Tag Archives: portland oregon

National Cat Day 2015

Every day is National Cat Day here at Panda With Cookie, home of the personalized cat ornament. We spent 30 minutes this morning feeding and brushing our resident cat George, who wanted to send a greeting to some of the great cat shelters here in Portland, Oregon.

Photo from Feral Cat Coalition

The Feral Cat Coalition does great work with trap and release programs to spay and neuter feral cats to help keep their populations down. You can visit their website to find out how to take in your neighborhood feral cats. Look for that distinctive tipped ear to see if they’ve been fixed.

The Cat Adoption Team is where our buddy George came from. They always have a variety of cats and kittens to choose from and it’s always great to adopt from a shelter. They also have a thrift store at 3848 SW Scholls Ferry Road, with proceeds going to benefit the shelter. Buy some new cookie sheets there, or donate your old crystal wine glasses.

The Pixie Project is also a great place to look for a new cat friend. They have a sweet George looking for a home right now, too. Maybe you need to take him home this week?

20 Days of Handmade: Jessica Scofield Jewelry

I discovered Jessica Scofield Jewelry at a craft show I did last December and fell in love with her work. My undergrad concentration is in metalsmithing and I have a huge appreciation for the time and skill that goes into making fine jewelry.

I own these spark earrings and wear them constantly. They are etched by hand and are absolutely fabulous. I’ve been writing a lot about detail in my 20 Days of Handmade posts and I can’t emphasize that enough. It’s that wonderful attention to the small elements that makes a piece, be it earrings, carved wood, or a large sculpture, work.

Take for example this enameled triple octagon necklace. It is hand etched sterling silver that is then enameled and assembled. One of my favorite things about Jessica Scofield Jewelry is that her work just seems to glow. If you think her work is too expensive, please think about the time that has gone into a piece like this. She isn’t buying finished components and then putting them together. She’s spending hours doing intensely small work and the finished prodcut is worth every penny.

20 Days of Handmade: TwoFour Manufacturing

Today’s featured artist is TwoFour Manufacturing based out of Portland, Oregon. Woodworking is one of the few art techniques I have almost no experience with (my undergrad required a large number of intro classes to arts and crafts, and I’ve even done stained glass, paper making, and architectural drawing) so I’ve always admired people who do it well.

I am a fan of owls in general and especially Kenn’s forest guardian. I love small details like the bright green eyes within the distressed and dark wood of the body. Or the red flame on the all black body of his Goat Forest Shaman.

Kenn also has a great blog post up at TwoFour Manufacturing that shows the process he goes through in the making of one of his pieces. Creative people often get a lot of comments about the prices of our work without a lot of knowledge about the time that goes into creating our works. Add in the photographing, listing, packing, shipping, and marketing of ourselves and you start to realize there is no answer to the question “how long does it take you to make something?”.

TwoFour Manufacturing will be at the Handmade Holiday Pop Up Shop at Herbivore in Portland, Oregon, on December 18 from 4-8 pm, so stop by to check out his work and enjoy some homemade baked goods.

20 Days of Handmade: CAT Adoption Team Calender

The 2015 CAT Adoption Team calender is available now! Each is just $10 and chock full of cat photos to make your whole year better. All proceeds go toward the CAT mission of taking in cats without homes, giving medical care, and finding them a new place to live.

They are also featured in the Give Guide this year and you can donate to them there as well. We found our George through CAT Adoption Team and highly recommend them. Just look at that belly! 27% mood betterment guaranteed!

Grout Elementary Holiday Bazaar November 22

Panda With Cookie will be at the Grout Elementary holiday bazaar on Saturday, November 22, from 9-3. The sale is a benefit for the 5th grade trip to Science Camp. There’s a pancake breakfast at 8 am and doors to the fair open at 9 am. I’ll have a fresh batch of my taco pirate ornaments for sale after almost selling out last weekend, as well as my usual selection of plush and baby onesies.

Come out and support that Science Camp trip! I look forward to seeing everyone there!