Day 42

Fabulous Fun Fan Friday!

Lucy sent us a photo of herself in a vintage necklace & up-cycled jewelry box from Italy Ava. Thank you Lucy, you look so sweet :)

Kim ordered a couple sets of Poms for her daughters room. They look so adorable! 

Erica sent in a sweet picture of her daughter, Kaylee, in this super cute owl hat made from recycled sweaters.  What a cutie :)

Amanda in a Flying Tomato cardigan. Looks great with colored jeans! 

Anita has an awesome Purple Chameleon Headwrap, such a great way to add to any outfit.  

Here is Shannon sporting some Flying Tomato 2 colored pants & gorgeous ivory blouse. Love the combo!

Jeannie bought one of our window panes and put these cute photos behind it. What a neat idea and looks so great!

Shannon has a cute pom pom hat on! These come in four colors, great for fall!

Shannon is wearing our mustard tights. Great with boots! Cute picture Shannon!  

This striped sweater dress looks amazing on you Beth! As well as our new knee high boots!! 

Thank you all for sharing your fan photos! We love seeing our customers sporting anything Italy Ava. So remember to send us your pictures to be on our Fabulous Fun Fan Friday blog!

Day 41

Flying Tomato

Flying Tomato is a vintage inspired bohemian clothing line founded by Jay & Debbie in 2004. It all began as Salt & Pepper Clothing, Inc. in an 1,100 square ft shop which was located at the heart of the fashion district in Los Angeles. Since then, we have expanded and our facilities now include 2 showrooms in the LA Fashion District and a 67,000 square ft warehouse which is located in Vernon, CA. 

We design, manufacture and distribute classic & feminine collection not to follow trends, but to set our own by showcasing an entirely new look with vintage inspired feel that our customers have grown to love. 

As a fast-growing young contemporary brand, Flying Tomato enjoys a dynamic and fast-paced working environment. We have such fun, energetic and dedicated group of fashion oriented individuals that work together as a team to create unique & edgy styles for today’s fashion leaders. 

You can find our line in over 2,000 boutiques & department stores worldwide and on our website, www.flyingtomato.com!

Day 40

Happy 50th Anniversary Mary Kay

We wanted to share our special runway event with Mary Kay..  Thank you to the beautiful models who rocked our outfits!!

Day 39

Little-Snuggle Boutique 

Late summer of 2011, a new vendor came into Italy Ava. One with creative and adorable crochet hats. Little-Snuggle Boutique creates beautiful and unique crochet items. Amy, the face behind Little-Snuggle, plays close attention to detail. She offers so many pieces here at Italy Ava, we are surprised she has time to be a vendor any place else! Her hats are one of a kind, same goes for her blankets. She takes the next step when creating such unique pieces, and hand picks her yarn. She goes with top names and quality, because lets be real, these are going on adorable little babies! Not only that, but she stands behind each of her creations, she wants everyone to be happy with their purchase. But who wouldn't be when you have so many to choice from! Amy is always on top of stocking up her area here in the store, every month is filled with adorable hats, blankets, baby cocoons, bottle holders, etc. Make sure to find her store on Facebook to follow her updates, she even has contests.

http://www.facebook.com/littlesnuggle

Here is a peak at Little-Snuggle Boutiques' area in the store. Just a sample of her hats :) So many fly out the door the day she brings them! 

Yes, this first one on the left is a deer hat. Simply adorable :)

Super cute button hat!

Boy version of the button hat!

Amy does amazing rag quilts. If you have ever looked into making on yourself, you can see they take alot of time. She even holds a class for teaching you how to make them. Check out her Facebook for more details! 

The back of the rag quilts has a different fabric and is smooth. 

Detail of what a rag quilt looks like. 

Did we mention she makes adorable booties. seriously. adorable. So many gifts to pick from, you are sure to find the cutest little gift. 

We are so happy and fortunate to offer you all Little Snuggle Boutique. Thank you Amy for making all these amazing pieces for the customers! Make sure to follow her blog! 

http://littlesnuggleboutique.blogspot.com

Day 38

What to expect from Italy Ava this week:

Before I start though, I mustache you one question....

Did you have fun at the Trunk Show??

Thanks to all our family, friends, customers who came to the Hilltop Trunk Show.. Also huge thanks to Jessa, Tristan, Jeanine, Al, and Kristina for helping us make it happen!!

We are officially open Monday's now from Noon to 4:00pm

Finally our brown niki biki leggings will be in this week along with new niki biki tanks..

Fashion Elastic Belts (new style)


Leiah & Studio B will be doing a photo shoot tomorrow with new fashion finds from Flying Tomato (available Tuesday)
Here is a sneak peek at one top

Tuesday night at 6:15 we will be doing a Fall Fashion Show at he American Inn..  Contact Janet Chapman for more information.

Also buy any pink item through October and receive 10% off for Breast Cancer Awareness..

The left over pieces from the trunk show will be brought in next week, some great pieces just in case you missed out...

This week only we will be doing a extra 20% off our clearance rack!!

Have a great week, I often forget everything new until each day brings it in, so continue to watch our facebook for unique finds!!

Day 37

Italy Ava is now open Monday and welcomes Alison Winkleman

As you read this I'm probably already off to Hilltop Acres getting ready for this grand event..  I feel anxious, excited, worried, relieved, and happy it's finally arrived.. I know this is all you've heard about the last month, so I wanted to take a day of my blog and write about our Monday new employee, Alison Winkleman.  New to Main Street, Italy Ava but Ali did work the holiday season on the 3rd street location. 

Yes, you did hear me right, we are now open Mondays from noon-4pm..  

Alison just isn't an  employee she is a very dear friend to me and pushed and encouraged me to do a business-front with Italy Ava.  She knows my business from the inside out and quite frankly I'm sure gets sick of me bouncing ideas, thoughts, suggestions off of her every visit..  If you haven't already met Alison I promise you'll adore her as much as I do..  She is the nicest, sweetest, and most genuine person..

Ali’s Story

I grew up in Marshall in a house with parents who were always busy doing projects.  They loved to refinish woodwork in our house, buy antiques and fix them up and change any room. I remember a fireplace mantel they purchased that had at least 8 coats of different paint on it and when they refinished it was beautiful with all the detail.  You would never guess it was the same piece.  My parents owned a shop in Ghent where they stripped and refinished furniture as well as sold antiques.  My mom was always rearranging the house and could put something somewhere and it would look perfect.  She definitely has an “eye” for decorating.  Well, I guess you can say it is in my blood as well.  I owned a business with a friend for a few years called Kali Design.  We did decorative painting, rearranging rooms, and buying furniture or décor to transform any room.  It was so fun but when my partner moved we had to end the business.  I still love to help friends with choosing the right paint color, fabric or helping to rearrange a room.

I love all things that deal with the latest styles and trends and mixing old with new to create a unique look in my home or my wardrobe. 

My most important job and love is being a wife and a mom. I have 4 wonderful boys who always keep me busy.  My husband works at US Bank and we have been married for 20 years. 

I am so blessed and excited to be working at Italy Ava and look forward to helping you with anything you need for the home or for your wardrobe. I will be working Mondays from Noon to 4 and would love to see you. 

Day 36

DIY Saturday:

Paper Pinwheel Tutorial

On today's Do It Yourself, we are making these super adorable Paper Pinwheels. They are so easy to make. Get creative and pick some fun scrapbook paper! 

First, here are the supplies you need :

-Double sided scrapbook paper cut in squares ( we used 5"x5" & 3"x3")

-Buttons

-hot glue gun

-scissors

-decorative stick or straw

-hair clip

 Get started!

Grab either one of your square pieces of paper, folding diagonally, fold it in half and then half again. 

This shows the first fold ( at the top) and the second fold (at the bottom)

Next open up your folded paper and flatten it out. Then cut along the creases, making sure to leave about 1/4 inch from the center of the paper. 

Since you have double sided scrapbook paper, this is the fun part. Pick which side you want to face up. Then take your glue gun and put a small amount of glue in the center of the piece of paper. This would be the area where you didn't cut. Grab a corner of the paper and bring only the tip of it to the center where the glue is. Repeat this step, using every other corner to the glue. You may need to add alittle more glue after the second corner is brought in.

 Next add your cute buttons to the center of the pinwheel....

Now you can get your hair clip for the small pinwheel and glue it to the back. And take the stick to the large pinwheel and glue that to the back as well. 

 Super cute & easy!!

I added this one to my hair. 

Use them in a bouquet!

Or just decorate with them.....

Now if you want to be super creative, use felt and cut out squares and glue them to the hair clip. You can also use fabric, picking 2 kinds and use heat-n-bond to attach the fabrics together. Then follow these simple steps! Make sure to send us pictures if you try out any DIY! We love seeing what you do!