Felt picnic playfood set.

So i have figured out, that i am not much of a blogger. That lack of blogging however, does not signify a lack of doing. Infact, i've been incredibly busy lately with way too many projects going on all at once. i have a difficult time finishing half the stuff that i have started, and then jump into new projects as soon as the desire hits me.

i have been crocheting up a storm, hats and dish clothes and lots of play food. i have also begun to play with felt. i have a huge stash of scrap felt that has been gifted to me over the years. i have never really done much with it. i have been completely enamored with all of the beautiful felt play food that can be found on Etsy, and finally decided to try my hand an making some for Sage. i always handmade many of the kids Yule gifts, and this year is no different.

i have been wanting to make a picnic set for a while now, and just finally got around to making it. The basket is about 5 1/2 x 7 inches, perfect size for a preschooler.

Our picnic consists of a stackable sandwich, carrots, banana, chocolate milk, chips, chocolate chip cookies and a cherry pie and picnic cloth. The cookies were crocheted, everything else is made from felt.

i used all scrap materials that i had at home, and purchased nothing for this set, except the basket. So, some of my colors are a bit off. :)

If you do a search online you can find all kinds of free tutorials on making different felt foods, and etsy has some amazing felt food patterns for sale. i used several different sites/pictures as inspiration for my set, and did the best i could with the colors i had. This sandwich has two slices of whole wheat bread, a slice of cheddar cheese, a slice of swiss cheese, a tomato, and a green leaf lettuce and spinach leaf. Since this is a veggie sandwich, i would still like to add some avocado slices. :)


The cherry pie, is scented with just a hint of black cherry perfume oil. :) i used this tutorial for the pie and this one for the banana. Although, i never really follow them exactly. :)

It was a real trick getting this made without Sage actually seeing it!! This will be a great gift for her, hand made from scrap fabric and lots of love.

Every little girl needs a tutu.

i have really been slacking on doing any kind of crafting lately. With summer here, most time is spent outside playing in the dirt. The gardens become my creative outlet, and all craft projects are put aside until the cooler temperatures of fall bring us back inside.

i recently saw a picture of a little girl wearing a tutu and knew immediately that i had to make one! So i bought some tulle and then search online for a quick tutorial on how to make one.
i came across this one. Which is quick, easy and fabulous!!

It was so easy to make. i cut the fabric in about 5 min. then put the tut together while sitting on the sofa in front of the tv. It took about an hours worth of time, but was well worth it!

We loved it so much that we decided to make another for a friend's little girl, who was most definitely is in need of a tutu!

Beaded mermaids.

i recently pulled out my beads for another attempt at beading. Of course, i still haven't finished the dolls...and i have a whole bin full of half finished crocheted projects that still need finished. :) hee hee. i'm trying though, trying to find the inspiration..trying to get back some of my craft passion... trying to find the time while juggling everything else in my life.

As much as i would love to jump right into making a big gorgeous necklace, i knew i needed to start small. So i dug out a few of my old basic patterns. i have always loved to make these 'pearl divers'. Basic doesn't mean easy, these little ladies caused me a lot of frustration as i tried to counted out beads, and then recounted beads...lol. Still, it was a good way to try to get back into it.



Not a bad start, three girls done. One necklace finished, one almost finished..and one to go.

i couldn't seem to get a non-blurry picture, so this will have to do. She is holding a fresh water pearl and the necklace is created using a combination of seed beads and fresh water pearls in a variety of shapes and sizes.

The first of the three, i think it came out alright. The colors are difficult to see, and i'm going to have to figure out a different way to get photos. The freshwater pearls used are lavender and teal. i hope to have these finished soon, and posted for sale. Eventually... :)

Sewing again..

We have been so busy outside in the garden these past few weeks that i have gotten very little crafting done. i'm slowly finishing up the rag dolls i have started, and also began a new Waldorf doll, as well as a mini needle felted alpaca. :)
So although i keep promising to start creating some new things for my website, i admit i would much rather make stuff for my kids.

Now that the weather has turned warm, i realized Sage was in a need of a few new clothes for the spring. i let her pick out her own fabric at the store, and she picked out this really fun pink panther print!
She loves the pink panther, but doesn't love getting her picture taken. :)


i stitched her up these basic capri's with a matching head band.



i did a 'Melody inspired' applique' on this brown shirt when i thought i was getting a pair of the See Kai Run Melody shoes. (i won a free pair of See Kai Run shoes, but the ones i wanted the 'melody' pair were out of stock! Doh!)

i dug into my fabric stash to find the prints for this super cute set. Patchy skorts and yellow calico top with butterfly applique and another matching headband.

i love seeing little girls in skirts, but Sage is a really active kid and doesn't do skirts well. So instead i made her skorts. They have overlapping panels with shorts underneath. So they are easy run, jump and climb in and she doesn't trip over them.

i love making kid clothes, and will be stitching up more and sharing photos soon!

Mei Li, Calliope and Sarafina

i finally finished the custum Chinese Waldorf style doll i have been working on for the past few weeks. i am quite pleased with how she turned out, and decided she really needed a little panda toy to go with her. This is only the second Waldorf style doll i have attempted. i was able to over come a few of the challenges i faced with my first doll, but then a couple of unexpected challenges pop up as well. All in all, i am very happy with her.

Although it's not very visable in the picture, i used a little pink mica powder on her cheeks. Her hair and slippers are made from wool yarn, and the panda is made using cotton and wool.

i am also in the process of finishing these three rag dolls that i have been working on.

This is Sarafina. She has on a basic pink/purple strip dress with spring butterflies. She will entually have bloomer and perhaps a bandana or tote bag.

This is Calliope. Her hair is a mixture of rainbow wool blend, and a deep midnight blue underneath. She is wearing a plain purple tunic, and a tie-dyed wrap skirt. She is still waiting on accessories, jewelry and more.
The last doll is still without a name, although she will get one as i finish the details of her and her personality becomes more obvious. i truly love adding all the little details that give these dolls their personalities. The rag dolls will be for sale soon on my website and/or Etsy.

New Beads on Etsy!

Kenan has been busy in the glass shop! Here are a few of his latest beads! He'll be adding new pendants and marbles this week!

Etsy Buy Handmade tiemeyerglass

More dolls.

This week my focus has been on dolls. A local friend had seen the Waldorf Style doll i made Sage for Yule, and asked if i would be interested in creating a custom doll. She was looking for a Chinese looking doll, for a friend who had recently adopted a baby girl from China. Even though i'm still a bit intimidated by this style of doll making, i felt like i was up for the challenge.



She is still incomplete, but came together well. Her face will be simple hand embroidered, with slightly elongated eyes, to give her an Asian look. i'm am still working on her hair, which is added strand by strand, and is the most time consuming part of making these dolls. She will have crocheted Mary Jane style slippers, and probably fingers and toes that are stitched

i'm pretty happy with how she came together, and am looking forward to finishing her up and beginning a new one. i will post pictures again when she is completed.

i took a break on the Waldorf Style doll to make a new Rag doll. After making the Whimsey dolls last week, i knew i had to create some rags again. i forget how much i love to make these. You can expect to see a few more in the next couple of weeks.

This is not the original outfit i made for this doll, and am not sure that she will keep it. She is still a work in progress, one of my favorite part of making these dolls is adding all the fun details. i also tried a new approach to adding the hair on her, and need to work on it a bit too. i am thinking she will probably have bangs and will get a bit of a haircut.

These projects have kept me pretty busy this week, and i am hoping to have them finished up this weekend or early next week. Of course having unfinished projects never stops me from starting something new when inspiration hits!

Slave to the Flame.

Here is some of Kenan's latest work.
There are so many times that his glass work is made one day and sent out the next. He tries to photograph as much of it as possible for his archive but occasionally some if it gets away unrecorded. He works with a number of dealers and wholesalers so the vast majority of his work is not seen by the general public and shows up in a few select niche markets. Even though he is trying to retail as much of his own work as is possible it the wonderful wholesalers that really keep the glass moving. Many thanks to all the great glass aficionados out there.



This is the newest batch of pendants being sent out to Japan. These pictures have a terrible glare, and really don't do them justice. If you ever end up in Osaka Japan, go check out Fool the Hermit. You will find the largest collection in the world of Kenan's glass work.



Kenan has recently begun to add etched dichro designs behind his classic the honeycombs, and finish of the backs of the pendants with swirly color designs. This really adds to the design adding visual layers, and creating a miniature work of art.

He has been working extra hours every evening trying to save up some stock for the Glass Craft Expo in Las Vegas - April 3-5. He will be spending much of the coming week creating new pendants, beads, and marbles for this show. This will be his first time in Las Vegas.

He has also been working on creating some new variations in his marbles. Specifically, this new style of fumed vortex has been evolving nicely. This is his biggest marble to date, measuring a whopping 3 1/4". It can be found on ebay this week:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/tiemeyerglass



Hopefully after the upcoming Las Vegas show Kenan will be able to update his web site with new available marbles and pendants. Until then - he truely is a slave to the flame.

Just for fun.

i recently stumbled upon the Bit of Whimsy Dolls website. i really love the originality, and simplicity in these dolls. i knew i had to make something similar for Sage. It has been so long since i've sewn, that i wanted to start with something basic so i decided to make an owl inspired by the ones i had seen at the Bit of Whimsy etsy shop.



Sage immediately claimed it. She carries it everywhere with her and just adores it. As soon as Sequoia saw it he asked for one in blue. :)



i decided to tweak the pattern a bit for this one. Although the wings on the first one are just appliqued on, i wanted real wings on this one. i thought they would look better, and i really hate to applique' and find just sewing the wings to be much easier. The feet are made with a thick felt, and i am really happy with how they turned out. Sequoia is really thrilled with his owl too.



i enjoyed making the owls so much that i decided to try making a doll or two. i can never just make one of anything. The faces on these are felt, the eyes are buttons and the mouth is embroidered, although it's hard to see in the pictures. They turned out okay, although not nearly as cute as the ones on the Bit of Whimsy site. hee hee. Sage adores them anyway.

She has claimed them all.

Stitching these up has really inspired me to start making rag dolls again. i started one yesterday and have the doll itself finished, i need to give her a face and sew up some clothing. i'm really excited to sew dolls again, it's one of those things i have always enjoyed. i just need a bit of inspiration to get back into it.

Felting and Farmyards.

i've been playing around with felting a bit more, and created this mama and baby set which Sage just adores. i used a wire armature, so she is fully posable.



The sling and baby are removable and she stands about 3" tall. i am getting ready to start a papa figure to go with them.

i recently came across information about this book called The Knitted Farmyard. i was totally blown away by all the pictures i've seen and can not wait to get my hands on this book. (our library doesn't have it , doh!) Although i don't knit...i am hoping to create something similar with crochet. The farmyard is created by knitting (or crocheting) the base, and then embellishing it with pom-poms and latch hook to give it the three dimensional trees, grass and scrubs. This is something i know Sage would adore! The people and animals are truly amazing...and this may be the inspiration i need to finally teach myself to knit.

i have a few squares started for the farmyard, but then decided i really needed a goat. So i created this guy. He still needs a bit of work (he still doesn't have eyes), but i am quite happy with him. You can expect to see a few more farmyard animals in future as well as pictures of my farmyard play mat as it begins to take shape.

Awakening Series #4

This is just one of the projects Kenan has been working on. He has made a number of similar sculptures over the past few years, each one a progression of the original concept. This piece was commissioned by a private collector. It is the first in a two piece set, this one representing the awakening of the female energy.

This piece measures 11 inches tall, and 6 inches wide at the base. This piece is made almost entirely using only gold and silver fume over a black background. There is a bit of dichro in the torso and head, but no other color is used. i will post pictures of the complete progression of this series once the 5th sculpture is complete.

Needle felting.

i have just recently started getting back into needle felting. i am eager for spring, and eager to begin setting up my spring nature table. Sage is at the age where she really enjoys playing with the acorn faires and little felt people i've created over the last few years. Unfortunately she is also rather rough on them, pulling off the acorn caps and gnome beards. So i wanted to make a few new faeries and nature folk for my table.



This little gnome was heavily inspired by one i saw from Enchanted Gypsy. This mama makes the most amazing felted creations. This little gnome is the first thing i have ever needle felted. i am quite proud of him. However, after finishing him i took a break and didn't felt again for quite some time.

Yesterday i decided i needed some figures for my table, and so i began this faerie. i still need to put a bit more work into her, but i like that her dress is lightly felted and flowy.

i also felted these eggs to put in our birds nest. The nest spent the winter empty, i am probably a bit early...but i like seeing it full of eggs. i am not ready to take down my winter table, but am slowly transitioning to spring.

i forgot how much i enjoyed the felting, and can not wait to see what other magic folks and things are hiding in the wool, just waiting to be found.

More mermaids.

This weekend, i could not resist making more mermaids!



The first is a bit of a full figured girl. She was created using a bright rainbow yarn for her bottom. Her hair is a deep blue mixed with rainbow mohair and her eyes are a bright green. It was her tail fin that inspired the gnomes below. :)

This gal is a bit more petite and short waisted. She has cream, light blue, purple a mossy colored green in her tail and dark green eyes. Her hair is a wild curly mess of purple and shimmery blue mohair. The purple yarn began to fray the minute i cut it, so i had to put knots at the end of each strand to keep it from totally frizzing out. i left a few with out the knots, and really like the way she turned out.

i also felt like my original mermaid needed something more. So i made her a mini me. :) i wanted to make a baby mermaid, but once the hair was added...the baby looked more like a pre-teen, attitude and all! Still a pretty cute set. :)

So now i must name them. Any suggestions? What are some good mermaid names?...besides the obvious, Ariel and Oceana. Leave me a comment and let me know, i would love to hear some feedback! These should eventually make their way to Etsy.