Visions of sugar plums....pebble rugs

Okay it wasn't really sugar plums, but I did envision a cool new handmade pebble rug in my craft room.

image from www.shelterness.com

have you seen these rugs, they are so cool. Over Thanksgiving I felt one first hand(foot) at my sister-in-laws. Oh it was so soft and awesome, it just made your toes curl to walk across it.

Now being a crafty individual, I thought Mm.... I could make this. I did the research , I do know how to wet felt and if that didn't work then I would make really big yo-yo's out of felt then wash, dry and sew together. It did sound feasible.

Yeah right! I started with a  lovely big bag of assorted brown and cream alpaca fleece.  I rolled and mushed soap over my stones creating pebbles just the right size felting them down to the desired shape. My thought was start small in rug size and grow as I found the time. I had this bright idea to wet felt all my stones then, run them through the washer and dryer to finish the felting process. Sounded good until I tried it.

 What happens when you try and felt  alpaca pebbles in a net bag. Oh what a mess!

Some times good ideas late in the day doesn't come out all the way like you planned. After I wet felted my (I should note my fleece was unprocessed, maybe that was the problem) pebbles I placed them in a netted bag and tossed them into the washer to rinse out the soap. Possibly this could have been my first mistake. Some felted up great stayed in shape made really cool  felted rocks. But the majority totally went the opposite direction and made matted creatures of unknown dimensions. They would be cute if I added in eyes and gave them a little hair cut. These were NOT the cool fun felted pebbles I envisioned.

Can you see the white cording, all twisted and knotted in the matted fleece?

What caused them not to stay together I am not sure. Maybe it was the netting and it pulled the fibers out of the bag. There was a few surprises in my alpaca fleece. I had purchased it a few years ago at a music/craft festival. Was told it was unprocessed and would have vegetable matter in it. It did. Plus a few bunny droppings too.
So your asking; did it make pebbles, Yes it did. But not as many as I had thought I had felted, some I had to did around for, some shrunk, which is good, some flattened out, there are flat rocks, some just dissolved into the matted creatures and others are just odd.

I will try the big felt yo-yo's and see how they come out. This was an experiment, A little success yes, no failures when it comes to creating something handmade. I have enough to make a mug rug or pot holder. We will see.

Hairy yes, but a hair cut and re felting may be in order. but stone like nevertheless.

bunny by-product.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014 !!!!

-TNfrmgrl

New clutches, pendants and more

It's been  awhile since I checked in. I almost cannot believe that in two weeks it will be Christmas.
This year has flown by. Where it went I have no idea.

Here a  few new pendants I have working on. These are made from zinc disc, sari silk ribbons & beading.
Really easy to make, just wrap the ribbon, secure with glue, then embellish. On the last one on the right I used Mod-Podge on the ribbon, it really stiffened it up.
The pink one has an alcohol ink charm and  free form hand embroidery. The middle one I just beaded in blues and gold.

Here  is a few items I have needle felted over the last few months.  The small grey purse is actually a phone or nook purse. its small shape is ideal for all our on the go gadgets.

This piece was actually made into a clutch, it is called Chocolate and berries for the colors I used in needle felting it.

This is one of six tea bag carriers.
 Called 'Sweet Tweets' tea wallets. Other colors available on my Etsy site.

These two are sari ribbon business card holders, sewn not needle felted. They would also hold your credit cards, and more. 

Anyway that's what i have been up to lately. Merry Christmas.

-TNfrmgrl

Paper Beads & Bracelets

Do you remember making paper beads as a child? My grandmother showed my cousins and I how to roll magazine strips of paper around toothpicks and glue together with flour paste. I don't remember what she used to give them the shiny look, but we all had fun wearing our 'Indian Beads' as she called them.

Forty years later and I am making paper beads again. it is really addictive once you get started. I have loads of scrape booking paper some which is really good for making beads, other like card stock is only so-so good as you have to roll it tightly to get it smooth and card stock does not roll very well.

The above picture shows some different styles of paper used to make beads. Magazines and old books are ideal for bead making (if you use old book you may have to line you page with a white sheet of paper if too thin.) Card-stock makes chunky, not really round beads but very heavy and boxy looking beads. Artisan papers like homemade papers really soak up the glue and Mod -Podge used as a sealer(light green and silver ones shown).
To make paper beads you need to have a 1/4 dowel , scissors, Elmer's clear school glue, small clothes pins(optional) pattern for tube or cylinder beads My pattern shown below is 9' long, 1" wide at one end, and 1.25 inches at the other. It is marked at 7" for use with  card stock. I cut my pattern out on a heavy cardboard for repeated use and durability.

After trial and error I found that if roll your paper from the small end your sides of the bead will funnel inwards , I like this shape better. But either side is an option, try both and decide for your self. Also, from doing it from the small side  it makes a nice rounded hole for beading, as the bead will fit into the end nicely as shown in the picture below.

After making the beads its time to glaze them with either Mod-Podge or spray on Acrylic.

I like the Mod-Podge as I can layer on the coats, I paint them on and let dry for 24 hours before strings them.the picture above is self explanatory on how to paint on the Mod-Podge and how I dry them. Note: after the glaze dries clear and before taking them off the dowels, rotate them to make sure they were all coated well. If not re-glaze and continue drying.   

After they are completely dry it is time to make them into necklaces or bracelets. Necklaces are the easiest as you can just string them on until you get it the length you want. Bracelets can be made this way to, just use a rubber band style cording to make them fit . 

I like the style shown above as it connects together using a wand and loop closure.I added beads to give it some oomph and bling. You can watch how to put them together on this you-tube video.http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=JXMhcZADr-Y

To bead I just followed the same path as above, just added a bead on each end. then I went through and stitched in-line one more time to help keep the shape. 

There are many great ideas for using homemade paper beads on Pinterest and on the web. 

Have fun, until next time

-TNfrmgrl

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Needle Felted Brooches

It's that time again when I ramp up my stock on items to sell in my Etsy shop.

Lately it seem that everyone is wanting fun brooches to wear. I have been in over drive to get Fall and winter ones made.

First came the pumpkins, these like the others were needle felted first them machine free stitched, before stuffing and sewing together.

Next came the the Owls , I made about twelve of them. It was a lot of fun inking the washers for the eyes and choosing which owl they would go onto. The washers really brought personality to them.

 Then came the Christmas trees.  I still have a request in for hearts, shamrocks (maybe) and something for Easter.

I also made up a couple of smaller wallet style clutches. This one is in Autumn colors the other (not shown ) is more wintry.




Below are a few more brooches that I have made over the last year. To the right is a Redbird sitting on a velvet cushion.

Piggies, because who doesn't like little pink pigs.

 These are probably my favorite, the Bluebirds.

And of coarse the Elephants. They were the first I ever made, they have a lot of personality, I think...


This one more small pouch I made a few months ago, the colors remind me of Old Gold and Victorian Rose.It would be the perfect size for a slimline camera. It also has a foam padding inside that could help if you did use it for a camera case.


-TNfrmgrl

Have A Boll

Did ya know that Tennessee is known for it's cotton crops. According to a local publication it one of the nations top upland cotton growers, providing up too 95% of the US cotton production. 

The southern part of our state has many farms that still grow this staple.

A few weeks ago I discovered cotton roving,ya know the stuff they make thread from. I had never actually seen it until now. It looks just like the cotton you pull from your medication bottles. Except its is brightly colored ,a little more soft and comes in really long skinny batts (actually this is how you find it in the medicine bottles too..ha..ha..).

From left to right the colors are Pansy Gardens,Blue Waves and Meadow

From the feel of it I knew that it would felt differently than regular wool roving or fleeces.It had no poof like other wool, which makes sense as wool roving/fleeces is hair from an animal and this was plant matter.

This picture taken from cover of'
Tennessee Home and Farm  Fall 2013' magazine

It almost does look and feel just like what you see in this boll. Except of coarse that the black seeds have been removed ,the cotton has been dyed.& processed.

It needle felted flat. Which I think will make interesting landscape pictures.

It also, kept its puncture marks where the needle(s) went in. Regular wool will re-poof and close back up. It will be interesting to see how it felts with other types of roving/ fleeces. 

Typically, it is sold as cotton roving to make yarn/thread through spinning. But I like trying interesting products in my fiber art , you never know where a wonderful gem will turn up. This could be it. I have some new colors ways on order, and plan on making a couple of landscapes before adding it into my purse making. 

My supplier did note that that it is not colorfast(colors may bleed when wet), so it probably wouldn't work well in my clutches unless I can fix this issue. 

If your looking for a new product to try , give this one a shot. I purchased it from 

www.robinjedmundson.etsy.com

As always have fun, and  Be Unique...Be Inspired... Be Yourself

-TNfrmgrl