We made it on the Babble 100 Best Bloggers List!

Dec
2013

I’m honored to be a part of Babble’s top 100 bloggers of 2013! Wowza, seriously flattered! There are so many great ones (including friends Meta, Danielle, and more!) on the list and so many that are new to me that I can’t wait to check out.

One of the fun things they asked us to do is come up with a dream room for $1000. I had to “design” a play room as I’ve always wanted one and can’t wait until I have space to really design my own. My picks are below – and that Serena and Lilly rug – I mean c’mon. (Ok so as it typical, I went a tad over budget, but if you watch for good sales I’m confident you could get this room real close to $1000). See links for these items on Babbles post here.

And of course don’t forget to check in on our 24 Merry Day’s count down. Yesterday Nicole was giving away a gift card for some lovely art (you can still enter!). Today, over that the Sweetest Occasion you can win a $200 holiday pack from Leif!

Craft Your Christmas! with Mer Mag

Dec
2013

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And here at Mer Mag that means it’s the most wonderful time of year to make and create! We’ve always liked to craft our Christmas and these are just a few of our favorite things we have made in years past. Hopefully they will help inspire you to make and create a few things yourself!

1. And ever fan favorite, our reindeer and santa hat digital decals to spruce up and personalize your gift giving!

2. We’re pulling out our tissue box Christmas village this year and with duct and glitter tape, it’s still gorgeous and intact, ready for year number two!

3. The boys and baby girl are crazy about these modern snowman blocks – seriously, they’re playing with them non-stop.

4. We need to make another one of these Santa Cookie Plates with Baby M included! Better get to it as I know my boys would be devastated if we didn’t use this for Santa’s goodies this year

5. We’re already into our Christmas Book Advent this year but it’s not to late to start one of your own if you want to count down the days with cuddles and story time! My boys are crazy anticipating the day we get to read the Nutcracker.

6. One of my all time favorite Christmas endeavors – Our IKEA RIBBA Picture Ledge Christmas Tree! My brother is coming out this weekend and he says he’s ready for another crazy Christmas project. Not going to have a problem putting him to it in Santa’s workshop!

7. We loved our Paper Strip Wreath craft last year so much that we had to make multiples and include a circle-punch snowball wreath. So easy and fun to make!

8. And these illustrated downloadable gift tags, for Creature Comforts gift guide a few years back, are still on the top of the list for favorite Christmas trimmings and trappings.

And this is just a starter list. We have so many fun things we have loved working on in the past and so many more in store for this month, so stay tuned!

And are you counting down the days until Christmas with our 24 Merry Days giveaway yet?! Today’s is so cool. It’s with 1000 Threads blog and she’s giving away an amazing $100 gift card to Artifact Uprising. I want all of these people. such great stuff.

Mer Mag in Mollie Makes Mama

Dec
2013

Wow that’s a lot of alliteration with that title there – and I kind of love it. Anyhow, I’m excited to share with you that Mer Mag is in the launch issue of Mollie Makes Mama digital edition! and such a cute edition it is! You can purchase it here. Fair warning, be prepared to be inspired and ready to MAKE with your little ones!

And don’t forget our 24 Merry Days giveaway! Today Brittany, of House that Lars Built, is giving away a Public bike! No lie!!! So yeah, I sort of entered myself in, I mean c’mon, a beautiful bike people!

Our Go-to Online Shops for TOYS!

Dec
2013

It’s no secret that we love toys here at Mer Mag. And beautiful, functional toys at that. We love to make them, purchase them and most importantly we love to play with them!

This time of year I love to scour online shops for special toys that my children will engage in and love – ones that are designed beautifully and will also look lovely strewn about our home.There are so many amazing online boutiques to find gorgeous toys and we love to shop thoses. But when it comes to tried and true go-to’s for that statement, “wow” toy, I have about three go-to online shops that I simply must hit up for my toy gift shopping.

First online stop: Land of Nod.

We all know and love Land of Nod. I’ve been a fan of theirs for many many years and have praised them every since they used to use illustrators for their catalog covers (pretty please do this again?! ). I’ve always loved how they understand and support artists and their unique and needful contribution to the toy world. They are really on board with the creative blogging community and I have always had a lot of respect for them as a company as a whole. But most importantly, they have so many to-die for toys!!!

And as it’s Cyber Monday, they are offering 15% with free shipping. Perfect time to snatch up one of these absolutely incredible crocodile pull toys!

I’ve had my eye on this critter for some time and am so happy to add him to our home this Christmas! Baby M got a sneak peek at him and loved playing with the cuddly reptile. Now to just get this little gal walking we she can pull Mr. Croc along. But then again I think we’re ok with her taking her time (do I really want to be chasing her everywhere just yet? and besides my kids have such long torso’s they’re always a bit late on the sitting and walking front anyhow).

Second online stop: Uncommon Goods.

I love UncommonGoods for exactly what their name implies: their vast selection of unique and uncommon goods. Not only do they have a great selection of environmentally conscious and unique designs and handcrafted gifts, I also love that they run all their operations out of the historic Brooklyn Army Terminal. (Being an x-Brooklynite myself I always have a special love for Brooklyn based companies. Go Brooklyn!). But now let’s get to the toys!

Take for example these incredible Alphabet Factory Blocks. They beauties have been also been on my list for quite some time and I’m happy to report that all three of my kids LOVE playing with them (I couldn’t get them to stop building things with them!). I’m a firm believer that children are affected and enriched by beautiful design and that their toys should reflect this whenever possible. These blocks do just that. Not only are they fun to play with but they are also a great introduction to graphic design and the work of House Industries, who created lettering inspired by comic books, hand-painted signs and mid-century furniture. Yeah, so cool.

But these blocks are not the only thing I have my eye on. In addition to so many beautiful toys, I love that UncommonGoods selection of diverse items ensures a gift for each person on my Christmas list. My brother in law would love this pick punch, and this zaney cool aquafarm and kinetic sand would be perfect for my sisters family, who we give to this year. Oh man, so much fun stuff to chose from!

Third online toy stop: Pottery Barn Kids.

Last but not least, we always love to see what lovely toys Pottery Barn Kids have to offer. We used to live close to a PBkids and I always made sure to stop in for seasonal inspiration, gorgeous toys and stocking stuffers but now that we are far away from any brick and mortars, we do our PBkids shopping online.

I love that PKkids has been on board with the resurgence of wooden toys from the get-go. And what we love even more about their wooden toys is that they are not only lovely to look at, but they actually function and interact in an exciting way! Comparable to any popular plastic action toy out there. Take for example this AMAZING Construction Crane. MY boys are literally obsessed with this! I thought this would be predominately in Little O’s wheelhouse but AJ is equally into this interactive crane toy! (I couldn’t get them to pull away).

They are crazy about the fully operational rotating broom and hook that moves up and down. And Little O already wants to take these Construction People with him everywhere. I told him that he has to wait until Christmas as this was just a preview. Needless to say, he is dying, waiting for Christmas day to get here already.

I really loved seeing the boys interact together, playing amicably and getting completely lost in play. I’m pretty sure we’ll have to purchase these Construction Vehicles to go with as a surprise on Christmas day. And with free shipping all day, I think today’s the day!

And now to scour these shops again for anymore gifts we just can’t live without! Happy Cyber Monday shopping friends!

Oh and P.S. Be sure to check out the 24 Merry Days giveaway that Lovely Indeed is hosting today! Anthro gift card anyone? Yes please!

24 Merry Days!

Nov
2013

Friends I’ve got rolls to get working on, veggies and dip to buy and family gatherings in the works! How is your Thanksgiving holiday going so far?

Well It’s about to get even better as I share with you an exciting online blogger event, 24 Merry Days! For 24 days, 24 bloggers are giving away a selection of AMAZING prizes (they are gooood guys, like real good).

So each day, from Dec. 1st-24th, one blogger will be giving away a prize on their blog and you’ll have a week to enter each one. My giveaway is on Dec. 11th so mark your calendars! I can’t share what it will be yet but just know you will love it! I will also be linking to what the other bloggers will be giving away as the countdown goes on, to keep things fun and festive! And trust me, you don’t want to miss this (can you enter a few times for me please?;)).

And to give you a teaser of some of the prizes – think a bike from Public Bikes (score!), a pair of shoes from Swedish Hasbeens ($400 value), a lion coat from Little Goodall, amazing gift cards to Artfully Walls, Poppin, Anthropologie, and so much more!

For more information and to keep up with the giveaways, head over to the 24 Merry Days website.

…now I’m off to work on those rolls…and I must slip in a date to see Catching Fire. I’m just DYING to get see it!!!

Thanksgiving Turkey Coloring Page Download

Nov
2013

I thought we’d pop in with another quick Thanksgiving goodie to assist in your kiddie table. Hank the Turkey is here as a coloring page download! to keep little hands happy and busy while you are bustling about the kitchen and catching up with friends and loved ones.

Just click the image below to download your very own Hank the Turkey coloring page.

Hank goes right along with our Turkey Craft and Downloadable Place Mats making a complete table setting for your little ones.

It’s fun to see my kids take more of an interest in art as as they grow. AJ really enjoys art and drawing now, and really thinks things through. He was methodical and careful to color each portion of the feather a different color. He’s picky about vibrancy when it comes to art materials and I can’t blame him. And I’m picky about no wrappers and broken crayon bits everywhere, so we both love these Crayola twistables.

You can see what other crafts Crayola lovers are doing for their Thanksgiving tables here.

A Happy Happy Thanksgiving from Hand the turkey and all of us here at Mer Mag!! Life is so full and we often miss that little bit we need to keep moving forward if we aren’t careful to be thankful. I’m trying to add a bit more gratitude in my life each day and I’m thankful for holidays such as this to help me to do just that.

Check out this sweet little video that remind us of the little things we are thankful for:

This post is sponsored by Crayola.

Simple Cardboard Christmas Tree Craft

Nov
2013

Hi friends! I’m so ready for this Thanksgiving holiday week, aren’t you? I wish I could be with family in Colorado but we are here with family and that is great too. And we have a little Christmas tree craft to share with you that will be perfect for you and little ones to work on. (you might recognize these from our Christmas Card shoot).

Just hop on over to Minted for the full DIY and get your recycled crafty Christmas in motion!

Our JOYFUL Christmas Cards from Minted

Nov
2013

This year I really wanted to be sure we did the Christmas card thing and that we did it right. I always love what the designers over at Minted do so I knew I wanted to start there. We immediately fell in love with this Joyful design, by Carrie ONeal, and knew right away that it had to be our Christmas card this year.

I originally had plans to have all of us, myself and Jon, included in this card this year (as we don’t really show up in pics around here too much) but we just couldn’t work out a time with Jon’s busy schedule. But next year, we will prevail. I’m determined! So of course I do wish we could have all made an appearance but other than than, I’m really happy with how these cards turned out!

I wanted to do something fun and playful with the shoot so we made a few props.

Little O is in love with his mounted polar bear wall hanging so thus began our inspiration. I made a simple paper bear mask for each kid and they had lots of fun with it. Baby M didn’t wear her’s for too long of course but I find that a few props always helps in getting those great candid shots and giggly expressions so we were good with it.

The kids weren’t too keen on an outdoor shoot so we decided to bring the outdoors in and make a few trees of our own, with our tried and true craft medium of choice – cardboard.

One of the reasons I chose Minted to do our cards this year is the multi-photo background options they have. One photos is never enough. I always seem to have so many favorites after a shoot and this was a great way to showcase them all.

Of course not all photos made it to the card so I can’t help but share a few more here. I loved so many, it was hard to narrow it down.

Figuring out wardrobe for your Christmas photo shoots can be the most fun part, right?! I died when I saw this perfect fairisle sweater from Marie-Chantal. It actually set the tone for the entire color scheme. And AJ, well he hates anything itchy or scratchy so you can imagine how delighted we both were when we discovered just how incredibly soft, supple and snuggly this sweater is. I mean it’s like baby’s skin! No joke. It’s a new favorite, for sure. And really I’m actually dying over all of their sweet clothing over on Marie-Chantal. Makes we want to just up and move to England already.

Once I knew yellow was going to be in the color scheme It was clear that Little O had to wear this black pocket tee from PRSPRKids. Paired it with this striped Toto Knits scarf , that you might remember from this post. Love it.

And baby M, well I’ve been waiting all my life to invest in darling little dresses and to wrap little baby girl legs in snuggly tights and leggings, and these from Fawn Shoppe were just too cute to pass up. They make me think of little sugar plums…(Oh my that just got me excited for bringing this little lady to the Nutcracker Ballet is NYC someday…eep! so excited!).

And now with our Christmas card squared away, it’s time to start thinking of what to get these three bear cubs for Christmas…The older ones are getting harder to please these days. They have their ideas, Santa has his, and then there’s that handmade magic that we always like to throw in…guess we better get to it!

Help me name this little guy

Nov
2013

Hi friends! I need a bit of your help. This little guy has been appearing in and around my sketchbooks and I know he’s ready to come to life. I’ve already fallen for him and he’s like a little friend. But he needs a name, and I’m just not sure what to call him. The only name that is coming to me is Baxter, but I’m just not sure. What do you think? What does he want to be named? I know he’s got a lot of plans and is ready to get going with his little life (he’s already hunting for Christmas trees). I’d love your help! What’s his name?

The Thanksgiving Table: turkey DIY and placemat download

Nov
2013

Thanksgiving is just a stone’s throw away and it’s time to start thinking about what you’re going to do to entertain your little ones while finishing up those cranberry delicacies and green bean casseroles. Camille Styles invited us to be apart of her Thanksgiving table and we more than delighted to share this simple and fun turkey DIY. You can find a template and the DIY on her site.

Use these turkeys to adorn kids cups for each place setting around the table. House a few writing utensil inside while they wait for the other turkey to be carved.

Then pair them with few downloadable placements for the perfect Thanksgiving table setting. Just click on the images below to download. If you don’t have a large format printer just take these to your local copy story and have them print out enough for your table.

Little ones can draw, sketch and express their gratitude on these place mats, giving you a bit more free hands to take care of that pumpkin pie. And you’ll be tickled and warmed at what their little hearts come up with.