Giving a little with a pop of orange

While I live in Palm Springs, my sister and family lives in San Francisco.  She is the president of the PTA at George Peobody Elementry School where my niece is in the 2nd grade and my nephew is in 5th.  So when my sister asked if I was willing to donate some of our pillow(s) to their yearly auction I didn’t hesitate with a YES!

We frequently donate our dog silhouette & printed pillows to animal rescue non profit groups and the question of what is easy.  In this situation we would need to donate something that could be viewed as ‘neutral’ and it was really important to incorporate our hand block prints where ever possible. Since it was going to San Francisco, it was important to use our wood grain print in grey and have the pop be a cool burnt orange.  Another important factor was to incorporate our hand carved block prints so that the pillows were unique and special.

Ecarlate Boutique is named after my niece (Scarlet / French translation).  It was quite fitting to donate some pillows in her honor.  Today my nephew (Micah) graduated / was promoted from elementary school which served as another important factor to make this donation special.

Above is a shot of us block printing our wood grain printed pillow in a slate blue grey.  We made these pillows slightly larger than what we have listed at 18″ x 18″

We wanted to keep up with the ‘woodland’ theme and decided to block print our trees.  This was step one in the process.

Step two was to throw in the pop of orange along with a cool slate blue to tie all of the pillows together.

Here are the trees along with the wood grain.

We decided to add a organic ‘river rock’ inspired print.  I wanted to have them pop so we decided to make the print in a burnt orange on the flax natural linen.

The three prints together along with the natural wood button.

Here is the final product.  I am really happy with how they turned out.  This shot is of the orange river rock linen pillow along with the wood grain pillows.  Both are available for purchase in my shop at https://www.etsy.com/listing/228684478/grey-taupe-linen-hand-block-printed?ref=shop_home_active_15 & https://www.etsy.com/listing/204511207/hand-printed-wood-grain-pillow-grey-wood?ref=shop_home_active_9

Here’s another shot of the pillows completed.  This paired the tree & burlap pillow (based on a popular design) along with the orange river rock.  You can purchase the tree print in my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/listing/228685110/orange-blossom-tree-burlap-pillow-tree?ref=shop_home_active_12

I am so happy to have been able to help out and had lots of fun creating something from scratch from my artwork that has a sophisticated touch.  You can find these items and others in my Etsy shop http://www.ecarlateboutique.etsy.com

Let me know if you have any questions and if you are in the Palm Springs area visit us at the weekly Village Fest in down town Palm Springs every Thursday (summer hours are 7 pm – 10 pm).  We are located at the iconic Frenchy’s clothing boutique.

Take Care,

Aja Simon / Owner & Designer
Ecarlate

New Events

I wanted to share that we will be a part of Patchworks Santa Ana Spring Show.  It occurs on Sunday, May 24th from 11:00 AM till 5:00 PM in Downtown Santa Ana. 

Follow our Facebook Page http://www.facebook/EcarlateBoutique and Instagram pages @ecarlateblush to receive more details when I receive them (i.e. booth location etc).  Also, send me a request if you prefer a specific design and/or dog breed or custom order.

Hope to see you there.

Aja

It is feeling like spring

The first day of spring is still five days away but here in Palm Springs, it certainly feels like the warmer season…

When I think of spring I think of Easter.  When I think of Easter, I think of rabbits.  I wanted to write a short entry exploring some of our rabbit themed pillows while showing how our block prints & screens are transformed by changing the design of the pillows.  Also, wanted to show how each pillow design can be incorporated with a favorite print we provide.

I wanted to begin with one of our most popular designs.  This design has been paired with our screen printed raven, bee, cats and more.  The light burlap mixed with the black gros grain ribbon looped around the natural wood button makes this pillow feel sophisticated.  Although more popular during early spring, this pillow sells throughout the year.  You can find it on our Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/86240120/rabbit-burlap-pillow-hare-pillow?ref=shop_home_active_18  We have also a new version of this design with a fabric that has the appearance of burlap but not the feel.  It is perfect for those who prefer not to have the burlap…  Email (ecarlateboutique@yahoo.com) for a photo or stay tuned since it will be posted in the Etsy shop soon.

This rabbit is a newer block print design we have come up with.  It feels primitive and almost a jackrabbit feel which is perfect for our home here in the desert.  What I love about the block print versus screen printing is that you can add or take away elements to make the piece unique.  On this kidney lumbar style we have the three rabbits paired with some desert bushes.  On the desert bushes we added a pop of burnt orange.  We have another that has a single rabbit alongside two cactus prints.  You can find this pillow https://www.etsy.com/listing/216144899/block-printed-burlap-rabbit-kidney?ref=shop_home_active_20

We simplified the jackrabbit with a single rabbit on a 12″ x 12″ wheat burlap front.  Of course we had to include the desert bush with the pop of orange.    This can also be customized to a color that works best for your color scheme in the room.  We just found a beautiful slate blue that I am exited to use.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/219868369/burlap-pillow-with-rustic-rabbit-block?ref=shop_home_active_9&ga_search_query=rabbit

This style of the dancing rabbits has the print directly on the burlap and is attached to the black and ivory ticking stripe with a reversed applique technique.  You can find this on our Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/95298966/rabbit-hand-print-pillow-black-and-ivory?ref=shop_home_feat_1

All of the above items and more are available in our Etsy shop http://www.ecarlateboutique.etsy.com or our website http://www.ecarlateblush.com .  You can follow us on Instagram & Facebook to see what is new @ecarlateblush (instagram) / http://www.facebook.com/EcarlateBoutique  You can comment on this post or email me directly with any questions ecarlateboutique@yahoo.com

As usual, we will be participating at the weekly Village Fest in downtown Palm Springs Thursday evening (in front of Frenchy’s).  April 25th & April 26th we will be showing at the Jackalope Art Festival in Pasadena.  If around stop by and see what is new in personhttp://www.jackalopeartfair.com/

Thank You!

Aja

Trying Something New with Triangles

Now that the first month of the new year is almost behind us, we wanted to try and introduce some new products. We though at first to make a circular shaped pillow but it sort of fell flat (not ruling it out completely but for now it has a pin in it).  Then we thought why not make some triangular shaped pillows.  I obtained some heavy duty duck cloth and thought maybe hand print some fun and vibrant numbers on the front.  I loved this look and it sort of reminded me of a equestrian or rugby theme.

I must admit, the first try was a failure of sorts.  We randomely drew a triangle and began cutting the fabric.  I then had to dust off some geometry skills (which by the way was the first class I did poorly in ending my mathematician career dead in its tracks).  The outcome was a weird narrow tipped triangle that looked more like a wizards hat.  I then remembered that there was such a thing as a Equilateral Triangle.  Each corner had to be 60 degrees and that is when I was able to make my pattern properly

We have the option of either having a color coordinated hand printed stripe on the back of the pillow (extending the rugby theme) or a brown ticking stripe.  Right now we offer orange, green and turquoise but am happy to customize this further and offer more selections if need be.  They are available now in my Etsy shop and soon on my website. https://www.etsy.com/listing/218644774/hand-printed-equilateral-triangle-shaped?ref=shop_home_active_4

We also decided that it would be fun to incorporate some of our large scale animal block prints to the mix.  The large Jack Rabbit and Sparrow are now available and am currently working on other prints.  To set these apart from the numerical & initial style, we printed a thick stripe on the back of the pillow.  Turquoise, Red & Orange are available but am happy to include different colors if it works best with your color scheme.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/219870035/hand-printed-equilateral-triangle-shaped?ref=shop_home_active_1

Last week we had a custom request to print the initials of our customer’s grandchildren on the front instead of the numbers. We gladly accepted and had so much fun making these pillows.  She selected the hand printed stripe on the backs.  We added this option https://www.etsy.com/listing/218644774/hand-printed-equilateral-triangle-shaped?ref=shop_home_active_4

I will promise to be more diligent in sharing new products via blog.  Visit our Etsy shop for all of our items http://www.ecarlateboutique.etsy.com .

2015 – New Designs from Ecarlate Boutique

It has been awhile since my last post so I wanted to begin by wishing everyone a healthy, happy and safe 2015. I wanted to share some of our new designs for our first blog entry of 2015.

 

We live in Palm Springs and we love the desert life.  We decided to create some block prints that embody the beauty of the desert.  Above we have created two different options of our new cactus print.  We added a punch of color with the orange floral blossoms which I really got excited about.  This can be customized.  We have created this in a small accent pillow (10″ x 12″) and a kidney pillow size (12″ x 18″).

Keeping up with our desert theme, we created a hare block print.  We surrounded this with desert shrubs with orange blossoms.

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During the fall we had a custom request to incorporate our owl block print with our black ticking stripe by using a reversed applique technique.  We added a burnt orange branch detail and was really happy with the result.

Our friend wanted us to make some pillows for her grand daughters and incorporate their initials.  We decided to make them playful and whimsy so we added the pom pom tassels.  We also didn’t want to use the same colors so we used, turquoise, green and pink.

I am in love with this print.  I hand carved a wood grain print and mixed a slate grey paint that has a hint of blue.  It can be made in other colors and different sizes.  14″ x 14″ & 16″ x 16″ are available online

Above is a new style of tea towels we are introducing.  They are on flour sack and has a mix of our bird block print along with a geometric hand print.

We are very hopeful for 2015 and want to be more diligent about sharing new designs, experiences and thoughts with you.  We are at the weekly Village Fest in downtown Palm Springs.  Visit our Etsy shop http://www.ecarateboutique.etsy.com

Thanks,
Aja

Custom Order

I wanted to share some one of our custom projects we recently completed.  I was approached by a lovely customer who liked our pointer pillow and cairn terrier pillow.  She wanted to increase the size, incorporate her dog’s names and add pom pom tassels on the corners.

 

Above, is the finished work 20″ x 20″ Cairn Terrier named Angus.

The completed dog silhouettes (Angus & Harley) along with the shot gun layout.

 

A close up of the large scale pom poms.  It was fun to add the punch of green mixed with the ivory and black.

The completed pointer.  Since our muse was a greyish German Wirehaird Pointer we added touches of longer hair here and there.

We constructed the shot gun in two tones, brown and grey.

A close up of the gun details.  Different applique stitches and embroidery stitches were added to embelish the pillow.  The pillow size customized to a 12″ x 28″

I wanted to share this custom order for a few reasons.  Our customer customized our pieces to suite her needs at her home which is what we love to do.  Our listings are more or less samples that can be customized in size and many more aspects of the piece.  We also want to show that we are not limited to dog & cat silhouettes.  We constructed this shot gun silhouette and in the past we have completed football silhouettes (for a child’s room), children silhouettes. the possibilities are endless.

I am happy to report that I received a lovely note from the customer who was happy with our work.  That is the most gratifying part of what we do.

Visit our Etsy shop / http://www.ecarlateboutique.etsy.com or our website http://www.ecarlateblush.com or email direct with any questions or requests ecarlateboutique@yahoo.com

Thanks for stopping by…

Aja

Ecarlate’s Summer – Patchwork Shows, Disneyland and Hillcrest

Living in Palm Springs can be depressing during the summer months.  It gets unbearably hot and the only time you are able to get out and about is to from the car to your destination and sometimes if you are lucky during the wee hours of the morning.  Therefore, every year I make a vow (which I end up breaking) to create some adventure and get out of town.  Even though it is still August, looking back I find that I did fulfill that promise in some way even if it is not the traditional tropical island or lavish overseas trip.

We begin with Patchwork’s Summer Show in Long Beach.  I was so excited to be a part of this show.  It is nearby and has a wonderful reputation for handmade and quality items.  Below, I am showing some of our new hand printed fabric pillows.  I am thrilled to add another handmade element to our traditional dog silhouette pillows and they have had a nice response.  Patchwork is more than a show organizer, they have a fantastic website and facebook page.  Follow and see what they have to offer https://www.facebook.com/patchworkshow & http://dearhandmadelife.com/patchwork-show/

Patchwork Long Beach – 2014 Memorial Day Weekend. I am personally showcasing some new work.

Here’s another shot of my display at Patchwork. It showcases our new hand printed fabrics along with some block printed fabrics.

While at Patchwork’s show in Long Beach we found this beautiful taupe and embroidered dress for my niece Scarlet.

Patchwork 2014 Long Beach Summer / Memorial Day – Yummy bread

A few short weeks later, we participated at Patchwork’s Santa Ana show. Again, I was excited to be a part of the show and had a really lovely day. It landed on father’s day and I was lucky enough for my dad to sacrifice his day to help out. He really is a trooper throughout our travels for craft fairs.

Father Daughter moment at Patchwork’s Santa Ana show during Fathers Day

A glimpse at our set up during Patchworks 2014 Santa Ana Show on Father’s Day

During the summer, we have been creating block print designs. What is great about this is that I hand carve each one giving our designs a more unique quality. I am just glad I haven’t stabbed my hand…

It isn’t all work and no play. In July my nephew (who just turned 10) came to visit. To beat the heat and celebrate his & my dad’s birthday, we took them to Disneyland. I haven’t been in 7 years and it was nice to have a few days to not think of sewing or popping up a tent. In August my niece & sister came down for a few days. Again, I took some time off to have quality time.

Micah & I waiting in line for the Matterhorn . Excuse my wet Splash Mountain hair…

My niece Scarlet wearing her prize from Chuck E Cheese

Soon after my niece & sister left for home, we were on the road again. This time for Hillcrest in San Diego. This is our fourth year and it never disappoints. The patrons are fun and I got to briefly catch up with one of my dearest friends from childhood.

My dear friend Andrew.

I am still participating at the Village Fest on Thursday evenings and keeping up with my Etsy shop. Visit us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EcarlateBoutique or now on Instagram @ecarlateblush Otherwise, we can be found at the usual spots http://www.ecarlateboutique.etsy.com , http://www.ecarlateblush.com or email ecarlateboutique@yahoo.com

We are still creating some fun items for Halloween and Christmas so stay tuned.

Aja

Custom Order / Apron

On the 3rd of July at our weekly Village Fest event we met a woman who had her father’s apron for years. She wanted to keepsake this memory by repurposing it into something she would see on a daily basis.

A unique vintage pillow

We agreed to the request without seeing the apron but figured that if we use similar design techniques as we do our burlap potato sack pillows we should be okay.  Once we received the apron we realized that we would not be able to replicate our Potatoes pillow.  I forward the idea of appliquing the apron on a brown ticking while utilizing the interesting grommet and twill tape detailing at the bottom.

We also like the rustic nature of using burlap on the back so we incorporated this into the design.  With our upcycled designs, we try to have a concealed zipper at the bottom of the pillow.

I was really pleased with the final product.  The brown ticking gave interest to the pillow and the red print on the apron really make the piece stand out.  I was really glad we kept the grommet detailing since this allowed the pillow to have a unique quality and stand out.

Our client was happy to which makes our day. I love taking on projects like this since the sentimentally is evident and allows us to use our creative muscles.

We have been plugging along this summer. Have been keeping us with our weekly Village Fest on Thursdays and will be part of Hillcrest’s CityFest August 10 (booth 65) in San Diego. If you are around visit us.

If you are not in Southern California, you can always pop in our Etsy shop http://www.ecarlateboutique.etsy.com or our website http://www.ecarlateblush.com or email direct with any questions or requests ecarlateboutique@yahoo.com

New Textile Printing – Pillows – Produce Bags and More…

We have been busy creating new items with our hand printed fabric line. I felt that this was the natural next step to create unique textiles. Some of the paint is colors I created so I am really proud of the results.

Produce bag – River Rocks and Pebbles

Above is a produce bag with a pattern that is basically circles but are fresh and resemble river rocks or pebbles.  This can be found in our Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/189069689/organic-cotton-drawstring-produce-bag?ref=shop_home_active_3

Moroccan Produce Bag (Currently available in red or blue print others available upon request) Fabricated from organic cotton

A pair of Moroccan tile inspired produce bags. We currently have red and blue prints available but can be provided in a color of your choice.  I love the mid century vibe these give.  They can be found at https://www.etsy.com/listing/187855883/organic-cotton-drawstring-produce-bag?ref=shop_home_active_4

Cute and Bright Playful Organic Cotton Produce Bags

A trio of produce bags in orange and the slate river rock blue (my creation). Again, they can be provided in any color and can be found at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ecarlateboutique?section_id=15390470&ref=shopsection_leftnav_9

Polynesian Hand Printed Tote – Navy / Wild Blueberry print – Custom colors available

A polynesian inspired print tote in a wild blueberry blue. https://www.etsy.com/listing/168624412/canvas-tote-mid-century-graphic-print?ref=shop_home_active_5

Hand Printed Tea Towels (your choice of color)

We also incorporated our new prints on our tea towels. These are on our standard cotton huck paired with a white delicate pom pom tassel trim. One is a fun circular burst and the other the mid century Moroccan tile inspired print.

hand printed tea towels custom colors available

Circular Floral Hand Printed Pillow Paired with Bright Mustard Yellow Dandelion print

Again we incorporated these hand prints onto our pillows. this one is fun because it plays nicely with a mustard dandelion whimsical print.  We took the circular burst dandelion print in gray and threw in a white to mix it up.  I like this pillow because it can be incorporated seamlessly with lots of our other pillows.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/188730712/hand-printed-pillow-with-mid-century?ref=shop_home_active_20

Moroccan Print in Black – Very Tribal – Can be customized to fit your room

Again, we took the mid century Moroccan tile circular print but this time in black.  This gave the pillow a tribal look.  We then paired it with a brown ticking stripe which I feel gives the pillow a softer feel to it.  I just love the result

Polynesian Printed Pillow in Black – Custom colors available

We took the Polynesian print and created it in black.  The back of the pillow is a unique bamboo esque stripe.  I also love it paired with the antique tribal voodoo man…  https://www.etsy.com/listing/187631283/hand-printed-pillow-with-geometric?ref=shop_home_active_22

Scottie paired with hand printed polka dots (other colors available)

Why not pair these our hand prints with our dog silhouette pillows.  We are beginning with our most popular breeds, however, any breed can be incorporated.  I love the playful polka dots in red with the Scottie.  The back is red ticking stripe of course.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/189366521/black-felt-scottie-pillow-hand-printed?ref=shop_home_active_15

Hand printed / felt applique pillows / cute stacked

A stack of two of our creations…

Dachshund with Geometric Red Print Mixed with Red Circular Geometric print

Here’s the Dachshund version.  It has a red floral geometric print.  In the photo there is the red circular fire cracker / dandelion print to show how these pillows can be paired together on the sofa, bed, chair and more.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/189367109/black-felt-dachshund-doxie-silhouette?ref=shop_home_active_13

Brown Chihuahua Paired Green Circular Print

We also put together a brown chihuahua silhouette (with a orange collar) with a kelly green circular dandelion print.  The back is brown ticking with a concealed zipper.  A very fun and vibrant pillow.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/189474273/brown-felt-chihuahua-silhouette-over?ref=shop_home_active_5

I want to let everyone know that these pillows can incorporate your breed, customize size, and mix & match.  See a pattern you love but want it in a different color or want to incorporate your pet not a problem.  Over the weekend we have also added (and will post shortly) a Lab, Pug, Cat(s), Corgi, Schnauzer and more.

We are beginning our summer season and will be at the Village Fest in front of Frenchy’s every Thursday (beginning June from 7:00 – 10:00 / Through May 6:00 – 10:00), will be at Patchwork’s Long Beach (May 25th 2014) Show next Sunday in booth 113 https://www.etsy.com/local/event/11243349924/patchwork-show-may-25  and Patchwork’s Santa Ana’s (June 15th 2014) show in space 87 https://www.etsy.com/local/event/11330496033/patchwork-show-june-15  In the meantime you can visit our Etsy shop http://www.ecarlateboutique.etsy.com or our newly developed website http://www.ecarlateblush.com  Thank you and come visit again

Spring into Blue

One of the most classic color schemes is blue and white. It is crisp, clean and extremely adaptable.  Furthermore, there are so many shades of blue to go off of while throwing in a splash of another color makes this scheme a unexpected success.

This room was designed by Kay Douglass.  I love the simplicity of the slip covered sofas and clean lines of the coffee table while throwing in punches with the unconventional light fixtures and framed art.  This room embodies the traditional / transitional nature of a blue and white scheme.

Here is one of our pillows utilizing the blue and white scheme. The fabric is a ikat that plays with different shades of blue over a white background.  We paired the ikat with a daffodil screen print over a wheat colored natural burlap.  This pillow gives a finishing touch to a sofa, lounge chair or bed treatment.  I decided to photograph it with my white cement robin that is on my front porch.  You can find this pillow either on my website http://www.ecarlateblush.com/collections/insect-print-pillows/products/daffodil-flower-hand-print-pillow-blue-and-white-ikat-print-design or in my Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/listing/75802941/blue-and-white-ikat-throw-pillow-cushion?ref=shop_home_feat_1

I love how the blue and white is paired with the darkness of the wood beamed ceiling in this room.  There are a lot of patterns in this room but what makes it work for me is the fact that there is a common thread of blue and white.  Also, the large window and solid ivory coffee table allow the prints to shine.

Here is a beautiful aqua and I included this room since it is not your traditional blue and white. It is bright playful and gives a funky retro edge.  The splash of pink in the photograph finishes the space perfectly.  It was designed by Jennifer Duneier and she was inspired by Easter and dying of Easter eggs…

A great place to start.  A palette full of blues.  They can be used for painting walls, fabrics or character furniture pieces.

Here is a fantastic stencil / paint roller from a Etsy seller in the UK. This is great for a feature wall, fabric or to get the look of wallpaper. Here’s a link to get further information https://www.etsy.com/listing/160488268/tuvi-patterned-paint-roller-from-the?ref=favs_view_17

 

I wanted to finish by showing a blue and white ticking stripe dog screen printed pillow. A fun gift and is perfect as a accent piece. You can find it at https://www.etsy.com/listing/164132076/boston-terrier-hand-screen-print-pillow?ref=shop_home_active_6&ga_search_query=boston

Visit our new website http://www.ecarlateblush.com or our Etsy shop http://www.ecarlateboutique.etsy.com