I think I am addicted!

I am totally hooked on needle felting!!! I find I can be creative while sitting in my recliner catching up on my favorite shows! :-)

And, I completely lose track of time.....for someone with stress issues and chronic back pain, this is amazing!

I tried my hand at using a pattern today. I want to make some birds so I tried out the goldfinch pattern in the book Wool Pets. If you want some cute ideas with good instructions and tons of photos, you should check out this book.

Maybe because I was trying to match up the dimensions and such so closely...or maybe I just can't follow directions....but my proportions are bit off. But she is still cute (and only 2 inches long).
I love teddy bears! I have been making them and collecting them for most of my life. So, I am not sure why a teddy wasn't the first thing I tried to make lol

This little guy has a tiny pot belly and seed bead eyes. AND he is made from alpaca. Boy it that stuff slick and slippery!!! Way more difficult to work with than the merino I have been using. But I love the color! He is much darker than in the photo, almost like a burnt umber with blond and gray strands. He only sits (no more standing guys until I figure out what to put in their legs for support). He is 2 inches tall.

I think he may have to come sit on my work desk and keep me company all day. :-)

I always keep my promises

I made plaid soap! I struggled but managed to turn out some cute soaps that smell nice so it is all good. :-)

Here are my strips layered in my pan. The pan is red, my strips are yellow and orange...makes for a difficult picture. I used a 9" silicon pan.
I then added the last layer of white, let the whole thing cool, then cut out soaps with cookie cutters. I have pumpkins and crinkly circles. They smell wonderful! Pumpkin Pie!

And while waiting on soap to harden...which is not as exciting as you might think....I felted this little lady. I had purchased the green wool just because I knew it was perfect witch's skin color lol

She stands about 5 inches tall. And, because someone asked me, I know for a fact that she weighs a whopping .2 ounces!

Here is a close-up of her lovely complexion....and beautiful hooked nose. :-)

And of course, how can it be fall and I NOT make a scarecrow????

This little guy stands 5.5 inches tall! And has his little crow buddy on his arm. I am definitely in 'learn as you go' mode and just exploring and playing. Next time I think I will add some sort of support in his legs before felting them. For this guy, I think I am going to have to try to insert some sort of stabilizer if I want to make him stand up.

Here he is close-up with his best friend.

Always Learning Something New

I have wanted to learn how to make soap for about 20 years but the thought of having to deal with lye and rendering down animal fat left me, well, a bit queasy.

But alas, just a few weeks ago, I heard about Melt and Pour soap making. Holy Cow! Why didn't someone tell me about this before????

I get to melt down and mold my own soaps with my choice of color and fragrance....right in my own kitchen! Using just my microwave!!!!! I am a very happy girl!

Below are the soaps I made in just my first few days.
The large round was molded in a 3" PVC pipe. The small rounds were done in a silicone muffin pan and the leaf was from an autumn silicone pan that has leaves and pumpkins (the leaves are scented with "AppleJack and Peel" Yum!)
Here are some more using the silicone muffin pan. I used mica colorant....isn't it the coolest thing? You can look into the depths of the color! And I scented them with "Orange Spice". They smell good enough to eat! lol

I just got my package of new colorants so this weekend I am hoping to make some plaid soap! Yes, PLAID! You will definitely see pics....even if I mess them up! lol

I bought all my supplies at BrambleBerry. They have a huge selection and really awesome tutorials on youtube. Just look for Soap Queen.

I think I must have artistic ADD....I can't seem to learn enough different things! Usually I leave some space between new projects but not this time lol We were over at the coast last weekend and stopped in a sweet little wool shop in Langlois (Oregon), Wild Rivers Wool Factory. They are currently totally hooked on felting (another art form I have been dying to try). I loaded up the car with all kinds of felting supplies (actually, just one shopping bag - and wool is very light so it weighed next to nothing lol)

I ordered a couple books from Amazon.....hurry up and get here please!!!!! But I couldn't just let those wonderful new supplies just sit so I began playing around.

Here is my very first attempt...not great, not horrific. At least you can tell it is a bunny. Or at least I hope you can! haha
He is not firm like I wanted but I'll keep him around. :-)

I read online the best way to learn how to shape the wool and practice with your firmness is to make balls. Ok. But who wants a bunch of little balls rolling around the room? (other than the cats!)

So I made a ball....then made it into a pumpkin. :-) The actual pumpkin is about an inch tall.

More ball practice....this time they morphed into a snowman. But I couldn't just have a couple balls stuck together. He needed personality so I gave him some chubby cheeks and a spiffy hat and scarf. His mouth isn't as 'smiley' as I wanted but for just my third project, I am very happy. (and those cheeks make me smile)

I thought I would share one of my coast trip pics. We went out to the lighthouse at sunset. This is my favorite lighthouse and it just glows in the setting sunlight.

Coquille River Lighthouse, Bandon, Oregon.