Protect Your Tresses!!!

I have been wearing my natural hair for almost 3 years now and I absolutely love it! I will save my hair story for another day. In this post I just want to talk about protective styling.  I just can't get enough of wearing my hair out.  I just love the fullness, and the look of my curls weather its in a wash 'n' go, braid-out or twist-out I just love having it out!.  This love of letting my hair flow freely has hindered me just a little from where I would like to be lengthwise.

Its important for people with curly hair to practice protective styling if they want to grow their hair to new lengths.

Keeps your ends tucked away.  Your ends are the oldest part of your hair and usually the driest, keeping your ends tucked away helps protect them from unnecessary breakage and in the end this helps you to see more length as your hair grows.

Keeps hair moisturized.  We all know the curlier your hair the drier it can be. We don't get as much of the oils our scalp naturally produces to flow down our strands as much as our straight hair friends or even our friends with looser curls so we have to constantly find other ways to put the moisture into our hair.  When our hair is bunched together it tends to hold on to moisture longer.  So always make sure to moisturize your hair properly before you tuck it away.

Keeps the weather from damaging your hair. The natural elements around us can be damaging to our hair as well.  The wind can cause some serious unnecessary tangles and the heat from the sun can cause damage as well.  So its always good to give your hair a break from these elements.  Wear a scarf or a hat on a bright sunny day, your hair will thank you!

Stops breakage from everyday styling.  Day to day styling to your hair will cause breakage. The twisting, braiding, untwisting, unbraiding, smoothing, combing, brushing just manipulation in general is bound to cause a little breakage especially if you are not gentle with your hair.  Wearing low manipulation and protective styles helps you keep your hands out of your hair and gives your tresses a much needed break.

So I spent the last 3 days (on and off of course) putting Senegalese twist in my hair.  It took forever but the payoff will be grand. I am going to try and keep these in for about a month before I redo them.  My goal is to keep my hair protected most of the summer.  So I will be looking for more styles I'm sure when I get tired of the twist, and I will make a post later on how I like to style my twist.

What protective styles are you rocking this summer?

Journal Love

I am a true journal fanatic, and I know I am because I just bought this journal and thats where my first thought went. I have so much paper in my little space of a room I could write for years straight, I really think I could!! Im always looking at the design, the type of paper, what the pages are made out of, the layout of the pages. When I see one I like I just buy it for some reason, even though I could have jus bought one last week. Dont judge me!! Im like searching for the holy grail of journals, and it never really is perfect. I always find one I like just a little bit more then the last one. I know most of you probably experience this same feeling with something more understandle like purses or shoes.

 

     I love that they have some prompts throughout the journal.                 

So my love for journals has gotten me researching journals on pintrest and etsy just to see whats on there. Check out my pintrest page for atleast four or more boards about solely journals!!! (My Pintrest Page) I found lots of amazing journals, of course!! This leads me to, thinking can design the perfect journal myself and it would meet all my expectations. Im ready to learn a new technique and learn how to bind a journal.

Book Purchased from Joann Fabrics

But thats not all, what im really into is art journals or junk journals.  Abovet you will find one I bought on Etsy to enjoy, examine, and recreate with my own style. I love the idea of using different papers and still be super creative with it. I have already been collecting different papers like vintage books for vintage looking paper.


Also the whole art journaling concept with the different paints and textures and materials. These are also called mix media journals.

I feel some crafts to be done in the future, after I collect my supplies. You know I have you find just the right stuff. Time to bring out my creativity, I know its in there. Im going to Let My Amazingness Shine Through.


Goal # 1: to fill a complete journal cover to cover.


Always Cay.

 

  

Mommy and Son Summer Garden Project

 My son Cayden, almost 3 years old is at that stage where you have to contantly keep challenging his mind. Theres so much more to the world then just throwing them in front of the tv or any technology at that. Explore! These kids are learning knowledge they will take with them as they grow. Do not hold anyone else responsible to teach your kids about life, turn the beauty of life as a lesson.

So me n my son are going to start a garden. A process we can almost spend the whole summer doing together. I got the whole concept from this cute kids garden idea on pinterest ( i love that site!!) and thought it would be perfect for me and my son, Cayden. Plus, this kid is definately my mini me because he loves vegtables just as much as i do. He loves them all.

So here is the section we cleared out for our garden.

We did a little craft together to get him excited about the idea of a garden and painted some rocks to place in our garden. We always have fun painting together and I have time to explain to him all about gardening, and that he has to work hard to get the garden ready and water it everyday to it will grow.

 I think we are going to do some smaller ones  just for fun, maybe put the names of our vegtables on them for labels, although Cayden just loves the idea of displaying his painting talents somewhere where people can see it.

                                                              

Of course I had to to a little something to place in our garden, even though I tell him its all his.

So we been spending alot of time getting the soil ready by hoing it over and over again because our dirt was very hard and dry. After we spent about a week straight breaking up the dirt we put some gardening soil down to make the soil soft and smooth for the vegetable plants. Next step is to go to the nursery to get the plants. You could grow them from seeds but we are going to speed up the process to get it going. '

But me and Cayden did plant some flowers from seeds so he could understand these plants all came from seeds. We are hoping we can grow a big sunflower!!

Stay tuned for our next gardening project update, after we get the plants in the ground.

                   

-Always Cay-

Share Your Amazingness!

If you didn't know you will know now, I'm an artist!  As much as I try to hide it I am sensitive and  selfish with my creativity.  So I was sitting here trying to figure out why I don't really share my art with the world and I came up with 2 of the main things that I believe is holding me back:

1. I am my worst critique: I am the hardest on myself and there's times when I don't believe my work is good enough.  There is always a teeny tiny voice in the back of my head that's just saying "oh there is someone out there that is so much better than you", or "no one is going to like this or appreciate this" or just "Reka you can do better". Sometimes I spend from as little as 20 min to as much as 2-3 days just staring at something I have created trying to figure out ways I can make it better before I reveal it to anyone, if I reveal it at all.

2. Not believing in myself: So this blog is maybe the first time I have admitted out-loud that I am indeed an artist.  I have never been that person to actually call what I do art.  I always say "it's just a way for me to express myself or clear my head", "it's just something I do for fun", or "hey its just me being creative".  I have always knew that I was a very creative person but I never considered myself an artist.  It seems like I have made every excuse to not be an artist and it's like I'm rejecting who I really am.

So my cure to end the plague of fear and self doubt from holding me back is to just put myself out there and be shameless with my art.  You either like it or you don't! Yes there are millions of amazing artists out there but I can't let their amazingness (yes that's my new word) hold me back from letting my amazingness shine through.  So I am going to believe that I am good enough and rock that confidence that is needed for others to believe it too. I am going to stop rejecting the title of artist and where it like a crown!  No more selfishness here, I will keep the sensitivity but just a little bit because a lot of me goes into what I do and to stop that is to stop the best part of my art.  What can I say I'm a bottle of emotions, open with care.

             So how are you letting you amazingness shine through? Or whats holding you back?

Dresses: The Best Part of Being a Girl!

I haven't always been a dress girl but it seems the older I get the more they fill my closet.  Dresses have to be one of the best parts about being a girl!  There is just something about having your legs be free, especially now that it's warm outside. 

I have been seeing so many beautiful ladies in dresses lately, they have inspired me to post some of my faves from two of my favorite places to shop LuLu's and Forever 21 . I am just in love with prints and light colors, and the high low style is becoming my fave.  Check out 3 and 4 there my absolute favorites out of the five from Forever 21 I just love the cheetah print. Number 3 from Lulu's is just so different and unique I just love the print and the fabric.  Summer dresses are just great for bbq's and weddings.

What type of dress will you be rocking this summer?