Pump-It-Up

PUMP IT UP was really exciting news for me when it opened up.  There is one not far from us and it is a great rainy day activity.  Just make sure to call ahead and reserve a spot for the open bounce. 

It is fairly cheap (especially if you have a bogo coupon), and makes a great activity for a hot summer day.  It tires the kids enough for them to be relaxing for the rest of the day. 

While many times we have gone there and had a great time, the last time was not a success.  So here is a word of advice.  Do not go when there is a town with a spring break from school nearby.  The problem is that in NJ one town can be off school while other ones all have school.  While our town spring break was over, another one just began.  I didn't know.  The place was so crowded, the kids had to wait 10 to 15 minutes just to get on to a boucy.  They were tired of waiting.  Not actually getting a chance to bounce, we left early.  The manager was nice enough to give us two free passes for next time, and we would love to go, just have to make sure that there isn't any school breaks at the time.  What is interesting is that when we came in the middle of summer, not so many kids were there.  I guess they must have had their fill!

Lesson learned: if you can avoid it, don't go when school is out! Otherwise expect unmanagable amount of people there.

Paint The Town

Take a look at this art lesson! It is a painting of a town with buildings and trees.  It might look daunting at first, but with these easy step by step instructions you will be surprised as to how good it will come out at the end.  The most important thing is not to get discouraged when you are half way done, but to carry it through to the end.  It is all made of basic shapes and little details make it beautiful! Painted in watercolor, a bit of acrylic and ink.

 

To view the instructions please go to my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Street-and-Buildings-Painting.html 

 

I also put up the final version of this painting on Etsy, to see the listing, please click here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/123423733/original-watercolor-and-ink-painting-of

Under A Baby Moon

This is a few of my favorite illustrations that I did for a book by Jennifer Johnson, Under A Baby Moon.  Of course I couldn't put all of them here, but these few are my favorite ones! I hope you like them!

 

Beaded Necklace!

I just finished putting up the instructions for this beautiful beaded necklace pattern.  It came out very pretty, and is not at all difficult to make!
 

 

 

 

To see the step by step instructions on how to make this necklace, please visit my website here:

http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Beaded-Necklace.html

 

Giggleberry Fair, PA

Last week the kids and I were headed to Bucks County, PA, to run some errands.  To make this routine trip more fun for them I like to pick a cool place to visit in that neighborhood.  Some place that we haven't been to before.  This time I chose Giggleberry Fair on friend's recommendation. 

Giggleberry Fair is located in Peddler's Village, PA.  On it's own Peddler's Village has many shops, outlets, restaurants and much more to explore.  There are some truly outstanding stores there.  To see their full list of shops, visit: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/shop/ . Be sure to check out the Village Toy & Doll Shoppe if you are there with your kids!

This time we were there just to visit Giggleberry Fair.  It was a weekday, so not crowded at all.  Giggleberry Fair has a wonderful restored Carousel.  It has quite a long history, and you can read about it right here: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/grand_carousel.aspx The carousel is beautiful, and even my all too grown up almost twelve year old enjoyed riding on it.  Because it wasn't crowded, we were able to go on quite a few times. 

For children aged 6 and under there is the Giggles Discovers! area and it looks to be a lot of fun. http://www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/giggles_discovers.aspx We took a peek, but my 6 year old wanted to do what his older brother was doing, which was the arcade and the Giggleberry Mountain. Giggleberry Mountain is a large obsticle course and maze.  It has six floors, and a ton of foam berries (balls) that you can shoot, put into a 'berry fountain', vacuum, throw at each other. I enjoyed the Giggleberry Mountain as much as my boys. Though the website states that it is designed for children aged 6 -12, I stayed on the ground, filling the fountain with the balls and shooting it at my kids. Also, obsessively vacuuming the 'berries' of the floor, that was just my 'cleaning mommy' self taking over.

Here is the website for Giggleberry Mountain: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/giggleberry-mountain.aspx 

The arcade there is clean, and the folks working at the place very accomodating.  The machines swallowed our coins a few times, and once we spoke up it was taken care of right away.  There is someone there ready to assist, and you don't have to be running around, looking for a person to help you. The games at the arcade were good for the younger kid, and for the older one.  There was also a giant touch screen Fruit Ninja game for the ultimate Fruit Ninja in our household, mommy. 

If you get hungry, they have a menu of food available.  Mostly it's the usual pizza, french fries and chicken fingers.  We didn't eat there, but it's available. 

Overall the kids enjoyed it very much.  The little one keeps asking to come back there soon.  We easily spend two hours there.  They also have specials, different activities, and you can celebrate your kid's birthday there. 

When we got there, we paid $12.99 per kid for the Child Activity Package.  It gets access to Giggleberry Mountain, giggles Discovers! and unlimited Carousel rides. I felt that it was a good price for all the activities there.  To see all the pricing and information please go to their site here: http://www.peddlersvillage.com/kids/prices_information_contact.aspx

The Carousel was so pretty, I took some more photos. Here they are!

 



My youngest picked Giggleberry Fair as his birthday destination.  Thursday is a double day.  They double the amount of tickets you win in the arcade.  He had a blast, and since daddy won the jackpot with tickets both him and his brother wound up winning a nice toy there. :)

Naptime

 

 

8 1/2 by 11 inches

 

Colored Pencil

 

Mariya Kovalyov

Forest in the Summer Time Painting

Take a look at the new art lesson we have put together on Happy Family Art!
 



Check out these step by step easy instructions, with photographs, on how to make this beautiful painting of Summertime Forest with Acrylic Paint. Best suited for teen to adult!

 

This painting of a forest in the summer time is most appropriate for teens to adult. It is fairly simple to do. The most important thing to remember is: THERE IS NO WRONG WAY TO DO IT! Don't make it exactly as it is here, make it your art. Put your own trees, and leaves and grass, and hills. These are just general guidelines. Have fun with it and enjoy the process!

To view the entire instructions for the complete painting please visit our website page for this project over here: http://www.happyfamilyart.com/Forest.html