My love and I took a bike ride to Mississippi Avenue for the weekend. It’s one of my favorites. There are so many shops and street art.

We were so excited to see that Cup & Saucer opened a location on Mississippi. We couldn’t resist eating there for lunch. If you haven’t ate there I totally recommend it!

Check out the delicious grub we ordered…

Garden Omelet with scone & potatoes
Broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, mushroom, spinach and cheddar

Lucky Scramble
Bacon, mushroom, green onion, cheddar cheese scrambled with three eggs on top of potatoes

Lastly, here’s a recent drawing I did when I was visiting Nebraska. I finally snapped a photo for you to see. Enjoy!

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!

Good morning to you all! It’s very early for me… 4:00am. Some silly reason I’ve been waking up this time early every day this week. Let me state– THIS NEVER EVER HAPPENS. I heart sleeping. Make that a gigantic heart. Ok, so I’ve been pretty terrible about updating this blog. Eek! Has it really been 3 weeks since my last post? I really need to kick myself in the rear. It even has been perfect blogging weather…rainy. Bleh, I am pretty tired of this stinking hard core rain we have been having in Portland. Well, I don’t hate it completely. I love having my apartment windows open. Hearing the pitter-patter is nice. And so is the smell. Mmmm. But I am yearning for a little Vitamin D and bicycling that doesn’t involve soggy skinny jeans.

For some odd reason the rain has gotten me thinking of “David the Gnome”. If you were a child in the mid to late-80’s like me & you had cable… you probably were a big Nickelodeon fan. I’m curious how many of you out there liked the TV show “David the Gnome”? I had a flash back of being around the age of 5, all curled up on the couch with my mom, watching the show that would eventually be subdued by an afternoon nap. All while it was raining, of course. I wonder what I would think of it, if I watched it today. My mom sure loved it. And I’m pretty sure today I’m the same age as she was then.

Very soon I will be making my first roadtrip of the season out to the coast. And absolutely NO Mr. Rain! You are sooo not invited. Sun? absolutely!

Speaking of roadtrips, remember when I posted on here about my drive out to Mount St Helens? Oh… back in the Spring of last year? Well here’s the post if you would like to read it. With all this H20 jibber-jabber, here are some earrings that I crafted. With Clearwater Lake on the brain, I named them…

“That time my toes met the shoreline”

:: View in Etsy Shop ::

I adore these faceted glass beads. They’re awesome! See how their colors, teal & amber, blend together? It’s especially cool how they hit the light. I really wish I had more of them. Yes, unfortunately I only will be able to make a few more. I guess you can say they are limited edition. He he.

Well you nice folks have an excellent weekend! I will leave you with a sketchbook drawing from yesterday. Enjoy!

Maybe see ya on Monday!

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.

I had a ball today meeting new friends and visiting with old friends. Looking forward to the 2nd day!

My booth…

Starting at 11:00am Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Spring Sale will open it’s doors. You don’t know how uber UBER excited I am. It’s ridiculous.

Here’s a sneak peek of some handmade magnets that I will be selling…

Underneath the glass you can see vintage maps of Portland, Astoria, Corvallis, Tillamook, and more! If you look closer you will see that I drew tiny leaves around the outer edge.

Hope to see ya there!

PS: Yoshimi was being really goofy. She discovered a twisty tie and was playing with nonstop.

Today has been fun. I took a trip down to Jo-Ann’s, stocked up in some crafty supplies. I’m getting ready for the humongous show coming up next weekend! I then hit up Best Baguette for lunch. Delicious! It’s becoming one of my favorite lunch spots. It’s like French and Asian food fused together. This time around I ordered the grilled chicken with Asian spices on a baguette. I couldn’t resist ordering one of their Mango Boba teas as well.

After lunch I made a visit to the Goodwill and found a vintage suitcase for only 7 bucks. What a steal! I also found a vintage travel Scrabble game. I plan on making some jewelry out of these mini letters. Since I brought them home, Yoshimi has been really into playing with the letters. I better be careful and keep them away from her. Otherwise they may be on the floor in every room very soon.

I’m really excited for next Saturday and Sunday! I’ve been counting down the days until Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colossal Spring Show. Everyday I’ve been doing a little bit to prep for it. I have even made some new handmade goodies that haven’t made their way into my Etsy shop. I found some great frames at Ikea the other day. At next weekend’s show I decided that I will be selling some of my prints already in frames like above. I have even went in and signed the mattes.

Yesterday I found out where my booth will be next weekend! I posted it so you know where exactly where to find me and my handmade goods. I’m super stoked about my neighbors too… Soma Venus & Camp Smartypants. We are going to have so much fun.

Welp, need to get off the Mac. I have a date with crafting for the rest of the evening. Maybe Yoshimi will join in on the fun. Checking out the dvd collection… maybe watch some Veronica Mars (Yes, I’m a geek), Curb Your Enthusiasm, or Freaks and Geeks? Decisions decisions decisions.

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.

Just this weekend was Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colossal Holiday Sale. Not only was I a shopper this year, but I was also a vendor. This was my first time ever vending at the holiday sale. Last year I & Chelsea Ann aka Itty Bitty Birdy came to the event as shoppers. We had a ball, so we decided to make it a goal to be vendors this year. I had oh so much fun Sunday. I met so many wonderful people– Crafters, Artists, and appreciators alike. I wanted to give a huge shout out to those who came, all 7,500 of you who supported handmade. I am so graciously thankful to have had the opportunity to be involved! I’m definitely doing the next, and the next, and the next…

I took a bunch of snaps from that day. Click on the pics below to see larger & more details. Enjoy!

Our booth!

My booth!

My friend Chelsea Ann aka Itty Bitty Birdy’s booth!

My new acquaintance Suki aka Bird’s Eye View Studio and her booth!

My friend Cate Anevski and her booth!

One of my favorite Artists, Rachel Ann Austin & her booth!

I even got to meet one of my favorite Artists, Kate Bingaman-Burt aka Obsessive Consumption!

I wish I could have taken more photos of all the others. It felt like the whole day flew by!

Well… I better get to creating my holiday card for this year. Eep! Check back tomorrow… I will have some news for you Stumptown locals out there.

is today and tomorrow!

Info:

da Vinci Arts Fair 2009
Saturday, December 5th 10am – 6pm &
Sunday, December 6th 10am – 4pm
Free Admission!
2508 NE Everett, Portland, OR
More info here.

If you can’t make it, but you are interested in purchasing an item…
Visit my Etsy shop here.

Photos of my booth that I took this morning…
(Click on photos to see more details on my wares.)