Today, we're joining up with KidLab's "Beetle Week" to share a DIY project that's perfect for kids of all ages as we head into summer. We're creating beetles in the whimsical collage style of Eric Carle. This is a project that could stretch over a few days as you wait for paint and glue to dry, but only requires short bursts of concentration for younger children. And it yields SUCH fun results! We're basing our designs on Eric Carle's book, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle. 

Free printable: Watercolor peonies.

During Lanie's morning nap, Liam and I have some rare one-on-one time that I try to spend intentionally. Some days, it's the only time I have to shower before work and Liam ends up playing with his trains. But on other days, we do little projects together. When I tell him, "I have an idea," his face lights up and he asks, "What are mine options?" Recently, we've been watercoloring. It's easy setup and cleanup, and both of us have fun. We share the same tray of nothing-special-paints and brushes, but the time we spend creating side by side is just magic. The other day, Liam painted a dinosaur (can you see it?) and I dabbled with some abstract peonies.

It is so tempting for me to keep meddling with a painting, but this time, I kept it stark and simple and let the unpredictable bleed of the vibrant colors do all the work. The whole painting took less than five minutes, and I think if I would've added more time and thought to it, I wouldn't have liked it as much. I scanned it today in hopes of enlarging it for Lanie's room, and thought a few of you might want a copy, too. If you do, just click on the photo above and it should direct you to a size that's big enough to download and print as an 8"x10" piece to frame. To make it even more realistic, trim a piece of watercolor paper to fit your printer and print on the watercolor paper itself. It'll look like it just came off the drying rack.  

PS - Print or gift as many copies as you'd like. It's here for the taking. Just don't sell it (does that even need to be said?). Thanks friends.

A few toddler ideas...

Our recent schedule since I've gone back to work has left very little time for blogging, which makes me sad. It's left little time for showering and sleeping, too, which is another story. But I hope to keep popping in for updates as much as I can. I love this little space and am thankful for you (yes, you!) who takes the time to read it, time gaps and all. 

If you have a toddler in your house, you might be like me... when you come across an idea that actually works for your picky little one, you want to tell the world. Like getting your little guy or gal to eat squash or keeping him occupied for an entire hour. So act like you're getting a text from me with a link to these three little projects, a handful of our recent favorites. 

1. Squash waffles.

Liam's diet consists of three main food groups: waffles, Larabars (which he calls "bar snacks") and fruit (sometimes hummus and eggs make the cut, too). So when I came across this recipe for summer squash pancakes, I knew I needed to try it out to sneak a few veggies in without him realizing it.  The only thing I tweaked about the recipe was to use an all-purpose gluten free flour in lieu of whole wheat flour... and I made them into waffles instead of pancakes. They're Liam-approved, which is saying a lot, and they freeze well. 

2. Dinos in ice.
This idea has made the Pinterest and Facebook rounds, so you may have already seen it. Basically, throw some water, some little plastic toys (in our case, dinosaurs), and a little food coloring into a tupperware container and freeze it overnight. Then let your toddler use a variety of tools to dig and hammer and chop and try to figure out how to rescue the dinosaurs from the ice block. After being slightly confused initially, Liam loved this challenge and loved eventually pouring warm water on the ice block to rescue his beloved dinos. The project lasted much longer than I anticipated (nearly an hour!), which is a win for us.

3. Our little fox.

One of our nieces loves foxes, so when I saw this fox costume tutorial and pattern, Liam insisted we make a fox costume for her. We had Lanie model it, and we fell in love with her all over again. The pattern does seem to run a little small - it just barely fit on Liam's head, but fit 6-month-old Lanie just perfectly.

Final sale!

First things first, thank you for supporting me and my little Brighter Day shop so well this past year! It has allowed me the enormous privilege of working from home while spending my days with my little guy, and I don't take that lightly.

That said, I wanted to offer one final sale before I close the shop for the year.

From now until Sunday night at 11:59pm EST, take 30% off using the code MERRYCHRISTMAS30.

All items are currently ready to ship and will ship out no later than this coming Tuesday, to arrive in time for Christmas (domestic orders only). There are wallets, baby headbands, canvas art prints, and earrings that are ready to go. Or purchase a discounted sewing pattern or instant download art print and make your own gifts!

PS - Because of our baby's imminent arrival, I can't guarantee if or when I'll be re-opening the shop. While working with a two-year-old has had its own challenges, I can only imagine what life will be like with a two-year-old and a newborn, so I'm not making any commitments at this point. So if you're looking to purchase from Brighter Day, now's the time!

Slow Fashion.

Modeling my newly made Sorbetto top and Brighter Day clutch 

Have you heard the term slow fashion before? It's new terminology to me, though the concept has been around for a while. Basically, slow fashion is an approach to clothing in direct opposition to what Americans are very accustomed to: mass-produced, fast fashion where we buy cheaply made items and, within a few weeks, it's out of style and thrown away. Slow fashion urges each of us to be more mindful of the clothes we consume, to buy less, and to care for and mend what we already own so it doesn't end up in a landfill. It also encourages upcycling, swapping, making your own clothing (my new favorite!), and supporting local artisans.

For me, it's about a lot more than just curbing consumerism and helping the environment. It's about people. It's about justice.

This year, the collapse of the garment factory in Bangladesh opened lots of eyes to the truth of the horrendous conditions so many people are living and working in every day... in order to produce our clothes. The clothes these women were making are probably hanging in some of our closets right now (they produced clothes for the Children's Place and Walmart, to name a couple). They're cheap for us to buy, and costly for them to make. In this one incident, over 1100 lives were lost, including many children who were in a nursery facility in the building. By buying some of the clothes we do without a thought of where they came from, we are supporting this kind of hard labor in terrible conditions.

In addition, have you guys seen this website: SlaveryFootprint.org? It takes you through a quick but very insightful survey to find out how many human slaves are employed on your behalf by the things you consume. The number that I got at the end was frightening, and sheds light on just how much I consume without thinking a moment about where it came from or who made it.

The whole concept intrigues me and convicts me. Ultimately, when it comes to clothing, it inspires me to save up for more quality pieces that will last (a great pair of jeans, a beautiful jacket) that are timeless and ethically made. It also really inspires me to make my own clothes, which I've just begun to do (a dress, a shirt, and a skirt so far!). I really don't have any answers or big ideas when it comes to this - just food for thought right now.

What about you? Do you know about slow fashion? Any ideas about helping this cause and, in turn, promoting social justice?

More about the slow fashion movement here:
The Slow Fashion Movement... Reversing Environmental Damage
Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion

It is well.

This morning I was in a creative/DIY kind of mood... and this being one of my favorite hymns, I thought it deserved a place on our wall. (I also made sure to include the hymn writer's name because his story is so moving ). I'll make sure to post a photo when it's printed and framed. If you'd like to download it for printing, just click on it and drag it to your desktop and it should give you a very large version of the print. It has a white border around it to make it easily frameable. 

Happy weekend!