Front Page!

I had three convos in ItsBella this evening! I thought, where did all the fuss come from? So I checked Flickr's [Etsy's Front Page Photostream] and saw the vintage pink panties! Weeeee!find them [here]

Looks like my good friend, Kathi, of shops 5Gardenias [vintage goodies] and Kathiroussel [stunning handmade jewelry] also hit the front page. Her photography is inspiring and really unique! I covet her vintage doll house furniture that she photographs on. I tried to get some on ebay a few weeks ago, for..get..it!

Find it [here]

ItsBella Update

Lately my vintage lingerie shop, Its Bella, has been evolving. I have been discovering some new items for the shop that are not lingerie, but equally as romantic. I am falling in love with vintage baby doll tops and sectary blouses. The ruffles, the lace, oh my!

Here are a few of the most recent listings:

Romantic Vintage Slip-In Navy.

Le Sigh. I just adore this slip. It has so many romantic details and amazing craftsmanship. She is in the shop now. [and I always offer free shipping within the u.s. for my lingerie shop!]

I am looking forward to a nice weekend. I am going to be going to some sales, I am especially excited about a church sale. They are always the best! Last summer my mom and I stumbled on a church sale in the middle of no where. Boy! Did we get deals! It was so exciting to rummage through the piles of discarded items that no one wanted anymore. I always can find something special. Just last weekend I found a great 1050s wire magazine rack on the sidewalk with "free" on it!

ItsBella Lingerie

This is the newest addition to ItsBella! She is ready just in time for Valentine's Day. This vintage slip was lovingly hand dyed a sweet red/coral color and then hemmed to a more modern length. The original lace hem was carefully removed and then re sewn to the new hem. An addition of double black lace was also added to them hem. Lastly, a romantic detail of lace was added to the bottice as well as a sweet double bow at the breast. [it is removable on a safety pin]

It was a labor of love, but I had a lot of fun doing it. It was a cold, cold winter day yesterday, spent sewing and sewing! Here are some photos of the process.



...and this is anther one that I completed this afternoon.
Psst: ItsBella is now offering ::Free Shipping:: as a standard for every listing! [within the u.s.]

xo.

Ezra Jack Keats

Ezra Jack Keats is one of my favorite illustrators. I have always adored this illustration from "The Snowy Day". This is a book to truly become lost in. As the pages turn the colors explode, textures abound, and Keats illustrations effortlessly portray the excitment of a snowy day.

I recently discovered a website that sells his illustrations in poster size! I am seriously considering this one for my living room. I find his art so inspiring and colorful with a delicious vintage feel. The patterns of the paper he used make me want to take up more print making.


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On a side note, I had my first lingerie sale in ItsBella. I am so thrilled to be packing up and shipping a piece of vintage lingerie. This piece in particular is a pair of panties that are the most beautiful shade of aqua blue/green. They are the high waisted style and have much class. [I always thought leaving more to the imagination was key] I hope my customer is as pleased with their purchase as I am sending it to them.

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Lastly, here is a photo of my Boston Terrier, Bella. She can be very difficult to capture in a photograph because she is always moving! I was enticing her during this photo with a treat. [thus the looking up expression] She was beginning to get very "barky" and annoyed when I wasn't giving it to her and the photos became worse and worse. So, this is the best one out of 20.




xo

Vintage Pink Cami

I adore this slip top that I recently added to my vintage lingerie shop ItsBella. It has had a lot of work done to it! I began with a vintage cream colored slip and turned it into this beautiful and simple cami top.

I hand dyed the garment a lovely shade of pale pink. Then I cut and hemmed the original lace back onto the slip to make it into a camisole top. Lastly, a sweet detail of a vintage rhinestone pin and black ribbon bow to the bust and it was complete!

Now if it would just warm up above 30 degrees, I could stomach wearing something like this!

and really... is there nothing sweeter than a hem of vintage lace? Le siiigh.

A New Year, A New Attitude

Finally, I am getting my rear in gear about blogging! I think what held me from beginning me before [and keeping it up] was the fact that I could not decide what to focus my blog on! I love to do so many things and I enjoy so many things!

I read fashion blogs, home decorating blogs, etsy blogs, craft blogs, green living blogs, etc, etc, etc!
So, in MY blog, who is to say that I can not write about all of these things? It may be jumbled, it may be random, but I have finally made a decision!

I have been focusing on my etsy shops for a little over a half of a year now. I have three:

• ItsBella
  
• FunkeyFinds
  
• Olivesomeday

ItsBella began first, as a supply shop. I had so much fun making little packets of scrap sewing materials, paper collage materials, buttons, lace, trims and the like. Then about a month ago, I had the idea of using these supplies to embellish vintage lingerie! So, I revamped the shop, and changed the products to hand embellished vintage lingerie. I sell camis, slips, skirts, and much more is in the works. It has been a really beautiful transition from supply shop to lingerie shop!




FunkeyFinds was a labor of love for sometime as well this summer. I enjoyed traveling with my mom to thrift stores, auctions, and tag sales throughout eastern Pennsylvania in the stiffling summer heat. We bargained, we got lost, we found treasures, we had fun! I am really, really looking foward to doing that again this summer. [I say this as it is freezing rain and 25 degrees here!] I really love the thrill of the hunt, finding something that is beautiful among trash!



My last shop, Olivesomeday, is so much fun! I search for vintage frames, as well as vintage look a-likes. I paint them brightly and fill them with vintage children's illustrations. [painting has been difficult since the winter came, I can no longer paint in the garage and painting in the basement can be somewhat hazardous!]
When I began college I wanted to get into graphic design. I adore old books, the way they smell, the way the crack at the bindings, and they way you just can't find images like them anymore! Some of my favorite illustrators are Evaline Ness, Maurice Sendak, Dom Almquist and anything from a 1960s Nature/Science book!

As for the rest of my life, I have two cats, a Boston Terrier, a Husband, a House and a Job as an Elementary Art Teacher!