Open Studio Days

Happy Summer!  Now that it is summer I decided to do something a little special/different with my business.  I am going to have "Open Studio Days" throughout the summer.  My plan is that one day per week--most likely a different day and/or time to accomodate varying schedules--I will have what I'm calling an "Open Studio Day".  Basically this will be a day to come to my studio to pick up orders, discuss future orders or see my creations in person.  It's not going to be a formal 'Open House'--but I will actually be dressed, will have pieces available for purchase out and might possibly have some treats for any visitors that may stop by!  Otherwise it's a scheduled day for me to plug along and make new jewelry--I'm not a schedule kinda person but with the kids home on summer vaca I needed to attempt to schedule some more formal work time!

I have a lot of local customers that like to see my jewelry in person, discuss options and pick up their orders if they are local and it's sometimes a challenge to pick a day/time that works for both of us.  I thought I'd try this and see how it works! 

My first Open Studio Day will be this Thursday, June 16th from 10am-4pm. 

Email me at lisaski@me.com for directions or any questions/comments. 

I will always announce each "Open Studio Day" on my Facebook business page (http://www.facebook.com/JuellaDesigns).  If you are not local to the Redding, California area, please join my Juella Designs Facebook page--ALL FANS, regardless of location, receive free shipping on their orders when they use the coupon code found there!! 

Next week's Open Studio Day is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22. 

Summer Cut!

Before:

After:

There were a few tears shed as I cut it...but he's cute no matter what!

Befores

I'm in the mood to paint things!  Now that school is out and summer is finally here, I have the urge to freshen up our back patio area.  I want bright and comfortable.  I'm in the midst of about 6 different projects so none are complete but I wanted to share some befores and hopefully soon I'll share the afters! 

One is this bistro patio set I inherited from my Grandmother...

I've renovated it once before...it was a dark gray with sage green padded seat and a glass top.  The weather has done a number on it and 'somehow' the glass top ended up in pieces...hmmm....  I plan to brighten it up and bring it back to functional once again.  I stopped by the fabric store to look for some outdoor canvas to redo the seats and my head just about exploded from all the choices!  After a couple trips back, I think I'm keeping it simple and going white with solid red cushions. 

This cabinet is a $5 find I made this morning at a local thrift store!  I need a place to store all the shoes, balls, gloves, etc that seem to be laying all over the patio at any given time.  It needs some love and it's pretty ugly but it's sturdy and has potential!  (And no I'm not talking about the pug in the picture!) 

And lastly a garage sale find from about a year ago.  I was inspired by an idea for this huge wooden frame I've had stored away.  I dug it out and am getting to work! 

 

I think I need to start paying Dexter a modeling fee....

 

Project Organize: Hairstuff and a crafty recycle/reuse

I have a problem with vintage luggage.  The problem is I keep buying it because it's so cool looking and then I don't know what to do with it when I get home!  I recently picked up a little blue train case at the Roses & Rust Vintage Market from my friend Zizi of The Green Mum.  Immediately loved it for the size and the color.  Did I have plans for it?  Nope!  I thought about it a little bit and decided to revamp it and use it for all my hair goodies. 

I raided my daughter's fabric stash and found a really bright, fun fabric and glued it to the inside which had been gutted.  Love my new storage trunk!! 

 

Before:

 

After:

In Use:

Say what? I have a blog? Oh yeah!

Sigh....I suck as a blogger once again.  Sorry about that.  Well guess I'll jump in once again and try to keep up. 

We are now on the first day of summer vacation for the kids and I'm sure it's going to go super duper fast.  The kids and I would love to be lounging in the pool, but alas it's raining and cold out.  We have yet to hit summer weather which I think is bizzare for Northern California...any day we'll be thrown into 100+ degree temps.

Well what have we been up to in the last couple months?  I'll share some highlights via Instagram pics...

We became geocachers and have been having a great time on this worldwide treasure hunt.  A goal for summer is to create and hide our own geochache.  

I took place in The Burlap Harlot Show...I can't wait for the next one this fall...for more information check their FB page here.... The Burlap Harlot Show

My kids, Mom and I on Mother's Day....we had a beautiful Mother's Day...shared the day with my son who turned 9 years old...whoa!

Kids are moving up in the Scouts!  Ella bridged into the Brownies and Jacob moved up to be a Webelos.

We took a long weekend to the Bay area mid-May to explore a bit of San Francisco and to spend two days at Maker Faire.  Maker Faire was incredible--for the kids and for us.  We saw so much and there was still so much to see.  Maker Faire is put on by Make magazine and  Craft Zine....two great sites for all kinds of maker goodness.  For more information on Maker Faire you can check out Maker Faire.

We also took another extra long weekend at the end of May to Southern California.  We celebrated Aaron's brother 40th birthday and toured the Hollywood area.  We ended the extra long weekend in beautiful Pismo Beach.  Already planning another trip back to Pismo.  ;-) 

 

Introducing my newest line...Simply Change

I am so, so excited to introduce my newest line of jewelry, Simply Change!  This line features coins from all over the world, stamped with words or phrases and strung on a variety of mixed metal chains.  I will add pretty beads and charms sometimes as added accents.  Every piece is truly one of a kind! 

I was inspired to make this line for a variety of reasons.  One being the quickly rising cost of sterling silver.  I still love, love sterling and will continue to work with it, but I want to offer jewelry in a more affordable range as well.  I was also inspired by seeing the many beautiful and interesting coins from around the world.  My son is a coin collector and I began taking notice of some of the coins.  Without doing a thing to them, some of them are so beautiful!  I started collecting them myself and have had dishes of them sitting around for months just waiting to be used in some manner. 

I wanted to incorporate what I have been doing, making custom and personalized jewelry but with a twist.  That's where these old coins come in!  I want them to be talismans of sorts.  Talismans are objects worn to bring specific qualities into your life, such as strength, happiness and protection.  I have been stamping powerful words and phrases onto sample coins and will offer these for sale.  But I will also take orders for custom and personalized pieces...I will stamp whatever you like--be it powerful words, names, dates, anything unique and meaningful to you. 

I hope you like my newest line!  You can go to my Etsy site to see the current coins I have listed at Juella Designs Etsy Shop.  I will be listing new ones all the time. 

Redding Handmade Team Charm Swap

There are many reasons I am so excited to be a team member of Redding Handmade, but one of the latest is the upcoming team charm swap!  One of our members, Kimberly Snowden (Garnet Heart) presented the idea to the team along with the starter charm bracelets she made for every member. Right away I was excited by the idea and so thankful to Kimberly for the super cool bracelet.  

At our next monthly meeting we will be having our charm swap with 16 members participating.  Each of us will make 16 identical/similar charms and swap them with the other members, we will end up with a full charm bracelet representing each other.  We all have different styles and materials that we work with, so it's going to be a very eclectic and fun charm bracelet.  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

I have the idea in my head of what my team charm will be, just need to get into production mode!  We will have upcoming posts on our team blog featuring each contributing members charms...check it out here...www.reddinghandmade.com.

What does a number matter?

I'm throwing in the towel with the whole weight tracking thing.  It has gotten me no where but to be unhealthily focused on my weight and what I put in my body.  I had this magical number in my head of where I wanted to be.  Where I needed to be to fit back into my favorite jeans.  Forget it.  I'll buy a new pair of jeans. 

A few days ago, I noticed the quote at the top of my blog....  "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin-real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished busines, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  Then life would begin.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."  This is how I viewed this current weight loss fixation--life would just get better/be better if I lost 20 pounds.  No it won't.  It's just fine now.  If anyone has a problem with what size I'm wearing-that's their problem.  I don't need to make it mine.  

As far as I know I'm healthy.  Right now I am within 20 pounds of the weight listed on my license...a weight that I don't think has changed since I was 16.  That was 21 years and 2 children ago.  I should feel good about that.  If I need to buy a new pair of jeans and toss the old favorites, so be it.  (But dang those were expensive jeans!  OK stop it Lisa.)

I know what I need to do to feel good.  What I need to eat.  How I need to move.  If I blow it one weekend, who cares? 

There are obstacles to this.  The times when I will still be down on myself and how I look and forget the bigger picture.  The guilty feelings.  Other people.  What they say and what they don't say and what they say to other people.  Forget them. 

The biggest challenge is what I say to my kids.  How I model proper health, fitness and nutritional issues. How my daughter views her body.  How my son views his.  What they say to other people.  What the other people say or don't say or say to other people about them.  That's all I need to focus on.  Keeping myself and my family healthy and feeling good about ourselves regardless of what the weight on a scale says. 

Food Friday - (and weigh in...ick)

I'm joining up with Eilyne over at Suite 100 for Food Friday again!  Make sure you check out her blog at http://www.eilynedavis.com/

I have recently discovered that the Hungry Girl lists Weight Watchers Plus points on her recipes so I've been having a lot of fun trying out some new recipes - and actually cooking to the surprise of my husband!   So far what I've made has been really good so I question the actual point values.  The best so far is the "HG's Mega-Delicious Chipotle Chicken Panini"  I have seriously had it 5 times in the last week.  She says it's only 6 points and that's what I'm hoping is true!!  Apparently it's a healthier redo of a Panera Bread sandwich, I've never had that one but this one is excellent. 

HG's Mega-Delicious Chipotle Chicken Panini

Ingredients:
Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. fat-free mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. adobo sauce (from canned chipotle peppers) or chipotle hot sauce (like the kind by Tabasco)
2 dashes onion powder
2 dashes garlic powder

Sandwich
One 100-calorie flat sandwich bun (like Arnold Select/Oroweat Sandwich Thins)
2 oz. cooked skinless lean chicken breast, shredded or pulled into pieces
1 tbsp. roughly chopped fresh basil
2 thin slices red onion
2 slices plum tomato
1 stick light string cheese, shredded or pulled into pieces

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Set aside.

Split bun in half and lay the halves flat, split sides up. Evenly spread half of the sauce onto the bun halves, leaving half of the sauce in the bowl. Set aside.

To the bowl with the remaining sauce, add chicken and toss to coat. Set aside.

Evenly top one bun half with basil, onion, tomato, saucy chicken, and cheese. Place the other half on top, sauce side down.

Bring a grill pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Place sandwich in the pan. Using a spatula, press down gently but firmly to seal the sandwich. Grill until hot and lightly browned, about 2 minutes per side, flipping carefully and pressing down with the spatula to seal.

Cut in half (or not) and enjoy!

Definitely check out the Hungry Girl's website for even more tasty and healthier dishes.  If you have tried some, please let me know the results in the comments! 

_____________

And now for the dreaded Friday weigh in....

Starting weight:  172

Last week's weigh in:  168

My current weight:  167.4

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week:  -.06

Total lost so far:  -4.6

Sigh...

Starting weight:  172

Last week's weigh in:  168.9

My current weight:  168

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: -.9

Total lost so far: 4

Not where I hoped to be 6 weeks into this Weight Watchers thing.  This past week had a variety of high ups (delicious dinners out with friends) and some downs that all tampered with my ability to eat properly.  I guess given that, at least I didn't gain.  Still.  Sigh....

The particular down caused me to have a couple of stress eating binges this last week.  To be exact I had a car accident last Friday and by the Grace of God no one was injured.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.  

Onto a new week.  

RIP-2005 Toyota Matrix (picture not my actual car)
So to lighten this up a little bit we are now in the market for a new car and while I mourn my previous car, to make me feel better I did some fantasy vehicle shoppping online.  Not thinking about money, practicality or anything else these are my current fantasies....

  My ideal life would involve this as my main mode of transportation.  Madsen Bicycle

For when I wanted to go a little faster I would like a turquoise Vespa.

Now I've never been that much into motorcycles but I saw this at a recent boat and RV show had an instant obsession with these things.  Spyder Roadster

For when I live in Hawaii.  Nissan Murano Cabriolet

This one day will be my life.  Darn you gas prices.

  Perfection.  Dragging the dream car out again. 

 

Food Friday!

I am so honored to be asked to participate in my friend Eilyne's "Food Friday" feature!  If you haven't checked out her blog yet, you ABSOLUTELY must.  She has an incredible way with words and inspires me each morning with her posts....please check her out here:  http://www.eilynedavis.com/

So my Food Friday entry is the oh so healthy, "Zero Point Weight Watchers Garden Vegetable Soup"....exciting, no?!  It is, it is!  This is a bit of a twist on the soup that I learned about 5 years ago.  My Mom reintroduced me to it recently and we've been tweaking it to our liking.  The best thing about this soup is that it's low-cal, low-carb, high-fiber and no-fat.  It's also quite filling and keeps me from going crazy at meal times...I have a cup before eating lunch or dinner and find I'm not as hungry and I eat much less.  It's supposedly zero points, even on the new + program, but I still count it as 1 point per cup.  Can't beat that though!

Zero Point Weight Watchers Garden Vegetable Soup

6 cups broth (we actually use water only because of the high content of sodium in broth)
Cooking spray
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoons garlic (from a jar or substitute four cloves minced garlic)
1/2 cabbage, chopped (or use a bag of slaw, the biggest chunks you can find vs the fine, don't skip the cabbage for it somehow makes the soup)
1/2 pound frozen green beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large zucchini, diced

Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to MEDIUM and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini are tender. Serve and enjoy!

Different veggies can be added or substituted.  I love adding bell peppers and a dash of hot sauce. This is a good 'clean out the fridge' soup.  Different spices can be added to give it a different taste too.  Be creative and play around with different tastes.  My next batch I'm going to add in some curry for a twist. 

Thank you so much Eilyne for allowing me to join in on the Food Friday feature!  Make sure you check out her blog at www.EilyneDavis.com....she's sharing yummy, beautiful cake pops...you can indulge in them after eating this healthy soup and feel less guilty!

_____

Since it's Friday, I gotta get my weigh-in in too!  

Starting weight:  172

Last week's weigh in:  169.9

My current weight:  168.7

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: -1.2

 

What I Wore Wednesday - #4

It's Wednesday again already?? So the idea behind 'What I Wore Wednesday' is to actually put a little effort into what you wear each day and (surprise, surprise) actually get dressed each day...and maybe feel and be a little more productive.  My usual attire is grubby workout clothes, if I actually do get out of my pajamas, so it takes some effort to actually get dressed.  This past week, according to pictures, I got 2 real outfits in! 

Vesty thing - Anthro, birthday weekend purchase...love this thing, it is so super soft.

Black 'mock' turtleneck - Macy's...years ago

Jeans - Target

Flats - Nine West, purchased years ago...TJ Maxx or Marshalls, maybe? 

(Impossible to take a picture this day without a certain pug trying to climb me.)

Green dress - Marshalls

Scarf - World Market - got it free using my birthday coupon!

Jeans - Target--really sick of wearing these...WW hurry up and kick in!

Green loafers - Um, drawing a blank where I got these

Once again linking up with Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy!

The Handwriting Game

I thought this was a fun way to actually see other people's handwriting!  I'm forever a voyeur of real life fan so I had to jump into this one. 

 

All you have to do is take out a pen and paper, answer the following questions and post it to your blog.

1. What’s your name / blogger name?

2. What’s your blogs URL?

3. Write, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”.

4. Favorite quote?

5. Your favorite song?

6. Your favorite band / singers?

7. Anything else you want to say?

8. Tag 3 bloggers to participate. I was tagged by Bonita Rose @ A Life Unrehearsed

Try it even if I didn't tag you!! Post a link in the comments, I'd love to check out your contribution!

It's a Miracle! (Week 2 - WW)

Given the week I had celebrating mine and my daughter's birthdays, including a trip out of town, I thought for sure I'd have gained weight.  When on day 2 of my week I had already used up all my points for the week, I knew I had done screwed up.  But I managed to lose a little over a pound!

Starting Weight:  172

Last week's weigh in:  171.5

My current weight:  169.9

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: -1.6

Looking forward to this next week when I actually fully follow the plan!

Happy Birthday to Ella and I!

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday and my daughter's 7th birthday.  She was born on Feb 27 and I was born on Feb 28.  (I won't say how old I am but let's just say I was 29 the day she was born--you do the math).  We had an incredibly fun weekend!  Friday afternoon was her birthday party (a few pictures posted in a prior post) and Saturday we headed down to Roseville, California for some shopping and a hotel stay.  Weight Watchers was forgotten about for the weekend and we did some good grubbing too! 

We headed back Sunday afternoon and met up with family at Chevy's for dinner and gifts and cake/ice cream.  Monday was back to reality for the kids and work for Aaron but I stayed in my vacation mode cocoon as it was my actual birthday.  I slept in, watched lots of TV and had my favorite Thai food with my mom and bro.  

Celebrating continues as I head out with my girlfriends tonight! 

What I Wore Wednesday - #3

Here for another round of 'What I Wore Wednesday'!  Linking up again with Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy...The Pleated Poppy Blog-WIWW

Dress and Cardi - Target

Patterned tights (hard to see, but they have a diamond pattern) - Kohl's

Black sandals - super de dooper old--I've had these since I worked at Riverview Country Club in the mid-90's.  I think they've had their due and this was their retirement wearing.

 

Top - Nordstrom Rack...this is actually a size small junior's dress!!  For me it's a tunic top. 

Jeans - Target

Boots - Kohl's, maybe?

Necklace - Allora Handmade ..I had it on when I tried on the top at the store and that sealed the deal on the top

Watch - "Birthday present!"  Rose gold, Michael Kors -- LOVE this watch!  (It's also my first non-silver item in years)

Sweet Seven Year Old Birthday Party

Last Friday after school we had my daughter's birthday party...we did a Sweets/Pom Pom theme in her favorite colors--black, pink and white.  It worked out perfectly that her birthday comes 2 weeks after Valentine's Day.  Clearance sales!!  I have been collecting anything and everything pink and white I could find. 

We had a full itinerary of activities planned for the girls!  Including:

• Pom Pom necklace craft


• "Minute to Win It" style game using candy


• Pin the Pom on Ella


• Pizza and cupcakes


• Candy Store


• Candy Bingo 


• Wii Let's Dance


• And the ever popular....chase Ella's big brother around the house game! 

Not sure what was more fun, planning the party or actually having it!! 

Some Credits:

Colored paper straws.....Jilly Bean Kids

Minute to Win It printable.....Stacy Julian's Blog

Tissue paper pom poms.....Martha Stewart.com

Happy Birthday Ella!

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby Ella who turns 7 today!!! 

Whew...what a day!

Ella's birthday isn't until Sunday but we had her party today after school.  We went with a candy/pom pom themed party and had a houseful of the cutest little girls!  I'm exhausted from the day so I'll just share a couple quick photos and be back with more later.

 

WW - Week 1 Weigh In

Ugh.  I didn't get the result I was hoping for.  Not a big loser this first week.  

Starting Weight:  172

My current weight:  171.5

My goal weight:  154

Gain/Loss this week: -.5  

I tracked everything ("If you bite it, write it.") and had over 30 points come the end of the week.  Upon some investigation I think the biggest culprit was salt.  Evil, evil sodium.  I was so set on tracking my points that a great deal of my food intake was Weight Watchers sponsored food and Smart Ones.  You know what that means?  Processed food.  Processed food = excessive amounts of sodium.  Oops.  Guess that's why my rings are tight.  So while I was drinking lots of water, it wasn't enough to counteract all the salt. 

Live and learn.  This next week is going to be a rough one.  It's my daughter's birthday and my birthday and there are lots of opportunities to really, really blow it.  Wish me luck!

 

What I Wore Wednesday

It's been awhile since I've done this, but I want to get back into the habit...why?  Cause it's fun!  And I love reading others and finding new blogs to follow. 

I am linking up with Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy ....thanks Lindsey for the opportunity!

Dress, Cardigan -- Target

Jeans, Necklace -- LuckyBrand  (My favorite thing to do is wear a dress over jeans-so comfortable)

Boots -- Ariat FatBaby

____________________________

Cardi, Boots -- Target

Dress -- Uh, I don't remember

Jeggings -- Yeah, I have jeggings.  These are Jessica Simpson brand from Macy's.

____________________________

 

Ruffled Cardi -- TJ Maxx

Tank -- Old Navy

Jeans -- Target

Necklace -- Allora Handmade, love these necklace and forever get compliments on it.

Black suede flats -- Had these forever, Mervyns maybe? 

____________________________

Bonus shot! 
I just got this trench and I LOVE IT!  Love the color and love the print inside!  The trench is by Lauren Conrad. 

Room Redo - Part 1 - The Library

I was getting bored with things around the house and we decided to do a big switch-a-roo.  A few years ago we added an addition onto our home which gave us space to have my office and a family room.  At that time, what was the family room became our 'fancier/quieter' living room.  (i.e. The no TV room).  Given that that room is also open and a major thorough-fare for the house, it never was very quiet and was kind of a waste of space.  I had the idea to move the TV/video games/noise/mess into that room and make the addition space a 'library.'  I must say I am brilliant!  Without further ado, here are some before and after pics....

AFTER:  THE LIBRARY

Oh, did I also mention it's the exercise room?  ;-)

Our pub table is now the perfect game table...Aaron plays the piano and records music almost daily here too. 

My favorite spot in the house is now curled up on the leather loveseat with a book.  The blue couch is really just a large dog bed and space filler.  We now have a wall of books-3 bookshelfs side-by-side --- love the wall of books --- I am still arranging and filling with books that seem to be all over our home.  I have an idea of what to do with the big open space above the loveseat too.

We have enjoyed this room immensely in the short time we've redone it.  So much better functionality and the best part?  It's quiet.  A quiet place to hide.  Ahhhh....