A Beautiful Mess

be back oh-so-soon...

just wanted to say hello 

& show you my new panda bag.... :D 

Magical Italy.....

hi! i just wanted to drop in and share a few photos from our trip... it's been so wonderful.
this is my first time on the internet all week....

this is the view from the lovely house we stayed at for a few days...beautiful.


and the beautiful family we love so much... 


a few photos from Positano:




it was a really nice time & so beautiful!

:) helping pack kits...

and a few photos from my classes:




i wish i had group photos of each of my six classes. there was a very kind photographer there photographing the entire event, so maybe.... :D

(the view from our classroom!)

and a few photos from a little walk in Napoli...

(love this font!)

:)

ha! :D

and the top 8 things we have loved about Italy...
1. new friends!
2. pizza-pizza
3. a normal sleep schedule
(the most sleep i've had all year and it's AMAZING!)
4. colorful buildings
5. tiny cars
6. this boy taking lots of photos...

(these photos are so adorable that he took of the girls...)


7. Ivy & Yindi
8. Best coffeeeee of our lives!

LoveLove.

say goodbye little travel bears....

do not be alarmed. i promised my mom i would post lots of pics during this trip.... we are super excited. we packed the camera & also the toy lomo. it's gonna be funnnnnnn! 

see you soon ITALY!! 

10 things i Loooove Sunday...

hihi hiiii... it's '10-things-i-love-Sunday' & i'm bringing you lots of Etsy finds today bc. i LOVE and really believe in supporting handmade, vintage & DIY businesses! also some music that makes me the happiest girl. i haven't found very many new bands lately... these are some of my older favorites with new-ish albums. if you have any band links, please share. 

1. red & blue. 

found here.

2. new coconut records.

(if you don't love him, you're lying! he's sooo cute.) 

3. i looove fingerless mittens and i want these  polar bear mittens SO badly.... 

4. this homecoming queen sculpture is pretty rad too, huh? 

5. these sailor shorts are amazing! 

6.

my favorite band this week was Margot & the Nuclear So and So's,

and specifically this very lovely album...

i was very obsessed with it for two weeks in December and now it's back again... playing over and over again. so pretty. 

7. 

pretty little cupcake liners from FF.

8. and i still loooove the Paul Frank bag. 

 

9. also loooving Michael Perry. oh-so-much. 

10. going to my parent's house tonight for Pancakes!!!!! :D 

have a great sunday. I'll be sure to post a little something tomorrow before we leave for Italy! 

XOXO. elsie 

beautiful things on a friday night....

hello you. 

this week has been one of my craziest.... cute visitors, finishing our 150 kits for my classes next week in Italy, tons and tons and tonsss of RVA orders (thank you!) & on and on... needless to say, i'm sleepy. :D 

here are some images from my week in the studio: 

in am in love with embroidery as of late. 

and i love to paint on the floor....

 

(it's aubrey & james... i wish they didn't live so far away!)

 

:) and i love crayons.... and daniel johnston. 

i am so excited because just in time for an international flight i've learned something new..... 

my dear friend, Christie, taught me to crochet last two nights ago... i have a handmade tote full of the prettiest yarn ready to go. :) i feel so inspired. i am going to try to make something pretty to show you! i have a weird hair accessory idea... 

Will took this photo today:

SO SO excited about everyone signing up for the rva craft weekend!

it's going to be crazy fun! 

EYE CANDY: 

awes.

omg so pretty!

so lovely.

loooove.

of course!

and one last thing.... 

i want to thank Erin for her amazing work this week at RVA!!

she's a wonderful friend and a perfect fit at RVA. 

we are so so thankful for this girl. 

LOVEs.elsie

RVA Craft Weekend Sign ups & hellooooo out there....

hi! RVA Class Sign Ups here!

SO excited. can't wait to see you there! :D 

today i am finishing up work, hanging out with the cutest couple ever & hopefully getting coffee SOON! (lots of photos coming oh-so-soon!) 

lovessss. elsie 

eeeeek! RVA Craft Weekend details!

Yay! We have all of the details for our RVA craft weekend ready for you to see Here! 

here are a few peeks: 

 

I am super excited about the mix of classes, workshops & fun extras we are offering! I've taught at soooo many craft events and it was so fun to finally get to help plan one. 

Here's what's unique about our event... 

*There is a great variety of art/craft projects

It's like creative overload for me, as a teacher to have freedom to teach so many different types of crafting classes in one weekend! It is my personal hope that students will get to learn more about their favorite crafts and also experience something totally new! 

*It's budget friendly 

Big time! We worked super hard to create a weekend that would be customizable for people on different budgets! We know these are tough times and we want everyone to be *able* to join us if they really want to! :) 

*It's in my hometown!!!!!

I am making everyone treasure maps of my favorite spots for shopping, eating and hanging out! I am excited that so many creative people will be gathered here for this event. :) It's a dream!

k.... for more info, look here or message emma (emma@redvelvetart.com)! Class sign ups begin Wednesday evening at 6pm CST! 

In other news.... 

-thanks you for your kind comments. i don't say that enough. i read every single comment on here & they make me so happy throughout my days! i love you, blog world. :) 

-these two pretty&mysterious kiddos are driving to my town all the way from Texas tonight to hang out with the Mr. & I, do lots of shopping & be best friends forever....

(i'm excited!)

-which leads me to my next point... i'd better clean my house & buy some pancake mix fast!!! 

-erin and i are almost finished working on all my Italy stuff it's been SO fun(i can't waittt to be there!)

-and last but not least, thank you to my darling father for hanging up my Alice in Wonderland prints for me & new shelves in my shipping room today! i couldn't do it without you! <3 

one last thing... i've been reading Handmade Nation with a vengeance this week! It's so inspiring to me to read stories of other people doing what we do (indie art/craft businesses). So so so inspiring! 

 

i really felt connected to something big, exciting & beautiful after reading these stories. not alone. 

this is beautiful... 

LOVEyou! elsie 

(the return of...) 10 Things I LOVE Sundays!

today was a lovely Sunday. i got to sleep in, work all day on RVA projects & hang out with Mr. Larson's family (we even had a bonfire!!!)... it was wonderful! 

10 Things I LOVE Sunday: 

1. finallyyyyyyy, i have a new kit!!!(details here)

i have been craving a good scrapbooking day & between this and my Italy projects I had lots of fun creative time this past week.... 

(plushie album patterns) 

(boy+girl wood cuts)

 

(word bubbles & felt hearts) 

(my favorite sticker i've everrrr designed. it says "I'm so in love with you. Let's have a pancake party!" and glow in the dark hearts!) 

 

(more of my favorite stickers ever. i got a new printer for these & i love them even more than my old ones.... i designed these with pen and colored pencil and the texture looks SO amazing. we could barely tell the original art from the stickers!! i'm excited about them.) 

k... you can see more details on the kit here.

2. making faux polaroids with a free iPhone app.

my good friend, Will, added it to my phone the other day & i think it's so much funnnnn! 

3. Silje's knitted owl sweater! She's so rad! 

omg... and speaking of knitted beauties... Vivianna made these for our store. i love them!! 

4. Listening to Clark Howard on the radio. 

(yes... we are very nerdy! so nerdy, in fact, that i named this teddy 

after him this past week.) :D 

5.our daily Starbucks trip.

Actually, we faithfully support every coffee shop in this town. HA! :D 

6. Possibly my most unattractive photo of all time (that makes me love it even more for some strange reason....)! 

7. Polyvore.com

Big THANK YOUs to the person who linked me to this site last week. It's super inspiring. Here are some 'looks' that i created... 

and here are a few of my favorite looks from the polyvore blog

i love this kind of visual inspiration! it makes me feel like painting, scrapbooking, making cute pillows for my bedroom & reworking thrift shop clothes all at once! it fills my mind with ideas for creating cute things. :D 

8. Holly's new tattoo!!!!!! 

She is now donning one of my pretty ladies on her right arm. 

it's a huge honor to any artist! i LOVE it!!! 

(She's a trooper! This tattoo took 6 hours! :D) 

9. theseee!!!!

10. and the prettiest photo...

XO. ELSIE

some eye candy while you wait....

...for my next 'real' post. 

my little sister & i were featured of the super cute scribble project blog this past week. 

here are our scribbles: 

 

 

here's a peek at some of my class projects for the RVA weekend... 

eeeeek... (more soon!!) i can't wait! 

XO. e

hi.