This post is sponsored by GapKids. Check out all the fun Shine On activities at your nearest Gap store. For event dates and locations, visit Gap’s Facebook page and join the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #ShineOn.
Gap Kids New York City
Shine On Saturdays w/ MerMag!
This past Saturday was a lot of fun for our family thanks to Gap Kids New York City! Why? We ventured to one of our local Gap stores here in Manhattan for a very special event called Shine On Saturdays!
I actually spoke about this event last week, but you can catch up and check out my first GapKids Shine On Saturdays post if you would like to hear more! Hopefully you had a chance to check out the event with your family, but just in case you weren’t able to head to your local GapKids this month, I have the entire scoop for all of you! We had a great time and I have pictures to prove it to all of you, so I hope you’ll be able to catch the very LAST Shine On Saturday this weekend (August 25, 2012).
There is a new craft each Saturday thanks to MerMag, which is a craft and DIY blog written by the amazing Merrilee Liddiard! If you haven’t had a chance to check out her blog, I would highly suggest getting over there and discovering hundreds (probably THOUSANDS) of creative ideas to consider for your next craft project with the kids!
MerMag is always creating some of the most interesting crafts that truly captivates the reader, so it was no surprise when we heard that she would be highlighted by GapKids for a back-to-school fun series of workshops! Each Saturday during the month of August, Gap Kids featured workshops with projects designed by MerMag at participating GapKids stores in over a dozen cities in the U.S.
I think that the best part of all was watching parents do their back-to-school shopping while their kids got their creativity on just a few feet away (of course with another parent or guardian staying behind, duh!). We had a chance to sit down on the shoppers floor and gauze around at the hottest Fall fashions while the kids were distracted!
Back to the project! Our MerMag inspired workshop was to create a #ShineOn Saturday Journal! I actually read all about this journal making craft from MerMag the night before the event, so I was pumped up and thought this was an excellent idea! Her idea was inspired through the early start of journal writing for her own children: "I love the idea of getting your kids into journal writing at an early age", which is an excellent idea and something we will definitely try to instill in our sons daily routine!
The staff helped us pick out a colorful piece of tough colored or patterned paper, which was folded and stapled with several pages of graph paper inside. Stickers, markers, masking tape (fancy schmancy and colorful.. this is a creativity project after all!), and everything in abundance so that our little one’s could get as creative as their hearts desired!
My son got RIGHT to work on his journal! We picked out some stickers to place on the cover of the journal. We were also provided with easy-to-rip decorative and colorful masking tape to create a border and cover up the staples used to keep our pages intact.
I gave him a little help with labeling his name on the front cover and applying the masking tape to protect his little fingers from the staples, which was a great idea!
He got right to work on his illustrations inside of his brand new handmade journal!
Ta-dah! {is what HE said} once he was finished with his journal. Mom and dad may have helped with the cover, but the inside is already filled with his drawings!
You bet we will be recreating our Shine On Saturdays journal THIS weekend (so soon?). I want this practice to become a regular routine for my son. Being creative and having the ability to put it all onto paper is something I have always strongly believe in, especially for the youth of our future!
…and of course we had to do some shopping!
My son needed another pair of sandals (I think his moms flip flops addiction has rubbed off! on him!). He ran right over to their [VERY] cool Junk Food Spider-man Superhero Flip Flops, which we had to buy (they were way too cool to put back!) and I couldn’t find a reason to refuse buying them at only $9.99!
[Dad & Son Shopping!]
This Saturday bring your kids to a Gap Kids near you to do a DIY project designed by MerMag! Find out if there is a participating store in your city using the chart below, which features locations for the very last ShineOn Saturday (August 25th).
Saturday, August 25th [10am-1pm]
Create an Animal Character Badge!
City |
Participating Gap Store Location |
| New York | 122 Fifth Ave |
| Los Angeles | 2111 Glendale Galleria |
| San Francisco | 1139 S. Main St. @ Walnut Creek |
| Chicago | 533 Oakbrook Center |
| Boston | 250 Granite Street @ South Shore Plaza |
| Miami | 19575 Biscayne Blvd. @ Aventura |
| Washington D.C. | 1100 S. Hayes St. @ Pentagon City Mall |
| Philadelphia | 690 W. DeKalb Pike @ King of Prussia |
| Dallas | Central Expwy & NW Hwy #738 @ NorthPark |
| Toronto |
100 City Centre Drive @ Square One |
Learn more about MerMag and her Shine On Saturdays inspired craft workshops! Be sure to "Like" MerMag on Facebook and head down to your local GapKids location on Saturday (August 25th) if there is a participating store in your nearby city.
The craft for this upcoming weekend will be creating animal character badges, which sounds like a lot of fun to me! Be sure to let me know if you are able to attend Shine On Saturday! I would love to hear about your family outing for this MerMag hosted event!
Disclosure: I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
About Nicole
Nicole is a stay-at-home mom living on the outskirts of Manhattan with her husband and their 3-year-old son. She is also expecting a second child in January 2013.
Journals ARE such a great thing for a kid to have. I remember my 1st journal, it was such a good outlet. I have my kids started on their own, they love it. And we LOVE the GAP! Their socks are 2nd to none, absolutely the best quality.
Heidi (@MamaNibbles) recently posted..Victorian Wax Seal Initial Necklace – Lauren Nicole Gifts Review & Giveaway 9/5 12:01 am
That is such a cool idea! I know when I was a kid, I loved journaling and writing.
Isabella Grey recently posted..The Battle of Lone Jack, 150 Years Later
so cute! So happy he liked it. love his illustrations inside
.
xo
Mer
I started to go to the one in Dallas, but we ended up not being able to make, I wish we could have gone, looks like the kiddo had fun.
Brooke recently posted..Natural Treatment for Lice and Nits
Journals can really show the creativity of a child It was a good idea of Gap to promote this
I didn’t hear about this event but i’ll defnitely be looking for it next year, i think its great that the kids were able to get their “craft on” while the parents shopped for back to school items. It’s great that the Gap is encouraging creativity in our kids
Liz Ticona recently posted..The Choice of Breastfeeding
this event is a good way for kids to become creative and imaginative. Journal writing is one of my hobby when I was still a kid and until now i still write my own journal and every time I read my past entries , the memories are still remembered and treasured.