Reflecting on this year so far, as it is my birthday week! Wow!!

Honored to have been asked to be in the fine gallery Outside the Lines in Galena. 

Making our nest "OUR OWN" We purchased this home in May. 

Designed, branded and styled this beautiful boutique for one of my best friends.

loved daily these two. my hearts.

Published in one of my all time favorite magazines Uppercase Mag.

Landed the cover of this book Uppercase Magazine published.

Discovered new painting styles within me. 

created spirit wands and loved every minute. 

our home. 

cut lots of hair off and went blondeR.

I always love to look at what my year looks like half way through as my birthday is July 15th. This day is so special to me as I have always been one to celebrate life. It has even more meaning to me since I turned 39 and almost left this heavenly earth. I am much more mindful of my time, energy and how I give love. I am delighted and most grateful to be turning another year older on Saturday.

I made a quick list of things that I have accomplished this year so far. I make vision boards and I use them. I do well with visuals they keep me on track. Gratefully I create more.

I overcame much fear, anxiety and really ended up proud of myself so far, so good. I face new stuff everyday like most of you. I am bound and determined to overcome the stuff that gets in my way.

Quick list.
1. I taught at Art is You in Minneapolis to wonderful students and fellow artists. Praying to be asked back as it was freeing, loving and so much more then I hoped for.
2. We purchased our home we had been renting for two plus years in Galena. We can now make it our  own and do improvements. We so love this house. Most of you know it was once a church built in 1838. Oh, the energy here is magic!!!
3. I love designing logos and so far I have created, branded 13 logos and counting.
4. Painted 16 new spirit warriors.
5. Added 11 new cards to my card line of 90. Now at 111. Love that number so much.
6. Co-hosted one benefit here in Galena to help a friend.
7. Super honored to have been published 3 times with Stampington Magazine.
8. Super honored to have the cover of Stitch - Illo and 8 pages featuring my art by Uppercase Magazine.
9. July 29 and 30 my art soul sister Lisa Sonora will travel from Oaxaco Mexico to co teach a two day workshop here in Galena. This is her only workshop in the USA this year. I am honored beyond.
10. Celebrated birthdays, mothers day, fathers day, and lots of everyday graces.
11. Designed and printed my licensing book. They are being created into loving artful packages that are flying around this country.  I am firmly believing I will be licensed. Yes, I will!
12. I am now making every effort to be featured in Where Woman Create as this has been a dream of mine for over 15 years. Must make it happen.

So as I reflect on Jan to July I am feeling proud of me. Proud of the family and friends who love me and help me be the very best ME i can be.

Thanks for showing up to be in my world. You matter a lot to me. With love ME.

http://www.kellimaykrenz.com/ more about my life as an artist here

http://lisasonora.com/blog/ you can still sign up for THE WORKSHOP with Lisa Sonora here.

http://uppercasemagazine.com/stitchillo/ Uppercase Magazine Stitch-Illo book

https://stampington.com/somerset-gallery Spirit Warrior Article here.

https://stampington.com/the-coloring-studio Coloring pages designed by me here.

Day 12 of "100 Days of YOU with Kelli

we wander together and become stronger 

Happy Day 12 of #100 days of YOU with Kelli. I have been thinking a lot about how very precious life is. We have all experienced horrible hard things. We all speak the universal language of grief and loss. I am here to try and start a new practice in finding hope while in the midst of hard things.

Hope. I such a pretty word. I love the look of it with it's straight edges mixed with open spaces. I love the meaning of it. Hope can speak to all of us in very personal ways. Interesting enough for me it is in the very simplest of things. Example = when I am in the middle of something very hard and I yawn, I instantly remember that there is hope. The ability to have normal moments in a time of hardship helps me move forward. Odd as it sounds think about moments in your life when you have really needed HOPE. What are those things that gave you a moment of normal.

If we take our list of normal helpful moments and combine them with our affirmations we are suddenly looking at a very hopeful path to start walking and practicing.

Use your wounds to empower you. Use your sadness to help you stand back up. Use this 100 day journey to inspire you to try a new way of approaching your life. Even the tiny steps count. Even just showing up to greet a new day is huge.

I promise you this. I have had really terrible things happen in my life that I thought "How will I live through this?" Truth is I faced it straight on and struggled, I owned it and never once pretended it was not hurting me. I let others help me when I knew I needed help. I found comfort in the familiar. I was crushed and slowly stood back up.

I am up and my wish is to spread STANDING STRONG in your space right here right now through my artwork and words. I hope I am helping even one person right this minute.

Love more. It is so important. Love YOU. thank you for being here with me.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/859440144162697/

Day 9 of #100 days of YOU with kelli

we are telling our stories. right here right now. 

We are into our second week of this journey together. Lots of feeling come up. Some are not so fun to look at. I know this. Here are a few ideas and ways that I have honored the hard times and bad memories but, let them go.

Remember, you do not have to be that person who is hurt and angry anymore. You can choose to move past your fears. Letting go of anger does not mean that you have to forget what has happened in your life to make you feel the things you feel. It simply means you no longer want to hold space in your precious heart for things that make you feel bad.

Write your list of happy. Write your list of sad. See which list feels more like YOU. Practice liking yourself without the sadness that was given to you as a child or ever. Practice letting go of these hurts. Replace these hurt feelings with new happy moments. Simply put, when your brain starts remembering or old tapes start repeating in your head - say STOP (you can even say it out loud if it helps) then immediately think of a happy memory and start replacing.

This takes time and lots of practice. I know I have done it. It works. I went through a few years of therapy working on these practices. I am now a huge fan of believing in good over bad.

So for today let it be enough that we are owning our feelings. We are loved and sharing and everything is unfolding as it should.

Thank you for showing up on day 9. I love you.


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Day 8 of "100 days of YOU with kelli"

me at 52 sharing my life with you. grateful. i am. 

Hello day 8. I think this is going great! Yes, I do. I love that a few of you are sharing and really diving into this journey with me. Thank you so very much.

I have decided that it would be a great idea for me to talk about some biggies that I have climbed over. How I have put these moments in my life and turned them around to give me more passion and grace.

We have been thinking of our childhood loves. How our childhood free thoughts and sense of wonder was so giving and such a carefree time. I love to hold onto the really great stuff. We all have some I just know it, along with hard stuff that we have overcome.

When I was growing up I was bullied A LOT! I grew up in a small river town in Iowa so everyone knew everyone. There were some really mean girls that would bully me. I would walk to school in fear, I would have tons of fear in the locker room or even just at my locker in the hall. Yes, I was treated terribly. Of course, my parents were always having my back and trying to make this stop. As we all know sometimes this makes it worse. Drats!!! I learned a few great things about mean bully people. I learned that it is always about the other person who just needs to act out and hurt others because they feel good pushing someone smaller around. I learned that I could rise above it and succeed with my ability to ignore. I would find great comfort in my art and would develop a wonderful imagination to feel beyond the hurt. I continue to rise above mean people. Sure I am sensitive and I have feelings that get hurt from time to time. I will say this - I tell myself how lucky I am to be alive, how blessed I am to be able to show love and give love, I tell myself that I am so heavenly lucky to not be a bully or mean person. Grace is a gift. I give myself grace and love every single day. I turn away from people or moments in my life that do not serve me to my greater good.
NO this is not easy - but with practice it becomes easy and so healing.

Maybe, when we think about our childhood some icky feeling pop up. Yes, that is okay because we are being given the gift of healing those long ago hurts. How wonderful to know that we can heal even a zillion years later. Yes, we are strong, brave and showing up to create our best life yet.

We are all here and climbing our mountain together. I love us. I love you.

Thank you for being present, for taking time to notice the stuff in your life that works for you.
This matters. You matter the very most.

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Day 7 of #100 days of YOU with kelli

affirmations designed by me = for you 

Happy one week of being here in this sacred space together. I do hope you are getting the magic that is here for you. I know it takes so much to start changing habits and practicing new ideas. I am positive that by being mindful and loving your intentions your new practice of loving YOU will happen. Yes, it might take 100 days or the rest of your life, either way it is a practice worth investing in = because it is YOU.

I feel like it is important for me to really open up and share my life with you. It gives me a foundations to start from and for you to see me. I have always been open and sharing. I have always been an over gifter (if there is such a thing) I know that about me. I do not do it for praise or to make someone like me. I do it because I absolutely LOVE making others feel loved, noticed, appreciated.
It is my dream that I will reach far into the world with my light, love and desire to share more.

I think it is so important for us to remember all that we have accomplished up until this very moment. Really it is crazy how much we live through, how strong we really are, our minds do the self preservation thing where we tend not to hold onto the really hard stuff - I for one am super thrilled about that. I have lived through more really hard things then lots of people. For those of you who do not know me you might be surprised. Instead of thinking about my past I practice really really hard at staying in the present, the here and now. I know we have no control over what tomorrow might bring. Live as fully out loud with joy, grace, giddy silly goofy stuff right now. Just let go of the stuff you are holding. Just let it go. Practice at just letting it go.

I have found it really useful to write what I am trying to let go of. Often times I burn the letter up while saying a little prayer of intention with it. It is enough for me to write it, spill it out and then start the real life practice of letting it go.

So maybe, we can all find a few things we would be better off without? I know I have some.

Thank you for walking this path with me. I am honored beyond that you are here. I love you.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/859440144162697/

link to our closed facebook group. please join us if you like.

listening to my heart = really listening, finally

listening to my whole heart = facing fears

my first printed Pearl Button card 2013 Holiday

my first Pearl Button Sticker 2013 Holiday

forever grateful for my little 12 pound muse = daughter Pearl Button

2014 for me is about making my dream a reality. creating designs filled with joy filled words, photos, layers of design and love tons of love poured in = cards, cards, cards.

i have so many fears about making this happen = not sure where they come from or why? i am choosing this = face them, break them down one by one and THRIVE.

i will be learning how to create a following of like minds and souls. i do hope to inspire, create and give of myself through my designs.

here i go. please come with me = we will have fun.