Building blocks + Mario & friends = FUN!

Posted on June 14, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

I believe the best toy we ever bought after having our first child was a set of colorful building blocks (STEP 2). From the moment we received them, back in 2008, it has been non-stop fun for both my girls and visiting family members. We corral and store the blocks in an empty, taped up diaper box. These blocks have nurtured my children’s imagination, creativity, color and shape knowledge. Also, let’s not forget the most important aspect of blocks, knocking them down. If there’s ever one toy to get and keep for a while it’s definitely this one.

Today, my youngest brought out the blocks and decided to include Mario and friends (another great toy purchase because this little girl loves these plush toys to bits). She asked me to help her build it tall so she can “bust through it.” Okay, I told her to bust through it and she had a ton of fun doing just that.

TAKE GOOD CARE ALL.

UNTIL NEXT TIME…

DIY Father’s Day T-shirt Idea

Posted on June 13, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

Since my dad is not computer savvy and I’ve asked my husband not to look at my blog until after Father’s Day, I can share with you a T-shirt that I’ve made for them as a gift. They always wear them so it’s great to come up with new ideas and see their faces light up once they receive this personalized gift.

I took pictures of my daughters making silly faces and smiling. Then I googled for photo strip templates and chose this design. Using Word, I inserted the pictures that I wanted and printed it out on iron on transfer paper.

I love the final result! Just make sure you position the image better than I did, it’s a little lopsided, before ironing it down.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

DIY Super Mario and Friends Treat Bags

Posted on June 10, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

This year for my daughter’s birthday we decided to keep things simple. We found a bowling place and invited Olivia’s cousins who live out-of-state. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating making driving dangerous for our out-of-state family (same thing happened last year) so we had to postponed our gathering. We did go bowling ourselves because we wanted to take her somewhere fun, plus we wanted to check out the place, which turned out to be great. I also went ahead and made treat bags for my daughters and their cousins.

Here’s what I did:

I purchased plain red treat bags at Target. Then I searched online for Mario and friends. Print, cut and glued the characters onto the bags.

I found Super Mario and friends mini notepads, erasers, pencils, and pencil sharpeners at partycity.com. I got all the candy and birdie whistle from orientaltrading.com. The fruit snack packs, which come in a great family size box (50) are from Market Pantry available at Target.

I labeled each bag and my daughter, Olivia loved her birthday treat bag.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

To my firstborn

Posted on June 7, 2013 by themercadoproject

To my firstborn,

Every day I walk by your baby picture and

I’m amazed at how much you have grown.

Today, you’re an official 6-year-old.

Time rushes by and before you get any older

please let me describe what I see in this moment.

You’re a magnificent little artist,

who uses her imagination beyond and then some.

You just started learning how to read and

you’re tapping out words left and right.

You’re also writing up a storm, asking us how

you spell this or that or once upon a time.

Your yuk yuk laugh is infectious and a lovely sound to hear.

You love to learn new songs and you sing them at full blast.

Your little sister can belt out “America the beautiful”

because you’re a wonderful big sister/teacher.

I will continue to watch you with amazement

because you are my world, my heart, my firstborn.

Angelica Mercado

___________________________________________________________________

Hello everybody!

I hope you guys are well.

My daughter celebrated her 6^th birthday today. She was very excited and the night before I decorated our living room with balloons and banners.

This number 6 balloon is huge and I also had a big butterfly (just because). I ordered the balloon banner when Olivia was about 3 years old so it is a good reusable banner. I made two Super Mario Banners (theme) and came upon the stars at the dollar section at Target. I just drew in the eyes with a sharpie marker. I also put up three tissue paper pom-pom balls (again, just because).

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?vid=1&pid=484345002

I ordered and gave my daughter this T-shirt from Old Navy so she could wear it to school and she loved it. She jumped into my arms and gave me a big ol’ hug. You’re welcome my darling.

At school my daughter handed out little treat bags filled with a small coloring page with the number 6, gummy snacks, a raisin box, pretzels, and mini marshmallows to her classmates and teacher. She later informed me that she had a great day at school. Always great to hear!

While my daughter was at school, I was busy at home baking a cake for her and wrapping her gifts. I purchased the Super Mario and friends figures at Amazon and I found this cute wrapping paper at the dollar section at Target. The bows were made using this great bow tutorial http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-to-make-paper-bow.html by Jessica Jones.

We had a wonderful dinner followed by singing Happy Birthday to Olivia and eating great cake. She got to open her gifts, which included books, a great Spider-Man T-shirt, and LeapFrog headphones. This little girl was beyond happy and I’m very happy to have given her a great day.

Happy 6th Birthday Olivia!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

DIY PAPER BOWS

Posted on April 26, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody! I hope you guys are well.

I absolutely love making my own paper bows so when I came across this wonderful DIY tutorial at http://www.howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-to-make-paper-bow.html I knew that I would be sharing it with you immediately. It’s that awesome for all you crafters out there.

There’s a free PDF template at the link posted above. I used several colorful cardstock papers to make my bows, but of course you can always use regular paper or simply print out the template on cardstock, because it’s sturdier, and trace onto any other paper like newspaper, magazine pages, scrapbook paper, etc. The possibilities are endless and here’s a great idea for a one of a kind paper bow: print the template on regular paper, have your child design it (color it in), cut and put it together. They’ll be smiles all around!

Paper cutting frenzy

I decided to use brads at the center to hold my bows together. Then I wrapped and glued the final piece.

I literally squealed with delight.

This project and its end result made me really happy.

I love these bows and can’t wait to make more. Many, many more!

THANKS to Jessica Jones at http://www.howaboutorange.blogspot.com/ for creating this template and offering it to everyone. I’m a new fan and follower!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Celebration Recap

Posted on April 15, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody! I hope you guys are well.

My youngest daughter is officially three and we had a birthday week-end celebration with friends and family. We broke things down by celebrating her actual birthday on Friday, just us in the house. I wanted to make a small (I like the Jiffy cake mix), funfetti cake

and it was the perfect time to try out these Bake-Even Cake Strips (Wilton) that I’ve seen online and found on sale at AC Moore craft store.

I didn’t realize I went overboard on the sprinkles until…

…the cake was done and I flipped it out of the baking pan.

As you can see the cake strip (around the pan) worked, but there were noticeable differences other than the cake dome that appears when you don’t use this strip. The cake sticks to the side of the pan more and the bottom was moist when I took it out. I like that it baked even, but I don’t know if I’m going to use the strip again. We’ll see.

I melted a little bit of the Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy Chocolate frosting (15 seconds in the microwave) in a glass bowl and this made things easy to spread on the cake. I really don’t like when the cake crumbs combine with the frosting. I threw a little bit more of sprinkles, yes more, on the frosting and then…

…the #3 candle. My daughter loved her funfetti cake.

I chose the theme of the cartoon Bubble Guppies featured on Nickelodeon. I decorated with free printables from nickjr.com and purchased a huge #3 balloon. Balloons are always a huge hit.

The banner, poster, and pin the tail game were cute, easy, and fun to put together. Just go to nickjr.com and click on birthdays and you’ll see all of the themes and projects available for each.

The following day was Saturday and we invited friends and family with kids to join us at an indoor playground/arcade (funtopiausa.com). We paid for the kids admission, tokens for them to play the arcade games, and food (pizza, popcorn, and drinks). We stayed for about two hours and when it was time to go I gave each invited guest a goody box filled with candy, toys and stickers.

My aunt had given me these boxes about a year ago and I was so happy to finally have a reason to use them. I glued the images of the Bubble Guppies, which I printed out at nickjr.com, and made the middle image with my daughter’s name. I then took the glitter glue in blue and green and made swirl lines like waves on the boxes. I then filled the boxes with candy (skittles, smarties, Tootsie rolls, lollipop, rose ring pop, candy bracelet, and sixlets) from orientaltrading.com along with little toys like a mushroom spinning top (not shown) and Easter Pop-Ups, which are a lot of fun for children and adults.

We ended the day with my husband’s homemade piñata, which he made with a balloon, scraps of paper, and modge podge.

My husband had fun making this and the kids had a lot more fun whacking the heck out of it.

On our last day of celebration (Sunday), my family came over and we sang happy birthday once again with another cake (Oreo No Bake Dessert), chocolate lollipops (vanilla, dark mint, & peanut butter), and great, homemade food. Thanks Mom and my aunt Aida!

I was pretty happy with this plan of action for celebrating my daughter’s birthday. Many people get really stressed out planning birthdays and end up spending a lot of money. I didn’t want the headaches or the empty wallet. No offense to anyone who goes big, because of course, if I had space and extra money, I would be singing a different tune, but at this moment minimal is the way to go. So one birthday down, one more to go.

Take good care all and thanks for visiting.

Until next time…

My dad is not computer savvy

Posted on March 26, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody! I hope you guys are well. My dad’s birthday is coming up and he’s the hardest person to shop for in my family and that’s only because if you ask him (I stopped asking him a long time ago) what he needs or wants for his special day, he’d tell you to save your money because he doesn’t need anything. Your presence is worth more to him and I love that, but I want to give him gifts. Many, many gifts. Yet, he gives me no hints, no clues, so I’m on my own.

My dad is the kind of person that you always want by your side if you’re ever in trouble. I haven’t been in any trouble yet, knock on wood, but if I ever needed support from someone other than my husband, he would be the first one I’d call. He was by my mother’s side EVERY SINGLE DAY after she fell ill two years ago (he only went home at night when visiting hours were over and as she progressed he went back to work and was quickly by her side after work at the hospital and then at the rehab facility until she came home). He loves being a grandfather and hearing my girls call him Pop Pop. He wears the t-shirts, that I make him with the girls pictures, with great pride. He does have his flaws. Who doesn’t? He can be impatient, a “sunday” driver, and he’s stubborn as heck, but he’s my dad. The man who still loves my mom after many years and always went to work because he had a family to support. I want to give him gifts. Many, many gifts and even though they’re not expensive, I know wholeheartedly that he’s going to appreciate every single thing that we give him because he’s a great man.

I went to my second home, Target, and walked around the Mens Department. I love this freaking place. I was able to pick up several items and then I went to Payless and got him some cool slip on shoes. I wanted to share a picture of what I got him and because my dad is not computer savvy at all, there’s no risk of him ever seeing this before his birthday. He totally balks at the notion of being online, but at the same time calls me to book him a flight to Puerto Rico and find him the best deals on something that he needs. 🙂 He’s funny that way.

Target: Mossimo Supply Co. short sleeve v-neck striped shirt, Merona 6 pack 100% cotton handkerchiefs (my dad carries a handkerchief with him every single day, he’s so wonderfully old school), 2 pair Auro Goldtoe socks, and a Merona Navy Canvas Dopp bag.

Payless: Airwalk Men’s Cale Slip-On shoes in Grey http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?catId=cat10089&subCatId=cat10295&skuId=130421070&productId=72845&lotId=130421&category=&catdisplayName=Mens

I found a birthday card (Target’s $1.00 card section) with beer on the front. How great and perfect is that for any man who loves a pint of beer? Best card ever I say!

This post is intended to give you some gift ideas for men and it’s also for my dad, whom I love very, very much.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Encourage artistry

Posted on March 14, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody! I hope you guys are well. I wanted to share a great book with you that I purchased for my daughter to encourage and develop her drawing skills.

It’s called 501 Things to Draw and the price is wonderful. It makes a great gift so if you’re looking for something to give kids 5 years and older get it before it goes out of stock. On the website there’s only one picture of the book, but I’m going to show you more. The book is like a binder, but you can’t take the pages out and there are eight themes to choose from. They are separated by dividers and there are about 32 pages, 2 drawings per page, in each theme.

Original artwork by Olivia

You can purchase this book here: http://www.lakeside.com/Toys-%2B-Sports/Books/Activity/501-Things-To-Draw-Book/prod30741.jmp?navAction=jump&fm=search

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Germ City and a couple of Iron On transfers

Posted on February 27, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everyone! I hope you guys are well.

As for me, I’ve been to Germ City and back. I got sick again. Can you believe it? Back to back. I don’t even think I was finished being sick the first time before the second wave hit. It started with an itchy throat and then BAM!, my body and my head just wanted to curl up in bed and forget about the world, but I couldn’t do that because I have to take my oldest daughter to school in the morning and take care of my two-year old at home. I will admit to you all that it brought me to tears. Not having control of my body or the energy to fulfill my obligations as a mother really sucks. In one moment, my two-year old looked at me and said, “Its ok.” I love that little girl. I’m feeling much better now with the help of my wonderful husband (he took over when he came home from work and got me meds!) and my landlady/friend (she made us soup and looked after my youngest daughter while I took my oldest to school). My body is up and running again so enough about being sick.

Let’s talk about Iron-On transfers! Last week, I wanted to design a bag for my mother’s upcoming birthday. I also wanted to make my daughter a t-shirt with her latest obsession, Super Mario and friends. I found a cool clip art on AOL search, printed it out on iron on transfer paper and ironed it on a white youth t-shirt. I surprised her with the shirt and she absolutely loved it!

I have to do another one for my youngest because she wasn’t happy with the fact that I didn’t make her one. Oops!

For my mother’s bag I took a couple of pictures of her with my daughters as well as one with them striking a princess pose, printed and ironed it onto the bag, which I bought at A.C. Moore. These bags are awesome. I’m going to stock up on them. I think my mom is going to love this bag!

Let your creativity soar and make one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones!

Take good care all.

Until next time…

Will you be my Valentine?

Posted on February 13, 2013 by themercadoproject

Hello everybody! I hope you guys are well.

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and my daughter’s school is going to have a Valentine’s Celebration. She was asked to bring a treat for her classmates and this is what I came up with.

During a sale at Party City about a year ago, I came across these Princess Valentine cards. They were Buy 1, Get 1 Free so I thought, “Hey, why not? They might come in handy for the future.” Hello handy valentines, it’s the future! I packaged a princess card with a fruit snack in a candy bag and sealed it with a heart sticker that came with the cards. These are for the girls in her class because I thought it would be perfectly ok to give the princess cards to everyone in the class, but that wasn’t the case. My daughter and my husband, both, proclaimed that you couldn’t give the boys a princess card. So I asked my daughter, “Who should be on the card for the boys?” and she replied, “Batman!” Ok. I did a quick AOL search and I found this cute clip art with Batman. It does have a pink background, but I couldn’t change that and it’s still Batman. I put together a total of 21, 12 girls and 9 boys. I really hope they enjoy this treat.

I’m going to change the subject now because I wanted to share a quick dialogue I had with my oldest daughter last night. She is learning our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, and I showed her several YouTube videos with the music and lyrics. We came across Whitney Houston’s rendition at the Super Bowl in 1991 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHmdu_I_0zI).

Me: Her name is Whitney Houston. This video is old, but famous because Whitney sang the Star Spangled Banner beautifully. Unfortunately, she’s not with us anymore.

Olivia: Why?

Me: She had an accident and was hurt really bad. She died.

Olivia: (Gasps)

Me: It’s ok.

Olivia: She’s beautiful.

Me: Yes, she was very beautiful.

I know that I didn’t have to tell her that Whitney passed away, but I want her to start getting an idea of death. It’s definitely part of life and I want to introduce these aspects little by little as opposed to not having any knowledge of it at all. Since she started school, she has come home asking me and telling me about things that we necessarily haven’t spoken to her about so whenever an opportunity presents itself, such as someone who has died, I mention something so she can know a little bit of it, for now. We finished watching Whitney sing and my daughter asked to see and hear her again. I loved how she said that she was beautiful. Just like that. Through a child’s eye, we can learn so much.

Take good care all.

Until next time…

themercadoproject

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Category Archives: Gifts

Building blocks + Mario & friends = FUN!

DIY Father’s Day T-shirt Idea

DIY Super Mario and Friends Treat Bags

To my firstborn

DIY PAPER BOWS

Celebration Recap

My dad is not computer savvy

Encourage artistry

Germ City and a couple of Iron On transfers

Will you be my Valentine?