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

candywinkel is taking wing

As you may remember, my good friend Amy Smith from Goosey Press launched her newest venture Candywinkel at the Portland Antique Expo last July.

Well, since then Amy's been busily shaking things up in the world of special events and corporate gifts, bestowing lucky guests with her special candywinkel goodness.

Take a look at these photos taken at a promo event last night:


Aren't these babies simply fabulous? I love all the vintage glassware and color-coordinated candies topped with everything from old chandelier crystals to retro figurines to glamorous bits of tinsel.


Amy likens it to being a floral designer, starting with the perfect vintage container and then building the piece with various candies in a beautiful palette of colors and flavors. Yumm!

Her holiday-themed pieces would make such a perfect hostess gift...


CANDYWINKEL • www.candywinkel.com • custom orders: 503.997.5939

november wallpaper calendar

Even if you didn't go out trick-or-treating last night, you would realize by all the half-priced candy corn and mini-snickers at Safeway that Halloween is over... which means it's time to update your computer's desktop wallpaper to the November calendar available for free on Cecily Ink's web page:


And don't forget to set your clocks back one hour tonight – ahhh, an extra hour of snoozing come Sunday morning...