Artisan Holiday Studio Sale

This time of year I'm participating in a lot of holiday bazaars and festivals across the greater Portland area, but I must admit that the one I'm most excited about is the one happening at my very own house!


It's my first-ever studio sale and I'm so excited to be sharing it with four other fabulous artists, all of whom I admire for their amazing talents and strong spirit.

I've known Amy Smith for years and we've collaborated on many projects, our most recent one being the launch of Candywinkel this past summer. Amy's passion for packaging is a perfect fit for this new venture. Her party favors and corporate gifts are the epitome of style, and her knack for finding unique and tasty candies is simply incredible. She'll have many holiday-themed at hand during the studio sale and will also be taking orders for special events.


Then there's Peggy Flynn with P Flynn Design whom I first met a year ago during the Portland Gift Show. Her aromatic sachets and silk pillows have a wonderfully relaxing and calming scent and her designs are fun and eclectic, especially her newest line, the Brown Box series. Elegant yet mysterious and slightly dark, these designs are what you might stumble across in an old curio cabinet – such little treasures!


Teri Sprouse with 2Monkees creates stunning jewelry and accessories. She has a real eye for detail and knows just what will work as a necklace or which piece will work better as a ring or hair clip. I'm especially drawn to her scrabble tile pendants with fun graphics and simply ball chain. It's such an easy way to add a bit of pizzazz to your outfit, and with Teri's low prices you can pick up several without breaking the bank!


And I just love the felted wool purses that Julie Goughnour creates over at Fuzzbags. Julie has a great eye for color and her whimsical designs are fun without being childish. She uses top-quality wool and her bags are ever so soft. I snapped up one of her purses the instant I spotted it at an event six months ago and it's been one of my faves ever since!


And of course, I'll have my full line of Cecily Ink paper products available. The Fresh Style Card File is a great gift idea (a gift of organization and preparation!) and if you haven't seen the new "mod floral" style yet, this will be a great time to check out all the new card designs. Plus choose from calendars, thank you cards, invitations, paper table settings, gift wrap, buttons, magnets and more. Best of all, I'll be offering several specials not available online!


So bring a friend, enjoy some complimentary cider and snacks, and shop our Artisan Holiday Studio Sale – you'll be sure to find something for everyone on your list. See you there!

ARTISAN HOLIDAY STUDIO SALE
Saturday December 13 • 11:00 to 3:00 • 503.970.8675
1848 NE 58th Avenue (corner of 58th & Hancock between Sandy & Halsey off 57th)

save the date

In just four short weeks, you'll be able to come to my first-ever studio sale!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 13th. There'll be a total of five artists selling all kinds of beautiful and unique gifts - I'll showcase all the featured artists soon so stay tuned...

featured Etsy artist

I was surfing the Etsy home page a week or so ago when my eyes were drawn to their featured seller, Middleburg. The santas shown looked so much like one my hubby and I purchased several years ago at a local gallery, I had to check out her shop for a closer look.


Sure enough: this is the very same person who made our treasured santa! And she's got so many more to choose from:


I love the vintage toy-inspired look of her papier maché pieces – the faces are all so sweet!


Be sure to check out the other holiday and wedding pieces (some great Halloween characters currently in the shop) as well as some of her amazing animals:

more magnet mania

As you may remember, I had a blast not too long ago playing around with Amy's button machine (see original post). I got so addicted that I had to order my very own – and it arrived last week!

After tracking down the right-sized craft punch (a bit of a challenge, I must admit), I wasted no time creating some fun 1" magnets. Aren't they cute?


Sadly, the 1" button machine doesn't seem to like the thickness of my greeting cards, which means I have to custom-design each button.


I included some holiday-themed designs at last Sunday's Crafty Wonderland that turned out to be the most popular design of all – 't is the season after all!


I will list some on my Etsy shop soon so you can have a one-of-a-kind Cecily Ink magnet of your own!

calendar round-up

I was amazed at how many of my 2009 desk calendars found good homes during last Sunday's Crafty Wonderland! It made me realize that although it seems far away, the holidays and the new year are really just around the corner.


If you're still in the market for a new desk calendar, check out some of my favorites:

Pistachio Press has a gorgeous limited edition letterpress calendar – love the vertical orientation and the modern illustration style. $40.


Story By Mia uses colorful animal silhouettes – great idea for a child's room! $22.


More playful critters can be found at SnoopyTK05. Wonderful idea to use pin clothes and a simple string to display the months all at once! $11, printed digitally.


Labokoff has nailed the idea of a wall calendar – this poster format is so unique and the photography is gorgeous! $20.


Last but not least, Hello Handmade's calendar has got to be the most elegant of the bunch! I love the simple illustration and design of this wall calendar – and the hanger idea is genius! How I wish I hadn't tossed all my old hangers like this... $24.

illustrator – johanna wright

Another great artist who'll be at this weekend's Crafty Wonderland (see my previous post) is Johanna Wright. I love her whimsical illustration style and how she uses an almost monochromatic color palette that still conveys lots of color and texture.


You can see more of Johanna's exquisite work at her website and her Etsy store – and, of course, this Sunday from 11 am till 4 pm during Crafty Wonderland.

crafty wonderland this weekend

The election is over and we can all sigh a collective breath of relief as the right person got elected – phew! And here's a great way you can celebrate: swing by this weekend's Crafty Wonderland, Portland's premiere handmade artisan show, for some pre-holiday shopping.


You can stimulate the economy, support local artists AND cross a few people off your list! Here's just a sampling of who'll be there (including yours truly):


Click here for a complete list of vendors. Hope to see you there!

PS: Not from Portland? Just click on the images to be taken to each person's online shop.

CRAFTY WONDERLAND
Doug Fir Lounge • 830 E. Burnside • Sunday 11.9.08 • 11:00 am to 4:00 pm