Archive for the ‘inspiration’ Category

heaps of love necklace

February 9th | inspiration, jewelry

Sometimes I’ll be working on a piece–and it’s not coming out the way I planned. And then slowly, something else begins to emerge. And the piece seems to be almost making itself. When it’s finished, it’s completely different than the idea I began with. That’s what happened with this necklace–and I couldn’t be more excited about the results.

Heart upon heart stacked up to make the sweetest statement–i love you heaps and heaps. It’s regularly only $42 and today you can get and additional 15% off with code heaps15. Feel free to use the coupon for anything in our shop.

My husband heaps love on me by helping with the boys, holding my hand when we’re walking downtown, and working so hard for our family. My boys shower me with cuddles and kisses. And I have a few heart friends who sit with me and share with me and love me well. Has anyone given you a good helping of love lately?

hello monday {giveaway closed}

January 30th | hello monday, inspiration

Winners announced below!

Hello friends! It’s a new week and I have so much to share. Tomorrow we are introducing our newest line of jewelry and gifts that are filled to the tippy top with love. There are over 30 different pieces and seriously, I’ve never been so excited to introduce a line. The products are super unique and special. Here are some behind-the-scenes pics from our photo shoot last week.
So incredibly fun!

Let’s kick off the week with some hellos, and make sure to enter the giveaway below!
Hello lots of pics to edit, upload and get ready. We are working hard!

Hello Christan, our fabulous photographer {and so much more}

Hello Marijke and Hillary, our models. Marijke is our operations manager and Hillary works in customer service. Awesome girls.Hello sweet peas {some of my favorite flowers}

Hello sparkly nail polish

Hello sunny afternoons and a very chilly breezeHello packing for Thailand {it’s in the 90′s there}

Hello getting groceries and lists together for our friends who are babysitting

Hello planning a few blog posts just in case internet is spotty while we are travelingHello praying that David stays healthy while we are away

Hello getting ready to miss my boys terribly

Hello excited for some time away and being with my sweet husbandHello cupcakes {I had to taste one and make sure they were okay}

Hello seriously FUN and inspiring new products to share with you

Hello cake topper that has stolen my heart

Hello Monday! It’s a brand-new week with so much going on!

We are giving away a set of L-O-V-E cake toppers to TWO lucky readers. They are hand molded, hand-cast in fine pewter and absolutely darling. And they aren’t even available until tomorrow. Not planning a wedding? These are perfect for Valentine’s day, a bridal shower or birthday party.

Our randomly selected winners who will each recieve an L-O-V-E cake topper are…

Cami who said, “because ‘love’ is a word that you can never hear enough {or see enough}”

and

Alicia who said, “those are so special!!  I would use them to top the valentine pancakes (or anytime pancakes) of my 3 sweet boys and my absolutely loved-beyond-belief husband.  I don’t want a day to go by that they have to wonder how much they all mean to me.”

I absolutely loved hearing all your ideas for how to use them! Especially the pancakes idea and cheeses–so fun!

Cami and Alicia, I’ve emailed you! Thanks so much!

inspiring images; fall in love workshop

January 12th | inspiration

Remember how I told you about the inspiring photo shoots from the fall in love workshop and showed you this video? I finally have images to show you! It was such a magical time together. Four amazing and seriously sweet photographers came all the way from Sweden and with Cameron’s vision, we spent a few days together being creative and dreaming. I styled a couple of photo shoots and here are the results.

Here are the seriously talented vendors involved: Hair & Makeup: The Queens Bees /
Hair Pieces: Lo Boheme / Flowers: Adornments / Decor: Ruby Rose / Video: Joel VanZ / Venue: Flying Caballos Ranch / Stylist & Guest Speaker: Lisa Leonard Designs / Models: Megan & Mason.

When I’m feeling uninspired I browse around Pinterest, hop around my favorite blogs, and if I have an hour, walk around the cute shops downtown. Where do you go when you need inspiration?

more on my word: cherish.

January 5th | inspiration, jewelry

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want this year to look like. A big part of my stress and frustration with daily life is the lack of organization in our home. I’m the creative type so it’s easy for me to make excuses about keeping things in order. But when the the laundry mountain gets too tall and it’s 5:30pm and I still don’t know what’s for dinner, I’m not doing my creative energy, my family or myself any favors. I’m just overwhelmed.

And the awesome thing? A new year means a fresh start. A clean slate. A time for reflection and renewal. And it totally motivates me.

This year I plan to set aside time every day to keep the house in order and the fridge stocked.  With a little planning, I think I can actually save time and energy and have things run more smoothly.  So maybe my word for this year should have been organize or plan or homemaker. But my motivation to get things in order and to clear my mind is so that I have more energy to be with my boys.

I want to be present in the moment I’m in. I want to have a clear head with no nagging worries about the dishes or laundry. I know it won’t be perfect, but it can be better.

This year, I want to cherish the moment I’m in.

{Need inspiration to decide what your word is going to be? Check out this list on Ali Edward’s site}

one little word

December 30th | blog friends, inspiration

Can you believe it’s almost 2012?! Wow!

Which means it’s that time again. We are teaming up with the amazing Ali Edwards to inspire you and to finding meaning every day in 2012! You can read more about Ali’s one little word online class here! It’s going to be amazing.

My word this year is ‘cherish’. I want to soak up the moment I am IN and slow down a bit. I want to take more pictures and snuggle longer. I want to enjoy my family and let go of my to do list.

Check out our new word of the year necklace here. It’s the perfect piece to keep around your necklace to remind you about what’s important. Use coupon onelittleword for 15% off! Hurry, coupon expires Monday, January 2nd at midnight PST.

Are you choosing a new word for 2012? Share your word with us and tell us why it’s meaningful!

fall in love

December 27th | inspiration

Remember the fall in love workshop I told you about a while back? It was such a sweet, magical time to get to know some amazing women and get inspired. The workshop was created by Cameron Ingalls and I was thrilled to be involved and do the styling for a couple inspirational photo shoots.

You can see images from the shoots here and here. Seriously incredible.

Want to get inspired? Watch this video by Joel Vanz…

Cameron Ingalls – Fall in Love Workshop from Joel VanZ on Vimeo.

Models, Megan and Mason

Hair and makeup, The Queen Bees

Flowers, Adornments

Hair piece, La Boheme

Venue, Flying Caballos Ranch

Props and Styling, Lisa Leonard Designs and Ruby Rose

taking pictures; the collins family

December 8th | inspiration, photography

A couple weeks ago I spent some time with some close friends of ours shooting some pics for them. Since I am not a professional photographer, a lot of what I do it trial and error. They were very patient with me as I tried to get my settings right. I used my nikon D5000 and a 18-125ml lens. Here are a few of my favorite pics from our afternoon together…
Thank you Collins family for letting me capture the love and happiness in your family. I love you guys!

We took our family pics with Cameron and Anna Ingalls–and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Does your family try to take a picture together for the holidays?

clay ornaments

December 6th | DIY, inspiration

hi there
Matthias and I had so much fun with a bucket of air dry clay and cookie cutters! We rolled our the clay on wax paper and poked holes with a straw. Let them dry for a day or two and then add twine. So easy!

Do you have any Christmas crafting planned?

cottages and bungalows magazine feature!

November 10th | decorating, inspiration

i am so thrilled that our fireplace and mantel are featured in the current issue of cottages and bungalows magazine.

you’ve got to pick up a copy at your local grocery store or bookshop, or online. it’s full of fun creative ideas.

for the mantel, i tore fabric into strips and hot-glued them to cone shaped foam in various sizes.

i picked fun colors to brighten up the room and make it cheery.

i also picked up some candlestick holders and small plates at our local $1 store. I glued them together and spray painted them white to look like vintage milk glass. they turned out so dang cute–and they only cost $2 each and make a big impact!

i hung a ‘merry’ banner across our thrifted mirror and hung stocking ornaments in the corner. it’s all so happy and fun it makes me want to skip thanksgiving all together. well almost, i love thanksgiving sweet potatoes.

today and tomorrow we are offering a special on our brand new stocking ornaments! use code stocking15 for 15%. such a keepsake–i love it! click here to shop.

and hop over to cottages and bungalows FB page and ‘like’ them. thank you cottages and bungalows!

fear and finding peace

November 8th | david, inspiration, thoughts

Things have been a little crazy around here for the last couple months. It’s mainly focused around David’s burst of new activity and trying new things. It’s incredibly exciting so see him climbing stairs, standing on tables {yikes} and clearing out the cupboards. Every day it seems like he’s trying something new–and it makes my heart so happy to see him grow and learn and succeed.

But there’s another part of me that struggles with change. I have to watch him more–a lot more. The more independent he gets, the less independence I have. And while that’s a phase with toddlers and preschoolers, it will be likely be life-long for our family. The other day while I was driving to meet my sister I was trying to sort through all my emotions. Why am I not overjoyed with David’s progress? What is going on with me?

And then the word hit me like a ton of bricks. Fear. Fear that my life will stop and will completely revolve around his needs. Fear that as David gains independence I won’t be able to keep him safe. What if he climbs up something and falls down and really gets hurt? What if he opens a door when I’m not looking and gets out of the house? What if we’re no longer able to eat out or have friends over because David takes too much of our time and attention?

Recognizing my own fear helps to stop me from falling into a spiral. Today may be difficult in ways, but today is manageable. Today is beautiful. Today we are busy with David’s needs but I get time to sneak away and be with friends. We have people over for dinner often. I have time to create and dream and get inspired.

Last week I met Chrissie in Carpinteria for a sister day and it was like food for my soul. It was so good.

Time with her wipes away fear and helps me to regain perspective. Maybe since we are identical twins, I’m actually more myself when we are together? A day away last week was just what I needed to refresh, recharge and get inspired.  And truthfully, coming home I am ready to give all I am to my boys. I’m ready to celebrate David’s success. I’m less fearful and more whole.

We are all facing challenges in our life–small or big. How are you coping with fear and finding peace these days?