Make Pretty Flower Cabochon Earrings

Well hello there my sweet peeps! It has been a CRAZY week here in our household. Why are the last few weeks of the school year this way? It seems like the teachers are trying to cram in as much as possible before the kids get out for the summer. Last minute projects, outdoor concerts, band competitions, end of year parties. Whew! It makes me tired just writing about it. It's gotten to the point that my craftin' has taken a back seat to every day life. And that just isn't ok with me. Know what I mean? :) So, here we are on a weeknight and I have been perusing the latest fashion magazines for ideas on how to pose my  clients for my photography business. You can see my portfolio at Patricia Martinez Photography and my blog at McKinney Children's Photographer . I love looking at all the new fashions especially the jewelry. I saw a very pretty pair of earrings that are all the rage but the price tag would drive my husband into a rage if I w

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Every Thing But The Kitchen Sink! {Organization}

Well here we are at the middle of yet another week and it sure is getting hot in here!  The last few weeks have been oh-so-nice & cool but we know the dreaded 100 degree hit will be here any minute literally!  We finally got our A/C fixed and so we think we  are ready to tackle the dog days of summer.  I have been crazy busy with work and wrapping things up there and growing my photography business!! By the way have you checked out my photography website? What?! You haven't? Well go on over there and see what I've been up to www.patriciamartinezphotography.com  also my photo blog www.mckinneyphotographer.blogspot.com {recent engagement shoot} {recent bluebonnet shoot} As soon as I'm outta my current full time job I will be posting some cool tips and tricks over on my photo blog so you have to follow me there too :) I'll have some cool giveaways there as well ;) Speaking of giveaways, I have one in the works to start

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Getting Closer to Camp Time!!!

On Saturday the little guy got something in the mail!! His Camp Huawni list of things to pack! YAY! We are so excited! Did I say we? Yes, I did! Remember way back at the beginning of the year when  I was all afraid of sending my little guy away to camp? Well now I am absolutely convinced he will thrive at this camp. I have heard nothing but good things about it and the people that run the camp are super awesome and have put me very well at ease. Did you know that the counselor to camper ratio there is 1 to 3.  Yikes! and Wow! One counselor to three campers. That's impressive. Our little guy will be going there next month. We are happily and excitedly going over some last minute things like: Scheduling his physical and filling out medical forms Going over the packing list and getting things in order Making my Thirty One order for some cool camo totes he can take with him. Ordering some name labels to put on all his clothes :) He is going to

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Pretty Flower Book Page Wreath

Well hello everyone! I hope your week has been fabulous so far :) For a good long while I have been keeping my eye out on these beautiful book page wreaths and wanting to try my hand at making one of them. So for this tutorial I decided to finally make one but add a fun  twist to it-adding paper flowers to the center. So here's what you'll need: 18 inch straw wreath or foam (I find the straw ones are cheaper) An old book with pages that are at least large enough to make a good sized cone (mine were about 6X8) hot glue and glue gun (lots of sticks!) Glue stick Piece of cardboard from a box Paper flowers If you have a Cricut, I used the Flower Shoppe cartridge embellishments  The first thing I did was to make the cones from the book pages. I used a good glue stick for this to glue the cones together. You'll need to make lots of cones! Second,  I took a piece of a cardboard box that just happened to have a white side to it a

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Small and Simple Pleasures

Today I went shopping at the dollar store. Today I experienced a small and simple pleasure. You see, before I suffered my  sah or bleeding stroke, I just couldn't stand the scent of lavender. I hated it. But since then, things have sort of rearranged themselves in my brain. Funny how that happens. The brain is a wondrous thing. Now, my brain craves this scent. It calms me and makes me happy :) So I was pleasantly surprised when I went down the wrong aisle and happened upon this: ::lavender::  I just had to get me one! (I also threw in the oatmeal and almond one) Total heaven scent! (get it, scent ;)) When I got back to my office I left the bags in my car and when I got in it after work my car smelled like these two soaps. Ahhhh, clean and relaxing :) I loved it. Let me show you what else I found: these cute little blue bottles! Only $2 They will be perfect for my summer decorations that will go along swimmingly with my  beachy the

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Book Page Wreath Guest Post

Well hey there everyone!! I am back to let you know that I am guest posting today over at the  CSI Project (Create Something Inspiring) It's a really cool blog where many bloggers come together to learn about making fun things! Check  out my post on how I made a book page wreath and added paper flowers for a fun twist :) You can find my  book page wreath here.    So head on over there and check it out! Patty

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Giving a Healthy Smile-Operation Smile

Happy Tuesday everyone! I thought I'd take a minute today and write about a very worthwhile organization that is dear to my heart: Operation Smile (From their website:) Operation Smile is an international children's medical charity that heals children's smiles, forever changing their lives. As a children’s charity, we measure ourselves by the joy we see on all of the faces we help. At Operation Smile, we're more than a charity. More than an NGO. We're a mobilized force of medical professionals and caring hearts who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate. Every three minutes a child is born with a cleft — often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places these children are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can't afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a normal life. That's where we co

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