Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Meet Luke and Ernie - Needle Felted Critters



Still having fun with needle felting critters. I've been using styrofoam balls inside of these which makes it go a little bit faster making these ... which makes the price a bit more reasonable compared to if I use nothing but fleece. I'm just trying out different things with these little guys. I used polymer clay which works great for feet and beaks. Next will be a needle felted doll ... I have a picture in my head as to what she will hopefully look like. But, probably a good thing YOU can't see that pictures because a lot of times things come out looking totally different from that picture in my head! Time for dinner so goodbye for now.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Recycled sweaters turn into Toadstool baby shoes!


So instead of using felt I made myself I decided to use some of my stash of fulled sweater which I use for making mixed media cuffs and pincushions. Of course I couldn't help but putting something on them using the needle felting technique. I wanted to use something that would work for a boy or girl so therefore the toadstools. The closure band looked kinda heavy and took away from the more dainty toadstools so I made it narrower by using the pinking shears on them and needle felting some dots on it which made them look a lot better. I got about 2 other designs in my head for some more fun little shoes like this but first things first ... I need to finish needle felting this owl I started a couple of weeks ago. Poor thing is missing eyes, a beak and his wings need to be attached so off I go. Hope you like these little forest shoes! Find them in my BitsofFiber shop on Artfire if you're interested in purchasing them. Thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Needle Felted Baby Harp Seal named Kalika



So here she is ... all fixed up and in my shop. I'm gonna hate to see her go when she sells. She's a real cutie ... my favorite from all the ones I've made so far. Even my husband loves her! If you're interested in purchasing her (or other needle felted critters) go visit my PurplePlatypus shop on Etsy.

Have to finish a pair of Lambswool baby shoes so off I go. Thanks for visiting with me!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Sneak Peek at Kalika - Needle Felted Baby Harp Seal


She's not completely finished yet but I thought you'd like to have a sneak peek at my latest needle felting project. Her name is Kalika. She'll be ready to go into my Etsy shop by this weekend looking for a loving home.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Annabel - white needle felted foal




Finally I finished this needle felted foal! It took forever it seemed ... well to be honest it did take forever. I worked on her 2 market days (from 10 -3) since I usually have a project going so I can demonstrate how needle felting is done. Then I had to work on her some more at home to get the mane and the tail attached which took some time trying to figure out. But, she's finished and I think she turned out pretty good. My horse expert, (my 13 yr old daughter Sofie!) was a tremendous help in making sure I got the proportions right and how the mane and tail was suppose to be positioned. So, thanks go to her for making sure she looks like a foal ... and not a monkey! hehe

Monday, July 12, 2010

Pincushion and kid with a sprained ankle



I finally got around finishing this pincushion I had started. The top and the bottom are a light green from a wool sweater I fulled. The belly part is of a cashmere sweater so it's oh so soft. I used mercerized cotton and linen thread for the embroidery. The dragonfly button is brass with an antique gold finish. I used rice, dried lavender and batting to stuff it so every time you poke it with a pin or needle it will smell like the South of France!

Now about the sprained ankle part ... kid went to scout day camp today and managed to hurt herself on day one! She's suppose to go all week to help out but it looks like tomorrow will be out of the question for sure ... hopefully not the rest of the week too ... she was really looking forward to doing this. Oh well.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Meet BunnyLu - Baby French Lop!


Finally took the time to give baby BunnyLu some whiskers so I could put her up for sale in my Etsy shop. I had fun making her. Now that I've made a couple it gets easier each time, especially trying to get the features right.

Next I'm working on putting a mane and a tail on a white foal I made. A friend of mine from work got me some real horsehair from one of her horses which should make it look pretty real I would say by using that instead of more fleece. Can't wait to share it with you ... unfortunately I don't have time to finish it today but hopefully by the end of this week it will be ready.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Recycled wood pieces turn into Mixed Media Gift tags!



So I've ended up with about 30 of these small pieces of wood that come with each package of grommets. Of course I couldn't toss them out ... I figured I could make something with them and I did! You can use them as gift tags, ID tags, key chains, etc. I've used different techniques on each one of them. For some of them I used dry wax paper on which I drew on with permanent markers. I glued that onto the wood and put more glue on top of it to seal it. I used different acrylic paints, painters pens, water color, permanent markers etc. The ones with the birds I actually dipped the piece of wood (front part only) in a vinyl spackle in which I drew the bird on and used a stamp for the star motif. I had so much fun making these and now I have tons more of ideas on other things I want to try with them. These are perfect size to try new techniques on, if it doesn't turn out I can just sand it and/or paint over it and try something different. I'll be taking these to the market tomorrow and the ones that don't sell will end up in my Etsy shop. Will be making more of them in the next couple of weeks.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Itty bitty tomato hat and a one-of-a-kind felted handbag



Finally got the chance to take some pics before taking off for work this morning. Here is an itty bitty tomato hat for a newborn, just listed in my Bits of Fiber shop on Artfire.

And this handbag will be listed in my PurplePlatypus shop on Etsy later this evening. It's a one of a kind item. I felted pieces of blue seashells on the front of the bag trapped between the fleece and silk handkerchiefs in variegated blues. I then embroidered the top front section of the bag with different types of thread. I added some glass beads in turquoise and champagne to give the effect of water. The flowers I made out of fabric, each petal cut and singes over an open flame and finished with a pearl button in the middle and sewn onto the bag. Hope you like it!