my first sale

i made my first etsy sale two days after opening shop, and i kind of can't believe i haven't shouted about it here in full-on oonaballoona-brat style until now. it was the day before thanksgiving, and the best kickoff to the holiday season i could ask for! bonus: the buyer was so freaking cool, i get happy every time i think of her prancing about in one of my belts. in fact, when things get crabby round here, they are easily fixed, as follows:

oona: feh. 

r: you sold a belt. 

oona: i DID. (oona grins and bounces around the living room).

pretty neat trick. so, in celebration of my first sale (and the grins), i'm offering free shipping & a big markdown on all roxietoxl gear! stop by the shop if you'd like, and grab some christmas gear...

so, as self-promotion has never really been my thing, i wanna give a shout out to a fellow etsy-er & blogger. i have been listening to this wonderful & uplifting EP by the incurable homebody's band, tomes. it arrived in a beautiful handmade pouch that i adore just as much as the sparkling music. you know that kind of music that spirals upwards and makes you smile? this is that music. and you can get it for free (though a little dinero will get you the pouch, at their etsy shop). i think it would make a very cool stocking stuffer.

   

(artwork by jed mcgowan of tomes)

and now it's back to santa's sweatshop for me...

making christmas

or trying to...

the cat keeps getting in the way. so, are you one of those people who makes holiday gifts? are you beginning to wonder if they see you coming, and yearn to run? "oh great, here comes oona. can't wait to get my hands on that apron/ornament/pajama set/softie/scarf/done up in batshit crazy fabric:"

 

them there's magenta roses on periwinkle blue. warned you. do you think they get tired of it? more importantly, do YOU get tired of it? do you set up a li'l christmas sweat shoppe and create until it is no longer creative? i'm trying not to do that this year... but it seems inevitable. we have a group of 14 friends, all couples, and the girls are my responsibility. i used to love walking through shops, looking for items that screamed my many friends names (oh yes, i am POPULAR) but lately things are seeming like... things. you know what i mean? so this year i believe it will be amy butler's wide leg lounge pants. in aforementioned assorted batshit crazy fabrics. but i'd love to know what YOU are making... i do need ideas for about 50 co-workers... (like i said, POPULAR.)

back with a bang

and an alter ego.

meet roxietoxl, oonaballoona's other half of the brain. where oona likes to work in cottons and pretty prints while sipping chardonnay, roxie likes to tear up leather and suede while slugging tequila.

she hijacked oona for most of the day, setting up her shop over at etsy. but oona will be back shortly to fill you in. i know, promises promises. but blogging makes me happy-- that is, reading your blogs over these many months makes me happy, and creating makes me happy, and there is going to be a lot more of all of it in steady doses. cause happy is top on the list. love, oona

happy birthday mom!

there had best be flowers..... here is one from me in case there aren't!

love, oona

i swear i'm still here

as evidenced by my sporadic comments on other peeps' blogs...

 

but i have to come out of the woodwork to give a HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to big daddy! here's the patch of east coast sky i'll be seeing today, big daddy. hope you are sitting under it with a gin & tonic. love, oona.

what had happened was.....

march? really?

but it was just christmas, and i was in snowy new york, in the middle of hundreds of people flying around city streets...