Buckman Art Show & Sell is this weekend! Here are a few more things I will be selling. Every dollar you spend on art helps Buckman Arts Focus Elementary School & local artists. Click here to RSVP on Facebook. Click here to view exhibiting artists.
Finished 4 necklaces
This morning I finished an Etsy order of 4 custom initial necklaces! Sooo cute!!! They are laying on a rock painted by my sweet friend Suki. Every time I see this happy rock sunbathing on my windowsill it makes me smile.
Bridge City Mercantile
So excited!!! A Tea Leaf handmade goods are now available at Bridge City Mercantile, 4759 NE Fremont St, Portland. Go check this adorable shop. So many lovely things.
Friday Feature: "Freckles In Her Eyes" dangle earrings
Hooray, it's Friday!
Today's feature is "Freckles In Her Earrings" dangle earrings handcrafted by yours truly. These are my favorite modern, yet kitschy, earrings to date!
I am smitten over these vintage lucite white & gold speckled turquoise lentil shaped beads.
Their name is inspired by one of my favorite bands, The Postal Service's song, "Such Great Heights". It's such a lovely song.
The band is composed of two talented fellows, that I admire very much, Ben Gibbard from Death Cab For Cutie and Jimmy Tamborello from Dntel.
These earrings are shipped in, I must say, an adorable jewelry box. The box's lid features my collage artwork.
(Click on the photos above to be directed to my Etsy shop’s listing or here.)
"Fixed Cerulean Stare" earrings
I recently created some new stud earrings!
Fixed Cerulean Stare - earrings
These earrings are inspired by my silly & affectionate cerulean-eyed Ragdoll cat. These vintage deep blue glass cabochons from West Germany are set in antique brass plated bezel settings. The studs are approximately 10 mm in diameter and have a light weight to them.
View listing on Etsy here!
"Roadtrip Abound" compass ring
I looove roadtrips. Don't you?
I love the excitement getting up in the morning, packing a lunch, camera, sketch book or possibly a novel to read when we hit our destination. Heading out the door, picking up some mouthwatering pastries & piping hot coffee, and then away we go! The anticipation of the sights we'll see!
Spontaneous road trips are the best. Which direction to go? Who knows what you'll run into.
My love & I have discovered some amazing places, especially being new to Oregon... Silver Falls, Pittock Mansion, Mount Angel...
There's a new comrade in my Etsy shop inspired by roadtrips!
Let me acquaint you with...
"Roadtrip Abound" compass ring
I was enamored when I came across some vintage miniature compasses. I got to thinking about those Cracker Jack prizes. As a child, digging my fingers into a Cracker Jack box and pulling out that delightful lil' prize. I wouldn't think twice about sacrificing my fingers to the stickiness. Wouldn't it be merry to transform these compasses into a wearable?
This vintage miniature compass (3/4" in diameter) actually works, but has had a change of career from function to fashion. Instead of getting you through the woods, this compass will lend your day a note of eclectic style. This piece is finished off with a strong, stainless-steel toned adjustable band.
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!
Bucket o' Doughnuts
My very sweet friend Elaine and I took a trip to Voodoo Doughnut Too the other day. I bought a bucket of doughnuts. Crazy huh? And no, I didn't eat all of them by myself. I like to share, I really do. I bought them with the intention of sharing them with my coworkers. At Voodoo they have a photobooth...
Elaine makes wonderful and very intricate crocheted jewelry. If you are interested you can check out her Facebook Fan page here.
Here's a quick drawing of Monkey Flower I did the other day at Drawing Club. I love Gelly Rolls' pen series called Moonlight. I really love that they are opaque, waterproof, and you can draw on vellum to. I only have a few pens of the series... blue, white, and turquoise. I saw on Amazon that there is a pack of 10 assorted colors. Weee! I'm adding these to my Art Wish List.
Lastly, the earrings that I made titled, "That time my toes met the shoreline" are being mailed out to their new home all the way from the West Coast to the East Coast, New Jersey! Shortly after that order was made another order was placed. So exciting that these cute little earrings are selling like hot cakes today. I have a few more left. So if you've had your eyes on them, you may want to make the jump!
I cheese sandwich you
I have so many things to share with you about my recent visit to my homestate, Nebraska. Being there for 2 weeks, I couldn't help taking lots of photography. I plan on dedicating a few future blog posts to the highlights. Above is a shot I snapped in rural eastern Nebraska. I do miss the drives; being out and about between Columbus, Lincoln, and Omaha. It was nice to be reacquainted with the rows and rows of corn stalks. One thing I didn't miss was the 90° - 100° humid mosquito infested summer weather.
When I left Portland at the end of June I began reading my friend, Kim's novel suggestion... The Time Traveler's Wife. Wow, it was such a good read. It's confusing at first with all the time traveling dates. I don't think I have ever read a novel (that was not a mandatory high school or college requirement) so fast. Niffenegger's writing is to die for. I fell in love with her writing style. This is really her first book? I didn't notice. Very well done Niffenegger. Before I read this book I wasn't fond of the name Henry. Felt so old-fashioned. After reading this book, let's be honest, I have a new appreciation for it. I loved the dreamy character Henry. Who wouldn't. He's compassionate, dashing, and a time traveling adventurous stud. I don't normally read chick novels but this one went well under the radar for me. I give it 5 stars. I'm a little leary of watching the movie. It seems like when books are made into movies they are just not as good.
Chick novels... chick flicks... I only like a handful of either of them. Maybe 3 or 4. Love & Sex is an adorable and funny one. I watched this flick a couple times this week. One of my favorite quotes is when Adam says to Kate, "I cheese sandwich you." If you haven't watched it, the 2 were discussing, that after a while, saying "I love you" is like saying "cheese sandwich". Saying "I love you" starts to lose it's meaning.
This is off subject, but I'll give you a little heads up of what I have been crafting up these days. I crafted these... "Handpicking La France Pears In Japan" earrings. When the day comes that I get to visit Japan, I do hope to visit a pear orchard. I love how the La France Pear is uniquely spherical, like these lemon jade beads. I have listed a few pairs in the ol' Etsy shop. Click here to be directed to my shop.
Well I hope you lovelies have a great weekend. If you are in Portland... stay cool. It's going to be a warm one! It would be a good time to go to the coast.
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!
Take this here rain check
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!
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!
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ONLY 4 MORE DAYS UNTIL CRAFTY WONDERLAND!!! YAY!!!
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Caturday
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.
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.
A Tea Leaf at TinyHidyHo Holiday Shoppe
Attention Portlanders out there!
Stop by the Tinymeat store on North Williams to find local handmade gifts! It's a great place to pick out those last minute gifts, treat yourself to something sweet, or chit chat with Tinymeat owner, Michael! My handmade goodies are there, as well as a dozen other local artists' & crafters' work.
Tinymeat's address is 3808 N. Williams, Portland, OR - Located in the same building as Cha Cha Cha & Ristretto Roasters.
New Earrings, Giveaway, & Etc.
Oh my! I haven't written a blog post since October 12th! Here's a quick run-through of the latest.
New Earrings... October Nights and Black Kitten's Green Eyes are available for purchase in my Etsy Shop.
My Dill drawing of my Herb Series is featured in an Etsy Treasury called Dill or Sweet. They can't be beat! Click here to view.
On Sunday, November 8th I will be selling my art and jewelry at Crafty Wonderland. More info here!
I'm doing my very first give-away on here! I will be giving away an 8" x 10" print of my Poppy Seed drawing!
There are 2 ways to win:
- Send a tweet on Twitter with the hashtag: #atealeaf. Maybe something like: "Hoping to win this awesome print: http://tinyurl.com/poppyseed! #atealeaf". I'll watch the hashtag and automatically register you for the contest.
- Or register using Facebook. All you have to do is invite 10 friends to become fans of the A Tea Leaf Facebook fanpage here. Once you've done that just let me know in the comments below and I'll register you to win.
The winner will be contacted and announced on Friday, November 6th.
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.
Standard Movement Series Pendants
It's Friday and you know what that means... new arrivals in the ATeaLeaf Etsy shop! And I have a special surprise for you all. You can now choose the artworks you would like for your wearable. It gets a little bit sweeter too: not just one side, but two!
Standard Movement Series Pendants
Choose your favorite front and back and I will personally custom make your new necklace!
Head on over to my Etsy shop and get the ball rollin'. Hope you all have a long and lazy weekend lovelies!