Desert Chica is a creative lifestyle blog with a side of travel adventures. Since 2008, I’ve been writing about my life with my awesome husband and two adorable boys (born in 2007 and 2010).
When I started blogging, I wrote about a little bit of everything. They say to find your joy in writing, focus on topics you love. It quickly became clear that I have a special passion for making cute, easy and inexpensive costumes, crafts and desserts. I focus on projects that most anyone can create without a sewing machine or fancy equipment. “If I can make it, anyone can!” is my motto.
Some of my most popular (and personal favorites!) posts feature DIY costumes. Need an easy, no-sew costume? From Star Wars and the Big Friendly Giant to Olaf and Bing Bong and everything in between, I’ve got you covered, at least if you have boys. 😉 It truly makes me happy to bring some joy and simplicity to my readers. I love when readers send me photos of costumes they’ve made that my tutorials have inspired.
You’ll also find fun snacks and themed dessert ideas, easy recipes and of course exciting, family-friendly vacation adventures. I really strive to focus on adorable, simple, and budget-friendly ideas.
And I’m so fortunate that my work has also enabled me to help promote social good projects that support kids both in my local community and outside of it. For that, I’m grateful.
To get a better idea of what you’ll find on Desert Chica, here is a sample of a few of my more popular posts:
- DIY Prince Charming Costume
- How To Trade With Jawas
- DIY Travel Craft Sticks
- Things to bring on a Disney Trip
- BB-8 Pumpkin
- Lightsaber Christmas Lights
- Pete’s Dragon Treat
Readers tell me they love my simple approach because most of us just don’t have hours of extra time (or even the talent!) to spend on creative costumes, crafts, and cooking.
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About Karen
A born and raised Tucson girl, I truly can’t imagine living anywhere else. But that hasn’t stopped me from developing the travel bug (I caught it from my mom)! I turned traitor 😉 and attended Arizona State University in Phoenix where I earned a BSE in Bioengineering. After a few years working in the medical device industry and returning home to Tucson, I decided I wanted to contribute more somehow. So I went back to school and earned a Masters degree in Teaching from the University of Arizona. I settled into briefly teaching advanced math to middle school students before having my first son. While I enjoyed sharing my love of math (and science) with students, I decided to take a stab at staying home.
Down to one income, I started using coupons heavily and getting creative with ways to save money and still have fun. I started my blog Desert Deals Diva in 2008 to share frugal fun ideas and deals I found, to simply inspire my friends and family. As my topics and focused changed with time, I rebranded as Desert Chica a few years later. It seemed to be an easy way to encompass everything I wanted to share because I am simply a girl from the desert.
As a math and science geek who doesn’t consider herself creatively talented, I’ve found that I LOVE sharing easy creative ideas that turn out fabulous. I hope to inspire other moms who lack either the talent, time or money to make a few projects.
In addition to crafts and DIY, I enjoy writing about cool family adventures. Our family loves to explore and visit new and interesting places and share our experiences here. Growing up in Arizona means my family made frequent trips to California, pair that with my husband who grew up in Southern California, naturally we are big fans of traveling to San Diego and of course Disneyland! We are passing our love Disney and travel to our two little guys, exploring places near and far whenever we can.
Learn more about our policies here.
I’d love for you to join us on our creative adventures!
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Networks and companies I work with:
