Lisa Leonard Designs

Archive for the ‘inspiration’ Category

Cameron Ingalls

June 18th | blog friends, inspiration, photography

Did you see our new summer collection? Oh my goodness, it speaks to my heart. I hope it speaks to yours, too! We have a photographer on staff and she’s seriously amazing {we love you, Alex!} but the day of our photo shoot she got really, really sick. Our friend Cameron Ingalls jumped in and handled the summer shoot for us–how amazing is that?!

I thought it would be fun to tell you about the first time I met Cameron. I already knew he was. I mean, he’s an incredible, world famous photographer. He also happens to live in the same town as us, and we have mutual friends. I kept hoping I would meet him. And then one day it happened!

My family was having dinner at Del’s Pizzeria {so yummy if you’re in the area!} and as we were leaving someone came up behind me and asked if I was Lisa Leonard. I replied that I was and he introduced himself as Cameron Ingalls. It is cheesy to tell you that I was a little starstruck? Well–it’s the truth. He is so talented. I got a little tongue tied to be honest!

 A lot has happened since our chance meeting at Del’s that night. Our families have become friends and we’ve had many opportunities to work together on projects.

Cameron has a magazine called Wedding Standard {I know, he’s amazing, right?!} And we got to do a spread on cake toppers.

Last Father’s Day we interviewed him for our series ‘What rocks about being a dad‘. It was a breakfast shoot at their adorable home.

I was a guest speaker for a workshop he held here in San Luis Obispo and I also created some styled shoots for the photographers.

And last but certainly not least, he’s taken our family photos the last couple of years for Christmas. These photos are so precious to me!

 Make sure to check out his blog and like his facebook page. And of course, you can see the beautiful photos he took for our summer collection here.

{thank you, Cameron. you rock!}

hello monday {remnants of the past}

June 17th | blog friends, events, inspiration, san luis obispo

Hello friends! Hello brand new week! Today I’m sharing pics of the Remnants of the Past show. What A FUN day it was. It was also a very windy day. VERY windy. But mostly it was just fun. I’m honored that I got to be part of it.

Jen of Earth Angels Studios carries our heartfelt collection–so I made an appearance at the event to chat about our jewelry with guests of the show. It was so fun. The ladies were so incredibly excited to hear my story and talk about the jewelry.

That’s Jen on the left–one of the most FUN, energetic and smart women I know. And that’s Ben the owner of Folk Magazine on the right. We’ve worked together before–but I hadn’t met him until that weekend. And he’s incredible. Loved him.

I’m sure you all know Jo Packham of Where Women Create, Where Women Cook and more. I haven’t seen her in a couple years and it was great to get some time together. This woman is seriously amazing.

I also got to know Laurie Meseroll of Mudcakes. This woman’s got style and spunk. I tried not to ask her nerdy questions, like ‘how do you get your eyeliner to look so awesome?’. Play it cool, Lisa, play it cool.

Ruby Rose dressed me for the event with a super fun crinoline, eyelet dress and cardi. I love Ruby Rose!!

I was so inspired at the end of the day. Amazing business people, incredible artists and more vintage finds than a person can handle. Pretty much perfect, don’t you think?

How about some hellos for a new week?

Hello SUMMER! We are in full summer mode around here. That means lazy mornings, frozen yogurt and trips to the beach. Love.

Hello trying to squeeze in a little work here and there. {when I’d rather just play!!}

Hello quick trip to Dallas at the end of the week. I hate to leave my boys but I can’t wait to see my nieces!

Hello brand new summer collection. I’m incredibly excited about it. And many pieces are limited edition–so hurry over to check it out.

Hello party planning. We’re having a celebration for Steve’s doctorate and David’s birthday is right around the corner.

Hello pancakes. I’ve been making them almost every morning–with lots of chocolate chips.

Hello love! I’m so glad you’re here!

Hello Monday! What are you saying hello to this week? Leave some hellos in the comments section for us.

diy: customized jars

June 11th | DIY, inspiration

Ready for a super cute DIY? I love that this project reuses items I already have around the house. And it takes something ordinary and makes it lovely. Perfect!

materials:

-empty glass jars

-decorative paper

-modge podge glue

-paint brush

-scissors

 

Soak the jars in warm soapy water to remove the labels. If some of the bottles have the dates stamped on them, you can easily remove them with nail polish remover.

Next cut out a circle roughly an inch larger than the lid.

Glue the lid to the center and cut little slits around the perimeter of the paper. Make sure the back side of the paper is covered in glue and then fold the tabs over.

Seal the outside of the paper with a thin layer of glue… let it dry… and then fill your jars with pretty things!

I think these would make adorable spice jars. And they’re perfect for holding Q-tips and cotton balls in the bathroom, too! What other uses can you think of?

fun uses for clip on earrings

June 6th | DIY, inspiration, thrifting, what I'm wearing

While thrifting recently I’ve been drawn to clip on earrings. While I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them–I couldn’t resist the 25 cent price tag and the bright colors. I’ve been dreaming up a few ideas to share with you–so here goes!

The first on is clip on earrings turned colorful magnets…

Materials:

-pliers or snips

-magnets

-strong craft glue

-clip on earrings

Remove the backs of the earrings with pliers or snips. If the earrings are plastic the entire back will most likely come off. If the earrings are metal, just cut off as much as you can to make the back a flat surface.

Apply a little bit of glue and attach the earring!

A word of warning… when you are glueing the magnets on, make sure to keep them far away from each other, otherwise, if the glue isn’t dry, they may be attracted to each other.

Next idea is so simple but it really adds a ton of fun to an outfit–turn clip on earrings into shoe clips!

The right clip on was rubbing just a tiny bit against my foot so I put some moleskin over it to make it more comfortable. So fun, right?

And lastly–clip on earrings turned collar detail. I think this is a fun alternative instead of a necklace.

Buttoning the shirt all the way to the top gave it a fun, vintage feel.

Now I’m on the hunt for more vintage clip on earrings. I can’t wait to think of more creative ways to use them, how about you?

before and after: conference room

May 28th | decorating, DIY, inspiration, thrifting

I am so excited to give you a little peak into my studio! For a while now we have been wanting to spruce up the conference room and I am thrilled to share the before and after with you! This is a small room set aside for meetings with clients, wholesale accounts, weekly manager meetings and that type of thing. The lights overhead are fluorescent and the room doesn’t get much natural light at all. Basically the space was just blah. It needed some warmth and personality brought in!

We switched out the office-y chairs with some fun thrifted dining chairs. They add so much to the space!

Since there is only fluorescent lighting in the room, we brought in these thrifted lamps and used wire frame shades and Edison bulbs for some softer lighting.Have you ever seen Edison bulbs? They are so charming–and add some vintage fun to the space.

We wanted to revamp this room and keep the cost down so we printed large scale  paintings on blue print paper. It is so inexpensive and has a huge impact. We just photographed old oil paintings found at a thrift store and had them printed larger and in black and white. Each print was around $7 and you can get this done at your local office supply store. Awesome, right?

We finished the room off with an airy curtain panel from Urban Outfitters and another lamp shade frame over the table.

The space feels clean, open and welcoming. It’s a much better space for meeting clients and planning for the business. If I have to be in a meeting, it should be in a pretty place, don’t you think?

diy: jewelry stand

May 23rd | DIY, inspiration, jewelry

I am VERY excited to share this diy with you! And it is really simple to make! Are you ready??

Supplies used:

- tree slice (purchased at Michael’s)

- old spindles from the back of a thrifted chair (so fun and inexpensive!)

- flat copper wire

-finishing nails

- wood glue

All you have to do is mark where you want the spindles (you could also use wooden dowels from the craft store) and glue in place. Once the glue set, hammer a finishing nail through the bottom of the base into each spindle. Then you just wrap the tops with wire! It’s that simple! I loved using wire instead of string because it remains taught and it is easy to take on and off for easy access to the jewelry. You can make it however big or small you would like!

I’m ready to make another and get all my jewelry organized–how about you?!

DIY: mini poms

May 17th | DIY, inspiration

Ready for some inspiration?

 And wouldn’t a pom garland be fun? Are you ready to make some poms?!

craft weekend {part two}

May 14th | adventures, inspiration

I’ve got more pics to share from Meg’s craft weekend. Are you on the waiting list? It such a magical weekend!

Waking up in the craft house means it’s definitely going to be a happy day!

Map wall–love.

If you anything about Meg, you know she has a knack for COLOR.

Chrissie and I stopped on a long, quiet road and snapped a few pics. She is part of me, my twin sis–and a weekend away with her is a the best gift ever. I’m so thankful we both have husbands who pick up the slack and let us get away.

After craft weekend, Chrissie and I headed to Kerry’s dairy farm for some cousin time. We got a full tour of the farm. So fun!

I don’t like to play favorites, but a cow with a heart shaped mark on his head? Yeah, I totally fell for this one!

They have a loft above the barn where they host dances and weddings. Tons of white lights make it absolutely magical!

I got a tractor ride. Oh yes I did!

 An awesome treehouse! And Kerry’s husband Dan made the most AMAZING mexican dinner I have ever eaten. Pretty much perfection.

We thrifted our way to the airport on our last day there and I found two more adorable outfits–I can’t wait to share. And we stumbled on a diner with rocking strawberry cake. {Not that I’m eating sugar. Ahem!}

Tomorrow we fly to St. Louis for Steve’s graduation ceremony and I’ve been terribly sick with a stomach bug. After 5 days my doctor put me on antibiotics. I’ve got two days to get better. Send up a prayer for me?

DIY: Painted Rocks

May 10th | DIY, inspiration

Are you ready for another DIY? Oh this one is so sweet–and very simple! We picked up some dark, smooth stones and gold paint at Michael’s to create the personal, handmade favors for a wedding or party.

This copper paint is oil based–so a little goes a long way. It goes on super smooth and it dries beautifully. I also picked up a bottle of gold paint.

A fine paintbrush makes getting detailed designs easy. The freeform flowers might be my favorite. Or the chevrons. And wouldn’t a cursive initial be fun–one at each place setting?

Grouped together they make a stunning, artistic display.

Place one at each table setting and let the guests take them home. They make a perfect paperweight or place on top of napkins at an outdoor dinner to keep the breeze at bay.

The gold adds a bit of ‘fancy’ don’t you think?

 Have you painted anything lately? I can’t believe what a little paint can do–I’m pretty sure paint can change the world ;)

better TV, Kansas city {DIY segment}

May 8th | DIY, inspiration

While I was in Kansas last week, I did a DIY segment for Better TV, Kansas City. It was so fun! The host {also named Lisa} was such a sweetheart. Chrissie joined me and after the segment we stumbled on some awesome thrift stores. But more on that later!

For the segment we talked about DIY nail and string art, hand-stamped towels and hand-stamped silverware.

I’m being stretched and growing doing these morning segments on local TV stations. It’s been great for me personally and a fun, new opportunity for my brand. You can watch the Kansas City segment here {scroll down to ‘Lisa hows you how to make DIY gifts’}. And the good news? I hardly felt nervous at all this time–that’s progress!