Playing around with jewels and walking in gardens

How’s your summer going? Are you HOT as a bbq oven? I honestly didn’t know what other comparison to make but you get it.

My summer has been somewhat quiet and slow which I absolutely LOVE. I’ve been teaching weekly jewelry classes and just generally spending time with my family.

Two weeks ago we traveled just outside of Raleigh to visit the Juniper Level Botanical Gardens and it was such a treat! We loved the waterfalls, all the amazing BIG cactus’ and being in nature. I tell you it is SO soothing.

We marveled at all the different and beautiful plants. Are you growing anything, doesn’t have to be plants? Are you growing a new project? A new idea?

We accidentally grew sunflowers and my daughter and I lost our minds, it’s such a delight, and the sunflowers bloom just outside my studio door. We’ve also got Japenese eggplant, pumpkin, green peppers and of course cherry tomatoes.

I also had a chance to visit my parents in the mountains and I made sure to harvest some of my Dad’s abundant sage and lavender. I created some really pretty bundles with some other wild flowers grown on their property.

When I sit down and spend time with these herbs I feel so connected to Mother Earth, we’re cocreating beauty and presence with these sage and lavender cleansing bundles.

Ya’ll know I LOVE to gift these cleansing wands to you and my friends. I was visiting my parents last month (June) to participate in the Girl Tribe Pop Up in Charlotte.

I had such a great time reading tarot at the event that I decided to participate in the July event which is happening this coming Sunday! If you live in the Charlotte area, come out and shop this super fun event!

I hope to see YOU there and if you can’t make it, be sure to check out my late summer and Fall events. It’s going to be a busy yet fruitful season!

How to celebrate Ostara and the Spring season

I’m a bit biased when it comes to March and the arrival of Spring in that i ADORE this season due to those factors and my birthday. It’s just so glorious when the first daffodils appear and the birds are chirpping early in the morning. So it’s no surprise that I go all out to celebrate this time of year.

So what is Ostara/Eostre? According to sources online “Ostara takes its name after the Germanic goddess, Eostre/Ostara, who was traditionally honoured in the month of April with festivals to celebrate fertility, renewal and re-birth. It was from Eostre that the Christian celebration of Easter evolved, and indeed the naming of the hormone Eostrogen, essential to women's fertility. The Goddess Ostara has the shoulders and head of a hare.

To me Eostre is flowers, the Spring/Maiden Goddess Brigid has come alive. She is arising from her slumber. I tell my daughter this as we gallivant outside and scoop up daisies for the hearth.

What are some ways you can celebrate this time of the rebirth of our earth? Well you probably already do some, decorating eggs, hidding eggs and baking spring gifts such as bread, short cakes and more.

Simply going outside for a short walk, even just 15 minutes to behold all that Ostara has to offer is a blessing and way to celebrate her. You can also write your spring & summer intentions on an egg, bury it and as you cover the egg speak aloud your desires and wishes. Decorating trees in your yard or your plants inside with gems or rocks, eggs and ribbons is a way to honor Ostara.

Spirit is here for us and she is listening. We have all gone through so much this past year and the future is bright, the Universe wants to see you grow and move forward.

Time spent contemplating themes and concepts help connect me to this season of birth and expansion.

And last of all, if you are into tarot & divination as am I, take time to inquire from spirit any messages she wants you to hear. I do this everyday and season, consulting tarot for divine messages. Journal the response, contemplate on how you can integrate the message into your life.

Honoring this time of year connects us to the divine and brings back to focus our deepest desires and plans. I hope you enjoyed this post, learn more from me in the future and click the link below. Than you as always for reading!

blessings to you & yours

Create Your Own Cleansing Wand

I had a dear friend and customer ask me to teach her how to create her own herbal cleansing wand and it had me thinking, why not create an easy guide for you and my friend Robin to use to create your own home grown cleansing wand?!

Okay let me be completely transparent, it’s SO easy to create and it’s fun and most importantly, harvesting wild herbs (or homegrown) creates a beautiful connection with Mother Earth and herbs. Herbs have SO much to teach us.

I truly became enamored with burning sage and lavender when I realized how calm it made me feel and the sweet and earthy aroma just made me feel better. It does help to know, especially now, that burning sage and some other dried herbs kills about 99% bacteria in the air.

Some recommendations I’d like to make. Try as much as possible to grow your own herbs and harvest them. However, you can also harvest wild herbs such as wildflowers, basil, lemon grass, sage, lavender and rosemary. If you can’t you can most definitely pop into most grocery stores and purchase herbs in the vegetable section.

I hope that you enjoyed my easy guide and that you take advantage of this time at home to nurture your soul, your spirit and mother earth. I promise you the time spent connecting with herbs will show up in your life in unexpected ways.

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Lavender from last year’s harvest. Photo by Erica Letchworth.

La Luna Gift Box

Yes BOX gifts are all the rage and I can honestly say I understand why, because you get a fun box full of tiny treasures that you can keep for yourself AND gift some of the box treasures.

Several years ago I purchased a gift box from my fellow maker, Priya Means Love, and it contained wonderful creams and lotions. It made the perfect gift for my close friend.

And so as I was brainstorming gift ideas for you, a giant LIGHTBULB appeared above my head. A Moon inspired gift box. Because as you know I’ve been connecting with the moon phases and this box celebrates the intention and tranquility of syncing ourselves with the moon.

In this gift box are magical tools:

• A round luminous moonstone orb, large enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

• Herkimer earring studs, these will help open your third eye chakra

• A rose sage and lavender cleansing bundle that will last you months

• A silver polishing cloth, to maintain all your favorite Eilisain Jewels

Also a suggestion here, you can use this gift box to cover small gifts for your friends and family, give the sage and lavender wand to that one friend that needs some calm and clarity, or the earrings to gift your mom, they may not be real diamonds, but herkimers are the next BEST thing, and keep the polishing cloth for yourself then use the magical moonstone orb as a touchstone for when you want to open up your crown chakra.

I wanted this gift box to reflect complete intention and sacredness to your life.

Who Doesn't Love a Holiday Gift with Purchase?

I can distinctly recall the memory as a preteen rummaging through my mother’s Clinique gifts with purchase, alipstick or a face cream. She always gave me a little something and I loved it!

And just akin to the joy of a free gift, this year I wanted to try something new, offering you that same feeling, an additional token of generosity. See the wonderful part of gifts with purchase is that you’re taking care of yourself and getting a little something something to gift to someone else. I know that when I go holiday shopping, most of the time I find gifts for myself and with a gift with purchase you cover all the bases!

You guys, these little cloths are a life saver when you need to add that extra shine to your jewels.

Sage and lavender bring a wonderful sense of calm to your life. Why not pass it along? This is a $17 bonus gift!

Now we’re talking, super glam and healing herkimer stud earrings, a sage and lavender with a crystal cleansing wand AND a polishing cloth. This one is fantastic!

Now is the time to get your holiday shopping done, and from the comfort of your own home. Gifting a loved one a handmade piece of jewelry is entirely sentimental and so special. I always recommend purchasing a necklace as a gift because it’s unisex and typically easy for anyone to wear - you don’t need a ring size!

How My New Morning Ritual Has Improved My Mindset

Lighting my sage and lavender bundle marks the beginning of my meditation.

I’ve written on here before about meditation and several methods and ways to meditate but on this post I wanted to share some of my newest methods and also the immense benefits of a meditation practice.

I’ve created a new ritual in my life and it’s having massive impacts on my mental and physical health. I wake up about an hour before my daughter Tallulah wakes up, sometimes this varies, like I’ll have a half hour and some days I struggle but on average I get a lil chunk of time in the morning to set myself up for the day.

Here’s how my routine begins: I wake up around 5-530am and I head to our kitchen and pour myself a glass of lemon and basil or rosemary water (I’ve heard and read that it’s a great way to cleanse and hydrate your body), then I head upstairs to my meditation room. I light some candles and sage and then I sit at my altar for about 10 minutes for mediation and prayer. I’d eventually like to increase this to 20 or 30 minutes but for now it’s ten. After I’ve meditated and prayed I go through a 10 minute yoga routine. I absolutely love how the stretching and yoga poses work out kinks in my back, arms and neck. After my yoga I sit in my comfy grandma chair and journal, I also do a short tarot reading, usually it’s a three card spread. This act of journaling does two things: it cleanses my mind of the clutter, thoughts and dreams I’ve had AND it gives me time to reflect.

I love this sacred pace so so much.

Ya’ll, this ritual really has changed how I behave throughout the day, I just feel centered and reprogrammed for intention. I’ve become more focused in my goals, felt energized throughout the day and I just feel so much more connected to my ancestors, spirit guides and most importantly my inner teacher. In addition I’ve noticed how my perspective on my life and reaction to situations has become calm and centered. When my daughter has a meltdown or something sudden and perhaps typically stressful would happen I breathe and allow myself to let it go.

No surprise here, Tallulah loves playing with all my ritual objects.

Maybe some of you are thinking, well I just can’t get up at 5am to do all that. I’m not suggesting you do, although I honestly believe you’ll get used to it and come it enjoy it. What perhaps I’m hinting at for you is that carving out anytime, maybe during your lunch break or in the evening setting aside anytime to journal, go for a quiet walk with no phones, or maybe playing Frisbee outside - ANY kind of act that allows you to be still is incredibly helpful to your mental health.

“We need to listen to ourselves FIRST before anyone else, what do YOU need to feel happy and whole. Often times we get up and go, look at our phones or flip on the tv but we don’t give ourselves the time and space to LISTEN.”

— Lisette Fee

You are so worthy, worthy of your time to BE.

Back in my mid-twenties when I began meditating and praying and when I look back at how that time I had gave me space to dream about this time right now, HERE, I know that it was well spent. I dreamed of being a jeweler, of being the weird, nerdy and jewelry obsessed person that I am today.

So my dear friends, take back your time away from the distractions and noise and just BE.

If you want to continue to read more of these blog posts and shop some of my newest one of a kind jewels please sign up for my email list and I will keep you in the loop. Thank you as always for reading!!

My Favorite All Natural HANDMADE Beauty Products

Over the course of the past three years I’ve truly begun to move towards consuming all natural and organic products in addition to using more oils, cultivating a garden and reducing our waste as a family. One of my new favorite hacks is creating my own home cleaning products. I use vinegar, lemon juice, water and a dash of eucalyptus oil to clean my counters. We have begun composting and we’re planning to expand our vegetable and herb garden next year.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I really love using handmade beauty products. When I use the term handmade I truly mean handmade. The herbs have been either harvested or ethically sourced and even some of the marketing materials have been created by the maker. I know personally several of the owners of these companies and I just LOVE it that I can shop with them versus CVS or Target. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a good clearance item at Target but the core products I use are small business owned and most likely female owned.

Totally cheesy photo of me but I post it to show you how great my skin looks with no makeup because I use Priya’s Deep Radiance Face cream nightly!

So I’d love to share my favorite products made by some amazingly talented bossbabes:

1. Priya Means Love - I’ve mentioned her products before on my here and suffice it to say, I’m a loyal fan of her rich, creamy and absolutely earthy goodness creams, lotions, balms and fragrances. Priya and I met years ago at the Craft Bastards Craft show in DC and we had a lil trade which led me to being addicted to her goods!

2. Lo&Behold - I absolutely love Lizzie and her delicious products. We met several years ago at a local craft show and her lotions and potions are just incredible AND she employs young adults to help her craft her products. She uses all natural ingredients and they just make you FEEL SO good!

3. Ritual Elements - I discovered Nique’s products several months ago by chance on Etsy and I’ve given several of her Room + Body Self love sprays as gifts to my friends. These make fantastic wellness gifts for special people in your life, and for yourself. Her bath bombs are tiny treasures with hidden treasures!

4. Mother Mountain herbals - When I need a dusting of coco rose dry shampoo I turn to Mother mountain. I discovered them through my stockist Everyday Magic and I’ve been a loyal fan of their products. Stina also got her start creating her creations in Asheville, so I love the extra North Carolina representation.

I’m sure I’ll add more to that list however I’m kinda itching to create my own! Since we’ve begun our herb and vegetable garden it has gotten me closer and more comfortable handling plants. With that I also want to venture myself in creating my own remedies, oils, tinctures and more. You can say I’m a novice of herbal studies and I”m really loving it.

There is such a wonderful feeling in getting a bit dirty, using your hands and body to become familiar with the earth. I urge you to move towards more natural and organic products. It’s better for you and our world.

As always thank you for reading and stay tuned for my herbal studies progress. Join my email list and I’ll share more with you!

Summer Rituals and Habits

Being half Spanish I have inherent comfort level with heat and warm temperatures. I love being warm, baking in the sun by a pool. And despite some of the oppressive temperatures lately, I still love summertime.

So here are some of my favorite rituals and things to do this time of year.

1. Enjoy the sunsets! I try to get outside in the early morning and in the late evening. Even if there is a warm drizzle, being outside with my daughter is so fun in the late summer nights. She enjoys a popsicle while I sip on rosemary seltzer water and we soak in the natural beauty.

2. The Uptown Umbrella market and all farmer markets - Ripe red tomatoes, local honey, shaved ice and live music, it’s free and we get to see our friends! And if I’m lucky we go to my favorite farm to table restaurant Starlight Cafe.

3. Outdoor concerts and movies - another fun and FREE activity. Now that our daughter is running around and has all the energy it makes sense to take her to a musical outdoor event. It’s another excuse to be outside enjoying the late nights.

4. Harvesting - For our garden summertime explodes with green and purple peppers, Japenese eggplant, mint, basil and cherry tomatoes. It’s so gratifying to go in our backyard and pluck fresh vegetables.

5. Stay inside and paint - Yes I love warm weather but I also enjoy the cool temps inside. I’ve taken to setting up a paint station for my daughter and we get totally creative. It’s also a meditative activity. You don’t think, you just paint and allow your mind to empty!
   

Every season has it’s extremes, fun and drudgey but overall, I try to enjoy each season for the wonderful offerings and ways to move with time.

Thanks as always for reading, stay in touch with me via my email list and I’ll send you more rituals and ways to celebrate a more present life.

5 Super Easy Ways to Celebrate Earth Day - EVERY DAY

What they said is wrong, being green is easy. Seriously, in our convenience led world we don’t need to be wasteful. Our beautiful planet needs us to be protectors of her abundance and generosity.

Life is cyclical right? We can not take something without giving. And the same goes for all that we consume on a daily basis. So here are five super easy ways to be less wasteful, recycle, reuse and especially REDUCE.

1. Take your own water bottle or coffee mug when you step out of the house. As a matter of fact, stash a to go container, a reusable water bottle and coffee mug in your canvas shopping bag.

2. Reuse any of your plastic bags. And clean and drop off any plastic film and bags at your local Food Lion or grocery store. It’s SO convenient.

3. Unplug and turn off any cellular charging stations or lights that you aren’t using. This will not only save energy for the planet BUT it also SAVES YOU MONEY!

4. SHOP second hand and Salvation Army. You guys, this one is fun - you can find the best treasures at thrift stores.

5. Grow a garden, plant trees and pick up trash where you see it. It all begins in your community. the more we time we spend outside in nature and the wilderness the more we appreciate and love our world.

I hope that you take this time of year to venerate and give gratitude for all the our mother earth provides for us. I know I sound all hippy dippy but trust me when I say that what YOU receive in return for your gratitude is so much more.

If you enjoyed my tips and want to learn more, sign up for my email list below and you’ll get more advice AND ways to improve your life.

Color Therapy and How It Can Change Your Life

Years ago, when I worked a desk job, I had a supervisor that I was struggling to connect with and demonstrate that I was confident to perform my job. One day, I summoned confidence and courage with the color red. I wore my carved red dragon pendant and red lipstick. Does this sound silly? Maybe but it worked, subtly I channeled a side of me to own my presence and talent.

There’s a reason houses sell more quickly with a red door, it stands out. It’s striking and vibrant. There are so many different ways to use color to improve your life and well being.

“Color therapy, also known as chromotherapy, is a non-invasive energy medicine (vibrational healing) modality. Color is simply a form of visible light, of electromagnetic energy. All the primary colors reflected in the rainbow carry their own unique healing properties.

The concept of color therapy is premised on the idea that on the surface of our skin, physical and energy systems of the body interface through the color vibrations found and utilized in the visible light spectrum. 12 vibrating fields of colors generate electrical and magnetic fields of energy that are prime activators of biochemical and hormonal processes, and also stimulate or sedate activities within the body that are necessary to balance every system and organ of the body.”

— -Innovative Medicine

This is essentially the chakra system, an Eastern spiritual tradition that associates seven centers on the body with color and universal properties.

I’m a firm believer that we should trust ourselves more, our inner guide and teacher. Utilizing color and examining how you can change your mood, energy and mind through different therapies such as aromatherapy, color therapy, meditation is incredibly empowering. Now I’m not saying this is a cure-all, please consult your family doctor before you try any of this. However there are small things you can do that can simply improve your mood and mindset.

Light some sage OR burn an oil diffuser. I probably light my sage 2-3 times daily. I love the earthy scent.

The color GREEN is everywhere now, with Spring coming into full effect we NOT  can escape this rich and calming color.  But want to know a secret?

Bringing the color green into your home and life can bring YOU abundance and wealth. 
Color therapy is a fantastic way to call upon energies and manifests qualities we seek.  This is one of the reasons I'm using green stones such as malachite, agates and more in my upcoming collection.

I have yet to give it an official name or set date but stay tuned. 
You are going to LOVE this collection.

In the meantime, as you anxiously await these jewels to be listed.  I'm giving you some thoughts and ideas on how to use color therapy.

Green = abundance, wealth and vitality
Yellow = empowerment, increased well being and positivity
Red = energize, transformation and rebirth
Purple = spirituality, confidence and clarity
Blue = Relaxation, introspection and soothing vibes.

You can bring these colors and qualities into your life in so many ways.  By the what you wear, the jewelry you wear, your living space and office. 

Give it a try this week.  If you need some positive vibes, place yellow flowers at your desk.  If you need to chill out, look at water images on Pinterest. 

Subtle ways of infusing color therapy into your everyday life can have major impacts on your psyche and energy.

Growing a Green Thumb

There seem to be these phases of growing into adulthood, other than the usual kids and buying a house.  And I believe one of them is becoming a gardener.  I've always loved flowers and herbs but not enough to truly grow a garden.  And now that we have a very large backyard - I'm very excited to begin cultivating it.

I can only dream that my herb garden would produce this much of a harvest - one day!

Last weekend my husband and I planted a pear and fig tree.  We're still not there yet on the raised beds but we will get there. What I absolutely love about having a garden is being able to go right out my back yard and pluck a cherry tomato for my salad or add rosemary to breads or oils.  There is something precious about cultivating your own food. 

I will say I'm also incredibly lucky that my inlaws are experts at growing a vegetable garden AND they have chickens.  Their eggs are the best! And you know whats also cool about having a garden you actually don't need a large backyard.  You can grow vertical gardens in tight spaces or simply keep small potted plants on your porch - it's what we did before we had an actual yard. 

I hope you enjoy this season with fresh herbs and vegetables - especially if they're from you garden!

Infusing Your Drinks

As you know I love herbs and they have such universal properties, from oils to incense.  And lately I've been using my herbs for infusing my water, wine and teas.

On my Mother's Day I received a fantastic gift from my friend; little rubber molds that you can place herbs in; of course you can also use your ice cube trays. 

Mint and lavender infused drinks

So here are several of my favorite herbs and recipes for infusing your summer drinks!

1.  Pineapple sage - my friend and customer Traci Davis introduced me to this yummy herb.  Add this to your malibu bay breezes or your citrusy drinks. 

2.  Mint - this beloved herb really goes well with anything.  I love grinding it and adding it to hot or cold chocolate drinks. 

3.  Lavender - not only is it my favorite color but also my favorite herb.  Lavender loves being paired with vanilla and this works great in teas as well as iced drinks with vodka or rum.

4.  Basil - one of my favorite drinks from local Greenville restaurant the Scullery is their lemon basil drink, seltzer, simple syrup, lemon and basil - it's SO refreshing!

There are endless possibilities to the combinations you can make with your herbs and drinks and it's low calorie, very good for your health and savory.  I hope you enjoyed this post and thanks for reading!

PS - In every Eilisain jewelry order I include a spring of lavender.  Use this to burn in your home for a calming sense.

Succulent Time!

Along with my new interest in essential oils and herbal care and medicine I'm also going a bit nuts for succulents and building lil terrariums.  Maybe it's part of becoming a mom or that I now have quite a bit of space to garden or that I'm becoming such a homebody but somehow I've gained more interests in caring for plants and tending to a garden.

A terrarium I made for my girlfriend.  I loved using an air plant with a splash of coral color.  The glass case is from TJ Maxx. 

Thus I wanted to share with you some new tips I've gleaned along the way as well as places to get your accoutrements for your terrarium garden.

1. Plant and See Nursery, Greenville, NC - If you live in my area you will definitely want to visit Plant and See if you haven't been there already.  They have a very large assortment of plants, statues, herbs and all things green! Now if you don't live in the Eastern NC area you'll want to find your local Garden shop versus the usual big box stores.  As I always urge you, go LOCAL.

2.  Glass containers and displays for terrariums - I'm going to admit I'm guilty and I went to TJ Maxx for a glass container HOWEVER, you can usually find super affordable containers at Goodwill, Salvation Army OR even use old vases to build up a terrarium.  I've done this before and it works perfectly to display your mini-plant universe.

3.  Terrarium Accessories - This one is super easy.  You can use medium sized stones, coral, sea shells, geodes etc. or even little people or houses you can get at your local craft store.  I was very excited to use purple moss (purple power friends!) or use any other moss you find or purchase.

My personal terrarium with special sea urchin shells from the Outer Banks. 

4.  How to care for your terrarium and succulents - My friend gave me the advice to soak your air plants and some succulents in water for a good 20 mins and then let air dry twice a week.  You may want to clean out your glass case every couple of weeks.  Store your air terrarium in a cool yet temperate place near a window or where it will receive moderate sunlight.  

I hope you enjoyed this post and it helps you enjoy plant life, they say it eases stress and makes people happy when you have plants around and I believe it!