So much, so little time!!!

As I reflect upon my Welcome to my Craft Room/open house Day...I am proud of myself.  I tried; I made an attempt; I am going to make more attempts.  "Failure" may stunt me for a few hours, but I am not going to let it stop me in my tracks!!!

So here is ME - I want to share myself with you...my own personal "style" is still evolving.

On the table here I have displayed some greeting cards, jewelry, repurposed/upcycled gifts, coasters, etc. that I have made.

This is the first quilt square I have ever made.  Stitched by machine.  I used instructions provided by StampinUp, the Big Shot (to cut my Debbie Mumm fabric), SU Sweet Pea felt (leaves), and SU satin ribbon.  It turned out pretty cute and I had fun putting my own spin on it.  Now, it's decor for my bag  :-)

this is the SU Simply Adorned charm I created. I stamped a cute little leaf and used SU Watercolor Pencils...the other side has some SU Designer Series Paper (DSP) to decorate it.

I love the card I made for a customers' nephew!  I used SU "Under the Stars" and "Lovely As a Tree" stamp sets, plus my Watercolor Pencils again.  I'm liking the campin-out theme since I'm about to be campin-out for a whole month.  Yipee!!!

This project was a blast. I've been keeping a box of stuff to upcraft, repurpose, and/or upcyle (depending on your personal word preference)...I finally did it! I made it for my friend Terri. I took a salad dressing bottle, decorated it, then filled it with yummy chocolate! The new items I used to create this beauty are SU Silver Foil Smooch Spray over the Presto Patterns DSP in the Summer Mini Catalog and other SU retired items.

 

You can always order StampinUp items from me here to create your own crafts!

http://keli.stampinup.net/

Onto the REST OF THE STORY...

Last Thursday, Earth Day, I delivered a card order, had lunch with a friend and got dreadlocs.  Yep!  I took the hairdo plunge and went to the LocDoctor for the install.  Here is the process that I went through...

 Liz was initially going to only section my hair, but after some discussion - I decided to let her do the entire install & let my inexperienced (gracious & willing) friends off the hook. Glad I did and I think they are glad, too   :-)

Here I am...waiting to get started.

I'm happy the "sectioning" has been completed

.

Here you see Liz and her husband, Casey are in deep concentration on the installation process.

 

  I'm pretty nervous at this point because my hair is SO much shorter than I thought it would be!  Yes, Liz warned me it would be shorter, but....YIKES!

Nicole was my entertainment & moral support! I am SUPER glad she was there for most of the process. LUV Her!

And......DRUM ROLL Please........the final Knotty Keli for you to see.

I'm happy with the 'end product' - although it's already taking a lot of hair-care that I'm not used to, I am learning the dreadlock technique.  I look forward to having them "mature" as they call it.  OH!  And I want them longer...a lot longer, too!!!  Liz & Casey are the BEST!!! I enjoyed the time I spent at the studio, too.

While I was sitting in that chair for 10 hours on Earth Day, I had time to think.  This is some of what I contemplated that day...
Are we all just caught up in our daily routine?  So stuck, that we are unable to make the smallest efforts to create a better environment...so lazy, that we can't take care of ourselves with exercise and nourishing foods...so selfish, we can't take the time to be there for someone in a time of need or celebration?
I am included in this stuckness at times - it feels yucky!  It takes continual effort to not get caught in so much routine, that I forget, or disregard, others.  I strive to be fully compassionate, and for me, that is not an arrival point...it has to be a way of life.
How about you?  How do you show compassion to others and to your environment?

Super-great SUNDAY

I started the day, bright & early, by heading to the Stitch Lab for a class.  I learned how to make pajama pants from Hayley.  LUV her!  After some yummy, fresh coffee...we all were alert enough to dig into the pattern tracing process.  Then we learned to use a surger.  The surger is pretty intimidating...but Hayley simplified it for us and we felt confident enough to surge our own pj pants!  She is a fantastic and patient instructor - which made it much more enjoyable for us all, especially when something went wrong  ;-)

So here I am in all my pj pant glory!  (do you like my DeathProof t-shirt?)

The fabric I used is designed by Debbie Mumm's Happy Planet collection.  The design I chose for the majority of my pants has "Planet Green" Earth on it.  The bottom cuff has a 'think green' theme.

I wore them last night & they are soooo comfy!  I plan on taking them on vacation with me.






While I was there, I got one of Jenny Hart's  Sublime Stitching embroidery patterns.  I love ALL of her designs - it was hard to choose. This particular one is perfect for keeping my hands busy while I travel next month.  Stay tuned for my finished product(s). 

So i left there and scurried off to the HOPE Farmers Market to use my Groupon coupon, which happened to be eight 5-dollar ticket vouchers I could use at any booth. and free bag...very cool!

FIRST - I stopped to get some Sweet & Spicy Mango Chutney from Kala's Kuisine.  Oh, it's so good!  I'm thinking on using it with my next tofu meal.

Next, I picked up some sauteed Tempeh w/greens from the Energy Foods booth.  I'm having it for lunch today - so if you are interested, please ask me how it is.

I'm SO happy I finally picked up my GoLocal card to support Austin's local businesses.  I've been wanting one of these for literally years.  Only $10 gets discounts all over the city...hundreds of places...and the list grows constantly! 

Okay, three tickets down. Mind you, there are a ton of fantastic vegetables and fruits, fresh from the local area, but I'm not cooking anything soon since I have no time and I'm getting ready for vacation.  Futristically, I will return for those luscious items!

For now, I just made my way through the art area.  I picked up some lovely Abelone earrings from Elementals, a book (the Master Cleanser) from Inside Books Project, and a beautiful "peace" night light from Third Coast Art Glass.  It looks so pretty in my entryway. 

Also at the Hope Market, Empower Yoga and a weekly, local band.  Due to my timing, I happened to miss both...BOO HOO!

When I got back home that afternoon, I put some finishing touches on some of the cards that I am making and played Apples to Apples with my peeps  I really like the game - we had a lot of fun!

                                                                                                                           

 Later last night, I watched Dirt! the movie

It's a great film!!! It's eye-opening, educational, inspiring, and even touching in parts (i shed a couple tears).  I liked it so much that I plan on watching it again while I finish a card order.

This week, I am sharing my Craft Room with my friends  - I'll post some fun pics of the event at the end of the week!! 

Julia!

I just got finished watching Julie and Julia...I loved it!  What a great story, or stories, that taught me quite a bit about the blogging world and provided even more of an appreciation for cooking than i had before.

Wow!  and the whole motivational aspect of never giving up on your dreams blew me away.  Although sometimes I feel like Julie did when the stuffing fell out of her bird on the kitchen floor - but I am really working towards making my dreams a reality.  Super Kewl!  I feel so great and very positive.

My appreciation for good food stemmed from the many goulashes I ate as a child.  I mean, who ever really knew what was in those things.  But I ate them.  I was a kid.  I ate them over & over again; each one a little different depending on what we had in the pantry and refrigerator.

Today, I eat out much of the time, or at least prepared foods made for me by Whole Foods, Central Market or Sprouts.  I'm a vegetarian with hopes to be fully vegan and eventually on a Raw food diet someday.  ummmmm....Daily Juice Cafe!!   I feel best when I eat Raw foods on a consistent basis - but being that I don't cook (except for the occasional experiment, or what turns out to be one) this is difficult.   I've even heavily considered taking classes, but I don't have the passion for it and have decided to leave it for those who do!

The Julia's in my life happen to be some of my best friends, which makes me a very lucky gal.  Darra, Terri, Kim, and Tannifer all rank very high in my book!!!  I love them all for many reasons, cooking is just one of them.

I've been to Julia's kitchen at the Smithsonian.  I wish I could find the pictures I took of it.  But the main thing, I too, remember were how high the cabinets were.  Me, being 5'8 or 9, these counters were greatly pleasing to me!  ...just the right height.  No bending or stooping.  Not to mention the sheer square footage of her kitchen.  As I recall, it was sectioned off in the museum into two parts.  It was a true artists dream.  She had everything she needed, with every tool you can imagine, organized just the way that would make it easier for her to create her superb dishes.  (this is how I envision my craft room)  

I admire art in every form & believe that cooking is one of them.  

Thank You; if you bring Life to food - YOU RAWK!!!

Greatness!

Last weekend was full of GREATNESS!  Friday night - I went to the Texas STARS hockey game at the new Cedar Park Center.  I learned that it's the semi-pro team for the Dallas STARS and saw player get his jearsey ripped off durring a scuffle...but there wasn't any bloodletting at any point in the game, which was a bit disappointing.  I mean - that's what hockey is all about, right? 

What kept me most entertained was the reactions from the crowed & how they would feed off of the punches that were thrown.  This just confirms for me that whatever is surrounding us as beings here on earth, be it negativity, or other vibe - we just magnify it with our own thoughts and actions, usually unconsciously.

Saturday, I explored the Lonestar Roundup.  I've been a couple times before, but this year was bigger than ever!  So much to see.  Here is just a very small taste of what was in the show...

I just love the color of this classy ride. UMMM yummy.

this beauty is a 1963 camper van and I am sure you can see that this is right up my alley!!

...funny thing is, the cat that owns her is from Kerrville (my home town).  Syncronicity  ;-)

And here is a bit of agressive kinda-action, but there were ALL kinds of racers there. 

If you've never been to a vintage car show - I suggest you put it on your bucket list.

Here I am at a Charger show a few years ago in Boerne, TX

Next, I hopped on over to Mother's Cafe for a bite to eat.  It was my first time there & I loved every bit! What I didn't realize is that all dished they serve are vegetarian or vegan...those with me had a difficult time choosing their dish, but ended up liking most of it after all.  Whew!!!

To sum up the day, I chose to check out a park that was close to my new place...

Brushy Creek Park

They have canoe rentals and a walking/running path. Many picnic tables under some beautiful trees...a really nice place

this guy was working on his flying skills - today was a perfect day to do it (i think) b/c the winds were good and steady out here in the open field.

TTFN...but stay tuned for my favorite inspirational business-savy ladies blog & some things I've learned so far