Cluster o’ items…

I love cameras. I’ve been giving my digital Rebel some attention this month. I’m sorry to say that in the past 6 months it has taken the backseat. I kinda forgot about it and have been distracted with a convenient digital point & shoot that can be easily slipped into my pocket. I started missing the quality of Sir Rebel, so this month I made it a priority to snap photos left and right with it. Actually all the photos posted on this entry are taken with it. I’ve been thinking about getting back into photography. I’ve had my eyes on another camera too… ever since I saw Zooey with her jogging camera club crew in Griffith Park in the flick, Yes Man. I did some research earlier this month and discovered that they use a Fujifilm Instax mini7. I can’t wait to get my lil’ hands on one of these some day.

I love Thursdays. In fact every Thursday morning of this month I’ve had coffee+drawing club with some lovely friends. To be exact, I have drawn 7 herbs in my sketchbook to be included in my Herb Series. Most of which haven’t made it yet from the sketchbook… to the scanner… to the Illustrator. Thus far, rosemary is the only one that has gone through the steps.

Rosemary print :: 8” x 10” :: View in Etsy Shop

“Primarily a meat herb, as used on the roast of beef, rosemary is the leaf of an evergreen shrub and shaped like a curved pine needle. It has a fresh, sweet flavor, is better fresh from the garden than when dried. It is excellent with lamb, fish, and poultry.”

I love Spark Cards. I’m thrilled to announce that my greeting cards are on their sleek shelves, ready to be snagged by the nearest set of hands. Spark Cards features greeting cards created by local artists. Many are printed using artisanal methods — letterpress, screenprint, lino block, and hand assembled one-of-a-kind collage.

Spark Cards :: 4430 SE Hawthorne Blvd :: Portland, Oregon

Herb Series & Standard Movement Series greeting cards

I love earrings. I handmade a bunch of new earrings over the month. They will appear in some upcoming craft shows this spring in the Stumptown area. Some will gradually be listed into the Etsy shop.

Little Beavers, Little Tree Stumps v. 2 :: earrings :: View in Etsy Shop

I thought I’d end with some bulleted miscellaneous items that I have discovered & hearted over the month.

• Calimyrna Figs from Trader Joe’s
• Design Milk article on Wayne Coyne’s (of The Flaming Lips) bathroom (more info…)
• Happy Sparrow on Belmont
• Community meeting about Last Thursday on Alberta (more info…)
• Snapple Green Tea Mango
• WEST exhibit at Land Gallery on Mississippi (more info…)

A week or two ago I was pondering the idea of creating a new avatar for my Flickr, Twitter, and every other social networking website that is linked to A Tea Leaf. I mean it’s a new year, that should mean a new avatar, right? I’m a lil’ sad to leave behind the “I Can Has Plum” pic; it sure was a silly one. This year’s avatar includes a pretty sweet coffee mug that was just filled to the brim with Yerba Mate. I love this white glass mug, it’s fantastic. It has a lot of sentimental value to me; it use to be my grandmother’s. I remember when I was a wee one, watching her pour coffee into it and thinking to myself, ‘why would anyone drink coffee’, blergh. Obviously, in present time at the ripe ol’ age of 27, my taste buds have changed. As many of you know, not only am I a bit obsessed with Hello Kitty and Norwich Terriers, but hot beverages as well. Mmm… Yerba Mate.

I’ve been hyped up this week. It sure has been a productive one. Sometimes I wish I had my own chopper on the roof, though, so I could get to point A to point B uber fast and be so much more productive.  I decided that I’d try something new in the sketchbook. Since I love documenting and all, I doodled Tuesday’s accomplishments. I used one of my favorite mediums too… Gelly Roll Moonlight opaque pens. (Click on image to view larger.)

I had a ball drawing this. I’m definitely up for another one in the next month or two.

Poster created by Matt Jones of London.

Yes, that’s right. 2010. Let’s make things. Let’s do things.

In fact, my ‘10 resolution is related to this inspiring poster. As I sit here sipping my chai latte, I’m getting excited for a brand new year. I want to share my art with the Portland community, be it in a coffee shop, a boutique, or a gallery. I have decided on another way that I will be giving back to Portland as well. For the year 2010 I will be donating 5% of my Etsy sales to the Portland Rescue Mission. Almost everyday I see homelessness around Portland. I really want to help give hope to those men, women, and children.

Year two in Portland has been life changing. I met lots of peachy creatives, either crafty, design, or technical. I submerged myself into the Portland creative community.  With these new friends of mine, we planned a few graphic design meet-ups. We did happy hours. We had crafting afternoons & evenings. We went to coffee shops and doodled in our sketchbooks. We geeked out over art supplies at art stores. We also did street fairs. We did craft shows. I did my very first Crafty Wonderland craft show… and a second one, the very last monthly Crafty Wonderland in November. And even the monstrous Crafty Wonderland Colossal Holiday Sale. 2009 was the year I started this blog, February 14th. In 2009 I also started making necklaces, earrings, Herb drawings, and lest we not forget the monthly documentary video shorts.

I hope everyone has found the Holiday Season enchanting. I hope you were able to create memorable moments with close friends and family even if you were snowed in and unable to be with them in person. I am personally thankful for Skype & webcams. I do hope this blog post finds you well.

I will leave you with this mosaic. The first mosaic I have ever made. It’s filled with photos from 2009 of the things that inspired me.

Passing along some 2009 inspiration bliss, enjoy!

Click on mosaic to view more details.

Stop by the Tinymeat store on North Williams to find local handmade gifts! It’s a great place to pick out those last minute gifts, treat yourself to something sweet, or chit chat with Tinymeat owner, Michael! My handmade goodies are there, as well as a dozen other local artists’ & crafters’ work.

Tinymeat’s address is 3808 N. Williams, Portland, OR – Located in the same building as Cha Cha Cha & Ristretto Roasters.

I took a bunch of snaps from that day. Click on the pics below to see larger & more details. Enjoy!

Our booth!

My booth!

My friend Chelsea Ann aka Itty Bitty Birdy’s booth!

My new acquaintance Suki aka Bird’s Eye View Studio and her booth!

My friend Cate Anevski and her booth!

One of my favorite Artists, Rachel Ann Austin & her booth!

I even got to meet one of my favorite Artists, Kate Bingaman-Burt aka Obsessive Consumption!

I wish I could have taken more photos of all the others. It felt like the whole day flew by!

Well… I better get to creating my holiday card for this year. Eep! Check back tomorrow… I will have some news for you Stumptown locals out there.

Perfect for those last minute Christmas gifts!

I’m having a Holiday SALE for a limited time! SALE ends this Friday, Dec. 18th. Click on the link below to check out all the handmade goodies.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ATeaLeaf?section_id=6068942

Rural Oregon photographs

Weeping Willow vinyl wallets

Standard Movement Series necklaces

Standard Movement Series Greeting Cards

Sale! * SALE! * Sale! * SALE! * Sale! * SALE! * Sale! * SALE! *

this fine Thursday?

Type your answer here.

Standard Movement Series $10 print sale ends TONIGHT at 11pm PST!

(Click image below or here to be redirected to the shop.)

Info:

da Vinci Arts Fair 2009
Saturday, December 5th 10am – 6pm &
Sunday, December 6th 10am – 4pm
Free Admission!
2508 NE Everett, Portland, OR
More info here.

If you can’t make it, but you are interested in purchasing an item…
Visit my Etsy shop here.

Photos of my booth that I took this morning…
(Click on photos to see more details on my wares.)

Go to Etsy Shop