IT'S OFFICIAL ...

Thank you Blogger, but time to move on ...

... no more Etsy, no more blogger ... now you can read and see and peruse and link and shop all things KVK at my newly revamped and utterly divine new home on the internet KathyVanKleeck.com.  So stop over and say HI!

with deep gratitude and light filled blessings - kvk

Heads Up!

KathyVanKleeck.com is in transition ... working on getting my website moved over to the new digs ... trying to be patient ... keeping my fingers crossed I've completed all the little niggling details . . .

New Moon

New Website

New way of doing business

it's a total leap of faith ...

 

l i g a - kvk

update

in the process of shifting everything over to Squarespace ... mondo project, but loving the look and the elegant platform ... can't wait to have the entire KVK universe under one roof ... stay tuned

it should all be done, up and running by early April ... Woo Hoo!

l i g a - kvk

p.s. just came back to this dream from early September 2013 ... seems appropriate
"I had this very compelling dream.  I'm riding along in a car with someone I perceive to be a friend although she doesn't look anything like the person.  I'm in the passenger seat.  We're barreling along a two lane road and coming up fast on a fork in the road.  Considering our speed, I'm fully prepared for us to take the main road curving to the right, not quite as prepared to take the left fork which is a dirt/gravel mountain road.  I am wholly unprepared for what we actually do ... keep going straight over a grassy embankment and down a precipitous slope.  I see where we're going and am thinking, "OMG, we're going to die."  Only we fly over the embankment and continue barreling along down the steep grassy incline and I'm thinking, "Well, this isn't as bad as I thought it would be" ... and then I wake up." 

break time ...

... probably back in a week or so ... mid-January?

l i g a - kvk

closing out 2013 ...

... and I'm so excited! 

I'm excited about a new moon welcoming the new year.

 

I'm excited because I just cut my hair and am enormously pleased with the results

(pics will follow when I've got more time). 

 

I'm excited to see my worktable clear and ready to support a new year of expanding

and growing and discovery.

 

 

I'm excited because all of my wholesale accounts are paid up including a surprise early payment ... which means I've got extra funds ready to purchase materials. 

I'm excited to dive into my birthday present, Danielle LaPorte's Desire Map ... Dave and I are going to work on it together ... and to keep track of my year in her spiffy day planner.

But much more than being exited, I'm enormously grateful for all the challenges as well as the good fortune and bountiful blessings of 2013. 

 

2014 promises to be a year of changes ... I'm shooting for some really big ones

... and that is very very exciting!  

 

Wishing you all Bright New Year's Blessings!

with deep gratitude,
l i g a - kvk

I'm a multi-media goddess!!!

... and a very busy girl! 

I'm making medallions as premiums for the Footprints of God Kickstarter campaign and just finished the first of the fine silver medallions.  Available at different levels will be bronze and fine silver on a sterling chain ... 9 days to go!

Today, I also finished making a special order necklace.  I revisited my Amber Goddess theme with what I think are pretty spectacular results!

This one's chock full of gorgeous components ... steel and bronze, agatized bamboo, rutilated quartz and amber nuggets, trade beads, Roman glass and one wooden branch bead that I made years ago ... all on my linen cord with an especially cool leather closure + I did a leather wrap at the back of the neck with waxed linen stitching for comfort ... really most excellent if I do say so my ownself!

Here's a couple of close-ups ...

Now I'm heading back to my worktable and switching over to sewing linen bags.  Sewing always makes me happy because it reminds me of the wonderful synchronistic way I got my beloved little sewing machine.  It's a budget Bernina - a Bernette - and I've had it for close to 20 years.  The day I went to buy my sweet little machine, I had first gone to a small gallery to sell some of my very first jewelry.  It was crazy stuff ... slate fragments that I decorated with wire and beads and made into necklaces and earrings ... very early, very rough, very primitive.  So I had my jewelry when I went into the fabric store ready to drop down the bucks. 

The owner of the fabric store was a friend and knew I made jewelry and asked if I had any with me.  Turns out she had a class going in the back and thought the ladies might like to do a bit of shopping.  Well, shop they did ... enough to pay for my machine!  So every time I set up my sewing machine, I think back to that magical day, smile and swim in the deep feelings of gratitude.

I'm itching to get back to making my "Itty Bitty Ditty Bags" and list them on Etsy! 

TTFN from this busy bee!
with deep gratitude and sparkly blessings ...
l i g a - kvk

Footprints of God

We're closing in on our deadline and we've got a ways to go.  But we're not done yet! 

 

My brother, Gene Smith, has spent most of his adult life studying and observing how modern science merges with classic religious teachings.  He's incredibly passionate about how it's all coming together in our own time and wants to make a film to provide some insights and understanding that can be used in our day to day lives. 

To hear some of the background and inspiration for his proposed film ... Check out this terrific interview with Gene on the "Consider This" blog-talk-radio show.

 

Let's incite people to interact through our commonalities and our shared humanity.  We are All One and Footprints of God will provide tools to help us share that common ground.

  

 

We've got less than two weeks and we can definitely reach and surpass our goal!  If this resonates with you, please tell your friends and share the links or post on Facebook,

 

 "It's a Quantum Theology ... exploring the links between modern science and ancient mystical traditions ... providing tools to bridge the divide and better understand the part our consciousness plays in creating a better world ... help make the film Footprints of God a reality ... http://kck.st/177w8bC."

 

with deep gratitude and light filled blessings ...

l i g a - kvk

too much fun .....

........... yep, that's the gist of it ... I'm just flat out having way too much fun - sewing.

It's not as easy as it used to be.  Because of our tiny kitchen/dining area, we replaced our dining table (aka the most perfect sewing table - ever) with a tiny kitchenette version.  So now I lay out patterns on the bed and the fancy cutting matt on the floor, set up the sewing machine on my worktable and ironing board in the laundry room.  I basically take over the whole 2nd floor of the house.  Ah well, it is what it is.

But just look what I've been making!  I've decided to cut and sew up a significant quantity of my treasured vintage homespun linen and I'm going to share!  So there's going to be a bunch of these - Itty Bitty Ditty Bags in a variety of shapes and sizes ...

The front one is about 5" x 3" and the back one is about 6" x 4".  These have dark brown Euro flax linen pulls, the front one with a stack of fine silver beads, the back one with a steel nugget.  I'd have a whole slew of these, but I only bought two zippers ... gots to get more zippers ASAP, 'cause the possibilities are endless not to mention I'm utterly obsessed with these enormously precious little bags.

For branding, I'm using a KVK stamp with my Chinese chop red ink ... really like the look of the red ink on the old linen.

Love the way the bottom is sewn ... Okay, so it's not an original design, but I am putting my spin on it.

So I've got more!  Here's a couple of bags in progress ... this one's got inside and outside pockets and will have a leather shoulder strap.  The front flap just laps over with the leather scrap and steel discs to weight it down - the Trad Messenger.

Then this one's kind of a tube that will have a fold-over top and linen shoulder strap, mostly machine stitched but with patchwork/sashiko deets - the Boro Bag.

And last, for now, but certainly not least ... this is the Super Jumbo Tote, 19" x 18" with a front pocket.  I used waxed Euro flax linen to whip stitch the selvedges for the side seams and left the raw edges at the top and around the front pocket.  I'm going to run it through the wash to get those raw edges more ragged.

So that's it for now.  I'm really enjoying all the pattern making and sewing, figuring out all the different elements and accents - my design palette if you will - and how to make the best use of this precious resource, 19" wide, 100 year old (or thereabouts) homespun linen from eastern Europe ... enjoying, that's the understatement of the week ... like I was saying ... obsessed. 

Stay tuned for the finished products ... I'll be listing them on Etsy for sure.

So you folks in the United States ... have a blessed and safe Thanksgiving / and the rest of the world - thanks for stopping by. 

with deep gratitude and Thanksgiving blessings .......
l i g a - kvk

of gratitude, collaborations and grace

In my life, well in everyone's life, there are a couple of key players, game changers ... people we look to and can see how they've impacted our trajectory and very ways of being in the world.  Probably the most influential person in my life has been my older brother Gene (by seven years).  It started when I was very young.  I can remember when I was maybe six or seven, Gene giving me drawing lessons ... showing me the similarities between a human head and an egg, beginning a lifelong tutorial of helping me to see things differently. 

I watch and continually learn from my big brother through his heart centered interactions with people from all walks of life ... a genuine greeting for the clean-up guy in a fast food restaurant, working with prison inmates to give their lives more meaning and a spiritual direction, spirited dialogues with a millionaire businessman and ongoing out-of-the-box ideas for my own work.

Gene's path has been one filled with extensive study into the workings of the universe from the perspectives of both science and religion.  Along the way, he has been gifted with some profound insights and is passionate about sharing what he's learned.  He's created a website as the starting platform for expanding this conversation about what he sees as The Footprints of God. 

Gene's also a gifted musician and filmmaker.  After all his years of study and reflection and sharing his innovative ideas within a small circle, he's decided it's time to offer those ideas to a larger audience.  To that end, he's put together a proposal for a film and launched a Kickstarter fundraiser campaign ... which is what I'd like to present for your consideration.

 

Right now, our numbers are few and the challenge to fund our project seems daunting.  If this film trailer piques your curiosity and inspires you to want to see more, please consider making a contribution and sharing the links ... Kickstarter is an "all or nothing" deal, so please know that every dollar is vital.

Our lives continue to speed up and we are endlessly bombarded by fear mongers from the gloom and doom squads, people trying to convince us there are no miracles and no unifying life force.  But I know better ... everyday, if we know where to look, we're presented with compelling evidence ... this unifying force exists and rather than being on opposing sides, there is much common ground between science and religion.  I believe we are in the best of times to increase our understanding of how the universe works and expand this conversation.  Authors like Richard Dawkins speak for one side, I would like to help Gene contribute to the other.   

I can honestly say that during my especially dark high school years, by including me in his music and art, Gene pretty much saved my life.  I owe so much to my big brother and I'm always looking for little ways to show my gratitude.  For my small part, I've designed a medallion with the Footprints of God avatar which will be included in some of the Kickstarter premiums. 

This film is all about open arms, inclusion and spreading the grace and brilliant light of what's good in our world ...

... and Gene and I are deeply grateful for your consideration.

l i g a ... kvk       

woke up this morning with this question ...

 

... in my work and in my life.  I don't have a ready answer and that seems odd.  So today, taking some time to ponder ... continuing E Squared experiments ... cleaning and then smudging the house ... replacing cleaned crystals with fresh intentions ... being open to what comes along.

onward ...
l i g a - kvk