Crafty Wonderland Today and Tomorrow!

Hi Portland, 

See you there. I'm running around like crazy getting ready for this one. Should be a blast. 

Canning Dill Pickles For The First Time

I getting more brave with my cooking projects. This year I ordered 25 lbs of pickling cucumbers from my CSA. I have to admit, I was not really prepared for them when I got them. 25 lbs is ALOT. I still had to find jars, spices, etc. So at 10pm at night we were running around to different grocery stores trying to find jars. No such luck. The next day I tried at Ace Hardware and they had an awesome stock of various sized jars. I went with 1.5 pint and 1 pint jars. After this canning experience, I would opt for the 1.5 or larger unless you have the really small pickles (2 inch). I went with a dill pickle recipe recommended by my friend Emily. You can find the recipe here. This batch yielded 36 jars! 

I found packing the jars and loading them with the spices to be the most enjoyable. They look so pretty. 

Now, I have to wait 2 weeks for them to fully ferment to find out how they taste. 

 

Life Update

So much has happened in the past few months. I will try to quickly update.


My New Job

I accepted a full time Senior Design position at Swift Collective. (yay!) The job is a lot of fun as well as a challenge. I'm making lots of websites and leaning a ton about social media. My co workers are smart, witty, and overall a pleasure to be around.

Going full time was a tough decision for me. It's alway difficult trying to find the right amout of balance in your professional vs personal life. 

I'm working on it. 

taken on the Broadway Bridge during a recent bike commute

Getting Into Shape

Over the past few months, I've been taking steps to get myself into shape and shed some extra pounds. I'm biking to work now which is really nice because it builds in exercise into my routine. The fresh air and pleasure of being outside is a highlight to my day.  I'm also starting to run a bit. I have a 5k in September that I wnat to run confidently. 

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone

Vacation to Yellowstone and Texas

Two amazing places for different reasons. I was able to spend a lot of family time and see so many beautiful things in Yellowstone like baby bears, mud pots, and geisers. 

The Laser

Yup thats right. We've got a laser cutter in da house. Darrell and I purhcased a laser cutter. This is a big deal for us. It means most of my embroidery kits can be made completley in house. I also have a ton of ideas around cool stuff to make utilizing the laser. Exciting.

A New Niece

My brother and his wife had a beautiful baby in July. 

That is all for now. I hope to have a more regular posting schedule in the near future. Thanks for your patience.

Snow In The North West

It was a fun surprise to see a white blanket of snow on my neighborhood. Happy Friday!

Screen Printed Wedding Invite Design

One of my goals for the new year, is work on more projects that excite me, like this invite. I love getting custom work. It fun to be a part of someone's special day. Anyhoo, I wanted to share some of the details of this invite I did earlier this summer. The wedding invitation needed to communicate environment of the wedding. The huge tree on the main invite sets the tone for the suite, and little natural details come up in other places. For instance, the very subtle tree rings on the save the date. Also, the natural woven texture of the slate envelope and the rsvp add a lot to the overall feel of the invites. I incorporated the wedding colors of coral and sophisticated grays with ink and paper selection. These little details really make a huge difference in an announcement. I'm very happy with the way it all came together. The invite was screen printed at The Pull Press, locally in Portland.

Join me at Crafty Wonderland this weekend!

Graffiti Spotting in SE Portland

I've noticed I easily get stuck in my routines doing the same things over and over, so when I got back from my travels I decided to put a conscious effort into having exploratory walks in other neighborhoods in Portland. One of my favorite things to do while traveling is taking long walks without any purpose or expectations. I want to continue this now that I'm back in my routine. I always find visual eye candy along the way like this really cool graffiti spotted on Belmont St.

I'm pretty sure Jesse Reno and Charlie Alan Kraft created this street art.

I just love seeing little details like this on the sidewalk of Belmont St. It makes me happy.

Crafty Wonderland Recap

I'm still recovering from an exciting weekend at Crafty Wonderland. It was a great success for CuriousDoodles and Diskgrunt. Thank you to everybody who came by this weekend. If you weren't able to make it, I would urge you to head on over to the Crafty Wonderland Pop Up Shop. There are so many unique gifts over there including most of my line of goods. Check out some pics of the shop below.

Also, I want to mention that Diskgrunt and I will be at the Formal Holiday Artisan Fair on Alberta Street this Sunday. More on that soon.

Flora Bowley: Portland Artist

I have fallen in love with Flora Bowley's paintings. They are very representation of nature and the movement and flow of life. I appreciate all the layering and textures and gorgeous colors put into every painting. I relate to what the artist says in her bio...

Ultimately I find purpose in the very act of observation, relating forms and colors to each other, and allowing new stories to unfold before me. My finished paintings are not meant to be conclusive, rather they are a celebration of the present moment, chaotic, subtle, beautiful, mystical and ever-changing.

I think a big part of being a good designer or artist is your ability to observe. To notice everything and find an appreciation in the subtleties of life.

I want these socks!

These marimekko socks are so perfect for Portland winters. I have extreme design lust for all things marimekko. If only I could afford them...
seen via Design Sponge

First Thursday at NW 17th and Lovejoy

This is a very exciting day for me. I will be showing some of my work at in conjunction with Handmade NW and First Thursday events. Come by and check out our booth. I will be showing a variety of fused plastic products including laptop bags, wristlets, and wall art. These eco bags are made out of 100% post consumer waste and they still look very stylish.

The weather should be gorgeous, and there will be lots of great art so you don't really have any excuses!! I will also be sharing a booth with Diskgrunt. Come check out his tee-shirts and other hand silk screened items.

Portland Farmers Market

I'm enjoying the colors and patterns of the produce at Portland's farmers market. I especially love the greens and subtle purples in the artichoke hearts. When in doubt, look to mother nature for color inspiration!

It has been soooo hot here that I haven't had the energy to much of anything. That is one of the main reasons I've been neglecting my blog. I'm trying to make it through this week and then I'm headed for the beach to cool off. Hopefully things will be back to normal next week.

Field Trip Time

I took an afternoon field trip outside to look for inspiration for my 2010 calendar illustrations. I'm hunting for great patterns, textures, and shapes. These are all pictures taken in NW Portland. There are some lovely plants blooming right now.

Snow Day!

I'm enjoying watching the snow from my window. I'm from Texas where its in the 70s right now, so I really don't know how to drive or function outside right now. I like to stay inside and just watch.

It finally feels like Christmas to me. I've been making gifts all day in my workshop. There's lots to do around here!!

Zombie PDX Walk

Yesterday I was out shopping in downtown and I accidently ran into an enormous group of zombies! We were just having an innocent cup of coffee when zombies started walking through the streets. Several made a point to smear a bit of blood on the coffee shop window. It was pretty funny to watch because some of them really knew how to act the part.

I learned, with the help of an iphone, that this is the 4th annual pdx zombie walk.

Fall Morning in Portland

I apologize for cheesy fall leaves photos, but I just couldn't help myself this morning taking a few snap shots. It is such a rare clear blue fall day in Portland.

I woke up this morning and went to Ken's bakery for a latte and ham croissant. Mmmm my favorite! Then I walked over to my favorite hardware store in the neighborhood, Ace Hardware, to pick up some gas masks. I've decided to start using them whenever I make fused plastic for my bags because it can't be that great for my health to inhale melting plastic fumes.

Anyways, I've got alot of work to do this weekend so I gotta go!

Weekend Festivities: Flugtag

This past weekend I went to Flugtag on the waterfront. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. I thought it was going to be a competition involving aircrafts flying across the river, but in my opinion they were just glorified parade floats that they drove straight into the water. It was cute and entertaining, none the less. It was nice to be out and about around so many people.

My new cruiser!

I finally bought a bike for myself! It's been almost a year since i've had a bike. Check out the basket on the front pops off so you can take it in the store, fill it up, and then pop it right back on. Brilliant! I love the way it looks, its just really hard to get up 3 flights of stairs. Oh well. I'm still in the honeymoon stage!

Art Car- Happy Friday

This car definetly caught my attention when I was walking to work. If you check out the bumper really close, it has those iron together bead thingys.

Blooming Trees

Despite all the rainy yucky weather we are experiencing in portland, the trees are blossoming like crazy! It is really beautiful to watch. The little petals cover the sidewalks and streets.