2009 ESSENCE Festival

Me and my sister at the 2009 ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans, LA. Yes, she is my sister that I locked several years ago and due to unresolved medical issues she had to cut all of her locks. Mercy!!! That's another post in itself, she was not happy about having to cut her locks but she still maintains natural hair by wearing a short natural. She is still very beautiful!!!

We had a very good time in New Orleans and natural hair still rules. Carol's Daughter had a special store set up in the French Quarters just duing ESSENCE Festival and our group of 20+ must have spent two hours hanging out with the store employees and buying all kinds of hair products. Our husbands could not believe we hung out that long in one store...LOL! Carol's Daughter is the best, one of my cousins won a basket of products so those two hours were well worth it!!!

Given all of the excitement, laughter and entertainment, I think we'll have to do the ESSENCE Festival as a yearly event!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of my blog family! I've been away too long and thought I'd post a little pic of my locks. It's been three years and I'm still loving them!!! I'll be back soon to update you all on me and Praline .

All is well and life is funny because you go through different stages at different points of your life. Right now, Beignet and I have lots of energy flowing to keep up with two teenagers! And guess what???? We are living on total prayer because the world is waiting to gobble up our youth and we refuse to give in and be lazy parents. I'll save the rest of this story for another day.... LOL!!

I'll just leave you all with have a safe and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

It's a Small World

You know the saying...."it's a small world?" I found out this weekend that the saying is completely true. After a short hiatus from blogging I just had to get on this weekend and tell all of my lock family about my experience. Do you know the familiar face picture with me?

Ok, for those of you who don't know......it's Chocolocs and while in church on Sabbath she recognized Praline21 as she ushered during the service. Afterwards, Chocolocs found her way towards me, our eyes met, we immediately recogninzed each other and embraced like Celie & Nettie from the Color Purple!

Turns out that Chocolocs is also a Seventh-day Adventist and was in town for a wedding. She's friends with the Groom and I'm friends with the Bride, who is also member of my church. Wow, too much information but we just could not believe how this all took place. So, here she is all the way from Michigan for a wedding and ends up visiting my home church!!!! Can you believe it?

Chocolocs has the most beautiful head of locs, bright in color and a perfect bill of healthy locks. If I had to compare, I'd say hers looks exactly like Blaqkofi's and if the two of them were ever in the same room together....they'd be lock twins.

As for me, I'm just letting my 3 year old locks do their own thing, not much in to styles these days. I'm loving the flow of them as well as free styling due to my work out frequency of five days a week. Yep, I'm addicted and decided to make serious lifestyle changes including changing my diet. With that lifestyle change comes the convenience of wearing locks!

Chocolocs, it was a pleasure meeting you, your locs are to die for and I hope to see you again in the near future.

DFW Lock Gathering

Hi All,
We've received an overwhelming request to get together soon, I believe it's Spring Fever! Everyone is so busy with work, family and whatever else is going on in our lives but it's time for us to celebrate ourselves! I'm sure everyone will have new Do's, new Color, new Locked Heads and lots of New Growth! We'll be introducing our newly locked sisters and a whole lot more fun!
It was recommended that we try MiCocina's, so come on out and join us at the following http://www.mcrowd.com/micocina_wv.shtm location: Reservation Name is Creyole so be on time to get a good seat!

Where: MiCocina West Village
3699 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, TX

When: Sunday, March 30th

Time: 1:00 - 3:30 PM

Phone: 469.533.5663

RSVP: ASAP by leaving a comment or email me directly at creyole@gmail.com

Newest Lockee - Before and After

This post is long overdue! I was honored to lock a new full set of locks on Educator, Mrs. A last month. She was a thrill to spend 10 hours with while locking her 6 inches of beautiful hair.

Normally, I would have blogged about this the day after but I've been waaaay to busy to find time to get to it. Finally, I'm posting right before our lock gathering this coming weekend and Mrs. A will be joining us.

So, when you see her make sure you give her a great big welcome to our lock family! Mrs. A. is such a quick learner, she did her own braidout after she was fully locked.

God, Husband, Children, Work, Locks...

Thanks to all of my lock buddies for checking on me, I'm still around but who has time for locks? I don't even think I've taken a pic of my locks recently. I hope to make time soon and post on how my teenage locks are progressing...

I'm having to re-evaluate my life and prioritize what goes where. Since starting my locking hobby six months ago I've had to trim back clients like crazy. Part of me feels guilty and then another feels like I must use the extra time for my family.


Left - Ms Praline pictured with Ms. Irma P. Hall (Mama Jo from the movie Soul Food) where Rachel opened a local play and Ms. Hall made an appearance in the play. Read more Here

Ms. Praline is taking off with her mad schedule and Mr. Roux is in High school and we're tackling teenage life and girls. Whew, that's worth wanting to home school but then we'd have the same issues during college. Better to deal with it sooner than later.


Left - Mr. Roux wins King of his 9th grade class and he's going through the cool stage with his semi-smile while posing with one of his classmates.

Parenting is the most difficult job I've ever had in my life. I just hope we're making the right decisions in every chapter of their lives. Such a challenge!

I feeling the need of a Dallas Gathering!

Bermuda

Praline was invited to Bermuda to sing in the annual Bermuda Institute Christmas program. She did three traditional Christmas solos and there were six other groups/soloists that performed along with the Bermuda choir and Steel Band. You can read a little about her own experience here. Of course, she needed a chaperon so I had to tag along!

While there, the first day I woke to this beautiful rainbow...I love rainbows because of its spiritual message to me and took this picture from where we were staying. (Genesis 9:16 (Whole Chapter) "When the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it. I will remember that my covenant will last forever. It is a covenant between me and every kind of living thing on earth." Genesis 9:17 (Whole Chapter) So God said to Noah, "The rainbow is the sign of my covenant. I have made my covenant between me and all life on earth.")

The weather was chilly and the humidy was wonderful to our locks, pretty much had to freestyle the entire time and it worked well.

New York 2007

Praline and I visited New York last month and once again...New York did not disappoint me.

The Christmas spirit was in the air and we hit all of the tourist hot spots until the weee hours of the night!

I love New York!!!

Another SDA Sister Locked Up!

What you say??? What you say? Finally, after months of following blogs, researching locks and meeting several of the DFW SL ladies while out and about.... she did it! And guess what, she did them all by herself, well with just a little help from your 13 year old with parting. (SDA = Seventh Day Adventist)

I was so proud to see her when she showed up church sportin those baby locks! KR also locked her husband's hair almost two years ago and then two weeks are another one of our church members liked hers so much she asked her to do them for her too.

I went with a freestyle today only beacuse I'm crazy during this time of year and can't find time to put my Wrap-a-locks in. I miss my WAL

KR - Big Shout out to ya!!! Maybe you'll join us in Blogdom. hint...hint!

Meet Mrs. Vickie

Mrs. Vickie and I met at one of our favorite pass times....Costco! She and her sister who also wears locks were strolling through when we all made eye contact and instantly complimented each other on our locks. From there is was on!

I've retightened her traditional locks several times now and she is such a delight to spend time talking to while taking care of our lock business. You'll never guess her age and she'll kill me if I even tried to speak it....trust me she should be proud cause she really takes good care of herself and she definitely does not look her age. You go Mrs. Vickie!!!

Love YA!
Creyole

It's a Family Affair!

Pictured from left to right, Twinky (my niece), Mrs Dee (my sister, Twinky's mom), Me and Praline.

We are all locked up and loving it. We visited many places over the holiday and everyone thought our locked family was just too adorable. Toot toot......

Another Grooming

My sister decided she needed to have a grooming to remove the frizz. We did it and she loved it! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

I prefer no frizz, how about you?

Mrs Dee and Twinky are now riding high in the winds with new locks and grooming.

Peace

Guess Who Got Locked?

My 12 year old niece Twinky came to visit over the Thanksgiving holiday and her father, my brother-outlaw, gave her the thumbs up to lock her hair after watching his wife, my sister, over the past year. He loves her hair!!!

Twinky has about four inches of natural hair and two to three inches of permed ends, hair type 2 with a major "S" curl. Please give her a shout out!

You can view her new blog here

Thomasa II

I could not allow my friend to go into labor and delivery with "lock frizz." Most of us know how pregnancy can take a toll on our body, soul & spirit and we sometimes cannot do all of the Supermom stuff we always do. Soooooo.........

Today, I made Thomasa come in for a long overdue grooming. And look at the outcome, after three 2 1/2 hours ..what a difference! Her DH even called me when she returned home and told me how much he loved her new look! I was very pleased and proud my self.

I made her commit to coming at least every six months or so since she does her own retightening. Look at those beautiful locks that were hiding underneath all the frizz!

Photo 1 - Thomasa before grooming
Photo 2 - Half groomed head
Photo 3 - Fully groomed head
Photo 4 - Fully groomed head

Wrap-A-Lock IV

Pic of my three week old Wrap-a-Lock style and I have to wash now because cleaning my scalp with astringent can only do so much for me. Otherwise, my curls would last a lot longer.

Included is my recent Wrap-A-Lock install. When she saw my wrapped locs she immediately ordered her packages of Wrap-A-Locks because she knew she wanted to wear hers for a while before taking them down.

Talk about confidence, she is a Director working in Corporate America and would be attending a meeting the next morning, with her Wrap-A-Lock tools. How cool is that?

I forgot to take her before pic (I know) but here's what we did with her five year old Sisterlocks:

1. She has 10-11 inches
2. We used 6 packages (120) of Medium length Wrap-A-Lock tools on her 360 Sisterlocks
3. I wrapped 2 -3 locks on each Wrap-A-Lock Tool using foam mousse

It took her a couple of days getting used to the short length but other than that, she was very pleased with the finished product.

I hope to see her soon so I can get a pic of her take down. It's a process and because she chose to keep the wraps in I had to show her how to take them out so her curl would be the way it was designed by Sis Nandi. More to come on her take down results...

Remember Thomasa?

Many ask about Thomasa, she being the dedicated teacher she is, does not have enough time to update her blog and hold down her motherly duties to their 2 1/2 children. Yep, she is pregnant and her family is soooo excited!

Anywho, here she is 1.8 years later sporting her Braidlocks. I told her she will need a grooming soon, she can hardly keep up with her retightenings because of the hair growth resulting from the pregnancy.

Her hair is really spongy so it appears to be shorter than it actually is will pulled downard. So there you are

For those of who do not remember Thomasa, here is the pic of the braidlocks from our install day.

Wrap A Loc Takedown

I know what you are thinkning, "what took so long?" Well, I can't explain it all but long story short, I was ill last week and did not take pics of the first day of my takedown. Here are pics of day three though. Yes, these pics were taken three days after my first take down!!!!

The first day, curls were tighter and funky looking. Not that I look for compliments, but they sure did come like I've never had them before. My hair was a conversation piece for the day, and I took full advantage of educating all who inquired.

I plan on setting them again soon and I will be sure to post pics of the first day takedown. I LOVE WRAP A LOCS!!!

Wrap a Lock Question & Answer

I left out some details on my install wrap post so lets's begin the question and answer post:

Brenda asked:

In your opinion, is it easy to do with just written instructions or would the dvd be necessary? Also I see the site recommends one look per tool. With Sisterlocks that could be quite impractical. Were you satisified with your results? And how many wrap-a-loc tools do you think would be necessary for a full set? Lastly, from the description it seemed like I'd need medium length tools. My hair falls just beneath my collarbone, not quite to my bra strap in back. Is medium the right size? Would you recommend all one size or the variety pack?

Creyole:

1. Yes, the tools are easy to use and the instructions are quite technical so taking the class was better for me because I am a visual person. If you order the CD you should not have any problems.
2. Depends on the size of your lock, I used three on each tool to achieve my look. If your locks are smaller than mine you could easily use 4 -5 locks per tool.
3. I used medium size tools with my lenght and I was very satisfied with the results. See my latest post.
4. The number of locks you have will depend on the number of tools so you have to do the math. Count your locks and divide by 4 or 5 depending how many locks you will use and that will give the number to tools you will need and you can then better determine which pack will best suit you.
5. Also, I used the foam setting lotion by Krinkles & Kurls but any foam lotion will suffice.

TRA: Do you think you will add this to your services if a person has there on tools with them (hint hint hint)?

Creyole: Most Definately, already got them lined up!

GovGirl: Did you dampen your hair before wrapping? If so, I'll bet you have a head full of cute curls!

Creyole: Yes, I used Krinkles & Kurls, but any foam mousse will work

Brunsli: How long did it take, and how many locks did you use for each one?

Creyole: It took approx two hours to install using three to four locks on each tool

Naturalist1:

Is it easy to use? Do you use any setting lotion, etc. I might just have to purchase the DVD and tools. I will decide once I see how your hair will come out.

Creyole: I sure hope you like my reuslts cause I sure do! Yes, its very easy to use and purchasing the DVD and instruction kit will probably be all you need!

Wrap A Locks III

I enjoyed my wrapped locks so much I wore them for fours days and attended a company function with them wrapped towards my face for a little bang look.

Wrap-A-Lock II

So here are my pics of my wrapped locks and they feel very comfortable. Usually, when anything tight is in/on my head I get instant headaches. Not this time and when I arrived home, Ms. Praline asked me to do her hair just like mine!!! I love it and so happy she wanted to be my first experiment

It's hair styles like this that makes a Sistah want to really put on a pair a Afrocentric earrings!!

I'll post on my take out look.. who knows how long that will be I'm loving this look?

Thanks Sistah Nandi for you beautiful invention!!!!

Wrap-A-Loc Class I

I had the awesome opportunity of taking the Wrap A Loc class given by inventor and instructor Sistah Nandi. Sistah Nandi has the most humble, pleasant, professional and spiritual personality and it was a pleasure to work with her as she shared and motivated each of on how to use her tool.

She began the class by introducing her special model Zandi, (spelling), Zandi's locks are actual locks that Sistah Nandi cut from her own head. Yes, she is not much into length so when she cut her locks she decided to use them to help with instruction in her classes. Cool huh?

During the class, Sistah Nandi allowed us to put the tools in our own hair and due to the several lengths throughout my head I had to use multiple sizes of the wrap tool. The four locks in the front are locks I put in myself...I think I did a ok job.

I was totaly impressed with such a wrap tool and I plan to wear mine for a couple of days before removing. These are my sample Wrap-A-Loc pics, more to follow....

Nappy Hair Affair

After the Wrap-A-Loc class, Linda a.k.a. Mosetta, held a Nappy Hair Affair session and many people came to get their hair done...for free. Some came as far as Killeen, TX. We did each others hair as we ate snacks and shopped for cute Nappy items.


Sistah Nandi proceeded to complete my whole head and I somewhat assisted. What a real "jewel" she is, I totally enjoyed fellowshipping with she and all the ladies today.

The up close pic of the completed head appeared to me as curly traditional locks. I love the look and will sport it to work tomorrow. Below is amy new buddy who has Sisterlocks turned Traditional locks..... but she uses a tool to retighten.

Newly Locked Client

Here she is Mrs. RJQueen10
our locking session was delightful and I can't wait to see what those babies will look like in a year.

Check out her post Here

Happy Belated Birthday!!!!

"A Tribute to Jena 6"

*****Don't forget to wear your Black*****We so dearly want to participate in the March for Jena, LA six on September 20th but can't due to prior engagements. We will however be there in spirit because our family members will be representing! So, we decided to share this video as a tribute to the young men from Creyole's family!

It's so Good going Home!

We went home (down in the bayou) recently and I had the privilege of being the "Matron of Honor" in my cousin wedding. I was the oldest thing in the wedding and realized how old I really am after hanging with them youngsters. Whew, they can go!

During the reception I was able to meet up with some of my relatives and friends that I had not seen in a while. Everyone knows everyone in my little town and I am related to over 80% of the people because both of my parents are from there so this was really like a family reunion.

This picture is especially near and dear to my heart because Mrs. Lee was my High School Coach. We share so many memories and seeing her makes me proud to say she is 62 years old and still looking good as ever. Besides being the best coach a girl could ever have, Coach Lee will never know the impact she had on my life by helping to guide me to make good decisions. Like never accepting any of my boyfriends except for Beignet. She would point out every wrong thing about a guy that she even remotely thought I was interested in and would make me think twice until it just faded away. One in particular, I was totally in love with and he is now a crackhead. She always reminds me "remember when you dated him..... (lol) Oh please, I know everyone one of ya'll know at least one crackhead.

On a hair note, all of my family members that teased me about my locks were very complimentary about my updo for the wedding. I could tell many were wondering what in the world I was going to do with my hair because I was free styling the day before not knowing how I would make any style work for the wedding until I got in the mirror and started working my babies.

For all of my SDA sisters, yes I'm wearing earrings and a necklace....I compromised for my cousin! My ears are still stinging from them forcing the earrings through my virgin ears of 17 years. It was the worse thing trying to get those earrings in until another cousin suggested that I put them in from the back then go through the front. I could not beleive it, it worked!





The only thing I hated about this trip home were the "Love bugs," the dreadful, annoying bugs that come out in the fall and fly all around you, land on you, get stuck on cars and when you try to clean them off, some of the paint comes off your car too! Do you guys know what love bugs are? If not, be thankful cause I don't know how I did it growin up there.