Artsy Chaos

If you're in Utah, near Utah or want to visit Utah, please check out my guest post over at Enjoy Utah! .  It's all about Millers Flat, a beautiful area about 2 hours south of Salt Lake City. Utah mountains are beautiful!

If you're following along with the summer camping posts, this is trip #3.  And guess what?  Yes, it rained this time too.  Three times camping, three times it rains.  At least we didn't get eaten to death by bugs like trip #1 !!  We still have marks from those bug bites, unbelievable. We give trip #3 a half thumbs up, half thumbs down. This camping trip was just the two of us, me and the hubby, with no kids or family involved.  We went to some family property in the mountains which is lovely scenery and very quiet unlike a public campground.  Absolutely no risk of loud drunken neighbors.  My husband was like a little kid riding around on a motorcycle (also not ours, but fun nonetheless).  It was bad because it rained and everything was just so muddy.  Will this wet year ever, ever go away?  The second night it was 45 degrees.... brrrrrr. We sort of felt like caged rats that couldn't go anywhere because if you tried to walk, the...

The ever clever Dave Barry said " It always rains on tents.  Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent."  Oh, ain't that the truth! This past Independence Day, we camped in the backyard.  With the family.  And the rain.  And the wind. But we still had fun!  Technically, this would be our summer camping trip #2.  This one gets a big thumbs up. Paper bag luminaries:  Grab some cheap paper lunch bags and various craft supplies like markers, punches and scissors.  Cut, glue, draw, etc. to your liking!  Add 2" of play sand in the bottom of the bag and top with a tea light candle.  Light and enjoy!   All of our tents were set up around the fire pit. We made paper bag luminaries, t-shirt necklaces and camp signs to hang on our tents.  We did most of our fireworks on the 3rd, however, because we knew that it was going to rain, rain, rain on the evening of the 4th...

This one gets a thumbs down. It all started because we wanted to go camping. The rain, cold and yuck has just been terrible this year, seemingly never ending. Since it was forecasted to be sunny last weekend it seemed like a natural progression. Oh, how we were wrong. We prefer going camping in the mountains and enjoying the beautiful scenery. However, because of the rain, cold and general yuck that is lingering, we still have 20 foot snow drifts in our mountain camping spots. Not a good recipe for camping in a tent. With that in mind, we decided to venture out to the West Desert and The Pony Express Trail. Someplace warmer and also someplace new to us. The scenery is... well.... barren and the vibe is... weird out there. No wonder all the UFO hunters and conspiracy theorists congregate out there by Dugway. Much of the property is owned by the military and there are strange bunkers, patrolled dirt roads and signs every 10 feet that declare they'll shoot if necessary. ...

Yep.  We now possess the largest tent ever made for a family on a budget; the "Mountain View Vacation Lodge".  Just in time for The Great American Backyard Campout! Ain't she a beauty? We have been needing wanting to purchase a new tent for quite some time now.  Our old tents are just that... old .  Plus, they're either missing their rain fly, leak, have a hole, have broken poles or are missing something else.  We actually didn't go camping at all last summer because of the tent situation.  So now, we have the biggest tent ever made for a family!  This tent is 20x11 and has 3 rooms and a canopy. It's HUGE .  It makes me happy. The new tent is also here just in time for The Great American Backyard Campout .  Every year, the National Wildlife Federation supports Great Outdoors Month by coordinating this nationwide even in the US.  Anyone and everyone can participate!  You can camp as a group, with friends or family, or even alone....

As a former Girl Scout, I have lots of fun camp memories. I remember learning to tie knots, set up camp and to cook over the campfire. An essential Girl Scout tradition is making a sit-upon. A sit-upon is a homemade waterproof cushion. They are easy to make and I remember using them every time we did any activity while sitting on the bare ground, which most often was damp or scattered with uncomfortable sticks and pebbles. A sit-upon is great for sitting around the campfire, your backyard, or even a sporting event.  There are lots of ways to make a sit-upon. When I was a Brownie Girl Scout, we made ours from old vinyl tablecloths and foam. But in a pinch, you can use a plastic garbage bag and a stack of old newspapers for padding. To revisit this simple craft project, I decided to use a roll of vintage vinyl wallpaper I found at a thrift store and some foam I bought at my local craft store. Essential Supplies: Waterproof Material (vinyl tablecloth, or other store-bought viny...

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....

We're so excited to introduce you to Endo ! Endo is here for all your outdoor t-shirt needs with incredible graphic designs to wear.  Cyclist?  Camper?  They're here for us all.  Seriously, what's better than a bright yellow tee with a huge tricycle on it?  Yes, a huge yellow real tricycle would be nice but hey, you couldn't wear that and it would undoubtedly be much harder to come by! We were happy to discover that the Endo t-shirt is longer than some which is definitely a bonus.  You know, no risk of the bad "low rise jeans - shorter tee - don't bend over or sit" dilemma.  It's also pretty dang soft and comfy. In addition to this great t-shirt, Endo also sent their logo tote bag.  These kind of backpack tote bags, or "man bags" as all the local teens call them (because all the boys in junior high have them!) are perfect for a light backpack to carry a water bottle, camera, cell phone, snacks, etc., for an impromptu hike, nature walk ...

We're so excited to have you here participating in our April blog event... "Close To Home Camping and Nature Art" Just in time to get ready for summer! To find out more about all the fun stuff we will be doing this month, please visit the Close To Home Event page for all the details and upcoming goodies. We'd like to start with a bang with our sponsor HealthyHikerGear.com !  Sound good?  We think so. There are so many things to do and places to go for a vacation close to home.  I've heard some refer to this as "staycationing".  Camping, hiking, picnicking or even hanging out in the backyard with a fire pit and some marshmallows can be loads of fun for you and your families. This picture is one of my very most favorite places in the whole world to go and it's just over an hour away! There are so many products which make camping, picnicking and hiking easy and affordable and shopping is right at your fingertips.  HealthyHikerGear.com is an onlin...

Thanks for stopping by the   Close to Home Camping and Nature Art Event   at Artsy Chaos!   We're thrilled to have you here! This event will run for the entire month of April. The following is a listing (with links when they go live) of giveaways, articles and other fun things going on this month.  Be sure to check back often so you don't miss anything! April 1st-21st - Healthy Hiker Gear Tent Giveaway April 2nd - Camp Blankets from Recycled T-Shirts Tutorial, Part I April 2nd-9th - Endo Wear Review and Giveaway April 4th - Crazy Dog T-Shirt Review April 6th - Enjoying the Night Sky and Yanni Truth of Touch Album Review April 9th - Camp Smartypants Spotlight and Giveaway April 12th - Camp Smartypants Sit-Upon Tutorial April 16th - Nachomama Tees Review April 18th - Cover Your Hair Review and Giveaway Costume Squad T-Shirt Giveaway Nature-Watch Gold Diggins Kit Review and Giveaway