Gorgeous Vessels and other Felted Wool Creations from Sensory Felteds

Occasionally I try to feature a wonderful feltmaker on my blog.  I don't feel that I've done this often enough lately.  It is overdue for me to tell you about Sensory Felteds.  This newly established Etsy shop has creations by Connie, a long-time customer of mine and online friend.  

  

Besides being very encouraging and a sweet lady in general, she is also a very talented feltmaker.  Her wet felted bowls and vessels are a beautiful mix of form and color.  She creates an array of other felted wool items including brooches and wall hangings too.  For more about her and her felt art, please visit her blog.  You can see more images of her work at her flickr photo gallery.

Introducing my new Bullseye and Cuctus Brooch Collections! Handmade felted wool pins with pizazz!

I just wanted to share my latest felted brooch designs. I'm calling these my Bullseye and Cactus Collections. Hopefully it is obvious to see why I named them that. These are relatively small pins at 2.5 inches in diameter. They are just the right size to accent a winter coat or sweater, a purse, or scarf. They are also an inexpensive handmade accessory that will be in the $10 - $15 price range. I will be listing them in my Etsy shop for sale very soon.

Each one is individually hand felted from raw dyed merino wool fibers so they are super soft yet very durable. I use a combination of needle felting and wet felting to achieve their polished look. I also hand stitch a base metal pin on the back. I'm experimenting with new color combinations so feel free to suggest one that I can try. You can see more photos of my new brooch collections in my flickr photo gallery.

Some New Nuno Felted Scarves and Wet Felted Flowers

This is another one of those "I just had to share" moments. Last week, I made a post about dyeing silk chiffon scarves. Over the last week, I was actually able to get some felting done and made a few of those hand dyed scarves into nuno felted, or laminated, scarves using some super soft, fine quality merino wool. I also made matching wet felted flower pins to go along with the scarves. I plan to eventually list these sets in my Etsy shop so be on the lookout. I think that they'd be especially nice for holiday gifts.



If you'd like to see more photos of my new scarves and flower pins, please visit my flickr photo gallery.

Just had to share my latest creations - hand felted wool hat and accessory sets!

Although I've temporarily closed down my Etsy shop for a little staycation - yes, a staycation! This is a term that I borrowed from one of my favorite shows, Corner Gas. Essentially, I'm staying at home, but also taking a little vacation from the stressful things in life. The translation of this is that I'm creating like crazy since that is my ideal vacation anyway. It has been really nice to just have plenty of time to make things, but I'm back to the norm in July. This is when I plan to reopen my Etsy shop and revamp a few things. I'm also getting ready for fall with lots of new designs. I thought that I'd share a couple of them with you today.

Not only have I been creating felted goodies, but I also managed to get a home made light box put together with the help of my crafty dad and husband. The mannequin is new too. I call her "Margot" which my husband finds funny, but she looks like a Margot to me. These photos are really test shots in my new light box and mannequin head. I will probably be retaking them once I get the lighting and other things adjusted just right, and I'm not sure if I want to add a wig to the mannequin or not at this point. In a later post, I'll put up a photo of my nifty light box, but for now a couple of pictures of my latest creations being modeled by Margot will have to do. You can see more photos on my flickr account.

Etsy Showcase tomorrow!

I'm in Etsy's home page showcase tomorrow. You can see their main showcase and read more about it here. These are really just purchased advertising spots that "showcase" one item and allow viewing access to up to six items of your choosing. I've not had a huge amount of selling success from the showcase's in the past, but I usually do get a lot of hearts from it. I just hope those hearts turn into some sales later on! Even though it hasn't offered a lot of selling success in the past, I still think the showcase is a great feature on Etsy.

I am thinking of putting this flower pin or my felted soap as my main item for the showcase. It is always so difficult for me to decide what item to display. I want to attract viewers and intrigue them to visit my entire shop. If you have an opinion on what item to use, please leave a comment or send me an email. I'd love to have some input on what one item to showcase. Really, any item in my shop is up for the position. I just have to decide which one! Argg!

FREE HAIR BOBBLES!! (Week of 7/08 - 7/14)

Don't miss out on this week's featured Summer Special at my Etsy shop!





SUMMER SPECIAL FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 8TH - 14TH:
One FREE PAIR OF HAIR BOBBLES will be included with all purchases this week of $10 or more. That's a little bit of free felted goodness to jazz up your hair! Please put "FREE HAIR BOBBLES" in the notes to seller at checkout as a gentle reminder for me to include them.

Check out some examples of my little hair bobbles in the photos. These are bobby pins with one of my hand felted wool beads attached to each. They are a cute accessory for anyone's luscious locks! Please note that these are only examples of my hair bobbles. The color and design of wool bead will vary for each free hair bobble.

Yippee! 100th sale on Etsy!

I reached my 100th sale on Etsy this week! A big woohoo and yippee!! As of this month, I've had my shop, thefunkyfelter, on Etsy for a little over 6 months. I'm quite surprised and thrilled at how well I've done thus far. The sellers' community of Etsy and the buyers there have been so helpful and encouraging. I thank all of those buyers who have helped me to reach this milestone! I've received such great feedback comments from many of you, and it is much appreciated. I'm also very grateful to all the supportive sellers on Etsy and the Etsy admin who keep it all up and running.

The 100th sale couldn't have been to a nicer Etsy buyer and seller, berkshirehostess, for a custom made pair of pink and orange geode earrings. I really appreciate her business and was happy to do her custom order. I always enjoy making wool beads for jewelry, especially in such bright, summery colors. If you like what you see in the geode earrings, be sure to check out my shops for what is currently available or contact me for a custom order of your very own.


Berkshirehostess also has her own shop with a fabulous variety of aprons, handbags, and other crafty handmade items. The first item that she purchased from me was one of my flower pins in the "Wild Child" series, so called that because of the vibrant colors. You can see it attached to one of berkshirehostess's wonderful handbags in the photo. Although she's keeping the flower brooch to adorn a hat of her own, the lovely handbag is available for purchase in her Etsy shop so go have a look! Although my "Wild Child" series of brooches have sold out, I do have several other pins and brooches to choose from so that your purse, handbag, or hat is not lonely. You have to make sure to accessorize! . . . And perhaps, I will revive that "Wild Child" series of brooches again. I do love those vibrant, happy colors!

I hope to have 100 more sales on Etsy before the end of 2007 comes! I really think that is an attainable goal. Besides, it is always good to have a goal in mind to work toward. Now I just have to find the time to get off the computer and get to work on some feltmaking and other crafty endeavors.