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Thursday, April 03, 2008

Butterfly, Ivy, and Wool Play Food

Do you think maybe I've got too much going on?


I finished one of the butterflies
sterling silver butterfly pendant
I'd like to finish the second before I put them up for sale.  When I first started making jewelry, I made jewelry that I would love to wear but that I couldn't find anywhere else.  Now I'm doing the same and it's hard to part with these pieces.  Yes, I think I'm definitely entering into a jewelry phase.
(I still have to finish a few railings, but after that, it will be jewelry galore.)


I've been listing pieces from my English Ivy Art Collection.
#1  English Ivy No. 1


#2 English Ivy #2


#3 english ivy 4


and finally the felt play food
I looked at my wool and said "I don't know what to make next."  Of course the kids come up with all sorts of ideas for kitchen play.
Wet and Needlefelted Banana Play Food
I loosely needlefelt the forms, then toss them into the washer to firm them up.  Then I go over them again with a needle for shaping, more fuzzy color, and for the banana, to add the peel.  I have no idea what I'm doing.  I just keep jabbing it with a needle until it looks passably like an edible fruit or vegetable.


Felting is kind of like chasing and repoussé that way.  Sometimes I feel at a loss when I teach a workshop, because once we make the tools, I just want to say "now hit the metal until it looks like a leaf."  Use the little tools to pinch, pull, squeeze, and coax the metal into the shape you want.  No formulas.  Just do it, like you would if you were using your fingertips to mold clay.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Kirsten,

    Thank you for visiting. I hope your kid and you can enjoy the tutorials some day. I see that you are one of multi-talented artists. Hard to believe that you can do beautiful metal works and gentle felt crafts at the same time! I like both of your works, they are nice and neat!

    Rachel :)

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  2. Your butterfly is beautiful. I always plan on making more than one of a piece, but somehow it doesn't always work out that way!

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  3. wow, the butterfly is gorgeous!! and i adore your felt fruit. :)

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  4. Have you tried wet felting? Some folks do a combo method, where you needle felt up the shape, but then wet felt it to give it a smoother surface.

    My favorite soap for felting is Grandpa's Pine Tar soap.

    Oh, have you seen the new felting needle holders by Clover? Safe enough to for kids to use! Very cool.

    Love the butterflies, you've been very productive, makes me want to finish cleaning the studio and get to work!

    Elaine

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