Craftiness for little ones!

I have a lot of babies that need gifts so I made these little onesies for them:

It was super fun and easy - I bought the 4 pack of organic onesies on Amazon and came up with some designs I liked, then used extra fabric to make them. Here's the detail for the back (the coon still needs one):

Can't wait to make more!

Shoes: Getting ready for fall

I really like the stacked heels that have been coming out recently and I think these would be great for the rest of summer and as we transition into fall! Here are two pairs I would love to add to my closet (both at Zappos - here and here).

Shoes I Like

I just found this designer that has an amazing collection for brides - many are too high for me, but lovely styles (they make me think of old school Hollywood):


Check out them all here!

Etsy Craft Party - the Shoes!

When I went to the Etsy craft party on June 18th, I was asked by Vanessa (one of the organizers and a very sweet person) to do a demo:


Here I am working on a pair and showing the party-goers how Oxford Is Heaven does it.


The finished product! PPS gave me these shoes and they were perfect for doing a demo! I listed them in my shop after the party and now they are the first pair that I have sold to Scotland! How cool is that!

And if you'd like to create your own pair, here is my list of supplies that I gave out to everyone:



~ DIY Marie Antoinette Shoes Material List~
By Oxford is Heaven
www.etsy.com/shop/OxfordHeaven

- One pair of vintage shoes in your size – old bridesmaid’s shoes work amazing!
- Ribbon in coordinating colors – I like to have 3 widths to work with, 1/8 inch, 5/8 inch and 1+ inch wide (can be all the same color or 3 different colors).
- Rhinestone and/or pearl stickers – separate, self-adhesive kind
- Vintage clip-on earrings or buttons – thrift store finds!
- Millinery flowers
- Feathers
- Fabric paint and brushes – I use the kind meant for making t-shirts
- Needle and thread (for sewing ribbon)
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks – you can get a small one at any craft store

Good sources:
- High quality ribbon at good prices: www.theribbonretreat.com
- All kinds of supplies: www.mjtrim.com
- And my favorite: www.etsy.com! (Tons of good stuff under Supplies!)

Fav'd on the Etsy Blog!

A maker of hats is interviewed on the Etsy blog and she says my store is one of her favs!



Read about it here.

Shoes of Summer

Summer is for cute shoes (without worrying if you are going to step in a snow bank). I want these 2 cute pairs:
(Top pair - from Schu who needs to start selling in the US!)
(Bottom pair - from B Mahowasky,  these are so comfortable!)

Etsy Craft Party!

Going to this tonight! Yay!


Shoes of the Day #2


Lovely minty shoes by Hey Lady and an aqua necklace with vintage accents from LittleSuze.

Shoes of the Day!

I'm always looking for new ideas for my shoes and surfing around for shoe goodness. Here is a pair I really like:
 


I'd wear them with Sohomode's yellow circle skirt for a lovely explosion of spring color:


Pink Wedding!

One of my pairs of shoes is going to a bride who is wearing pink for her wedding:



I love the idea of a pale colored dress! And it makes me happy that my shoes are going to be a part of her special day.

On the Etsy Blog again!

My gold and vintage pumps here: Etsy Blog.

Hurray! They were snapped up today too.

More Spring Style!


Nautical Stripe Lucky Diamonds Dress
Sailor Mini
PREPPY Bright Yellow WICKER Purse
Wayfarer Sunglasses
Girly Girl Gorgeous Liberty of London Vintage Silk Scarf
Salmon Woven Leather Flats
Vintage Cobbie White Woven Flats
Number10 Cylinder Vase in Exeter Links Kelly
Estate Earrings, Petites, Tanzanite
Ugly Betty
circle skirt
ethereal innocence - wire flower crown

Etsy
Buy Handmade
OxfordHeaven

Fun Times in the Shop

It's been quite busy recently for Oxford Is Heaven.

I was featured again on the front page of Etsy earlier this week and did an interview for Designers4Design.


Here are some of the shoes I've been working on. Four of these pairs are custom orders!

I've also been using my new light which means I can take a picture like this even at night:
Good times!

My Shoes in the MALL?!?


This store in a mall in NY wants to carry my shoes! Pretty crazy!

I'm so excited!

This is on its way to me!


Which is very exciting since I won't have to wait for natural light to photograph my projects anymore!

Also, I'm in love with these shoes by Eidia Lush and her whole site concept. I think I've found what I want to be when I grow up!

OxfordHeaven shoes on the Etsy blog!

RKP's shoes were featured on The Storque!! - Etsy's handmade blog - in a posting called "Below the Belt."

Here's a quick screenshot (click to enlarge) of the shoes in the original post, along with some other great finds from Etsy sellers. Although that particular pair of shoes is now sold, there are still a few pairs in the shop, so take a look.


If Spring feels far away to you (it certainly does to me - right now it is snowing in the South!!), then shoes in fresh, pale colors might be just the thing.

travels

 
An especially warm weekend made for a wonderful mini-getaway in Charleston & Sullivan's Island. We enjoyed great eats at Freshberry and Cafe Metto and window-shopping on King Street. A great way for NIS & I to celebrate three years of being "us."

Favorite Craft Vendors

Creating fun crafts requires finding lots of good supplies.

 
 I love thrift stores - so they are one of my primary methods of finding good shoes for projects and vintage elements like earrings (clip-ons are perfect for adding to shoes).

My favorites near my house are:
Goodwill on 355 (they often have really nice shoes)
Value Village in College Park (huge selection, tons and tons of stuff which is different every day)
And of course, the best online thrift store ever - eBay (where I go to get something specific)

I also really like finding yard sales or rummage sales (the Methodist church on campus has one twice a year that I've gotten some really great stuff at, like a box of vintage ribbon for $0.50!).

So far as general crafts go, there are a few good places to get new supplies:
JoAnn Fabrics (great for general sewing supplies) 

  

 I also have used a couple of shop on Etsy to buy supplies - I like supporting my fellow shop owners and I've found some very specific and fun things I can use:
ChristopherPines (vintage millinery goods like ribbons, leaves and velvet flowers)
MaryNotMartha (more millinery, especially really lovely flowers)
GD Supplies (feathers and supplies for hair creations)
Beads N Bits (she hand-makes the most amazing velvet flowers)
Merelle (a huge selection of vintage jewelry at inexpensive prices)

Part of the fun for me is researching how to make a pair of really pretty shoes for someone. I love scouting around and picking up different things to create a specific look. I'm off now to keep working on getting supplies for 5 custom orders!

books! books! books!

 
photo credit: brewbooks via Flickr

ABE Books is one of my favorite places to find used, rare, out-of-print books that I really, really need. Like Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons. Or the wonderful Seamus Heaney.

One of the things that sets ABE apart from other websites like Alibris or Barnes&Noble is that rare book professionals use it as a way to keep tabs on current market prices. This means that the used books are well described and (fairly) well cataloged with their condition clearly presented and, if you're willing to pay, you can find unique items...like a signed copy of a childhood favorite for someone special, perhaps? (A first edition of CS Lewis' Wardrobe just sold for over $8,000).

They also offer guides to collecting books, so you won't get tricked and all of their books come from independent booksellers, so you get the satisfaction of supporting them as well...all of this clearly makes ABE the site for sensible readers of used books.

If I had some extra money right now, I'd snatch up Volume 1 of O.B. Miller's My Bookhouse.

A Poem

So I didn't know this when I set up my shop, but there is a poem that contains the line "Oxford is Heaven" and I like it a lot, so here it is:

But, in a word to say how I like thee, 
For place, for grace, and for sweet company, 
Oxford is Heaven, if heaven on earth there be. 
John Davies (1565-1618)

Exciting Times for Oxford is Heaven!

So a few days ago one of my pairs of shoes was featured on the front page of Etsy!

This was pretty exciting for me and something I've been hoping for while would happen. Etsy has been an amazing way of selling fun crafty items and I really like using it.

Here again is my shop (with tons of new stuff!):
http://www.etsy.com/shop/OxfordHeaven

Also, a lot of nice people have blogged about my shop! Here is a selection:
Molly & Mary - a fellow estyian and blogger who talks about "books, artworks, women, and places that inspire me."
Try Handmade -  a group of bloggers that encourage people to get away from big stores and shop little!
Wuthering Iris - a blogger who hearts all my favorite stores.

I've also added myself to Project Wedding. My plan is to try to market my shoes as the perfect custom wedding idea for either the bride or the whole wedding party. It gives the bride the chance to have the a pair of shoes that go perfect for her dress and the bridesmaids to have matching shoes, but slightly different if they want.

In fact, if there are any readers from my home church, I'd love to do shoes for your wedding at a discounted rate to get the word out locally! Just contact me for more info.