san francisco

So Got Craft was super fab and I will load up my crazy photos soon. When I mean crazy, I mean me at 4:00pm (one hour before closing) going "hey, I should take some pictures for the blog!". Yup, it was crazy. I sold out of almost everything and was pretty much in a daze by the end of the day. If you are interested in picking up some items before the holidays, you can find me a listing here or drop me an email / comment.



Once we wrapped that all up, we headed to Portland for a few days of relaxation which felt more like a whirlwind of thrifting, meeting new friends and Crafty Wonderland. It was so much fun and I really didn't want to come home.


Of course, our travels didn't end there. Two days at home was long enough and we spent the last 5 days in San Francisco, one of my favourite cities! I love this place. I have been here enough times and blogged about it before, so I'm just going to let the pictures tell the story.... enjoy!




more to come ...

VanDusen Gardens

Growing up as an only child means that everybody wants to take you for the Christmas light tour each year! We used to load into the car and do the usual drive to VanDusen, Stanley Park, through the Crescent and then a general jaunt around the neighbourhood.


In the past few years, the full size gingerbread house (somebody decorated their entire house) on West 4th disappeared as well as most of the holiday scenes on the Crescent. Nevertheless, VanDusen is still a must stop. Vancouver had its first snowfall last week and we thought it would be the perfect time to take a stroll through the park. Of course, by the time we got there, the snow had turned into a wet rain / snow mix.


I love roasted chestnuts and often make them at home myself. I was excited to head out to the park and pick up a bag, but they were nowhere to be seen! Is this a thing of the past? Roasting chestnuts over an open fire? They were selling baked potatoes and wiener waffles, because that is what I always think about during the holidays * note sarcasm *.


VanDusen was also always a must stop as I grew up right behind it. When I say right behind, I mean we lived in the townhouses that shared a fence with the gardens (red dot). When I went to bed at night, I could sometimes hear coyotes from the park or teenagers that trespassed into the park. No, we never jumped over the fence and explored the gardens free of charge. As close as it looks on the image above, the gardens are huge and there is a lot of empty space between the houses and the gardens where VanDusen kept their supplies and garden machinery.

The Festival of Lights is on until January 3, 2010 except for Christmas Day from 4:30pm to 9:00pm. For more information and a listing of highlights, please visit their website and remember to bundle up! (I seriously wore 3 shirts, heavy winter jacket, gloves, scarf, knee socks, boots and two pairs of pants.)

doodles

I was cleaning out our files the other day and I came across this doodle. Albertine and Brina had given to us when they put together our website a few years ago.


Look familiar?

Brina now has her own company called Two Owls Collect that she operates out of Fernie, BC. To see more of her work, check out her blog here.

Aislewalk 2010

2010 issues of Aislewalk are now available at most venues in Vancouver and Whistler! This is a fantastic (and free!) wedding magazine that includes some of the top vendors in Vancouver as well as plenty of ideas for your big day. The best part is the size! The magazine is about 5 inches x 5 inches which makes it perfect for slipping into a bag or your wedding binder.


lotus events has been lucky enough to be a part of Aiselewalk for the past three years.


(lotus team hamming it up in the Pixstar Photobooth)

Congratulations to all of you 2010 brides and grooms! Now, let's get started planning!

Christmas

It took us five married years to finally get a Christmas tree. Remember the story? Well Rob's mom came over the other day with a tub of Christmas decorations for us to pick through. Rob chose the ones he made when he was little and those that had special childhood memories and I picked out all of the vintage glass ornaments. The ones below are my favourite.


For garland, we went to Daiso and bought four packs of pom poms that we strung together. Our tree was a bit sparse even with the two strings of lights we picked up, but it looked good!


We have our snowman from when I was a kid and the Christmas decorations (set of five plastic figurines that screws over the lights, but we just made hooks for them) that we bought from Green Hearts at October's Blim market.


However, a thrifting trip to Seattle and Portland and we are back with so much treasure! Wow. I had to start restraining myself.


Vintage bottle brush trees from Magpie Ethel. I only had a limited supply of cash at Crafty Wonderland, but I should have bought the big tree she had and more little trees. I can't find these anywhere in Vancouver and I love them!


Wooden ornaments for 19 cents plus 25% off. Dude! How could I resist?


My stocking. My aunt had a co-worker make this for me when I was little. Isn't it beautiful? Look at the detail. All of it is hand beaded. Amazing!


More vintage glass ornaments. I think I have a problem .... :)

silhouette collection

I am completely in love with my silhouette collection, so trust me when I say that I thought I had died in one of the aisles when I came across this pair of lovelies...



cross stitch framed silhouettes found in a drawer at Stars Antiques!


<3 love

Michelle & Brian

I can't believe I haven't posted photos of this beautiful couple yet! Michelle and Brian got married last October during the whirlwind between madly crafting for the One of a Kind show and leaving for Europe. You know how sometimes you just click with a couple? Well, CLICK! You know they are going to be fun when we start off a wedding consultation with a rice krispie square for breakfast!


A big congratulations! Thank you so much to Jeanie from Studio Jeanie for these amazing shots.


You can see more of the beautiful couple on Jeanie's blog. Will post more soon!

Buy handmade in Portland

Hey! You can now find my handmade goods for sale at TinyMeat in Portland at 3808 N. Williams #132 behind Ristretto Roasters. If you live in Portland, stop by and cross some names off your holiday list!

For those in Vancouver, you can find me at Barefoot Contessa on Main Street, Kiddo, Collage Collage and Lucky Rooster on Commercial Drive.


(images courtesy of TinyMeat)

cleo

For the past five years, Rob and I have disagreed about what our Christmas tree should look like.

R: Green
A: White (but now I want green)

R: Fake
A: Real

R: Big
A: Small

R: Coloured lights
A: White lights

After being together for 8.5 years, we finally settled on a green, small to medium tree with white lights. We picked up a used stand from the local thrift store and brought everything home last week. Of course, Miss Cleo aka super nosy, had to check it out and decided that she was thirsty. It was late and dark, but it was a super cute moment!

Got Craft? Holiday Edition

Some of you may know that I sew and crochet which is why lotus events is involved in so many handmade events. Got Craft is our baby and we are pleased to announce the holiday edition will be taking place this Sunday!

Got Craft?
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
11:00am to 5:00pm
2205 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Admission: $2.00 (kids 10 and under are free)

Featuring 50 local and handmade artists, Got Craft? is a modern twist on the conventional craft fair. From t-shirts with a locomotive on them to chocolate mustaches, you will find something for everybody on your list!

For a complete list of vendors and for more information, please visit our website at http://www.gotcraft.com.

.... and have you heard about our swag bags? First 30 guests through the door receive a FREE swag bag filled with goodies from all of our vendors. Click here for a sneak peek!

Things on my shopping list...


Bliss in a teacup


Cutesypoo Toys for my friends' kids.


Soap from Olive.


T-shirts by Locomotive Clothing


Belt buckles for the men in your life by Billy Would Designs

Hope to see all of you there!