May I share my latest needle felted creation with you?
This is Scarecrow Mouse, who after 2 days of labor was born yesterday. He is entirely needle felted wool, with the exception of his jacket (made from an antique quilt scrap), the patches on his knees, and his hat. I bought a Sizzix BigShot machine back in April, and used it for the first time yesterday to cut the felt leaves that he's raking. I look online for ideas, and found inspiration to make this guy.
I think because Fall (and it's colors) is my favorite season, is why this guy appeals to me. In my craft supply stash, I had everything I needed except for the burlap around his neck, which I picked up on Sunday! This guy has a leather tail, for a bit of change. Hope he makes you smile, too!
Pics were too big - trying again with smaller ones.
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Comments (21)Oh, he is ADORABLE! So cute! I think you did a wonderful job, especially if it's the first time! Just last week I caught Martha Stewart making needle felted acorns. I think it's at her website if you want more ideas! Oh, I found this one, too. They're Chicks! Good for Easter/Spring crafts! http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/?vgnextoid=bf2d5eab14091110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default I know some ladies on the Prim boards that I frequent do needle felting. There might be more stuff there if you're interested! Here is a link that might be useful: Needle Felted acorn crafts...See MoreMy latest hooking project (illustrated with pics)
Comments (6)Moni, everything you do looks good. Which reminds me, it must be time for you to post more pics of your gorgeous grandchildren. Susanjf, thanks for pointing out the pyramid corners. I love mission furniture, but hadn't made the connection. Now I know why I was drawn to the footstool. Jasdip, my furniture improvement efforts have been spotty at best--but I keep trying! Nicole, your mission (even if you don't choose to accept it) is to create a little rug for your master bath (and post pictures of course). Thanks, everyone!...See Moremy latest project
Comments (16)Thanks so much, all of you. The flowers are basic painting but the shimmer is a back to back float. The leaves are a bit of strokework because I started with a regular t-bone leaf then I knew it would take too long to complete in a 3-4 hour class so I switched some of the leaves to a double loaded stroke with a base coat of the medium hauser green. The pattern is from a picture in one of my books, I had to draw it because the box was so small. I will give you the basic painting - Flowers 1. Based coat in Soft Sage (I then used a wet dry sandpaper to smooth - two coats 2. Base in the flowers with French Mauve, the leaves in Medium Hauser Green. 3. With a side load of Mauve, I shaded around the center one petal at a time. I used a slight C shape, meaning I started the shading on the side of the petal then came in toward the center and then back up the side of the petal. 4. Shade under the folded petal tip and between the petals where one petal is under another. 5. Highlight with buttermilk the petal edges and the turned part of the petal. Using a back to back float of white, highlight the center of several petals - the "shimmer" is where you want the petal to look raised up. Add a deeper shading with Black Plum, but it should be a smaller shade down in the deepest part of the petal. 6. With a small scruffy brush, pounce in the center with medium hauser green. Pounce a little bit of yellow and white on the right side of the center. Float dark green in a C shape around the left side of the petal to make it sit. The stamens are bright yellow with Black Plum on the tips. 7. The small pink flowers are simply based in with French Mauve, then shaded around the bottom and between the petals with Mauve and again with Black Plum. The little white lacy flowers are done with a scruffy brush and white, then a few stems pulled in with one of the greens. Leaves 1. Base coat with Medium Hauser green. Shade the base of the leaf with Hauser Dark Green. With Medium Green and light Buttermilk double loaded, Stroke the leaf from the base to the tip. Then come back and stroke a vein from the base up with the chisel part of the brush. Accent a few leaves with Black Plum, add Black Plum to a few of the tips. I added a few Ice Blue accents on the bottom leaves. 2. Splatter the bottom part of the box with Medium and Dark Green (I use an old toothbrush, easier to control) 3. Fill a liner with the dark green and do a few curly q's. Add a few champagne gold comma strokes, mask off the gold band with painter's tape, then paint in with two coats. I used a compass with the pencil about 1/2 inch shorter than the compass tip. Measure where you want the band to be from the edge. Place the pencil on that area, the compass point will be along the outside edge of the box. Gently glide the pencil around the box. This is the easiest way I have found to do banding. Do the same band of gold around the sides of the box. Then with a liner and dark green make your vine going over the gold band and skipping the band a some points so it looks as though the vine went under. The doofer flowers are with a scruffy brush pounced in with French Mauve and tipped in white, I pounced in three, one to the left, one slightly higher in the center and then one to the right. After I finish painting I leave it and will come back later and add more shading and highlight if necessary. I also decided to add a few leaves for balance and then I brought a few of the small leaves from the top of the box over the lid. Hope this helps. I love teaching painting but don't do it often enough - I have to share with the other members. I originally planned to do stroke roses but didn't think I would have enough time. B...See MoreMy first try at wool felting
Comments (43)Fouramblues - you will be so happy once you finish one! I love thinking about people I know and trying to come up with a little something they'd like. Martin_ca - it really WAS - but again, I made the body out of wool felt and stuffed him, and then using the felting needles, poked the roving into him. There is another type of wool felting when you make a wire armature for the 'body frame', and then do what is shown in the video. HERE. I haven't tried that yet, but you can bet I will be! I used to be able to take 2 weeks of vacation in October and sew for a craft show, but my position now has me working 10 - 12 hour days this time of year from Oct - January. I still have plenty of supplies and can't wait til I can really get into it again. My dogs have customized more than one craft, but that one really hurt, as I loved that squirrel. I can't blame them though; I sit at the same table in here to re-stuff and repair the dog toys they tear apart to get the squeakers out that I do my craft sewing from. I never thought to put it up out of their reach when I stopped sewing that night, and went to bed, one of them plucked it right off the table and had his way with it, then the other two joined in, I'm sure. :-( My guess is that the initiator was Riley, who did this in my daylight basement a few years ago, when he found ONE down pillow form....See MoreMy3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agoThat backpack was FUN and easy. I just made a different style, but had to sew much of this one by hand, as for some reason, my glue gun hot glue, would not stick to this piece of faux leather, which is exactly like the red above, but just a different color. I haven't sewn the strap on yet, because I want to size them correctly for the wearer... which in my mind at the moment, might be a schoolboy mouse, wearing a sweatshirt, and carrying books - maybe 'leather' bound books, as I have more colors. :-)
My3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoYou sweet ladies are going to make my smile lines even worse. Since I work here with 3 dogs, and typically no one sees my creations, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comments. I started what I have decided will be a standing bunny, wearing a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, plus a sweatshirt once I plot out how to make it, to wear the tan backpack above. I got the body done yesterday, worked on the head for 3 hours this AM, before I was satisfied, and now will do the sweatshirt. I don't know if I have shown you how the dogs 'help', but Riley customized this mouse ornament -
BEFORE (and re-done like this after the pic below this one)
He apparently liked it better THIS way -
Pamghatten, if you should see this, I'd love to see your llama kit! I'm going to make one on my own, and hopefully it will be recognized as a llama!
My3dogs ME zone 5A thanked pamghatten- My3dogs ME zone 5A thanked pamghatten
My3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agoThat is adorable - Where did you get it? I'm working on a llama now - my first! I printed out a pic of 'real' llama to try to get the head and ears the right shape, and trying to decide whether to do fiber feet or clay feet. I have a close-up of a llama foot, and they are very 'different'.
" Llamas do not have hooves like horses, cattle, sheep or goats. Their feet have unique structure which enables them to be very sure-footed and cause minimal damage to the environment. Each foot is made up of two toes (the third and fourth digits) which have a toenail and pad. The toenails extend off the front of each toe and curve to point towards the ground. The toenails will need to be trimmed occasionally if the llama does not wear them down naturally."
My3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agoYou've convinced me to do wool fiber feet, Allison; they are kind of scary looking, aren't they? Just like the face on my 'sullen schoolboy bunny', which is going to get reworked after I finish my current projects!
But I wanted to make something to use my second backpack. I make jeans from an old pair that friend gave me, which were too far gone to repair, and I snagged the Carharrt brass button closure, and the leather Carharrt tag to add to the back. The 'fly' on his jeans is a piece of the side seam cut to size,and the t-shirt and sweatshirt are made from ribbing.The book he's holding is The Intelligent Gardener, and his carrot is needle felted.
My3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agoSure, I'd love to see what you have in mind. I'm no expert, and did my first 3D piece in March of this year, but I love doing it.
My3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoHi, everyone! I'm poking away on my llama, and I'm making it a young one, with the curly coat that they have.
Schoolhouse, I didn't have to scuff that 'knee' area - the jeans were like that and I just chose that are of them to use. My young friend is a carpenter and is very tough on his clothes, which is fine with me, as I have a never ending supply!
Allison, I thought he might be more appealing with a happier face, but a few people have said that he looks like a typical teenager would at times. I have crafted for years, although needle felting is new to me, and I have supplies that I bought 20+ years ago in plastic drawer units in the cellar. It's so fun to go through them and find something to use. I LOVE making the clothes for whatever I'm making, and have a supply of fabrics that would last me 3 lifetimes!
maire_cate, I make the fingers/hands,and at times, feet, from Sculpey. It's a 'clay' that comes in many colors, which I sometimes blend to get the color I want, and then it gets baked for about 20 minutes.
I don't think I've posted these from earlier this year - my own design 'Mattress Mouse', as I had some striped fabric to make the mattress with, and then made her up as went along.
The slippers make me laugh, and you can see she's reading cat magazines and eating a cupcake in bed!
I made the mouse with the pumpkin back in August, as I wanted to try a pumpkin, but just couldn't do one and let it sit... The ripped jeans friend gave me the old bandana to cut up.
Allison0704
4 years agoMy3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoJojoco, WOW!!! I have been felting away and haven't been to the board for a few days, but that is AMAZING for a first try! I can't imagine what you'd do with some GOOD roving. Altho I do see that their Dimensions roving is wool. I know that some 'roving' that Hobby Lobby sells is actually 100% polyester, as a friend sent me a bag, and it was like trying to work with pot scrubbing pad.
Are you working with just a needle, or do you have one with a handle? To me, the wooden handle I use makes a HUGE difference. This the one I use, and shipping is free, although the description is copied from her multi-needle holder, so don't let it confuse you.
Single Needle felting tool wooden handle
Message me, will you PLEASE????? Think of the Christmas ornaments you could make! I'm not kidding when I say that your first effort IS just incredible. I started out with 2D (flat-ish) ornaments that I made with oval of wool felt with a few layers of batting, and used a blanket stitch to close them, and put a gold thread or 1/4" ribbon at the top for hanging. I used some clear glass beads to give a look of ice.And, since you're a dog lover, too, I will tell you that I snuck some of my sweet Ginger's red hair into the chipmunk below, inside the red ovals!
I got some 5 x 7" frames at Michaels when they had a 50% off sale, and you can frame pieces, too.
jojoco
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
You're so sweet. I love what you have done and I am definitely inspired to keep trying. But I have to say, you have an artist's eye. It is obvious in all that you do. Me, I'm more of a sculpy kind of girl. I think the details will do me in.I'm still housebound (my dog's staples come out Thursday) so I keep tinkering. I decided to make it more realistic, so I added real dog fur. (Is that crossing a line? My dd reminded me that my felt dog will now shed.) It is more realistic, but weirdly frizzy. I think I got the undercoat in the brush, lol. I bought the three pointed needle and a couple of loose ones. I didn't like the multi one as I felt the needles weren't all straight, and it can make too much of a TB inoculation shot look. I've been using just the single one.
My3dogs ME zone 5A thanked jojocoMy3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoMy3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoLet's all cheer on jojoco!
Yes, I do make my figures over a wire frame; it lets you pose them in different positions, if they are conducive to that. My bird feet are also wire, with florist's tape over them, and then painted with acrylic paints.
Here's a laugh for you; I have my semi-annual dentist appt. earlier this month, and I saw an unusual framed photo as I sat in the chair. A professional photographer was having his teeth cleaned by the beautiful hygienist, and asked if he could take a pic of her teeth. He returned weeks later and gave her this pixelated portrait of her smile! It's huge and hung on the wall so her patients look right at it.That gave me an idea, and I whipped up a little something for her and delivered it yesterday - 2nd pic below. The whole office loved it, and they are like family, as I have been going to this dentist since I was a teenager!
My3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agojojoco
4 years ago
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4 years ago
IdaClaire
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoMy3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agoMy3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agoWell, without the pics, it posted! Let's see if the pics will now appear below - my bunny brooch and a panda that have instructions in the Dani Ives book.
My3dogs ME zone 5A
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
jojoco