July reunion in Colorado and as usual, we went all out. This year we decided to go with the birth of America, 1776 theme and the end result was nothing short of amazing. My mother created a lovely patriotic environment complete with homemade lanterns out of tin cans, cuddly quilts to lounge on, a perfect thrifted fabric for a photo backdrop, red white and blue treats to bring with us to the fireworks show and so much more!
 Our summer has been rather busy so we decided to just reuse clothing and
costume items that we have created and utilized in the past. My sisters however,
well they took this theme and ran with it, making darling dresses for their girls...and even themselves (you can check out my sister Lorajean's pin board for the event here)! My older sister Daryllyn made a gorgeous yellow gown for herself and topped it off with a fabulous white wig. Her little darlings were just as impressively decked out.
 My mother sewed all of the little girls cute little white bonnets and my
sisters adorned their hair with ringlets. Everyone just looked so
great.
 In fact, everyone was asked to pick a particular person on early
American history and not only dress the part, but come up with a mini
skit or an informative piece of sorts sharing a bit about that
historical figure. So we had a Davy Crockett, a Danial Boone, a Betsy Ross, a Paul Revere, an Abigail Adams, and more! It was extremely hot this year so aside from dressing up, we didn't do a whole lot. Typically we have a number of games and activities but after dressing up, eating and take a number of festive photos, we all then ditched our warm costumes in favor of swimsuits and my parents pool. Because of the number of fires in Colorado this year, all personal fireworks were banned. Our local communities larger fireworks were also cancelled so we traveled to a near by town to see a few overhead fireworks there. It was a great ending to a fun and festive day!
 We did miss having Jon along for the trip and many mentioned missing his playful, actor, "life of the party" contribution to to the reunion. But aside from missing Jon, the boys and I had a fantastic time. In fact, the Littles have had a hard time transitioning back to our day to day summer life without a mob of cousins to run and play with.
Oh and I discovered that the secret to getting a moody "Count of Monte Cristo" look from my 6 yr old son is to pull him away from all the fun and ask him to pose for the camera for a few minutes. And oh will he stare you down...barely blinking...and refusing to crack even the slightest of grins... I have to admit, I was sort of impressed with his resolve and had to try not to giggle when after at least 10 clicks, he didn't budge at all. I'm seeing stubborn teen in a number of years...Oh boy. But man do I love that kid! 
 Hope you all had a fun filled and pleasant weekend! I just wanted to drop in and and let you know that I will be writing for Alpha Mom and all about baby food! This couldn't be more perfect timing as I'm expecting our little girl in a little less than three months (wowza!) and I've wanted to really delve into making my own baby food for some time. So now I've done just that and am sharing all my know how with you.
Take a look at my first post: Introducing Solid Foods (Fruits and Veggies) to your Baby. It's jam packed with great info. And if you have any insight on what you like to prepare for your baby, I'd love to hear it!
 It's Friday! Where has the week gone to my friends? As busy as we've been playing catch up we did manage to make this weeks summer fun treat, Apricot Rice Pudding Pops, recipe by Michael Laiskonis for Bon Appetit. We used simple IKEA popsicle molds so the didn't turn out looking as gourmet as Michael's did. The technique sure was involved and definitely something I would consider above and beyond what I would normally do. But that is the fun behind these Summer Fun Jars! It forces us to try new things and break out of our old routine. For our Summer Fun Savory Eat, Little O picked out this Slow Cooker Chicken Tikki Masala. Were planning on having that tonight.
 Honest evaulation of the pudding pops: I preferred the warm rice pupping taste to the frozen one and the boys are a bit squeamish about the rice and apricot bits in their pops. But, I'm so glad we tried this. We're all forcing ourselves to step outside of our comfort zone! Which is always fun, right?
Hope you are having fun and relaxing summer! Enjoy the weekend. We have a lot fun stuff to share with you all next week!
 (First off, a big Thank You to all of you fabulous readers who were able to retrieve my lost post via Google Reader! I can't tell you how happy this makes me! xoxo.)
We
are back from our annual 4th of July reunion in Colorado. We had an
excellent time but are very happy to be off the road, at home and in our
own beds. Unfortunately Jon couldn't join us this year as he's acting
in a play and has other work that he couldn't break away from. So I
decided to take the 8 hour drive out to Colorado on my own with our two
boys (Oh yeah, and at 6 months pregnant). Crazy you say? Well I do
agree, but in someways this was one of the best road trips I've had with
the boys. Why? Well in addition to having a little help from above, I
think some serious preparation and planning (and the chance to caravan
with my sister's family) did just the trick.
I'd
love to share a few tips (some learned the hard way :)) for traveling
across country with young kids (particularly if are traveling by
yourself!).
TIPS FOR ROAD TRIPPING WITH YOUNG KIDS
- Evaluate your needs and devise a plan.
How old are your children? Do you have an infant/baby? Are your kids
potty trained or are some in diapers still? What are their needs and how
can you address them in the best way possible both ahead of time and
while on the road? For example, my oldest, 6 yrs, needs a lot of brain
stimulation so I prepared a lot of dot to dots, mazes, math activities,
etc. for him. Whereas my youngest, 3 1/2 yrs, needs a best friend play
toy at all times and needs to snack constantly, to stay in a good mood.
So I made sure I was ready for both of these things and more. After
evaluating you might end up deciding that being the sole driver just
isn't in the cards for you at this time. But then again, you might
decide that you think you (and your littles) are ready and want to take
the plunge! And you might just find out, like me, that it was totally
doable and worth it!
- Separate the trip into shorter, manageable sections.
This doesn't mean you have to stop at each "section" of your trip (but
then again you might need to for feedings, diaper changes or bathroom
breaks!) but you can have mile markers where you pull out a new toy or
coloring book, etc. When Jon and I drive together on long trips we
typically have the rule, no videos until after dinner or when it's
getting dark. This encourages the kids to engage in their planned
activities while it's still light out and day dream while looking out
the window (a very important part of a road trip, if you ask me).
On this trip however, as I was driving by myself, I told the boys that
they could start watching videos after our "middle of the trip" mile
marker, Little America (where we would be also be meeting up with
caravanning cousins for a short while). This helped me out as I wouldn't
have to worry about entertaining them for such long periods of time and
by making this clear ahead of time they knew what was coming and how to
mentally prepare themselves for how the trip would play out.
- Involve your kids in the pre-planning. Let
the Littles get involved with the plan up front so they are not as
thrown by any surprises. For example, we had our boys earn money for a
toy from the dollar store before the trip. They then each picked out a
couple of plastic Power Rangers who quickly became their inseparable
(and eventually armless) road trip companions. We also took them to the
library where we picked out books on CD as well as movies on DVD. I like
checking out movies from the library because it's something our kids
have never seen so they are engaged and excited about it, but it's not
as expensive (or even free at some libraries) as purchasing an entirely
new show. I then throw in a few tried and true beloved shows from our
home DVD library if all else fails. We also let them come with us while
picking out snacks but make sure that they didn't break into any
of it until the trip. Yes they got antsy and complained, wanting the
yummy thing right then but I held strong and didn't let them have any of it until
we got on the road. You could also work together to make a number of
homemade snacks and treat which is a really great way to go. If I did
this again I'd love to pick out some of my pinned snack ideas to make
such as these, these, or these (we had candy buttons on another trip and my boys loved
picking them off and eating them. They quickly became my "oh no, the
boys are starting to lose it, time to break out another sheet of candy
buttons" trick up my sleeve). This is a fun idea
as well. I think keeping these things "special" along with knowing what
sort of snacks they had in store before the trip started helped them
look forward to the long adventure ahead.
- Make or purchase accessories that will help your trip run smoother. This year I finally made another travel desk for Little O as well as an art portfolio case
that could be used a top the desk and then placed within the underside
pocket (where the board is) for storage. I then stuffed them full of fun
games and activities as well as blank paper, markers and colored
pencils. These were then slung over and stored on the side of their seat
arm rests, making it accessible whenever they wanted it. As my oldest
is more capable of helping himself and his brother out, I also put a bag
full of additional books, games, tag readers, etc. between their seats
so that they could help them selves out when they needed a change of
entertainment. I also made sure that the boys each had a water bottle
full and available at all times. I kept the snacks in a box in the
captain's chair and passed them back when needed. Both my boys can now
unwrap their own drink box straws, string cheese wrappers and more,
making things that much easier (hooray!).
- Don't forget to assess your needs for the trip.
Whether you are teaming up with another driver or going solo, you can't
forget to evaluate your own needs for the trip. I mean, if practically
every responsibility is going to to fall into your lap, you need to make
sure you are happy, comfortable and excited about the adventure you
have in store! Being 6 months pregnant I had make sure that I stayed
well hydrated, had lots of healthy snacks (as well as the essential sour
gummy snacks that keep my senses alert) and had opportunities for
breaks to get out and stretch my legs (which the kids needed as well, so
it worked out great!). I also needed to be engaged in the audio books
so I had some say in what we finalized when going to the library before
hand (Being a YA/Middle Grade illustrator,
I'm quite the fan of these books so I was more than OK with a younger
sort of book. You might have work something out when you can listen to a
more adult book, perhaps while the kids are watching shows or have
fallen asleep). Make a number of mixed CD's with music that will engross
you and keep you alert and awake. I love songs that bring me back to
past times in my life. Waxing nostalgic amidst stretches of red rocks,
prairies and endless road can be quite fulfilling. This is also a great
time to plan fun projects and brain storm about the future. I can't tell
you how many young adult "novels" I've written in my head while road
tripping. Maybe someday they will amount to something :). I also found
that Instagramming the trip made things much more bearable for me. I was
able to keep Jon in the loop and not feel so alone on this long journey
(you might notice that a number of these pics here are from Instagram.
I'm new to this world but if you want to follow me you can find me at
mer_mag).
- Be willing to roll with the punches. As
you can probably guess, traveling with kids requires a certain amount
of flexibility. Fights might break out when you least expect. They need
to go to the bathroom just ten minutes after visiting the last rest
stop. They claim to be "bored" with the unending amount of activities
you have planned for them (many of which they haven't even bothered to
look at!), etc. For I us I decided that I was going to make this trip
about the trip itself, and not just the destination. So when all
else failed, we found a random place to stop, get out and photograph the
beautiful scenes before us (Oh and I brought a long a digital camera
for the boys to take pics themselves. The giggled for a good 30 minutes
taking pictures of each other legs, noses, etc. while in the car. I
highly recommend this for kids who can work a camera).
Stopping
and taking breaks actually ended up being one my fondest experiences of
this trip. We were able stop at one my favorite landmarks, the little
white church in Virginia Dale, CO. My friend's grandfather actually
built this darling church and I have wanted to stop and take a closer
look at it for some time. Yes making these types of stops adds time to
the trip but for us, it turned out to be completely worth it.
 When we finally did arrive at my parents in Colorado we jumped right into to the pool to relax and cool off!
 We
were so ready and excited for all the 4th of July festivities to begin.
And I what a fun time we had! I can't wait to share our story and all
of our pics with you, which I will be doing so very soon!
What about you? What works for you when traveling with little ones? Do you have any helpful hints on how to make things go smoother? Or some funny flops, if nothing else :). If so please share. I know we'd all love to hear them!
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Hi friends! Have you ever heard of 
And what treasures they found inside once they did open it! Our box came complete with two fun bug crafts. Absolutely everything they needed to complete the craft was in the box. Real winner there.
Of the two crafts, the boys picked the fun lightening bugs craft first. They were outfiitted with two plastic bottles, multiple colorful transparent stickers, glow sticks and more! Instructions were simple and the boys loved creating their little bugs.
I think this concept behind 
It's been so hot lately and we needed a kids craft that allowed us to get wet, wet wet! This river raft, made from duct tape, card board and water bottles, was just the thing. Head on over to 
And for more duct tape fun, take a look at some of my previous projects. Any of them would make a great weekend craft for you and your Littles!
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