Christmas Shopping

 One of my favorite shops is Scottsdale Marketplace in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

 Lots of handmade felted and needle felted ornaments.

 Love this store.  More coming.

Glitter House

 Small glittered paper house with sleigh and reindeer nestled in some "felted" snow. 

Just Google "Putz House Template" or "Glitter House Template" for free patterns.

Needle Felted Centerpiece

 I have been needle felting on and off while recovering from health issues.

  Embellishing with beads, fancy wool yarns and embroidery stitches.

 Detail of beaded mushroom.

 Detail of beaded moss covered rocks.

I added purchased silk flowers, faux succulents, leaves, some tiny lime green plastic flowers, pine needles and cones.  Finished it off with some brightly colored felted balls.

Easter Table

 A RAZ Hydrangea Bunny centerpiece, faux food, felted bunnies and eggs, faux candies and polymer clay eggs.  I had fun making all the eggs and felting the bunnies.

I just really enjoy walking by the table.....it makes me smile.

Crocheted Felted Hat

I purchased a pattern from Fiber Trends for a crocheted Felted Hat. I love felted hats. Crazy how it crochets 3 times bigger than what it shrinks to. Magic. Yeah, ordered more yarn and going to give it another try. Just plain fun.  Click HERE for the link to the pattern.

Felted Mice & Cheese

 I made some felted mice and a wedge of cheese to go with my Wine & Cheese centerpiece.

I am having so much fun with this needle felting.  I joined the Arizona Felters Guild.  I'm still sculpting with polymer clay and beading, but couldn't help giving this a try.

Felted Pincushion

 

Felted pincushion: Air dry polymer clay roses, lace, bee brooch, glass head pins, tart tin, roving wool, glue, craft pearls.

Needle Felted Gnome

Needle felting is a lot of fun; very meditative (as long as you don't poke your fingers).  I will add some ribbon to the tops of the Santa and this Gnome so they can be hung as ornaments.  I like how the piece takes on a life of its own.  I had one thing in mind and it went another which is my favorite thing.

Needle Felting Fun

 One of my presents for Christmas was a needle felting kit from Back to Back Alpaca (click HERE).  I have been having fun making a Gnome and a Santa.  Sue Bunch, owner of Back to Back Alpaca is a wonderful teacher and extremely helpful.  Her video on making a gnome got me started.  (click HERE)

Santa was going to have white fur around his hat and mittens, but then I decided to give him a Nordic hat instead.  Since these photos, I have embroidered white thread along the edges of his hat, mittens and bottom of the figure.  It is just that time of the year.

Heart Felt

I had a little fun needle felting a small tree, wrapping some presents and making a few stocking stuffers.       I'm feeling grateful for the blessings in my life.  I'm really looking forward to this week of celebration and beauty.

Shoulder Dusters

 I felted some spikes, threaded a sterling silver headpin through the end, pulled it through a sterling silver cone, secured with jewelry glue, formed a wire loop, hung it on the earring wire, sewed some beads on and I was dusting my shoulders in no time.

Felted Purse

 JoAnns Fabric store had this cute plain black felted purse with a simple Velcro closure.  I have started freeform needle felting on the flap.  I plan on adding some bead embellishment and some type of strap.  But, it's a good start for now.

Wet Felting

 Yesterday I took a wet felting class from Maggie Leininger who was teaching in Tempe.  She is a visiting professor at Arizona State University and teaches woven structure, sculptural techniques and digital processes.

Fascinating artist, wonderful teacher, great class, good company and lots of fun.  I learned some basic wet and needle felting.  I made some beads, a small ring, a woven piece and covered a bar of soap (my favorite).  More tomorrow.

Spiked

Felted spikes I create and display.

Contemporary Felted Necklace

Polymer Heishi & Felt Focal

Kind of modern tribal.

Polymer, Bead Crochet and What?

This is what I was inspired to create after seeing felted dreadlocks.  White polymer clay disks fit snugly on the dreadlocks.  The top photo has lots of disks, while the below photo has less.

More is more and less is a bore.  I love the heavily embellished necklace in the top photo.  My bead crochet rope is lightweight and, of course the felted dreads are soft and light as air.  For me, it's a show stopper!

Because I Felt Like It

Wet Felting.  Didn't know a thing about it, but when I saw some YouTube videos (just Google "Felted Dreadlocks) showing how to make Felted Dreadlocks, I had to look into it.  I made several dreads and still have tons of wool leftover.  It takes a little bit of work to get them to harden.  I worked up a sweat!

Like I need another medium to throw into the mix.  But, the dreadlocks fascinate me.  People still wear them.  They can be purchased in bulk on Etsy.  You can leave them in when showering and change them out to a different color when you feel like it.  My hair is way to short, but I might be tempted if I had longer hair (just kidding hubby-maybe).

To give you an idea of what a full head would look like, the above felted dreadlocks are from Ariana Bauer of Studio Desiree (click HERE).  Well, I know this is a bit of an odd posting, but I am inspired by these.  More tomorrow.

Upcycled Felted Purse

I am the proud owner of one of my friend's gorgeous felted art purses. She purchases used sweaters, felts them, embellishes them and adds a cute story to each of them. The front has a cell phone holder, her signature, flowers and a tiny pocket for a jingle bell. The back has some abstract forms, patches and a flower. She took a workshop to learn how to makes these and said that her teacher told her to always put a surprise somewhere in her design and that it should always make noise. The inside is spacious and has another pocket. I just love it. Christmas early!