Cartwheels and Pearls

DIY in this case stands for Decorate It Yourself! We don't have a mantle but we do have a piano and the top of it is almost like a mantle. The concept is similar so bear with me and I'll share with you how I decorated my not mantle for Christmas this year!

 With the "Baby it's cold outside" and "Glory to the newborn king" printables, my printer printed them out in a very light yellow so I just drew over them with a gold sharpie. I just put everything in some random frames I had laying around the house and then threw in a few random little objects and called it a day!

And as spring turns to summer, the maxi skirt trend is still in full force. I decided to hop on the band wagon and make my own. They're unbelievable simple to make! I followed a great tutorial I found here.

And it didn't really take that long at all! I spent around $3 in elastic and I already had the fabric in my stash. It was originally from a jersey maxi dress that I had made my sister.

Anyways, I decided to be bold and make the skirt. I don't have any other use for the fabric anyways so this seemed like the best answer. It was a perfect amount so I didn't do any cutting.
It's basically a seam and a waist band.

And I apologize that I'm not totally in focus in some of the pictures. I used a tripod and self timer and so it was hard to see how everything turned out on the little screen.

And I obviously wouldn't wear it out in public styled like this. No worries there! My mom was FREAKING out about my tank top. What am I supposed to do when there's no clean shirts because my sister insists on wearing all of mine?

 I like that I can wear the skirt up high or down low. It's a bit big if I wear it up high so I may need to make it a bit tighter.

The print is wild and SO not me because it's so daring but I love it. Deep down, I'm actually crazy and rebellious.

And since I STILL cannot work my serger, I was forced to use a zig zag stitch with the stretch knit...
Not my best work but it's not THAT noticeable in person unless you look really closely.

So enjoy your Summer everyone!

This weekend, I'm going up north to enjoy the great lakes with a few friends.
A few days after that we're going to Canada as a family for a week.
And a few days after that, I'M GOING TO LONDON! (for 3 weeks!)

So I can guarantee LOTS of pretty vacation photos but I'm not so sure about craft posts.

I am not an expert by no means! I'm just here to share a few products that I've found helpful over the years and that won't totally break your budget!

With all these products, a little goes a LONG way so if they do seem like a lot, remember that they'll actually last you for a while. Most of these you can get at numerous places but I put a link for one of your options to buy it at.

Hair:

I've seen these bracelets all over, in stores and such, and I realized just how cool they'd be to make your own! Well I've dabbled in jewelry making (okay more like tried and usually never ended up wearing anything I made) but I figured I could try and make a bracelet like this!

I searched and it turns out there's TONS of tutorials for these all over. I found a tutorial for it here and it was pretty good.

Anyways, I followed all the measurements it gave me in the tutorial and I ended up with this little beaut

I found the leather at http://www.endlessleather.com/ and it was perfect. It's 1.5 mm cord.

The beads I bought at a local shop in my town. I have no idea if they have a website or not? But they were around $0.20 a piece.

The button was in my grandma's button basket of antique buttons that she gave to me before she died.

The fishing line (which is really hard to see!) came from my dad's very dusty and underused tackle box.



I'm very proud of my handiwork!


 Again if you'd like to make your own bracelet, you can find a tutorial here and some leather here. I haven't seen any leather cords in stores at all so online is your best place to get it.
Happy crafting!

Michigan is widely know for its bipolar weather. Two weeks ago it was practically 70 and GORGEOUS! This past week it was warm but there was storms galore! I'm talking thunder, lighting, and flooding. This weekend it was in the 30s and Friday night it actually snowed! How crazy... but here's some recent photos that I've snapped...



After a recent downpour, my sister and I both splashed around in the mud

• Go ahead and judge a book by its cover and sit next to people who appear to be friendly or attractive during the information portion. Most tours for the walking portion are divided up by rows and sections so you'll end up in a group with the people around you
• Enjoy the process of touring. Try and invision yourself at this school and feel how you'd fit in. Keep an open mind and don't let your tour experience or other people's thoughts deter you from considering the school.
• Enjoy all the free stuff and collect as many brochures and information to review later. Lot's of colleges give out bags and other cool freebies

It's been spring for a little bit now but here in Michigan its finally starting to look like it... or at least not look like winter!
In celebration of this gorgeous weather and to offically ring in the new season, I'm offering 20% off in my etsy shop Chica es Artistica!

Use the coupon code "Spring20" at the checkout for 20% your purchase from Chica es Artistica! 



Have a happy Spring and please stop by and like our new Facebook Page!

Hello Everyone! I'm baacccckkk! As cheer winds down this Saturday, this blog will be winding back UP!

Today I took the plunge and opened my very own etsy shop! You can find it here at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChicaEsArtistica


I don't have very much listed but I'm working on it. No worries!
I'm saving up to go to London this Summer so any and all business is appreciated!
Thanks so much and looking forward to getting back on the blogging grind!
Please go check it out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChicaEsArtistica

Here's the picture I found. It's perfect for Valentine's Day coming up!

I set my sister to work on the book pages while I cut out a silhouette of the birds.


We modgepogded the birds directly ontop of everything. Beware, cheap printer ink DOES smear when mixed with modgepodge! It wasn't too bad though

Here's the finished project!

I considered hanging it on the wall in my craftroom but it doesn't match the decor on the other walls. You can find more pictures of my craft room here.


You can tell I have no patience to let things dry. Although I did let it sit in front of a fan for 10 minutes.


For now it's sitting on the top of our piano until we find a better spot.

I'm totally in love with this little guy though!

You can purchase it online at my etsy shop

In the next two months I will be BEYOND busy! I would totally L-O-V-E guest posters!

 If you're interested, please shoot me an email at margaret_michel (at ) yahoo (dot) com.

I'm open to all posts, published or not. The topic can be on just about anything craft, DIY, photography, or food related!

Thanks so much!

Don't let the name intimidate you. These rolls are barely spicy and are full are flavor!


They're full of a few simple ingredients:

• Crescent Roll Dough (You know the stuff that comes in a can?)
• Cream Cheese
• Bacon (Chopped into bits)
• Jalapenos (Chopped)

 Sprinkle some bacon bits on it. You can actually find pre-cut bacon bits!


 Chop up your Jalapenos.

Sprinkle on the jalapenos and roll up the little croissants

Bake them according the the crescent roll package and wallah! You get perfect little ooeeygooey rolls filled with flavor! And no they are not spicy! Cooking jalapenos takes away their spice but not the flavor.