Magenta Studio Photo - An Intro and a Giveaway!

In the week before school started, my girls and I were asked by Magenta Studio Photo to come in for a complimentary photo session. Magenta Studio Photos has just opened in St. Laurent Shopping Centre and they are trying to spread the word. Founded in 2002 to address the lack of artistic photography on the market, Magenta wanted to offer an alternative to the fixed poses of conventional studios. From the moment we walked into the studio, Ashley and Beatrice were very warm and welcoming. They showed us around the studio and it really was unlike any other photography studio I had ever been in. In addition to their front showroom which displayed they different customized photographic pieces that you could purchase, their backroom included a full range of props, costumes, and even black and white t-shirts that you could wear for your photo shoot. They had dressing rooms to beautify yourself, iPad stations for little ones who needed to wait and a comfortable spot for adults sit and waited. Beatrice explained how everything worked and then my girls and I went in for the photo shoot.

Ashley, our photographer, was amazing. From the moment we walked into the studio, She made us all feel very at ease. She knew how to make my girls laugh and look serious and was able to pose all of us to get the best shots. And she really did get some great pictures out of all of us. My girls had a blast acting like models and loved the props and the "wind."

We had a 45 minute photo shoot, complete with different backgrounds, props and poses. When it was done, it was time to wait to see our shots. It was actually a bit of a wait but my girls were able to occupy themselves at the iPad station while I looked at the different pricing and packages available. When it was time to view the photos, I must say they really were - and no I’m not biased at all. Ashley was really able to capture each of us at our best in both conventional and candid photos.

The downside of this whole experience was that the cost of the actual pictures was more than I thought it would be. We had to purchase each image (which comes on a CD) separately at $50 a pop and there was no way to buy the whole session on one CD without purchasing each image - which in a 45 minute session was about 75-100 pictures. The upside is that they often have promotions and discounts available on their products so before you book a shoot, make sure you are going at the right time to get a good deal.

In order to get their name out, Magenta is offering one lucky Kids in the Capital readers a $75 gift certificate for a free sitting for your photo session. Leave your name in the comments below and tell us why you want this photo session. One lucky person will be chosen at random on September 20th.

While we were given a free photo sitting, a free 8x10 image and a discount on some photo products, all views in this post are my own.

Back to School Traditions

I love the idea of establishing a few special back to school traditions to start things off on a positive note. No matter how old your kids are, going back (or starting) school can be a bit overwhelming. I’ve had the chance to look online and I found a couple of cute traditions that are pretty neat:

• Take the traditional "back to school" portrait up a notch by pairing it with a list of likes and favorites. How fun to compare from year to year! Here's a cute way to do it!
• Drawing a kiss or special note on your child’s hand so they can take a look at it throughout the day.
• Back to school breakfast in bed. Anything goes.
• Special notes in your child’s lunch box. This one can go past the first day.
• Make a yearly time capsule by getting a few favorite items, recent photos, current likes, etc. and put them in a container to hide away until the next year. Each night before the first day, pull it out to see how much everything's changed. Then make a new one.
• Hang a sheet in the back yard and have a night-before-school backyard movie night. Here’s how to turn your iPhone into a movie projector.
• First Day Back dinner extravaganza. At the meal, each kids gets to talk about their day then as a family setting some goals for the year, discussing things to look forward to and other things of that sort.

I love all these ideas and will likely pick a few to make this year’s back to school a memorable one for all.

What will you do to celebrate back-to-school?

The Colour Run is Coming to Ottawa

On August 25^th, the Color Run is coming to Ottawa. The Color Run, also known as the ‘Happiest 5k on the Planet’, is a weird and wild paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness and individuality. From it’s debut in January 2012, it has focused on fitness and fun rather than who wins. In fact, there’s no winner at all. Or hundreds of winners. Depending on how you look at it. With only two rules, the concept of the Color Run is easy to follow:

1. Wear white at the starting line
2. Finish plastered in colour

I know it sounds a bit daunting – a 5K run – but don’t worry. This run is for everyone – kids and families – at all levels of fitness. Remember, there are no winners. The whole point of the run is FUN!

So get your whites on and head down to the Canadian Tire Centre on August 25^th. It's $50 for individuals to register and $45/person for teams of 4. Kids under 5 are free.  The fun starts at 9 am.

Stay tuned for more about the Color Run. We’re sending Andrea Lie and her daughter down to the event so we’ll have a first hand account of the color mayhem. 

"Go - Bon Voyage" to the Ottawa Public Library this summer (part 2)

By  Xiao Feng Xing - Youth Collections Librarian at the Ottawa Public Library  Here's part 2 of this year’s Summer Reading Club. The “Go – Bon Voyage” travel theme encourages children to go on their reading journey to places near and far and explore anywhere or anything.

Cocca-Leffler, Maryann: A Vacation for Pooch, Henry Holt, 2013

Violet felt very sad. She can’t bring her dog with her on her vacation to Florida. Her dog has to stay behind on vacation at her grandfather’s farm. Before she leaves on her vacation, she packed two bags: one for her dog and the other for herself. But Violet accidentally takes her dog’s bag. Will Violet and her dog both be okay for their vacations? This book describes the emotions that come with separation from a loved one.  You could pair this with a book from the Toot & Puddle series by Holly Hobbie.

Smith, Mike: The Hundred Decker Bus, Macmillan, 2013

You might have taken a ride on a double-decker bus in Ottawa. Can you imagine what would happen when you take a ride on a hundred-decker bus? The giant fold-out bus at the end of this book will give you a big surprise too!

Koolen Maayken: The Kidnapping of Mona Lisa,  Clavis, 2012

Fans of Where’s Waldo will enjoy this super searchable book that has a great mystery detective plot. Five thieves have stolen Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting the Mona Lisa. Join officer Rat and officer Wolf who chase the thieves through the most beautiful cities in the Europe: Paris, Berlin, Rome, London, Barcelona, and Amsterdam. You’ll see lots of famous buildings and landmarks as you solve the mystery in this wordless giant book.

Gravett, Emily: Meerkat Mail, Macmillan, 2006 

Sunny is a meerkat, a squirrel-size member of the mongoose family, who lives in the desert in Africa. Of course it’s very dry and very hot in the desert. Sunny’s family motto is “Stay safe, stay together." However, Sunny wishes he could live somewhere else. So he packs his suitcase and goes on a trip to visit his mongoose relatives - from Monday to Saturday - to search for the perfect home. He sends postcard to his parents every day during his trip. The text and illustrations on the postcards are full of humour and delight.  In the end, Sunny realizes that his own family is the best, and that there’s no place like home.Children will love how most of the story is told through flip-the-flap postcards featuring stamps and postmarks.

Falconer, Ian: Olivia goes to Venice, Atheneum Books, 2010

In this book, Ian Falconer tells the story of a little pig, Olivia, and her family, and their travels to Venice. They enjoy gelato (ice-cream), taking a gondola ride, and looking for the perfect souvenir to remember Venice. Olivia takes a stone from the Bell Tower as her perfect souvenir, causing the monument to tumble down!

Familiar drawings of Olivia and family as well as photos of the real Venice are digitally combined to create a fresh illustration experience. Pair this one with Froggy goes to Hawaii to see how your favourite characters spend their vacations.

Come into one of the Ottawa Public Library’s 33 branches and bookmobiles to sign up for the TD Summer Reading Club all summer long. Pick up your “passport” and activity book as well as delightful stickers. You can also enter your sticker codes at www.tdsummerreadingclub.ca  to reveal rewards.

Train Rides at the Science and Tech Museum

By Kamerine This summer at the Science and Tech museum you can ride on an actual train. It's a steam locomotive pulling two vintage rail cars on an out and back trip, run by volunteers from the Bytown Railway Society. It costs $2 and was totally worth it: the kids loved it!

The trains run between 11am and 3:45pm on Wednesdays and Sundays until September 2nd.

You buy your tickets just inside the museum and present them at the train station which is outside. We bought our tickets when we got to the museum around 10am, checked out some of the museum before heading to the station. We arrived at the station a few minutes before the first ride at 11am, but had to wait for the second trip because it was so busy.

The ten-minute trip was narrated and we were told all sorts of interesting things about the train and the rail cars. Unfortunately the trip was over in no time and we had to leave the train. I think the kids could have gone again and again.

The kids have loved trains forever and couldn't have been happier than when they were finally sitting on one. Definitely one of the highlights of the summer.

For information about the train rides and other fun things going on this summer at the Science and Tech museum visit their website: http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/whatson/2013-summer.cfm.

Let us know if you decide to go!

Kamerine is mom to 3-year-old Little J and 2-year-old  Little K.  She documents her life with two toddlers, a husband and a cat at The Life of K.