Olivia's Xmas Doll

I am currently working on this fairy for Olivia. I am needle felting everything (yes, including the doll's body) and using various different kinds of fiber. Her hair is Angora goat (mohair) that's been dyed in purple hues. The body and head are white wool roving and her features are also felted on with my fine needle using either alpaca fiber or wool, depending on what colors I have.

The wings are taking a long time right now, but are various shades of wool felted onto a cut shape made from crafting felt. It works very well as a good canvas for this and adds some stability. Once the wings are done, then I plan on knitting her a teeny dress or felting something onto her shape and then attaching the wings by hand sewing them to her. I am trying not to embellish this with anything because it's a gift for a baby who WILL be chewing on her, but I can see that my next doll will have to have some bead work and possibly some embroidery or wire and bead flair.

I'm really excited to finish this doll. It's hard to get to this point where I'm almost done and make sure I finish it because my next project is already in my head and I get impatient and my brain moves faster than my hands or my time allows. Felted dolls are getting easier for me now and I'm looking forward to making some for sale on my Etsy or perhaps at some crafting shows, which I'm hoping to do some of this next year.

I'm pretty happy with how my felting is coming along these days. I'll be sure to post the finished project.

christmas time's a comin!!

I've been experimenting with some Sculpey recently and decided to make some ornaments for Tom's family since I'm not real good at shopping for them yet. I thought this way, they'd have some one of a kind ornaments to hang this year. I can't say they're super original or super cool, but I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. Tom's mom is crazy for Jesus, so I made her a holy baby for her tree. And the yellow submarine? I'm having a real hard time parting with that one, as it's by far my favorite, but it's for Tom's brother. He's a huge Beatles fan and clearly the one with the best taste in the family. :) I worked hard on it and I think it turned out amazing! And I finally made an ornament for me and Tom in honor of our third Xmas together (I made sure to put A & T and NOT T & A, lol) and the heart with wings turned out very rock n roll awesome and he was very touched to receive it to hang on our sweet tree.

So here's to Scupley, my new favorite little friend and all it's possibilites.
The simple fact that it hardens opens this up to many possibilites (I'm thinking hair goods and magnets of course!)

so much to do, so little time

As you can see, I have been crafting like crazy recently! There have been all sorts of wondrous creations seeping from my pores. I found a new love in scupley and also finally put to use the tiny pictures that come with your picture CD's. They're always so darn cute, but I hadn't gotten the right kind of glass to use with them.

Dyeing fiber and selling the roving is cool and all, but I truly love turning it into cute things. The pictures are a couple examples of some of the cute hairclips I spent some time making and giving out this holiday season.

And that lovely dessert you see here is my "big O" cookie pizza I made for the election day party I went to. Turned out fabulous if you ask me.

Christmas is handmade this year and I'm loving the price tag that comes with it for sure.

my first doll "Olive"

This was finished around February of this past year, in honor of my daughter Olivia's soon to be arrival in May. I wanted to make her first doll, not just go out and buy something and with this being my first daughter, I wanted to make it while I was pregnant so that the time waiting for her could be tangibly seen as this beautiful thing. So, even though I never really had an interest in making dolls before, I was overcome with the desire to felt this giant doll, completely using a needle, block of foam, and many bags of fiber. Overall, it took me about 4 months (resting my sore fingers off and on of course) to really get this one right and finish her (and she's still not finished in my eyes). She stands about 8 inches tall and is made with alpaca, sheep, and angora goat. There is nothing artificial on her except for her skirt, which I knitted with acrylic yarn because let's face it....it's easier to knit tiny with. Each section of her body was needle felted separately and then felted together at the joints. I reinforced her arms and legs by felting her clothing over them. The shirt is black baby alpaca and her panties are felted over the leg joints with pink sheep fiber (and black alpaca dots). The curly hair is the angora goat fiber which was hand dyed and applied and felted strand by strand so that I could build up the smooth, but curly bob she has.

Her arms and legs were wet felted (my first experience with that) AFTER I needle felted them, just to get rid of some of that hairy look. The skirt was knitted on the tiniest knitting needles I'd ever used and I sort of made up my own pattern for it, but it turned out pretty good! I didn't like the color 100%, but it was the skinniest yarn I had at the time.

A giant thank you goes out to my mother, who gave me all of the supplies for this project. She put together quite a giant box of various fiber and accoutrements for me to use for crafting. And as to whether or not it was worth it? I was very proud the day I was able to give this one to Olivia and watch her really look at it and smile. I think it's pretty cool that he first doll is one that her mama made for her and really put a lot of love into.

"Fang", my second needle felting accomplishment

This little guy was made for Halloween as a mix between my two favorite things...skulls and vampires. It took me an evening to make up (about 3 hours) and the needle felting became more comfortable this time around. Enough so, that I was able to actually needle felt the lines for the face from alpaca fiber (which felts differently than sheep fiber). This was intended to be a keychain, but I have yet to get the ring and chain to attach it. Soon......

very first felted creation

This was made last fall, sitting at my mom's house. I had just learned from her the technique of needle felting and saw some examples of her stuff (mostly flat work with a couple 3D animals as well). I pulled a big gob of white roving off and started molding with my needle. I stabbed my fingers quite a few times before getting the hang of how deep I needed to stab to get the right effects and then....a shape formed before my eyes. I saw it as a penguin and so that's what I created it to be in full fashion.

In approximately four hours, I had created this tiny, adorable little papa penguin and baby.

mama of three now and crafter wanna be.

let the crafting commence!
Since the birth of my daughter back on May 21st, I have been coming up with plans for some studio space in my garage to create the many things I have floating around in my creative collective. so, I am making this journal a reflection of that desire and hope to use this for documenting the many trials and tribulations that is crafting while mothering.

and as I write this with newborn in lap, one boob hanging out of my shirt, I have NO real idea on when these aspirations will come to fruition. I only know that my studio space is slowly coming together, my kiln is finally set on a metal table, and bits of glass, alpaca and sheep fiber, and yarn is beginning to collect in larger and larger quantities.

....pictures of what i do have currently to come next.

I carry life

I had honestly forgotten that I had this blog. It was started one night when my livejournal world crumbled around me and I no longer felt safe there. But here I am, trying to re-new this writing of mine. It has certainly always been a passion and something I have needed to set things right inside me.

Since 2006, so much has changed and I'm not going to bore you with my past. There isn't any point in re-living most of that anyway. So instead, I give to you who I am today.

I will soon be the mother of three children, as my daughter will be born soon in May. My boys continue to be my entire life and focus and even at the ages of 9 and 6, I know they need me more than ever. I am a single (though partnered) mom now and in the process of rebuilding a life that I have to decipher along the way. It's really hard to pull away from a cozy corner you built for years and make something of your own and know that you may fail a few times first (and....I have).

I am still my upbeat, outspoken, and optimistic self, but I also have found a sense of remorse and grounding in some very hard experiences. I am rebuilding not only my outer self, but my inner one as well and there is still a lot of work to be done.

Overall, though times have been hard here and there...I'm doing better. I've found a lot of who I am and who I want to be over the last couple years and I look forward to being a mommy all over again, having a daughter, being back in school in the fall, and making things work with my own resources.

it's been a lot of hard work and many many tears have been shed, but here I am. And I still try to smile every day.