craters, carcassonne, cb coozies

crater lake! wow. we recently made the venture here to central oregon for the crater lake rim run. this thing was 2,000 feet deep and the bluest blue i've ever seen. i was happy to not be running around it for 13 miles like aidan and his crazy friends. instead I got to go on my own little hike and snap some of my favorite photos of the summer.



carcassonne! this is my new geek out game project. it's made out of corian counter samples which i procured from SCRAP (for $2) and which make great (although heavy) game tiles. it definitely needs some touching up, and i'm considering doing some collage work to add some graphic elements. but really, to those catan geeks out there--you will love this game! if you want to make your own set, you can find the break down of the tile design on the wiki page and customize them however you want. i just used acrylic craft paint and then coated the whole thing with mod podge. i have to give credit to my housemate jay who came up with the idea for this set design. the best part is choosing your "religious symbol" icons...mine are t.v., a pink unicorn, the fsm and money. if you live in portland and you want to play (or learn to play) i am your girl! :D

i have a lot of projects in the works. just made my first etsy sale (thanks kate! :) and am developing prototypes for a recycled tshirt shopping tote and a great belt (inspired by this design) my awesome musician friend carley baer requested a custom "CB" coozie line that has been really fun. what have you been geeking out on lately?

busy busy bee

goodness. there has been so very much going on! portland is just starting to feel like home. to the left is a photo of our cute little stairway which feels so homey thanks to diana's awesome housewarming wreath [check out her wonderful crafty stuff here] we're still planning on painting the place [gold? turquoise?] and i'm hoping to get it done soon so we can get things on the walls.

but who has time for home improvement when they're working so hard at going to concerts, enjoying nature, playing music, eating delicious food, bikeventuring, visiting family, and generally maxin' and relaxin'. shannon's life:


she goes to the beach! a few weeks ago we went to the oregon coast to see our good friends carley and jay [better known as folk and spoon] showcase their folky tunes. we ventured out late that night and watched a moon set on the ocean. wonderful. :D


she goes to festivals! no words can really describe the northwest string summit experience. but i can try: maybe a bluegrassy nature-y colorfilled hippie trick circus? i was lovin' the hoops, stilts, performing birds, and of course, the amazing pickin' going on at this place.

she visits aidan's family! the only thing missing from the quail farm reunion was me, taking pictures of it. i know this is non-descript photo, that doesn't even vaguely encompass the feel-goodery going on at that place. great food. awesome high desert scenery. lovely, lovely people. campfire songs. camping under the stars. YAY.


she volunteers! no, i am not a complete lazy-butt. i am giving back, scrap-tastically. scrap is an amazing place where people donate art stuff and other people reuse it to make wonderful things. and i'm proud to be a part of it!


she grows her baby business! my shandai-la etsy shop is getting a little bit bigger. with more things to come. these are some of my new creations: origami lotus flower earrings. i have other projects in the works too: crane earrings, recycled granny shoppers, funky belts, and braided necklaces. coming soon-soon-soon! (like, tomorrow?)

oh! and i have a job now. i'm going to be a preschool teacher in a couple of weeks! very excited to be working with little ones again; oh, how i miss their cheerful enthusiasm and crazy antics. all the more reason for me to go now, and get crafting, while i still have time. but i will be back! until then, send me pictures, let me know what is up in your lives, folks. i miss my minneapolis peeps and would love to hear from you. and thanks for reading!