Home Sweet Home

Ah Portland. It's so incredibly good to see you again.

Flying high above layers of cotton candy clouds and thinking fondly about my Nebraska trip.

My trip to Nebraska was pretty... pretty... pretty good. *throwin' in a Larry David reference.* I wish there was enough time to see everyone though. I was always on the go- riding in a car to Lincoln, Columbus, Nebraska City, and Omaha. My trip included visiting with my family, in-laws, & a few friends. I am very thankful to have the opportunity to see them. And for that matter, so thankful to be able to be a part of my best friend's special day, her wedding. Just you wait, I'll be posting pictures very soon!

Enjoying the sunset, drawing in my sketchbook, and anxiously waiting for my connecting flight to PDX.

I will also be posting some snaps of my most recent doodles and sketches very soon. I've been working on two sketchbooks at the same time. Silly, I know.

Well I would love to share more about my Nebraska trip, but I've got to get going here. So much stuff to catch up on! See ya on Friday.

BRB!

Heading out to The Good Life state. Be back in a jiffy. Enjoy this photo of my pal Jennie while I'm away.

Photo Credit: quietless.com

Standard Movement Glass Bubble Magnets

New item in the Shop!

Standard Movement Glass Bubble Magnets

Each set includes 3 large glass bubble magnets that include a portion of a mixed media artwork print of my Standard Movement series.

More information...

August Video

Finally got around to making my August video. Woot.

Wallets!

Tinymeat™ and I have united our creative powers to bring you...

Weeping Willow Wallets!

They are now in the Etsy Shop for only 15 buck-a-roos.

Exterior

The wallet's exterior has my 14th work of my Standard Movement Series, 00014 - Weeping Willow.

Interior

The wallet's interior is antique ledger paper. Coffee ring and scribbles included! Sewn by Tinymeat™ himself! How cool is that?!

Self Portrait Thursday

I joined this nifty group on Flickr called Self Portrait Thursday. What a cool idea!

Here's my first submission!

Yep, that's Gretel! She's hanging out at the A + J pad for the week. She loves jumping on my lap while I'm at the computer. Lol. She's such a sweetheart. Check out my new goldfish necklace, it's so awesome. It was made by my new pal Little Bear. Oh boy, I gotta get going! I need to start packing up my art for today's event, Last Thursday on Alberta. Hope to see you there!

PS: A new addition will be making an appearance in my Etsy shop tomorrow. I'm super excited for it to join the others. So do check my blog tomorrow! Yay!

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.

Greeting Cards

Standard Movement greeting cards are now in the shop!They are only $3 each, so you won't break the bank.

For more information about these dandy cards follow this link.

Craft Show tomorrow!

Tomorrow I'm joining 90 other Artists & Crafters at tomorrow's (Saturday, 19th) craft bazaar, Skating with Scissors. If you are in the Sellwood/Portland area you should totally swing by. It's free to get in! I am so thrilled to do another craft show. Submerging myself into the Portland indie craft fair scene has been super awesome!

Here are directions to Oaks Amusement Park.

Start your Christmas shopping early and support handmade!

September 16, 2006

Happy Anniversary to my love! 3 wonderful years!

I heart Portland

1. Midnight Mystery Ride.

2. Belmont Street Fair.

3. Crafty Wonderland.

Craft Show tomorrow

Just a reminder, tomorrow is the big day...I and 40 other vendors will be selling our handmade goods at Crafty Wonderland!

Need the details? Click here.

I'm so excited about doing my very first craft show. Butterflies are swarming in my stomach.

Oregon State Fair

Over Labor Day weekend my hubby & I hit the open road. We decided to make our way down to Salem for some Oregon State Fair action. Those galoshes that I received for my birthday came in handy for sure, walking around those muddy fairgrounds. We both had cravings for some prime, deep-fried, fair food. We chowed down on corndogs and elephant ears. I took a lot of snaps of amusement rides and game booths for inspiration for a current project of mine. Maybe I'll share them at a later date with you. I feel like I'm about to bombard you with other snaps that I took. Subject... Oregon State Fair animal cuteness & silliness.

There were so many bunnies, I wanted to take a nose-scrunchin' character home with me. This furball stuck out among them, he's a French Angora rabbit. It was as if my Ragdoll cat was transformed into a hare.

What is there not to love about an Alpaca?! Look at those ears! I got some good footage of him munchin' for my September documentary video.

So I learned that this lil' guy is a Pygmy goat. He was under 2 feet tall! I've kept my distance away from goats, due to a past incident. A traumatic incident of a goat chasing & bucking me at camp when I was 8. We'll let this one fly under the radar.

This one I couldn't resist submitting it to Cute Overload. Check out that dopey lower lip!Okay, last one... I posted a short clip on Flickr. *Suspense*

Now I gotta do some "getting ready for this weekend's Crafty Wonderland" work this evening.

Tomorrow (Friday)

Tomorrow something new will be making an appearance in the ATeaLeaf shop. Something that you personally have some say in. Do check back at 6:00am PST.

A Dogsitting Week

The past week I have been doing some dogsitting for a friend. Gretel & I are having all sorts of adventures including camping, car rides, and trips to the park. I've grown quite attached to her, it's going to be hard to give her back to her dad. ;)

All tuckered out from our trip to the park

00016 - Western White Clematis

Introducing my 16th piece of my series, Standard Movement.

00016 - Western White Clematis – Click here or image above to purchase a print

To begin with, the oval frame. My thoughtful Godparents found it at an antique store. They are so sweet. As many of you know, I love bubbled glass. Who doesn't? I love how it enhances my imaginative 2-D world. Next, something new this time around. I usually use vintage paper for the main background, in this case I used fresh, crisp ledger paper. I wanted this work to be much simpler than the last, so I left a lot of white space and added fewer textile pieces which represent orbs. I incorporated a white flowering plant that I discovered on a walk to Portland's striking St. Johns bridge. The plant caught my eye with it's showy seedheads.

I searched high and low. Alas I found the name of the white flowering plant, it's called Western White Clematis. I read that it is a perennial vine and a member of the Buttercup family. It also goes by names such as Virgin’s Bower, Traveler’s Joy, and Leather flower. It sounds like a terrible idea to get in contact with, its oils are extremely irritating to the skin. It can also cause internal bleeding of the digestive tract if digested in large amounts. Eek! However, Native Americans would use it for headaches and nervous disorders, in small doses, of course.

If you would like to purchase a print of this original artwork of mine, they are available in my online shop, here. The prints are a limited edition of 30, printed on a heavy cardstock paper, backed with matboard, and slipped into a cellophane envelope. Whew! Did you get all that? I will also sign each print and ship them in a bendproof mailer. Live near Portland and wanna save on shipping? I will also be selling these guys at Crafty Wonderland and Skating with Scissors Craft Bazaar. I'm so jazzed to participate in my first two craft shows!

Skating With Scissors Craft Bazaar

Another date to mark on your calendar...

Skating with Scissors is the first ever craft show put on by the Rose City Rollers!

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

11:00 am - 7:00 pm

Oaks Park Hangar in Sellwood (Portland) Oregon

I'll be joining other creatives and selling my art and handmade goods! Hope to see you there.

Crafty Wonderland & New Earrings

Mark your calendars for Portland's Monthly Art and Craft Extravaganza...

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

Doug Fir Lounge

830 E. Burnside, Portland, Oregon

11:00 am - 4:00 pm

Free Admission

I will be selling my art as well as my latest handmade goods...

Sequence of blankets – earrings – Click here or image above to purchase & for more info

I love to meet fresh faces, so do stop by and introduce yourself on September 13th!

Oh and check out the other vendors on the Crafty Wonderland site here!

Etsy Treasury - sweet summer treats

Thanks to cutiepiecompany for featuring my work titled "00015 - False Lily of the Valley" in her sweet summer treats treasury!Check it out for yourself here.

New Herb Drawings: Ginger & Poppyseed

"Growing throughout the tropics, ginger has fragrant flowers often used in native garlands. The seasoning comes from the roots called "hands" which are sun-bleached, then shipped whole, broken or ground. It is excellent in roasts, biscuits, and puddings."

Ginger – print – Click here or illustration above to purchase & more info

"The best poppy seeds are produced from the Holland variety of the familiar poppy plant. A ripe pod holds hundreds of tiny seeds. Dried, these are crunchy and nutlike in breads, salads, and bland dishes."

Poppy Seed – print – Click here or illustration above to purchase & more info