Handmade felted wool bead bangle bracelets - whoa, that's a mouthful!

 

This is what I've been up to in the past week or so.  I've been putting some of the felted wool beads that I created during my pregnancy to good use and making some bangle style bracelets.  There are also some necklaces in the works which I'll post photos of when they are finished.  Some of these bracelets are destined for Eclectics Gallery eventually along with some felted scarves.

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I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  It is finally Fall here in Kansas City, and I'm loving every minute of the cool weather and changing colored leaves.

Stripes, Dots, Swirls, and Solids - A Big Variety of Handmade Felted Wool Beads

I just finished this batch of round felted wool beads over the weekend. I created them individually through a combination of both needle felting and wet felting so quite a lot of time went into the almost 100 beads seen in the photo. There's a big variety of black and white beads that have swirls, stripes, and dots. I also made some matching solid colored beads. I think the polka dot style in both black and white are my personal favorite. It is very tempting to keep all of them and just display them in a big glass bowl, but most likely, some will be sold for supplies in my Etsy shop once it reopens after the baby is born. I will probably use some in my own jewelry creations as well. For now, they certainly make a pretty picture! (At least I think so.....)

Handmade felt beads and more felt beads - Swirls, Sushi Style, and Geodes too!

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In an effort to keep busy and my mind off of other things during these last few weeks of my pregnancy, I've been cranking out handmade felted wool beads of all kinds. Although sometimes they can be quite time consuming to create, they really aren't that labor intensive compared to other feltmaking processes; therefore, it is something that I can physically do without overexerting myself too much. And, I've really enjoyed doing something creative everyday even if it is making something small like these beads.

In the photos you can see some of my latest felted wool bead sets. I'm currently working on swirl and sushi style beads. The orange, yellow, and olive green geode bead was the last one that I made in a batch of twenty. You can see the other geode beads in my previous post. As with the other felted beads that I've made recently, I'm not quite sure what I will do with them yet. Most likely some will be sold in my Etsy shop as supplies when it reopens after the baby is born. Others will probably end up in some of my handmade jewelry creations and as embellishments on accessories. The possibilities are endless! For now, I'm focusing on making more beads and being as productive as possible while I wait for my little girl to arrive any day now.

For your Crafting and Jewelry making . . .

I'm now offering custom color felted wool beads! You can choose from 20 color choices and customize the beads for your project needs. Currently I have two listings in quantities of 10 and quantities of 20, but I also offer larger quantities upon request and price discounts on orders of 50 or more beads. Simply contact me with your custom requests.

Helpful Tips for Making Wool Felt Beads

It seems that wool beads are becoming more and more popular. Although I do sell a variety of wool beads and handmade supplies in my Etsy shop, you can easily make your own wool beads. This post is not a tutorial on how to make wool beads because, quite frankly, there are many, many places to find step by step instructions for that. Simply type in "wool beads" or "felt beads" on any search engine to find several good sources with complete instructions for making the beads. Rather, this post is filled with a few tips to make your wool beads better and to make the process of felting them a little easier for you. These tips are just little things that I've learned along the way after making literally hundreds (if not thousands) of wool beads.

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First of all, there are a few types of wool beads and ways to make them. I'll be referring to both roll or sushi beads as seen in the first set of photos and also plain round or ball beads as seen in the second set of photos. Roll or sushi beads are made through the wet felting technique with layers of colored wool rolled together while round or ball beads are made through either wet felting or needle felting (dry felting) with wool fibers matted together to form the ball shape. I actually use a combination of both techniques, wet and dry felting, for most of my wool bead making. As you will see in some of my list of tips, I find that using a combination of techniques gives me more control over the outcome and also speeds up the bead making process. As I stated in the previous paragraph, please do an internet search to find complete instructions for wool bead making as well as more information about wet felting and needle felting techniques.

Now on to the tips . . . I've done my very best to give you some helpful tips about wool bead making that I've learned along the way. Please feel free to experiment and add your own personal touch to any of my suggestions. Also, if you have a great suggestion or tip to add, please leave a comment about it. I'm always looking for new ways to make the process of wool bead making go a little faster or easier, or just produce a better quality bead.

Tips for making the process a little easier and faster:

• If you plan to make several round or ball beads in one or many colors, it saves time if you measure your wool ahead of time, or section the wool off into small piles with one pile designated per bead. This also makes it easier to achieve similar size beads in the end.
• For both ball and roll beads, I recommend lightly needle felting each before wet felting them as the final stage. It may seem like it would take longer to do both, but it actually saves you time on the more strenuous part, wet felting. By needle felting the shape first, it also allows for less lumps and a smoother textured bead all over in the end.
• Don't try to felt too many beads at one time manually. I've found that it is better to felt beads in batches while dividing the work into different stages if you use a combination of needle felting and wet felting. This makes is less physically and mentally strenuous and much more fun.
• Lay your wet felted beads out to dry on paper towels in the sunlight or a warm room if possible. Periodically change the paper towels as they become wet with moisture from the beads. I've also heard of felt makers putting their beads in the oven to dry on a very low temperature setting, but I've never tried this myself. I just let them air dry to reduce fuzziness, and they are very pretty laying out to dry on my kitchen table!

Tips on reducing the fuzziness on your wool beads:

• For wet felted beads, try not to handle them as they dry. This can loosen the little wool fibers on the surface and make them stick up even more which increases the fuzziness.
• For needle felted beads, start out using a heavier gauge needle. Then finish it with a fine gauge needle. I find this really helps in reducing the fuzziness. The finer gauge finishing needle will refine the outside and get rid of a lot of lumpiness and fuzziness.
• For wet or dry felted beads, you can use nail trimmers or small scissors to clip off those little fuzzy fibers, but be very careful not to cut into your bead while trimming it.
• For any type of wool bead, you can use a fixative on the outside such as hair spray - yes, hair spray! You can also lightly coat the beads with a solution of two parts water and one part craft glue, or an even more diluted mixture if you prefer. Be sure to use as little glue as necessary in your solution, or you will end up with hard, crunchy beads, and make sure to use a glue that dries clear so you don't get a white film on your beads. Also, be aware that, although a fixative can greatly decrease the fuzziness, it can also sometimes make wool beads feel sticky or hard to the touch. I recommend using any fixative lightly and testing it on one bead first to see if you like the results before you commit to using it on a whole batch of beads.

Tip on the type of wool to use for bead making:

• I have found that some types of wool work better for making beads than others. Ultimately, this is really a personal preference, but here's my opinion for what it is worth. I recommend choosing a wool that will felt quickly and can be handled easily. Ordinarily, I find that shorter haired fleeces work very well for making beads. I have also used merino for making beads because it felts very quickly and is a pleasure to handle. Really, any kind of wool that can be felted can also be made into felt wool beads. As I stated before, it is really just up to the felt maker and their personal preferences. You may want to test several types of wool by making a couple beads per type before you commit yourself to make a hundred beads of one kind of wool.

Well, I hope that my few tips are helpful to some wool bead makers out there. If you have any questions about making wool beads, please contact me via my website or Etsy conversations. There are a few techniques that I keep secret as any good fiber artist should, but if I can help, I will certainly try.

NEW Yarn and Bead Kits!

It seems that I have a bit of insomnia tonight - okay, a lot of insomnia! Therefore, I've decided to be productive and go ahead with an announcement that I had planned for tomorrow's blog entry.

I'm introducing my new Yarn and Bead Kits which is very exciting for me. I've combined my hand felted wool beads with matching handspun wool yarn to form a spectacular new embellishment kit. Since I've started spinning yarn on my new drop spindle, I couldn't resist making some matching sets of yarn and beads.

What crafty thing can you use this for? Well, I would suggest using it as embellishment or trim. It would be great for adding some decorative touches to a handmade purse, scarf, sweater, and the list goes on. The beads make great buttons, whether whole or cut in half. It is also nice for scrapbook lovers who want a touch of unique embellishment on their pages. The yarn and beads can be crafted into cards or jewelry too. They could even be used in paper making or book binding. Really, the skies the limit when it comes to crafting possibilities!

You can find several color schemes and combinations of these new Yarn and Bead Kits in my Etsy shop. I also have one available on Mintd. Here are some examples of what's currently available or will be available very soon.

Woolly beads galore!

In those little bits of time that I have, I make wool beads. It is usually in moments that I know I won't be able to complete larger projects or that I don't feel particularly creative. I make beads as I watch television or am riding in the car or talking on the phone. Occasionally I use pieces of left over wool from other felt making projects or my new spinning obsession, but I usually just set aside color combinations or batts of wool that I like. I always try to have a little wool handy to felt a bead here and there. It is sometimes surprising to me just how many of these little woolly beads that I can produce over the span of a couple of weeks just in my spare time.

My way of making beads usually includes a mixture of felt making techniques, but the rest of the details are my little secret . . . I'm picky about my beads and want them to be as nice to the touch and evenly proportioned as possible so I've developed a certain way that I make them to achieve these goals. I know that they are just beads, but I always aim for quality in all my handmade treasures. In the case of beads, quality and quantity tend to go hand in hand as the woolly balls add up quickly when making them one by one.

I'm not sure what I'll do with all of them yet. I have several more to complete the final processes on. Perhaps I will bag some to sell as supplies and incorporate some into my own art, jewelry, and wearables. It seems that wool beads are very trendy in all sorts of arts and crafts right now. I've noticed that they've become quite a popular thing to sell on Etsy by fiber artists and felters and just about anyone who's somewhat crafty - probably because they are fairly easy to make and soothing to work on. I'm obsessed with keeping busy, and thankful that these little woollies help my hands stay occupied between more involved crafty endeavors.

Bead & Buttons

Check them out! I finished the wool beads, all 118 of them! My husband became my "assistant" when he got home from work. He was still in his work uniform and ever so sweetly started helping me wet felt my beads. With his help, I was able to complete this project in half the time. He's so supportive and loving when it comes to my feltmaking and crafting obsessions. And he's a pretty good feltmaker himself! Most of these beads are going to a consignment order, but some of them will be packaged and listed for sale in my shops or made into some nifty items. Hmmm . . . now I have to think of some innovative crafty things to do with some of them.

I received my promotional 1" flat-backed buttons today from a fellow etsy seller, kittycrossbones. They are wonderful, and I highly recommend her etsy shop to all looking for great promos! I ordered 100 buttons and had five designs - my logo, I "heart" felt, I "heart" sheep, a photo of my wool beads, and a photo of one of my favorite flower brooches. I plan to make some of them into rings, pendants, magnets, etc., to sell in my etsy and ecrater shops. I wasn't sure how I would like them or if they would be useful, but I'm completely sold on them and will certainly be back for more in the future. I just think that they are too cute and can't wait to use them!