lately I've been Crafty McGee....

Ahhh, I LOVE crafting!!! I know this is not a shock to you devoted bloggers, but I love it. It is totally my stress reliever and my release. I love taking just yarn and creating a masterpiece. But lately, I am totally in to taking something without much charm or magic, and making it magical!! Refashioning trashion is totally my favorite! (It totally helps that my hot glue gun has become my most trusted companion....)

Look at this sweet little clutch!! I bought this brown, poop-colored clutch at Goodwill today for $2.99. I have been looking to add more clutches to my accessory wardrobe, and thought I saw a little magic left in this brown, boring old clutch. So it went home with me! I got out my trusted Martha Stewart glitter (hello!! totally my fav!) and mixed it with some Modge Podge so that the glitter would not flake off. I painted several coats on the clutch (after I Febrezed it) and let it try. Then I painted some fake flowers and leaves with that same MP/Glitter mixture and hot glued those on. It wouldn't be complete without some feathers and rhinestones. Voila! DoNe!! I seriously LOVED the way it turned out!!!

I love organization...and I love fun things. So this dry erase board was the PERFECT mixture of the two!! Yes, it's a dry erase board. I can't take the credit....I got the idea from this blog but it was so cute that I had to "borrow" it.

I found a "pretty" frame from Hobby Lobby in their 80% aisle...it was $10. Bought some cute fabric to go underneath it. I painted the frame to match the fabric, hot glued the fabric to the cardboard from the inside of the frame. And it's done!! Use a dry erase marker on the glass, and it works perfectly as a dry erase board. Seriously, these are my new favorite things. Watch out...friends, you might be getting these for Christmas gifts. They are so cute and so useful. LOVE them!!

Last but not least, I am in love with these flowered cuffs. Again, this is not my original idea...but I did add some "Kelby Flair" until it not only looked like something I would make...but something I would wear. (Thank you Ruffles and Stuff for the idea!)

What do you guys think?? Like it? Hate it??

Live it.Love it.Make it.

xoxo

Kelby

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tramatic morning.

Let me tell you a wee little bit about my morning today. Woke up. Made coffee. Did my Bible study. Showered. Got dressed. Headed to work. Walked the three blocks to my office. Sat down at desk. Picked up iPhone to call Sister.

And that's when the trouble began.

I couldn't hear the phone ringing. All Sister could hear was crackling.

GASP! Could it be??!?! Is my iPhone disfunct????

With butterflies in my stomach, I waited patiently (or impatiently...whatever) until 10am when the AT&T store opened. I ran to the mall. But those ladies COULD.NOT.HELP.ME. Told me I had to go to the Apple store. GASP!

Let me back up. I could seriously do EVERYTHING on my phone except make outgoing or receive incoming calls (unless I used the speaker phone). I mean, everything else worked. Facebook.Twitter.WordswithFriends.Texting (PTL).Everything. I was seriously panicking about not being able to answer my phone without using the speaker phone.

Anyway, I hopped in my car. Drove to Keystone. Walked to the Apple Store. Got slightly distracted by everyone using the iPads. Crap...focus Kelby! Found one of the friendly Apple employees who told me I needed an appointment. Seriously? (again, I was distracted by the iPad he was holding. Forgot why I was there for a minute.) Made an appointment for this afternoon.

Poo. I really just wanted my phone situation resolved.

But then. Oh but then. The Apple gods smiled upon me once again....and my phone start working. Seriously. I thought I'd test it once just to see. And it did. It worked. I called Sister and everything.

Seriously....I had no idea I was so obsessed with my phone.

And now I want an iPad.

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...before....after

I love my little apartment. Seriously, it is probably one of my favorite places that I've ever lived in. And I love that slowly....over time...it is really starting to resemble me and my taste. My crazy, bedazzled, jeweled, loud, rocker-chic taste. (rocker-chic...that's my look I've decided. More on that later....)

Anyway, in just looking around my place, I realize I have tons of stuff that I like...but not love. So I'm redoing them until I love them. These are just three of the things I redid yesterday afternoon. (Sunday Funday was a pool day...and then the storms rolled in. So I turned on the NCIS marathon, got out my craft table...and crafted the afternoon/evening away. It's so therapeutic. Seriousy. Love it.)

Brought To You By The Letter K...

I LOVE monogrammed stuff. I LOVE having my intials everywhere. I LOVE when I find "K's" that are pretty and scripty. I purchased this K a few years ago at Archivers. It was tremendously on sale and I thought...heck yeah! I can always use another K in my life. But I've been looking at it recently and the plain black just isn't working for me anymore. Sooooo....I got out some turquoise paint (actually, I mixed a few colors until I got it just right), my Martha Stewart glitter and got to work. (First of all, I'm slightly obsessed with this glitter. It's glitter, but not really. It's smaller and finer and AMAZING. God Bless Martha Stewart.)

And here's the final product!!! Doesn't it look awesome next to my Harry Potter collection... :)

Oh La La...the French Have Invaded My Kitchen!

I got these two sweet little towel holders from the Pier One outlet store YEARS ago. I just love them. However, I don't love the color scheme of them. It just isn't "me". So I was talking with my wonderful sister earlier this weekend and I told her I wanted to paint them. I was thinking about painting them hot pink or turquoise, but then she said that a silouette of them would probably look really cool. Gosh, she's brilliant.

So I took her advice. I painted them metallic black. And then got out my handy dandy Martha Stewart glitter again (this time in black--I find it essential to have it in every color). And voila! The final products turned out better than I could have imagined!!!

Live it.Love it.Create it.
xoxo
Kelby

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Trashion.Fashion.Ruffle.Redo.

Long time no blog!! Holla....Kelby's back...with avengence!



So, I've been blog hopping lately and found this blog that I'm absolutely in love with. Check it out. I'm getting so many ideas from here, I can't even stand it. All I want to do is stay home and craft my life away. But alas, I cannot do that.



However, it is Sunday afternoon and I've already spent 3 1/2 hours at the pool today. Soooo, I decided I would allow myself some crafting time. I received, from my awesome parents, the Limited Edition Project Runway Brother sewing machine for Christmas this past year...and I haven't made good use of it. So I put the crochet hooks down and decided to sew something. I call it my Trashion Fashion Ruffle Shirt (it's a working title). And I got the idea from this tutorial and I'm in love. Look out friends. Looks like I may just be wearing one-shouldered ruffle shirts ALL SUMMER LONG.



Live it.Love it.Create it. :)
xoxo
Kelby

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red wine. and a single thought.

I'm sitting at my make-shift desk in my cozy living room. NCIS is on in the background. My cute little pup is walking around the table, sniffing everything in her path. And licking my face. I have a pile of laundry on my zebra-print couch. I have pictures that need to be hung on my slate-gray walls. I have a glass of red wine to my left. And a semi-cold cup of Starbucks Grande Americano. (I love that the Starbucks guy always calls me "flower".) I'm wearing my new skinny black jeans and my brown flat boots. I'm typing this on my hot pink laptop, while my iPhone with its hot pink cover sits next to me...beckoning me to check my Facebook or Twitter one more time. This is my little life. I feel as though you need to know this inside information--for me to paint you a picture of my surroundings; my environment. You see, God is calling me for a grander purpose. Something larger than my little life. Something that I can do with the gifts He has given me, to glorify the Kingdom even more. So things are about to get personal. Real personal. Today and more days to come.

I went to a Bible study tonight at church--my first in a long time. We watched a video with Priscilla Shirer. And things she said spoke to me in ways that only the Holy Spirit can reach. I've been struggling with this thing for a while now. This one thing. And finally today...on the fourth day of this new year...I've found peace. And a new calling. For the past 24 hours, God has been trying to tell me something. In my waking thoughts--it my sleeping dreams. During my yoga meditation (yes, I do yoga on Mondays. don't ask me about my Downward Facing Dog). Through my dear friend Mary, even though she has no idea what she said to point me in this direction. Crap, even I don't know. The power of God is in me....and I'm ready for this journey.

The one thing I've been struggling with....is being single. I'm 28 years old and single. S.I.N.G.L.E. I spell it out for you because I feel you need to understand the importance of this. Understand the importance of this season of my life. I always thought I would find the man I was supposed to marry in college--get married--have babies--quit work--have more babies--be happy and married (with a giant rock on my finger...c'mon now, let's be honest). But alas, that is not my life. That isn't even close to my life. It never has been. And the single life isn't as glamorous as Carrie Bradshaw would lead you to believe. Sometimes it down right sucks. It sucks having to have your parents as your emergency contact people. It sucks worrying about where your next date will come from...or your next NCMO :). It sucks being on one income, paying all your own bills with just one income. And yet, still having to live up to the same expectations as all your married "coupled" friends. Yes, there are definitely some upsides to this singlehood--but they are shortlived. Yes, I can pick up and leave whenever I want (after I drop Yankee off at my parents). Yes, I am independent...I know I can support myself and I know that my life is not dependant on someone else. These are all important lessons. But c'mon...who wants to learn lessons all the time?

So what is my realization, you ask? Good question. One single thought. Are you ready? Seriously, are you?

Being single is the season of my life right now. And this is exactly where I am supposed to be.

As a Christian, I know that God never gives me more than I can handle. This knowledge is good to know when you're going through a rough time...but why do we look at being single as a rough time? As a Christian, I should know that God always puts me exactly where I need to be. Even better? He has prepared me for this season of my life. I am 100% prepared for this journey. Why does it take us such a long time to understand the simplest of lessons?

So here's what I know. I am single. Because I am single, I am somewhat an expert on this topic. I am outspoken. I have an opinion about everything and nine times out of ten, you will know my opinion. I seriously view my outspoken nature as a gift. And lastly, I love God. WIth my heart. Mind. Soul. Strength. Have you put two and two together yet? I am feeling very much led to be a voice for us single, Christian woman. I am feeling led to educate you on how we feel when we hear sermons telling us that we should be married. I am feeling led to enlighten your world on our thoughts. Our struggles. Our victories. Our lives. We love the Lord. We want to serve him. And if I'm being honest...Proverbs 31 gets on our nerves (or maybe that's just me). We're independent. We're vocal. We're honest. We're trying to be content, no matter the circumstances. Stories about Ruth (being "redeemed" by a man) and Mary/Martha (being a hostess with the mostess) kind of drive us crazy. We are strong. And we are a revolution.

Welcome to my journey. I hope you enjoy the ride.

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twenty ten. resolutions. bring it.

I honestly can NOT believe this year is almost over. The older I get (and obviously, more mature I get), the quicker time flies. This year has been a complete roller coaster, but I'm so glad God granted me the ride. (don't worry...the year in review is coming...shortly.)

2009 was the very first year that I seriously maintained and kept most of my New Year's resolutions. I feel very accomplished with this. And it is inspiring me to make some awesome resolutions for twenty ten. For a recap of last year's... read here. In 2009, I ran a marathon. I did it!! Even now, two months later, it is still hard for me to believe that I actually did it. But I did! Twenty ten is going to be a crazy year with the elections and everything, so I don't think I'll get a marathon in this year...but I'm going to run a couple halves. In 2009, Burgess and I officially launched Shortcake for 2! We did a few craft shows, learned a lot, and launched our own Etsy site. (http://shortcakefor2.etsy.com). I think twenty-ten will be even better for us and our little business. But most importantly, I'm so loving the fact that I get to do something I love with my most favorite person in the world (my sister...in case you were wondering). In 2009, I made a career move and I'm loving every minute of it. I left Cincinnati and the horrible memories/experiences that were there and threw myself back into the wonderful world of Indiana politics. I love my fundraising job. I love working for the Chamber. I love being back in Indy.

Anyway...the twenty-ten resolutions are exciting--for me at least. Are you ready for this? Here we go:
#1. Learn how to sew. I got a sewing machine for Christmas and I'm so stoked about this. If you know me, you know I'm a slave to fashion (hello...Vogue and InStyle are literally my moral compass). I'm so excited to be able to make my own clothes, design my own look, and just make awesome wears!! I'm going to tackle the sewing machine this weekend for the first time and make a stellar t-shirt blanket. I literally have hundreds (maybe not that many) of t-shirts from high school (Go Dragons!), travel softball tournaments (Indy Attack baby), and Purdue (Boiler up!). I can't bring myself to get rid of them, so I'm going to sew them up nice in a blanket. Stay tuned for pictures.

#2. Travel more. Adrianne and I are already planning a rad road trip this summer. We're renting a Winnabego and driving to some of the most random places in the US. I'm so excited about this! Don't worry, we will have a video camera to document all of the most random moments of our trip. This is probably the thing I love best about Adrianne--most of my most funny and random memories include her. I love that she's in my life--she's literally one of the best people in the world. And a super friend. We are also planning a trip to some place relaxing after the November elections. I wanna go to Vegas--neither one of us are gamblers, but we are shoppers. And we love laying out by the pool. And we've never been to Vegas. So there you go. Also, my cousin is studying abroad in Hong Kong next fall. I'd love to go visit her...I want to go back to Asia so badly and I would love to spend time with my Katie while doing it!

Which leads me to...

#3. Reconnect with my family. If you know me at all, you know my family (Hicks side..holla) is crazy. Hilarious in a "I can't make this stuff up" kind of way. Do to family drama and circumstances beyond my control, we've all become very disconnected. So I'm taking it upon myself to bridge the gap. Katie and Ali have recently come back into mine and Burgess's lives and it couldn't be sweeter. I have this great vision for twenty-ten: to reunite all the Hicks Girls (there are 8 of us for goodness sake) and all the Hicks baby boys (8 Hicks Girls = 5 "Hicks" baby boys. Seriously. I must be destined for boys...). I pray that the Lord grant me the patience and forgiveness and serenity to accomplish this.

#4. Make a name for myself. This is vague. And I don't really know what it means...but this is just on my heart to do this year. Stand out. Be the woman that God created me to be. I have so many creative ideas in my head...and I know that they were put there for a reason. So I just need to do it. I'm an outspoken individual. It's high-time I made use out of that. I have so many opinions. It's about time I made them known (to people outside of my friends and family). This is just my prayer for twenty-ten...we'll see what God does with it.

What about you?? Any resolutions for this awesome new year?

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mini photo shoot

My girl Kaitlyn Meeks (who is one of the best photographers in the land) came over last week to snap some photos of my crochet wears. I really want to get some "professional" pictures of my stuff and I knew Kaitlyn was the girl to do it. (I personally feel you are more attracted to things if the pictures are good.)

While Kaitlyn was over, she snapped some pictures of me and Yankee (aka the Doodlebug). I LOVE how these turned out. It's funny--as I look at these pictures, and then look at pictures from this time last year, I feel I've changed so much. So much in my life has changed, but I didn't think I looked any different. Wow...the hair is long!!

Anyway, thanks Kaitlyn for being so great.

xoxo

Kelby

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