Graphic designer Matt Mildenstein is here today sharing his picks. Thanks, Matt!

1>> Man of Steel from Warby Parker

2>> Jack Purcell sneaker

3>> Newgate Bubble clock from West Elm

4>> Jambox speaker

5>> Uni-ball Signo Gel RT pen

By Heather

After the beginning of summer hype settles down, the days start feeling long and monotonous. It starts getting too hot to have big activities outside, your kid’s favorite Netflix shows are driving you nuts, and you just need a simple activity to switch things up. Painting rocks may sound dull, but it’s just the opposite! My kids LOVE transforming boring rocks into a colorful creation, and it’s just as fun for me to paint along with them!

Make painting rocks an adventure! Go on a little “treasure hunt” to find some rocks to paint on. Bring a bag or box to collect them in. Then clean them off really well, get out your acrylic paints and paintbrushes, and have at it!

By Millie

Last week, I bit the bullet and pulled out the paints. Not the trusty water colors that I love but our acrylics that encourage mixing colors and seem a little more tactile. They tend to be a little more labor intensive in the set up and clean up, but the kids love them! I decided to have the kids make animal masks. We have cousins in town, so we invited them to come along too.

First we looked through a book of animals and had them each pick one. Then we got all our supplies set up, I helped the younger ones get their eyes cut out, we had a brief lesson on using the paints, and away they went. Some really got into it, and thought of symbolic ways to represent their animals. Cutting slits for shark gills, or putting the tortoise’s shell pattern on the whole mask. My son had a hard time getting into it, and decided not to do an animal. My oldest daughter was doing a kitty with a whole rainbow of colors. It was maybe a little hard for me to see any feline qualities, but I loved how into it she got, and she meowed the whole time she wore it.  When H had seen the effort his cousin had put into his tortoise and the results, he got more excited about doing it. But by then, my steam had run out, and it was time to get ready for dinner. I told him we’d have to wait and made plans to do it again another time. Overall they loved the experience and were excited to wear their masks.