Monday, August 29, 2011

needlefelted hunting dog



Fathers day is just around the corner for those of you who celebrate it. I've added this hunting dog to my Etsy store. My latest needlefelted dog. He's really one of my biggest!




Been enjoying the nice weather tomorrow we're taking a drive to Geelong to pick up some birds. Had car issues over the weekend but nothing major thank goodness. I've also been addicted to buying craft magazines of all things haha

Saturday, August 27, 2011

embroidered wall art



I think I've fallen in love with a new hobby! oh dear will it never end? haha
I've tried out embroidery and this is my first attempt.




I think its coming along really well! I've needlefelted the inside of the bunny to give it a 3d look. Now I can combine both loves! I'll be making this into a cushion so it is a work in progress but I've listed custom embroidery designs like this on Etsy.

Glorious weather we've been having I hope everyone else has had a wonderful Saturday

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

guest blogger interview time Kelley




I have promised an interview and here it is this is my first feature guest on my blog.
meet LittleElfsToyshop's, Kelley is the shop owner on Etsy.

Here's the following interview, she's such a lovely lady we're actually having a swap together so it'll be exciting in the next couple of weeks.

What inspires your felties?
I am very inspired by vintage childrens books, fantasy books and kawaii Japanese things.

How long does it take you to make a character? It can take anywhere from 45 minutes for a tiny miniature to 4 or more hours for a larger item. It just depends on the size and detail.

what wool roving do you enjoy using?
I use several different kind of wool, but my favorites are Merino wool roving and Shetland/Moorit.

How did you stumble across felting? what attracts you to it?
I saw a felting kit for sale one day and I thought, huh, that looks like it might be fun. I actually didn't like it at first because I poked myself so many times. Hahaha But the more I did it, the more it became something I just love to do. It's amazes me how many different things you can make by needle felting, I think that is the biggest attraction. It's sculpting and anything my mind can imagine I can make into little wool cuties, I Love it!

What is your biggest creation to date?
Hhmmm I think my biggest creation would be a nature tree I made that can change with the seasons. It was about 13 inches tall and was totally poseable.

what is your smallest?
The smallest thing I ever made was a custom order for a miniature swan, and I mean it was tiny. I think it only measured about 1/4 of an inch tall when I was finished. Definitely the smallest thing I've ever made.

What is your personal favorite so far? I made an elf girl sitting on a mushroom a long time ago and she is still my favorite creation to this day. ^_^



What is your creative process? how do you start creating?
I try and think of what I want to make, them break it down into parts, like legs, body, head, hips and so on. The just try and attach them as I go and add more wool as needed. Pictures are a big help, if I can have some kind of reference picture, it make the process a lot easier.

What is the story behind your etsy shop? what made you start it?
Since I was a little girl I always wanted to be a toymaker. I started my Etsy shop as a dollmaker and I still make dolls, but the little felted animals and things have since taken over and is now just about overrun with little felties. I just have so much fun felting, it’s hard to stop and do dolls again.

What are some tips for others out there wishing to create?
Give it a try and keep at it. The more you work at the craft you want to learn, the better you will be. Have a big imagination and try doing things you like; if you’re into cats, make lots of cats, and before long you’ll be great at it.



these images are owned by Kelley
thanks Kelley for your time in this guest interview!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

needle felted cat doll ooak



wow today has had fantastic weather! I've really been relaxing and taking it all in today which has been lovely. Here's todays efforts Marla the needle felted cat. She's about four inches tall. Firmly felted and I have used hand dyed roving.

Also sometime this week I'll be featuring an artist on my blog I figured it'd be something fun. I've admired this artist for a long while on Etsy now and she's just as lovely as her critters.




needle felted fantasy ooak



hello all took advantage of some lovely weather today and made this fantasy bird
he's rather cute I think. He's got a paper and button cap. He's about three inches long. From beak to the end of his "tail" feathers.

He's made from teal merino wool and lilac merino rovings.
Just have to think of a name for this new breed of bird haha I think he's crossed between a dodo and a pheasant what do you think?

today my other half and I picked up a friend of ours from hospital. He's been having issues with his heart. It makes me worry about him but men will be stubborn about certain things.

But here is our latest needle felted friend

Sunday, August 21, 2011

needle felted fox and gesso project






This weekend hasn't been all that productive however we've been looking after things on the home front. Catching up with laundry, seeing friends, looking after the animals and birds and so on and so forth. But I did make this little guy! Rusty the hug fox I call him.




The stand he's on I brought from an op shop (thrift store) for 20c! can you believe it? yes its tiny and I have no idea what its actual purpose is but I thought it looked better in white. Here is the before pic


a couple coats of gesso and here it is in all its white glory


Rusty the hug fox is the first critter to actually use it! he was rather excited I think. What do you like best the dark version or white version?

hope you all had a great weekend, today is lovely weather here and the boys are hopefully putting up more walls to the shed around the aviary. I'll be going grocery shopping and running errands.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

cute country plush horse needle felted




Here's my latest fantasy horse, cute and tiny in teal color for the body. White maine and tail. The saddle is brown and saddle blanket red. I found the painted background today at an op shop for 50c! I thought it was too pretty to pass up.

This is my discription of pony on Etsy
Every young girl has wanted a horse or pony of their very own and now you can have yours in a fantasy color. Living in a blossom studded fairy world this horse roams. About two inches high and an inch long needle felted firmly out of merino wool roving. Comes from a smoke free home, would be perfect for decorative purposes for small dolls and doll houses or for felted collectors. Fits perfectly in the palm of your hand this horse is one of a kind has been made with love and is ready to ship.

Hope everyone has had a lovely day

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

handmade felt Queen Elizabeth Corgi




This Queens companion is a welsh corgi puppy, he's only very tiny! firmly needle felted
though. He's been made with beige wool roving that I have died myself using teabags. He loves to sniff things and fits perfectly in the palm of your hand.

Monday, August 15, 2011

needle felted cute owl




well this little creation literally came out of nowhere! he just happened by himself lol I'm on a bit of an embroidery learning curve at the moment. I wet felted his green collar and hat. Sewn his cloak and he is crafted over craft wire so he can be gently posed. Available on my etsy store.

This week has been odd weather wise sunny one moment rainy the next. I think I've given my left ankle a stress fracture. I feel it crunch when I walk on it in the wrong position like if I am standing forward more, may need a visit to the doc if the pain doesn't ease in the next couple of days already had it for about four days I believe. Other than that I'm planting some nasturtions tomorrow. I love how colorful those flowers are. My other halfs brother also brought us a pomegranit (spelling???) plant so that when it fruits we can give the fruit to our parrots. We also have a mini lemon tree to plan so we're becoming more green thumbed around here! hope you all have had a great weekend.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Two weeks we've had Wildy



Remember Wildy the mouser cat we adopted recently? well its been nearly two weeks and he's still settling in. We let him in of a night and he is in a cat run during the day. Here he is snuggled up with my other half


Things we have since worked out about Wildy
he has a white spot on his belly see that white fluff? its the only white spot on him
he grins or has a toothy happy look about him in the first photo
he doesn't like to be held unless he wants to be
he's sookie meaning he'll want you one minute and want to be alone the next
he's scared of sirens
he loves roaminng under our watchful eye
he loves fresh fussy cats mince as a treat
he doesn't like being put in the run but its for his own good
he has claimed my comfy chair

Thursday, August 11, 2011

latest needle felted critter rabbit ooak



this little critter was created yesterday at my other halfs mothers house when I was recovering from a migraine. I'd kept the migraine at bay but it was there, sensitive eyes, churning stomach, sensitive head. Luckily it wasn't a full blown one however. My other half says should you be doing that with a headache? I replied probably not but it amuses me so I am haha

so this is the outcome needle felted rabbit, cute isn't it?


Today I'm feeling much better and will be going shopping. I bought a craft book I'll be picking up from the post office so can't wait to do a post about that. I've bought two more books today too. I've brought some supplies to get into embroidery so I'll show you how that goes!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

latest cute needle felted duckling




wewt two posts in one day I made this duckling for a friend of mine as she really goes gaga over ducklings lol

This sweet little snow white colored duck is a needle
felted one of a kind creation. Made with merino wool
roving. It's firmly felted, about two inches long but hardly
weighs a thing. Has been made with great care and love
Snow white duckling is ready to ship now. Snow white duckling
features coal black felted eyes, chubby cheeks, cheesey yellow
beak. SnowWhites body has mottled patches through out the white

my Jimmy eating


I took this picture this morning today of Jimmy eating his morning meal. He loves oats, its rather funny how he gets it all over his beak. Contrary to info I have read over the net and so forth both my Quakers have been fussy eaters. Never reaching over 100 grams in weight. Struggling to keep that weight when its breeding mode. However I have realized that he loves this meal in particular. I let him eat it on top of his cage on his very own spoon. I don't cook the oats with milk just water. He really loves the berry flavored one the most but that's an expensive way of buying oats. So sometimes he eats the plain one, I'll drizzle mandarin juice on it for sweetener. How cute is he!

Friday, August 5, 2011

needle felted Angel




well that's the end of that nice weather for a week or so it looks like, we've got storms forcasted for tonight. Perfect crafting weather! well this is my latest seems I'm back on the doll wagon. This time a cute needle felted Angel. I really love her colors. Her hair is basically been made by the pompom process around your fingers and trimming it. Sweat Pea Angel I've called her.

Puss is settling in well, he's annoyed he can't stay indoors all the time in this weather but my other half wont allow it. So he's outside in the cat run. I bought him toys and blankets yesterday I had an urge to spoil him.

Some excitement today whilst cleaning the aviary my other half swollowed a bug! I asked him how big it was after he recovered from spluttering and he said "dunno big enough to tickle my throat" well he's all big and manly now isn't he and can't make any fuss of it, if it had of been me I'd have been screaming blue murder I hate bugs haha

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Wildy the cat

Took these pics tonight of Wildy our new mouser cat he had a run inside tonight he wont be a house cat as such but he'll get time enough inside with us. Here he is exploring my craft/sewing table



and here is he and I trying to share a cuddle but animals always seem to know when the camera is on them

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Early Spring chick needle felted latest critter


We've had an early Spring for Melbourne these past couple of days and its inspired me to make this cute little chick. He's seated firmly in a nest decorated with a little flower.


This lovely weather we've been having is meant to be ending today luckily I caught up on my washing

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Swap gift from my special felting friend


This is my gift from my swap partner in the yahoo group called fun 2 felt. A needle felting group I'm in, we're often doing swaps and this theme was key chain. Viv had designed mine especially for me as I keep Jenday Conure parrots amongst others. She created this gorgous jenday conure key ring for me. Its so solidly felted it must have surely taken weeks and weeks to make. Viv also sent me one of her angel bears. Isn't it pretty? they are both jointed. Viv has also started making soaps and sent me two of her hand made soaps. Along with the magnet with my name on it I was really happy to open up this gift!



so thank you Viv for a truly loving gift I'll treasure it always, the key ring bird and the bear will take pride of place on the mantle and the magnet is already on the fridge!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Latest happenings

Well congrats to my first ever blog give away radishandruth! I'll be emailing her to get her address and the next time I'm at the post office which will be Friday I'll send her gift then. I'll do the drawing of the needle felted toy before then so you can all see what she gets. So exciting!

And very exciting day today we have a new member to our household, in the form of a feline! we decided we needed a mouser, and adopted one from a couple we know. He is HUGE! he was a stray and he's about 5 years old. His name is Wildie. Meet Wildie everyone. At the moment he's in a cat run until he settles in and knows this is his new home so he looks funny behind bars like that.
He's such a vocal boy too, here he is talking to me as I take his picture, he's very friendly


Hopefully in the next few days we can let him roam. He'll come in of a night, hopefully then I'll get beter pics of our monster feline friend. We were told he's a very good mouesr. He rather likes getting rid of rats, this is good! having aviaries mice and rats are a common problem.

Here is my latest needle felted friend, a needle felted bunny, he's beige/tawny in color.