There’s something magical about the thrill of a good thrift find. The kind that makes your heart beat faster as you pull it off the rack—slightly wrinkled, maybe a bit forgotten, but brimming with possibility. That’s exactly how I felt at my local thrift shop. Neutral, flowy, and oh-so-blank—a perfect canvas. And I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it: sardines.
Yes, sardines.
If you’ve been swimming through the currents of fashion lately, you’ve probably noticed a certain silvery little fish popping up everywhere. Sardines—those briny, tightly packed darlings of the sea—are the unexpected muse of the moment. They’ve been printed on oversized tees, embroidered onto collars, even swimming up the hems of designer skirts. There’s something both cheeky and chic about them. They straddle the line between kitsch and high-fashion, and I am hooked.
How to Make a DIY Sardine Skirt
Step 1: Design Your Fish
Sketch a playful sardine motif and cut layered stencils from mylar or poster board for the body, fins, and scales.
Step 2: Paint the Pattern
Use fabric paint and your stencils to add sardines in varied poses across the skirt, layering for depth and movement.
Step 3: Add Dimension
Embellish with puff paint or embroidery for extra texture and detail.
Step 4: Wear It Boldly
Style your one-of-a-kind sardine skirt and let it swim proudly into your wardrobe rotation.
Looking for a fun, meaningful way to celebrate Memorial Day with family, friends, or neighbors?
✨ Grab your walking shoes—or hop in the car—and hit the streets for our Patriotic Scavenger Hunt! ✨
🎯 Your mission: Explore your neighborhood and find signs of patriotic pride—from waving flags to red-white-and-blue wreaths. Snap a pic 📸 or check off each item as you find it!
👇 DOWNLOAD your Memorial Day scavenger hunt board here:
✅ Great for all ages
✅ Encourages outdoor fun
✅ Honors the spirit of the day
Let’s fill our feeds with gratitude, celebration, and stars & stripes. 💙❤️
Just 120 miles North of Santa Fe, New Mexico is the captivating Village of Chama, home to the historic Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. From late-May to mid-October, steam trains transport passengers from the sunshine of New Mexico to the snow covered mountains of Colorado, all on the same day.
Railroad service to Chama began in 1881, it rapidly evolved into a boomtown, and ultimately matured into a lively Western-style business district. In the heart of the business district, Railyard Rebel, a one-of-a-kind shop filled with gorgeous clothing, jewelry, accessories, and New Mexico inspired gifts; offers a blend of western style and Bohemian design. The shop is housed in the Sterling and Sage building. Recently the shop and building needed signs and that is how my husband, Curtis (a sign painter), and I got involved.
My primary objective for this project was to develop a logo for Railyard Rebel. Drawing inspiration from steam trains’ textural elements (iron, metal rivets, wood), and vintage floral textiles, I was able to create a logo that married vintage train character with western style and boho design.
Railyard Rebel Logo Design
Railyard Rebel’s new owners wanted to repurpose signs from the previous business. There were four wooden signs with cut-out shapes resembling old Scenic Line of the World advertisements. In the before and after photo you can see that I tailored Railyard Rebel’s logo to fit the semi-circular band at the top of the sign and swapped the yellow and red for their brand colors.
Vintage Ad for Scenic Line of the World
Before and After
Overhauling the train illustration involved a bit of research, but I was lucky enough to find a reference photos depicting one of Cumbres and Toltec’s engines. I rendered the train digitally in Procreate and Adobe Photoshop.
Printed decals were produced once the design was complete. We cleaned, sanded, and painted the wooden signs, then carefully applied the decals. Curtis skillfully hand-painted the tassels and finials with a glossy white sign paint.
Hand Painting Tassels and Finials
Although there were a handful of design challenges, we were able to take four tired signs and breathe new life into them.
Final Sign Design
A new sign was created to hang beneath the covered walkway. Bright pink and gold floral elements on a smoky gray base serve as the backdrop for the logo’s light blue letters. It was finished with a hand-crafted wooden frame to generate an old western-feel.
Framed Hanging Sign
Sterling and Sage, the building housing Railyard Rebel and The Lofts @ Sterling & Sage, needed exterior ID signs. The owners’ design concept was to use a sheet of thick metal and have the letters cut out. The painted black finish was determined in the final stages of the design.
Sterling and Sage – 534 Terrace Avenue, Chama, New MexicoMetal Signs with Cut-out LettersInstalling the Sterling and Sage Metal Sign on the Front of the Building
Railyard Rebel is looking forward to their first fall season since opening their doors in May 2022. It is a great time to ride the railroad, enjoy a day trip of exhilarating rugged mountain views, and relish the fall colors.
“I just want to make beautiful things even if nobody cares.”
SAUL BASS
An artist’s dream – living in a place where you can draw on the walls. As a renter in a home with blackboard paint on the kitchen door, I kinda lived that dream. Using school chalk, I would draw for hours creating images to celebrate holidays (a few of my favorites below). Although there were no paychecks attached to these illustrations, there were gobs of benefits. The stress of my day job melted, my artistic confidence bloomed, and my wandering mind stayed focused in the moment. Not having to make color decisions was one of the many reasons I found it relaxing. Admittedly, I dug the subtractive drawing vibe; erasing areas for darker values and adding chalk for the lighter values.
Cupid for Valentine’s DayHipster Santa for ChristmasCowgirl for Fourth of July A Few of My Favorite Chalkboard Door Drawings
I no longer reside in the house with the dreamy chalkboard door and was craving some black and white chalkboard therapy. The work-around solution? Taking a rediscovered pad of black paper, a brand spanking new white pastel pencil, and drawing! I drew each subject on a separate piece of paper then scanned. (Separate images in gallery below) Once I had digital images, I placed them into a single composition using Photoshop.
Street ArtistHarmony PlayerSpreading HarmonySeparate Chalk Drawings
This time my concept wasn’t based on a holiday. Instead, it was a play on words – harmony and harmonica. The next step was to Frankenstein words together and craft a message that flowed through the composition. “Harmony – Spread That Stuff Everywhere,” won out. Lots of tries later, I surrendered to design defeat; the message and the composition weren’t jiving. This is when not having a chalkboard door went from being a hurdle to being a springboard. This is when I realized I had all the components for an animated video. I created animated clips in Photoshop, combined and refined them (a bit) in iMovie, gathered copyright free music from YouTube creator’s studio, and built an artsy video (below). Beautiful to me (and maybe to you). “…even if nobody cares.”
This was one of my Mom’s go-to-breakfast dishes. The original recipe had cream of mushroom soup and crushed Cornflakes which have been replaced with Bechamel sauce, mushrooms, and bread crumbs. The updated recipe is spiced up a bit with the addition of red and green chile. Great served with fried eggs and bacon.
Ever wonder how I make Cowboy Kimonos? This quickie tour shows how a doodle morphs into a hand painted denim jacket. Got questions (like how much money did my parents waste on acting lessons) or ideas for a custom Cowboy Kimono? Connect by clicking the button below.
Child Sized Jacket (Painted Sleeves and Front Panels)
A new addition to Cowboy Kimono’s Etsy store, this recycled jean jacket has bright green and turquoise vines climbing up each sleeve and shoulders capped with a sacred heart. The “Martian” leaf motif continues on the front panels beneath the pockets, contrasting with the deep indigo blue of the denim. Dimensional paint creates faux embroidery accents. It’s good to know that this child size jacket is washable, durable and one-of-a-kind!
I’m planning on diving into Memorial Day celebration chow and want to feel a little less guilt when I go for seconds (thirds…). Increasing my steps this weekend with a quick walk and a scavenger hunt may do the trick. Play along by simply locating patriotic symbols in your neighborhood or campground using the checklist and your phone. Play solo or as a competition between friends, family members, or neighbors.
Mother Earth is miffed at the apparel industry. It is the second largest polluter in the world, after the oil industry. Americans throw out an average of 80 pounds of clothing per year. Two River Times
You know Cowboy Kimono is all about upcycling denim jackets, but did you know that Cotton’s Blue Jean’s Go Program gives you a discount if you turn in an old pair of jeans before buying a new one? Participating companies partner with Cotton to make it easy for you to recycle your denim.
Another trendy way to bring your jeans back from the dead is Boro. Patch the jeans you have using this bold stitching technique and fabric scraps. “Central to Boro is the concept of finding beauty in mending—that nothing should ever be wasted, and that imperfections have their own subtle and simple appeal.” Indigoniche.com
Breathing life into someone else’s castoff doesn’t always mean a trip to the thrift store or dumpster diving. Online second-hand stores like ThredUP or Patagonia’s Worn Wear line (clothing made from recycled garments) let you shop without leaving home.
Trade your jeans locally with trading groups.Share creatively and tread lightly on the planet by trading your jeans for something else in a local BuyNothing group.Rojos Brazos painted denim jacket by Cowboy Kimono
Cowboy Kimono’s favorite way to extend the life of denim is to purchase recrafted or upcycled clothing and accessories. Most of my hand painted denim jackets start as thrift store purchases! Check out Patagonia’s Worn Wear selection of recycled denim Worn Wear by Patagonia
My Mom was a mail magician. She would make letters appear a few days into my week of summer camp. I’m not sure if she wrote them the moment after she dropped me off or if she had them written before I left. Even though I was only away from home for seven days, the letters usually hit when my homesickness kicked in. Her distinctive cursive and stories about all that was going on at home included weather reports, updates on my five siblings, Dad’s doings and tales about the family dog.
In this season of summer camp adventures and family travels, my mother’s letters are a springboard for this elevated envelope project. Hopefully, the writer will enjoy marking and coloring as much as the recipient digs the arty envelope!
One colorful cactus-themed envelope in timelapse appears below. (ta-da!)
