Craft Show

This weekend in Portland is the Super RAD PDX Craft Show.

 Its this Sunday, the 17th, at the Portland Nursery at 9000 SE Division Street from 1 to 7. 

This is Urban Creatures's first time to be a part of the summer soiree and we are sure it's going to be a fun one. Not only will there be a number of talented artisans there will also be food carts, live music, and free beer. Yes I said it, free beer! There will also be a silent auction with proceeds benefiting Snowcap, an organization that provides food, clothing and advocacy to people in need.

Sunday is supposed to be a beautiful day here in Portland so come by and say hey!

Ciao for now,

Bianca aka Figgy

The Best Birthday Part 1

I have to share the glorious birthday I just had and boy was I a lucky girl.

I started celebrating the night before with dinner at Montage. Montage is a Portland institution. It's located underneath the Morrison Bridge and the atmosphere is loud and energetic. I would call the cuisine New Orleans-inspired, with their alligator bites, crawfish hushpuppies, and jambalaya. But, the best thing on the menu has to be their mac-and-cheese. The mac-and-cheese comes in many ways. There's old fashioned, spicy, spold (half old fashioned and half spicy), pesto, or cheddar mac. I always get the cheddar mac and then add sausage. Their sausage is pretty spicy so it complements the cheddar mac beautifully. Along with the mac I like to start off with my cocktail of choice, cucumber gin limeade. Yummy!

Now, here's my favorite part of the Montage experience - their talented staff will take your leftovers and create aluminum foil works of art. You never know what you are going to get and it's always a nice surprise.

That night I got a chipmunk and my husband got a scorpion. Its always fun to check out what others around you have received. I've seen swords, roses, swans, and even lap dogs with a leash.

What a fun night and that was only the beginning. Soon, I will share the next half of my special day. 

Here's a teaser, it involves a magical wardrobe, pong, and a quiz.

Ciao for now,

Figgy

End of Week Recap

Gosh, where did the week go? It just flew by. 

My projects this week included making a birthday present for a special, little someone (picture to come)...

completing another Urban Creatures pillow along with other necklaces.....

 lining up another wholesale account with a store in Saskatchewan, Acorn Eco-Store....

and making yummy cheesecake sopapillas.

Click here for the recipe.

What have you been working on?

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Win an Urban Creatures Bracelet

Who doesn't love a contest?!?! TURN Magazine is giving away an Urban Creatures braided, chunky bracelet. 

Click here for details.

Ciao for now,

Figgy

What's the New Buzz in Town?

It's summertime, so I thought it would be fun to focus on something a little different with this post.

With the recent rise of "urban farming" in cities across the country, there's been a lot more talk about bees and beekeeping. 

It so happens that a friend of mine, Sacha Matheos, is a beekeeper, and I thought I would do a little Q&A with her about the subject that has many people buzzing:)

Question: What inspired you to become a beekeeper?  

Answer: WHEN I WAS AROUND 4 YEARS OLD, I WAS CONVINCED THAT HONEY BEES WERE MY FRIENDS.  I WOULD SIT IN THE GRASS AND “PLAY” WITH THEM UNTIL ONE STUNG MY FINGER, BUT I WASN'T MAD.  I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED BEES.  I ALWAYS KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO BE IN MY LIFE, I JUST DIDN’T KNOW WHEN OR HOW. 

Q:Where did you learn the craft?  

A: I TOOK A SIX-WEEK BEEKEEPING CLASS PUT ON BY MY LOCAL BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION.

Q: Do you have to become licensed to become a beekeeper?

A: NOT IN THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

(Interested people should check with their local city and state laws)

Q:,What kind of supplies did you have to buy or make?

A: PART OF THE COURSE WAS TO BUILD YOUR OWN HIVE BY HAND SO THAT YOU KNOW WHAT GOES INTO YOUR HIVE.  I BUILT THE HIVE BODIES, SUPERS AND FRAMES.  I ALSO BOUGHT A HIVE TOOL, WHICH IS IS LIKE A SMALL CROW BAR, A BEE BRUSH, SMOKER, GLOVES AND HAT WITH NETTING.

Q:What about the suit - do you have one?  

A: I DON’T HAVE A SUIT. I WEAR MY HAT WITH THE NETTING, MY GLOVES, ALONG WITH A LONG-SLEEVED SHIRT.

Q: Are there certain rules in your city regarding having a hive within city limits?  

A: YES. THE AMOUNT OF HIVES A PERSON CAN HAVE IS DETERMINED BY HOW MUCH LAND YOU HAVE. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SIX-FOOT FENCE IN FRONT OF THE HIVES TO PROMOTE UPWARD FLYING, AND YOU HAVE TO ALSO KEEP RECORDS OF YOUR BEEHIVES.

Q: How do you get your bees?  

A: YOU CAN EITHER GET A "NUC" (NUCLEUS) OR A PACKAGE. SOME PEOPLE THINK NUCS ARE BETTER BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE A RELATED QUEEN. A PACKAGED QUEEN IS IFFY, AS THE BEES MIGHT NOT ACCEPT HER. IF THEY DON’T ACCEPT HER, YOU HAVE TO BUY A NEW QUEEN AND THEY ARE PRICEY.

Q: How often do you check on them?  

A: NOT VERY OFTEN. SINCE I AM NEW, I CHECK ON THEM EVERY COUPLE WEEKS. A SEASONED BEEKEEPER MIGHT CHECK ON THEM ONCE A MONTH, IF THAT. EVERY TIME YOU OPEN THE HIVE YOU SET THEM BACK THREE DAYS, SO YOU WANT TO BE CAREFUL.

Q: Can you estimate how many bees you have?  

A: BETWEEN 60,000-80,000 BEES IN THE SUMMER PER HIVE.

Q: When do you expect to have your first honey harvest?  

A: NEXT YEAR!

Q: What will you use the honey for - personal use or commercial sales?  

A: JUST LIKE THE EGGS MY CHICKENS LAY I WILL BE USING OUR HONEY FOR OUR PERSONAL USE, AS WELL AS TO GIVE TO NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS.

Q: Are you an organic beekeeper?

A: I DON’T KNOW IF ANYONE IS TRULY AN ORGANIC BEEKEEPER. OUR YARD IS KEPT NATURAL, BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WHO USE CHEMICALS. I CANNOT CONTROL WHAT FLOWERS MY BEES LAND ON - NO ONE CAN! BEES FLY UP TO FIVE MILES IN SEARCH OF NECTAR, SO THERE IS NO TELLING THEM WHERE TO GO.

Q: Have you been stung yet? Are you worried about getting stung?  

A: MY BEES HAVE NOT STUNG ME YET. I AM NOT WORRIED AT ALL IF I GET STUNG. I WOULD BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT THE LITTLE BEE THAT JUST DIED STINGING ME.

Q: Do you have any fun facts about bees or beekeeping? 

A: IT TAKES TWO BEE STINGS TO KNOW IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO BEES. EACH HIVE HAS A DISTINCT SMELL - THAT LETS BEES KNOW WHICH HIVE IS THEIRS. ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WERE  KNOWN TO BE BEEKEEPERS AND BURIED THEIR LOVED ONES WITH HONEY, AND THAT HONEY IS STILL GOOD TO EAT! BEE STINGS ARE USED AS TREATMENT FOR AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES.

Thank you, Sacha! I loved reading your answers. Hopefully, other readers will find beekeeping and other "urban farming" methods are interesting and worthwhile. As a thank you to Sacha, I will be sending her this "bee"-utiful necklace from Urban Creatures.

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Baby Boy Quilt

Hello! I thought it was time to share a quilt I finished recently. This quilt was made for our neighbors who have just had an adorable baby boy. 

For this quilt, I used a pattern called "Batch of Brownies," which comes from the book The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Portlander Elizabeth Hartman.

The idea was to take four colors and match them with coordinating patterns. I wanted to have a general theme, so I picked types of transportation and used primary colors. The fabrics have images of bicycles, cars, dump trucks, and even campers - very boyish!

I found putting the blocks together to be fairly easy, and felt that this was one of Elizabeth's simpler projects. It was when I started adding the blocks to the sashing where I ran into some minor problems and things became a little wonky. I'm pretty sure my cutting was not as precise as it needed to be, so I need to work on that. Every day I learn something new about quilting.

For the back, I did something different than what the pattern suggested. At first I was going to keep it simple and find a great pattern or two and just sew those together to keep a nice clean look (as directed by the pattern). I chose a different route when I found a cool, modern fabric that was two shades of chocolate brown. I had to incorporate it into this quilt, but I didn't want too much of it because it was so dark. So, I thought I would do a little patchwork with it and pair it back to the sky blue. Sky blue and chocolate brown are great complements. Plus, I was able to go through my scraps and as Portlanders like to say, "put a bird on it"!

I gave this quilt to our neighbors this past weekend and they were truly touched that I made this quilt for their new little guy. Their words were so flattering:)

I'm a beginner quilter, so when I complete a quilting project I feel very proud. I just had to share my accomplishment!

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Summer Must Haves - Swimwear

As Summer is just now beginning here in the Pacific Northwest I thought I would start a little series about Summer Must Haves. I chose swimwear as my first subject because nothing says Summer like a swimsuit. Also, being an Etsy seller I thought I would only feature items found on Etsy.

Searching for swimwear on Etsy was quite fun. I found all sorts of items. Suits that were crocheted, knotted, ruffled, and even fishnet, oh my!

I have to say that my favorite styles were those that were vintage and vintage-inspired. 

Here are a few of my faves....

Sailor girl one-piece, $106

by Fables by Barrie

Fun, Barbie inspired one-piece, $100

by Thom Thom Vintage

Cheetah print two-piece, approximately $109

by Miss Fancypants

Polka-dot bikini, $124.95

by Ava Bell Designs

1950s yellow two piece, S, $68

from maefair vintage

1960s mod one piece, S, $64

from old gold vintage

1970s abstract tribal print halter, $46

from REiNViNTAGE

I, myself, have worn a vintage suit in the past. It was a bright, electric blue terry cloth two-piece. The top was a halter and the bottom were hiphuggers. I loved it!

Now I have something fun to share. 

both from Blythe Kingdom

As I was searching Etsy for swimwear I found these cool and adorable swimsuits for your Blythe doll. I just couldn't resist sharing them with you.

Being a Portlander means I rarely, if ever, get to wear a swimsuit so this was fun looking at all the possibilities out there. It was like I was sitting in a cabana drinking pina coladas. Well, not really but still a good time:)

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Log Cabin Pillow...Finished!

As promised, here is my finished log cabin pillow for Urban Creatures. I love how it turned out. I couldn't be happier. I think my favorite detail is the pink zipper in the back. 

There was a little debate on whether I would keep this one for myself or list it on our Etsy store. Listing it won! I recently added it to our store. If interested click here.

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Summer Jewelry Trends

As we are getting ready for Summer I thought I would do something a little different. This post is all about Summer jewelry trends. Since I'm a big supporter of the Etsy community I figured that was the perfect place to do my research and gather my examples.

So, here we go!

Trend #1: Antique Inspired

What's old is new again! Watch for delicate carvings and antiqued metals. I really like antique brass. This trend can be found in all types of jewelry and accessories.

pink flower and brass necklace by My Lavaliere

http://www.etsy.com/shop/mylavaliere

camera locket necklace by The Cranberry Cricket

http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecranberrycricket

Trend #2: Stacked Jewelry

Whether rings, necklaces, or bracelets, its all about stacking them. It's even fun to stack totally unrelated items. Especially with bracelets. Try stacking a wood bracelet with a metal or even a pretty lacquered colored one. Me, I would stack all three!

stacked bubble rings by Studio METHODE

http://www.etsy.com/shop/StudioMETHODE

vintage beads bangle bracelets by persnickety vintage

http://www.etsy.com/shop/persnicketyvintage

Trend #3: Feathers

Feathers are everywhere! Inspiration for a lot of these pieces come from Native American style and culture. I like how many designers have then added modern elements like gold or leather.

gold feather necklace by euthenia

http://www.etsy.com/shop/euthenia

leather feather earrings by Linda Lu Designs

http://www.etsy.com/shop/lindalu

Trend #4: Oversized Statement Pieces

The idea of these pieces is that you only need one piece of jewelry to accessorize your entire outfit.

 chunky rainbow bracelet from yours truly:)

www.urbancreatures.etsy.com

dandelion yellow oversized cluster ring

by Forty Four Oranges

http://www.etsy.com/shop/FortyfourOranges

I hope you enjoyed my little trend report. I think I may do more. I always have fun browsing all the great Etsy shops and it gives me a chance to promote other great handmade items. 

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Latest Treasury

Just had to share my latest Etsy treasury. Urban Creatures is part of Team EcoEtsy and they have a weekly treasury contest. The winner gets their treasury posted on Team EcoEtsy's blog.

My inspiration was summer and my favorite color at the moment yellow!

Here's the link:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4de074b3d61f6d91d3a6aef2/sunshine-is-the-color-of-summer?index=0

Wish me luck!!!

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Braided Beauties

This week, Urban Creatures was very fortunate to be included in one of Etsy's daily email blasts. Featured was one of our chunky, braided bracelets. It was quite an honor to be shown and the response was more than we could have hoped for. Thank you Etsy!

With the high of this excitement we got the bug to make more. Here are few newbies that we added to our store over the last couple of days. Our bracelets are quite a statement piece and an easy way to dress up any Summer outfit. They have anywhere from 15 to 24 of our t-shirt strands and measure approximately 1 inch wide. Because they are made from t-shirts, they are stretchy so they are one size fits all.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74976503/white-and-red-chunky-braided-bracelet

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74926733/taupe-and-blue-chunky-braided-bracelet

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74815646/aqua-taupe-pink-and-orange-chunky

Ciao for now,

Figgy

New Urban Creature Design

We at Urban Creatures are always trying to come up with nifty, little ideas for products we can make with our left over t-shirt scraps. Recently, we have created some hair clips, ponytail holders, and even baby headbands.

Now I have a new pillow idea that I am pretty excited about. The front is from a log cabin quilt design. All of the pieces are our repurposed t-shirt scraps. I fused some interfacing to the strips so once the pillow is completed and functional it will not loose its shape. It is entirely made from cotton jersey.

Of course, this is just the front. I think I will complete the pillow by adding a light, heather gray to the border and the back. This pillow will have a 14x14 pillow insert and I will use a coordinating zipper for the back. Maybe in the pink, orange, or blue. I want it to be fun and vibrant!

I'm hoping to finish this soon and will definitely post pics of the finished product.

Ciao for now,
Figgy

P.S. I'm playing with the layout and design of my blog. I definitely need a better heading. If anybody can suggest some sites that could be useful for designing a blog please let me know;)

Monday Morning

I'm having the most unexpected, lovely Monday morning. Upon checking the blogs I follow I noticed it is Sew Mama Sew giveaway day. Follow the link and you will see a list of all the blogs that are participating in this fun event. Each blog is giving something special away. Some are giving away fabric, some patterns, and some are giving away handcrafted creations.

I do have to warn you, the list is quite long. So, grab a cup of coffee and start browsing. The contests are open until Wednesday, May 25th so you should be able to tackle most if not all of them.

Enjoy!

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Baby Craft Fun

This weekend a few of us had the honor of putting on a baby "sprinkle" for one of my best friends Mariah. We called it a sprinkle because this is her second child so this time she got a sprinkle of gifts instead of a shower of gifts.

I had the honor, along with my lovely partner Carla, of putting the diaper cake together. There are many ways to construct these. I prefer the fanned version. It is quicker to put together and when the time comes for the diapers to be used it is very easy for the mother to take it apart. 

The ribbons were very easy to find. I knew I wanted my base color to be purple so I started with a solid purple ribbon. I then needed a print. Once I found my print I then needed a few accent ribbons to pull it all together. 

Now I couldn't just have ribbons on the cake. I needed something else. I roamed both Joann's and Michael's looking for the that finishing touch. I found nothing! So, it was all left up to me. 

I had received a link to a blog from a crafty girl who makes pom poms out of t-shirts. Given that I have a ton of tees because of Urban Creatures I thought that would be perfect. Luckily, I had a tee for every color on the cake. I was set. I had my idea.

I started making my pom pom and to my dismay it just did not work. I needed smaller pom poms and because I tried to reduce the size they kept falling apart. Oh no! What to do. So, I played with it a little and then started to see that from these pieces I could make flowers.

As Carla and I were making these cool little flowers for the cake we thought these would be a great accessory for Urban Creatures. 

After a little tweaking we have come up with the perfect flower accessory. Still, all made from old t-shirts. These are all brooches and will be debuted in our Etsy store this week. Aren't they cool?!?!

We will also use these flowers to make hair clips. Stay tuned;)

Well, after all this rambling I still haven't gotten the chance to talk about what I made for Mariah's gift. So, my next post will be all about the gift.

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Treasuries

This weekend I have been having some fun with Etsy treasury lists. Have you ever put one together? I've been curious about them for sometime. Urban Creatures is has been featured in a number of them so I thought it was time I put one, or two, together.

An Etsy treasury list is a collection of items from Etsy that you create. It is usually based around a central theme. The two I created were centered around color. They are Ballet Pink and Winter Blues.

Here are the links:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d3b92e00be46d91afc8583c/winter-blues?index=1

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d3cdef185e28eefe206ea97/ballet-pink?index=0

Check them out!

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Introducing Urban Creatures Home

As you know, our accessories from Urban Creatures are all made from recycled t-shirts. If its the right type of knit, it will curl when pulled. That's how we are able to keep our necklaces and bracelets from fraying. 

So, what do we do with a t-shirt when it does not fray? That is something we have been trying to work out for some time. We do not want to waste any fabric so here is what we have come up with...

T-shirt pillows decorated with scraps left over from our accessories.

This is our first and we look forward to making many more in lots of colors and different designs.

We applied an interfacing to the t-shirt so it will keep its shape and make it sturdy. 

Also, we are on the look out for an eco-friendly stuffing. So, if anybody out there has a suggestion please pass it along.

Hope you like as much as we do!

Ciao for now,

Figgy

Paper Folding

Just had to pass along a fascinating documentary I watched on Independent Lens this week called Between The Folds by director Vanessa Gould. It is about modern origami. I have to say I was a bit shocked that I enjoyed this film so much. I was blown away by what these current origami artists are doing.

Works by Eric Joisel

Vincent Floderer

When the artists were asked about who they looked to for inspiration they all spoke of Akira Yoshizawa. He seemed to be the grandaddy of modern origami. His work that was published in the 1950s is said to have spread the word about origami on a global level.

"Gorilla" by Akira Yoshizawa

I've never tried origami myself. I've thought about it several times though. The main appeal to me is the pretty papers that come in the kits. In the film they even touch on an artist who makes special origami paper. This was very cool to watch.

Besides all the cool paper, it was just amazing how these artists could fold a piece of paper, sometimes 1000s of times, and come up with these beautiful pieces. It was well beyond the basic butterfly or frog. However, let's not discredit the simple origami designs either. Some of my faves from this program were the pieces that would have fewer folds.

For more information on this program and to check your local listing check out visit www.pbs.org/independentlens/between-the-folds/history.html.

Ciao for now,
Figgy

Happy New Year!

This is the time of year for resolutions and new beginnings. While 2010 was a good year, I'm always excited about starting fresh and getting my life organized.

My goals for the new year are the usual: to eat healthier and to exercise more frequently. This is always a given for this food loving girl. However, at this top of my list this year is getting my craft room/dining room organized.

When crafts overtake your life and you live in a small space it is inevitable that your dining room becomes your craft room. It is the one room that is rarely used and it comes with an automatic work space table. Well, mine is out of control. Our dining room has basically been eliminated. I need it to function as both a craft room and a dining room.

So, that will be my focus for the new year.

What are your New Year's resolutions?

Ciao for now,
Figgy