Portland Explosion

Chris and I went to Portland this past Saturday through Tuesday. It was an amazing trip to visit an amazing friend. Meg Hunt was our awesome host while we were there - taking us to eat all the great food and introducing us to some of the gems of the city.

I wish I had taken more pictures when we were actually in the city, but hey, I was having too much fun.

It was an awesome trip filled with adventure and food! The first night we got there was slow - as I had jumped on the plane right after having taught a licensing class at MCAD that same morning. Sunday was fantastic. Chris and I headed to Ecola National Park. We drove for an hour and a half and ended up finding an amazing view and some serene places. Here are some of the pictures we took while we were there!













Here are the rest of the pictures!

When we got back, we met up with Meg and had coffee at a cute spot near her neighborhood, and prepared for the next day.

Monday was amazing! I had come out to Portland on a mission - to guest speak in Meg's PNCA illustration class. Her students were awesome and really wonderful to work with and we made a series of patterns in a big friendly group, ate doughnuts that Meg brought for us, and laughed together at all the ridiculous things that were going on. It was a blast!

We were lucky enough to meet up with Roxy, one of our great friends who recently moved to Portland for an amazing internship at a local comic studio, and spent the rest of the night relaxing, eating, and having a grand old time at one of Meg's favorite restaurants & then with her friend Patrick at a coffee house.

In the morning, we met one last time for biscuits and gravy, walked around and said our sad goodbyes. It was too darn short. Until next time, Portland. Next time.

Chicago Trip!

Paper Bicycle went to Chicago last month for the CHA Scrapbooking Show! Since this was my first time visiting, I'm going to regale you with all of the details of this fantastic trip!

Daily Pattern: Slumber Party

Nowadays, when I think about slumber parties, I think about visiting friends and family (or friends and family visiting me) and essentially crashing on the floor or couch. There still can be movies, there still can be snacks, there most certainly can be a pillow. They're not quite the same as the slumber parties of old, but being with people you care about is fun no matter what.

Travel: Minnesota to Montana: Day 1

We're in our hotel now, making patterns (well, getting ready to, at least...). Today was a leisurely adventure, full of pit-stops and exploration. I've heard many things about North Dakota, how it's flat, how there isn't much but a long stretch of land, and how I should be prepared to listen to quite a few audiobooks. I am not really sure who had such a weird, boring time when they were here, but so far it's really been an adventure!


Victoria, Lindsay and Francesca, stopping for a tea, about three hours into the cross country trip

Victoria slept most of the morning in the back seat of the car as Francesca and I had long conversations about artwork, travel and tea. (No big surprise there)


Luna Coffee

Luna Coffee in Fargo, North Dakota - right off 94 was our first big stop on our trip. It seems weird that we can't go a couple hours without being connected to the internet, really. Still, finding an oasis among the empty, gas-station specked landscape was a pleasant surprise. We all had a tea and stretched a little in Fargo, North Dakota.


Our view from the coffee shop

I am sure there were other things in Fargo, but from where we sat, we didn't see a lot. The coffee place we stopped at was in a fun strip mall, though. Where you could get a coffee, some balloons, liquor, plastic surgery, and a insurance all in one strip. Good to know for future reference.

We got back on the road and traveled a couple hours to Jamestown.
We saw a huge plaster bull from the freeway and pulled in to Jamestown. Signs promised that we could see some live buffalo? What the heck, right? So we pulled over.



What we found was an old timey paradise. Somehow we stumbled into a tiny recreation (maybe it was real at some point??) of a town in the days of olde! A little church, a dentist's office, the sheriff's, and a slew of other fun old buildings with life-sized dioramas inside were set up on a stretch that looked straight out of a western.













Prolific western writer, Louis L'Amour, had a little shack there, which housed all one hundred and forty something books that he had written. I loved seeing all his titles behind plexiglass.



I'm not sure if we fully realized just how big this fake buffalo was - especially because we had seen it from a mile away while we were on the freeway - but as soon as we walked past all of the old buildings and down the main drag, this huge sculpture of a massive, old buffalo appeared.



It was leaky and old, but still was pretty fun to look at.



All I could think about was how much fun someone probably had building this thing.





It was getting darker and we still had about three hours of driving to get to our hotel for the night, so we said goodbye to quaint ole Jamestown and got back on the road.



So far, so good. Can't wait to see what we find tomorrow!

Travel : Fargo, North Dakota!

We're on the road again!
Francesca, Victoria (my sister) and I stopped in good ol' Fargo, North Dakota on the way to Montana! Fargo seems to have the best collection of cars. We're headed there to have a week in the wilderness (patterns included!) We're taking this pit stop after a couple hours on the road and found some amazing cars and some awesome tea.
We're excited to be on the road! We'll update you of our progress! (Hope they have internet where we're headed ;P )


Sweet ride!


This one has a mustache!

Way to go, Fargo! Best cars ever!
Can't wait to see what the more rural places have in store for us!

Travel: Coast-to-Coast & PDX Ace Camp with Erin Loechner

A Glimpse of the Portland Skyline from the Ace Hotel

A Glimpse of the Portland Skyline from the Ace Hotel

In 24 hours I had flown from Minneapolis to New Jersey, back to Minneapolis, then out to Portland Oregon. I had two back to back, life-changing trips scheduled and only a little time to plan. Tuesday night was a blur - I finished teaching a digital pattern making class at Minneapolis College of Art & Design, came home, packed and then woke up at 4 to catch my early morning flight to New Jersey.

I was excited and headed to meet with a new client. New Jersey was a lot more green and lush than I expected, and though it was hot and sticky there, it was really beautiful. My meeting was a blip compared to the long flight I had been on in the morning, and it seemed that I was out of there and back on a plane to Minneapolis in no time.

The next morning I set out on my new adventure : Headed to Portland for a workshop with Erin Loechner from DesignforMankind.com. Excited, I landed and made my way to the Ace Hotel.


Entryway of Ace Hotel in Portland, Downtown - Erin Loechner & Katy Tunis chat it up

I had heard great things about these stylish hotels and was pleasantly surprised by my room (which was decked out with vintage pieces and lots of rustic / industrial flavor.


My fabulous hotel room



I had heard about their taste for hiring different designers to outfit the rooms and spaces and was excited to see that each detail was taken care of, from the breakfast nook, to the muraled stairway.


Breakfast with Kristin in the Ace Hotel Breakfast Nook

I met my great roommates and headed to a meet and greet where I met a dozen other fantastic girls. Everyone was here to absorb Erin's wisdom, talk about giant goals and life plans, and make serious headway on both personal and business life.


Lunch on Day 2 with some of the girls from Camp

Everyone was such a sweetheart, full of gusto (a word I am going to adopt, thanks Ann) and ready to do big things. Our time was spent working through and discussing goals, plans, and common themes in our creative lives - as well as sitting down and getting to know each other over dinners and other fun events.


Food carts in Portland


Happy Hour at Matador with the girls


Looking down the table at Matador


Our last night in Portland with Tapas and good company

It was an adventure. I met some of the most wonderful people on this trip. I was a part of so many wonderful conversations, adopted so many amazing and talented new friends and found an even greater appreciation for those people that took the extra step to make their life plans grand!


Until next time!

Thanks, everyone at PDX Ace Camp! I can't wait until we meet again!

Nashville, Day 2

I had some early morning meetings to attend to with my new colleagues and then just an hour to walk around a small part of town. I found a cute 2 block radius that had ice-cream shops, great local delis, bookstores, and paper shops. Here are some of the cute stores. I grabbed some lunch at a place called Fido, which is a pet-shop-turned-cafe, and then shopped for a second. I really liked my stay in Nashville. Everyone was friendly, it was green and spacious, and if I could have had just a little more time, I'm sure I would have found some more, fun places.




An adorable paper shop/ stationery store called Social Graces








Inside Fido






The view from my window seat in Fido


My delicious Melted Mozzarella sandwich and Roasted Red Pepper soup








Great vintage signs everywhere


Pangaea, a cute boutique


Window Display and reflection of Pangaea

I drove my rented Mustang back to the rental car return after spending an hour or so in this little part of the city. Nashville, I am impressed. Hopefully I'll get a chance to visit again some time soon.