A Beautiful Mess

happy thanksgiving, darlings.....

i love thanksgiving! and with so much to be thankful for, it might just be the most perfect holiday ever.

apologies for my absence this week. i expect that next week i will be back with a blogging vengeance!
LOVES.elsie

on my 26th birthday...

i woke up (much too) early and drove to Kansas City with my dear rachel. we had some merry & bright lattes and a little bit of time to shop at some of our favorite shops in kc.
I loved these *wild things* items at Urban Outfitters. I can't wait to see the movie! One of my fave children's books....

(sigh.. if only i could decorate like 15 Christmas trees! :D)


i was also very amused by these holiday cards:


we bought the boys some v-necks & cardigans at AA (my only favorite store for boy shopping!)
oh... and i finally got one of these little cuties... i love them!

oh! and i had my first ever bubble tea!
(how did i not know about this? it's soooo good!)

(this cute illustration is from hella art!)

Rachel got her very first tattoo! We all decided in the Springtime to get Red Velvet Art tattoos and Rach went first! They are all going to be crafty tattoos..hers is a sewing machine! i am so excited. It's so beautiful. Here is a snapshot...

and i got a polaroid camera! i love it oh-so-much...

while i was getting my tattoo, silje taught rachel how to knit....


(shaun did both of our tattoos and we thought he was *wonderful*!)

afterwards we had sushi & more lattes. then rach and i drove back home for 3 hours and didn't ever run out of things to talk about. :)

I couldn't imagine a happier birthday. Thank you, girls. I love you.

Switching subjects,
Thank you SO much for all of the excitement about the new store!!! If you want to, hope on over and join our mailing list! 

this comment (on the RV blog) made me sooo happy:
"Congrats on following what's *clearly* written all over your heart. Best wishes!"

This is the happiest time in my life.
I am thankful for this dream, these people and for you.

happy friday!
bubble tea for everyone.
XO.elsie

ps.........i'm doing a give-a-way this weekend. stay tuned!

a new dream is born!

Hiiiii! Today I turn 26. I am so excited to share with you my newest and most beloved project...
On February 1, I will be opening an Art Boutique called Red Velvet Art! My new shop will be a large & lovely online shop full of independent art, music, fashion, decor & crafty stuff.
In addition to the online shop, I am opening a real life shop here in my hometown full of the cutest indie goods around made by some of my favorite artists in the whole world!
It's a dream come true! I am so excited to share all of the little details with you as the magical day approaches...





I can't wait to share more! Thank you so much for sharing this exciting season with me!! I am so so thankful.

I am off to Kansas City for the day to hang out with Rachel & Silje. I am pretty sure it's going to be the best birthday ever!!!!!
XO.e

oh, i love the mondays....

hello! i took a few photos to share with you of a BEAUTIFUL vintage shop called, The Style, that is across the street from my home&work. I have been shopping here since high school and i just love it!!!

this window display with about 50 vintage radios steals my heart! i've been working of sort of a "treasure map" of my hometown to share with my out of town guests. this shop certainly makes the list! it's beautiful. i found 2 vintage dresses there last week.

i am loving the online class experience. we are having a lovely time and sharing so much inspiration! excited to start week 2...

here is one of my darling students project from last week....


i looooooove it!

last night, jeremy and i drove 3 hours to see this movie.
it was so worth it.


we love charlie kaufman so much (seriously, what could ever be more charming than this? )
it was a beautiful film. emma said she felt like it was one of the most important films she's seen.
highly recommended by us. :)

well, i am back to work for the week and feeling so inspired! on wednesday, i will turn 26. As promised, i am ready to share with you the next big chapter in my life & art. i feel like i am walking into the most exciting season. i can't wait to share everything!

love so much. happy monday!
els

lovely & unexpected...

my bestie sent over one of her ADORABLE KITS and i was so inspired to create... the autumn colors & the feathers steal my heart. here's what i made...




*sigh*. i always feel so cozy after a little scrapbooking. it's the season, you know.

today rach, silje and i were supposed to be getting tattoos together. the artist was sick though so we had to reschedule for next week. i feel like i have an unexpected free day to catch up and it could not have come at a better time. i have so much to do, it's all so wonderful, but still... it will feel great to get a little bit more caught up. :) here is a peek at my studio today.... this will give you a good idea of the craziness (but also so much excitement) that is going on in my world right now....
"PLEASE FORGIVE THIS"

honestly, though...i'm not even embarrassed of it. i love it. i like to wake up and walk into my studio and it looks like a crazy world of papers and paints and supplies.... it's nice to have it tidy, but it's also very inspiring to let it be out of control at time. i enjoy....:)

and another little project i started last night.... my dad helped me paint this bench white (thanks dad!!). i suddenly feel verrrrrrry anxious about completing all of my little home decor projects and feeling totally "settled in". maybe it's the coming holiday, i am not sure. i just know that i want to work on things a little bit each day until my new loft feels officially complete (even it the feeling only lasts for a little while...). this project is a lot of fun to work on. i think i am going to add a cushion and call it done as soon as the buildings are painted. :)

well, i am going back to work now. there is so much cuteness waiting to be created!
early Christmas lattes for everyone! xo. els

Last call for class sign up!

Hi everyone! Happy Monday.

My class officially begins today!

ETA: Class sign up is now closed! If I do another class in the future, I will post about it here! :D THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED MY CLASS! Your support is amazing to me and I am so honored to have a chance to inspire you for 6 weeks!!!!

here are a few answers to the f.a.q.'s about my class:

*You can work on the projects at any pace. The tutorials,patterns & instructions will stay posted for a full year. Everyone who has joined the class will have access to all of the materials and chat archives for a year so that there is plenty of time to revisit favorite projects. I know the holidays can be a very busy time. I've tried to design the class as a source of inspiration but without a strict schedule! :)

*Most of the supplies used in the class are common craft items that you may already have or that can be purchased from any craft store.

*Our weekly chats are at a different time each week in order to work with different schedules/time zones.

SO EXCITED! :D

NOTE for those of you who have already joined the class:

login and see what's new! I will be near my computer allllll day so if you have questions, e-mail me! I am so very excited to see what you create based off of these projects & ideas!!!

In other news:

My boyfriend took me to play with puppies and that was the highlight of my weekend. I want a puppy so badly, but it's not really in the near future. They are so much fun to see and play with though! i loveeee them.

rachy  and i had a nice little shopping experience this weekend. does it freak you out that there is already Christmas stuff in EVERY store or do you like it? I think i love it and hate it. it's a little early for me... but still exciting. fun to start anticipating.

Oh, and she made my day when she posted this.....

Merry Christmas... i mean, Happy Monday.

elsie

i love guests....

this darling girl is in springfield for the week. i am (finalllllllyyyyyy) getting one-on-one training in Adobe Illustrator (it's so fun! i am finally able to realize so many ideas that have been burning in my mind for a longlong time). we are also drinking lots of hot chocolate, visiting lots of vintage shops and hanging out a little bit with one cute bearded boyfriend.

basically, this week is wonderful.

and I think i've fallen in love.

geeeez. this is a cute little baby!

and if you are in need of a little bit of visual stimulation my favorite little mama has posted some kitchen photos that are killing me with cuteness...... sigh.

if you are still craving inspiration you need this.
i love jim houser forever & ever.

back to work for me..... goodnight! elsie
 

it's that day....

xoxo.

monday is funday & new photos....

hi everyone. i hope your weekend was lovely.
my friend, sarah, was in town for the week and we finally had a chance to do a photoshoot together.

i have been thinking about this concept for a few months... rachel found this cute hair piece and i wanted to do a "painted wedding dress". it was really fun. sarah is such a beauty.

this week my friend, stephanie, is in town. excited!

i am getting closer & closer to announcing something to you that i have been saving for a long time! i can't wait. i think i will announce it on my birthday.... coming up in a few weeks! :D i really can't wait!

sooooo... i've been sending out daily e-mails to people signing up for my classes. i am really thankful for the huge response. it's going to be fun. if, for any reason, you have signed up but not yet received your login info. PLEASE let me know. i won't know if you don't tell me! can't wait to get started!!

Happy monday to all!

concert & halloween pics!

the concert was lovely...


jeremy did the most adorable cover of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" at the end of the show. People were dancing. It was so cute.

and Halloween was soooo much fun! we had a small party with close friends...












more tonight... i miss youuuuuu! els