Family Tree.

I am so excited to introduce the featured design for December! The family tree necklace is a hammered circle (1 1/4") strung from 18" sterling ball chain with a freshwater pearl beside. A whimsical tree is hand-stamped in the middle and the names of each member of your sweet family are stamped around the edge. I can fit up to 36 characters and remember each space is also one character. $48

And of course, I have to give one away! So leave us a comment and tell us your favorite family tradition for the holidays.

this + that...

Man, I love these boys. David has been a mover and shaker lately! He has been taking a few steps between furniture and is getting braver every day. Matty is such a sweet brother and is so kind and helpful to David. He is loving his new battery operated Thomas with plastic track. I actually think it's really cool, too!

Loving Sarah McLachlan's Wintersong CD. It is just so lovely. I have it on repeat, all day long. Favorite song, River. It's magical.

I watched Elf (with Will Ferrell) the other night while I was up late. I'm sorry, but this movie is laugh out loud funny! He plays such a believable character. Love the coffee shop scene (world's best cup of coffee) and when he picks up the phone in his dad's office and answers, "Buddy the Elf, What's your favorite color?". Zoe Deschanel has the most amazing voice, too!


OK, coffee, work, coffee, work!

Yum.

I think I need a really big cookie right now. Chocolate chip, please!

thanksgiving recap.

We had a wonderful few days in Southern California with my family. I didn't take many pics, but here are a few.

We took the kids down to the beach to play while Steve, Susan (my sis) and Danny (my brother) took surfing lessons. The kids built sand castles and dug holes so big they were 'scary'.


Susan caught on to surfing easily. That is Danny on the left and Steve on the right.


Who is that surfer? Go, Steve!

My beautiful neices.

David was under the weather. Which always makes for lots of snuggle time. David got the bug first, then Steve and Matty. I thought I was going to get away clean, but no...yesterday I was down for the count. Today much better! Thank goodness it was a short one.

At our thanksgiving dinner, David crossed the room to go say hi to great grandma. It was so sweet. So glad I had my camera handy!
Thank you Lord for so many amazing blessings. We are overwhelmed!

He's man enough...

...to carry a pink bag over his shoulder. It full of cars, of course!
Woke up with the stomach flu today--argh! My mother in law is here to help so I can make jewelry, not sleep all day. I am feeling much better tonight.

The winner for the night owl giveaway is Hil who loves to stay up late with her husband, read, talk and check blogs. Thanks for all the fun comments. Someone said, "Night Owls Unite'. I love that!

calling all locals...

Wednesday night I am participating in a Holiday Boutique at Lisa Hoyt's home in San Luis Obispo. She lives up in the hills in Edna valley Ranch in the most AMAZING home (seriously come just to see the home, and to say hi, of course!). There will be all kinds of artists and goodies there to meet all your holiday needs.

6550 Camino Poletti, SLO
6:00pm-9:00pm

BRING A FRIEND.

Hope to see you there.

PS, Our tree is up as the photo proves (it's a fake and there are no ornaments yet, but still!). Getting in the Christmas spirit! I'll announce the winner for the Night Owl giveaway on Monday.

little treasure

I've had a lot of people asking about hand-stamped designs in gold. This is a gold-filled oval on gold-filled 18" chain with a vintage brass locket. Could it be any sweeter?! I have a few of the available for custom orders. $68

catching up...

I've gotten a little behind with my emails. I am catching up and sending out a big batch of paypal links tonight. Please be patient with me! Thanks!!

***All caught up now--so if you haven't heard from me, drop me a line.

getting ready for thanksgiving.

I am so excited to spend time with my family and relax (well, when I'm not working!). And I'm also thankful for my little turkeys, genuine friends, a loving family and so many other blessings I can't begin to count! What are you thankful for?!

Also, any design using the rectangle pendant is backordered for a couple weeks (Bloom, Classic Rectangle, Deluxe Rectangle, Wish, Keychain). Other shapes can be substituted. I think I have enough to cover the orders I have already received. Sorry for the inconveniece!

night owl.

Isn't this fun? Lately I've been getting a second wind at 10pm and start organizing the house, paying bills and getting creative. Leave us a comment and let us know what you like to accomplish after 10pm. I'll choose one winner for a freebie!

If you're not a night owl, it would be also be cute to stamp 'wise bird' for a friend, mommy, or teacher gift. Happy Monday!

working weekend

We made a quick trip to Fresno this weekend to help my father-in-law celebrate his 70th birthday. I brought all my jewelry stuff and worked every spare moment. OK, I slept until 9:30 on Saturday, so that was a treat!

Here is Papa blowing out his candles.

Steve hamming it up with some yummy cake.

David was on the MOVE the whole time. He cruised from room to room barely holding on except to the walls. So exciting!

It was such a delight to see the boys interacting with Nana and Papa. They are such a blessing to us!
Happy 70th Dad!

buy in bulk.

I'm grouping items leftover from my last Open House and marking them down. I figure, you have to buy Christmas gifts and this is easy for me! Email me if you're interested. Also, leave a comment and let me know if there is any specific item you'd like to see in bulk and I'll try to do another post next week.

1. 5 pairs of earrings for SOLD. A mix of sterling and gold-filled. So fun!!

2. Sterling tag bracelet 7 1/4" 'Happy' and two keyrings. Very sweet! SOLD
3. Three stamped necklaces as pictured. SOLD. What a deal! :)
4. Two wood pendants with vintage pics sealed on top. One 'dear friend' sterling disc with freshwater pearl. All strung on 18" leather cord. $75
5. One necklace on 24" gold-filled chain with french pendant, one brass necklace (20")with vintage tooled pendant. One chunky bracelet with vintage locket. SOLD

little girl's necklace

Or should I call it a big girl's necklace? This is sweet Gracie modeling her new pretty. It's a variation of the Single Tag Necklace, but I used my tiny stamps and adjustable link chain. These are $40. Thanks for the great pic, Linds! Check out Lindsey's creative blog.

Today is David's annual IEP...

So I wrote up a little blurp for our meeting and thought I'd share it with you. What a blessing he is! And we are so blessed by his teachers, assistants, doctors and therapists!!

November 13, 2007
An update on David…

David turned five on the fourth of July. We had a Sneetches birthday party at the park to celebrate. David is part of our family and loves to play at the park, eat chocolate chip pancakes (soften by lots of syrup, of course) and cruise around the house exploring. We are so pleased with his progress this year.

David walks around by holding onto furniture. He is increasingly confident and will let go for 10-15 seconds at a time. When there is nothing to hold onto, David eases himself on the ground and scoots to the next area he wants to explore. We have been thrilled by increased independence and zest for checking out new situations.

David continues to eat a wide variety of food, mostly blended. He still does not chew consistently, so we avoid giving him anything too tough. He has made wonderful progress with bringing the spoon from his bowl to his mouth. It’s messy, but productive. He needs help returning the spoon to the bowl.

David communicates through body language and vocal noises. We have notice a marked increase in his deliberate communication. For example, when hungry, he will go over to his highchair, stand up and tug on it while fussing. He is also increasingly responsive to his family and friends. When he sees his brother, he lights up and gets very silly.

Speaking of silly, David is a fun loving, silly guy much of time. He loves to be tickled and kissed. He is a great snuggler and an expert mess-maker. His friends at school, church and home are very accepting of David and his differences. They often bring him toys and make sure to give him hugs. He sleeps well at night and naps about an hour each afternoon.

We are concerned by David’s sensitive immune system and dread ‘the sniffles’, which sometimes turn into bronchitis or pneumonia. We consistently give him breathing treatments and try to keep his hands germ-free.

We are so blessed by wonderful teachers, assistants, doctors and therapists. We cannot overstate the positive impact they have had on his life and how grateful we are! We look forward to another year of great strides and silliness.

Warmly, Stephen and Lisa Leonard

gettin' out of town...

We had planned to meet Chrissie and the girls at the zoo Monday, but decided to head down Sunday night to get away and have some focused family time. It was soooo good!

Here are the boys, post-bath and ready for bed with their matching monkey jammies. This is David's tired face, sucking on his finger and rubbing his head. Of course, he played in his crib for a good two hours after this pic.

We had breakfast at Jacks. Eggs, pancakes and bacon. And they have a great outdoor play area.

It was so fun to see the kids together again and feeling more comfortable. The weather was perfect and the zoo was a blast.

David got very silly on the train ride. Love that toothy grin!

The kids played on the playground. Here is Matty is hatching out of a dinosaur egg.>
If you've emailed me in the last 24 hours I'll get back to you soon. I'll be returning emails and making jewelry well into the early hours of the morning. Hope you had a good weekend, too!

first holiday boutique

today i was part of a holiday boutique up in templeton--complete with christmas trees, holiday music and gift wrapping. i'm not sure which was more fun, seeing people get excited about my jewelry or trading goods with other vendors. i made out like a bandit! i'll try to post some pics later this week of some fun, different pieces.

yesterday i made about 30 necklaces and today after the boutique i hammered out a few more. so far i am staying on top of the orders. tomorrow will be a day to relax and play. do you have anything fun planned?

treebones

i traded jewelry for a night's stay at treebones in big sur. it's such a fun place where you sleep in yurts (wood framed tents) that are stocked with very comfortable beds and wood floors. it's sort of like camping in luxury accomodations. perfect for me! steve got home from work and we headed up there last night. we arrived about 7pm and had dinner in the lodge (ribs-yum!) we went back to our room and read. we got a GREAT night's sleep, rolled out of bed and headed back to the lodge for make-your-own waffles. afterwards we hung out on the deck and took in the ocean. it was a short, but very nice getaway. now, back to work!

there's a lot of jewlery making going on...

Steve and I are getting away for the night. So excited! I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. I've been getting a lot of questions about holiday orders and wanted to give you all an update. I usually get about 40-50 orders a week which is just so exciting! This week I have gotten over 150 orders! Holy MOLY! So I am busy, busy, busy. I want to be able to fill all the orders in a timely manner and make sure all your holiday wishes come true :) so...
*I'll be taking custom orders until 12/5. After that, I can't guarantee you'll have it before Christmas.
*Some items may go out of stock and be on backorder, so the sooner you place your orders the better!
* I am running about 2 weeks for turn-around time. Please be patient if your order takes a bit longer than ususal.
*Thanks so much for supporting my business. I seriously appreciate you!!!

making time...

Before I was a mommy I thought I would never let anyone else hold my baby. Then once the baby came, I craved a break and would gladly give him up to loving, capable arms. The busyness of life creeps in and there always seems to be some place to be. So this is a friendly reminder to myself to take time to listen better, cuddle a little longer, build one more puzzle, give a few more kisses and laugh off little accidents. The time goes quickly, I don't want to rush it.

I'm getting ready...

for the Chistmas rush. I've got quite a few open houses coming up. I thought I'd also share some new things with my blog friends! Email me if you're interested in something.

Hammered heart with small silver key. So sweet and simple! SOLD

Love well on hammered oval. A little funky and very fun! Sold, but I can make more!

Vintage key with stamped tag 'family' and olive green teardrop. Strung on 18" ball chain. Love this one! SOLD

Always in my heart pendant measures about 1". Strung with vintage key and crystal bead on handmade brass chain. J-clasps in front. 20" in length. $56

Vintage brass leaf is strung on 18" gold-filled chain with olive green swarovski crystal cluster. Such a great vintage feel! SOLD

bike play

we took the bikes over to a great park in morro bay the other day. it was cool but sunny. the boys had a blast. matty wore his new helmet and enjoyed his bike even though it's got two flat tires and is all rusted out.
david cruised around on his scooter.
matty threw down his bike and laid on the round and said 'take a picture mommy!" I was laughing so hard I could hardly hold the camera still. what a nerd!happy monday!

Sisters' Guide to Santa Barbara

1. Stay in Carpinteria. It's less expensive and more quaint.
2. Eat at Jack's for breakfast, Pascucci's for lunch and Chase for dinner. Ignore that too full feeling and keep eating.
3. Take a nap, stay up late and sleep in.
4. See a movie. Preferably something totally fun, cheesy and/or sappy.
5. Eat Thrifty's ice cream at least once.
6. Find one great thing to splurge on. I found a totally fun sweater at Anthropolgie. I won't tell you how much.
7. Laugh, act like a dork and laugh some more.