off on a safari

i've been busy the last few days, getting ready for tomorrow's big launch! i begin my spring/summer roll-out and i am pretty excited about it.i've mentioned it before but the line is called "firework blossoms & gossamer dreams" our first journey will be to the safari. there will be a total of 3 tshirts and 2 interchangable styles of sandals or booties in the safari adventure. it will be available for girls and boys.


i will be listing the "snail safari" t-shirt and the "safari bloom" sandals tomorrow. and every day forward, there will be new items added to the shop and of course to the blog!
enjoy!

please let me know what you all think, i love comments!

oh, and it's my mommy's birthday today! i love her...

wip - little elephant

The passed week has been pack full of the trousseaux to treasure launch and teaching myself how to screen print. screen printing hasn't been an easy go. but, today with some guidance from my fellow estians (etsyians) i believe i have a better understanding of it now. i am so, so excited. i have been wanting to learn for so long!

above, you'll see my first attempts at screen printing. i think my biggest problem was that i was attempting to do too much, too soon.

below, shows where i really should have been when i first began. i think i will stick to this until i feel more comfortable with screen printing. i will have the whole thing complete and posted here tomorrow! it is going to be really cute!

disappearing acts...

i promise that i will be back blogging full force this week! i have been super busy with wholesale orders and working on my new spring/summer line.

it is entitled "firework blossoms & gossamer dreams" i am really excited about it. the launch is set for 27th of march, which is my year anniversary on etsy. i will be posting snippets of my work on the blog before then though!

i also wanted to announce that trousseaux to treasure has finally officially launched and will be filled with delicious eye candy every day of the week. hope you all enjoy it and if you're interested in participating please contact me!

more on the wip's tomorrow.

have a wonderful monday!

and here we are

i know this post was meant for yesterday. but yesterday was a blur. by the time i actually had time to sit and remember it was too late to post for the day.

i am incredibly happy with my new space. the sun filters in so pleasantly and the fact that i have two functioning surfaces to work on has made creating extra fun. the desk serves as the sewing, construction, cutting area and the other lovely piece is where all the creations get wrapped with love and packed away for shipping.

the keeper for most of my fabrics is an old shelf, who has served as the garage miscellany shelf for years, but recently has found a new home, in my studio! I covered it with that gorgeous vintage fabric, seen the photo above. i think it almost makes that old rickety shelf look respectable. i can't find the nerve to cut the vintage fabric into small pieces so using it as a "shelf cozie" turned out to be a great idea, with just one cut width-wise and the rest of it ironed and set with water soluble hemming tape, it still retains much of it's original state.

i know the curtain rod, as a ribbon holder, isn't an original idea but i can't believe i never tried it before. it keeps all of my ribbon in one area, resulting in less clutter. i even used the flat curtain holders (that's what i found in the garage). i did have to make some of the holes a bit larger to fit smoothly onto the rod. separating the buttons into the small jars has also helped immensely. i used to dump them all out looking for specific colors and sizes and then of course they would sit there, forgotten like a pile of rocks.

oh, i don't think i mentioned where in the house i took over. we have separate living room and family room. the living room was going to become the library but that never happened, our hundreds of books are still resting in their boxes, not minding the collection of dust. so, i decided why not move into the living room?

we're not staying in this house (we're renting it) for too long. since we just moved to phoenix recently, we chose to live near my brother's. the neighborhood is wonderful, full of huge homes, but these large developments don't do much for me aesthetically. there are several historical neighborhoods full of turn of the century design. that is what speaks to us. looks like studio olilo will be changing again!

and on top of that we're only staying in arizona until jimmy is finished with his PhD then we are off to either post-doc work or where ever he gets a position at a university. good thing i am mobile. *) i desperately want to move back to boston. i miss it there so much.

i have gotten completely off topic, signs of this post needing to end. i will leave you all with some photos of the space.

have a great day!

tuffet ring - desejo

i've just listed a new tuffet ring! this one is called desejo. the top is made with three layers. the first layer is a black & white polka dot fabric, second is a warm burgundy lace, and the top, as you can see it the white with silhouettes of flowers.

this ring has turned out to be my favorite i've listed so far. i like the spanish vintage feel to it. i should have called it flamenco. maybe another one...

below is a sneak peak at desejo's companion piece which will be listed tomorrow in my shop, they are my first attempt making fabric earrings. i am pretty content with them. i will write more about them tomorrow.

please let me know what you think!