my Crafy Wonderland treasures

This past Sunday was Crafty Wonderland's Colossal Holiday Sale and I had a colossal good time!

As much as I dislike crowds, I must admit it was inspirational to see such a great turn-out for this event. Not sure what the final numbers are, but by 2pm, over 4500 crafty, artsy, and indie fans had crossed the threshold and were doing their best to boost our local economy!

It took me over three hours to make it all the way through the 200+ vendors and I must say, I was a bit sad when I got the end of the very last aisle... oh, well, time for round two!

It was a great mix of artists but here are my top faves from this year's show:

Faune Yerby's work caught my eye when I very first walked through the doors. She collages her photographic images in a really nostalgic way that totally fits my taste for vintage chic. Although her pieces consist of numerous small photographs, they all work together to create a larger image that pulls you in to tell a story. You can find more of her work in her Etsy shop here.

Next up is Lisa Kaser. I had not seen her work before and I absolutely fell in love with her whimsical style and quirky characters. I came home with the two prints above: "Spring" on the left and "I'll cook for you" on the right. I've already framed them and just need to find the perfect spot to hang them! You can check out all of Lisa's work here and purchase prints at her Etsy shop here.

I've admired Johanna Wright's work for quite a while (see last year's blog post here) and decided it was finally time to add this print to my collection (yes indeed, I'm actually starting to run out of wall space now!) She also just released a new book she's illustrated and I have a feeling this whale is part of that story. Check out her website here and Etsy shop here.

Last but not least, I was thrilled to see Lori Shippy again at this year's show. She and I did a little trade last year and I ended up with two of her small white birds that I absolutely adore (see blog post here). This year, I added one of her black crows to my collection, and it's already found a home in the upstairs hallway. I also love Lori's giving-back philosophy: 20% of all of her profits go towards building wells in Togo, West Africa! See more of Lori's work on her website here and her Etsy shop here.

holiday studio sale

I'm so excited about this weekend's studio sale at Stubborn!

Mel Stiles has been one of my long-time favorite jewelry artists (I own three of her gorgeous necklaces, I just can't get enough!) and she's opening her doors for a holiday studio sale this Saturday and Sunday!


Besides stunning jewelry, Mel will also be selling oh-so-cool purses and darling ornaments – so grab your list and head on over to the Stubborn Studio Sale this weekend!

Oh, almost forgot: I'll be there, too, for part of the time, selling some remaining Cecily Ink cards and gift wrap at rock-bottom prices ($1 per card and per sheet!).

Not only that, I'll be debuting my new line of illustrations that I originally created for my day planner client gift. I'll have both framed and unframed prints available (stay tuned for my Etsy shop Grand Opening in the next day or so!)

S T U B B O R N Studio Sale
Saturday Dec. 5 + Sunday Dec. 6 • 11am to 3pm • snacks & drinks provided • kids welcome!
2928 NE 11th Ave • Portland OR 97212

tucker's tv debut

A couple weeks ago, I told you about the great work that the Oregon Humane Society does for abused and neglected animals in Oregon and beyond. Well, here's a clip of one of my personal favorite stories – you guessed it: it's our little boy Tucker, live, right there on TV during their annual telethon.



Isn't he a cutie?! Yes, I'm a little biased but you've got to admit, he's adjusted wonderfully to his new, normal, food- and love-filled home! Thank you, OHS, and thanks also to Brian the Volunteer/Tivo Guru who provided me this clip!

cheap-but-good book arts

Last Sunday I stopped by the "Cheap-But-Good" Book Arts Sale at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts to be inspired and to hopefully pick up a few items. It was fun to see the studio and all the artists' work laid out. And yes, I did find a few things:

Gorgeous print of an owl on a moonlight sky – love the use of white ink on black paper to really capture the dark of night. This will be perfect in our bedroom! (Sorry, I can't read the signature very well, it looks like it might say Denise Jacobs?)

Love, love, love these two cards by Textura Printing. The detail is amazing and the imagery so classy. Colors are very tasteful, too, although sadly my photography doesn't do it justice.

This card is so "Oregon" that I bought two! By Tiger Food Press.

And although I have stacks of my own Cecily Ink wrapping paper, this sheet of silvery grey daffodils by Debra Glanz was too pretty to pass up.

illustrator – cristian turdera

The Oregon Humane Society Telethon yesterday was a huge success: over $261,000 raised, yeah! A big thank you to everyone who called in and donated! OHS has been one of my favorite non-profits for quite a while and it's great to see so much support for the great work they do!

Every quarter as I design the next issue of their magazine, I always am so touched reading the stories and seeing the photos. This past issue had a nice bonus: a new ad campaign was launched! If you live in the Portland area, you've probably seen the billboards all around town, you may even have seen banner ads pop up as you browse the web.

And I must say, Leopold Ketel did a fantastic job, as usual! Austin Hilde at LK was the art director and Cristian Turdera the illustrator. Turdera lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has an extensive portfolio of work. Here are just a few samples that caught my eye as I browsed his website:


If you click here, you can see the new TV ad, also illustrated by Turdera. Can't wait to see what's next!

Oregon Humane Society Telethon

After already having been featured in two local papers, our celebrity doggie Tucker will now be on TV, too: tune in this Sunday from 1 to 5 and watch the Oregon Humane Society Telethon on KATU Channel 2.

Tucker (formerly Cooper) was part of a massive rescue effort by the Oregon Humane Society back in March, when they brought back 126 neglected dogs from Burns, Oregon.

I'm happy to report that since March, OHS has successfully found new homes for almost all the dogs, and Tucker has adjusted wonderfully to his new home. He's changed quite a bit, grown from a little 17-pound puppy to a hefty 42-pound boy – his hair has even grown back!

Just take a look at the fluffy, little fur ball he was back in March:

And how he's maturing into a handsome boy:

A BIG thank you to OHS!!! They do an amazing job, as shown by the fact that OHS has one of the nation's highest adoption rates (99% for dogs and 98% for cats!) And in case you'd like to find a furry soulmate of your own, just take a look at these adorable faces ready to come home with you:

Visit the OHS website for info on these and many other adoptable pets. Or if your home is already filled with four-legged friends, you can donate your time or money here! And don't forget to tune in for Tucker's TV debut this Sunday on KATU Channel 2 from 1:00 to 5:00 (Tucker and I should appear on camera around 4:45).

art in the pearl – heather hargesheimer

I really enjoyed meeting Heather Hargesheimer at Art in the Pearl. She's an architect by trade and has recently started working with encaustic. I love her use of repetitive patterns and almost mono-chromatic color palette.

One of her pieces completely stopped me in my tracks – red overlapping circles on a creamy background. When I came back the next day to take a second look and possibly buy it, I discovered that someone else had already snatched it up, darn it!

Here are examples of some of her other pieces, all from her website:

Since Heather is local to Portland, I know our paths will cross again – next time I'll be sure to go with my gut and not hesitate to buy one of her pieces!

art in the pearl – two tone studios

I'm normally not a huge fan of blown glass work so I was surprised that I actually really liked the work of several glass artists at Art in the Pearl. I was especially impressed by Two Tone Studios, a collaboration between Boyd Sugiki and Lisa Zerkowitz from Seattle, WA.

Their work is intricate without being fussy, simple and modern while still highly functional.

All these images are from Two Tone Studio's website – click here to view more and read more about them.

art in the pearl – jacqueline hurlbert

As a long-time exhibitor at Art in the Pearl, Lake Oswego artist Jacqueline Hurlbert's booth was always jam-packed when we passed by.

Her modern pods are always huge crowd pleasers. I'd love to hang a series of 5 or 7 different sized pods in a staggered, random arrangement.

She had some larger pieces as well, similar to these I found on Jacqeline's website:

Although not represented on her website, our favorite at the show was her series of women's torsos. Most were frontal nudes, although she's started doing some gorgeous and sensuous back views as well. We picked up a blue torso that has found a perfect spot in our newly remodeled bathroom - every morning when I look up at it, I'm inspired!

All these images are from Jacqueline Hurlbert's website – click here to view more and read her bio.

art in the pearl – cheryl gail toh

I'm so glad we braved the rain and muddy grounds during Labor Day to visit Art in the Pearl, my favorite Portland art show. We had high hopes of seeing some inspiring art and were not disappointed!

One of my faves was Cheryl Gail Toh, an artist from Kansas City, MO, who works primarily with encoustic.


I love her color choices and patterns! It's a little hard to see on these images, but in real life you really notice the dreamy quality and depth that the many layers of wax create.



All these images are from Cheryl Gail Toh's website – click here to view more and read her bio.