spicey hot chocolate

spicey hot chocolate
Originally uploaded by LeahPellegrini

Finally put up my Christmas tree last night. Found a small Charlie Brown tree that smells good and now its all decorated with plastic Mexican wrestlers and my collection of glass ornaments. I made myself this hot chocolate while getting into the holiday spirit. The green sprinkles really made things festive... the whip cream didn't hurt either :)

recipe: jalapeño infused tequila + vanilla infused vodka + hot chocolate = wonderful

For Sale on Etsy

I finally listed some of my glass globes with plants on Etsy - get em' while they are there! I will get them to you by Christmas if you act fast.

These little beauties will ship well, they all are USPS friendly and ready to go. Although I am not shipping them over any international boarders, my apologies, yes I know they are sooo super cute and you'd love to get one as a gift for your friend or loved one, and yes I LOVE shipping my artwork to Canada and overseas... however, I just don't know what the rules are for shipping plant life internationally and so I am not going to go there. Domestic shipping only.

FREE SHIPPING to all US customers for these little wonders (there are only 5 listed in my shop right now, so its a limited offer!)

Tiniest Terrariums Cuteness

I added little glass mushrooms (which I also made) - isn't this just too much!!! My goodness.
And then this morning I made up this one with a little yellow duck...
This duck was made over a decade ago. One of the first things I made with my new torch back in the day. :) Its a treasure of mine, and how cute does it look in this little terrarium, with three different varieties of "Chicks n' Hens" succulents...

Chocolate Modeling Clay

I bought this modeling clay that is edible yummy chocolate... I want to make little penguins and flowers and little chocolate moss terrariums... but I am constantly making and shipping lately, and then shipping some more... so I haven't had time to play yet... but its so tempting. Smells good too! Oh and I picked up some edible gold dust to make my creations sparkle. Oh yes.

You too can buy these kits at the Chocolate Craft Kit site - they are only $15 or so - great deal - it comes with all the little tools you see in the picture!

http://www.chocolatecraftkits.com/modelingkit.php

Amazing Pendleton Presents

My friend Aimee works for the Pendleton Woolen Mill company. She is quite crafty and the Pendleton store has great supplies, wool fabric and cut-offs and whatnot... well today she brought me these presents! The picture above is a wonderful soft warm lap blanket and the picture below is a rug that is all folded up, its round and striped and thick when unfolded! - Orange and Turquoise and Chocolate Brown... what a great color combination!

Thank You Aimee!!!

Its a Crafty Wonderland!

This year the Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Holiday Show was spectacular as always. In fact, it was 2 days of awesome this year (in the past it was 6 hours on Sunday of crazy shopping craftiness).

12,000 people came to shop. Thousands lined up in the halls of the Portland Convention Center in the morning to get the free swag bags. This year they handed out free 2011 Chinook Books with the bags of swag (these are big books of local coupons - worth $20each).

I sold many pieces of my work, all the terrariums I had made went home with new owners and overall I had a really great time. Friday and Saturday nights I was still making things, by the end of the weekend my house looked like a hurricane of craft hit it. Sunday night I didn't even empty the car. I cleaned up in the morning and then brought all my tubs and display stuff inside to be organized back into storage to be used next summer for some big shows. I may vend at the Portland Saturday Market a few times before the end of the holiday season (weather permitting) but I am done with my craft show marathon for 2010. Now I must catch up on shipping and tending to my online orders. Yeah for the Holiday Season! Its an awesome experience to vend at the Crafty Wonderland, its like a big crafty hug... a little sweaty, a little glitter, a little retro, a little sumthin brand new, and a whole lot of awesome.

Awesome Find at Crafty Wonderland 2010

At Crafty Wonderland this weekend I did a bit o' shopping and I found these illustrations by Lisa Mirella, described as a trio of animals with dirty mouths having trouble with yarn. What is not to love!!!

Anyone who has spent a bit of time with me knows that I have an uncensored potty mouth.

These illustrations are printed on canvas and stretched, so they each look like little originals. The octopus needing a 9th arm to untangle his mittens, the fat bear in his unraveling sweater (aptly named "Shitty Yarn") and the giraffe who lost his scarf... all can be found in the Milktooth Etsy shop, there are both the prints and greeting cards, it looks like they sold out of the Fuck print right now, but if you send them a message maybe they will make you more!

http://Milktoof.etsy.com

Sneak Peak of my Tiniest Terrariums

Consider this a sneak peak. These terrariums (as well as the few I had left after last weekend) will be coming with me and my mobiles to Crafty Wonderland Holiday Show 2010. So exciting.
Each one is so unique. So lovable.
I have just a couple with airplants, they are just so fantastic, but I don't have many airplants yet... next week I will have more and I will be listing them in my online store...
These two are so incredible, they are like little models! Any which way I turned them they took a great picture...
This one below is bigger than the rest and I might keep it for myself.
Ah... the chicks n' hens... so cute...
so precious and small
some of them I put with buddies

And many of the terrariums I filled with my favorite "String of Pearls" plant... jewelry that looks like peas...
The one above is like a pot on its side, its a one-of-a-kind.This plant is so amazing - and I just love how it looks in these tiny terrariums. They are cute - undeniably and deliciously.
I love this shape for the glass the best, and its fun how each one turns out just slightly different...






and there are a few that look like pitchers pouring out the plant...
Come visit me at Crafty Wonderland. See them for yourself. Get some to give to a friend for the holidays. They are the perfect little desk plant, preferring indirect sunlight and not a lot of water... and they are so unique! I love them.

Crafty Wonderland is at the Convention Center in Portland Oregon all weekend (December 11th and 12th) - come early, everything is one of a kind and some vendors sell out!

see you there!

Pancakes Please

For all my Portland friends: go eat at Slappy Cakes. Seriously. The place makes me smile. I like it there. Let me tell you why :)

1. the decor is all orange

2. you get to play with your food

3. its very tasty (they offer a lot of food besides the DIY pancakes)

I highly recommended Slappy Cakes on SE Belmont in Portland Oregon

ps. I also love the paintings of pancakes on the wall. They are wonderful.

Sold

This blog post is really just an excuse for me to pour longingly over these photos of my Tiniest Terrariums. I took them Thursday night as I was prepping for the show. I knew I wanted to capture their loveliness before they all flew the coop!

The airplants are a new addition to these little glass worlds. I LOVE this creation. I must make more.

These are some of the terrariums I sold this weekend at Urban Craft Uprising - I hope the lucky recipients of these treasures will love them as I have. They are sooo cute, they make me smile.

This one just makes me gasp - cute is the only word I have to describe it.

Seriously beautiful.

Enchanting. I love this little chick in a little vase. I must make more of these...

This one above I thought was sorta funny, the vase flopped out on the top in ways I hadn't really intended. But somehow its lovely in its wonkiness, especially with the strands of pearls cascading over the wobbly edge. And now its being given as a gift to someone. That makes me smile.

I LOVE this one above... its the simplest of them all, but for some reason I just love it. All the round shapes, of the vessel, the peas, the hole...

This shape was the only one I made like this, I must make more, its sorta a stretch fat tiny droplet shape, with the peas cramming themselves out of the hole. I love it.

this one (above) the little "chicks n' hens" has a small tiny baby attached to it, can you see it? Oh how these make me swoon!

This shape I took a pair of shears to the hot little vessel and cut the little slit, then I pulled the two pieces down to make the "shirt collar" look. *love*

Its hard to tell from this photo, but I put a little pour spout look on the top of the vase, so it looks like the plant is pouring out of the tiny mini terrarium.

The shapes of the little wisps of new plants coming out of the hole is just so delicious.

The "String of Pearls" plant (aka Senecio herreanus) is such a proud plant. It likes sun, but not directly sunlight, it likes water, but it prefers to go dry between waterings. Looks like jewelry made of peas to me.

This was just a silly little vessel with two bulbs. It found a good home. She came back for it, leave the show without it. Gotta love that!

Hope you enjoyed looking at these photos with me. I certainly did! These are just such a pleasure for me. I am exhausted from this past long weekend, but looking forward to getting my second wind. The holiday season is far from over!

If you are interested in purchasing one of my tiniest terrariums - I will be bringing them with me and my mobiles to Crafty Wonderland this weekend, and you can also purchase them at Splurge in NE Portland.