As a hobby online seller of dolls and doll clothes, I am always looking for creative ways to display clothes and put custom gift sets together. Turning photo boxes, which are the size of small shoe boxes, into wardrobes for dolls is my latest discovery of cool ways to display and create unique gift sets….
Author: K
The missing emerald: A writer’s discovery moment
We changed all the light bulbs in our master bathroom to pure daylight or something, which made everything, including us, look completely washed out, desaturated, awful. So, we hauled my fabric bins in and started holding up different colors in the light. Nothing worked. Nothing. As I scanned the bins of neatly organized fabrics in…
Creative Phases: Obsessed With Making Hats & Totes
I prefer small creative projects over larger ones; small, as in something I can complete in a day or two and in a small space, which often translates to small results sans a lot of detail. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m assuming we all go through creative “moods.” Recently, after watching only a few…
We invest in what we value: Transactional vulnerability and Thank you for shopping with us today
In retirement, I’ve recently taken a part time job in a fabric store. Old journalist-turned-new-fiction writer, I couldn’t have chosen a better part time gig while learning creative writing. Going from the requisite “distant narrative” of journalism to the deeply personal “close narrative” of fiction is a process that doesn’t happen over night. Retail offers…
How Mason / Ball jars simplify our lives, inspires us to eat healthier and saves us money
Okay, so its only one wall and we’ve got a long way to go in our little DIY kitchen makeover, but the latest addition to our ever-evolving “Ball Wall,” as we call it, is worth celebrating. We love the “Ball Wall” solution, but where to store the lids — and to keep with our simplify-simplify-simplify…
Palisade peaches ‘n green chili salsa, a Western Colorado early fall favorite
One of many benefits of living in Western Colorado is the abundance of fresh local foods, from home gardens to area farmers and cooperatives. We’re very fortunate to live in such a rich agricultural area. With several cases of delicious Palisade peaches to “do something with” this weekend, we sectioned them into peach projects. We…
On Being Cayenne
As with most story tellers, when I take on a topic I tend to dive in. Oftentimes, the essence of a story lives beyond the surface, beyond the obvious. Back in 2014 we produced a special mini magazine, which featured a pair of lovely cayenne peppers on its cover. On a tight deadline, I only…
Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs offered historic base for four relaxing August days away
Overlooking the steaming Glenwood Hot Springs stands historic Hotel Colorado, built in 1893 for $750,000, complete with its Unsinkable Molly Brown penthouse suite. (She was a big fan of the Hotel.) We arrived early evening on a warm August Monday, checked in, delighted to see that they’d recently installed small window unit air conditioners in…
Highlights & video clips from our FBO 2019 big band concert in Fruita, Colorado!
There is quite simply nothing like singing with a big band! Thankful to the City of Fruita Colorado for inviting us back for their Thursday night Summer Concert series this year! Frank Bregar Orchestra is a 10-piece big band based in western Colorado. Most of the band is comprised of local music teachers who also…
“Longitude” by Dava Sobel offers a fascinating history of space, time, politics, science, intrigue on the high seas, and more — one of my favorite reads!
Hard to believe that little more than 250 years ago ships were wandering around the oceans with no accurate means to determine longitude. I recently, for the second time, read the book “Longitude” by Dava Sobel (foreword by Neil Armstrong). The story is beautifully written, giving us more than a glimpse into the lives, minds,…
City sounds: I’m where I need to be right now
“Good morning Mom!” Are my favorite text messages. Love being in my daughter’s space these past few weeks… getting to know each other again… (I melted when I saw this little “Call Your Mom” block on the table next to her front door, of course. I know…) Feeling blessed beyond anything I could’ve possibly imagined….
Does the right to advertise supersede the right to privacy? The Facebook user vs advertiser conflict.
Remove the advertising from Facebook and you remove the need for privacy invading data that advertisers need in order to target users. Offer an ad-free alternative to its 2.52 billion users at a low monthly fee of only $5 each, with privacy, and its income would go from $55 billion to $140 billion. No ads…
If a corporation is a “Person,” what’s its gender identity?
If everyone is equal under the law in the USA, no matter our gender, then why is gender identity causing so many conflicts in our courts and greater culture? And if corporations are considered to be people under the law, then those corporations must also have a gender identity, which is what? And how can…
As the chips, and the hair, fell from my shoulders …
Presence of mind Clarity of thought I know who I am For I see who I’m not While in the hair salon the other day, my awesome stylist, who has been cutting and coloring my hair for over a decade, commented that the past few times I’ve been in, she’s noticed that I seem much…
Feeling so much art inspiration lately, I simply had to break out the alcohol inks and do something about it!
These are the first three alcohol ink collage pieces I’ve made in years! I had to reacquaint myself with the inks, which took a while, but I had such a lovely time playing with them. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy collage; something about combining different shapes, textures, colors that is simply fascinating, and therapeutic…
Cold War Propaganda incited me to dig deeper, to recognize tells, and to question … everything.
Why did I pursue a degree in Russian Area Studies from the University of Texas in the late 1980s through early 1990s, a degree considered fairly worthless when I started except for those planning a career in the US State Department or CIA, neither of which I had any intention of joining? And why, considering…
Visit to Heart Mountain World War II Japanese-American Confinement Camp left us speechless…
About 14 miles west of Cody, Wyoming, stand a few remaining barracks, hospital boiler house, and watch tower from the Heart Mountain WWII Japanese-American Confinement Camp where more than 14,000 Americans were confined over a three year period. Over the course of the three years it existed as a War Relocation Authority (WRA) facility, from…
Wow. Found online $1. My 1985 debut single: Krystyn Vaughn sings Country Blues
So many lifetimes ago… This is a radio promo copy of my 1985 debut music single, Country Blues. I lost my copy decades ago; to find this one now, such an unexpected blast from the past, big blast. And yes, of course, I bought it. I still can’t believe it. Moments of odd truth to…
My Blue Dragon by Krystyn Hartman 