Be Good to Your Teeth!

OK, so I normally would never post a photo of myself in such a compromising position for all the world to see...but I'm trying to spread the gospel of frequent dental visits and maybe also find a little redemption.
My story starts when we lost our dental insurance and stopped going for regular cleanings. Flash forward three years (that's now) when one of my fillings falls out. I go to the dentist and find that actually two fillings have fallen out and my teeth are completely yucky. Plus there may be a root canal in my near future. Urgh.

Three painful appointments, two cavities and about $700 later I have learned my lesson and plan to be much nicer to my teeth. Maybe this is a no-brainer for most of you, but I know there are lots of folks out there just like me who don't have insurance and think there are much better things to spend their spare money on. Trust me! It's worth the $80 - $100 every six months to save the only teeth you have.
Sorry teeth!

Antique Expo Wrap-up

This past weekend was one of my favorite events of the year - The Antique + Collectibles Show at the Expo Center here in Portland. Palmer Wirfs holds three shows a year in Portland (March, July + October) and the July show is said to be the largest antique and collectible show in the country with a total of 1800 booths inside and out. What I love about the Summer show is the outdoor section of over 300 booths - it has a sort of flea market feel where you can get incredible deals.

The Expo has become a tradition with my girlfriends and I. This time I was with the pregnant posse - all three of them are expecting babies in the fall!

Part of the appeal of the Expo is seeing things I have never seen before. It's almost like going to the museum for me. You get to see very weird stuff like hair art from the turn of the century or a 1950's leopard print TV. My favorite strange sighting this time was this box of vintage doll's eyes from Germany. Creepy!

I also love to see things that I own or that I had when I was a kid and find out what they are worth. I still have these Bert + Ernie puppets from my childhood - I could have had a second set for a mere $22.

I have always dreamed of having one of these kitchen queen cupboards in my house. This one was super cute with it's frosted windows and Bakelite handles and was only $195. If only I had a place to put it...

I spotted this never-been-used mug + pitcher set by Blisscraft of Hollywood and decided I couldn't live without it. I am a sucker for brightly colored vintage plastic kitchenware.

The hard part is going to be removing the cute labels so I can actually use it. I see margaritas in it's future!

My goal this time was to only buy things that I could really use - no dust collecting knick-knacks that would sit on a shelf (I already have too many of those!) - and I did pretty well sticking to that rule. Here is a pile of cute vintage fabrics that I bought - most will become skirts or dresses in the near future.

I also got some vintage trims and buttons for future projects. The bolts of sparkle rick-rack were only $2 each!

Long pink vintage gloves and cute vintage wrapping paper...not necessarily things that I needed but things I couldn't resist!

R.I.P. Amusement Park Fun

:(sad bumper cars):

Today I mourn the loss of my ability to enjoy amusement rides. Not sure if it's hormones or old age, but over the last few years I have been experiencing more and more nausea when I go on amusement rides. Yes that's right...I feel like I'm going to puke. I was crazy for any ride that came my way for most of my life, but now...not so much. For a while it was only on spinning rides but little by little it has grown to include most rides, including roller coasters.


The other day we made our first trip of the year to Oaks Park here in Portland - it's a great old-school amusement park with lots of vintage character mixed with some new cheesiness. I started taking my son there as soon as he could walk and we rejoiced the day when he was tall enough to go on the big rides with me. I love being the Mom that goes on all the rides with my kid while all the wimpy Moms sit on the bench and watch. Well, on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 I became a wimpy bench sitter. Almost every ride I went on made me feel sick. Denial forced me to continue to go on several rides, trying to convince myself that I could handle it. Urgh. Not good.

Tell me ladies out there...am I alone in this? Is it common? Is there hope for me? Help!


On a positive note, I had a great time roller skating at Oaks Park Roller Rink and ate a yummy snow cone at Sellwood Park afterwards. Although roller skating did make my hip hurt ;)

If all this sounds like fun, head on down to Oaks Park! They have all sorts of specials throughout the Summer, including the two for one Tuesday deal - buy one ride bracelet, get one free. We paid $14.25 for two deluxe ride bracelets which included admission to roller skating and unlimited rides on everything except the Go Karts. Check their website for deals on other days of the week.

First Thursday Art Shows!

This month two lovely and talented artists are having First Thursday art openings...and you won't have to work too hard since they are mere steps away from each other! Head on down to the Indie Rock Block and support two really swell guys while also supporting two fantastic Portland institutions (Reading Frenzy and The IPRC).

Ryan Berkley is the creative talent behind the illustrations in both the Super Crafty book and Crafty Wonderland posters and has become an overnight Etsy superstar with his fantastic illustrations of animals in clothes. Come check out a new batch of animal friends in his upcoming show Sophisticated Menagerie at Reading Frenzy. Who doesn't love a turtle wearing a fez?!

Sophisticated Menagerie - Drawings by Ryan Berkley
at Reading Frenzy
921 SW Oak St. in Portland
Opening Reception Thursday, July 3rd 6pm - ?
Runs through the end of July

And just upstairs from Reading Frenzy is the Independent Publishing Resource Center where "urban folk artist /wildman" Justin "Scrappers" Morrison will be selling his work and releasing his new limited edition hardback book entitled "Camp". Justin wrote, illustrated and published the book through Grass Hut. Can't wait to get my hands on one!

CAMP
Book Release + Art Exhibit by Justin "Scrappers" Morrison
at The IPRC
917 SW Oak St. - 2nd Floor #218
Opening Reception Thursday, July 3rd 6-9pm
Runs through the end of July

Welcome Home!

Whew! I 'm finally home from New York...

with a little three day camping trip tacked on at the end.

I love to travel and see cool new things but there is nothing better than coming home to Portland. I could go on and on about my week in NY...

how I ate my weight in bagels and pizza,

drank yummy cocktails at Pete's Candy Store,

went to the Bronx Zoo,

rode a bike through Central Park,

and went to a super fun Lotta Jansdotter printing party.

I could give all the juicy details from the Renegade Craft Fair...

how I sold out of my new dress design,

bought an adorable plush toaster and burnt piece of toast from
My Paper Crane

and how a crazy thunder + lighting + rain storm blew in and toppled tents and soaked us to the bone.

But New York is so last week...what I really want to talk about right now is this amazing Betsy Walton painting that I bought last night.

Betsy is showing with several other female artists in Swim Meet at Together Gallery here in Portland. I've had my eye on Betsy's recent work via her Flickr page and was excited to see them in person. This piece really called my name and I decided it was a fine way to treat myself with some of my Renegade earnings. Yeah! I can't wait to find that perfect place for it in my house.

No Sleep 'til Brooklyn!

The Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn is quickly approaching and I have been sequestered in my basement craft bunker trying to make as much as I can to bring along. My standard Renegade prep routine includes lots of coffee, sugar (i.e. candy + cookies) and The Beastie Boys. I listen to License to Ill (on vinyl) at full blast and shout out the occasional "Yeah Boy!" or "Kick It!" all the while sewing like a demon. Don't know what it is...but it works so I'm sticking with it. I have thrown in a little of The Clash, The Police and X but with songs like "She's Crafty" and "No Sleep 'til Brooklyn", The Beastie Boys seem to be perfect inspiration for New York craft fair preparation.

Piles of pockets waiting to be attached to skirts - I match up thread so I can be sure that I have the right color. I'm proud to say that after years of accumulating thread, I am finally at the point where I *almost* have every color I could possibly need.

Finished vintage fabric Betty Skirts!

Finished Gocco printed skirts!

All of the above skirts (as well as dresses, belt buckles, tin wall pieces and more) will follow me to NY for my favorite show of the year. The Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn is a spectacular event that features over 200 talented vendors from all over the country selling their handmade goods at the bottom of a pool! I'll be there sharing a booth with the talented Cathy of California and right next door to fellow Portlanders Berkley Illustration. If you live in the New York area, come on down to the fair for some crafty goodness.

When I'm not craft fair-ing in NY, I plan to go roller skating at Coney Island, visit The Met, shop in the fabric district and eats lots and lots of bagels and pizza. Yeah Boy!

It's Crafty Wonderland Time Again!

It's time for another installment of Crafty Wonderland! Come on down for crafty goodness from 40 vendors as well as a fun make and take project at the free DIY table!

Crafty Wonderland
Sunday, June 8th
11am - 4pm
at Doug Fir Lounge
830 E. Burnside in Portland
FREE ADMISSION - ALL AGES!

more details and a full vendor list at:
www.craftywonderland.com

I'll be there selling my skirts, sweaters, belt buckles and some tin wall pieces.