tea & jelly

i've recently developed a huge crush on tea time. i have been buying tea like mad, sampling the many, many different aromatic effects. i have always loved, mint, peppermint, jasmine, chamomile, matte leao (brazilian), and thai tea. as much as i love them i feel that it is time to branch out.

not long ago i was going through my heart list on etsy and i stopped by tea noir and purchased a wonderful blended tea, rio getaway, it is a richly complex tea, that will give all tea lovers something to smile about. it is extremely smooth and delicious. the color is gorgeous too. it has hints of citrus, mint and hibiscus. it is truly divine. she has several other handmade teas available in her shop. make a mental note to swing by there sometime.

another tea that i recently fell in love with, my mom's favorite, is a green tea blend by good earth. you can buy it at any health food store like, wholefoods, AJs, etc. it has a hint of lemongrass, which i love. it is such a wonderful and light tea. i heart it big time.

and finally what is the point of tea without scones? and what is the point of scones without yummy jelly? there isn't, this is why i also bought some organic pomegranate jelly from anflorence. i bought it yesterday, i can't wait for it to arrive in the mail! her shop is full of homemade jellies and other wonderful products. check her shop out today.

*photos are taken from the etsy shops of the sellers mentioned above.

tuffet - sophie

sophie tuffet ring. available in my etsy shop. please follow link to the right!

a lot of this...

a lot of this has been happening in studio olilo, but a lot of that equals a lot of goodness.

i also wanted to add that i have created the new blog for trousseaux to treasure, although nothing has been done with it yet. i will make a banner, etc, hopefully by Friday. if anyone is interested in contributing to the new blog, please join the trousseaux to treasure flickr group or contact me with your ideas.

our plan for the blog is to have themed features daily. thursdays will be the big feature day and will consist of a short interview with the designers that are in the chosen collection and from the individual who created the collection.

there will also be ad slots available in the future and if anyone else has any other ideas, we are open to them. we want to make this blog into a gallery, where indie designers are matched up with main stream designers to create amazing, original outfits. outfits that shoppers will be crushing on the moment they see all of the possibilities...

everything is in the sketched phase, we have some fine-tuning to do, so stay tuned.

*)

tuffets are finished!

on saturday i received my ring findings that i ordered to complete these wonderful new rings. i am in love with them! the ring above is called dusk

i actually sold a trial version off my finger at the post office last week! i was incredibly excited and i hope they get the same response on line as they have when i've worn them out.

they are entirely hand-stitched and the ring bases, for now, are silver plated adjustable bands. i just received, yesterday, my antique brass bases but i have to make a trial pair with those first. i know brass can turn your finger green, yuk, but they are really cool. some have really interesting textures and other are just plain but beautiful.

these are the first jewelery pieces to come out of studio olilo, cross your fingers and hope that they do well.

trousseaux to treasure*

attempting to make this an every friday event.

here we have a gorgeous jacket, violette, by ten little fingers. the t-shirt, blue prince, by look for the fiddle heads should be in everyone's wardrobe. the fantastic wallie by bellaroo, and we all shouldn't live without a pair of 7's, and finally the ultimate boot, half-spat boot, which can be found at anthropologie.

have a great weekend!

oh, almost forgot, if you have an overflowing wishlist for clothes, why not join the flickr group, trousseaux to treasure and create your own outfit.

tuffet ~ wip

sometimes the hands must take over the creation and the machine be put to sleep.

i've forgotten how fun it was to create things with just my hands while watching a movie. so much of my time is spent hunched over my sewing machine and drafting table, my hands barely get to enjoy the actual process of creation.

i love the feel of the varying textures of fabric, the push-pull rhythm of needle and thread. i am very happy with how they aren't perfect, and how they project a sense of raw femininity.

i am expecting the final touch to arrive any day now, but until then they remain

a bundle of tuffets in waiting...

Etsy in the NY Times!

etsy was mentioned by michelle slatalla! it's an interesting article. though her experience with one of her purchases wasn't terrific at least the other was.

you can read the article at here.

The Red Robot named Randal

after much neglect, i have finally finished Randal the Red Robot Onesie. I made the plushie early december with all the intention of completing the onesie & the Robo boot booties within days. never happened.

life got in the way, big orders took precedence, & poor Randal was pushed further & further down the "to do" list.

here he is on his first nature outing, looking quite suspiciously at the little bird taking a rest on his walking stick. he is still quite perplexed about the little bird but he is managing his confusion quite well for a robot.

let's hope it doesn't take me forever to finish the boots...

*a round of heart felt thank you's & a cup of joe*

when i first started creating and posting my creations online, i wasn't sure what type of response i would receive, if any.

i truly believe it takes a strong person to expose themselves to the multitudes of people on the world wide web. and more importantly, it takes a stronger person to have the belief in themselves as well as their product. but even those who may be the strongest still need encouragement.

even though i am for the most part faceless, even though many people don't know my real name, i am still exposed. my product is me. the fabric, my skin. the thread, my veins, the pattern, my hope, the finishings, my fears. every item that i create is full of every emotion i experience before, during, and after its creation.

when a customer purchases an item from me, they are telling me that i am able. when they receive their item and are filled with happiness from it, they are telling me that i am worthy. when they take time to write me & thank me, they are telling me that, i am...period.

i am thankful for so many who have shown, with out solicitation, their belief in me and their hope for my success.

i want to give the biggest hug to christina, who runs mom-co, she has been a great believer in olilo from the start. she is also incredibly talented and her items are so full of character and sweetness, i *adore* her mini art quilts, amazing. check her shop out at jamtartbaby. she is truly unique, i love her. thank you so much.

i also want to thank saidie, who's shop you can find here it is full of the wonderful jewelry and clothing. i am particularly in love with her button rings. she also has a blog, Saidie's Etsy Blog, where she has sweetly written about my shop. thank you for considering my shop for your blog saidie!

i just recently found out that jhayne from black white bliss featured two pairs of my booties on her blog. that was an incredible find! thank you so much! her blog is amazing, especially for those who love everything black & white. she has amazing taste and i am still trying to figure out where she finds everything...it is a mystery.

to all my wholesalers and consignors, thanks to you all. especially to one good bumblebee for being so awesome, of course! and for answering all of my idiotic business trivia *) i heart you big time lady.

and finally the biggest hug of all goes out to my customers! thanks to everyone! thanks for allowing me into your life.

trousseaux to treasure*

renee posted this terrific outfit to the flickr group, trousseaux to treasure* yesterday and i just had to post it here! how great are those slippers? i just love them.

you can find some more terrific taste at renee's shop, cocoapod. her jewelry is incredibly sweet and very stylish.

have a happy sunday!

Craft: Magazine

This past summer I was contacted by Craft: to contribute a project to the magazine. I almost forgot about it! I was organizing my favorites this morning and saw the link to Craft: magazine and decided to take a look.

Volume 2 is on stands January, 23 and my Re-purposed House Slips will be on page 108, but you can get a sample PDF from the Craft: site here. I am very, very excited about it.

The slippers are made from recycled jeans and two old buttons. It's a terrific weekend project and I just want to thank Carla Sinclair for offering me the opportunity and a big hug to the rest of the Craft: team.

There will be future projects within the glossy pages of Craft: designed by me, hopefully sooner than later.

If you do happen to make them, I would *love* to see your finished product. That would just make my day!

Enjoy!

trousseaux to treasure*

it doesn't take much for my heart to flutter when it comes to feminine dress. i swear my heart *pitterpats* when nearing anthropologie. i could simply be driving by the shopping and my heart will quicken and i get a bit flushed. just thinking about it now, i am quite excited.

there is nothing better than slipping on a well-fitted dress, the soft texture, the delicate folds, and the sweet details...

right now, i am crushing on this gorgeous "drowsy babydoll dress" and here are the things i would wear with them! *)

if you would like to join in on the fun, join the flickr group! http://flickr.com/groups/trousseauxtotreasure/

Little Owl Sachet

Meet the Little Owl family. They are a family of three and still growing. I have so much fun making them and my studio always smells delicious!