Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale 2010

December was a busy month! I've been meaning to post about the Super Colossal Holiday Sale for almost a month. Here we go... finally!

Saturday, December 11th and Sunday, December 12th were 2 amazing days. One event that has made Portland so welcoming for me has been Crafty Wonderland. I am so humbled that there are people out there that get down with their art nerdy selves; appreciators & creators alike. I would love to give a shout out to all those who attended and supported handmade.

Over 12,000 shoppers attended! The organizers said that this show was by far their biggest and best event to date. It was so nice to meet new and old faces... sale goers & vendors. There was so much handmade awesomeness that I wanted to marvel over, but I had to man my booth. Ha!

A few snaps of my booth...

Greeting cards, Mini vintage Scrabble rings, button rings, bingo rings, compass rings, and vintage Portland map rings in a vintage fisherman's tackle box

Suitcase filled with Herb Series prints & framings • Vintage Oregon map marble magnets on edge

A handful of my favorite vendors handmade awesomeness...

View more snaps on my Flickr.

I really can't wait for next year's Holiday sale!

Crafty Wonderland Pop-Up Shop

Multnomah County Central Library & Finnegan's Toys has a new neighbor for November & December. The City of Portland has asked Crafty Wonderland to participate in their Pop-Up Shop program. Basically they fill vacant storefronts downtown with local talent over the Holidays. The Crafty Wonderland ladies have exclusively hand-selected 80-some awesome crafters & artists to sell their hip handmade work at their storefront in downtown Portland. They call it a "pop-up shop" because it is only open temporarily, from November 9th through December 30th. I was pretty stoked to be asked to sell my artwork and jewelry there, along with all the other local talented artists & crafters.

The shop is located at 802 SW 10th Avenue in downtown Portland. It's on the corner of SW Yamhill & 10th.

There's a SmartPark parking garage right across the street. Oh so very convenient. There is also parking available at metered street spots. The shop is open from 10:00am – 7:00pm, Monday through Saturday and 12:00pm – 6:00pm on Sundays. There are going to be some fun special events at the shop. For example, wacky holiday photo booth on December 4th, which is this coming Saturday. For more information about events, visit www.craftywonderland.com/pop-up-shop.

I took lots of snaps of the shop and have posted some below. If you would like to see more of them, hop on over to my Flickr here.

Give the gift of handmade this year. Instead of giving your dad a clichéd sweater, give him some something creative and unique!

Support a local artist. Viva handmade!

Azure Ray at Mississippi Studios

Fair warning: I'm a huge music appreciator... listener... whatever. Well, with good music... that is. I may possibly be a music snob ;)

For the very first time I got to see Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink sing in unison right before me. It was the first time too that I got to experience Mississippi Studios' intiment setting. It was awesome and magical. I've been a fan of Azure Ray since that day I came across their album, Burn & Shiver at a local record store in Omaha, Nebraska. Since the band disbanded in 2004, I've seen Maria perform a few times around her solo albums. I've seen Orenda alongside Adrianne (from The Anniversary) performing as Art in Manila too.

photo via azureraymusic.com

When I found out that Azure Ray was getting back together, I was a very happy girl. I think I even jumped up and down a couple times. Big dork present? Yes. When Drawing Down the Moon album become available on Saddle Creek's website, I purchased those mp3's immediately. I hope to own it on vinyl someday. Saddle Creek has a charming Drawing Down the Moon vinyl + t-shirt + flair package. Hint hint.

Along with A.R.'s performance that night... I also got to see Tim Fite. I had no clue who this guy was. I didn't bother to listen to his stuff before the show. And boy was I surprised after his first song. I was thinking, 'okay he's probably going to be some singer-songwriter artist, that would coincide with A.R.'s genre'. Nope. It's was like country, hip-hop, and alternative music mashed together. It threw me off at first. It was pretty fun music though. My friend and I giggled most of the time. I loved how his friend was on webcam singing along on the screen behind him.

He ended his performance with teaching us his "gang sign" which soon turned into hand/finger motions of Itsy Bitsy Spider. He told us we can join his gang even if we are in one already. Lol.

You can download his latest album for free on his website. To be honest I got pretty annoyed with every song after sampling 20 seconds of them. He has pretty repetitive lyrics... and a little too focused on the topic modern culture of consumerism and greed for my taste. So overall, I enjoyed his silliness live but probably won't jam out to his work in the future.

I'm leaving you with a snippet of Azure Ray playing their last song that night... one of my favorites, Rise. Even if Orenda didn't want to play the audience's request.

Show of Awesome, this Saturday!

Here comes... SHOW OF AWESOME!!!

It is this Saturday, the 19th from 10am to 3pm. And like old times it will be at the Doug Fir Lounge.

Come shop and meet crafty superstars from across the country selling handmade goodness! - Featuring 40 local and national vendors and a few authors too! - Free DIY project at the Make Something Awesome Area. - All ages and free admission.

See the vendor list here: http://www.hellocraft.com/summit/the-show-of-awesome/

Come buy gifts, or maybe a little something for yourself!

This event is happening in conjunction with the Summit of Awesome and is sponsored by Crafty Wonderland, DIY Lounge and Hello Craft.

I do hope you'll come!

She's crafty!

This last weekend was incredible. I'll cherish it in my heart always, as mushy as that sounds. I want to send out a huge thanks to Cathy and Torie for organizing such an awesome show! And lest we not forget... to you all that came out and supported it! Crafty Wonderland is definitely a staple in making Portland what it is. I'm so thankful to be able to experience it. So much creative talent at the event. It was so cool to see the faces behind shops that I have favorited on Etsy. I wish I had a chance to go around and meet more of you!

I took many photos of the weekend. You can check them all out on my Flickr. I posted a few below too.

Thanks to my friend Heidi for capturing this shot! www.heidihoffmanphotography.com

Make Something Awesome Area organized by Hello Craft

People a shoppin'. I got to sneak out of my booth when it was quiet for a moment to snap a photo.

Made with love... Scrabble rings!

You can wear the first letter of your name on your finger! How rad is that?! I will be bringing a bunch of 'em to Crafty Wonderland this weekend. If you can not make it this weekend and you really want one... contact me and I'll make a custom listing in my online shop made especially for you!

- + - - + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -

ONLY 4 MORE DAYS UNTIL CRAFTY WONDERLAND!!! YAY!!!

- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- + -- +

Sunny & Swell

What a BEAU-TI-FUL morning we have here in Stumptown. I enjoyed the sunshine on my way over to Crema. I thought I would share some of the rays that are shining in the office.

I signed up for a DailyBooth account the other day. Do feel free to add me as a friend on there. In the past I've been kinda hesitant to sign-up but after moseying around a lil' bit and viewing other users silly faces I was persuaded. DailyBooth is basically like a visual journal. It's a place where you can upload and share portraits of yourself on a daily basis. Pretty fun concept, eh??

The last three days I have been blaring (at least twice a day) the new She And Him album, 'Volume Two'. My husband would say he can vouch for this. He doesn't have the nerdy obsession for Zooey as I do. And hey that's okay. The album is not released yet– won't be until March 23rd. Thanks to NPR's website you can stream it! Take a gander here.

Wait, wait! Don't leave yet. I know, you're about to think... tl, dr. BUT I have some very thrilling news.

I was accepted into Crafty Wonderland's Super Colossal Spring Show! It will be at the Oregon Convention Center on May 1st and 2nd. Be sure to mark your Google Calendar, iCal, Moleskine, etc. It's going to be glorious... 200 vendors with their handmade goodness. Keep posted on Crafty Wonderland's site.

Last but not least... I have drawn a new kitchen herb. May I present Nutmeg.

Nutmeg print :: 8” x 10” :: View in Etsy Shop

"Nutmeg is usually associated with sweet, spicy dishes — pies, puddings, custards, cookies and spice cakes. It combines well with many cheeses, and is included in soufflés and cheese sauces. In soups it works with tomatoes, split pea, chicken or black beans. It complements egg dishes and vegetables like cabbage, spinach, broccoli, beans, onions, and eggplant."

I found a photo of the actual fruit. I'm amazed of the dried "lacy" reddish covering of the seed... I see a resemblance to human capillaries.

It's a new year... Let's get excited & make things.

Poster created by Matt Jones of London.

Yes, that's right. 2010. Let's make things. Let's do things.

In fact, my '10 resolution is related to this inspiring poster. As I sit here sipping my chai latte, I'm getting excited for a brand new year. I want to share my art with the Portland community, be it in a coffee shop, a boutique, or a gallery. I have decided on another way that I will be giving back to Portland as well. For the year 2010 I will be donating 5% of my Etsy sales to the Portland Rescue Mission. Almost everyday I see homelessness around Portland. I really want to help give hope to those men, women, and children.

Year two in Portland has been life changing. I met lots of peachy creatives, either crafty, design, or technical. I submerged myself into the Portland creative community.  With these new friends of mine, we planned a few graphic design meet-ups. We did happy hours. We had crafting afternoons & evenings. We went to coffee shops and doodled in our sketchbooks. We geeked out over art supplies at art stores. We also did street fairs. We did craft shows. I did my very first Crafty Wonderland craft show... and a second one, the very last monthly Crafty Wonderland in November. And even the monstrous Crafty Wonderland Colossal Holiday Sale. 2009 was the year I started this blog, February 14th. In 2009 I also started making necklaces, earrings, Herb drawings, and lest we not forget the monthly documentary video shorts.

I hope everyone has found the Holiday Season enchanting. I hope you were able to create memorable moments with close friends and family even if you were snowed in and unable to be with them in person. I am personally thankful for Skype & webcams. I do hope this blog post finds you well.

I will leave you with this mosaic. The first mosaic I have ever made. It's filled with photos from 2009 of the things that inspired me.

Passing along some 2009 inspiration bliss, enjoy!

Click on mosaic to view more details.

Giveaway is getting a lil bit sweeter

My first ever giveaway is getting a lil' bit sweeter. Now you can win 2 prints of mine– Coriander & Poppy Seed!

I'm also extending it. The winner will be now contacted and announced on Monday, November 9th.

To win all you have to do is write a comment below, along with your name and an email address!

New Earrings & Mint drawing

It's Friday! Woo-hoo!

Well it's just about over with, isn't it? I'm staying home this evening due to feeling a bit under the weather. Hopefully things turnaround with the help from hot tea. I mean come on, who wants to be sick over the weekend? Surely not I.

I don't know if you noticed but 2 new sets of earrings made their way into my Etsy shop yesterday. I'm having so much fun using these little twig beads that I acquired awhile ago.

Float on Clouds - Earrings - View in Etsy Shop

One More Song - Earrings - View in Etsy Shop

Lastly, a new plant is added to my Herb Series! I've been pretty anxious to post this one.

Mint - 8" x 10" Print - View in Etsy Shop

Well that's all for now. I'm gonna kick back with a steamy cup of Chamomile tea, snuggle with my cat, and watch a movie borrowed from a friend. Hope all you lovelies have good weekend and enjoy that crisp Autumn air.

Last Thursday on Alberta

When my husband & I visited Portland for the first time, we checked out all of it's awesome neighborhoods, including Alberta. I fell in love with it's telephone poles covered in show posters, it's street art, and it's quaint art store Collage.

A street art find on my first visit to Portland, back in Fall of 2007.

A few months after moving here we learned about and checked out Alberta's monthly event, Last Thursday. It was so awesome to see such a lively event for blocks and blocks. Food, unique art, live & obscure music are definite staples of the experience.

My wish to participate and sell my handmade goods and art is going to be a reality! I will be joining 2 other artisans, Little Bear and Camp Smartypants this Thursday evening (which happens to be tomorrow). So if you are in the area, definitely stop by and make an appearance. I love meeting fresh faces. Also, if you have a minute do check out Little Bear and Camp Smartypants' Etsy shops.