Collars at Jolly Goods

Jolly Goods

My collars are on the awesome bookshelf on the left... I need to figure out some sort of cute display... Any ideas?

Hello, everybody! I just wanted to let you know that ReLove Projects collars are now being sold at Jolly Goods, located at 4020 Tennyson in Denver. It is such a cute store! If you're in the Denver area be sure to check it out! I made a bunch of new ones out of old scarves, vintage shirts, a men's necktie... They are all one-of-a-kind, so be sure to snag it if you love it!

Instant Love

I've always loved Polaroids. I remember the first time I saw one- I was in first grade at my aunt's house. She took my picture, put the undeveloped film on the counter and I watched the image slowly appear. It is magical, isn't it? I know it's been awhile since I've posted... And now I'm posting for a very selfish reason: I want to win this camera and book! You can win too- by visiting www.pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com.

My Latest Endeavor

I've been collecting vintage things for YEARS. I discovered thrift stores in high school and haven't spent very much money on new clothes since! I prefer the uniqueness and the history that vintage items have.  I have also been hoarding things for ReLove Projects. I'll find a cool vintage dress and think that I may someday want to use it for the fabric, but then the dress is so awesome that I can't bear to cut it! My collection has become quite large...

About a week ago Brad went to a job interview. The job was to take photos of vintage goods to sell online. It was a part-time job, the pay was measly, but it was an opportunity that he wanted to look into nonetheless. The night before his interview I was looking around my house at all of the unnecessary things I have. My first thought was, "I should sell this stuff." That thought developed into an idea and the idea became Vintage Rhino! Brad and I have officially gone into business together selling quality vintage goods.  Brad is the photographer, tech savvy, and business development. I am the artistic director, collector, and customer service. Right now we're both working constantly on getting our website launched, but until then you can check out our goods on Etsy: www.thevintagerhino.etsy.com.

We are SO EXCITED! It's been really fun- we make a great team. Vintage Rhino gives me a way to sell my vast collection of unused vintage things, it gives Brad a way to use his photography skills and have a job that will pay more than it would for someone else. Over the weekend we photographed a bunch of things I'm ready to let go of. These are some of my favorites: (click on the picture to be directed to our shop)

Because I appreciate your support over the years, I'm offering 15% off your Vintage Rhino purchase at Etsy. Enter 'ReloveProjects' in the coupon code when you check out!

Oh yeah, and if you're wondering about how Brad's job interview turned out... Before I even pitched my idea he decided that the part-time measly paying job wasn't worth the drive (1 hour + in traffic).

Valentines

I just listed these sweet heart cards in my shop!

2012

Happy New Year! I always feel like the start of the year is brimming with possibilities and potential. I usually don't do resolutions but this year I decided to go for it. Resolutions are all about embracing change and improvement, so why not, right? I wanted to keep them realistic (and achievable), so each month I have 2 goals. This gives me some flexibility if something just isn't working and I don't want to stick with it for a whole year. My goals for January are going well- I might actually want to keep it up for 365 days! It's pretty simple: Floss my teeth every day and exercise 3-5 times a week. It's 2 things I should be doing anyway, but before I made the resolution I didn't do either nearly enough. So here's to 2012- with better oral hygiene and all the benefits that come with regular exercise. How do you feel about resolutions? Did you make any?
Before I go, I wanted to share a photo of my super cool daughter. She got hair dye from her grandma for Christmas and used it all at once. (Isn't it great that her grandma, of all people, got this for her? I love that)

Handmade Christmas

Have you heard of the Barbapapas? It's a book series by Annette Tison and Talus Taylor that I used to read when I was young. It really is great- whimsical, happy, good messages. The books have been out of print for awhile and are now considered collectors items. So when my niece wanted Barbapapa dolls for ChristmasI knew I had to make them! 

Holiday Pictures

If you've been reading this blog for a few years then you've probably figured out that I'm not a big fan of the holidays.  I don't like the obligations, running around like mad, sending out the required Christmas cards with sweet family photos... So this year Hana and I made our own kind of holiday card!
I'm getting them printed tomorrow (and don't want to spoil the surprise for those of you on my mailing list), but these are some of the extra pictures we took:

 Hana is really good at doing a straight face, mine is totally insane, and Rosie, well, she's cute no matter what, even when she was a pest and insisted on being in the pictures (seriously, a part of her is in almost every photo)!  And yes, those are Christmas vests and turtlenecks we're sporting. Um, yeah, and potholders. Please don't blackmail me.

Pssst...

Get 10% off your purchase in my Etsy shop! The coupon code is 'Holiday2011'. Enjoy!

I received the following conversation from a customer at Etsy:


Hi,

I really love your little whale here. I was wondering if it was possible to mark the year somewhere on the little guy? I started an ornament collection for my baby last year (this will be ornament 2/2, and he is definitely not a little baby any more...) - and having your whale with 2011 tagging him somewhere would be really cool. If you can't, I totally understand - I would still want to give him a home with us.

Thanks,
Angeline

I was thrilled to be a part of such a sweet tradition! And of course, I was happy to include the year. Do you have any holiday traditions? 

New ornaments!

I was looking at my Etsy shop and realized that I had a few whales that hadn't been posted. Whoops! Don't forget- you get free shipping on the second item purchased when you buy an ornament!

Pink Whale with Pink Belly

Pink Whale with Orange Belly

Tahitian Whale 

Tahitian Whale (other side)

Long Creative Weekend

This weekend was GREAT! I work off for four days. It was amazing. On the creative side I compulsively made a snail, I started an idea that's been floating around for awhile- fabric jewelry (I'm almost finished with my first piece!), and I worked on Mud Whimsy Ceramics. It was nice to feel like I had the time to just mess around. I also designed an advertisement button:

My ad will be over at Cakies for the month of December. I've enjoyed Rubyellen's blog for quite awhile and am excited to sponsor her!

On the not-so-creative-but-very-fun side I went thrift store shopping. My best find was a tablecloth that is beautifully hand sewn. I am going to turn it into a bedspread.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! 

Encaustic Fun

A little while ago my daughter and I had some encaustic fun. She's been collecting bugs; I've been collecting feathers.

Here she is all finished and proud!

A detail of the honey bee. It was found dead. No insects were purposely killed for this art piece!

...And here is mine. I'm thinking of adding a touch of orange. Any thoughts?

New Octopus!

I just listed these in the shop:

I do love them so- I hope they find good homes!

Tomorrow I'll be adding some of these ornaments to my shop:

A few weeks ago we had a big heavy snow storm before the trees lost their leaves. Many branches were broken. I found a cool big branch, trimmed it, put it in a tree holder (for a fake christmas tree), and painted it white. It's the perfect thing to hang all my creatures on! 

Extra Hour

I'm not sure if we actually gained an hour for daylight savings but it definitely felt like it. It was strange to wake up and realize that I was awake earlier than usual. I decided to do something with my hour, so I made another octopus. (I still can't find my camera cable so I took a picture on my computer. Unfortunately it doesn't show the amazing colors in this guy!) He's made with vintage fabric that I had a small swatch of.

You get a little peek at one of my collections too... I have 9 gold framed mirrors hanging in my bedroom, all on the same wall. I just liked how the first one looked (an antique oval mirror , above the octopus' head) and kept finding them in thrift stores.

Facebook Giveaway!

Yes, a giveaway! Here's what you need to do: 

1) 'like' my Facebook page

2) Comment, write on my wall or post a link to my page (let me know if you post a link).

3) Check my page on November 14th... I will enter all contestants' names in a hat and draw a lucky winner. 

Prize: $20 redeemable in my Etsy shop! 

Inspiration

Loan Tran for Stylelikeu.com from StyleLikeU on Vimeo.


I just watched this video over at stylelikeu.com and was so inspired! Loan Tran is just herself, no apologies. She was discouraged by being turned away from dance clubs in New York and thought, "I can dance wherever I want!" And so she did, with headphones and costumes.

 My favorite quote of hers is:

"We're all different, and sometimes we need courage to show the world what truly makes us different -whether it means how you dress, or how you express yourself."


After doing a little hunting I discovered that she has a blog, an art website, a documentary in the works,  and she's been noticed around NYC...  

Etsy Treasury

Ikioma Finnish ecodesigns

I used to REALLY want to create a treasury list on Etsy but every time I would try there wouldn't be space. I even checked it at weird times in the middle of the night (silly me, I should know that LOTS of artists and crafters are night owls like me!). I think it was reformatted because when I went to check it today I was able to just create one! The title is Eco Holidays: Buy Handmade Recycled Gifts. I typically look for other recycled and eco crafters so I had a bunch in my favorites already, but I also found a lot of new great creators. If I had the money I would buy everything on my treasury- I love it all!
 Here it is
ps- more on buying handmade later...

Ornaments!

My boyfriend, Brad, sure takes some great photos! I love how these turned out. All of these ornaments are for sale in my Etsy shop HERE! As always, they are made from recycled fabric- much of it is vintage, so they are one-of-a-kind. 

(If you're interested in hiring Brad for product photography he can be found at www.torchlightphotography.com)

Updates

Here's a few more photos of Halloween. My daughter wanted to be Catwoman this year- which she told me about at 6:00 Sunday night! I offered to make her the mask. I figured that would make or break the costume. It was created with a black t-shirt, some black felt, and white stitches. I think it turned out pretty well!

And my birthday was lovely... I did everything I wanted to do, didn't work AT ALL (I didn't even put clothes in the dryer!), I ate good food all day (cappuccino in the morning, Jill's Cafe for lunch, Foolish Craig's in the afternoon, and Indian food for dinner), and I saw some of my favorite people.  My daughter wins the award for the strangest birthday gift ever:

(It's a zombie baby eating its own foot)

Today my boyfriend photographed the latest projects... I'm excited to post them! He's still editing and retouching, but they will be up as soon as possible.

Happy birthday to me!

It is officially my birthday! Every year on my special day I take the day off of work, spend time with the people I love, and do whatever I feel like doing. Tomorrow I'm sleeping in, going to a free yoga class, out for lunch with my dad, then my boyfriend is coming over to help me photograph my stuff (New whales! New octopus! Cards!). It's a good sign when I want to work on ReLove Projects on my birthday!
To help celebrate my special day I'm giving YOU a present:  20% off anything in my Etsy shop. Enter 'Birthday' in the coupon code.  It's only good today, November 1, so jump on it!