SQUIRREL & STARLING

File this under: reasons to visit San Francisco more often. I desperately want to attend the Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco on July 9th & 10th. I can't, but I'll ogle the vendor list here and shop online here. The vendors include local favorites like Stone & Honey, Satsuma Press, Berkley Illustration, Bossa Nova Baby, and Coatt. If you're in SF and check it out, make sure you report back via the comments. I want to know what treasures you discovered!

Image via www.renegadecraft.com.

-Colleen

On Saturday we attended the Etsy Pop-Up Shop at West Elm curated by Lynn Russell of Satsuma Press. It was a fabulous event featuring sixteen fantastic local Etsy sellers, as well hors d'oeuvres by Devil's Food, and a Smilebooth photo booth. It was a lot of fun! Here are a few photos from the event.

Props for the Smilebooth photo booth!

Pillows by Etsy Seller Anna Joyce Designs.

Prunella Soap's shop at West Elm.

Mini Strawberry Shortcakes by Devil's Food.

Mini Cupcakes!

Gift Tags by Oh My Cavalier!

Prunella Rosemary, Lavender, and Peppermint Soap.

Elizabeth Soule Print.

Pigeon Toe Ceramics Votive & Mini Creamer.

West Elm Squirrel Figurine.

West Elm (Large) Owl Candles.

{All Photos by Squirrel & Starling}

-Colleen & Julia

Our gal Liz of Blue Diamond Stamp Company was also a vendor at Crafty Wonderland! We love the stamps she crafts from high quality photo-polymer. Uniquely, they are clear so that you can see exactly where your stamp is hitting the paper. Brilliant! Liz draws most of the stamp designs herself, but also utilizes vintage images. Read more about her clever and lovely stamps on the Blue Diamond Stamp Company website. Also, check out the (over 100) varied stamp designs she sells in her Etsy shop! Here are a few favorites (click on a photo to go to the Blue Diamond online shop).

I bought this Reading Owl Stamp!

I plan to use my newly-acquired "Reading Owl" stamp stamp to stamp my own cards, or wrapping paper for friends' gifts! Or, maybe I'll use it as a bookplate for my personal library. So many options!

{Photos Courtesy of Liz from Blue Diamond Stamp Company}

-Colleen

You learn things about yourself at Crafty Wonderland. It's really a life-changing experience. Prior to Crafty Wonderland (see yesterday's post!), for example, I had no idea that I was obsessed with little animals and Stars Wars characters made out of felted wool. Sheep Creek Needlecraft was the first booth we visited at Crafty Wonderland and one of of the most memorable for me. Andrea of Sheep Creek Needlecraft creates the cutest animals ever, all handmade by wet felting wool fibers. I now find myself wanting an entire menagerie of them. Visit the Sheep Creek Needlecraft Etsy shop & Andrea's fantastic blog (where you'll also learn how to make your own felt items!).

Andrea's booth at Crafty Wonderland!

A custom Star Wars baby mobile that Andrea made. May the felt be with you!

Small wooly lambs available from the Sheep Creek Needlecraft Etsy shop!

Felted doe and fawn, also available on Etsy!

I love this fox! Sheep Creek will make a custom animal for you by request.

Another animal you can custom order, an adorable cow!

Want a custom felt portrait of your dog? Sheep Creek is taking orders on Etsy.

{Photos Courtesy of Andrea of Sheep Creek Needlecraft}

-Colleen

We're a bit tardy with our Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Spring Sale recap, but wanted to share the the awesomeness we experienced (over a week ago now). Crafty Wonderland is always on our must-do list; this time around it took place May 7th at the Oregon Convention Center. We're continuously amazed by all of the new artists we discover at Crafty Wonderland events that we weren't aware of before. Here are a few goodies Colleen couldn't resist (hey, the sale only happens twice a year!).

Ilee Papergoods Ferns Letterpress Notecard Set, $13.

Halle Cisco Designs Studies One (Set of 4 Cards), $6.

Cake Spy Bacon & Cupcake Party Mug, $12. Umm...cupcakes + bacon? Yes, please.

Lettuce Press Notecards. We heart Portland-themed letterpress cards.

Potter & Butler Peppy Toppers. The cutest cupcake decorations!

Seaworthy Notecards. The card at right says "There's a little crazy cat lady in all of us."

Reading Book Owl Stamp from Blue Diamond Stamp Company, $8.

Missed the sale? Crafty Wonderland has a physical shop too. It's located downtown at 802 SW 10th.

A few more Crafty Wonderland-related posts are coming your way, so stay tuned!

{Slightly blurry photos by Squirrel & Starling}

-Colleen

Block prints are a favorite of mine, so it wasn't a surprise to me that I purchased a lovely squirrel-print tea towel as my souvenir from a trip to Boston this past March.  The towel is by Art Goodies, who have an Etsy store.  I purchased my tea towel from Oak craft boutique on Newbury Street.

The Squirrel towel.

Art Goodies Block Print Squirrel Towel Hand Printed, $15 on Etsy.com.

I also declare this nest-print towel to be simply adorable.

Art Goodies Block Print Nest Towel Hand Printed, $15 on Etsy.com.

Art Goodies mastermind Michigan-based Lisa Price also creates printed pillows and artwork. In addition to her printmaking venture, she is the proprietress of another Etsy store, Vintage Goodies.

Art Goodies Block Print Bunny Accent Pillow (8" x 10"), $20 on Etsy.com.

Art Goodies Paper Lobster Block Print (8 3/4" x 11 1/4"), $15 on Etsy.com.

-Colleen

Today (or rather, yesterday!) Squirrel and Starling attended the Show of Awesome (you can see a full list of vendors by following this link) craft sale at the Doug Fir Lounge.  This event was part of the Summit of Awesome, three days of craft workshops and seminars put on by Hello Craft, Crafty Wonderland, and DIY Lounge. As always with Crafty Wonderland shows, there were so many great booths with lots of lovely things to purchase.  We wish we had time to peruse each and every booth, but it ended up being a case of the classic "too much awesome, not enough time!"  Today's post features a few artists that caught our eye(s).


The basement of the Doug Fir Lounge was very crowded with eager shoppers!

Lots of Cool Crafters = Crowded Basement!

Even more craftiness

Anchors Aweigh! From Two Guitars

Design from A Tea Leaf, just in time for Father's Day!

Hi Christy!

Man vs. Ink doing his thing!

Prints Galore

Screen Printed Small Scissors Cozy by Bossa Nova Baby, $8.

Slide Sideways Overgrowth Sketchbook, $8.