Brave’s birthday request was for a “Camp Out”. Where she got that idea is beyond us, but that is what promised to deliver. In preparation to the days leading up, we did a few projects to get ready for the “Camp Out.”
First, there must be camp shirts.
Ben designed them and I think if he weren’t a dietitian, he could have been a graphic designer. He has a thing for good design and fonts. Oh… how he loves fonts! He used a little character from his fave illustration artist Simon Oxley. We then printed the image onto iron-on paper, bought little boy ribbed tank packs from target, then ironed them on. It was perfection!
Second, we had to have some type of camp bandana or headdress.
Thus, with strips of jersey and cotton fabric I worked with the girls to braid it together to make something special for each of them to wear.
Lastly, we had to make camp flags to designate our camp area.
True and I worked on these together to keep some things a surprise for Brave. We used this tutorial for flag sculptures via Jordan Ferney.
We these things (and a few others) we were ready to celebrate Brave’s fourth birthday with her special “Camp Out”!
We finally made something with some of our fresh tomatoes. Last night, Ben made a mean pico de gallo using our tomatoes, cilantro, serrano peppers, lime, and some salt. It was so yummy and there was a lot of it, but we loved it so much there isn’t very much left. This batch and this batch is now all gone, and I can’t wait until we can harvest another big grouping of goods. We all eat the little ones like grapes and the big ones like apples morning, noon, and night!
Today, I am off to a homeschool conference all day long so you can be sure I will be soaking up all I can. I am glad that the week is flying by cause there are some fun things I am looking forward to this weekend.
One of our adventures this weekend brought us to the OC Fair, which has become a family tradition to visit every summer. Rachel also happened to tweet they were going to go to their local fair, so we agreed it would be fun to see what vintage wears we give some lovin’ for both our family trips to the fair.
We went to the fair first thing Saturday morning because it was only 2 bucks to get in and it was kinda lovely going that early because it wasn’t crowded and the heat hadn’t set in yet. We didn’t spend too long at the fair, since we had just been at Disneyland the day before and things at the fair are kind of expensive (We spent more there than at Disneyland, granted we got into Disneyland for free cause my sister works there.). We let the girls ride a few rides, did our traditional photo booth pictures, went to our traditional photo spots, and grabbed something to eat. Ben and I have concluded fair food smells better than it tastes and isn’t really worth the money (at least for us). Will this stop us from coming back next year? Probably not. It’s tradition after all.
Can you believe next year when we go we will have 4 little ones?! I can’t wait to see that picture.
We didn’t all wear vintage on this day. True and Brave wore one of our fave children labels, Misha Lulu, which they often wear if they aren’t wearing vintage. The summer staple you see the girls wearing all the time are Saltwater Sandals. Those really are the best summer shoes around and we have them in about every color and every size. They are worth every penny, especially since I can pass them down between all my kids. Our most recent acquisition are True’s brown ones which were given to us from Tea.
Soul and I were the only ones sportin’ some re-loved goodies. Soulie’s nautical top would be especially cute with some sailor pants, which are on my to-do list to make. Don’t you think sailor pants with that top would be adorable on my little babe?
on me: dress, vintage (thrifted and altered). belt, forever21. shoes, vintage via capricious traveler.
Summer is quickly fading away with the school year fast approaching. Though, I know here in Southern California the heat sticks around until mid-October, so we will definitely still be dressing for the warmer weather. I am also getting our wardrobe ready for the Fall and when it is time for me to pull out all my shirt dresses again. It will be back to nursing for me soon enough…
I could totally see any of those dresses paired with some cute sandals for the summer and some boots or oxfords layered with a sweater for the fall. The only things I am loving about summer is the plethora of tomatoes we are getting and the fact I am addicted to sandals. Other than that, I am totally ready for fall to make an arrival.
Make sure you go “over there” and see what the Denbows wore on their trip to the fair. According to Rachel, it was hot, hot, hot in Missouri!
All last week, True kept talking about how she wanted to make a dress and bow for Brave’s birthday present, so on an afternoon we set out to do just that. I needed something quick and simple, so kimono style was the way to go (just two pieces). True picked out the fabric and she added all the finishing touches.
On white fabric and with some fabric marker, True made the details that really made the dress so special. Then, we free motioned embroidered some parts of it after I sewed on her little handmade pieces. She was super proud of her creation and to have something made for her little sister. She worked hard wrapping it and keeping a little surprise for her sister. It really made my heart melt to see the loving big sister come out. These girls are the best of friends, but can also be the best of enemies!
She was so excited to finally give it to Brave at the “Camp Out” (post to come) and Brave really loved it so much. The very next day we made sure Brave wore it out on one of our weekend adventures.
We had so much going on this weekend that I don’t even know where to start. Expect a picture overload soon…
I have a large growing pile of fabric scraps. I refuse to throw them away because I am sure they can be used for something. I have been seeing different types of interesting necklaces made of buttons, beads, and fabric. Then, I figured why not make one out of my scraps...
I think it made my white shirt a little less boring. This was so quick and easy to make.
How to make a recycled scraps necklace (which is very similar to the straps on my braided tablecloth bag):
1. Take your scrap fabric, I cut a .5''-1'' snip and tear the rest of the fabric down for a nice frayed edge. Used 3 different fabrics for each strand.
2. Take 3 of the torn pieces and tie the ends together with a rubber band.
3. Braid the 3 pieces together and tie ends together with rubber band when done.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 for more strands. Remember you can make the strands any length you want, if run out of fabric, just weave more into the braid.
5. Once all the strands you want are braided, gather one end of each strand together and straight stitch together with sewing machine. Repeat for the other ends of the strands. Snip off any excess.
6. Gather ends of the necklace and sew together (snip excess) or a ribbon can be sewn at the ends to be able to tie the necklace closed, but I just sewed both ends together.
7. Voila! A nice way to make use of all your lovely scraps.
Sorry if the directions get you a little lost, but it really is easy. I promise. Maybe I should put some in the shop. Please share any other good ideas you may have of things that can be made with scraps. I would love to hear (read) them!
