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