crafternoon craft therapy session [2]: black and gold chevron tray

Wednesday night I went over to my gal pal Alex Curry's house for our second craft therapy session! Alex scored some awesome crafts from Michael's to paint and decorate a wooden tissue box cover. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of her craft, but it was super duper rad and totally her style! Check out her blog here. She should be posting pics of it soon. Inspired by a post I found here on Pinterest, I decided to glamify (new word created by yours truly) an old tray I bought from Cost Plus eons ago (ok, not eons. maybe like 5 years ago when I was attending UC Santa Cruz). 

[all photos for one life in stills]

Materials: 

• Tray (laptop support tray, food tray, or any time of decorative tray. The tray I used had a japanese inspired design painted on it before I spray painted it black). 
• Krylon spray paint in black and metallic gold found here and here. 
• 1" blue painters tape found here.  

DO IT!: 

1. Spray paint the entire tray front and back with your first color (I used black). 
2. Let paint dry overnight! I didn't do this and the black paint came right off with the tape revealing the original design. In the end, I actually liked my oopsy because it gave the tray a vintage and used feel. :) 
3. Place painter's tape on the board in the design you desire (I opted for a chevron design). 
4. Spray paint your second color (I used metallic gold) over the exposed first color. You may want to do a second coat for a more finished look. Your choice, crafters! 
5. Let dry (approx. 30 minutes) then carefully pull the tape off to reveal your new, beautiful totally wicked tray!

There would not have been a successful craft therapy session without a delicious and nutritious gluten free and vegan friendly meal! We made spaghetti squash lasagna for dinner and vanilla flavored coconut milk yogurt with granola and fresh berries for dessert! Recipe and pictures coming soon! :)


Happy crafting you fine crafters!

desert pleasure

 [allison and i]

 [isabella, lauren, allison, and i]

[t-rex!!] 

This past weekend I drove out to Palm Springs to celebrate my good friend Allison Harden's birthday. We didn't really do much besides lay the by pool and eat which I had absolutely no objection to. I'm a full believer that sometimes not doing anything is the best thing to do for yourself. During the day we laid by the pool, drank gray goose with grapefruit juice cocktails (fit for a birthday girl!), got in the pool to cool ourselves off because it was a whopping 98 degrees, and reminisced about what's been going on in our lives.

Saturday night we had dinner at her parents family friends house just a short drive from the house. We played Corn Hole and Allison and I kicked ass (shocker), drank yummy cabernet sauvignon, and ate an amazing dinner. Allison's parents were so kind as to prepare vegan friendly options for me as well. They are the best! After dinner and cake, we drove back to the house and watched Brides Maids which was hilarious and darn right icky at times (i.e., food poisoning scene for those of us who have seen it).

On our way back to the real world, I persisted that we stop at the Dinosaur Museum so I could get a picture with the T-Rex. I don't know why I'm so infatuated with these guys, but I got my picture and am therefore a happy girl.

Thanks Allison for a relaxing and fun weekend!

eat on the rock

[images via Honestly...WTF]

What a sensational experience it would be to dine on top of a rock in the middle of the Indian Ocean! The Rock Restaurant is a tiny seafood restaurant that resides off the coast of Zanzibar, Tanzania. Unlike every restaurant I've been to, you can only access this restaurant by boat, or by swimming or walking (depending on the tides that day). How cool is that?!

This coming summer I may volunteer with One Heart Source in Zanzibar. If I do, I will definitely make an effort to check this place out!  

igottahaircut

After my mom told me last night that my hair "looks like straw," I decided this morning to go get some maintenance work done on the good ol' long locks. Summer is technically over and according to my mom the "fresh-out-of-the-salty-ocean-dry-as-straw" look aint vibing with me as well as it was a month ago. After a sweaty yet awesome power vinyasa yoga class with the amazing Heather Archer at The Green Yogi followed by 10 stints up sand dune, I sat my rock hard toosh butt down for some r & r, a shampoo, cut, and blowout at Cielo: A Boutique Salon. It's been over a year since I got my dreads chopped (I guess I'm lazy when it comes to self maintenance) and I'm pleased to say that I love the results! She kept the length, which I told her was a must, added some layers in the back and taper in the front.  I walked out of there with a bottle of Morroccan Oil and Kevin Murphy angel wash shampoo and body builder volumising mousse. 

How long has it been since you got yer hair did? What salon do you go to?

crafternoon craft therapy session [1]: melted crayon art

I love worship arts and crafts so much so that I would change my name to Shelby Iloveartsandcrafts Stillians if I could. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. According to craft therapy (and I totally agree) reserving time for arts and crafts in your life reduces stress and offers an opportunity for self expression by getting your creative juices flowing. Yum! I'm a bonafide arts and crafter which means I try to dedicate at least one night a week to arts and crafts. Not only do I go to sleep feeing a little brighter, I wake up with a new rad craft I can either wear, hang on the wall to spruce up a space, or send to a friend to.

Last week I was inspired by the melted crayon art photos on Mr. Kate by Kate Albrecht! How freaking awesome does the end product look??! The cool thing about this craft is that anyone can do it (there's only 4 materials needed!) and it'll take you less than 30 minutes to craft. Yay!

Materials:

• a white canvas
• crayola crayons (they tend to melt better than rose art crayons. I bought 3 packs of 24 classic crayola crayons at target for $2 a pop)
• hot glue gun
• blow dryer

Do it!:

1. pick the colors you want to use (i used every color except brown, gray, and black) and arrange them on the floor in whatever design you're feel in'.
2. hot glue the crayons on your canvas with tips pointing down (i chose to glue the crayons side-by-side on the top of my canvas but you may like something more like this. 
3. heat the crayons with a blow dryer set to hot and high and watch the crayons do their thing!

And remember, with arts and crafts, there is no such thing as right or wrong. The process, rather than the end result, is paramount.

Happy crafting!

where there's a quote, there's a way

I love finding a good quote whether its about life, love, change, happiness, family, or friends. When I find one that is meaningful to me I like to write it in a little quote book I keep with me in my bag or I text message it to myself so I can write it down later. The other day I came across the following quote and was happily surprised to find out the quote was by Bob Marley.

Marley's on to something here. Perfection is impossible. Trying to be perfect all the time is a waste of time and energy that could be better spent doing something that truly gives you inner happiness. Focusing on staying present and getting the most out of every day leads to a more fulfilled life. Doesn't that make complete sense? There's so much more to life than trying to be perfect all the time. Let your love, quirkiness, and natural beauty shine through and who knows, maybe you will meet the one guy that is perfect for you.  

embracing otherness, embracing myself

"Imagine what kind of existence we can have if we honor inevitable death of self, appreciate the privilege of life, and marvel at what comes next. Simple awareness is where it begins." Thandie Newton

English Actress, Thandie Newton, talks about the theme otherness and the notion of self. In this talk, Thandie suggests that when you realize and really understand that your self is a projection and has a function, a funny thing will happen. You will stop giving it so much authority. You will begin to respect your self as its function. Overtime, and with practice, You will begin to live more and more for your essence, or otherness. She believes that if you can do that, incredible things will happen. 

Her words are incredibly insightful and I encourage you to take the time (12 minutes) to listen to her words. Make a nice cup of tea, turn off the tv, radio, or anything that will distract you, sit back and just listen :)

an old idea brought to life

Hello beautiful blog world!

Starting a blog has been on my ever-expanding to-do list since over a year ago. When I added this to the list it was because I wanted to hop on the bandwagon blogwagon and be trendy like everybody else. Since then, my reasons for starting a blog have changed. 

For those of you who know me, I am a woman of many layers, some thicker than others. For those of you who do not yet know me, you will soon find out and hopefully come to love and appreciate my layers and what I have to offer. I have a deep passion for adventuring and exploring the various subcultures of Los Angeles as well as new hot spots outside of my hometown. I live for these experiences and can't wait to share every story, recipe, restaurant, event, etc.. not only with my family and friends, but with you too! 

So cheers to new beginnings and crossing off an ancient item on my to-do list!