oops, this was actually a few days ago, but i’ve been super busy trying to get my drawing hand to heal properly by staying off of it [don't tell my health team i'm typing this!]…

wit & delight, a lovely blog on my frequent reads list, was the last stop on the official drawing nature journal blog tour. the photos and sweet little write up was a gorgeous way to cap off the weeks’ tour! thanks to everyone – bloggers and readers alike – for touring with me!

…now i’ll go ice this hand!

this handy little guide has many foraging plants i already knew about [miner's lettuce, fennel, berries], but did you know that the flower clusters from bigleaf maples are edible? huh.

there’s also a “harvesting guidelines” section that i really appreciate, including rule #7:

“for native plants, use the 1-in-20 rule: don’t collect an entire plant until you have found 20. if there are fewer, take none. the rule works for collecting plant parts, too. remove no more than 5 percent from one plant. use good judgement. do not remove the whole plant if you are only using the leaves, flowers, or fruit. for nonnative and invasive plants, pick all you want, but be careful not to help invasive species by spreading seeds or rhizomes [roots that sprout].”

uncommon is having a “bogo” sale! you can check out my set of designs here, or choose another artist’s design, or even create your own design!

today’s blog tour stop is the little house in the city! laura fenton, a journalist who remembers my distant past / beginnings as a professional artist and designer and still works with numerous magazines in nyc, and i had a great phone chat the other day! read the exclusive interview and review here. thanks laura!

time for the annual reike elementary art fair and fundraiser! with homemade foods, live entertainment and kids’ crafts, school fundraisers are the best!

special alert: i just *may* have the long-awaited “birds of the pacific northwest” poster to debut that day!

p.s.: have you noticed i’ve added an “upcoming events” section on this blog there on the right?

i bought this book along with several others last week on a book trade-in at powells. i read it in the course of 2 nights and was entertained much more than i would have been with tv!

while there were many gems – as you’d expect – my favorite line goes something like this: “some people call me bitchy, i prefer the term ‘exhausted’.”

my copy will now be making the rounds in informal book trades this summer. my pal lauren’s got a good-sounding book of short fiction stories…

it’s sunny and bright here in portland today – i so wish i had time to go on a hike! maybe tomorrow…

one of my very favoritist [yes i just made up that word!] blogs is pikaland! so of course i’m beyond thrilled that the nature drawing journal tour has a pitstop there today! visit pikaland here to see an exclusive interview and images from the journal.

speaking of the tour… i ran out of time yesterday to tell you about yesterday’s feature on the equally lovely UPPERCASE blog!

yesterday’s accupuncturist visit was much longer than anticipated and threw off the entire day. hey, but i didn’t pass out this time – unlike my first visit last week! and, despite being terrified of needles, they seem to be helping my various problems. so i’ll continue to be brave and go!

oh, so, back to the tour… you can enter to win a journal giveaway at both UPPERCASE and pikaland!

i’ve added a few new designs to my uncommon i-phone cover line and edited out some of the older less popular designs! more new designs coming in june!

i mean, uh, it’s an honor just to be nominated!

Hand-Eye Supply, a local shop here in portland, is having a DIY-esque float in this year’s starlight parade. there are 2 spots available on the top for two inspirational diy/craft personas.

i’ve been nominated to be one of those two people!!! what?! how amazingly cool would that be???

cast your vote for me [or someone else - so many great people on the list!] here! voting closes friday!