Last sale of the year!

It's one week before Christmas and my shopping is about done, but how about yours? I will be at Presents for Procrastinators today from 11-5 at the Art Department, 1315 SE 9th. I've got original paintings from $28, prints, magnets, card sets & some limited edition, hand-drawn ornaments & pendants! See you there!

It's Crafty!

Crafty Wonderland!!! This has been the busiest holiday season of my life so far, and THIS is the show to check out and catch up with what I've been doing! I have new paintings, prints, and magnets. And as if that's not enough, I also have some brand-spankin'-new card sets and pendants! Not to mention the other fantastic crafty goodness that will be there :) TODAY and TOMORROW http://craftywonderland.com

Live too far away to come? I have lots of new stuff in my etsy shop!

Solstice Arts & Crafts Market

It's the last show I'm doing this year, on Winter Solstice (yay!), a day before Hanukkah starts, and just a few days before Christmas. What a perfect time to pick up a new painting (for $30 and under!), giclee print, coloring book, magnet set, or card! Plus all of the cool handmade stuff the other 40 vendors will have.

December 20th, 2008 from 8am to 3pm, inside the Smith Center at Portland State University!

THANK YOU!

So, yesterday was the great big Crafty Wonderland sale at the Oregon Convention Center! I had to pull over and get a photo of the kiosk before I went inside to set up :)

Of course, as fate will have it, yesterday also held a great big nasty snowstorm and cold snap. Can we all say a great big snarky "Yay"?!? It was already fairly icy when I left my house in the morning, but I was still really exited and optimistic. My optimism was not unfounded--there were over 100 customers already lined up at the door when 11am rolled around and the fair began! I guess the draw of 180 awesome local crafty businesses was just too much to resist :)

It was nasty outside though, and Portlanders are unused to snow. Plus it became icy really fast, which is scary even for the most experienced winter driver. Still, many customers took the bus and the lightrail to see us and go shopping and I just want to say a great big THANK YOU!!! I am certain that my sales would have been much better had the weather been safer, but I am so incredibly grateful for those of you who risked your personal comfort and safety to come and see us. You are truly awesome. Thanks to you, I had a day that I am very happy with :)

For those of you who didn't make it, well, I don't blame you and I still love you anyway :) BUT I am doing one more sale this season next Saturday at PSU.... More details later this week.

FINALLY, for those of you who are too far away, I want to let you know that I have a SALE/CLEARANCE section in my shop! Some of my favorites are in there, but I won't be making them any more and/or I am making room for next year, so get them while you can. Also, all LeaKArts orders over $20 get FREE Priority Shipping (within the U.S.)!

Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Sale!

This year I have brand new coloring books made from my original artwork, mini-paintings priced at $25-30, magnets, stickers, and more! Whether you need stocking stuffers or main gifts, this will be the place to be. I will be there along with 180 other Portland artists and artisans. Buy awesome, unique gifts and support the local economy!

See you there!

Project of the Week!

If you are anything like me, you don't really want to think about the holidays yet. But they are only 3 months away now, and if you are planning on making your own gifts it may just be time to get started if you want to avoid the last minute panic! So, whether you are setting out with gifts in mind, or you just want something fun to do, I am now introducing the "Project of the Week!"
Every week from now until the holidays, I'll be introducing something fun and creative for you to do.

This weeks project is throw pillows! Indigo and I spent the day yesterday working on these guys. The inspiration came from my beloved Joy Division t-shirt. It was part of my high-school uniform (along with combat boots, ripped jeans and a trench coat--haha!), and through all of the wear it has seen in its sad little t-shirt life, it was just no longer suited for wearing. Threadbare and torn, but I simply could not let it go. So I decided to give it a 2nd life as an awesome throw pillow!

Since it is Joy Division, it lends itself automatically to some gothy-punk tears, so I layered it against some black velvet, gave it a black velvet backside as well, and left the tears right where they were. I added some safety pins too, in memory of my high school fashion sense :)

Of course I can't leave Indigo out when I'm doing a fun project! We found a little pillow that I had started ages ago but never stuffed or finished sewing. She went through my pile of fabric remnants and found the colors and patterns she liked, then drew and cut out these cute little zebras, hearts, and stars. Neither of us being master seamstresses (and I don't have a sewing machine so I am all about the short cuts!), we glued her little scene on with a hot glue gun. The bottom looks a bit ragged because we ran out of stuffing, so I just stuffed it with some other fabric for the purpose of the photo, but we still have to stuff and sew it this week.

Want to try your hand at this, but don't have any fabric? Here are some great Etsy fabric shops from my Etsy Supply Street Team (ESST):
http://tliss.etsy.com
http://beesquarefabrics.etsy.com
http://fabricstash.etsy.com
http://fabricstash2.etsy.com
http://kimonomomo.etsy.com
http://EllaHound.etsy.com
http://FabricSamples.etsy.com
http://samplescrap.etsy.com

Happy Holidays!

Now that I am done with the mad holiday selling rush, I am finally feeling cheery and exited about the holidays. Indigo and I already celebrated Hanukkah earlier this month, but we like to keep the menorah under our tree all month long. Tonight is especially exiting because we are celebrating Winter Solstice tomorrow morning, so today feels a bit like Christmas Eve to me. On Christmas Indigo will be with her dad this year, but then I am picking her up later Christmas day and we are driving to see Steve's family for more Christmas celebrations.

People who are more religious than I may find all of this very confusing, not to mention heretical, but I was raised celebrating Hanukkah with my mom and Christmas with my dad--neither of them infused with any religious meaning. As an adult, I choose to celebrate--the changing seasons, my family's heritage(s), but mostly my family. I am so grateful to have them, and once I get over the mass-consumerism (I have to work my way through that one every year in my head!), I find that exchanging gifts and decorating our home is a fun way to celebrate each other. Especially if the gifts are all (or mostly) handmade.

So, however or whatever it is that you celebrate, I hope that you all are enjoying the season. Happy Holidays!