Artsy Chaos

Bright Colors?  CHECK!! Fun Designs?  CHECK!! Sense of Adventure?  CHECK CHECK CHECK!! Who remembers summer camp as a carefree time of friends, crafts, sunshine, and endless hours dreaming about your cute new 'crush'?  Well, I certainly do! It was such a happy, free time in life. Rachel at Camp Smartypants overwhelmingly brings back this feeling with her designs.  The first time I clicked into her Etsy shop it was like *BAM!* and I had to explore.   Camp Smartypants sells handmade women's clothing and accessories that anyone with a sense of spirit would be proud to wear and feel happy in the process.  We love the different pins and buttons that you can add not just to your lapel but to a backpack, bag, bandana, hair accessory and so much more.   Rachel crafts from her home in Oregon where she is inspired by summer camp adventures.  She learned early in life about crafting from her mother, grandmother and in girl scouts....

As part of our Close To Home event, we'd like to share some ideas with you about how we spend time together as a couple and as a family near our home. One of our favorite things to do when it's warm enough outside is to get a roaring fire going in our fire pit, break out the camp chairs and lean back to enjoy the night sky.  It's certainly nothing fancy because we have just your basic backyard and your basic decorative fire pit purchased from Target with run-of-the-mill basic camp chairs.  However, the time we spend relaxing together is anything but basic.  And the best part is, anyone can enjoy time like this for a budget of practically nothing. Our relaxing night sky-watching time is not complete without some relaxing music as well.  Ok, sometimes we roast hot dogs and marshmallows too!  Mostly we enjoy listening to the local jazz station but I think I have found some new music to shake things up a little. Yanni's new album Truth of Touch is a little bit ...

When we're hanging out in the great outdoors or in the backyard, we rarely wear anything but jeans and t-shirts.  Honestly, my kids and my husband pretty much only wear jeans and t-shirts.   Have you heard of Crazy Dog T-Shirts ?  If you want to laugh, you really need to check out their Funny T-Shirts .  Crazy Dog T-Shirts sent this uber-cool Next Life Zombie T-Shirt to try out.  I love how vibrant the colors of the screen print are, they just make the whole design stand out.  Zombies are pretty cool anyway and you can find this tee in the Zombie T-Shirt Section with a bunch of other awesome zombie designs.  The practical side of purchasing tees from Crazy Dog T-Shirts means great value for the price and exceptional durability.  This tee has been washed a handful of times in the regular wash and has not shrunk, faded, or lost its soft feel.  They often run incredible specials too including a $6.99 t-shirt every day. Sign up ...