We Love to Paint!

We went to an awesome birthday party recently; it was an ART PARTY 

and the kids donned cute, colorful berets and custom made aprons.

Painting on canvas board with acrylic paint was one of the fun, artful activities.

Ever since...we have been hooked!!

Above: in progress, by Magda

Still life with Fruit by Magda

Cupcake by Magda

 Abstract #1  by Luca

Cupcake by Luca

Kid Made Modern

My sister sent along an unexpected and totally awesome gift/book to us last week...

Kid Made Modern is this really great craft book by Todd Oldham, designer extraordinaire, that features 52 craft projects inspired by mid-century artists like Alexander Girard, Isamu Noguchi and Charles + Ray Eames.  All of the projects are inexpensive, often using recycled materials and it has very clear, easy to follow instructions.  

There were so many amazing projects to choose from, but there was one we had to make right away...

The Potato Block Print Scarf.  

Very easy and fun to make--Super stylish to boot!

We got an XX large t-shirt and I cut straight across, right under the arms, so we had just one big tube.

Next, we needed a potato, cut in two, 

with a square design cut in on each side--as a stamp.

A couple tubes of fabric paint.

That's it, we were ready to go!

You can't tell but there is a piece of cardboard inside the t-shirt so the paint doesn't soak thru to the other side, but other than that...what you see is what you do and its really fun and easy to make.  

Luca is getting some tape.  Luca LOVES tape.

Let it dry overnight, then flip it over and do more on the other side...such a great project!

I think this may be our new go-to for girl birthday presents!

Thanks Sissy!! We LOVE the book!!

A Special Birthday Celebration

My husband's parents turn 70 this year and their four boys (I am married to the youngest) decided to throw them a joint surprise birthday party.  The guest list was drawn up, invites were designed and mailed out...and over 75 family and friends from all over the country gathered together Saturday night, just north of Baltimore, to celebrate.  I love my in-laws DEARLY, so of course, I wanted to jump in and help...

and I wanted to go BIG!...

All ideas from here...

This is what I did:

Under a clever ploy, I managed to get  many dozens of old family photos from my mother-in-law.  

I then made color copies of the very fun ones...

As you can see above, I turned some into party hats for the kids..

I put out a little scrap book and got a cute new polaroid camera 

for the kids to take photos of each other 

and put them in the scrap book for Grandmom and Poppie. 

My favorite thing was the giant 70 we created by taping color copies of the 

old photos to the window in the shape of a huge 70...It made for a really great giant collage.

The photos are so amazing and fun to look at...

(Extra special thank you to Michael and Brian for all their help in getting this done!)

It does look like a 70, right??

Above, some details of the photos in the collage.

Another nice idea was, using photo corners, we attached copies of old photos to dollar vases with a votive candle in each one for the table center pieces...

so when it got dark outside, each photo was illuminated by the candle and it created a really lovely effect.

The party was a huge success and very fun.  Just about everyone that was invited joined us.

It was so wonderful to see all the faces of those who 

Pat and Chrystie hold so dear in one room celebrating them...

My parents-in-law welcomed me into their family with open and loving arms 12 years ago and they never fail to amaze me with their generosity and selfless ways.  They are devoted and committed to their family and friends and would drop everything-in a heart beat--if any of us needed anything...ever.  

Their close friends, still to this day, are from their college days and the neighbors that their kids grew up with; and to me, this fact is just another testament to how dearly loyal and committed they are to those around them.

But beyond all this, I think I have learned something far more dear and valuable from Pat and Chrystie...

My daughter was born at 11:30pm on a cold wintery night in January and first thing that very next Sunday morning, Pat and Chrystie were flying across the country from Baltimore to New Mexico so they could hold their brand new baby grand-daughther in their arms, before another moment could pass...

They then proceeded to fly out 5 more times that year alone to help us and be with her...

As Magda grew bigger and Luca came to join us, the love and bond between the four of them grew deeper and stronger.   And after all the many, many trips to Santa Fe that Pat and Chrystie made, and all our trips to Baltimore...And then since moving here--all the time the four of them have spent together: at the beach, going out to pizza, at soccer games, holidays, knitting lessons, trips to the park, family get-togethers, pick ups from school every Monday, the sing-alongs,  birthdays, weekend visits, when the kids got sick, overnights at Poppie & Grandmom's house, the games, the gifts, the clothes, the craft projects, the special treats, the dollar bills!!... on and on...

By just watching them interact: the squeals, the giggles, the sheer delight--(from all of them!) I think I have come to realize that being a grandparent is quite possibly one of the greatest joys in life...that simple love between grandparent and grandchild is purely unconditional and completely self-less.   Of course being a grandkid is awesome, because you get totally "boiled" (as Luca would say--he means, spoiled!)  But honestly, by the looks on Pat and Chrystie's faces, they are having just as much, if not more fun, than the kids!!

 I have often thought that by watching Pat and Chrystie with my kids that their relationship truly illustrates this great gift of the human experience--this love between one's parents and one's children.  It is pure joy and its amazing.   I can't really express how much I value being a part of it.  I think I have an inkling about how much it means to Pat and Chrystie to be so a part of our lives.  I am more sure than anything, that knowing as my children grow up and older, they will glow with the love they feel for their grandparents; that mark is indelible and it will last their whole lives.  And everyone who knows Magda and Luca, throughout their lives, will know how dearly they love their Grandmom and Poppie...and what a close, beautiful bond they all continue to share.

Happy Birthday Pat and Chrystie

We love you...

and here's to many more celebrations still to come!!

Poppie and Grandmom with all the Goles grandkids

Springtime Watercolor

I was looking for something to do with the kids last weekend--a little art project of some sort, and honestly, I was looking for something kind of interesting and more complex than what I was seeing with the usual Springtime craft projects...that was until I came across this...

Egg Watercolor Art

by Magda

I found the idea and the how-to thru The Crafty Crow.  The Crafty Crow, for those that don't know, is this awesome crafty collective website for kids.  Well, I mean, crafts that you can do with kids or...crafts that kids can do by themselves.  This beautiful watercolor project is actually from Scrumdilly-Do, but The Crafty Crow goes all over the internet pulling in the best craft ideas--so that's how I found it.  If you are looking for fun arts and crafts projects to do with kids...The Crafty Crow is pretty much the mother lode of crafty kid websites.  

It was an easy, fun project and we found the results to be especially beautiful...This is what we did:

(A huge thank you, by the way, to The Crafty Crow for featuring the project by Scrumdilly-Do...this is exactly the kind of project I was looking for!!  Please see Scrumdilly-Do for a more complete list of exactly what you will need and, no doubt, better instructions!)

1) I cut out an egg shape out of the side of a cereal box.  Using this as a stencil, I taped it to a piece of water color paper.

2.  Using a white crayon, you make lines, squiggles, curly-qs--whatever you want, within the shape of the stencil.  Pressing down hard so that the crayon leaves nice marks.

3. Using a clean paint brush, paint the area within the stencil with a wash of water; letting the water absorb, as much as it can, into the paper.  Making sure all of the exposed egg surface is at least damp.

4.  Then, using as little additional water as possible, dab the brush into the pure watercolor paint and spread it around the paper as you wish; staying within the confines of the stencil as much as possible.

5.  Fill up the area with as much paint/colors as possible--watching and helping them kind of all blend together...

And that is basically it!  Let it dry, then carefully remove your stencil.

Here are a couple of our faves!

Magda is really good at concentrating and taking her time--which makes me so proud.   

I love watching my kids create and make art.  I hope they never stop...

Signs of Spring

I desperately tried to hold out for that last fleeting, possibility of a late Spring snow storm...I really did.  But, let's face it, when the upcoming forecast for this week is consistently sunny and in the 70s, even I had to concede and give up hoping for snow...and while I do have some anxiety over what all this lovely weather, no-snow-winter means, i.e. global warming...sooner or later one has to embrace the season at hand, early or not...plus its just kind of hard not to love all things Spring...

Here is a collection of Spring, in and around our house from this weekend.

Luca with his new hair cut and Magda doing her best teen-age impression..they are getting SO big!!

Things around our kitchen more: artichokes, asparagus, mint, lemon...Springtime always reminds me of Italy because that is where and when Greg & I went on our honeymoon.  Also, Springtime on the east coast, for some reason, really is just so amazing to me...I am not used to such a triumphant welcome to the change of season by the daffodils, tulips, blossoms and birds...It just takes my breath away everyt time it rolls around--ESPECIALLY the Magnolia trees...  Next week is the Cherry Blossom Festival on The Mall in Washington, DC...will take LOTS of photos.  

This is a lemon vinaigrette I made with 1/4 c. lemon juice, 2 teaspoons both: honey and dijon mustard; 2 tablespoons each: basil, chives and flat leaf parsley-chopped; 1/2 c. olive oil; sea salt and fresh pepper.  I am using it on everything...especially good over butter lettuce, carrot, red onion and mint salad with grilled chicken.

Thanks so much for checking in...

Happy Spring!!