Up The Creek Crafts

Don't fall off your chair!

2011-07-09T15:50:00.000-05:00

Yes, you're really seeing an update to my Up The Creek blog. I have no excuse except that there are too many places for me to post my pictures. They can be seen in my Flickr account, in my Etsy shop and on my Up The Creek page at Facebook. Here are some of my latest pincushions. Thanks for stopping by.

Pincushion-A-Day

2011-01-27T12:58:00.001-06:00

For the last 9 days, I've made a pincushion each day. Some are similar to others I've made in the past and some are brand new designs. The black one with all the flowers took hours and hours to complete. I really like the one with the grapes. It would be perfect for any wine loving, quilter/seamstress or collector of cuteness. The black and red one with cherries is new. I'm still thinking of other things to do with this idea. Anyway, here are pincushions #556 through #564.

Some New Pincushions

2011-01-19T11:23:00.000-06:00

With Valentines Day creeping up on us, I made this red pincushion with 2 white hearts and 2 pink hearts on it.

While browsing around in the Columbus Antique mall I found this super cute wooden Matryoshka doll for only $3. Inside is a needle and thread holder. I designed the pincushion to go with the doll.

And the last one is a kiwi fruit pincushion. Looks good enough to eat, doesn't it?

Ta Da!

2011-01-13T09:31:00.001-06:00

Here is my 2010 edition of The Great Outdoors ABC Scrapbook.

This is what’s inside the little packet on the lower right corner of the X page.

I’ve put all the paper and glue away and now I ‘m back into making pincushions. I’ve even got a new color of felt…sage green. Very pretty matched with pink, yellow and soft orange. Stay tuned!

Taking a Break from Pincushions

2011-01-02T10:38:00.000-06:00

I've been busy working on my annual ABC scrapbook made with pictures from this past year. This is the fourth set of books I've made. Whenever possible I take advantage of Walgreen's offers for free 8x10 collages. What started out looking like this...

Now looks like this...

and this.

The pages of these little books are only 6x6 and my goal is to put as many pictures as possible on each page. I also include a little tab including a memory or a description of the page. I'm about half way done with the 2010 edition. I'll share a link to the whole set when I'm done with the whole alphabet.

I love Denim

2010-12-21T15:29:00.000-06:00

Actually, I'm a fan of all things denim. I've always like how an orange top looks with a pair of blue jeans, so I tried it out on some pincushions.

I love this denim colored felt and will be pairing it up with red and possibly pink and yellow too.

And I even made a denim snowman with a little orange wool scarf. Cute or what?

Aren't These Groovy?

2010-12-18T08:04:00.000-06:00

Last week while looking for some new felt colors, I came across some really neat felt squares. Embossed felt in about 5 colors, lots of different printed patterns and three colors of tie dyed felt squares. Here's a couple new pincushions made with yellow, pink and orange tie dyed felt.

Cool huh? The enamel pins in the background were in a bag of jewelry I bought at a second hand store for $2.

I also bought some cute little dice beads and some hounds-tooth felt and created this set for anyone that's feeling lucky.

I've got a list going of ideas for new pincushion designs. Denim and orange, embossed brown and tan that look like leather, more tie dyed with other colors and some with the American flag on it. As they say, stay tuned.

I'm on a roll here

2010-12-06T15:57:00.000-06:00

So many of my friends have cats and are nuts about anything "cat". With that in mind, I've been making some really cute cat pin sets. Like this very special one right here.

Or maybe you like this one better.

Of course I wouldn't forget about my dog lovers, so I made some hearts and puppy pins for them.

Let it Snow

2010-12-03T14:54:00.000-06:00

For me, winter starts on December 1st. Even though the calendar says winter doesn't start for a couple more weeks, I know everything about this weather has winter written all over it. As I write this, the southern part of the state is getting ready for it's first snow storm of the year. But I'm a step ahead of the weather with my latest 3 pincushions. One chubby snowman and 2 snowflake pincushions.

Gift Ideas?

2010-10-28T13:59:00.001-05:00

I know it's still early, but in no time at all, we'll be trying to come up with cute gift ideas for friends, relatives and co-workers. I really got into these three colors of felt for the latest round of pincushions. Hope you like them too. I was thinking Christmas colors, but not bright red, white and green. These are made with cranberry, off white and mossy green felt.

I've also been making some more cute pin sets. One with fish, stars and sea shells and a super cute black and gold set with flowers and a adorable kitty.

Still Making Pincushions

2010-10-15T11:33:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't been very good at updating this site, but that doesn't mean I've stopped making pin sets and pincushions. I'm really getting into making more and more sets of pins. This summer I made several sets for weddings...one set was for attaching boutonnières and another was for the brides bouquet. So here's a sampling of some of my latest pin sets.

Of course I'm still making pincushions. Occasionally I run out of ideas and always love it when I get a special request. Recently an Etsy buyer who's a quilter requested a pincushion to "go with" the wine themed quilt she'll be showing this fall. I made this fuchsia and lime green one for her and then made another one with different colors.

Here’s the Bzzzz

2010-08-22T10:51:00.001-05:00

Last week our friends Duke and Janet stopped over and brought us a jar of their very own blue ribbon honey. I tell ya, this is the best honey I’ve had since the jar they gave us last year. So for a thank you gift, I made Janet a cute little bee hive pincushion just like this one that’s in my Etsy shop.While out walking this week, we saw more and more signs of fall. The ash leaves are turning yellow, ferns are getting brown and acorns are falling. Yippee! Fall , my favorite season is right around the corner. Sometimes I accidentally come up with some really cool color combinations. While going through my felt pieces I saw a piece of cranberry felt and next to it was a piece of aqua rick rack that I was planning on using on a brown background. I looked at the two colors and thought to myself, I really like these two colors together.

Hooked on Turqu0ise

2010-08-16T14:57:00.001-05:00

Maybe it was the heat or it could’ve been my love of the color turquoise. Last week I got on a turquoise kick and stopped only because I ran out of colors to put with it.

A lady from California contacted me to see if I could make her a pincushion that looked like a badminton shuttlecock. I gave it some thought and decided to see what I could come up with for her. I like the results. It’s not functional, but it is fun!

Fa La La La Felt

2010-07-30T07:41:00.001-05:00

Fa La La La Felt is a new Lark Book with pictures and instructions to make 45 Handmade Holiday Decorations and guess what? Three of my pincushions and 2 Christmas stockings are included!

Two are of them on the back cover.

One is on the second page.

Here are my three pincushions.
And the two stockings,

with the instructions.

This is my official 15 minutes of fame and I’m darned proud of it!

Another Group of Pincushions

2010-06-12T07:54:00.000-05:00

This group of pincushions is made from recycled felted wool. The striped ones are from a Woolrich vest and the other two are from a sweater-type vest. I really like all of them.

This group shot includes the wool ones as well as other additions to my Etsy Shop.

I'm Baaaack!

2010-06-03T12:48:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been away so long. I've been busy with custom orders and then making more pin sets and pincushions for my Etsy shop. Here are pictures of the custom order pincushions. So pretty in group shots.

After completing the custom orders I made these for the gals at Corbin's that save bottle caps for me.

At a rummage sale, I bought a Woolrich vest that had mistakenly gone through the washer and dryer. This mistake is turning into some really cool larger sized pincushions.

And finally a group shot of all the new additions.

Some new colors

2010-02-26T10:34:00.005-06:00

Here's proof that I don't spend most of my waking hours on the computer. :) I've given up an pastels and I'm using colors that I like. Hope you do too.

I'm on a roll...

2010-02-21T08:29:00.004-06:00

Every once in awhile, I get in the right mood and groove and that's what happened last week. I tried to keep with my promise to do pastels. Well, it's not exactly pastel, but I really like this red, white and blue one.

Here are some other new pincushion designs. The red and black one is the "Official Pincushion of Up the Creek". It comes with 3 cute straight pins and sells for a measly $5 in my Etsy shop.

Cuteness

2010-02-17T09:25:00.005-06:00

I'd mentioned that I was going to make some pastel colored pincushions. I made a light blue one and a minty green one and then I realized that pastels really aren't my thing. I like bright colors like the cuteness of this new design.

I'm in the process of making another one like this, only in different colors. Bright green and orange, not pastel! I'm going to try to put together some other pastel colors because I know not everyone likes brights like me. It's not going to be easy, but I'm going to give it my all.

It's been one of those winters.....

2010-02-14T09:50:00.004-06:00

I've had it! Enough snow already!

A Cute Etsy Story

2010-02-13T09:24:00.004-06:00

Some time ago a fellow Etsy buyer/seller bought one of the first cupcake pincushions from my Etsy shop. I was surprised by the one she picked, but you know...different strokes for different folks. The other day, I was doing feedback to other Etsy buyers and saw the comment she left for me about the cute little pink cupcake pincushion she bought. She said her daughter loved it and is now keen on sewing. This got my interest up, so I went to see her Etsy shop and followed the link to her blog. OMG, here's the cute part....She had pictures of her little girl, I'd say around 7 or 8 years old, doing some hand sewing and there in front of her was the cute little cupcake pincushion.

It brought back memories of Grandma teaching me how to do some hand sewing and embroidery stitches. All I could do was simple cross stitch, but that was a start. From there, with the help of my Aunt I learned how to sew with a sewing machine and for years I made my own clothes. My parents didn't have lots of money for store-bought clothes, but they would give me money to buy fabric. Patterns, fabric and notions were sold in almost every department store. I remember Sears, Penneys, K-Mart and other places all had fabric departments. There are very few places now where you can buy fabric besides the quilt or fabric shops. A few Ben Franklins and some Wal-Mart stores still sell it. Kind of sad in my opinion. But I still have the memories of finding the perfect print or type of fabric to go with my well used pattern.

There's something about sewing that I really enjoy. But now-a-days the worst part is threading the needle! Darn those needles have tiny eyes now!

In a Funk

2010-02-12T10:38:00.006-06:00

I've got a bagful of felt, spools and skeins of embroidery thread, lots of different sizes and colors of rick rack, but I don't have any new ideas for my little pincushions. These are my latest favorites, but 4 of the same design are enough for now. So what should I try next? (Thinking to self....) I'm thinking it's time to think spring and Easter. I know, pastel colors and flowers! Pastel pink, soft yellow, light blue, lavender and minty spring green. That's it! Wait until you see my newest creations.

My Latest Obsession

2010-02-02T14:45:00.006-06:00

For the past 2 weeks or so, I’ve been working on this small ABC scrapbook. I did one of these last summer, no wait, it was the summer before that. Wow, time flies doesn’t it? Anyway yesterday I finished the 2009 edition. Here’s the slideshow of the pages. Sit back, take a look and listen to Sheryl Crow sing a great old Hank Williams tune.

These are scans of scrapbook pages for another 6x6 ABC book. To keep with my theme of nature and the great outdoors, I needed to be somewhat creative with my words. The letters K, X and Z are a few examples. The pages may start to look alike, but there's only so much one can do with an area of 6x6. Each page contains a small pocket with a printed tag describing a memory or some other details about the picture(s) on that page. I also used quite a bit of rick rack for embellishment. FYI, I love rick rack and really like what it did for the pages.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T07:08:00.002-06:00

After taking some time off over the holidays, I'm finally getting back into making pincushions. For some time now, I've been thinking about how to make them look like cupcakes. The other day, I had one of those moments when the ol' brain kicked into gear and I was able to turn strips of felt into little cupcake wrappers. As you can see, once I got started I couldn't stop!

Changing Seasons

2009-10-31T07:25:00.008-05:00

The beautiful fall colors are gone and we've even had a few snowfalls here in the Northland. I'm switching gears and will be making Christmas themed items. There are pincushions that can be hung like an ornament, some cute felt ornaments and Christmas stockings too.

I Love Rick Rack

2009-09-23T07:03:00.004-05:00

This summer while shopping at a flea market, I hit the rick rack mother lode. A lady was selling a huge bag of different colors and sizes of rick rack for next to nothing. And this stuff was old too. Some of the packages were brand new and made when the price was printed on the label. Way back when this rick rack was made, a package of 6 yards cost around 8 cents! Anyway, here's what I did with some of the teeny tiny baby rick rack.

Fall in the Northland

2009-09-07T19:14:00.004-05:00

Even though it's still officially summer, things are looking a lot like fall here in the Northland. I love everything about this season. The temperatures, the changes in nature and especially the colors. Here's a sampling of some of my fall creations. This is just the beginning of an assortment of fall colored pincushions.

End of the Summer in the Northland

2009-08-12T08:27:00.002-05:00

Summer is starting to wind down up here, although we're finally having some real summer weather. In my opinion, this summer has been perfect. Nice and cool with low humidity. I'll enjoy these warm days so when the north winds start to blow and the snow flies, I can think back and remember the warmth of those mid-August days.

I've been working on making more Fairy Garden and mushroom pincushions. I really like the jewel tones on black felt, but my favorite is the pastel flowers on white.

Fourth of July Pincushions

2009-06-26T10:37:00.002-05:00

The Fourth of July in my favorite holiday of the year. It's one of those no pressure, no gifts, just have fun holidays. Picnics, parades, fireworks and Pincushions! I don't know which is cuter in this picture, the pincushions or the gnome.

Five Pines

2009-06-18T13:36:00.004-05:00

Last week when we were on our way back home I noticed a resort sign with a black background and mint green border and letters. I immediately thought how nice those colors would look on a pincushion.

It's been awhile...

2009-06-16T12:44:00.006-05:00

No I haven't forgotten or abandoned this place. It's just that I've been busy making all kinds of different things...ATC's, pins, pincushions and Christmas stuff. Christmas already you ask? I know Christmas is still a long ways off, but I've been making different things for a Christmas book project featuring items made of felt. Here are a few of the items I submitted.

Another cool thing I made for Make It Mondays weekly theme is this altered book note holder. I used a tiny old Norwegian book and use it to hold the tiny feathers I've found.

I've also made quite a few sets of pins and pincushions that can been seen at Flickr or in my Etsy shop.

Lucky Dogs

2009-04-13T15:13:00.001-05:00

This week the theme for Make It Mondays weekly challenge is Dogs & Cats. I decided to try to do something with a vintage look. I'm fairly happy with the results. Not as nice as if I'd used a picture of Molly, but she was sleeping when I made this and I didn't want to disturb her. Yup, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Starry, starry night...

2009-04-09T11:35:00.003-05:00

Stars and a crescent moon surround my latest bottle cap pincushion. There are 6 stars made from a sizzix paddle punch, one crescent moon and a gazillion french knots for other stars.

Silver Vase

2009-04-09T11:30:00.003-05:00

This week the theme at Make It Mondays weekly challenge was Silver. Though this isn't all silver, most is. I used stick-on rhinestones for the flower buds.

Some more Posey Pincushions

2009-04-08T19:13:00.006-05:00

I really like using my Sizzix paddle punches for making the cutouts for these pincushions. It took some serious pounding to get the felt cut all the way through. But I'm getting the hang of it. The first one was made for a Pastel themed challenge. I'm not real big on pastel colors, but I'm happy with how it turned out. The second one is about the same, just different colors.

The last one is another fairy garden embroidered pincushion. I really like the soft look of it.

April Fools Day, but no jokes from me today.

2009-04-01T15:33:00.005-05:00

Well, I got myself into another pincushion making flurry. It was dark, gloomy and rained all day yesterday so I decided to spend the day working with bright colors. I've finally gotten the hang of using a sizzix die to cut out some interesting shapes. I like the looks of something other than rick rack and embroidered flowers.

It's Official. Spring is Here!

2009-03-26T11:49:00.006-05:00

I spent the first weekend of spring making another batch of pincushions. I really like these new ones, especially the turquoise and white one. I try to make each one of these unique, but I'm running out of ideas.

Can you help me out? Do you have any favorite color combinations or suggestions for other pincushions? I'd appreciate any ideas you may have.

If I use your idea, I'll make one for you and one for my Etsy store.

Come On Spring!

2009-03-10T15:50:00.003-05:00

The weather's been like a roller coaster lately. Warm then cold, rain then snow, calm then windy. Can't it just settle down and be spring? Well, according to the forecast, it's going to be a few days until it gets nice again. In the meantime, I'll have to look at this springy little pincushion and think spring!

Rainy Weekend

2009-03-08T13:26:00.006-05:00

It was too ugly to do much of anything outside this weekend, so I created 3 new pincushions. I especially like the light blue one with the red centers. Hope you do too. All of these are available at my Etsy Shop for $6 each.

Twitter Tweeter Bird

2009-03-04T10:41:00.004-06:00

I really love the little Tweet bird over at Twitter. I made this ATC for part of a Swapbot Swap.

Spring is Here in Bottle Cap Pincushion Land

2009-03-01T15:31:00.003-06:00

I'd love to see real flowers popping up all over the place, but there's still snow and ice out there in the garden. I've been making my own version of a spring flower garden, via these pincushions. So there!