Needle Felted Christmas Ornaments

Adorning the tree with handmade needle felt Christmas ornaments! 

How many handmade holiday ornaments have you created this year?

The many woolly ornaments you see in the photo above were needle felted several years ago actually...before my daughter was born and I had more time on my hands to sit with my felting needle. I stopped needle felting for a while after she was born (okay so probably a couple years! wow!) because

How To Make a Felted Hat - A Tutorial for Combined Needle and Wet Felting Techniques

Felted Hat Tutorial: Combining Needle and Wet Felting

There are many, many ways to create a felted wool hat. This method is one that I've used dozens of times over with excellent results. If you are experimenting with the wonderful craft of feltmaking, from one feltmaker to another, I personally suggest you try several methods for making 3D objects like hats to find what you prefer and enjoy most.

Download Free Printables Now

There is no "right way" only the best way for you that gets the quality results you want. Now let's get our hands deep into the wool and make a hat!

MATERIALS:

4-6 ounces wool roving
Dense foam hat form (see tip below)
Multiple needle felting tool
Medium gauge felting needles
Large plastic bag to fit over hat form
Hot water and dish soap
Towels
Mannequin head or head-sized ball

SHALANA'S FELTING TIPS:

Looking for a foam hat form for felting? You can either make your own or purchase one online. I made my own set of two different size hat forms several years ago using round bolster pillows and sheet foam. Both have held up extremely well over the years and been used many times. If you are interested, check out this forum post on Craftster and scroll to the second entry for instructions to make your own felting hat forms. You can also buy one on fiber supply sites like Mielke's Fiber Arts.

 INSTRUCTIONS:

Before you start needle felting on your form directly, cover it with a plastic bag. This makes it easier to remove your felted hat and protects the form from wear.

Starting on top, lay crisscrossing horizontal and vertical layers of wool. Then use your felting tool to needle felt the layers together and lightly embed them into the form keeping them in place. Continue adding wool layers on top and around the sides. I recommend at least four layers of wool all over (more for a thicker hat). As in the photo below, you'll probably have a woolly mess at first, but continue to add layers and needle felt all over the hat form surface until you compact the fibers into a smooth texture. Mold the wool with your felting tool. (Please note the wool color varies on this photo because I was actually making a different hat than the example shown in the rest of the tutorial.)

Once the wool layers are compact and nicely needle felted as seen in the photo below, you'll need to remove the hat from the foam hat form. This is where the plastic bag covering comes in handy. The felted wool will be at least lightly embedded in the foam so you'll need to use the plastic bag between the two to gently pry it off the form. Start at the bottom and work your way up the form removing it from the top last. Then gently remove the plastic bag from the interior of the needle felted wool hat. The plastic may break up or tear, but do your best to get all of it off the felted wool without distorting the shape of your newly made hat. 

 

Now that the basic needle felted hat shape is formed, you will wet felt it to complete forming your hat. Using hot water, carefully wet your entire needle felted hat shape. I recommend gently pouring water over it in your sink until it is thoroughly wet. Then add a couple squirts of dish washing liquid to it and begin working the form with your hands to finish felting the fibers. Gently rub the interior and exterior hat sides between your hands and watch it shrink further as it felts. It is up to you how much you want to felt it shrinking and shaping it as you go. Continue to add hot water and soap as needed.

When you are satisfied with the final wet felting results, rinse the hat in lukewarm water to remove any soap residue. Then wrap the felted hat in a towel or a few towels and press as much water out of it as possible. Do not twist the hat, but simply press it to remove water to avoid misshaping it. Once the hat has most of the water removed and is only damp, mold it into shape and place it over a mannequin head or ball to dry. That way it will keep its shape as it dries. 

Check out more examples of my felted hats at my Flickr photo gallery and get inspired!

Handmade felted jewelry in my Etsy shop once again!

 

After more than 3 years of being away from Etsy and my blog, I'm finally back and slowly getting things going once again online. Oh, how I've missed it! 

My last post was way, way back in 2010 when my family went through a transition and big move across states for my new job as Craft Editor for Reader's Digest Association's Milwaukee branch. It is hard for me to believe that it has been that long ago since time flew by, but I'm thrilled to have made my way right back here to being an independent crafter. In future posts, I'll go into a little more detail about by absence online, what I've been up to and why I am thankful to be blogging about and selling my creations again, but for now, I just wanted to pass along that I've reopened my Etsy shop and will also be blogging regularly soon. (Yippee! Well, at least that's how I feel when I type that last sentence!)

For all of you who knew my felting blog in the past, I hope for it to be much the same as before with crafts, fiber and felting information, tutorials, tips, reviews, features and some personal tidbits and photos. It will take me a while to get rooted again and back to blogging so I appreciate your patience. I am looking forward to doing it all again though!

If you'd like to know what in the world I have been up to for the past few years (witness protection, extended Caribbean vacation, top secret spy mission...hmmm, nope), visit my personal portfolio site and feel free to snoop around a bit. As I said before, I will eventually post about it, just not this particular day.

P.s., the felt flower will be listed in my Etsy shop soon. I also hope to do a tutorial on how to make these in the near future. It was created through a combination of needle and wet felting techniques.

Strand Zine's first issue is all about felting & feltmaking and definitely worth a read!

A few weeks ago, I did an interview with the editor of a new online fiber zine.  The first issue of Strand Zine is all about felting and feltmaking.  It includes a variety of resources and information.  I highly recommend that you go check it out.  If you are a fiber enthusiasts of any kind, I think that you'll find it very interesting.  And, I wanted to say "Thanks!" to its editor, Corrie, for including a bit about me in her zine's first edition.  I hope that there are many more interesting issues to come!

Funky Felter Woolly Fiber Batts for Felting and Spinning now available in my Etsy Fiber Shop with more to come!

I'm having a blast carding batts on my new drum carder!  Making colorful wool batts is really a fiber art form in itself.  Although I am definitely keeping some of my yummy, yummy batts for felting and spinning, I am also selling some of them in my Etsy Fiber Shop.  I have listed a few woolly batts today and will continue to list many more for sale in the coming days.  I hand dye most of the fiber for my batts as well as card them several times.  My batts are soft and smooth and ideal for the feltmaker or spinner.  Since I am a fiber addict artist myself, I always make my batts with the fiber artist in mind!

Here's a glimpse of what I've done so far...

I scored two sweet felting books at Half Price Books this weekend!

My husband and I frequent the local Half Price Books store.  If you aren't familiar with it, it is a chain of book stores with used books and some new books at half price or less.  You can also trade in your old books, music, and movies for store credit or cash.  We really like browsing there because you just never know what you might find.  It is also neatly organized just like the larger, more expensive chain book stores.  Half Price Books has a bit of a hodge podge of a selection though because it is primarily a used book store.

I am always trolling the craft books section for anything felting, fiber art, spinning, dyeing, and textile related.  It seems that most people want to keep that type of book because they are hard to find used.  I must have gotten lucky this weekend though.  I found not one, but two wonderful felting books!  One is Nuno Nouveau by Liz Clay, and the other one is Sweet Needle Felts by Jenn Docherty.  They are both well-written books with wonderful photos (and I am all about the photos when it comes to instructional books).  I'm so glad to have a couple sweet new books to add to my ongoing fiber books collection.  And, I scored both of them for just a little over $13.  A great investment and a pretty amazing deal if you ask me.

Handmade Felted Soap Tutorial

How to make a bar of handmade felted woolly soap! 

(Please read all instructions thoroughly before beginning.   For a larger view of photos, click on each to open it full-size in a new window.)

Materials:

Approximately 1/2 ounce wool roving

1 rectangular bar of soap (3 oz.)
A small bowl
Access to warm water (a sink)
A hand towel or small cloth
A flat work surface

1 knee high stocking (optional)

Dish washing liquid (optional)

Download Free Printables Now

Basic Instructions:

1. On a flat surface, lay out a thin horizontal layer of white wool, 8 - 10 inches long and 3 - 4 inches wide. (Figure A)
2. Put the soap bar lengthwise at one end of the wool and roll it up to loosely encase it in the wool. (Figure B)

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 for the width of the soap bar. (Figure C)
4.  Now the soap bar should have one horizontal layer (interior) and one vertical layer (exterior) of wool. It should be fully encased.  (Figure D)

5. To add stripes, lay out two small pieces of colored wool horizontally. Put the soap bar lengthwise at one end of the wool and roll it up loosely. (Figures E & F) You can also add vertical stripes or abstract embellishments.
(Optional Tip: Especially for beginners and children, I recommend inserting the wrapped soap bar into a knee high stocking and loosely tieing the top.  This allows the fibers to stay in place better as you felt the soap.)

6. Hold the wrapped soap bar firmly. Sprinkle warm water over it until it is thoroughly damp.  Gently set aside. (Figure G)
7. Prepare a bowl of very warm water to finish felting the soap. 
(Optional Tip:  Add a drop of dish soap to the water to speed up the process.)

8. Continue to occasionally dip the soap in the bowl of water as you firmly hold the fibers into place. Press the fibers against the soap bar for 5 - 7 minutes. Do NOT rub the wool at this stage!  It will displace the fibers. (Figure H)
9. Once the fibers begin to mat together, you may gently pat and rub the wool for an additional 5 - 7 minutes.  (Figure I) (If following the first optional tip, you can take the bar out of the stocking at this stage.) The soap bar should be completely felted after a total of 10 - 15 minutes of continuous wetted agitation.  The exterior felted wool layer should be smooth and taut next to the soap bar when it is finished. (Figure J)

10. Thoroughly rinse the soap bar.  Pat with a cloth to remove excess water.  Lay flat to dry.  (Figure K) Allow to dry 24 - 48 hours.  Store in a dry place after each use.




Some More Examples...

You can find soap felting kits available in my Etsy shop and my ArtFire shop. It is a fun, easy beginning felting project for most ages.  It also makes a great natural all-in-one soap and scrubby to use or give as a gift.



Copyright © 2010 Shalana Frisby.  All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Hand Dyed Silk for Your Handmade Nuno Felting & Other Fiber Arts Now Available in My Shops!

Well, I finished dyeing and putting together my collections of silk sooner than I expected. Yay!  I now have three collections available for purchase as supplies in my online shops at Etsy and ArtFire. Each collection was hand dyed in limited quantities; therefore, I only have a few sets of each kind available for sale. When they are gone, they are gone, and I will move on to making new fabulous colorway collections.

My current hand dyed silk collections (left to right in the photo):

• Stormy Desert - a light tan, dark brown, and blue-purple colorway
• Carnival Snow Cones - a bright blue, yellow, and pink colorway
• All the Queen's Jewels - a deep red, blue, and green colorway

Each collection includes three long strips (approximately 4" x 54" each) plus a small bonus bag of several mini silk fibers.  The strips are all top quality 100% silk gauze.  The smaller pieces are a variety of top quality 100% silk gauze, chiffon, organza, and habotai in assorted colors and sizes.  All pieces are hand dyed by me with professional grade acid dyes.  They are also hand cut; therefore, they have un-hemmed, slightly irregular shaped edges.  The collection comes nicely packaged and labeled.

The many possible uses of my silk collections...

• Nuno Felting - the combining of fine wool and silk to make a luxurious fabric
• Spinning Add-ins - cut pieces to add into your hand spun wool for texture and color
• Applique & Piece Work - cut out shapes and apply onto other fabrics or stitch together
• Embroidery & Needlepoint - use the vibrant silk fabric as a base for your small stitching projects
• Scrapbooking & Card Making - stitch the silk directly onto your paper scrapbook pages or cards

As a feltmaker and fiber artist, I personally use this silk for my nuno felting projects and have been dyeing my own silk for many years now.  You can see some examples of my nuno felted creations as well as more photos of my dyed silk at my flickr account.

For complete details on each silk collection colorway, please visit one of my online shops and check out the individual product listings.  You can also feel free to contact me!

Something that has been on the mind of this stay-at-home-mommy to be..... a note or two about market research for feltmakers and other artists

Although I have had my Etsy shop closed since April due to my pregnancy, I have never ceased to work on my felted creations and my feltmaking business. It is not as if I threw up my hands and quit completely during this time because I do really consider fiber art and felting my business - not just a hobby. Now that I have resigned my college level design instructor position to be at home with my baby, I am more serious about pursuing my online and retail felt business than ever. I am truly looking forward to being a stay-at-home-mommy, but honestly, I have never ever been one to be satisfied without some type of creative career purpose, and I believe working from home is a good example to put forth in front of my child.

That being said, something has been on my mind lately........

As some of you may know (if you read my blog regularly) I've been creating felted wool beads and geodes with wild abandon - mainly because it is all that I can physically accomplish at this stage of my pregnancy. Behind the scenes, I've also been conducting a little market research. Basically this means that I've been trolling the internet to find what is current and trendy in feltmaking and also what prices are set at right now and what seems to be selling. Even though I am a strong believer in creating what you love and enjoy in your own style, I am not oblivious or ignorant to the fact that there are real consumers out there that you need to inevitably buy your handmade product if you are to succeed in business. Normally what I research is all handmade (usually unique, one-of-a-kind, and created on a small scale) because I feel that is where the market is for my items. It seems to only make sense to focus research on what is similar and artisan created. Something happened this week that opened my eyes to another side of the feltmaking market as well as disturbed me just a little.

Earlier this past week, I received a very nice email from a company overseas that manufactures "handmade" felt products on a mass scale. The company actually helps to employ and support women in their own country. The email didn't have anything to do with my felted creations really, but rather it was a short message to congratulate me on the upcoming birth of my child. I'm assuming that they have seen my blog posts about the pregnancy. The email was quite personal and very nice so I have no complaints about the email itself, but it did make me think outside the box on marketing and business practices in general. Apparently, if I am doing market research, so are others, and not just other handmade artisans like myself, but everyone - small and large!

It never bothered me to think that other loner feltmakers like myself were seeing my creations and doing research of their own. Part of being any kind of artist means that you have a need for inspiration and encouragement from fellow artists. I love checking out fellow fiber artists' blogs and shops just to satisfy my need for eye candy. On the other hand, it is part of the business of being an artist as well. With the email that I received last week, I realized that not only are my fellow independent artisans seeing my creations and checking up on my work, but larger corporate manufacturers are as well. This is somewhat unsettling to me considering that an overseas manufacturer can mass produce and undersell the average independent artist very, very easily in today's market. Although I am all for free enterprise, this is disturbing to me as the little guy in business. Mass production of "handmade" items makes it that much harder for an independent artist to sell his or her items and pay themselves a living wage according to the standards of the United States, where I live, and many other countries as well.

As you could probably guess, this past week, I did market research on felted wool beads and geodes, just to see what was out there already and how it was being priced, etc. This was quite fun because I very much enjoy looking at photos online of felted items - you don't have to twist my arm to do that! I found that most independent artisans who where selling their handmade felted wool beads in places like Etsy, Artfire, and other sites catering to handmade, had similar prices that seemed fair for the amount of time and effort involved in creating such items. Then, after the email last week jolted me into reality, I decided to search for mass produced "handmade" felted beads made by such overseas manufacturers and found that they were being sold at a small fraction of the price of independent artisans' individually handmade felted wool beads. The mass produced beads' pricing could really never be competed with by a loner artist like myselft trying to pay themself a living wage.

So what does all this really mean? Well honestly, I'm not completely sure. It is just something to consider when you are doing market research since the reality is that (depending on what you create), you are competing with everyone, small and large. I have decided, whatever the market dictates for pricing, I will price my items to pay myself a living wage whether they are uniquely one-of-a-kind felted wool scarves and accessories or whether they are more generalized, yet still unique, handmade supply items such as my latest creations of felted wool beads. I know that I can never realistically compete price-wise with mass produced "handmade" beads made by an overseas manufacturer (nor do I want to!), but I am hoping that my individually handmade felted wool beads can be seen for what they are - extremely unique, top quality pieces of art created by a skilled professional. I also hope that the consumer will respect and be drawn to the fact that I am a stay-at-home-mommy (to be) who wants to continue to care for my child full-time, but also be a productive career artist and contribute financially to my family. That is priceless really and worth pursuing whoever the competition may be!

A Handmade Felted Wool Hat is waiting for the Baby's arrival which is hopefully soon!

I began to make the baby a felted wool hat for this winter several weeks ago. Since I created it through a process of needle felting first, then finally wet felting at the last stage, I was able to work on it at my leisure and decorate it when I had the time and the will to do so. I finally finished it this weekend. Although I didn't use any kind of pattern or precise sizing method (mostly a guessing game this time around), I think that it is just the right size to fit her in the winter when she will need it. I've made quite a few adult size hats, but this is the first baby size hat that I've made. I'd like to make her a few more handcrafted hats as well as some felted wool booties to match. For now, her teddy bear is keeping watch over this hat and wearing it until she arrives.

So what have I been up to lately? Handmade felted wool geode beads and more...

Although mainly I've been up to being pregnant and all that's involved with that, I've also found a little time to do some small feltmaking projects. Right now I have to stick to less physically active felting so I have been creating felted wool beads, balls, and cords, along with other little things. I can make these rather easily without overdoing it, and it helps me to continue to express my creative side which I feel the need to do every day. It also keeps me busy and my mind off of constantly wondering if today is the day when my little one will decide to arrive into the world.

As you can see in the photos, I just finished a batch of felted wool geode style beads. They are in all colors and sizes. These are so much fun to make because I always forget what colors are inside until I cut them open at the end of the felting process - it is like a little surprise present with each one! I don't know exactly what I will do with them yet. I may sell some as supplies in my Etsy shop, make some into pincushions, use some in jewelry and hair accessories, or a little bit of everything.

So that's what I've been up to as far as felting is concerned. As far as the pregnancy goes, all is well which I'm very thankful for. I have my 39 week checkup on Monday so it is not much longer!

Using Common Household Items and Inexpensive Tools for Feltmaking: New Tips, Old Tips and Your Tips Please!

Although traditional feltmaking is becoming more common with kits and supplies popping up at local chain craft stores, it is still somewhat of a rare art form. When I started felting several years ago, I had to search local specialty yarn and fiber shops as well as online for supplies. I also found that some common household supplies and other inexpensive items came in handy during the felting process. That made me think about all the little things that I've used over the years for wet felting and needle felting. Some of them have been specifically purchased for the art of feltmaking and some of them have been improvisational. I know that my fellow fiber artists understand what it is like to shop for feltmaking supplies at the hardware store or grocery store! Whatever works well is what you end up using. I decided to compile a list below of some of the odd ball things that I've used and adapted for feltmaking. Please feel free to add to my list with your own experiences. Leave a comment and let me and my readers know what kind of improvisational items you have used during the felting process. I know that you probably have some good suggestions and stories to share!

The Funky Felter's Little List of Non-traditional Household Items Used in Traditional Feltmaking:

Bubble Wrap - Okay, so this one is becoming much more common now and even recommended by several feltmaking books. It is quite helpful during wet felting and provides a nice surface for agitation.

Foam Swim Tubes - This one is also pretty common. Those dense foam swim tubes make a great inner stabilizer to wrap your wet felting project around and roll repeatedly for agitation. I use this in conjunction with bubble wrap and a string to tie it all together. Then you can easily roll, roll, roll, your way to a finished felted item. Oh, and I recommend that you cut the long foam swim tubes into smaller segments according to your project size.

Thick Foam Sheets - I don't know how common this one is, but I personally use large-sized thick foam craft sheets to cut out my patterns for wet felting three-dimensional objects like purses. They make a good reusable relief structure for wet felting. I have several foam pattern cut-outs that I've used over and over again. These do have a smooth texture though so they aren't as good as something like bubble wrap for agitation, but foam sheets are water resistant and easy to cut through for making patterns of all shapes and sizes.

Bamboo Beach Mats - At the end of last summer, I found several large bamboo beach mats on sale at Pier 1 Imports. They were only a buck each! I couldn't resist and ended up buying at least five of them to use for feltmaking. Bamboo mats have been used a long time in the process of wet felting. They are good to wrap around your fibers and then roll for agitation - similar to what you would use bubble wrap for. I always seem to find bamboo mats in the strangest places though. You don't have to buy one specifically for feltmaking. Check out your local dollar store for small size bamboo mats.

Dish Soap - I know that many feltmakers use olive oil soap and more expensive soaps for feltmaking, but the truth is that plain old dish soap will work just fine. I have almost exclusively used dish soap for wet felting with great success. It can be hard on the skin and hands though if you don't wear gloves. I have also found some brands to work better than others.

Pantyhose - Either full size women's hose or knee highs can be of great help in felting smaller items. I use hose to wrap around a fiber covered bar of soap when making felted soap. It holds the fibers in place as they full and shrink. Knee highs are also great for tying around your rolled up fibers that have been bubble wrapped around a swim tube or other stabilizer.

Plastic Storage Lids - If you don't have a nice size sink, table, or bath tub to felt in, a thick plastic storage lid works well. I've used all sizes of plastic storage lids to felt in. Since they have a slight lip on the edge, they work well for catching water. Sometimes I use a plastic storage lid on the counter of my kitchen for feltmaking. Then I just pour or sponge off the excess water into the sink as I work. Plastic storage lids aren't good for large projects though because they are difficult to handle when they are big. I recommend using them as a work area for smaller items only.

Pillow Foam and Pillow Bolsters - I use dense pillow foam pads for needle felting. I usually buy a large square pad and cut it into smaller pieces to have several needle felting surfaces because they wear out rather quickly with regular use. I also modified a round pillow bolster to make a hat form for needle and wet felting. It works better if you cover it in clear plastic. The plastic helps the form to keep its shape, and it will degrade less over time during the felting process.

Those are a few of the household items and inexpensive tools that I use to make the feltmaking process a little easier. I'm sure that there are many more. If you have a tip, please do share by leaving a comment. I always appreciate your input!

I'm finally spilling the beans about a hush hush project . . . a book publisher came calling and I answered!

I have been sitting on this info for a very long time, but I now feel like it is safe to share with my devoted readers. Back in July, a publisher emailed me about authoring a felting book for kids. At first, I was a little skeptical because how often does a reputable publisher contact you about doing a book just out of the blue. Having worked in the arts and crafts world of publishing as a graphic designer, I know that it is usually the other way around where the crafter has to send out many query letters and photos to get noticed by a publisher. After a bit of chit chat back and forth with the publisher, I realized that indeed it was the real deal - a bona fide professional arts and crafts publishing company was interested in my work!

There's been a lot happen since July and those initial emails to the publisher. There's been much more communication with the publishing company and on this past Thursday, my birthday, I finally had a book contract in hand to author the felting publication for kids. What a terrific birthday gift!! It is actually going to be the second book in the series of books with the first book having been all about embroidery. This book will have a mix of craft felt and traditional felt projects as well as some spectacular illustrations by a wonderful professional illustrator - not me, I'm just doing most of the project instructions to be included which is more than enough work for me to handle.

I know that the details are a little vague right now, but as the publishing date gets closer, I will share more of the specifics. (After all, I have to keep you in suspense for you to keep coming back for more right?) I also feel that with publishing you just never know - projects get put off and canceled all the time so I am optimistically cautious until I actually see a copy on the local bookstore's shelf or one in my mailbox from the publisher. For now, just know that if I'm absent a bit here and there, I am diligently working on this book project (plus my online sales, plus my teaching day job, plus upcoming craft shows, plus . . . well you get the idea!). And, as time allows and I know more, I'll be popping back in with more info about the book project. In the mean time, I'll do my best to post regularly about other felting news and indie business tips.

On top of this great little book project that I'm working on, I'm also scrambling to get ready for the big No Coast Craft-o-rama show in Minneapolis on December 5th and 6th. (I am literally felting like a mad crazy woman with wool flying and water soaking my pants up to my knees!) If you live in that area, please mark your calendar to stop by and say "hello!" The two day event features a stellar line up of handmade artists and crafters - the ideal place to buy holiday gifts! There will be a lot of new items there to see and buy as well as many that I have listed in my Etsy shop.

A Handy Dandy Wet Felting Tool - The Felting Stone

After my (somewhat) whiny post from Monday, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and just get busy. I have been felting up a storm! In the last couple of days, I've concentrated on wet felting some larger pieces which I will photograph and share eventually, but for today, I wanted to let you in on a great little felting tool that has really saved my hands from the anguish of wet felting lately. It is a felting stone, and it is fabulous!

As you can see in the photo, the felting stone fits in the palm of your hand. Unfortunately, that lovely hand in the photo is not my own. It actually belongs to looseends (a.k.a. Melissa) on flickr. I thought that it was such a nice photo that I certainly could not do better taking one of my own so I borrowed it for my post and according to flickr's Creative Commons license. A big thank you to Melissa for her lovely photo of this useful little tool.

It is small, but certainly handy and time saving. As you can see from the photo, it has rows of ridges that increase the friction when rubbed against your wool during wet felting. I do suggest that you wait to use it when the wool has a top layer of skin formed or is at a the medium or mid-felted range so that it does not tangle in the loose wool fibers. It makes quick work of the latter stages of wet felting and also saves your hands from getting roughed up.

I purchased mine from Mielke's Fiber Arts, but you can also get it from Halcyon Yarn where Melissa purchased hers. At the time I purchased the felting stone, I also purchased a plastic felting mat which has proven to be quite useful and time saving too. I recommend it as well, and it is very inexpensive so it won't break the bank, but it hopefully will improve your felting.

Happy felting! I hope to have some photos of my newly felted items to show you soon. Right now, I'm a feltmaking fanatic though so as soon as I slow down a bit, I'll take some photos to post.

Yay! I'm featured in Interweave Felt 2008! My Orbiting Moons Fiber Art Pendant made it into the publication!

Every year, Interweave Knits presents a special edition magazine called Interweave Felt. It is full of tutorials, felting tips, and felted eye candy. This year, one of the co-editors found me through my flickr photo gallery and requested to use a needle felted fiber art pendant to feature in their Inspiration Gallery on page 96. I, of course, was ecstatic and grateful, and immediately responded with a big "YES!" My Orbiting Moons Fiber Art Pendant is in good company along with eight other featured felt artists on that page.

If you are an avid felter or a fan of felting, I highly recommend that you go pick up a copy of Interweave Felt. It only comes around once a year and is really a treat! It has content on all kinds of feltmaking from traditional wet felting, to needle felting, to knitted and fulled items as well. And, it is an excellent resource guide for felt related supplies, blogs, web sites, and more.

I also wanted to give a shout out to those that I share the Inspiration Gallery with because it is an excellent mix of all kinds of feltmaking talent. Please take a peak at the following sites to see their felt works . . .
The Birds and Bees
Crafty Alien
Fox Glove Studios
Tanis Alexis
Laura Mabbutt
Violet Pie
Knit Knit
Intimate Forest

Thanks so much to the editor at Interweave who found me! I am truly honored!

**The image is courtesy of Interweave Felt 2008, page 96.

A great resource for aspiring feltmakers - The Felting and Needle Felting Forum!

Are you an aspiring feltmaker? Do you have questions about needle or wet felting techniques? Or perhaps you just want to connect with other fiber artists who love the art of feltmaking as much as you do. Then head on over to The Felting and Needle Felting Forum!

This resourceful forum is the brain child of Marie Spaulding of Living Felt. Since I first joined the forum over a year ago now, it has grown in topics and capabilities. This wonderful feltmakers' forum now offers online classes, talented and well-known guest moderators, monthly contests, and much more! It is also one of the best sources of felting information that I have ever come across on the internet. You can really find any topic related to traditional and modern feltmaking techniques there. It covers a wide range of subjects from supplies to tutorials and beyond. It is also now the forum home for the Needle Felting Etsy Street Team of which I am a proud member.

I have not had the time to frequent this forum as much as I'd like recently, and I really miss it as a source of great information and inspiration. I suggest that we all go visit this great felting resource soon! It is certainly worth our time!


**The image is a screen shot from The Felting and Needle Felting Forum.

Funky's Fiber Artist Spotlight on Lana de Flor! A fellow feltmaker and Etsy seller!

I've resolved to start highlighting some of my fellow fiber artists on a regular basis. There are just so many talented feltmakers that I've come across during my time on the internet. It would be a shame not to share some of them with you along with their wonderful shop links.

The Etsy shop Lana de Flor belongs to a lovely lady from Wooster, Ohio. She's a talented and innovative feltmaker who I've been blessed to have met through Etsy. Her shop name roughly translated means "flower wool" or "wool of flower" - this is very fitting as I have long admired her brightly colored, realistic flower pins, a staple of her diverse online shop. Recently she has branched out to include a some wonderful scarf and wrist cuff designs. You can see one of her corded cuffs in the main photo. It is a favorite of mine!

I highly recommend that you go browse her entire Etsy shop, lanadeflor.etsy.com, for inspiration. Oh, and don't forget to buy one of her very unique felted accessories too. What a great way to accent your Spring wardrobe!


*The image is a screen shot from lanadeflor.etsy.com.

**If you'd like to submit a fiber artist (or yourself) for a funky felter spotlight article, you can email me via my website or scroll to the bottom of the page and use my contact form. And, be on the lookout for upcoming spotlight articles!

Funky's Stamp of Approval for Uniquely Felt by Christine White - a wonderful feltmaking book for all levels from beginner to professional!

Starting today, I'm reviewing fiber art & feltmaking resources and supplies on a weekly basis. Then I'll pass along my "Stamp of Approval" for the things that I find particularly useful whether it be a book (like in today's review), an online resource, a nifty product, or otherwise great find. Anything that receives the funky felter "Stamp of Approval" will have been personally reviewed by me! If you have any suggestions or submissions, please email me via my website.



Now for the first amazing felt book to receive my stamp of approval: Uniquely Felt by Christine White! This book is wonderfully compiled and makes a great resource for the beginner, intermediate, or professional feltmaker. Christine covers a wide range of projects as well as all the little technical details of what wet felting is and what materials and processes it involves. There are numerous stunning photos of completed felts such as hats, scarves, purses, pillows, needle felted sculptures, and more. One of my favorite aspects is the featured one page articles on several professional feltmakers including Beth Beede, Mehmet Girgic, Chad Alice Hagen, and so many more. The book also contains a thorough list of feltmaking resources and glossary of terms. Overall Uniquely Felt is well-written, challenging, and up-to-date on all the latest in felting. I highly recommend it to any level of felter! I'm sure that you'll read it, re-read it, and use it for a reference material many times over.

Uniquely Felt was written by Christine White and published by Storey Publishing. You can find out more information about Christine White or order a signed copy of her book at her website, magpiefelt.com.

I've been Storqued! Etsy's blog features my article on felt trends and felting!

I'm super excited about Etsy's blog, The Storque, featuring an article that I wrote about felt trends and felting! I worked with Vanessa, a terrific Etsy admin, to compose this article about all things felt. I often times forget that many, many people don't know any more about felt than what they see in the acrylic felt sheets in local hobby and craft supply stores (which isn't true wool felt anyway!). Felting is really an art form unto itself. It is most certainly a learned skill that lends itself to creating wonderful fiber art and wearable items.


Anyway, before I wax on about my love of felting, you can read more about felt trends and felting in my Storque article. Now I'm off to dream of fuzzy felted goodies . . .

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.