DIY Car Art Hanger

I made this car art hanger for my nephew Isaac. He is our little artist and loves to play with toy cars. He turns two years old today. I haven’t met him yet. Hopefully, I’ll get to finally meet him this Christmas. Since I can’t be there to give him all my love on his birthday, I made him this homemade gift with lots of love.

Supplies: 2 unfinished wooden cars, 6 clothespins, acrylic paint, paintbrushes, Mod Podge, silver plastic canvas cord, felt, sewing needle, thread, glue gun, and sawtooth hangers (or anything you can use to hang a frame). I got most of my supplies at Joann's fabric and crafts store.

Green Light 1: Draw the details you want on your cars (like headlights, door handles, steering wheel, fuzzy dice, and hub caps) with a pencil.

Vroom 2: Paint your cars and the clothespins. You’ll need many layers of paint. I painted the clothespins red, yellow, and green to match the colors of a stoplight.

Vroom 3: Seal your painted items with two coats of Mod Podge Matte sealer, to protect the paint.

Vroom 4: Cut 3 feet (36 inches) of plastic canvas cord.

Vroom 5: Cut two square pieces of felt, 1 inch by 1 inch. Hand sew one end of the cord to a felt square then do the same to the opposite side. Make sure the cord is not twisted and it’s facing the same direction.

Vroom 6: Glue one square behind one of the cars and glue the remaining square to the other car. You want to glue the side of the square where you can see the cord, so you can hide the stitching.

Vroom 7: Nail the sawtooth hangers behind each car. My firefighter did this for me.

Yellow Light 8: (Optional) Write a special message on the back of one of the cars.

Stop 9: Park your car art hanger on a wall! 

Isaac can proudly display his artwork, birthday cards, or even family pictures on his car art hanger.

Happy Birthday my little man!

From Belle: Mom & Dad Saved A Life Three Years Ago

I ate dog cake on Wednesday! Oh, getting ahead of my dogself but it’s me Belle! Three years ago, mom and dad adopted me in front of Petsmart. That’s how they saved my life. Mom counts my adoption day as my birthday.

When mom got home from work on Wednesday and mentioned “cookie” to dad I knew “cookie” was for me. Mom got me “The Original PUP-PIE Natural Wheat & Corn Free Pie-Shaped Treat for Dogs” from Petsmart. Wow, that was a mouthful. Mom showed me my cake and I was dieing to eat it. Sesame seed sprinkles, frosting, pumpkin and peanut butter oven baked cake…give me, give me, give me! Peanut butter is my fav!

Camera came out and I was like, “no mom just give me my cake!” To make matters worse she took out one of my birthday hats from my first birthday party for me to wear. I tried to shake it off but mom was determined for me to keep it on. Once I got a sniff of my cake I didn’t care about the hat anymore. What hat? I got to eat three delicious slices.

As I write this, I’m eating another slice of cake. Don’t tell mom. It’s our little secret.

Olvera Street Photo Op & Winner

Other than wanting a margarita at Olvera Street taking this photograph there was a must. First, let me start by telling you a little about myself. I’m the only child from my mother and father. I consider myself a souvenir from their relationship. I have four siblings, me being the oldest. I have a brother and sister from my mother and her second husband and another brother and sister from my dad and his wife. I’ve only seen one photograph of my parents together. The picture is of my mom wearing a sombrero seating on a fake donkey and my father standing near her. Can you see where I’m going with this?

When my mother was married to her first husband the photograph of my parents disappeared. I wish I would have known during that time how much that picture would mean to me in the future and I would've asked for it and protected it. Turns out my mother’s first husband got rid of the picture. Bastard!

I always thought the photograph of my parents was taken at Olvera Street. Turns out it was taken at a work party, where they both worked. Taking this photo at Olvera Street is the closest I will get to that lost photograph. Seeing this picture helps me keep the photograph of my parents alive in my heart.

Here sits the souvenir, of two lost lovers, like the lost photo taken long ago. Though the photograph disappeared the souvenir remains.

On that note, felicidades (congratulation) to Suki! You won the Olvera Street bookmark souvenir!