lockets + secret messages

I have a batch of my favorite large vintage lockets that I'm filling with secret messages and wishes for you. When I write them on these pieces of vintage ledger paper, I think about the words you might most need to tuck inside you as you walk in the world.

There is just enough room in these lockets for these slips of vintage paper + your own note or photo. You could even slip some flowers in there. You can find them right here. 

And I'm so excited that Bonnie (my studio assistant) is now modeling the Soul Mantra necklaces! This way it's a little easier to envision how the necklaces might look on you. We're having fun brainstorming outfits + ways to wear them + collections to come. (And soon we'll even include her face in the photos. Just realized how funny that might seem that we aren't. You can see a fun photo of us right here.)

pinned it. did it. {with doña}

Doña is back with another inspiring post about a DIY she found on Pinterest. I've seen these Story Stones and love how accessible Doña makes them. Read on!

*****

I’m a creative person. I’ve worked hard at building, feeding, and nurturing creativity in my life. As a mother, I love witnessing my young daughter’s innate creativity. How much we are all born with! But I also know how easily that creativity can be squashed.

It might be squashed by teachers who are trying to get a classroom of energetic kids in line, by schools with a focus on academic achievement, by people who don’t understand or who are threatened by the unusual, and sometimes by well-meaning parents. 

Because I know she probably has that road ahead of her, I feel it is my duty right now, while she’s young, to build extreme creative resilience.

I do this, mostly, by giving her lots of open ended toys and unstructured play time. We have blocks and peg dolls and play silks and more. I have a whole Pinterest board of Waldorf-style toys that I love for their open-ended playing qualities. I also make sure to let her see me being creative - in the kitchen, in the garden, while playing with her, as well as in my studio with my own craft and art projects. She loves to work alongside me at my “big desk."

One area where my creativity is lacking, however, is story telling. Bean is getting to be an age where she’s making up stories and playing pretend a lot. I wish I could say I tell her stories at bedtime, but after “Once upon a time…” I freeze up. I simply don’t know where to go next.

Recently in an attempt to jumpstart my own story-telling abilities, and also to encourage hers, I started looking into story stones. I had heard of them, but had never seen them, and wanted to make my own. Pinterest, of course, had a wide variety of ideas.

There were these with highly detailed monochromatic drawings. These make the whole stone a character, instead of just having a picture on the top. These use the stones as puzzle pieces to create new character combinations. 

I decided to make a set like these – simple, colorful and fun. 

I had some rocks leftover from a friend’s landscaping project, so I picked out 10 flat-ish ones and scrubbed them with soap and water to get them pretty clean. These stones are a nice size - a handful for my daughter, but not enough to really hurt if she dropped one on her foot. If you are collecting rocks from a beach or river for this project, just looks for stones that have one flat side for the image and have a fairly smooth surface.

I decided to use images of things that my daughter is drawn to or talks about often already, so my pictures included a house, a baby, some flowers, and a bug. I showed her the first couple and then got her input on what other pictures she’d like. “A bird!” she said, “and a kitty cat.”

I used a combination of Montana acrylic paint pens and Sharpie oil markers, because I had them already, but I think the Infinity Markers that Liz used for these Soul Mantra Stones would work really well. You could also paint your pictures with a brush and some acrylic paint.

The stones I’ve seen for sale are all sealed with some kind of top coat, but I didn’t bother. Since my daughter loves the sound of them hitting each other, I’m sure it is only a matter of time before the pictures wear off. No matter, they only took me about 30 minutes to make!

As with any other new toy, she had a surge of interest when I first introduced them, and then left them to play with something else. It may take a few weeks before they cycle into regular use. I’ve put them in her toy box where she can find them when she’s ready.

PS: If you love the idea of story stones but don’t want to make your own, here’s a seller on Etsy who makes several themed sets.  

Disclosure from Doña: Some links are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you purchase from the links.

Doña Bumgarner is a writer, artist, mama and a craft project-collector from way back. She loves Pinterest and uses it to help solve a household dilemma at least once a week (see her “pinned and done” board). She lives in Santa Cruz with her partner, their little one and his almost grown one, and a collection of cats and chickens. She writes about the practice of moms feeding their souls in the midst of raising a family on her blog, Nurtured Mama, where you can also download her free Mothering Moments ebook. 

a question to ponder...

This is the question that was flowing through my mind as I prepared for this month's Hand to Heart practice of "Let It Go." Last week, I found myself face to face with it as I was in the midst of...I might as well be honest...a full-blown temper tantrum in my mind.

My to-do list felt extremely overwhelming. Work stuff. Home stuff. Paperwork. End of the school year stuff. Summer is coming stuff. Family is coming to visit stuff. Not enough stuff. I'm too much stuff.

It was stacking up inside me as I paused everything to take a quick shower. Scrubbing my body with sugar scrub, I tried to pull myself out of the "stuff" by brainstorming the stories and prompts I want to share with this "Let It Go" practice.

And I found myself focusing on the question "What story could you set down?" as a starting place for our practice.

I noticed the irony of my own stories swirling, but moved on to washing my hair and brainstorming some more.

But the question kept tapping on me.

Finally, I felt these words tumble through all those thoughts and feelings:

I could set down the story that I'm too much.
I could set down other people's expectations...and my own assumptions about those expectations.
I could set down the fear that no one will ever really get the me that lives in that most secret part of me.
I could set down the "all this shit that has to be cleaned in this house before family arrives next week" to-do list until the weekend.

And then I heard this truth, "I just want to be outside of this house."

Working from home can be awesome, but it can also mean that you never really leave your home or your office. And that longing to just be in nature can pull on me. Finally, I got quiet enough to hear that pull.

So I went to my favorite park and stood by Puget Sound and picked up a few rocks to represent these stories that I wanted to set down. And I threw them. Far. Into the water. Watching the ripples swirl and finding myself recentered and a bit lighter.

Your Soul Homework: Take out a piece of paper and answer this question, "What story could you set down today?" And then when you are done, breathe and notice what you might need. Maybe you need to put some stories onto the page and "set them down" by writing them out. Maybe get outside. Maybe ask someone for a hug. Listen. You will know what to do next.

*****

If you want to circle with a group of women who are exploring these kinds of questions, come along to Hand to Heart my free ongoing community of women. Each month I share different ideas to add to your current self-care practice and we're here to support you if you're just beginning the adventure of learning self-care.

Learn more and request to join right here.

glimpses {1}

Evidence I do sometimes cook pancakes from scratch

She's been wearing them indoors too. Makes me so darn happy.
(We found them at Old Navy.) 

As summer arrives, the 1993 collection will be returning to the shop soon because
I love going back to my high school jewelry making roots.

Called on my tools on the Tuesday that felt like a Monday:
glitter glasses + unicorns + poetry + coffee. 

Celebrating Jonny's birthday

Soul Mantras all in a row waiting to be polished.

tea + watercolors + listening to Pixie Campbell's wisdom from her Boundaries Bootcamp class
This is how I #fillitupbuttercup 

Part of being a parent is just forgiving yourself again and again. When you have a triumph, like being able to take in the waist of the special pajamas she has to wear for her pajama party at school tomorrow and you save the day, well, you have to hold that triumph close.

*****

Over on Instagram, you can find me sharing "the true stories" with glimpses of my world. I still think it is the best social media community out there. And it somehow feels like this really safe space where I can process the real and the beauty and the hard stuff with a circle of kindreds.

If you're on Instagram, come over and say hi. I'd love to connect with you there.

story catching and releasing

From time to time, I extend an invitation to the people in my ecourses or group or on my newsletter list to send over a story they need someone to catch. I read their words and then I carry their stories with me and release them in a special ceremony.

Today, I want to share a glimpse into one of these ceremonies. I hope it will also be a starting place for you to create your own releasing ceremonies as you need them.

On an afternoon in April, I sat in the quiet and reread all the stories that had been sent my way. Tucking them into my pocket, I walked outside and the first thing I did was gather up these little flowers from my front yard. I picked one for each person who shared her story with me + one to represent the whole group + one to represent me. I took them with me on the short drive to the woods in Point Defiance Park. A little round junco greeted me on my path as I began walking into the woods breathing deeply, trusting I would find the spot that felt like it was ready to hold our stories.

As raindrops fell upon my head, a man standing under a shelter meant for picnics began playing a hand accordian. For real. I couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Only in the Pacific Northwest." He set the background music for my walk further into the woods.

After a couple of minutes, a huge tree called out to me from a distance. As I got closer, I saw that it was thick with moss and ferns who decided to make their home right there toward its roots. Its leaves were just unfurling up toward the sun, and it was as though a whisper said, "I can hold all of this and release it to the winds for you."

Yes, a little woo woo. But also, true.

As I stepped over a few overturned logs to get to it, I realized it had a perfect little crevice waiting to hold the flowers I'd brought. Thinking about the words shared and the hopes I have for each person in our circle, I tucked the flowers in one at a time while continuing to take deep breaths. The moss surrounded them like soft blankets.

I stood there for several minutes, my hand to the mossy trunk of this tree. Noticing the sounds, the smells, the shades of green surrounding me. As I was breathing, I felt this visceral sense of calm within and around me. I said a prayer of thanks to that beautiful tree and asked it to hold our stories and then release them into the wind and the rain so they could become nourishment.

As I turned to walk back, a junco was hopping right along the path. It stopped and looked at me for almost three full seconds and then flew away.

Soul Homework :: Think about how you can incorporate simple rituals like this one to help you let go and connect. You might want to talk a walk into the woods this weekend and leave behind in offering at the base of a huge tree or even under a pile of leaves. Let the wisdom of the earth that has been here for so many years hold your stories for you.

And feel free to send over any questions that you have.

peonies

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden, 
and softly, 
and exclaiming of their dearness, 
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling, 
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?

- Mary Oliver, excerpt from "Peonies" found in New & Selected Poems

found

while cleaning out purses in my closet. march, 2013.

lists from Ikea (3)
pen (blue, purple, pink)
lip balm (5)
petrified peanut m&ms (3)
a bill for the anesthesia from my c-section
grocery lists, things to not forget lists, things i want to tell you lists
gum wrappers
my favorite sunglasses lost for 2.5 years (update: lost again)
a pair of clean underwear
(when your five-week old is sent to the pediatric ICU and you don't go home for five days, you start carrying a pair everywhere, even years later)
one tiny baby sock (pink and green stripes)  
about $4.80 in change
three handkerchiefs
superhero trading card
burp cloth
headband
ponytail holders (10 or more)
tiny hair clippies (8)
three $1 bills
five teeny legs from a dead spider
business cards from artists I wish I knew
receipts from retreats in 2010, 2011, and 2012
tissues and more tissues
a fortune
a forgotten wallet with
Social Security card 
half-filled punchcards
Starbucks gift card
a ring made out of vintage buttons
small cup of almonds + cranberries
two pairs of wrist warmers  

*****

I found this post in my drafts. I didn't post it at the time because I thought it needed a photo. Because somewhere along the way all posts had to have photos. But it paints its own photo I think. No photo needed.

pinned it. did it. {with doña}

Doña is back with another Pinned it. Did it. post. At my retreats, Sasha makes some pretty awesome recipes with quinoa and every single retreat I think, "I'm going to use that stuff more often." But my husband is determined to stick to the story that he isn't a fan. But I love it and am convinced my whole family would too if only I knew what to do with it. Doña reminded me that I'm not alone in this and shares an adventure with quinoa that is inspiring me to get the box out of the cupboard and do something about putting it onto the table. Love how she also gives us insight into how she tweaks recipes to use what she has on hand.

*****

This post isn’t about a recipe. Not really about a recipe.

This post is about how to use a recipe as a starting point. It is using Pinterest not as a place where you fall down the hole of craving a beautifully-presented meal or new art supplies or a whole new house, but about how to use Pinterest as the tool that it is - to inspire you and help you use what you already have, well.

What I had was quinoa, and it was lunchtime.

Quinoa is one of those grains that I know I should eat more of, but I just don’t know what to do with it. I had cooked some up to serve with dinner the night before, but then I forgot to serve it. So I had almost three cups of plain leftover quinoa that I knew I should eat but plain quinoa just isn’t that exciting.

I have a shelf full of cookbooks, but they don’t have a search feature. So I turned to Pinterest. I needed a recipe that used quinoa, I could make with what I had in the house right this minute, and that would be fast. 

I found Greek quinoa salad - yummy, but I didn’t have most of the ingredients. 

I found a grilled chicken, avocado and lime salad that looked like an awesome summer dinner, but would take too long for my lunch. I pinned that one for later. 

Then I found it: Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa. I didn’t mind eating “cereal” for lunch, and I was pretty sure I had all of the ingredients. Also, the recipe said it took five minutes to make. And it had a really pretty picture. I’m a sucker for the pretty picture, I admit it.

It is super simple - blend warm milk with cinnamon and vanilla bean, pour it over quinoa, then garnish with blueberries, sliced almonds, and honey.

Once I got in the kitchen I realized I didn’t quite have everything. And also the recipe made enough for four and I was eating lunch alone. I’d have to improvise.

A few years ago I did some traveling with a woman I used to work with who is also an accomplished cook. Whenever we’d eat a meal together in a restaurant, she’d take notes. Not a slavish list of exactly what we were eating, but the flavor combinations. A way of plating a dish that she’d never seen before. What spices she guessed were in there. When she got home she’d use her notes to recreate her memory of the meal, which was not ever what we’d eaten. It was a soup with the spices we’d had in a dessert, or a cocktail with the scent and colors of a starter plate I’d barely even noticed.

After that trip I realized that a recipe didn’t have to be followed, exactly, to make a great meal. I don’t mean bread - if you are making bread, follow the recipe! But with most everything else you can lead with what you have on hand, what you like, what you want to experiment with. Recipes can be sketches, I realized. 

So I started sketching with my quinoa. I roughly divided the recipe into four, so two cups of quinoa became 1/2 cup. Which didn’t look like enough, so I doubled that. One cup of blueberries became 1/4 cup. I didn’t have fresh berries, so I warmed up some frozen ones in the microwave. I didn’t have a vanilla bean, so I substituted some vanilla bean paste that I bought by accident a few weeks ago. No sliced almonds, so I rough-chopped some raw almonds that I picked out of a bag of trail mix. I added some shredded coconut because it sounded good. I didn’t measure the honey or the cinnamon.

I took my bowl of quinoa-with-stuff out to my back yard and sat in the shade of an apricot tree near my chicken coop to eat it, and it was delicious.

Was it exactly like the picture? No, not at all. But it was good. And next time I have some leftover quinoa I’ll be able to make that dish by instinct, not with a recipe.

Need some more recipe inspiration? Browse though my What’s For Dinner board for lots more delicious ideas.

Doña Bumgarner is a writer, artist, mama and a craft project-collector from way back. She loves Pinterest and uses it to help solve a household dilemma at least once a week (see her “pinned and done” board here). She lives in Santa Cruz with her partner, their little one and his almost grown one, and a collection of cats and chickens. She writes about the practice of moms feeding their souls in the midst of raising a family on her blog, Nurtured Mama. 

Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm continuing to add a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.