Summary: Scarlett's photos

So as it turned out, we did actually get outside for a few of the photos, and the ones inside turned out amazing! Did I need to worry about the paint in the bathroom (see 'arrangements: moss' in last month's posts)? Nope.

A huge thank you to Emily Garrick-Steenson at Emily G Photography for these wonderful images!  I'm truly excited about them, so go check them out!  And leave her a post if you feel so inclined!

Summary: the 2010 Garden Fever Winter Art Festival, aka my first craft sale

To summarize simply, the sale went really, really well.  If you stopped by, or sent me good vibes, thank you immensely!  I sold out of necklaces (I initially made 6) by 10 this morning, and I made more in a mad dash and brought them down.  I sold over half of the initial hairclips.  All in all, I'd call this a success.  I have to send out a thank you to my fantastic husband and his company, PVS Instore Graphics for making me a really sweet little display:

Using scrap material, they made this with a file I created in AutoCAD and some graphic images that I had taken of my pieces.  I filled the hairclip area, and last night made a few more pairs.  This really helped create a little space for these.  I am truly one lucky chica!

If you are looking for a nice gift for the gardener in your life, please keep Garden Fever! in mind.  They are fantastic people, and Lori does the buying and she has quite the eye.  They also have nice greens and garland for holiday decor needs.

As for the rest of the pieces, I'll be making Twinkle * Twinkle * POOF! Etsy Site postings for them as soon as possible.

Garden Fever! Winter Arts Festival

Garden Fever! is a retail nursery with a sweet spot in my heart.  While it is true that I have spent many days there checking on plants in all kinds of weather and creating displays on the retail floor when I was a Landscape Design student, it's just the kind of place where the people become part of the family.  Not just my favorite former employers, Lori and Richard, or co-workers who have become steadfast friends, but some of the customers are also near and dear to me.  I'll be at the GF! family table, if that tells you anything!

It's easy to see why that is one of the reasons that I'm so excited to be participating in this year's Winter Arts Festival.  I look forward to this sale each year.  It's my annual kick off to the season.  I love the getting my fortune told (she's really good folks, I'm not usually the fortune teller seeking type) and that the Goddess Flora Chorus & Deadheading Society sings their fun, wacky songs.  I like that Garden Fever! spreads the love, supporting a different organization each year.

This year it is the Parker Sanderson Fund of Hardy Plant Society of Oregon which brings in well known, high quality speakers and funds scholarships for horticulture students to attend.  The Hardy Plant Society is great at really supporting further education in horticulture.  I really love them.

So, as in a post from November (see "Announcement: ..."), I have been busy making necklaces and hairclips.  While I fully admit I have jumped off the momma deep end with the clips, I absolutely love getting a kick out of handstitching these lovelies.  That's right, no sewing machine was used in the creation of my items.
While I love my machine, it's just a little difficult to get it pulled out with a cruisin' 11 month old (yep, that means the ornaments were handstitched too).  Many of the pieces are nature inspired, especially in the clips, and then there are geometric pieces.  A lot of it is using a really quiet color palette compared to what it may have had even a year ago.  An old friend said that Scarlett was teaching me about neutral color when I was pregnant, and it seems to be so. In any case, here is a little sneak peek at some new things!

Come out Saturday evening for the festivities!

What: Garden Fever! Winter Arts Festival
When: THIS Saturday, December 4 from 5 - 8 benefits The Hardy Plant Society of Oregon
craft sale continues Sunday, December 5 from 9 - 5
Where: Garden Fever! located at 3433 NE 24th Avenue in Portland, just south of the Fremont Intersection

Ornaments: Peace and Love

What more can you ask for than peace and love?!  Not much in my book.  As I listen to Scarlett saying "mamamama" in her crib to try and get out of her one nap of the day, I feel amazingly blessed to have plenty of both in my life, even while there needs to be more of both in the rest of the world.  The last ornaments on my list are now complete, and I feel it's pretty appropriate to have doves for Wes' grandmas and a heart with "paperdoll" children for my mom.

The doves, one with flower wings and the other with gentle snowflakes, seems very apt for two women who are pretty peaceful beings.  I almost wish I made these first, because if I had, everyone may have gotten them.  So simple, and so great in the end.

My mom does most everything with a good intention (and even of her ornery things).  Her heart is huge and in the center of it are her grandkids.  So here they are, 2 little girls and 1 little boy!  I suppose I could have rearranged them to be her children, also 2 girls and 1 boy, but I'll let her say they are whatever she wants them to be, maybe they just represent both.

Ah, I'm feeling mighty proud of myself for getting these all done before December 1.  Yes, I'm one of those crazy people who are usually done shopping in general now.  More than avoiding the stress, I prefer to shop early so that I choose gifts for people that really make me think of them, perhaps that they will even find useful and not just end up on a shelf or in a drawer.  That's my deal, and now I get to relax and enjoy the month!

Have a great winter!

Announcement: Garden Fever! Winter Arts Festival

 

I've been busy getting hairclips and necklaces ready for the craft sale at Garden Fever!  Saturday, December 4 from 5-8 pm, my favorite retail garden nursery will be having a fundraiser to benefit The Hardy Plant Society of Oregon.  10% of the proceeds from this event will go to this great organization to bring speakers and provide scholarships to horticultural students.  Crafts will also be available 9 - 5 the next day.  These are some examples, I am hoping to get plenty more ready this week!  I love asymmetry, and I love original crafts.  Each one is unique.  They are made individually!

I hope to see you there!

Getting Crafty for a Birthday

Yep, it's been just about a year since my little Red was born!  Modern Domestic Sewing Studio was offering a holiday banner workshop for something very similar to this.  I couldn't make it any of the days, and after I kept trying to figure out how to rearrange my schedule, I looked at it and thought to myself "why am I overthinking that" it's easy, so I just did it myself.  Thanks in part to my fabulous husband who took a file to work that I made and cut out some stencils on his shop's fancy I-cut.  It's very simple, I used interweave to attach fabric to felt, and then used the stencils to cut out the shapes, and simply ironed the layers together, cut some holes and strung it together with some fancy cord.  I love this, and look forward to pulling it out every year as long as she lets me!  I would really like to take a class at Modern Domestic, and would highly recommend them to anyone who is interested, so I will have to keep my eyes on their website!

Ornaments: for the sisters

My sister: amazing momma and woman.  She has 2 kiddos (see kiddo vehicles), a full time job and now is also a full time student.  Seriously.  Amazing.  For her, I made a book.  It represents several things: home (kinda looks like a scrapbook), studies, what is written and what is still to be writ.  Inside is a little surprise just for her, especially since she follows this blog (hehe).

For my sister-in-law: a house.  She has traveled the world with the peace corp (twice) to help people.  Now she works as a retention worker to help people who were recently homeless be successful.  Soon, she may have her very own house.  So a house, in all of connotations of home and love, is perfect for her.