New Year, New Attitude

I am very excited to see what 2009 brings. Right now I am thinking particularly for Kustom Kate! I truely believe I have a fresh new and clean looking perspective on Decorative Paint! Hopefully I will have an opportunity to share that with some new clients here in the Tulsa Area.
Although the "Old World" and "Distressed" looks are still hanging on (barely in my opinion... but I have my own preferences), I look forward to communicating that there are still ways to incorporate decorative painting techniques keeping a traditional style and clean lines. Which is where I believe the trends are going!
I have laid some ground work in the past 6 months, and I have to remind myself that it takes time to not only introduce myself to a new market, but that I am also ultimately trying to inrtoduce a progressive style to a slower-to-change market.

Anyways... the last couple months have been challenging... but I now find myself full of anticipation to see what God has in store for me professionally and personally for 2009!

I have a creative bug today that is making my skin itch! Don't worry Mike, I have to finish the Kitchen Cabinets before II start something new :)

Here is a picture of one of my favorite 2008 projects:
Paisley Bathroom (I also applied a Chocolate Brown Metallic Plaster to the Ceiling)




Visit KustomKate.com

Christmas and After

Our first Christmas on the road was busy!!! We started a bit stressed not knowing what lay ahead... in the end everything workied out just fine... actually we had a really nice time!
We left the house at 3pm on tuesday the 23rd... got about 7 mins away and had to turn back for Mike's glasses... not too bad considering our history of having to go back 3 times for EVERY road trip...we were on the road by 3:30.
We passed St Louis around 10 or 10:30 pm. That's when it got icy. We decided to stop for the night and finish up the last 3 hrs in the morning. Smart.. it was REALLY slick!
We did our best to divvy up the time between mine and Mike's families, and I think we did a pretty good job. It's not easy... but it wasn't stress-free before we moved out of state either.
We enjoyed quality time with siblings, parents, and our 9 nieces and nephews. We were also lucky to sneak in a visit to Grandma's, hang with aunts uncles and cousins, and a handful of friends!
Not bad for such a short trip! Yesterday we went to service at Stone and went to Portillos for lunch with Lonna Erik bethany and Amber then hit the Road by 2pm.



We pretty much drove like it was our job making only short necessary stops. Arrived at our home a little after Midnight. So it basically took 10 hrs from I80 and Harlem Ave of(purely) driving at an avg speed of 80mph. (5 over on most roads)
Mike had to work today and is fighting a cold and cough. The following picture illustrates how tired he was tonight.... he just went to bed!



We had a great time and it was great to see everyone that we did!

Visit KustomKate.com

Time with God

Over the past couple weeks I have gotten into a bad habit... starting my day without spending time with God. I felt myself slipping away and feeling out of touch with the wisdom and understanding he has shared with me.
I realize that a relationship with God starts with ME seeking HIM. He is always there waiting for me.
I have been getting back on track the last couple days and can feel the pieces coming back together. Praise God.
Is God #1 in your life? Imagine how much better things would be if you had a personal relationship with the creator of the universe...
He is my source, my strength, my provider, my healer, my savior, and my best friend.

Visit KustomKate.com

Yikes it's 15 degrees out... definately the coldest I've seen Oklahoma yet! Hard to believe we were sweating in 70+ yesterday putting Christmas Lights out in the bushes!

I believe I only have to go out for one quick trip to the post office and paint store on these icy roads.

This weekend was productive... most shopping is done. Got caught up on paper work, Mike helped with the Christmas greeting cards, did some cooking and grocery shopping for the week too!

I also finished one out of 2-3 christmas presents I am kintting.

This morning it was back at it with the workout routine. Tough but not as bad as day 1. Like I said to my cuz I can't believe that I used to run 7 miles a day! We'll get there! I think my total today was more like 1.5

Now it's time to get to work, I have 2 dressers to fix up and pain black for my customer. I am going to put a snakeskin texture on the damaged areas... Hope she likes it!

Visit KustomKate.com

Funny Study...

I got a chuckle out of this blog post


Visit KustomKate.com

Quick Post

Okay, I need to be brief because it is time for me to work out. Hopefully today will be better than yesterday!
Then it's time to shower and head over to the Habitat for Humanity Women Build house. We are painting today... YAY!!! The original goal was to get the family into the house by christmas.... the schedule is tight... so we'll do the best we can!
This weekend I have a couple of pieces of furniture to paint for a customer of mine. We'll also have to decide if we want to put out some christmas lights... it's a wierd year because we were gone over Thanksgiving... now we have about a week and a half before we leave again.

Visit KustomKate.com

Update

Not and exciting post... but here's the latest...

Once we got back in town I got a bit of inquiry for Kustom Kate. I have been working with a super nice lady in the Grand Lake Area of OK. I love working for her... it's just a bit far... usually I am totally up for a nice drive... but the first day the winds were so gusty it actually jerked my car around and scared me. Yesterday was fine though.

Mike and I have this small room in the house... kinda off to the side that has served no purpose except to house the clutter of my ever so busy art business (note sarcasm). Anyway, we agreed to move my inventory out to the garage, [we'll insulate and create a work area]; so that we can turn this small otherwise useless room into a designated work out room.

We have dust off and put together our stackable/universal weight bench we bought when we first got married... that way we'll have both strength and cardio. I, of course am going to (maybe after the holidays) want to get those little stick on mirrors from Ikea and create some sort of a pattern on one wall... we'll see if that gets vetoed :)

Anyways I was reminded of how out of shape I am in this morning.

In (less than) 2 weeks we'll be going to Chicago area for a short Christmas visit. Hopefully we can see all 107 people we want to in that time ;) in the mean time I have a little work booked and Christmas Shopping to finish up!

Visit KustomKate.com

Today's Project

A customer asked me to help her find a "chunkier" mantel than the 2x12 she had sitting on a couple brackets... I said I would then got to thinking... just add another 2x12 fill the crack and paint it black. So I offered to do that here I go again opening my big mouth...
Anyway I got up this morning and thought it would be so much easier to build and paint one at home and then bring it to her considering it took me 2 hrs to get home yesterday.
So I did the 2- 2x12's... then thought it needed more, so I cased it out, filled the cracks, put a venetian plaster finish... then a black stain rub.. it either looks like leather or tortoise shell... either way I hope she likes it.
If my experiment with trying to charge the camera with the PC works, I'll try and get a better pic tomorrow.
Now time for pajamas, a little bit of waffle cone explosion ice cream and some tube.
Visit KustomKate.com

Costa Rican Saga

We've been back for several days... I haven't gotten around to posting... Here we go!
On the day before ThanksGiving Mike and I headed out to Dallas for the night (about a 5 hour Drive)
After a short night's sleep we headed over to DFW. 2 Flights later we landed in San Jose Costa Rica where Mike's parents picked us up from the airport.
We stayed in a hotel for 2 nights and then on the way to head up to the vacation rental house we stopped at a zoo for a quick walk. After the zoo we stopped at for lunch. Sometime during lunch a theif or two broke into the Rental car that we were riding in with mike's parents. They took 4 bags... 3 of them belonged to Mike and I one to his Mom. Kind of a buzz kill... time has passed and I have now told this story to a couple dozen people so I may seem even tempered now... however Mike and I were both beyond angry and all other sorts of emotional.
We went back to Sanjose, Waited 'til monday to get a new passport for Mike. Then stood by staying in hotels at a not so cheap rate until we were finally able to go home.
Costa Rica is a very beautiful place. I think it was an attractive place to go because it was affordable... however I felt that they have caught on to tourism. In many places they did not place rates in plain view... my opinion... so they could charge tourists extra. 2 of 3 cabs that we took did not turn the meter on.
No one in the US Embassy spoke English until you some how found the counter for american citizens... there were also no signs in english pointing you in the right direction. Once you got to the window the guy said "was your passport stolen too?" Pretty much his opening line for every american... HMMM what does that mean?
However although we were frustrated and whatever else... we, along the way heard and witnessed much worse travelers stories. One guy was stuck there over a year after getting mugged. Think about it no proof of ID... no money for an airfare ticket? You need money to BUY a replacement passport!
We came back home to a home that we realize by the world's standards is luxurious. We are greatful and feel blessed.
I have no desire to leave this great country or spend tourist dollars in another for some time. I have no intention of holding anyone else back... I just don't have any desire to go far for many days any time soon. Call me a home body I don't care.
The End
Visit KustomKate.com