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.

filter fun

I've been using a lot of filters lately while creating illustrations for my day planner so I thought it'd be fun to create a couple before-and-afters of photographs. I shot these cows as we were passing through Cloverdale last Friday and I dressed them up a little using these fun filters from Mister Retro and a polaroid frame purchased from iStockPhoto.

stylist atlanta bartlett

We've been doing some work on our house and now that it's almost complete, I've been trying to take some photos to share with you. Boy, is it ever hard to snap some decent interior shots!

That's only one of the reasons I'm so impressed with stylist Atlanta Bartlett, whose gorgeous imagery makes it look so easy! Together with photographer Polly Wreford, Bartlett created these dreamy vignettes:


She also has several books that I can't wait to curl up with! So inspiring...

living an artful life

Saturday we stumbled across the Letterpress Printer's Fair and picked up two wonderful broadsides by Sandy Tillcock with Lone Goose Press:

As soon as I saw this illustration, I knew I had to have it – it looks just like one of our dogs, Pogo.

Todd fell in love with this poem and I loved the scale of the piece.

When we came home from the Letterpress Printer's Fair, I found this porcelain wall pillow by Stepanka waiting on our door step (check out her Etsy shop here) :

It's tiny but full of character and I plan to hang it in our new upstairs bathroom as soon as the sky lights are installed (any day now!)

We finished off our art-inspired day by having a simple dinner of crusty bread, mild blue cheese and a yummy olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. I felt like I was definitely living an artful life as I reached for another piece of baguette that was nestled in one of these wonderful bowls by Alex Marshall (find them at Ink & Peat):


And the art keeps on coming: today I received our prints from another fabulous Etsy seller, Fabienne Labokoff! Todd and I looked at every single one of her prints in her shop before settling on these four:

Can't wait to frame these and find the perfect spot for them – I'm thinking maybe above our bed to mirror the three square skylights that we'll soon be enjoying!

artistically inspired

Last week I had dinner at a friend's whose house I had not been to before. Since she's super creative, I figured I'd like her place, but oh boy, I was definitely not prepared for how incredibly inspired I would be by her home!

Her house had a clean, mid-century vibe overlaid with lots and lots of amazing art, much of which she created herself. Everywhere I turned, I was exposed to new and interesting pieces, ranging from prints, etchings, photography, lithographs, paintings, you name it. I loved how she grouped them, too, sometimes unifying different pieces by using the same color frames, other times just letting their difference in size, shape and color create a visual tension that was very pleasing to the eye.

After dreaming about the art-filled vignettes I had encountered that night, I was determined to expand my own art collection. A little hard to do at the moment: because we're having our siding replaced, we've had to pull everything from the walls, just in case the hammering and banging would knock stuff down.

Nevertheless, I was so inspired that I dragged Todd over to NE Alberta this weekend for a little gallery hopping. It was fun to shop around and see how much creativity Portland has to offer.

I came home with two additions to my collection: my favorite is an etching by local artist Misha Capecchi. I picked it up at Ampersand and later that night came across her work on Etsy.

While at Ampersand, I also found this fun vintage print of a boy in a boat:

I love how the photo damage actually adds a bit of mystery. Although it came matted and ready to frame, I think I'll save it for an art project and alter the matte with some pen and ink sketches.

Ampersand has a fun exhibit right now of old photo booth pictures. Definitely worth checking out:

I also did a little shopping on Etsy and will share those treasures as they hit my mail box!

stylist jaimi holker

I love it when an image evokes a certain mood, especially when the subject is something pretty mundane. That's why I love the images that Jaimi Holker has on her website. She's a prop stylist based in San Francisco and has worked for companies whose style and photography I've admired for years, including Smith & Hawken, West Elm, and Red Envelope to name a few. These images were some of my favorites and they all exude a sense of peace and simplicity:

pet pix

I'm not the kind of proud mama who carries pictures of her kids in her wallet and whips them out at every occasion (they're dogs, after all), but I do think my doggies are the prettiest and bestest boys in the whole wide world so I have no qualms about showing them off on my blog...

Here are a few beauty shots I took during last weekend's coastal getaway. Meet Cooper, our 12-year-old collie mix (the "first-born"):


It was incredibly windy when we were on the beach in Manzanita - it seemed like the dogs would achieve lift-off at any moment! Their fur was actually moving in waves, like when the wind blows through a field of wheat...

Then there's Pogo, our bouncy goof-ball seven-year-old lab mix:


Pogo is a bit insecure at times but as a middle child, he's by far the best-behaved of the bunch – he even tattles on little brother Tucker and lets me know when Tucker is being naughty (like when Tucker sneaks off into a corner and pees, something that is happening way too often!).

And finally, here's the newest member of the pack: Tucker, a golden retriever mix rescued from a farm in Burns, Oregon. We have no way of knowing his exact age, but our best guess is around 11 months. Tons of energy, lots of mischief, and a total cuddle bug!


Tucker is very mouthy and picks up all kinds of things on our walks. We discovered that if we put a stick in his mouth on our walks, he pulls a lot less (no more heavy breathing like he's about to choke himself on the collar). The only downside is he keeps plopping down about every block or so to really dig into his yummy stick...

Just one last quick reminder about the big 50% off closeout sale going on with my Cecily Ink shop (use coupon code "closeout" during checkout). This Sunday May 31st will be your last chance to order online!

random bits

As I was surfing the Net while watching TV these last few days, several things caught my eye and I thought I'd share them with you. Although they may seem a bit random, they all served as visual inspiration to me.

F L I C K R - F U N
Over the years I've built up a paper file filled with various images ripped from the many magazines and catalogs that hit my mail box. Whenever I need to come up with a fresh color palette and need a bit of help, I flip through those pages for inspiration. Now I can simply go here, click on one or a few colors, and voila – a visual library of images in those exact colors pops up. I love doing the single-color searches. The results are pretty enough to frame as art!


P O S T E R - F U N
I came across the Poster List where you can buy some very fun posters, all at very reasonable prices:


D E S I G N - P O L I C E
As a graphic designer, I've often been tempted to play logo cop or to issue a bad type ticket. Thankfully, I discovered the Design Police, whose mission is to "bring bad design to justice." Now we can all let our fellow citizens know when they've committed a design faux pas with these print-it-yourself stickers: