About Us

Lifelong residents of Wyoming and outdoor enthusiasts

Owners of KicKassie'sKreations (Kassie and Shane) are a husband and wife team who grew up surrounded by nature.  They both come from ranching families that were homesteaders.  The outdoors became each of their playgrounds while growing up, and each appreciated its beauty in his/her own way.  Kassie grew up taking weekly rides to the mountains, just minutes from her family's home.  Camping, hiking, fishing, floating the North Platte were all common activities enjoyed by all.  Kassie also became very interested in crafts and art and loved to make and look at beautiful things.  From a very young age, Shane worked on his family ranch which sat at the base of three mountains and learned how preciously valuable nature was all around him.  In his spare time on the ranch, he enjoyed learning to tool and sew leather.  The two started dating in high school and moved to Laramie, WY where they both graduated with degrees in psychology/education (Kassie) and business administration (Shane).  This all occurred simultaneously to having two children, which Kassie stayed home with while Shane worked construction jobs.  The values of spending time together outdoors in nature have been passed on to the couple's two children, Kodi , and Tristan.  Family time is enjoyed in the nearby mountains hiking, fishing, camping, snowshoeing, paddle boarding, and kayaking.  Strongly influenced by nature, KicKassie's Kreations was formed as a means for the couple to reconnect with and share their creative abilities.  It began with Kassie making and selling her nature-inspired bracelets at the local farmer's market, which evolved into Shane adding some leatherwork and building a website.  The business continues to grow thanks to the support of loyal customers who both enjoy seeing and visiting with at all of the markets and shows.  Both feel that creating things is a part of who they are- it's something that helps them feel at ease and also challenges them to incorporate novel designs and ideas to keep customers excited to check out their creations.  Each creation has a story written by Kassie to tell about the inspiration and feelings behind the piece.  According to the couple, details are crucial-just as in nature so many details exist if we stop and look around long enough to appreciate such brilliance.

~To the Moon and Back~

~To the Moon and Back~

As dusk set in, a tiny soul's eyelids began to close. But, not before the small voice uttered, "I love you to the moon." The comforting soul very close responded light-heartedly with a soft whisper, "I love you to the moon and back." 477,800 miles... this is the approximate distance of a round trip to the moon and back. As humans, we are constantly trying to quantify things such as how much we love another- as the beloved saying goes, " I love you to the moon and back." Now, just imagine that incredible journey if one could travel straight up to the moon, touch it, and return. Sensory experiences one can only imagine in dreams, intertwined with the exciting feelings of experiencing something magnificent for the first time. No wonder why we attempt to measure the greatest treasure on earth with such an exuberant journey! Labradorite is the star of this bracelet to provide strength and perseverance throughout an ever-changing journey all the way to the moon and back.

Wander~Lust

Wanderlust~ A strong desire to travel.

 

I have met so many people that always talk about going places and making plans to travel and see new places it is inspiring. There is the desire in almost everyone to see new things, make footprints in new places and explore.

Sadly most of the ones I have met always find a reason not to go. There are always reasons you shouldn't go but doesn't the call of adventure and experience of new things, places and people drive you to do so? I have traveled somewhat in my life. The furthest I have been is Australia. When I was growing we would take road trips every year. See new places, try new things. My wife and I have planned out many trips but usually life happens and we have to put our plans on hold for the big adventures. We have two kids that are getting old enough to travel. In the last few years we have taken mini vacations and explored everything we can around us. We load up our kayaks or paddle boards (we always have our fishing stuff) and drive to anywhere we haven't been or our favorite spots. We enjoy doing this but we long to see places we have never seen. Make footprints in the sandy beaches that get washed away. Watch the sunrise or sunset across the ocean. There are always reasons to stay close to home, and we have to live within our budget. We have created a list of all the places we want to see. My wife will take her materials with when we go and make as many bracelets as she can along the way. We want to share the world with our kids and show them that the world has so many places and different things to see and experience. There are several people around us that don't have to worry as much about the "budget" and could go see anywhere they want. They always talk about going but always find the reason why they shouldn't. Shouldn't we find the reasons why we should? Life is so short there are many places we may not get to see. We make a list of all the reasons why we should go and try not to think of why we shouldn't. With kids it is harder, we want to give the a life better than we had growing up and share the world with them. It is hard to save up with life always happening but soon we hope to share pictures of the places we see and where we have taken our paddle boards with our kids and our dog Meeko. He is the third dog my wife and I have had. Our other two dogs were rescue dogs like Meeko and take them everywhere with us. Sometimes they can be a pain with kids in the car all of our stuff, but they are part of our family.

 

We want to share this because there are always reasons why we shouldn't go and see new things but why not focus on the reasons why we should go and see new things. You always gain a new perspective on life when you travel, talk to different people and experience life in a setting different than what you have always known. Granted there is comfort in staying where you are and not doing this but where would the world be if everyone was this way? We look back in history and wish we could have lived in a different time, but we are here and know we need to make the best of our lives that we have. We want to share our passion for travel and adventure with you and hope you inspire you to take that adventure however small and experience the world around you. Yes I am sitting at my computer typing this, it is the middle of the week, kids in school and work. Each weekend we load up our car and drive to somewhere that we can explore and find new places to paddle board on. Several of the lakes that we have taken them to I know we are some of the first to do so. They are hard places to get to and it is a lot of extra gear to pack in. It is worth it to try to be the first ones to do something. We are truly Wanderlust and are exploring and traveling every chance we get. Each year our trips get longer and we do more things.

 

The world seems small with the internet and being able to see anywhere at the click of a mouse. We don't want to look at pictures we want to take the picture and share them.

 

Kickassie's Adventures: Kickassieskreations store info and links

Kickassie's Adventures: Kickassieskreations store info and links: www.kickassieskreations.com handmade bracelets inspired by nature. This is a preview of what is on our online store. We go to the mount...

Kickassie's Adventures: Tired of the cookie cutter non living life? Why no...

Kickassie's Adventures: Tired of the cookie cutter non living life? Why no...:  Are you tired of the cookie cutter life that everyone wants and expects? I know we have been very frustrated by so many people telling ...

Experiencing Freedom

Freedom. What does that mean? It means a lot of different things to many people. To us it means experiencing life when there are no distractions and we can just exist. Kayaking and paddle boarding are two things we do as often as we can to experience this. When we go I shut my phone off so we don't have the distraction of work. We drive to wherever the road and our Xterra takes us. Usually it is a mountain lake or river. Sometimes it is the drive that is most enjoyable. The weather can be beautiful here one minute and turn to rain or snow within an hour any time of year. So we have learned to enjoy every part of our trips. Even with the kids and the dog in our car we can find freedom and forget the world.

We take our paddle boards and pump them up when we get to somewhere that looks like it would be fun to take them out on. Sometimes we take them out when we probably shouldn't but it does make good memories. When I was working my last job I worked 90 hours a week and when I had a day off we did what ever we could to enjoy the time we had. One time we were up in the snowy range and the wind was blowing hard for Wyoming. My wife said I shouldn't take my kayak out but I hadn't had a day off in over a month was going to enjoy it. The paddle across the lake was nice the wind at my back the waves helping push me across this high mountain glacier fed lake. When I reached the other side and turned around it was not as pleasant. The waves were coming over my kayak soaking me. The wind in my face with the water spraying it. It seemed to take for ever to get back. When I did I was soaked and almost frozen. It was enjoyable and I will never forget it. I will probably not do it on a day like that again but it was worth it to be out and away from everything and just be part of the water.

The first time we took our kayaks out was in early October before they closed the road over the mountain. They came in and the next day we strapped them to the top of our Xterra and headed up. When we got there it was snowing. We had plenty of clothes on and took them out on the lake. Our daughter was 4 and went with (we all had lifejackets, it is a must here with the glacier fed lakes) and enjoyed paddling in the snow. It was the only time we took them out that year but it was late and most people we told thought we were nuts. Maybe we are but we try to enjoy ourselves and make memories that we can talk about.

With our paddle boards the wind affects them a little more than the kayaks. We have tried to be more selective on where we go. The thunder storms have been extreme this year and many times we have  gone we only got to enjoy the ride and getting a coffee in the little mountain town that is on the way. We had always talked about getting paddle boards and finally saved up enough to do so. We have them loaded in our car whenever we go anywhere and if we see a spot that looks good we get them out. With the job I have currently I get to enjoy my family a lot more and do things more often with them.

Getting out into nature and doing things that we enjoy is what freedom is for us. We still have bills and have to work but we escape as often as we can and enjoy our slice of freedom.

Bear Lake, Fishing and Paddle boarding

This post is to share our trek into Bear Lake. It is probably not the Bear Lake many of you know of or are thinking of. This one is nestled into the heart of the Snowy Range. It sits ar over 10,000 feet in elevation and has a beautiful rock cliff that skirts one side of the lake. On this side the lake dives down very deep. Those that are daring leap from them into the very chilly mountain water. We however did not do this when we were up there because there was a chill in the air and there where several small thunderstorms that kept rolling through. We decided that it would be best to stay on our paddle boards and try to get the fish to bite. We have been up there several times and with the clear water you can watch the fish follow your fly or lure up and then turn away without even hitting it. We tried every lure that we have and several of the flies that I have tied that look like the bugs and shrimp. Still nothing. After a failed attempt at fishing we blew up our boards and decided to play. We did not all go out at once since we had Meeko with us and the kids. It is hard enough to balance with the dog running around the board without adding a kid into the mix. So we took turns letting Meeko run around and explore and playing on our ten toes boards. 

We spent most of the day at the lake and had nice picnic. We took Meeko out on the board and he loved it. He is the type of dog that will go anywhere and try anything with us. Meeko loves exploring and trying to knock us off balance on our boards. This day he decided he would just lay down and relax after being out and exploring around the lake and chasing us along the bank. We let our daughter try out one of the boards. She did quite well but we suggested that she stay on her knees or sitting since the water is cold and it was her first time out. She picked it up as quick as her mom and enjoyed the day. Now we need to get her a ten toes nano board. We may wait until next year since it is mid August and here the leaves are starting to change. It is sad to see them since our summers are so short and it seems like they slip away too quickly. 

While we were up playing Kas was inspired to make a bracelet. It is the one that is featured in the first picture here and is rightly named the Bear Lake bracelet. Her business is up and going strong and she is enjoying the freedom of being able to let her creative side shine. She has always made things, she enjoys sculpting things from clay, painting and anything else that she can mold into what her mind thinks up. She has recently created a two web shops one at www.kickassieskreations.com and the other on estsy, https://www.etsy.com/shop/Kickassieskreations?ref=search_shop_redirect. Take a look and see what she has to offer and look for her at art festivals, farmers markets and craft bazaars. We hope you enjoy what she makes.