Little Lambie

Okay, so last post for tonight: an update on my needle felted lamb. I'm having problems with this little guy:



He needs more wool and he also needs legs; but these are not the problems. The problems are his ears and his nose/mouth. Do you think his ears are too long? And is his nose/mouth messed-up-looking (for lack of a better adjective)? PLEASE give me your honest opinion. I am thinking of lopping off his ears and making them shorter, and I'm also thinking of giving him a nose job... should I?? Or should I leave him as is and try out my new ideas on lambie #2??

Painting and Needle Felting! :)

Here's a preview of some of the wood products that I am currently working on to put up for sale in my shop (link in upper right corner):

This mess of stuff includes future plant stakes, bookmarks, magnets, ornaments, dollhouse decorations, and a gift box. Coming soon!

And here's some paper mache/decoupage projects that I just finished up and have for sale in my shop (with the exception of the photo frame on the bottom in the middle -- after looking at the photo, I realized the trim wasn't aligned right.... which sucks...):

For some reason, I love to paint on wood and paper mache and ceramic and resin. I love painting objects . I just can't paint pictures; my hands are too shaky! :(

And here's an update on some of the needle felting projects I posted a couple of weeks back (and also an unfinished knitted and needle felted clutch purse):

There are now two ducks, both with faces, and the bear has a face now as well... although I am not happy with it. The eyes just seem too vacuous to me... and therefore, scary. The pic also shows all of the needle felted flowers I made and have for sale in my shop. I also have been obsessed with knitting lately, and in the upper-right you can see an almost-finished purse that I came up with on a whim. It just needs another tie, and perhaps a strap. The yarn I used is "SWS" yarn -- I LOVE it! It is 70% wool and 30% soy, and it is SOOO soft and the colors are so gorgeous!!! The needle felted flowers aren't attached, I just put them there to see what they looked like.

So what do you all think? See anything you like? See anything you DON'T like (be honest!)? See anything that you'd like to see more of??

Okay so I am lazy when it comes to updating this blog! Oh well. I feel motivated now, so I'll post a couple things!

Firstly (is that a word?), I have some new springtime needle felted creations available in my Etsy shop (link is in the upper right)! The yellow "chick" (now a duck... couldn't get the beak pointy enough) now has eyes and also a little meadow with flowers and actually already sold! But I do have another one up for sale.


"Bobblehead Bunny" is my newest creation and is also for sale:


And I also made some 3D flowers using applique molds! Here is the large rose (my favorite):


One thing I'm finding about needle felting is that it's nearly impossible to make an exact replica of something you've made before (unless you're using a mold). This can be both frustrating and exciting. I've heard this before: that each critter or piece you make will end up having it's own "personality". For example, I'm not as happy with Bobblehead Bunny 2 as I am with the bunny head that is shown in my avatar. Also, the tinier the piece you are creating, the harder it is to add detail, and therefore the harder it is to reproduce it. Oh well! There are bigger things in life to worry about!

Needle Felting, The Beginning...

So I have been teaching myself how to needle felt the last 2-3 weeks with the aid of a book, videos on youtube, and trial and error. The photo below shows all of the items I have made or am working on so far; the very first item I made is the little pink & green strawberry, and the last thing I've been working on is the little lamb:


The next photo shows all of the items I am still working on, which I will show "finished" photos for when they are done, for better or for worse:


The blue duck-like figure was originally supposed to be more of a songbird, and the yellow duck-like figure was supposed to be a chick. I find it funny that they are both turning out to look like ducks, b/c ducks have always been one of my favorite creatures. :)

And I am having trouble keeping the sheep's head from looking like a dog's head. But oh well, I guess practice makes perfect, or something...

The teddy bear needs a face, and that is making me nervous. I don't know why doing stuff like this makes me nervous... if I screw it up, it's easy enough to fix... and the butterfly needs some color, but I'm afraid if I screw that up that it won't be as easy to fix...

I'm going to add some embellishments like sequins and beads to some of the stars, hearts, and flowers. That's making me nervous too. Am I crazy? I think so.

Mah First Blog... well, not really

But this is my first blog on here, and I intend on taking this blog a bit more seriously than the other one I have. My mission here is to document my progress (or lack thereof) through the world of handmade arts & crafts. I am in the process of making items that I have made for a long time for my etsy shop -- www.notsoshabbychic.etsy.com -- , but I am also in the more interesting process of learning some new crafts (needle felting) and re-learning some old ones (knitting). I wanted someplace to post notes and photos as to my progress so that I can [hopefully] see that with time and practice that I am improving.

I am also an avid birdwatcher, gardener, and lover of all things nature, so I also wanted someplace in which I could share with the world (or just the one or two of you who will be following this) what it is that fills me with joy and what inspires me. :)