Etsy Made in Canada Edmonton

The Etsy Made in Canada Edmonton event at Latitude 53 in Edmonton this year (Sept. 26th) was superb! There was a steady traffic the whole time! What an awesome day! Thank you to our hosts, ON THE SPOT POP UPS.

Takin' It To The Streets 2015

Great family fun for a day on Whyte, coming up this Sunday July 5th!

How to Needle Felt the Body of an Animal

I find that one of the most helpful resources is to use pictures of your animal  Just google pictures of the animal you are trying to make. Find profile pictures and front pictures. This gives you the outline shapes you are trying to achieve. Then it's like sculpting with clay. You add bulk using the outer wool you wish and needle felt it to specific areas of your core project to create the right body shape to your animal.

Before Picture of Mouse / Rat

Yesterday it occurred to me that there was something wrong with my rat/mouse which I had made awhile back, so I went to pictures of rats and pictures of mice to assess the problem and sure enough the body shape was not right. It was not very difficult to correct the discrepancy.

First I determined that he looked more like a big mouse due to larger ears.  I clearly needed to add more wool to give my mouse a more rounded back. He also needed a pointier nose so I just needle felted that area a little bit more to make the fibres more dense. He also needed bulgier eyes so I made little balls of wool for new eyes. Finally he still needs a longer tail and some more whiskers and I will be working on that today.

All of these changes were made from using pictures. Pictures are a key resource for making your animals look realistic.

After Picture of Mouse

Mouse with whiskers and longer tail

Tips for Making Wildlife Fibre Art

It took me a few days to figure out how I was going to do the bear claws on these wildlife bears.  Finally I came up with a solution that is quite realistic looking and definitely moves the bear from looking like a cuddly creature to a wildlife animal deserving respect and personal space. Their claws were made with very thin cloth wrapped floral wire dipped in melted beeswax. I also had to figure out how to secure them, which took a few days to think through how I would do that.  Here is the result!

Mother Bear and Cub Needle Felted Fibre Art 

Forest Elf Needle Felting

This week I completed this needle felted forest elf.  He's about 6 inches from his knees to the tip of his leaf hat and is 100% wool. Notice that he is clothed in leaves with a little brown pouch to collect seeds in. Etsy Shop Link

Needle Felted Animals of Alberta

These needle felted animals are made with various types of wool batting and wool roving. They also have wire armatures that make their legs flexible for standing and can even be posed in various positions.  See more needle felting.

Moose

Moose with antlers

Side view of bison

Front view of bison

Fox

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine' Day from Big Nutmeg Bear and Little Nutmeg Bear.

"Pick Me" ~ Gemstone Earrings

"PICK ME":    Semi Precious Gemstone Earring Studs available through Salgado Fenwick's local designer clothing store on 124St. and 108Ave, Edmonton.

Semi Precious Gemstones ~ Tigers Eye, Jasper, Snowflake Obsidian, Amethyst

New Necklaces and Needle Felting

This month I have completed a few necklaces that I will share here. They are short adjustable length gemstone necklaces that feature an arc of gemstones.  The styling is simple and lovely using gemstone nuggets and accent beads. (available in my Etsy shop)

I am currently working on a needle felted bison and will devote most of my creative energy to needle felting projects this month. I look forward to updating you with pictures of my needle felting.

Clear Quartz Faceted Nuggets

Blueberry Quartz and Lapis Lazuli and Sterling Silver

Turquoise, Glass Beads and Sterling Silver

January Etsy Activity

This month of January I have been focussed on posting products to my online Etsy store that I made this past winter.  I have also included my needle felting for the first time and have been getting lots of views. I still have a lot of jewelry to post, mostly necklaces and pendants left to add to my shop.  Here is the link to my Radiant Rays Etsy shop.  Click Here.  Happy browsing!

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