Imara's "Crafty" Election Campaign

Hey, Imara here!

So, a couple of weeks ago school started back up -- I am in 4th grade this year. Finally, I am an upper-grader!! Now that I am in 4th grade, there are so many activities that I can be involved in. Out of the many I am now doing (like cross country, the school play, etc) I want to talk about the school election that just ended. I ran for the office of Grounds and Safety Commissioner. What this position does is: Make sure the school property is clean, that we are doing our recycling, and announce the score or percentage of cleanliness at our school on the morning announcements. For my outfit on the day of the speeches, we made an outfit that showed it is fashionable to recycle! First, we made a skirt out of newspaper. We got some fabric and sewed it into a skirt. Then, we sewed newspaper on the fabric so it looked like it was made of just newspaper!! After that, we made a belt with cans. First, we got one of my belts, then we got a bunch (like 5) of soda cans and crushed them so they were flat. Lastly, we hot glued them onto the belt. And that is a soda can belt. This is the outfit I wore on Election Day where said my speech. I was so scared!! I thought I was going to faint! When they called my name I walked up and gave my speech without one mistake! When I was walking back to class everyone was saying, "Man, you did great!" or "I loved your skirt and your speech!" I was PROUD!! The next day on the announcements my principal said... "and the Grounds and Safety Commissioner is.......

                                                       IMARA !!!

                                           I WAS HAPPY!

Take a look at this picture of my fun outfit!

Here is a little bit of my speech. If you want to see the whole thing, then watch both videos - -my mom only had the regular camera so she had to stop the recording in order to zoom in... and it is a little shaky, but you'll get the idea!

Halloween Costume Ideas...for our dog Lexie

We are currently in search of the perfect Halloween costume for our dog, Lexie. Does anyone have a great dog costume they can tell us about?

Photo taken by Imara

Lexie joined our family last December, so this will be our first complete holiday season with her. Kicking off the season will be a night of trick-or-treating!! So, it goes without saying that she needs a costume of her own! I have never been one for dressing up animals, but I have to say, this dog has converted me to a pampering pooch kind of mom! It started with her sitting perfectly still during her daily brushing. Then, acting like an angel as the groomer would make bandanas and bows for her. When Lexie walked around with her lovely banadana, looking all modelesque and gaining "ohh's and ahh's" from everyone who saw her, I was completely converted.
Now to figuring out her Halloween costume... she looks really good in PINK, so maybe a princess or ballerina? Or something a little more comedic, like a skunk or hot dog?

Take a look at our Lexie and send us your thoughts. We will update you as we get a little closer to Halloween and select her costume!

From Desperate to GLAM - Thrift Store Chair Makeover!!

So, last weekend the two of us ventured over to a gem of a place called ReStore in Clovis, CA. It is a great home 'thrift' store with new and used things, from tiles to doors to paint to light fixtures. Anything you need you can probably find there. You have to be in the mood for hunt to search through everything, but if you are you will find the most amazing deals! And the best part is that the proceeds go to support Habitat for Humanity.
On a mission to add really interesting pieces to Imara's room, we went looking for some chairs that we could refinish and add some much needed seating for when her friends come over. After looking around for a few minutes, we picked up a 1/2 gallon of paint (for only $3) in an amazing lime mousse color and then stumbled upon two chairs screaming for a makeover! At $5 each we could not pass them up. And with a little elbow grease, they would fit perfectly with the theme of her room: "a world traveler who nows lives at the beach."
To get these chairs looking like they do (see pictures below) all we did were five simple steps.
1. Unscrew/remove the seat cushion and the back of the chair.
2. Spray the brassy-gold metal with a matte black spray paint.
3. Spray paint the woven-wicker back the same black. Then sponge paint in a random pattern a turquoise paint color.
4. Take fun fabric and pull tight around the seat cushion. Staple securely to the back, keeping it taut to make it look as polished as possible.
5. Screw the cushion and back onto the frame, and voila! A makeover for pennies on the dollar... and a great way to spend some quality time together!