We Meet Again!

I'm back after a long break. These last two months have been filled with European travels, Thanksgiving at home in Tulsa, much success at Crafty Wonderland here in Portland, and celebrating Christmas festivities.

Now things have calmed down and its back to blogging!

These last couple of months have been great for Urban Creatures. In October we were asked to be a part of a local craft fair called Crafty Wonderland. If you read this blog or are a friend of mine on Facebook I know you know what I'm talking about. This was a big deal for us.

The craft fair was such fun! We really could not have asked for a better response.

So, as a thank you to all of our family and friends who have been a huge support we are having a little After Christmas Sale. Use coupon code URBAN15 and enjoy a 15% discount on any of our products at www.urbancreatures.etsy.com. Several new necklaces were added yesterday and today. Check it out!

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Exciting News!!!!

We received wonderful news last night....Urban Creatures will be a part of Crafty Wonderland on December 11 & 12. Crafty Wonderland is a colossal, bi-annual sale that features arts and crafts from around 200 handmade vendors. To be a part of this event is truly an honor.

Also, as an added bonus, UC will be featured in a holiday pop-up shop put on by the lovely ladies of Crafty Wonderland. This shop will be in downtown Portland from November 9th - December 30th. Isn't that cool! For you Portlanders, its going to be at the corner of 10th and Yamhill and open everyday.

If you would like more info check out www.craftywonderland.com.

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Columbus Day Sale

Today I went to Joann Fabrics and to my surprise they were having an awesome sale. My purpose for the trip was to get my fabric and pattern for my Halloween costume. Lucky for me, Simplicity patterns were only .99! So, if you are in need of any patterns get yourself down to Joann.

I noticed that a lot of the fabrics were on sale too. I had some great coupons from a past mailer that gave me 50% of my fabric. I needed a lot of yardage for my project so these coupons really came in handy. If you have not signed up to receive the Joann mailers, do it! In the mailers there is always a 40% off coupon that can be used on anything.

I also needed buttons and elastic and you guessed it, they were on sale. Buttons and elastic were both buy one get one free.

My total savings were $104. I ended up saving more than I spent. I love a great deal!

With Halloween around the corner this is a sale you can't miss. It ends on Monday.

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Fun designs for cool kids!

For those who have a "special little girl" in your life, you must look at these fun dresses for babies and toddlers. They are darn cute!

These little dresses consist of a skirt sewn onto a onesie. They are a simple way to add some character to a plain onesie. 

A fun part about making these dresses comes right at the start - picking out the fabric!

Shown above and below are a very sweet deer print and a Halloween print that I bought from my neighborhood fabric store. I also have some vintage prints in my fabric piles and will be experimenting with some of those very soon.

You can find these and other designs at my new Etsy store at www.figgypuddingandpie.etsy.com.

I have lots of great ideas for little girls, but am currently lacking fun designs for little boys. Does anybody out there have any suggestions? I'm on the look out!

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Fall Is Here!

My favorite crafty season is here, Fall! The time has come to get cracking on some Halloween crafts. So get ready, I can be a bit ridiculous during Halloween and especially during the holidays.

For the past week or so my brain has been working overtime trying to come up with some great Halloween items for Urban Creatures and my up and coming project Figgy Pudding. For Urban Creatures we decided to create some Halloween-themed bracelets.

Below we have incorporated some felted beads with our strands of recycled knit fabrics.

We found these great bat charms sometime ago. Until now we haven't been able to come up with a way to add them to our mix. With the recent vampire craze this bracelet can definitely be worn after Halloween as well.

Today I went out to Fabric Depot. For those of you that do not live here in PDX, Fabric Depot is an awesome warehouse full of fabrics usually at discounted prices. Lucky for me, today was 30% off everything!!

My mission at the Fabric Depot was Halloween fabric for some baby clothes and accessories for Figgy Pudding. What do you think of my choices? I love 'em.

Once I got home I went to work on my pumpkin pin cushions. I was inspired by heirloom tomatoes and then realized if I do these in orange they make the perfect little pumpkin. Who doesn't need a seasonal pin cushion! This will be my first item added to my Figgy Pudding Etsy store.

Check it out at www.figgypuddingandpie.etsy.com!

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Report

So, I tried my new felting tool and I wasn't too impressed. After two stabs, all three needles broke! I wonder if they skimp on the quality of needles that come with the tool. I replaced the needles with ones I already owned. They did just fine.

After all of this I am still using my one needle sans tool. By holding the needle on its own I have more control and the force of stabbing is much greater.

Oh well! Lesson learned.

Ciao for now,
Figgy

New Crafting Tool

I'm so excited! Today I found a new needle-felting tool. As shown below, it is a pen style. I really think this will come in handy for my needle-felted jewelry.  

Usually, for a small project, I use just one needle. What's special about this tool is that it has 3 needles in a small amount of space. The felted beads should become firmer in a shorter amount of time because of its triple power.  

Now, I must go try it out.

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Needle Felting - It's Like Magic

Well, after many weeks of sunshine and warm weather in the Pacific Northwest, it's beginning to feel a little bit like fall - my favorite season!

I'd like to talk about one of my favorite crafts - needle felting.

Needle felting is the process of felting wool rovings with specialized barbed needles (shown below).  The needle is stabbed into the wool to bind the fibers together. The more you stab, the more dense your creation becomes. It is very exciting to see your desired shape start to take form. It's like magic!

Warning - You are more than likely going to stab yourself, so be careful! My little fingers start to resemble Swiss cheese when I needle felt. But no worries because it only hurts for a few seconds;)

My favorite things to make with needle felting are animals. Pictured below is a mobile my friend and business partner Carla and I made. She needed a mobile for her little girl's nursery so we thought we would add one of my felted creations into the mobile.

Jewelry can also be made with needle felting. I have incorporated felted beads into our Urban Creatures bracelets. The felted beads give the bracelet added texture and a very modern aesthetic.

This type of crafting is enjoyable because you can complete projects quickly and in a stylish fashion - and currently I'm making bracelets of this type (in different colors and styles) to put in our store, which can be found at www.urbancreatures.etsy.com.

Ciao for now,

Figgy

I've Got the Itch to Cross-Stitch

Greetings all!

Since I became infected with the crafting bug, I enjoy having several projects going at once. I need projects that give me a sense of instant gratification, such as needle felting and jewelry making, where you can see the designs come to life quickly.

I also enjoy crafts that are ongoing and take a long time to complete. This can be very therapeutic, especially as you make steady (if sometimes slow!) progress.  For this type of longer-term project I usually prefer to cross-stitch.

Cross-stitch is a series of hand-stitched "Xs" which delivers a rich texture to your fabric or art piece. It is a very simple process that is usually crafted on special cross-stitch fabric. Because of its simple process I can do it in the morning when I have just woken up - and then at night when I am winding down.

My current cross-stitch project is based on Charley Harper's Lovey Dovey.

Do you know about Charley Harper?  Well, if not, you must because he is an interesting character!

Charley Harper, an American wildlife artist who lived from 1922-2007, called his work "minimal realism."  Charley liked to focus on the shapes, color combinations, patterns and textures in his subjects, which were often birds and animals.

He gained acclaim as a commercial illustrator in the 1950s. His nature-inspired illustrations appeared in natural history and other magazines, as well as on posters for conservation groups.

I think Harper's work is colorful and unique! Do you agree? Pictured above is just one of his amazing designs.

Now, back to my current cross-stitching project (pictured below). This is my second time to do this particular pattern. I gave my first piece to a fellow Charley Harper fan, a childhood friend of mine. And I loved this print so much that I decided I just had to do one for myself!

As you can see, I still have a lot of work to do. And so, because I am anxious to hang this cool design on our bedroom wall, I'd better get back to work . . . starting right now!

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Here It Goes!

Well, lookie here, I have done it - I've joined the blogging community!  

I’m so passionate about my crafts that I needed this little blog to let the world know what it is that interests me and how I come up with my handmade creations.  I have my hands making several types of crafts, such as embroidery, cross-stitch, knitting, sewing, jewelry making, needle felting, and now quilting.  

I love practicing these varied crafts so much I have even tried to come up with ways to make this a bigger part of my daily life.  I’m co-owner of an accessory business called Urban Creatures and owner of a new venture called Figgy Pudding.  

Urban Creatures is a business that my friend Carla and I started about a year ago.  Our specialty is making necklaces out of used t-shirts. We work with different color combinations and add beading to most of our designs.  

Recently, we had a booth at the Hawthorne Street Fair in Portland, Oregon.  We had to make sure we had as much product as possible, which meant I was very busy in the weeks leading up to our first public sale.  It was great to meet so many people who are enthusiastic about our recycled necklaces.

When I was sorting through necklaces prior to the street fair, I came across some of the first necklaces we made.  It was both comforting and exciting to see how much the designs had evolved.   Carla and I have been expanding the range, adding new designs for children as well as bracelets for both children and adults.  Everything is handmade and we only use recycled fabrics.

Soon I will be launching Figgy Pudding.  More on that to come ;)

With this being my first blog post I don’t want you to get tired of me just yet, so I'll sign off.

Ciao for now,

Figgy