We're now on Myspace!

We now have our very own Myspace account. We'll still continue to post most of our info on this blog, but Myspace will allow us to do a bit more networking.

Check us out and add us as a friend here!

New item: Upcycled napkin rings - Rainbow

These were so much fun to make. We took the cardboard tube from a finished roll of paper towels and cut it into sections. Then we painted the inside of each section very carefully with acrylic paint and a high gloss coating. Once it was dry, we carefully wrapped slices of high saturation digital printer proofing sheets around each ring using decoupage techniques and lots and lots of glue. Then we gave the whole thing a thick coat of high gloss acrylic that we carefully textured with a sponge before it dried.

The finished product is surprisingly sturdy and very pretty. We even like how one of the rings still has the black-and-white-checked border from the printing sheet. So cute!

Buy them now!

New item: Glossy silk headband - Blue palmetto

We made yet another headband out of repurposed vintage silk, non-toxic glue, and high gloss acrylic seal. The colors are particularly summery and we enjoyed making this one quite a bit. Even the ends are wrapped in ribbon for extra comfort. Such luxury!

Buy it now!

New item: Glossy silk headband - Green and yellow tie dye

After surveying the always helpful Etsy forums for shop critiques, it became apparent that our green paisley glossy silk headband was by far our most popular item. So we dipped into our overflowing bucket of vintage silks and pulled out a hunk that had been tie dyed in appealing yellows and greens. Then we used our painstaking but very necessary process to adhere it permanently to a headband. The final step was trimming it with ribbon for comfort and decoration.

Check it out!

New item: Decorated tray - "Upholstering"

We have a book of prints of matchbook covers from the 1920's and 1930's. One print, an old ad for an upholstering company, kept catching my eye as I thumbed through. The simplicity of the chair and font was appealing and on a whim, we "upholstered" a ceramic tray with cute floral paper, ribbon, and mismatched but complementary buttons.

The project was surprisingly labor intensive, as the ribbon really didn't want to stay put, and we buffed the paper by hand for that extra vintaged look. The end result was pretty cool, though.

Check it out!

Another Etsy treasury

We've made another Etsy treasury! This one's called "You're a peach" and we think it's a gorgeous collection of really cool items.

Check it out!

SALE!

Felix and Paco is having a recession sale! We need to move our merchandise fast, so we're slashing prices. Check it out!

Now featured on SARAHSPY!

SARAHSPY, a pop culture and fashion blog, has featured our glossy silk headband in green paisley in a post about Brooklyn fashion. Hooray!

Check it out!

Making an Etsy treasury

Making a treasury on Etsy isn't as easy as you'd think. There are only 333 spots available and you sort of have to stake out your spot. As soon as the 333rd treasury expires, pounce!

We were able to get a spot on our first try (lucky!) and made a treasury called "Eclectica". So far it's looking pretty good and doesn't expire until Monday.

Check it out!

New item: The Green Giant mobile home collage

A koi pond is no place for a green travel trailer! Unless, of course, that green travel trailer is the Green Giant, the third piece in our mobile home series. We decoupaged this green retro cutout of an old travel trailer on glass with a Japanese Chiyogami paper background. Chiyogami paper is surprisingly hard to work with for the purposes of decoupage; it's kind of fragile but sturdy enough that getting the bubbles out is harder than you'd expect. We wrestled with this thing with glue-covered fingers for like an hour trying to get each and every little bubble out from under the paper and glue. We think the end result was worth it though.

On sale now!

New item: The Silver Bullet mobile home collage

Oh yeah. What could be more romantic than the open road, a shiny silver trailer, and a pretty floral print behind you? This art piece is surprisingly attractive, no matter how campy it is, and is sure to elicit a smile from anyone who sees it. We're really digging this mobile home series so far.

On sale now!

New item: The Pink Lady mobile home collage

Nothing says classy like black and white damask framing a vintage print of a hot pink trailer. Nothing!

And if the above statement is true, this is the classiest collage ever made. We decoupaged a pink trailer cutout onto picture glass and gave it an interesting stripey background and damask borders on the left and right sides. Then we stuck it in a green hand-stained frame and voila! Classy.

On sale now!

New item: hand-stained decoupaged mirror

Animals and mushrooms adorn this weird little mirror. We're not sure what to think but...we like it. Making this thing was pretty time-consuming. First the mirror had to be sanded smooth, then hand-stained on both sides. After it was dry, we applied hand-cut pieces of a printed napkin with retro prints of animals on it. Elmer's glue, which is our adhesive of choice because it's strong yet non-toxic and dries completely clear, saturates napkin paper immediately, making it curl and wrinkle. But napkin paper can't be soaked in advance like stronger kinds of paper can, because it turns into soggy mush within seconds.

Tricky, tricky. Future napkin decoupages will (hopefully) be easier.

On sale now!

Follow us on Twitter!

Felix and Paco have a Twitter profile. Find out what we're doing when we do it. It's like Facebook updates without the Facebooking part.

Check us out here.

Welcome to the blog of Felix and Paco, an Etsy boutique

Here we plan to chronicle our ongoing trials and tribulations as a cheeky Etsy upstart. We will keep you updated on our latest projects and give a nod to Etsy sellers we particularly love, as well as showcase other sellers' products and supplies.

Our first six items are up and ready to sell; we hope to add four more today or tomorrow. Photos are extremely important on Etsy and we prefer to use natural light whenever possible. Since we work out of a spacious yet slightly dark brownstone apartment, sunny days are key for photographing our merchandise. Today is rainy and gray, so the pictures may have to wait until tomorrow.

In the works: three 4x6 decoupage art pieces in hand-stained frames, and a small wall mirror decorated with pieces of a repurposed printed paper napkin.