shout out :: no. 1

Shout outs. Brownie Points. Props. Hollas. Kudos.

This is my blog, so I'm going to take the opportunity to brag a little...but it's not about me. I want to tell you about some of the really cool, super creative, talented people I know. Because they are inspiring. Because they are like me - trying to make it in the {sometimes difficult} world of small business. Because you may need a photographer, a designer, handmade children's clothes...or a vintage dress. You just never know! My goal is to introduce you to someone once a week - for as long as I can ...

We had the pleasure of meeting Andrew & Anjula Caldwell last summer - only a couple of weeks after Silas was born. I worked with them on a necklace that I designed for a couple that had recently been engaged. They had photographed the couple for their engagement photos and I made a pendant out of one of their photos - you can see it here. Andrew & Anjula visited my blog, saw that I was expecting and asked about photographing Silas to build their baby portfolio. So glad we said yes. This was the first {& only} time we have ever had professional photographs done. What a treat! Now, I'm just a little sad we didn't do it when Elliot was a babe.

They came to our home on Father's Day. They spent several hours getting to know us, playing with Elliot...all the while conscious of our feeding/changing/sleeping schedule for Silas. It was such a nice, relaxed time - and we were thrilled with the final photographs.

It seems like a lifetime ago now...








You can see some more of our photos on the Caldwell's blog. If you live in So. Cal and are in need of a photographer, we HIGHLY recommend them. What a beautiful couple - it's so fun to see couples work together. Lance and I could never {I know...never say never} do it...but they pull it off very well!

making a trip to the dentist fun!

I'm not a big fan of going to the dentist - if you knew me in high school, you know why. Lots of orthodontic work, several surgeries and some intense dental work on my front four teeth made me seriously loathe going, much less making an appointment. Yesterday, I found a way to make it fun {no, really!}. I scheduled a morning appointment in Newport Beach, grabbed our good friends and we headed south.


The sweet little girl is Elliot's BFF - Greta Grace - but Elliot calls her Grettie. They spend at least two days a week with each other because her mama and I swap watching each others' kiddos. And at least another day together at church. So, they are becoming a little like brother and sister -- you know, in the way of Elliot beating up on her -- just like big brothers do. Today, he started out the morning by giving her a flower he picked from my bouquet at home {his idea} but ended up taking it from her and hitting her with it. We're working on that... ;)

It was a lovely day - started out cloudy, but the sun peeked through just as I was walking out from my dentist appointment. We hung out at the park, took the ferry to Balboa Island and had a picnic on the beach. It was quite windy, so there was a definite chill in the air, but sunny nonetheless. And the dentist said no root canal for now...that made for an even better day!

Remember - 'hugs' discount code is good through February 12th.

Hope to see you tonight at Averyboo Arts - from 6pm - 8pm!

new designs & upcoming show

Here they are...the pieces I have been working on this week...just in time for Valentine's Day. I just love them - so romantic - they have me dreaming of another {hopefully one day} trip to Paris. I am having fun making clusters, by adding stones and other charms with the pendants...and I am loving the 24" chain with these.


I wanted to post these to show you, but I haven't had time to add them to the shoppe yet - I am busy getting ready for a show tomorrow. If you live in the Long Beach area, stop by First Fridays in Bixby Knolls tomorrow night - I'll be showing my collection at...
...a really sweet art studio for kids. You should come by! And bring the kids - they can make a heart pendant necklace for only $2. Hope to see you there!

a quiet house

I am enjoying these beautiful flowers and this cupcake {almost too cute to be eaten....I said almost} - gifts from friends this week. Silas just finished a 25 minute scream fest - he's almost 8 months - aren't we passed that? Screaming like an infant. Not sure what it was about, which makes it all the more frustrating. Teeth, gas, reflux, just mad? I don't know. But it is making me REALLY appreciate the quiet house right now. I was going to take a nap today because I've been really tired this week. For some people, a nap is relaxing, energizing - but for me, this is energizing...my work. I'm not much of a napper. So, I am going to push through and get to work - I have a bunch of new pendants to show you and put in the shoppe. They are so romantic - just in time for Valentine's Day {or whenever!}. This lovely strawberry cupcake...it's so good...I'm eating a bite here and there as I type - trying hard to savor, not devour. ;)

Also - had our first MOPS meeting this morning for the spring semester - it meets at our church. I am co-coordinating this year and it really has been a fun way to serve, meet people and build lasting friendships. The time at MOPS truly feeds my soul - I really look forward to our meetings - the breakfast, the speakers, the relationships - can I just say, thank goodness for friends!? And thank goodness for friends in this same stage of life?! The days are hard {and long} sometimes - how comforting to know you're not alone. Speaking of - if you're a visitor here on my little corner of the world, say hi sometime! It's just as fun as seeing a note or card in the mailbox...and makes it feel like a conversation instead of me rambling to myself {I do enough of that already}. Anyway - as always, thanks for stopping by. Hoping to post tonight or tomorrow with my new designs - I think you're gonna like them. ;)

* New Design!! I really love this new piece - well, it's really not all that new - if you remember, I made it for a friend about a little over a year ago. And then, she had another baby - Little Miss Greta - so I better get busy and make her another, huh?! Anyway - I have requests all the time for pieces that incorporate birthstones. So here we go!

There is a little disclaimer here....in some cases, the birthstone will make the price sky-rocket {ahem...diamonds for April}, so a faux stone will be used {with your approval}. And, the software I use for my website does not allow me to list a necklace with many options/different prices, so I added the necklace to the site here, but it just shows a starting price of $58. Please email me for an exact quote or if you have any questions about your special piece and I can invoice you from there.

I hope you had a great weekend!

our food journey

Call me crazy, but I like my food to taste good. I mean, when someone mentions that they just made a kale, banana, whatever smoothie and says that it was good, I pretty much don't believe them. I'm lost at the word 'kale'. I'd much rather talk chocolate or whipped cream...or even better, something that combines the two.

We have had some reason to believe {for quite some time} that Elliot has food allergies - we just didn't know what they were. I won't go into the details about why we thought there may be something going on, you really don't want me to. So, after some testing, we have a {relatively, or so I am told} short list of foods we are currently eliminating....let me just say that it is really stretching me in the kitchen. It's a struggle for me to remember where my kitchen is! We are only about a week and a half into this new diet and other than a couple of near-breakdown-moments {usually after I spend 3 hours at 3 grocery stores looking at labels - and I spend all our life savings on dairy-free, gluten-free, soy-free baking mixes}, I am embracing the need to cook for my family. The need has always been there {because ya'll, people need food!} but I haven't always felt the need, especially to cook from scratch and to cook healthy meals. All the mamas I know that cook like this talk about starting meals during naptime in the afternoon. But, that's when I work. So, I've never gotten into any kind of routine or planning when it comes to meals.

The photo at the top is a recipe I made the other day for kale chips. Even as I read reviews online about how good and addicting they were, I was a skeptic. I am one of those that needs to see for myself. Kinda silly like that, I guess {I think my mom would use the word 'stubborn'}. But, they were good - all three of us ate them up in a few minutes. And this is what I'm learning through this food journey we are on....

• ONE - I am making meals. {Friends, this is big for me...HUGE!}
  
• TWO - I am making healthier meals.
• THREE - They're pretty good.
• FOUR - Boy, am I thankful for all the cooks out there that have perfected healthy recipes - and made them taste good - and posted their recipes!
• FIVE - This new diet is making me more budget-wise. Because as much as I love how aesthetically pleasing it is to shop at Whole Foods and other natural groceries, I can't help but cringe at the prices.
  
• SIX - and the most important, we are really hopeful it will help Elliot.
  

It's funny, every time I make a new recipe, Lance and I look at each other across the table for a reaction after our first bite - with trepidation and expecting the worst - and instead are pleasantly surprised. So far, Elliot is eating EVERYTHING. Sweet boy said {and I quote} "yum, this is a great dinner, mama! I like it!" without hesitation at the one recipe I made that just wasn't the best.

On that note...a little diatribe...a tasty Gluten Free Vegan Mac 'n Cheese recipe is not possible. If you've ever had any macaroni and cheese that is a step above Kraft, then you know that's not possible. I think if you want to substitute successfully, you should leave alone any recipe that is tasty because of the ingredient you want to substitute. Does that make sense?!

And with that, I'm off. I have a new necklace design to show you over the next few days. In the meantime, if you are working with food allergies and have a great resource, let me know!

Oh - and two more days for the giveaway - don't forget to enter {below!}...

news, a giveaway & a discount - no kidding!

To celebrate Valentine's Day {it's right around the corner, you know!} :: a fresh design. The love squared necklace is a perfect expression of your gift of love to someone special.

enter to win a love squared necklace here. To enter :

Leave a comment on this post before next Saturday, January 30th by midnight (PST). No rules on your comment - you can just say hello! Link to this post on your own blog for another entry, tweet with a link for an entry, become a fan on facebook or status update the giveaway for yet another entry! Did you get that?! You have 4 (FOUR) chances to win - don't forget to leave a comment for each entry.

Oh - and here are some more new designs and a snippet about each:


1. The Love Squared Necklace - circle option
2. I Have Found the One Whom My Soul Loves - one of our most popular designs, updated
3. Personalized Flower Necklace - can be customized with any flower, color and names
4. At One Glance Vintage Damask - Our bestselling design with the bestselling quote...together at last.
5. Love Like This Necklace - "i've never known love like this before" encircled around an original design.

You'll notice as you look around the site, I finally uploaded new pictures of many older designs - some more examples of work done over the past couple months.

By the way, it is still romantic even if you have to help him out a bit -- friends are always telling me to hint to their husband what they want from the shop...here's your chance...you can forward this post to his email by clicking here. Then let him shop! ;)

Lastly, enter 'hugs' through February 12th for 10% off. Now enter the giveaway and spread the word! Good luck!

on my mind...

We are experiencing a very rare few days of rain this week. I remember when we moved here in the month of January {five years ago - so hard to believe}, we left Indiana in a few feet of snow and pulled into Sunny Southern California during one of the worst weeks of rain we have ever seen here. I was not happy. And then when the rain stopped and it was sunny every day, I was in heaven and in a little bit of disbelief that it really was this nice every day. When you live in Indiana, you feel guilty when you don't take advantage of the sun when it finally decides to peek through the clouds. So, as a new Californian, I was eager to soak it up and live life outdoors - I made a promise to myself that I would get to the beach at least once a week. Needless to say, I have not kept that promise of going to the beach, but we do spend an awful lot of time outdoors and it's definitely what I love most about living here.


This week, I am enjoying the rainy days, slowing down and staying in. Rainy days make me contemplative...well, maybe it's the new year...I'm not sure, but I have lots on my mind these days that seem to involve every area of my life. And I have so many {business} ideas and thoughts swirling around in the midst of feedings, changing diapers, potty training, chores and there just isn't enough time to catch up with any of them. Frustrating, for sure. At the end of the day, I try to remind myself that what feels like monotony is actually the most important part of my day and it is what I chose...to be at home with my little ones - it is a joy and a blessing to be able to spend my days with them.

So, stick around - I do have some really fun things to show you on the horizon.

sale

All {and I mean all} rings are now on sale - only $15 each. I am phasing out this style to make room for a new style and weight. The price will remain at $15 until they are gone - if you see a ring you like and your size isn't listed, it is already sold out.

AND, shipping {for ring orders} is only $2.00! Shop now!

little man

Spent some time at the park yesterday - the weather this week has been gorgeous. Silas is so much happier now that he can sit, play and explore some {and eat cheerios}.

I am in mourning right now about Lance going back to work tomorrow - I know I won't get much sympathy from friends because I know it's very rare for a husband to be off work for almost 8 weeks. It's been so nice to have the help...not to mention fun for the boys to have dada around to wrestle and play with. I have a feeling that real life is going to hit me hard over the next few days.

bring it on!

This next photo tells a story that may surprise those of you who know me well...I am, by nature, a pretty organized person. {when I was little I wanted to be a maid when I grew up. really.} And even though we did just come home from a long trip and I have still been unpacking, I admit that my work area looks like this fairly often - and somehow, somehow, I can actually create in an environment like this.

But it is not ideal, for sure. Because of the two little people in my life and the increase in business, it is imperative I get organized and stay organized this year. So, I was hard at work purging and organizing over the weekend - and boy it felt good {it's taking every bit of willpower not to continue in other rooms of the house...but one thing at a time}. Here is the finished product...

I'm ready for all this year has in store and I'm just itching to sit down and work on some of my fresh ideas. I should take advantage of Lance's last two days off and work on some of those...but I think I am going to soak up some more family time and play instead. Be back soon...

home {warm} home

Back home in Southern California...and it feels good - I can say that now, but the first couple of days, maybe not so much. Already missing family, unpacking 5 suitcases, a sick baby and *lots* to do here left me feeling a little blah and overwhelmed about coming home and re-entering real life. I am thankful for the time we had away - it was definitely a time of refreshment. I am also thankful that Lance still has one week off to help me get back into the swing of things.

The warm So. Cal weather and sunshine makes it so much easier to come home to. We spent the morning getting a coffee, going to our favorite park, playing with Thomas, getting a Gamba Juice {as E calls it} ... it was really nice spending time together on such a beautiful day.

Next on the agenda for me:: organizing my studio - it needs a major overhaul for a {fingers crossed} big year for bel kai designs.

stay tuned...

painting

Yeah, it was 4 degrees here today (-13 degree windchill). Yikes! You forget how cold that feels. But, you know, I haven't been minding it that much. I'm mostly staying in the warm & cozy house, and since it's still snowing some, it's quite beautiful from the inside. ;)

My parents live on a lake and it froze over the other day and then snowed, so you can see a glistening blanket of snow when you look out their living room window -- really pretty. They also live right next to a cute little village of artisan shops, restaurants and boutiques - just steps outside their door - yesterday, Brooke and I took 3 of the 5 kiddos to the village to paint some pottery - I always forget how fun those places are. We have one that is close to us in California and we have never gone. It's such a fun little activity for children and neat to have a lasting piece of art...and the best part is that the mess isn't at your house!

the gang

I have sat down a few times to do a Christmas re-cap, but it's not really happening - as our vacation winds down, I have much to get done. I had high hopes of getting more done while we were here {since I have help with the kids and Lance being off} and as I sit here, I have many to-do's remaining. In the meantime, here's a pic - the whole gang - it's usually only every couple of years that we are all together, so I managed to get everyone outside for a family pic {without coats - in 20 degree weather - wind blowing}. ;) Here we are!! I hope your Christmas was lovely. Happy New Year to you!!!

gingerbread fun

I did a gingerbread house with the cousins today - it was so much fun! You know how sometimes the things that are intended to be fun with little ones can easily turn to disaster? {Or does that only happen to me?!?}. In my mind, I was thinking this could be one of those activities - 4 children six and under, sugar, frosting and only so much table space sounded like a perfect recipe for screams of 'mine', 'no', 'it's my turn', 'i wanna do that'...you get the idea. But I started with a specific plan of attack and it worked nicely - in the end, there were no fights and we were all very happy with the finished house. Success! I surprised them with the frozen pond {made with foil} and reindeer at the end - we did the same thing when we did a gingerbread house growing up with that reindeer ornament and I knew they would love it.