olliekate is back on etsy and we are having a sale!

After a rather long hiatus, we have gotten our tees back on etsy and are super happy to be sharing some new designs with you. To celebrate, we are also having a sale! Use code FEB11Sale and receive 15% off your order. More tees will be listed throughout the month as well. Lots more to share but head on over to the shop and let me know what you think! I really hope to resume daily blogging too!

:welcome 2010:

Hello and happy new year to you! I am dusting off my blog after quite a few busy and tossed up weeks around here. The holidays behind us and a new year is here. I hope that you all had a great one.
As I am facing a surgery next week for back problems I have been having over the past few months, I have resolved to get my health issues solved, my life back on track and enjoy what this coming year has to offer me and my family.
My creative life has been on a pause button and will be until I am feeling better. Here is a glimpse of some of my favorite projects from 2009. Lots of new ideas to come this year too. I look forward to highlighting other creative people out there that inspire me to try more and experiment with possibilities! The web has so many amazing artists, bloggers, etsy sellers and more to offer!
So here's to a new year of discovery, good health and lots of creativity! Thanks for visiting. I wish you the best!

handmade holidays show

Here is a sneak peek of some of the fun things Olliekate will be selling at our 2nd annual craft show. Along with many other talented women and crafters we will be hosting a handmade holidays show for our friends and community. I am really excited and looking forward to the start of the holiday season. Lots to do, lots to do! (can you see all the packing boxes in the background? We are moving right before the show!)
The monster hat is made by my olliekate partner Rebecca. This one is Kate's but you can get one for your little monster at the show and the key fobs were whipped up by me so you may never lose your keys again!

sewing in good company

Can you stand yet another picture of a quilted pillow! But, yes here they are. I had the fun opportunity to spend the weekend with my closest girlfriends...sewing! I made another round of pillows for our Olliekate November Handmade Holidays show. We had so much fun sharing all of our sewing ideas, I am always inspired by these women. I took my first real try at a string quilt method using this tutorial. It was pretty labor intensive but the effect is cool and once quilted I think it will make a neat pillow. I can't imagine making a whole quilt like it at this point though! Too bad the weekend couldn't last longer. Thanks for the fun time girls!

weekend sewing

I somehow managed to get a bit of sewing done this weekend. That is in between putting our house on the market, cleaning, and feeling kind of nuts..oh and 2 soccer games as well. I guess the motivation got to me or the stress and I escaped to my machine for a little while!
We are gearing up for our 2nd annual Handmade Holidays craft fair in November. I am planning on making several of these quilted pillows and here is number 1! I am really happy how it turned out and would love to keep it, but I guess I better try to sell it first! It measures 18"x18" and features lots of my favorite and several out of print fabrics in pinks and greens. I used the softest bamboo batting for the quilting. So I am started now on a boy version and will see what comes next. Hope your weekend was productive or ultimately lazy...whatever you needed!

swap group Etsy treasury

swap group Etsy treasury
Originally uploaded by janssendesigns

Look who made it into an etsy Treasury! It's Oscar with some fun creations from other etsy sellers and fabric swappers! Yay for Oscar!

let's do a giveaway

Let's do a giveaway, what do you say? Want to? It has been a year since I started this blog. At first it was an idea for the etsy business Olliekate that I run with my friend Rebecca. But I strayed from just etsy stuff and it became a family blog, a sewing blog, a creative outlet and connection to the online world of other women just like myself who are trying to mother and lead their lives the best they know how. I have truly enjoyed posting here and exploring my life through these pages as well. I love the comments I receive and always check back with people who have taken the time to reach out through the blog world. So thank you for making me comfortable, for stopping by and saying hello. I am always inspired!

As a big thanks I want to do a year anniversary giveaway. Since I love fabric so very much, I thought it would be a great thing to share with you. And if you don't sew, well you may just be inspired to start with this great design. It is the birdseed fabric by Alexander Henry. Comes in these great colors, very vibrant and fun. I will be giving away a fat quarter (18"x22") of each color to the lucky winner.

Leave me a comment be sure your contact info is there too and I will randomly pick a winner. You can leave any kind of comment but I would love to hear about what you like to sew or what you would use these birdies for. We can inspire each other that way.

I will leave the giveaway open until Sunday night at 9:00 pm. August 9th, and announce the winner on Monday morning. Thanks for stopping by!

The giveaway is closed and I will announce the winner on Monday morning, thanks!!

giveaway winners

Thank you to everyone for stopping by and visiting my blog. I was blown away by all the comments. I read every single one, really I did and they were so sweet. Made my day! And thanks for checking out our Olliekate shop too. We have added many new designs and can do custom sizes so come check us out again sometime! We have more key fobs in the shop, pillows , tees and more...
On to the winners....

The winner of the pillow is:

Ariel said...
I LOVE that pillow! Would love to win!

And the key fob will be going home to:

Shae said...
your shop is so cute! I really like your stuff

I will email you both today for your address and get your prizes in the mail. Thanks for joining in our first Olliekate giveaway. Have a super week!

the olliekate giveaway is here!

Hello and Welcome! The Sew Mama Sew giveaway event is here and I am so excited to be participating.

How it works: Leave a comment on this blog. Any comment will do, but I would love to hear what you think of the Olliekate shop or just be creative, say hello... whatever!

I will leave the giveaway open until Sunday May 31st at 9:00pm est. I will choose the winners by a random drawing. The winners will be announced on Monday morning! Yeah!

What is up for grabs, you ask?

Well...first is a fab Olliekate pillow! Measuring 14 x 14 inches, the pillow is crafted of 100% linen and appliqued with our 2 trees design. For all you fabric lovers out there, the trees are made of both Heather Ross and Denyse Schmidt fabrics in beautiful oranges and pinks. The back of the pillow is also linen with a patchwork strip of the same fabrics and has an envelope closure. A 100% cotton pillow insert will be included with the pillow.

And since second place is fun too: the 2nd runner up will receive an Olliekate original key fob. I will pick your design, but promise it will be cute. A key fob is perfect for keeping your hands free while juggling groceries, little hands or anything else. It slips around your wrist, you will never lose your keys again! Honest.

Thanks for playing along, visiting the blog and our Olliekate site. You can also click here to see the list of other bloggers who are joining in on the giveaway madness. Have a great week!

Because of the bulkiness of the pillow, I can only ship within the USA. Unless you would like to enter and I can just send the cover (without the insert) internationally.

You can email me at ollie.kate@yahoo.com if you have any specific questions as well. Thanks!

The giveaway is done and all comments are closed. I will announce the winners tomorrow morning.

olliekate

Lisa from Sweetbeets featured us on her cool blog, ModEco Kids! She uses her blog to talk about her stationery business as well as other handmade and eco friendly gifts for babies and children. Have a look around for lots of fun ideas and companies you can feel good about supporting!

How fun to see our red poppy shirt showcased. Thanks Lisa!

next week:giveaway time

Next week we will be participating in a giveaway sponsored by Sew Mama Sew (one of my favorite places to get fabric, and a great sewing blog too!)

They are hosting a Giveaway on May 27th. There will be lots and lots of blogs with fun items to win all over the web, including us! Not sure what I will put up for grabs. Something fun from Olliekate for sure, so stop back by and enter to win. You will be able to click here on that day to see the other participants or get some more info. as well!

Happy Wednesday....

go check out etsy today

Hope you make it over to etsy.com today to see all the wonderful and talented artists that there are. And of course don't forget our humble shop, Olliekate ! If you don't see what you want in the size you need, just email us. We love to do custom orders. In fact a large majority of our work is custom since kids are all different, right? Here is the most recent design for a little girl turning 6 who was described as "loving elephants and very girly" I came up with this, hope she loves it!

And in honor of Etsy Day, here is a quick list of some of my favorite shops to look around and to buy from too! Not enough time today to get them all on there, but you will find so much more on your own.
Brown Robin : handmade bags for kids and their mamas

Fabric Supplies: name says it all!
Sarah Jane Studios: childhood prints. These decorate my little girl's room

Studio Mela: art prints

Whole Grain Baby: adorable kid's clothes

Sarah Jane Studios

birthday wishes

Happy Birthday to Oliver who is turning 3!

Our business names stems from the youngest of our 6 children: Oliver and Kate. Here they are together wearing their Olliekate shirts to a party! It is fun to have little models to try out all our designs on. Like a walking billboard really :)

Hope your birthday is full of lots of fun little guy. We love you!

where are my keys?

Oh! Here they are, on my Olliekate keychain wristlet of course. Now in our shop with more to come soon!

anniversary sale

In honor of our 1st anniversary on etsy we are having a sale for the month of February! We began our shop with our wonderful t-shirt creations and for the next month all of our tees will be 25% off.

That is just $19.50 for long sleeve, $18 for short sleeve and $13.50 for baby onesies! What a deal, so snatch them up now while they are on sale!

And many thanks to all of our customers over the last year, we are hopeful for continued growth in 2009! Happy shopping!

happy birthday to us!

Olliekate is 1 this month! We were both surprised how quickly the time has flown. We opened our etsy shop last January and have had only fun and friendship along the way. As we are constantly thinking up new ideas and designs to help us grow, look for more exciting things coming in February. And a sale too!

We look forward to what our 2nd year of crafting will bring!

new to the shop

New to the shop! Our pillows are here and cuter than ever. I think they are my new favorite thing to make. They look so adorable and were a big hit at all of our holiday craft shows. Each pillow is unique, soft and fluffy. Check them out over on etsy. They would make a great addition to a child's room.
We will have lots more listings of tees, pins and bibs over the month so keep in touch with us!

saturday , december 6th

Craft show season is just about over for us but we are excited for one more show tomorrow in Black Mountain. It is a fundraiser for my good friend Heather's Montessori school. The Holiday Parade is going on at the same time so the whole family can have a fun day in beautiful Black Mountain!

Rebecca and I are still busy sewing so we can have some fresh new designs for tomorrow's sale and fill up our inventory.
I laughed today when I told her over the phone that I just used my daughter's detangler to "style" my hair, my kids had 1/2 sandwich sent to school because we are out of everything in the kitchen and my 8 year old walked around this morning telling me he couldn't find any clothes to wear because they are all dirty!
When I get busy sewing , the house of cards that I keep balanced comes crumbling down! No worries, all that will still be waiting for me on Sunday...

Thanksgiving is already behind us and I can hardly believe it! We had a nice trip down to the NC coast for the holiday. The weather was a real treat (high 60s) and a break from the cold here in the mountains. I kind of hate winter so any chance for warmth I will take! We even went boating while we were there. Despite getting seasick and finding out that 2 of my kids don't have very strong sea stomachs either!

But it was fun nonetheless!

Tomorrow Olliekate is participating at the preschool craft fair at North Asheville Preschool if you are local and want to come by! It lasts for 2 days and another craft fair on our calendars this weekend in Black Mountain. Whew.. then that is it for a while and I can take a break, concentrate on family gift giving and get ready for Santa! Still have lots to do in that department too!

handmade holidays

We had such a great time yesterday at our first annual handmade holidays home show! It was so great to be there with other amazingly talented women artists and crafters. The crowds turned out as well. We were quite busy and all our efforts raised almost $500 for our local women and children's shelter!

We have been doing Olliekate for almost a year now and it was really great to have local people be able to see in person what we are always gabbing about! Sewing and creating are such great outlets for me that it was rewarding to hear compliments and make some sales too!

Thank you to everyone who came and showed their support. We hope to do it again next year! We will be doing 2 more local holiday shows as well. Email us for details if you would like to come!