This Is Joy

My fingers are sticky with soap and my beer is quickly growing warm.

I lay my head back and shrug my shoulders to ease the knot…it’s been a long time since I’ve sat at the braiding bench for hours in a row.

Earlier today, my main man picked his head up, ears forward and nickered at me when I walked up to pet him.

I drove down the freeway with the windows open, heat on my feet and a smile on my face.

There’s a new blue poly on my saddle that will get used soon, and a friend not far from here who laughs at the same things I do.

I itch my nose and turn back to the kangaroo hobbles that are slowly forming beneath my fingertips...this is joy.

xo xo Liz 

Shades of Grey

I am drinking beer while writing an article for March’s issue of the Nevada Rancher.

I have a side of rawhide soaking in the bathtub, which means that when Adrian goes for her nightly soak in the tub, I’m probably going to get my ears boxed.

My poor little Roo dog has a bad back and is currently sitting in my lap feeling poorly, and I can’t fix it.

I found my favorite braiding fid that I thought was lost forever in the move and I have some callouses finally starting to form where the rawhide strings rub up against my fingers.

The ground is parched and thirsty and every horse, cow and tree I pass looks miserable and ready to dry up. We need rain.

Life is never black and white, wonderful or terrible. It tends to be a shade of grey…and that’s all right.

Happy Hump Day, peeps! 

xo xo Liz

Buckaroo Barbie's Braiding Series - How To Tie A Turk's Head Knot

Here is Part 2 of the Buckaroo Barbie Braiding Series! I know I promised a "What You Need" video next, but several people already said they were getting started on some projects so I wanted to make sure they could finish them off without fear of unraveling :) I will film the promised video this weekend hopefully!

I’ve also been getting questions about where to buy rawhide and kangaroo. When you’re first getting started, I’d just get the spools of kangaroo from Tandy. You can also buy pre-cut rawhide string there, but it is not good quality in my opinion. If you’re going to build gear you plan on using, it is better to invest in a string cutter and cut your own strings. It doesn’t matter how good of a braider you are, your gear is only as good as the strings you cut.

Have a lovely weekend, Dolls!

xo xo Liz 

25 Things To Do When You're Bored Instead of Being Bored

When I was growing up, you had two options if the mums heard you say the dreaded “B” word (bored): you either cleaned the toilets or picked up rocks out in the horse pasture. I’m pretty sure we only ever said it once. To the mums way of thinking, the world is such an amazing, big place that a child armed with an imagination has the time to be bored, they just aren’t working hard enough.

I’m inclined to agree with her. I didn’t have the Internet growing up and I’m pretty sure that if I had, it would have been in very limited doses. I can’t believe all the posts I see on Facebook and Instagram from kids, even high school students, claiming they are bored out of their mind, so they take a “selfie” or beg total strangers to text them.

Please Dolls, don’t do that! There are so many other worthwhile, exciting, meaningful things to do, and if you are actually bored, don’t admit it to the cyber world at large! Here are 25 ideas of what to do if you’re lacking ideas on how to spend your time (notice I still avoid the dreaded “B” word!)

• Get off the computer.

• Bake something. Then eat the whole thing.

• Rope the dummy.

• Shoot hoops.

• Read a book. No, seriously, like an actual book with pages. And if you don’t know where to start, can I just say that Seven Wild Sisters by Charles de Lint is amazing.

• Write in a diary.

• Go for a walk.

• Lay on your bed with your pet and daydream about your dream job/life.

• Design all the clothes you want to own someday in a sketchbook.

• Find a sibling and hang out with them.

• Create an inspiration board.

• Write down 10 things that you are. Then cross out what you’d give up first, and what you’d give up last…an interesting exercise.

• Write someone an actual letter. Like with a pen and paper. Extra points if it’s to someone who doesn’t normally get mail.

• Practice your signature so that when it’s your autograph, it looks good.

• Ride your horse.

• Write out your life goals.

• Read this blog :) 

• Start your own blog!

• Make a project from Pinterest.

• Move all the furniture around in your bedroom.

• Have a tea party with yourself (I do it all the time).

• Listen to your favorite playlist and draw the images that come to mind.

• Have a spa day. Do a mask, paint your nails, take a bubble bath and give your feet a massage.

• Learn to play an instrument.

• Decide to learn a trade! Saddle making, braiding, cinch making, flatwork, silver engraving...there are so many different options out there. Not only are you giving yourself the skills to make gear and some money, but you’re carrying on old traditions and that is important.

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xo xo Liz

Buckaroo Barbie Braiding Series - Introduction to Braiding and Rawhide

OK, here it is Dolls! This is the first of hopefully several instructional videos that will help you get started braiding! I hope you enjoy and if you have ANY questions just holler at me! Thanks to Tatum, Mesa and Audrey for encouraging me and suggesting that I do this in the first place! I love you ladies!

*Like I say on the video, in making this I in no way, shape or form believe myself to be a great braider or rawhider!! But I do remember desperately wishing I had someone to talk to that could help me out when I was getting started, and enough people asked...so here you go!!

Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and the blog! 

xo xo Liz