merry christmas!!

here's an early merry christmas to you!!

i'm headed to santa fe in a couple of days. a much

needed break to relax and visit family. husband and i haven't been to santa fe for christmas since 2005....4 years, yikes! it is truly one of the most spectacular places to be during the holidays. the buildings are lined with lighted farolitos, often times there is snow, and the air is always cool and crisp with a hint of burning cedar. so wonderful! the best part about christmas in santa fe is strolling along canyon road on christmas eve. many of the art galleries are open, serving hot cider and cookies. carolers gather in the street around bonfires, and there are farolitos (luminarias) to light your way down the street. it is incredibly festive. i feel so lucky that my parents moved from one paradise to another. with any luck i will also get to see my oldest sister and her family.....it's been 3 years since i've seen my sister, and that was only briefly for a family emergency. needless to say this is a much needed visit, and i cannot wait to be surrounded by the love and comfort of my own people....and the amazing breakfast at Tia Sofias in downtown santa fe (seriously, cannot wait!).

before i am able to relax in the comfort of my parent's home, i have just one more little bit of b hive business to attend to. if you know of any last minute shoppers, be sure to send them my way. i'll be here on sunday, 12/20/09 from 3:00pm - 9:00pm. this is a 21+ event....even better!

Heart of Craft Holiday Fair

3:00pm - 9:00pm

The Woods

6637 Milwaukie Ave

Portland, OR 97202

**all b hive designs items are on sale. kids items are 50% off, skirts are 50% off, women's shirts are $10 off through 12/31/09. check out the shop or come see me on sunday**

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

since i was the 4th child in my family, my parents were not very good at documenting my life. this is one of about 3 christmas photos from my entire childhood. i have no idea how old i was in this photo, 6 maybe......santa looks like he might be a little hungover :)......BTW i wish my hair was still that tame, minus the bangs.

a perfect day

when i was

a little girl

i would pray

for rain on christmas

the sun was

always shining

where i played

everything perfect

all the time

it seemed

only fair to have

a cold day

here and there

a day to cozy up

with family,

good food, gifts,

and a fire

now that i am

old(er)

i wish for those

perfect days

days of eternal

sunshine and

perfection

oh, please

just one more

perfect day

crafty, crafty, crafty - 12/13/09 @ 11AM

this is it people.

the mega sale of the year.....crafty wonderland's super colossal holiday sale!
i am not kidding when i tell you that this sale will be awesome. i am so excited....bouncing over here :)

last year i had the privelege of selling my goodies at this sale. if any of you were in p-town last year at this time you might remember that there was a very serious snow storm (serious for us anyway). that snow storm began on the morning of the super colossal sale. i remember waking up early in the morning to get my things together, and when i walked out to my studio there was no snow on the ground. by the time i stepped out of the studio to pack up my car it looked like a blizzard. me and my crafty friends bared the elements to get to the convention center that morning not knowing what to expect. some things that i saw on my way there....semi-trucks jacknifed on the highway, cars abandoned on the street, and no sign of life on the sidewalks. as you can imagine all of this made me very nervous. i mean who would want to leave their house on a day like that to buy handmade goods? regardless of the weather the spirit of the sale was not dampened, in fact as i was setting up there were reports of a line forming outside the convention center hall. a line? are you kidding me? i honestly couldn't believe that any one would be crazy enough to drive to the sale at all, not to mention early enough to wait in a line. but when i checked for myself, lo and behold there was indeed a line of anxious shoppers. to my surprise it was a very good day after all. the snow kept falling, the shoppers kept coming, and i went home happy.

needless to say, i have been checking the weather updates religiously this week. even though the snow did not stop the show last year, it made for a very fightful car ride & bone chilling preparation in the studio. temperatures have been in the 20's this week, my fingers are freezing, the ink is harder to pull through the screen, but i am hopeful that it will not snow. so far the weather reports are calling for light rain on sunday. we can deal with that, right? i mean it wouldn't be a propper portland winter without rain. so keep your fingers crossed for me......no snow until december 14th!

can't wait to see you at crafty!!!!!!!!!!!!

OREGON CONVENTION CENTER

HALL D

p.s. crafty wonderland has decided to take a break after this holiday sale. they will no longer be holding their monthly events at the doug fir. while this is very sad for those of us who love this sale, it will make the events that they do hold that much more special. so be sure to come out this sunday to support your favorite local artists. you might not see them again for a while!

two great sales this weekend!!

First up.....Sunday Best Holiday Sale. Saturday 11.28 & Sunday 11.29

visit sundaybestholidaysale.blogspot.com for more info

Second....Secret Society Sale. Sunday 11.29

visit www.secretsocietysale.com for more info

hope to see you at one of these really great sales. you really must check out the list of vendors......some super great artists!!

sunday best holiday sale - 11/28 & 11/29

i know you're tired of my event postings.....to be truthful, i am too. but i really need to share some info about this sale with you, because i am just so honored to be a part of it.

the sunday best holiday sale is the brainchild of julie dutton (studio olivine) & tay macintyre (honey & milk). i remember seeing an ad for this event last year, and wishing that i could be a part of it. the list of artists were among my favorites with a heavy emphasis on print design, which of course is what i love. a couple of months ago i recieved an email from julie inviting me to participate in the sale. i think i recieved her invite at 11:58pm, and my very excited "yes" reply was sent at 11:59pm. so needless to say, i am extremely excited to share this news with you. i just know that anyone who attends this sale will be impressed with the collection of artists in attendance, and will walk away with some very special treasures.

please visit the sunday best holiday sale website for more info, and a full list of vendors. i've listed a few of my favorites below:

elisabethbentz

hadley hutton

jill bliss

studio olivine

honey & milk

old school stationers

pigeon toe ceramics

b hive designs

special sale - today 11/22/09!!!!!

if you're in portland, come visit us!

(click on the image for a closer look)

bhivedesigns.etsy.com

amyolsonjewelry.etsy.com

octavineillustration.etsy.com

here's a little secret......all b hive designs shirts will be on super discount. oh, who am i kidding, go ahead and spread the word :)

oh, and one more little treat....there will be a small handful of big woo wear hats (see my post from 11/18 for more info), so get here early!

1-4pm

0404 SW Dakota St

Portland, OR

countdown to cute :o

oh.....how cute are these!

just a few of my prints that i turned into little zippered pouches. i really just want to keep them all for myself, but i guess i'll share. you can scoop one up at the irvington artisan market this saturday, oooh & i'll have some skirts too. be sure to get there early. those skirts seem to vanish every time i hang them up to sell.

just a little bit of awesome for your weekend.....cheers :)

Irvington Artisan Market

November 21, 2009

10am-6pm

@The Irvington Tennis Club

In the Historic Ballroom

NE 21st & Thompson

Portland, OR

Irvington Artisan Winter Market - November 21, 2009

hooray!

i love this market for so many reasons. the main reason is the organizer, becka extraordinaire. becka is a good friend of mine who recently gave birth to her second child. how she is managing to pull off this event, i do not know. she has gathered a collection of talented artists, including herself (Sheila Marie Jewelry Designs) that you really should know about. if you visit the market's website you will find a list of all the vendors, and a few artisan profiles as well (that's still a work in progress).

one of my favorite artists that will be in attendance is geralyn simpson of big woo wear. she literally makes the cutest hats ever! i already own three of my own, and i am still tempted to buy more. every time i wear one of her hats i receive many compliments on her behalf, and people want to know where i bought it. well this is your opportunity people. geralyn has removed all of her items from her website, because she simply cannot meet the demand for her hats. each hat takes a considerable amount of time to create, all crocheted by hand, and let me tell you they are definitely worth more than the piddly $18 that she sells them for. so be sure to visit us at the irvington artisan market on saturday so that you can scoop one up for yourself.

Irvington Artisan Market

November 21, 2009

10am-6pm

@The Irvington Tennis Club

In the Historic Ballroom

NE 21st & Thompson

Portland, OR

oh, the list.....

i have a few different to-do lists that are each a few miles long......ever feel that way? one of the items on my list is to list all of my upcoming events so that the holiday shopping can commence. but thruthfully, the events list is just too daunting at the moment. every time i look at it i think about all of the other items on my to-do list, which then makes me very sleepy. so i will settle with listing just two upcoming events, and try to only worry about my to-do's for today. come see me!!


november 13th (fri), 2:15-6:00pm &
november 14th (sat), 10:00 am-4:00pm
llewellyn holiday market
llewellyn elementary school
6301 SE 14th Avenue
portland, or
** 10% of sales will go to llewellyn elementary school **


november 15th (sun), 11am - 4pm
abernathy craft fair
abernethy elementary school
2421 se orange avenue
portland, or
** 20% of sales will go to abernathy elementary school **


here's hoping the sun will shine on us this weekend :)

p.s. working at these school fairs kind of make me miss grandma!

$10 & $20 SALE....ends saturday, 11/7, at midnight!

hello peeps!
here's a good one to pass on to your friends. i really need to clear out my studio to make room for the enormous amount of goods that i am making for the holiday season. this will be my last sale until after christmas....so stock up! everything in the shop is either $10 or $20....woohoo!
here's the breakdown:
women's Long Sleeve = $20
women's Short Sleeve = $10
kid's Short Sleeve = $10
BUY 2 shirts & i'll reimburse your shipping fees!
SALE ENDS SATURDAY, 11/7 at Midnight!!

buy here....www.bhivedesigns.etsy.com or at www.bhivedesigns.com

happy fall!!!!

crafting for a cause

yikes!!.....i meant to post about this earlier, but as usual life sucked me into its vortex or busy-ness. anyway, please check out this website to learn more about wheels for henry. there are a number of vendors who are participating in fundraising for some new wheels for henry, including b hive designs. i will be donating 20% of my sales through Octber 31st. a feel good purchase!

Wheels for Henry is an online Benefit Bazaar to help raise funds for a converted (wheelchair) van for a hardworking single mom in Portland, Oregon. Chloe Eudaly is the proprietress of Reading Frenzy, a disability advocate, and the proud mom of an amazing kid who happens to get around in a wheelchair. They’re more than halfway to funding a used converted van (The van is approx. $45,000) and are now turning to family, friends and the broader community to help raise the rest (We have about $19,500 to go.).

sewing & decorating

i may have said this before, but i am a terrible procrastinator. i always seem to get things done on time (for the most part), but i am always so stressed getting them done. take for instance last night, when i sat sewing in my studio until midnight because i had to finish my girlfriends gift for the shower i was hosting for her today. needless to say the gift is beautiful (at least i think so), but i wish i could figure out how to be more "martha" like. or at least how "martha" appears to be stress free when creating her lovelies. anyway, here is the finished product, and i had to add the pom pom photo because they are just so cute. i think i'll give a little tutorial on this decoration in the near future........but for now i must sleep!

after sewing this super girly cover for the moses basket, i stuffed it full of the sweetest gifts......if you look closely you'll even see one of my cherry blossom newborn gowns. i couldn't give a gift without including a little b hive designs :)