Rainy day

It's a stormy morning here in the ville and the oh so lovely computer system AND email are down work so decided to fill this time with something extremely important, ya know, writing a blog post.

This weekend is Kate's Trade Days. Isabel and I are so freaking excited to have our first outing together as a craft business. So, spread the word to any and all! We look forward to seeing a lot of people come through Trade Days this weekend and hopefully meeting a great many of them as well. I've been working like a mad woman lately and haven't really had time to post about anything other than crafts, the show, or things of a similar nature. I mean seriously, if there were cameras following me around the past two weeks you would all be saying something along the lines of "that girl be crazy busy yo!". My eyes have a perma-stoner look about them lately with a red tint from lack of sleep. But, I'm definitely not complaining, I wanted to do this and I'm enjoying every minute, just 'this girl is crazy tired yo'.

I took a break last night to watch the USMNT play Brazil in a friendly match as they get ready for the first round of World Cup Qualifying in June. For those of you not in the know, that's the U.S. Men's National Team (soccer). Otherwise known as my soccer boys. I love watching the USMNT! I get to watch all my favs playing together in one match, it's great. Several of my favorite U.S. players actually play for European teams so I hardly get to see them play since they're not on ManU or RealMadrid or the few others that are the only ones broadcast here in the states. It was so nice to relax and just watch the game last night, however I will be paying for it tonight for sure! Oh well, it's the price we pay for hobbies and dreams. ;)

I don't know about y'all but I'm super stoked that summer is finally here. Yeah, it gets unbelievably hot here. I don't think many people realize how extremely hot 100+ degrees is with 100% humidity. My cousin and I routinely have temperature debates via facebook comparing Texas and Ohio. I would gladly take a winter with a single day freezing than a summer with 100+ for 2 months (or more!) straight. Anyway, I'm getting off track. I am glad it's summer though. I've already been to the pool several time on the weekends, it's so relaxing to just pop in the earbuds and jam to my "pool mix" while getting a little color and just being calm. I'm using vacation time Friday and Monday since Trade Days is this weekend, well, not because of it, it just worked out that way. I'll be working on last minute stuff Friday and Monday when it's all over I'll be relaxing and possibly hitting the pool for a few hours.

I also love summer time just because of the spirit it puts me in. Does that make sense? I tend to listen to a lot more country music than normal (which means basically all the time) and always want to sit on patios wherever I go. Summer time always seems like a good time to make fun, light meals and of course shopping for summer is always the best! I love shopping for sandals and dresses and other accessories. I could go on and on...

Here are a few pictures of things that I've been loving or that just make me think of summer in general. I'm not posting sources, sorry a girl's gotta have some secrets- especially if it involves super cute fashion! But, if you really want to know, just ask, if you're lucky I might just be in a sharing mood. ;)

Hope y'all are enjoying this time of year as much as I am! Don't forget to come check out Ruffles and Lace this weekend at Kate's Trade Days on HWY 190 East, just after the 405 cutoff. We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Happy Summer! :)

xoxo,
kris

Movin' on Up!

I'm so unbelievably excited to tell you that Isabel and I will be taking Ruffles and Lace to Kate's Trade Days next weekend! That's right, June 2-3 we will have a booth out at Trade Days. For those of you who are not familiar with it, Trade Days is a monthly event for arts and crafts vendors. Located on HWY 190 it's just outside of Hville so caters to several different communities.

Here's how you get there:

Drive East on 190, once you pass the Dodge cut-off at 405 (you'll see Bubba's gas station on your left) be on the lookout for Kate's flags on your left.

Pretty simple!

It's not too far, but just far enough to be out of the "city". We are very excited about this opportunity and can't wait to see everyone out there! I'm going to be working like a mad women tonight and tomorrow to get a lot of projects going/finished and then next week as well. This is our first big step into the market and we couldn't be more thrilled that it's an outdoor trade show. I will definitely be posting pictures of all the items and the booth here as well as the facebook page, so check back soon for updates!

Hope everyone has a great Memorial weekend, and please take time to reflect on the fact that this is Memorial Day and not just any long weekend. I am so thankful for the troops of the past and present who have bravely gone into battle for all of us, to those living and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice bless each and every one of you.

xoxo,
kris

Projects Galore!

Yesterday I mentioned that working on some projects recently for Ruffles and Lace has been keeping me super busy, well today I finally have some time to share some of the finished projects with you. My friend Isabel and I recently started Ruffles and Lace as a side venture, since we both love crafting and had been looking for a change it was the perfect fit! So instead of blabbing on and on about the business, I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

This is the 18" Yellow Rosette Pillow. The rosettes are all handmade as is the pillow. They are also made out of the same fabric as the pillow, however since the fabric is only patterned on one side it gives the rosettes a slight rustic/vintage look- which I love!

The middle pillow in this picture is a 12" Blue Rosette Pillow. Again, the rosettes are handmade along with the rest of the pillow. I can't remember if I've posted pics of the other two pillows or not (and since I'm too lazy to go back and look)... The White Ruffle Pillow is also 12" and the Pink Ruffle Pillow is 12"x14".

This fabulous little teacup bird feeder is probably one of my favorite items! I made four of them last week and this one is my absolute fav. The wooden rung is sanded, painted, and distressed then adorned with an oh so precious teacup that is accented with little pink flowers to match the paint. Bird seed will fit perfectly inside the cup as well as around the saucer, or you can fill the cup with water- or buy two and do both! :)

Isabel and I have some other exciting things in the works and will hopefully be getting that squared away soon, and then I will most definitely be posting about it!

xoxo,
kris



Day Dream Believer

I know, I've been horribly bad at posting lately. Hopefully you have been checking out the facebook page for Ruffles and Lace, because that's what has been keeping me busy! RUFFLES AND LACE

Anyway, I was just checking out one of my fav sites and saw this picture and article accompanying it about making a bench.

Doesn't it just look so amazingly perfect? I could sit there for hours and read a book or scetch out some project ideas - or just take a nap. If I ever have a nice little house with a backyard there better be an awesome shade tree to make this happen. Just picture sitting there for a couple hours reading, dreaming or doing whatever your heart desires. How relaxing! I much have a bench like this in my life.


On different note, I will definitely be posting the projects that have been taking up all my time in the next few days, so be on the lookout! Hope everyone has been enjoying the spring time weather, it'll be 100+ before we know it!

xoxo - kris

Who doesn't love fruit?

Some of you have probably seen the post I did on Facebook recently about Dreyer's Fruit Bars contest and if you haven't you really should check this out! Dreyer's Fruit Bars are having a contest across the nation to donate 17 fruit orchards to the community with the most votes. That's right, it's solely based on the citizens in each community (or really nice neighboring communities) to get online and vote!

Voting is super easy, you just need to create a simple account (your email address and a password) and then you can log-in and vote for Hville. What's really awesome is that each person can vote once a day! We're currently at about 1300+ votes this morning, and while the leaders are in the 9000+ range, the 10th spot is only at the 1900 mark. If we can really get the word out and push everyone we know to vote, I think we definitely have a shot at the top 17.

Here's what you need to do: CLICK HERE! and create your account then start voting and share the link with everyone you know via social media, email, or word of mouth.

What's truly amazing about this fruit orchard "when" we get it, is that the fruit will be free to the public since it will be a city entity! I sure didn't know that the fig and pecan trees on city property are free for citizens to pick from, did you? Just think how awesome an entire fruit orchard would be! Not just for us to have fresh fruit, but for the environment! It would also be an excellent way to teach kids about healthy eating habits, along with environmental friendliness.

So let's all get to voting each and every day!

Ruffles and Lace!

Isabel and I are really getting this craft business off the ground. Today we got a Facebook page setup! You can go check it out here: Ruffles and Lace on Facebook

We are really excited for this new adventure and can't wait to get going on more projects to load and sell. In addition to the Facebook page, there's also an email address- rufflesandlace@ymail.com. If you have any questions about pricing or special orders you can send an email if you prefer not to post on Facebook. I will continue to update with craft posts here as well.

So, spread the word to all your friends to go like our page! :)

Super pumped for this weekend and celebrating Caitlyn's 16th birthday, followed by a rainy Sunday filled with projects. Be sure to check back next week for new craft posts!

xoxo,
kris

Get Your Run On!

May 1st will kick off the Tread on Trafficking campaign for Love146, and organization dedicated to bringing an end to child slavering and exploitation as well as providing aftercare to the lucky ones who have escaped. If you have not already heard about Love146 and the work they do, go check out their website www.love146.org and see for yourself what they're all about.

Tread on Trafficking takes place from May1st - June 30th. During this time I (and many other treaders) will be logging miles in any way we can to reach an established goal, mine is 325 miles. The idea is to get sponsors to donate a certain amount per mile, for example if you were to donate $.10/mile for me and I reach my goal of 325 miles, you would ultimately be donating $32.50. This can get a little confusing for some and also the not knowing exactly how much you will donate might deter some people, well never fear there is always a way! You can also make a one time contribution through my page (www.kristigstotpage.stayclassy.org). So, whether it be $5.00 or $25.00 or however much you are able, any little bit helps! And believe me, when the beginning of June rolls around it's a super awesome motivator to log in and see all the contributions made - it just pushes me to keep going for my goal.

For those of you who enjoy working out, want to start getting in shape, or just want to help this awesome organization, there's also a link on my page to Team Texas Love 146. This will direct you to the team site I created so we can work together in this fight. If you decide to join, you will set up your own page (similar to mine) that will be linked to the team site as well. We set our own mileage goals and workout on our own (unless you live near me and want to join me for runs!) and the team page just totals our contributions so our donations are made in the team name under each persons name. -- Hopefully that makes sense! I think being a team for something like this is a great way to stay motivated and spread the word even further than on person can do on their own. Once you sign-up, you receive a welcome packet via email and it has all kinds of good stuff for you to utilize like a mileage log, graphics for facebook or webpages, and posters to print and share with the community. I'm going to print a few of the posters and see about hanging them at the gym, since everyone is already working out there anyway! ;)

What's really awesome is that you don't HAVE to run to log your miles. Anything you can think of you can do: run, bike, swim, walk, row, etc. Whatever floats your boat! Last year a young girl logged her hours using a pogo stick - super creative! Another guy was on a paddle boat for 24 hours straight (I can't imagine the blisters, that's some dedication for sure). Basically what I'm getting at is don't be intimidated thinking you have to run a gazillion miles, because you most definitely do not. I hope I see some new names on Team Texas Love 146 soon!

You don't have to wait until May 1st to sign up or to start donating. So let's get to treading and get the word out there!

Don't forget stop by my page! http://www.kristigstotpage.stayclassy.org/

xoxo,
kris