A Beautiful Mess

today we learned.....

A TON! 

erin and i had a huge training session about our website. there are so many little things to learn... it's actually really fun! i'm excited to use all my "new tricks". yay.

in addition, i picked up all our new vinyl from the vinyl fruit world headquarters. :) 

it's so exciting! we have nine brand new stickers (gonna add them to the shop tomorrow!) and some restocks of old favorites. here are a couple quick pics i took... i can never wait to share the new stuff.

(these are just snap shots... proper photos comin' soon)  

eeeek! cute little skeleton vinyl in black and white! 

(perfect size for the back on an iPhone too)

camera vinyl in red, pink & black! 

and a cute little mustache in black & pink! i am tempted to put these on every single thing.... seriously. mugs, bowls, mirrors... so many cute ideas. this one is on a journal. 

there are more, but i'll wait till tomorrow to share! 

he! thanks for letting me share my little happiness with you. new designs make me so excited. 

K... quick reminder, check out my July sponsors before the month is over (i know! another month already... this year is flying!). Their shops are lovely & I'm so honored that they support my blog. 

also... i wanted to show you the finished inside of this vintage photo album. i think the colors are really pretty. 

fun. well, i'm drawing all night tonight.... i hope your day was full of magic. 

XO. elsie 

hand stitched bag :)

i finished my bag two nights ago while having a (quite long) phone conversation with Leigh-Ann. it was lots of fun to stitch, but my fingers were a little sore when i was done. :) i think i love stitching with yarn even more than traditional embroidery... more experimenting to do! & maybe even mixing the two? yes. i'll be carrying this bag for a long time, i love it so much!

here's a detail shot...

the design was inspired by the always classy Orla Kiely. 

i'll post more later, but i couldn't wait to share these photos! 

hope your day is lovely!!! :) elsie 

chamomile... day & night. :)

the other night miss rachel heard i wasn't feeling well and brought me some chamomile tea and gummy worms...

what kind of a combination is that? 

a perfect one. 

well, i'm feeling better & now that our update is up i am spending a couple days working on new designs and catching up (finally gonna make some tattoo designs. yay!). i'm actually wanting to get started on my tattoos again too... maybe this month? 

here are a few pretties for your eyes today:

cute little record player.

a pretty new print we have. 

this crazy adorable dinosaur applique! i love her so much. 

and this closet is SO beautiful. oh my goodness. in love. 

tonight i am stitching a new vintage purse (for myself) that sort of resembles this bag i stitched last year... 

it's Orla inspired.... this time i am stitching with yarn. i loved that bag SO much, but the strap broke (like 3 times) so i'm making a new one. :) feeling happy to do something of the 'just for fun' variety this evening! i need these kinds of projects to keep the hobby aspect of my work alive... it's so important!

 

Oh... and if you haven't done this yet: madmenyourself.com

it's quite fun. :D

i made myself smoking AND drinking coffee! ha! 

(no, i don't really smoke... i just think i am hilarious.)

i made jeremy one too!

well, i'm off to make toast and stitch for fun.... LOVELOVE. elsie 

update loves.

i'm so happy... i worked all night and the update is here! 

it's a super cute one... i'll show you some of my favorite things:

a new comic print.

& finally! my very first children's coloring book.

(it's an alphabet book!) 

and my favorite kit ever! it's more of a collection, really... 

it includes a bunch of really big (5x7-ish) illustrated cameras and mix tapes. also, a brand new journal...

see the whole kit here! it's called 'The XO Craft Kit'. :) 

i am super excited to make a bunch of projects with it this week... i already got started on a mini album for Polaroids! (i'll post tutorial details soon, so you can make one too!)

(ha! this photo of Jeremy is totally funnnny. i love it.) 

here are a few new paintings... 

i also, finally, posted a few pairs of my XO hand painted sunglasses. 

and we are introducing a new section to the site fashion. i'll tell you more about it soon, but here are a few of my favorite pieces.... 

here are the special deals for the week.... all orders $75 or more get a free bird clip (modeled here by the cute little miss Christie (listen to her new song it's wonderful) and a surprise vinyl sticker (a brand new one!). 

Well... good morning everyone! i think i'm gonna go to bed. :) 

XOXO. Elsie  

PS. special thank you*s to Jeremy, my mom and dad and Rachel for taking such good care of me this weekend... i'm so lucky to have you. and thank you for all of the get-well-wishes. really. 

10 things i L O V E Sunday.... :]

1. rachel's Audrey chair.... i want one so badly. 

2. this adorable little bunny...

3. amazing free pattern from Sublime Stitching! i can't wait to stitch this one...

Emma should stitch it too, huh? 

(and everybunny else in the world who loves little pugs!)

4. pomegranate tea...

i'm feeling a little under the weather today, so this tea is perfect. 

5. 

6. adorable wallet by Quiet Doing. 

7. photos of Sufjan Stevens.

8. i really like this prom poster.

9. she's a beauty.

10. Betsey Johnson's monkey jewelry. :) 

so cute!

k... i still have lots to do for my update & i'm sick :(. i might have to delay my update by one day if i'm not feeling better by this eveing... i'll let you know for sure tomorrow. 

THANK YOU so much for all of the comments in yesterday's post. i've been making a list of all thing things i wanna check out, listening to some of the bands ect.... thank you so much! so sweet of you. 

if you need a little inspiration, check out the links too! 

XOXO. elsie 

inspiration, please....

so, i need your help. 

i'm doing a TON of illustrations tonight and i need something pretty to keep my mind inspired. 

a movie... maybe? a song or an album? or an artist. 

i don't need ideas, i just need something to help me focus & stay positive.... i get lonely sometimes because i like to work alone but it can last f o r e v e r.

i'm pretty desperate & i've heard about so many beautiful things from blog readers in the past...

suggestions? 

there are a million reasons....

why i love him. but here are a few...

he looks cute with two macs. 

and he calls suki our daughter.

ohhh.. and he went to Hobby Lobby with me today. :) 

so, what do you think about this? 

i'm nervous like one of those really crazy star trek fans.... you know? 

we'll see... it's still exciting. i'm still a tim burton fan from wayyy back... 

Ok.... more prettiness next post. i gotta run.... erin and i are going thrifting! 

XO. els 

wanna watch me paint?

so, this is my second post of the evening... but i couldn't wait to share this cute video that my friend, Vanessa, made for me. it's the start to finish process of one of my paintings. this took place over the course of about two and a half hours (not necessarily the average time spent on a painting... but i chose an idea to do for this video that could be filmed in one evening). here are photos of the finished painting.... 

it's also on my site here.

have a lovelyyyy evening. XO. elsie 

a new painting & update sneak peek...

i finished a new girl on wood today.... she's nautical themed and oh-so-pretty. 

(link)

also, i am honored to have another of my mom's gorgeous abstract paintings in my shop... it's hanging in the store right now. i love this one. 

(link)

i'm working tonight on our update for next week... it's gonna be a cute one! 

here's todays peek from the next update... i have a few handmade albums. they are made from vintage photo books.... i'm really excited about them.

and i miss these faces very badly today.... 

need visits!

back to work for meeee... lOve you. elsie 

date night happy thoughts & a wishlist Wednesday...

tonight we had a little sushi date. it was magics.

 

heee... i'm in love with this panda sushi & look at this cute lego sushi!

this morning my favorite painting sold, so she'll be traveling to Holland this week. she will be missed... i've had her hanging my studio for a little while. :)

she looks pretty as a print too. :D

i'm in the mood to paint tonight... it's time to get started! :) 

here's my first peek at stuff going in our update next week. rachel and i have been sourcing some beautiful vintage craft supplies. it's really fun to find them, but really hard not to want to keep them all! :D check out these beautiful ribbons.... 

and here are my new Red Velvet key chains.....

ice cream cones and red velvet cupcakes! 

(these are already available here.) i've been enjoying doing small (5-10 item) updates every day.

and a WISHLIST for this lovely Wednesday: 

(this is sort of like a dream wish list... just for blogging pleasure. not a serious list of requests. ;))

XO-beautiful rings made of recycled metals and fair trade gemstones... this shop is seriously amazing. 

(favorite.) 

i want this painting so badly. 

and i love these ponies.

they remind me of 'the science of sleep'. 

h o l y cute. 

and we finished the last episode of the second season of Mad Men last night... i'm so sad that i can't keep lusting after their gorgeous clothes and furniture every day.... it's so pretty. 

and the meaning of Suki.... 

well, i have a full night of creating ahead! you should see the pile of papers & notebooks i have FULL of ideas for Red Velvet. it's out of control... sometimes i don't even know where to start. 

XXOO. elsie