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.)

a shop sale

A Spring Sale! Because Mother's Day is around the corner...because you might need some color to brighten your corner...because you might need a reminder that you are enough...

Head over to the shop and then when you checkout, just press the Apply Shop Coupon Code button in your shopping cart. Then enter SPRING15 for 15% off your entire order. The sale is good through Thursday, April 24.

the spring collection

open up and live with fluorite bracelet

The Spring Collection is inspired by the wishes I have for you (yes, you) in your corner of the world. Soul Mantra pendants, feathers, and lockets are paired with gemstones to invite in peace, calm, connection, and love. 

My studio assistant Bonnie and I went to a gem show earlier this month and had so much fun picking out these stones. When she spotted that gorgeous green Fluorite shown with the bracelet and feather above, she insisted we get two strands and now we're wishing we'd bought them out. It is so gorgeous in person. 

And the Love Wins necklace is my favorite from the collection. I'm wearing mine daily. A couple of weeks ago, I had one of those experiences where I started to wonder if one person really can make a difference in the world. Where I wondered why some of us have trouble choosing love even when it seems so obvious to others. Where I wondered if I could choose love in the face of some of what happens in the world around us. So I walked into my studio and hammered the words "love wins" into metal and paired these words with aquamarine to promote peace, courage, and communication.

The intention behind this necklace all comes down to this: Because I believe love wins with all my heart. Because I believe you should be able to love the person you love. Because I believe you should be able to marry the person you love. Because I want my daughter to feel safe becoming whomever she will become and loving whomever she will love. So I made this necklace. Because I believe love will win even when it looks like it might not.

Yes.

Bonnie and me after walking around the gem show for hours...

Bonnie is helping me even more these days. It is such a gift to have her in the studio not only to package orders but to bounce ideas off of. She really helped me brainstorm this collection as we sat together at a big table in the middle of my studio and just dove in and had fun. It was a reminder that I'm at my happiest when creative energy is flowing and this collection reflects that.

You'll be seeing more of Bonnie around here as we start working on some of the ideas I keep mentioning to her when we're packaging orders. Good stuff is coming.

See all of the new Spring Collection right here.

choosing a word isn't permanent (from the archives)

Friday's soul mantra altar in the studio

When I sat down to write a post inviting you to let go of any anxiety around "choosing a word of the year," I peeked into last year's posts about choosing a word and realized one post said all that I want to say today. So I'm sharing those words again with a few amendments to make it relevant to this year.

Because honey, choosing a word isn't permanent. It's a guide. A touchstone. And if it resonates, awesome. And if not, you are still totally enough without it.

*****

Right now, my studio is full of words and intentions for the new year as beautiful souls are choosing a word to act as a touchstone for them for the new year.

I have been so moved by the stories arriving with the shop orders. This week, I created a new altar for the Soul Mantras to sit on after they've been polished and are awaiting chains to then be packaged up and sent on to their new homes.

I want to share that I've noticed some discussion about and received emails from people feeling "pressure" to choose a word or figure out what their word should be. Oh sweet soul, please let that go today. 

Choosing a guiding word or phrase for the year isn't the same thing as choosing a wrist tattoo.

It isn't permanent. It is one practice that might or might not work for you. 

At any given time, I work with several words and mantras. I am a word person. They are my most comfortable medium. 

When my mind is swirling or I'm exhausted with a very active toddler to take care of or when I feel lonely or a bit lost, taking a few deep breaths and focusing on a word or phrase grounds me.

Because there are so many words out there, it helps me to have a few that are at the ready. Words I wear as talismans or have on sticky notes or write on my mirror...words that come out of conversations with dear friends that I write in huge letters in my journal. 

Words are part of my soul care practice. Choosing one for the year is just another way of bringing in self-care for me. It becomes another handhold in the midst of it all. 

Maybe this idea resonates. Maybe it feels like too much. Listen to what you need.

Let these first few days of 2014 be full of more ease and less perfection or a need to do anything because it seems like you are supposed to.

Sending you light and love today,

Liz 

If you are drawn to this practice but don't want to choose a word, I created the star shine necklace for you. The Intention Necklaces are also an option.

Or if you just wish someone would just choose a word for you, choose your favorite Soul Mantra design and then just let me know when you check out. Add a sentence or two with where you are right now on your path in the "Notes to Seller" box over on Etsy, and I'll hold you in my thoughts and heart for a moment, breathe deeply, and choose one for you.