A Beautiful Mess

2009 Inspiration Journal & giveaway!!!!

OMG! i am soooo excited to offer one last journal kit (haha... not forever, but just for my etsy shop)! It's an inspiration journal kit for the new year....

i made an inspiration book for each season with my kit...


this is the autumn girl.

and spring! :D

you can pick up your kit here!!!
i only made 150, so if you really want one, please don't wait... i am not sure how long they will last this time!

ALSO, i am giving away one kit free!
If you'd like a chance to win sign your name & your new years goal (if you have one.) in the comments!

xoxo..... elsie

a new year is coming for us all....

i had the most wonderful holiday with my family. it was extra magical.
my little sister is in town for 3 weeks, and (to quote our good friend, phillip, who just happens to have the best accidentally perfect quotes of all time....) "if this is what heaven is like, it's just fine."
ha!  

look at how cute her & mom looked in their holiday sweaters....
geez!

ok, so... i'm just gonna be honest with you.
i am so behind on my e-mail that i feel like a crazy person and i've been making stuff for my grand opening & for one last etsy update 24 hours a day.... basically, i am more busy than ever, but i don't even care because it's all so wonderful! :D i'll have lots more to share this week. plus emma & her boyfriend, caleb, are begging for a photoshoot, so i am excited about that.
anyway, if you are awaiting an e-mail please be patient with me.... i haven't forgotten about you! :D

and 2 more things that made my life so amazing today:
#1.
baby fawns that can also be pets....



i am pretty proud of myself for not screaming when i found out about this. so so so so cute!
i can't believe it.

and #2.
a bubble tea double date tomorrow.
mhmm.

life is w o n d e r f u l !!!

i missed you so much. rachel and i keep saying that we feel married to our blogs. it's true. and i feel like i need to give you some extra love. it's going to be a crazy 5 weeks until my grand opening, but i really want to share the joys with you! everything in my life (and the lives of my very supportive loved ones) is revolving around making this project beautiful & magical. it's a very exciting time! 

well, here is a little eye candy from this magical photographer. 
i lovie...

ohhh... so much excitement in the air.
it's almost a new year and i just have a feeling, it might be the best one yet!
xo. elsie

"ummm, elsie... where have you been?"

:)

i should be sleeping but there is SO much to do!  it's become a habit to blog at ridiculous hours and i like it that way. so, let's continue... i'll tell you a little bit about my crazy week.
first of all, my online class is almost finished.. actually, it technically wraps up today. so if you are taking my class and haven't logged in for a bit you will want to check out all of the new projects. i just posted the last one. *sigh*
i had a really amazing time. it was my first 6 week class and i learned sooo much. i spent way more time on it than i thought i might, but it was all so much fun that it didn't even matter. plus i made a ton of Christmas gifts!! big thank yous to everyone who took my class! <3

oh my, i am so excited... we are finally decorating my store (i'll share more sneak peeks closer to the grand opening!)...


i haven't gone to bed before 6 am all week and i am starting to feel like a crazy person. gonna get some extra sleep this weekend before emma get's here next week because after that is 3 weeks of strait RVA LOVE-ing and i cannot wait!!!

jeremy took this.

and i took this.

and i thought i would share the playlist i made for first year memories.... some very lovely songs on here.

today, i selfishly(and very excitedly!) bought this....


and somehow refrained from buying this cute t. 

(i wanna wear it everyday because i don't even have or watch tv!!) :D

and i really want this cute dress.....

it's from bleubird vintage. 

in other news, my mom has started a blog! 

also, i really really miss you. 

i can't wait to show you what rachel made us for Christmas!
l o v e youuuuu. els

maybe the best day ever?

last night i worked until 9 am (geez, i know. but i have a lot to do these days!). i woke up a few hours later and mr. larson brought me a latte. we finished up some shipping (making sure our packages will all arrive by Christmas), had sushi, spent a considerable amount of time online (unusual for me, as of late... but, i have much catching up to do this week).... actually i think i was at Big Momma's (coffee) for 5 or 6 hours working online. got one more latte to go for mr. larson, came back to his studio and he played a song for me. then i made tea and popcorn and we watched "being john malkovich". then i went back to work for the evening.

i guess it was the most perfect day ever.

i have a few pics to share. first, our ridiculous/amazing holiday family portrait...

and these:

eeek! it's 5 am and i have an appointment with my woodworker (oh yes.... building loveliness for my new shop!) in the morning.

One last thing, for those of you who have been waiting.... Jeremy's new album is available on iTunes now! so so excited. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported his music this year. You make this beautiful music possible!

Ok.. one more, check out Rachel's new holiday house tour at CafeMom. Her house is full of eye candy and lots of pink for Christmas! I love it.
Oh, and she displayed this poster that I designed (actually, she's the only one who has one. I made them for my new store windows!).....

nightnight. XO. elsie

Holiday Cheer & something veryyyyyy exciting!

Despite my inhumanly busy schedule, I am LOVING this holiday season. Everything feels magical. Is it just me or is there something special in the air? Either way, it's wonderful.

I wanted to share with you some links to some of my friend's beautiful holiday decor ideas. I am using most of my holiday energy for my (very beloved) online class, but hopefully I will be able to post one or two as well as the holiday approaches! :)

Candice made this... 

Rachel made these... 

Leigh-Ann made this... 

and Danielle made this rad tutorial...

*B E A U T I F U L*!!!!

Ok... exciting news!! Jeremy's New Album is finally for up and for sale!!
It isn't on iTunes yet, so the only place you can order it is right here!
Also these is bunch of cutieee merch in his shop that we designed together.
I am SO SO proud of him!!
Here are a few photos of the goods....

(this is my personal favorite!)

(jeremy's favorite)

this is his *new* album, i LOVE the art....

This album is so precious to me. It was a huge & wonderful part of my year and I hope that everyone has a chance to hear it!!! so here is the link. :) enjoy. 

PS: thank you SO much to everyone who has supported Jeremy's music this past year. I have learned so much about what it means to be an independent artist from him and I can tell you that your support really does make this dream a reality. thank you.

One last thing.... I have a new painting!

she's available in my shop along with lots of other new prints and cute stationery. This weekend is the last weekend my shop will be open until the new year, so if you have your eye on something, please grab it now. I won't be taking any orders over the holidays!! :D

K... as usual, I have more to share (like my new crazy pills hair!) but i will have to save it for very soon.... lovelovelovelovelovelovelove YOU!
elsie

soonsoon & sad*birds

but for now i have some catching up to do and a hair appointment this afternoon. if you like classical piano, i thought you might enjoy mr. larson's new video. i love it!

be back soon! els

So very many things.....

First of all,
Congratulations Jennifer Hoyt!
You are the winner of my holiday giveaway.
please e-mail me elsieflannigan@hotmail.com with you mailing info and we will ship your cute little prizes right away!

I am so happy because I am finally ready to tell you about one of the exciting collaborations that I have been working on! I've been designing some vinyl wall decor with my friends from Vinyl Fruit! Lindsey & Nickie are so sweet and talented. Here is the first round of designs that we've worked on together....
a handwritten Welcome Home...
I put mine on a glass door in my house (if you've never used these, they are like rub-ons and can be adhered to almost any surface!).


they come in lots of cute colors:

my spin on the trendy vine pattern...
 
i put mine on my fridge. :) i also put some on a vintage suitcase.

and, my personal favorite.... X marks the spot!
i loooove the concept of making a whole wall into a treasure map!


if i had a kid i would probably make their room into a giant treasure map!! :D 

Here is the link to the vinyl fruit shop! we are working on tons of super cute designs for the upcoming RVA grand opening! These girls are wonderful people and definitely a great shop to support!

more good news.... after over three months of living in my loft i've finalllllly decorated my bedroom.
the room itself is very big (larger than any living room i've ever had) and it has 5 huge windows, which is wonderful but it's been a tricky space to make "cozy".
here are a few photos of the decorations I've been working on...

a collection of art & photos at the end of my treasure map X... the largest one is by the wonderful ashley g. i love her art very very much.





jeremy and i found this little Christmas deer at a thrift shop. i love it.
you have no idea how much more clear my mind feels to finally have this section of my house looking cute. i had no idea it would have such a huge impact on the energy of my home. :)


my hello kitty tree. :)

and the pez tree. last year so many kind blog readers sent me pez. i love them so much and i am so happy to be decking my tree out with them again this year! THANK YOU!
(more pics of this one soon... i need to wrap some presents first!!)

Next up (this is a longggg post, huh?):

My Etsy shop is fully updated!! :) 
I have a few new prints....

(i am really excited about this new series! i've had sooo much fun working on it!)

i also have some limited edition craft stash kits. they come with vintage photo albums and are full of my favorite fabric scraps, ribbons, holiday vintage book pages and more. here are the two color themes i have:
Warm Fuzzy

and Sparkle Power

and here's the cute holiday fawn gocco print that comes with each kit....

and i've started a series of girls on 5x5 wood. there is a tiny hole for hanging. my dad cut all the wood for me (isn't he wonderful??!!).
these look like my sister...

PS. i did a feature for the art is found this week too! :) check it out, if you like mermaid girls.... :)

Happy Monday! xo, Elsie

 

holiday*giveaway!

i love giveaways!!! post your name (your full name OR your name & city!) in the comments here for a chance to win. i will choose one person at random in 48 hours. here are some photos & a little video of the things that are included in this one...

an original painting on wood.... :)

some of my favorite stationery items from my shop...

and a very pretty camera strap cover (find them here!)

also, a cd & dvd and some candy (yay!).
GOOD LUCK!

oh my gosh!

i updated my little shop today and everything already sold out! whoaaaaa!!!
tomorrow there will be more, though. and of course, friday--the most!
here was my favorite painting from today.

this is serious.


this is not serious.


you'll be happy to know that my boyfriend is not actually homeless. he just looks homeless.
seriously, though. we did a photo shoot together yesterday and got a crush on him all over again while i was editing these photos....

sigh.

last night i had a much needed late night crafty session with my oldest friend.... LOVE YOU!

and i shot from a thrift store dressing room.... i am wearing my fave t-shirt purchased from etsy.com.

so today i have a few things to do for my new website, some things to photograph, some coffee to drink (oh... and whoever invented hot chocolate with 35 calories is a genius and i owe youuuuu!!!), a little bit more thrift shopping to do (i am decorating the cutest--and also most functional little shelf for all of my makeup and accessories in my bedroom--pics soon!), some printer ink to buy and dinner with my parents.... whew! and that's all before my "night owl" shift of painting begins. OH---and i really want to put up my Christmas tree!
Basically, life is awesome. The end. :D

PS. a note to my online class students:
Thursday I am doing an all day online video chat for you in my craft room. So if you are taking my class pleaseeee log in Thursday! I don't want anyone to be bummed that they missed it because it's going to be a fun crafty time. If you have questions, e-mail me.

Ok... I am off to conquer my list and get a latte!
something like this----->

haha. :) have a good day!!!

3am blogging

dear world of blogging,
i really missed you and i want to be friends again, just like we used to be.

i have sooo much to tell you about. it's already after 3am, though... so i'll make it quick.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. I have the coolest family ever, see---->


how cute are my mom and dad? i am SO thankful for them.

my baby brother, doren, and our foster sister, rachel. she is sooo awesome. she's staying with my family all year and she likes pugs, crafts & listening to larson's music (so basically she fits right in!!! :D). we adore her.

and the boy. it was our first thanksgiving together. we hung out with both of our families, which was really fun. his family is super sweet.

awwwe. and look at what doren got my for my birthday!! it's the cutest bear ever. i now sleep with him every night of my life. love.

my streets have snowflakes! eeeeeeeeeeee!!!

and my home is beginning to look like Christmas. this is just a little taste though, hopefully it will get pretty festive around here this week. i love holiday decor. less is not more. i want it to be a kitschy wonderland in here with a ton of glitter and snowflakes!! yessss

i * l o v e.... 

well, i had better get some sleeps. i am doing a photoshoot for mr.larson at 10am and then dropping him off at the airport.
OH... i promised a giveaway last week and i haven't forgotten about that. it's coming very soon!! also, i have some good news for those of you who have been awaiting an etsy update..... this week i am updating my etsy shop every single day. it's for the holiday season. this week will be my last week of updates before Christmas and the new year. So, i'll do random/surprise updates every day and then on Friday I will do my last big update!!! After that I'll be closing my shop (except for the embroidery pattern PDFs) for the Holidays. It's gonna be a fun week, I'll keep you updated here as well!

happy monday!
elsie