Showing posts with label needle felting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label needle felting. Show all posts

Sunday, April 9, 2017

DIY: Felted Clutch

Well, after a whole lotta water, soap, roving, blood (only one stabbing, I promise!), sweat and tears (which proved helpful with the wet felting), the felted clutch is complete! Granted, I only started it last weekend, but this was definitely time-consuming and a step outta my comfort zone. The only other item I've ever successfully wet felted was the necklace I shared last week. So I'm on the proud side of DIY-town with this one. I've been sharing one minute tutorials nearly every day over here. I put those short clips all together to create this one which, hopefully, will help you understand how this felted clutch was created:
Y'all know I love needle-felting so that portion of the clutch was enjoyable. I just hit play on whatever show I'm watching on Netflix (fellow Art Scout Laura got me hooked on Breaking Bad) and go to work. The wet felting, being something new for me, def had a bit of a learning curve. I found myself asking, "am I done yet?" over and over. I ultimately threw the thing in the washer to speed up the felting process. 
Something I also discovered is that wet felting requires a LOT of roving where as needle felting only takes a small amount. I do have a lot of roving on hand thanks to my mom-in-law who is always hooking me up. A visit to an alpaca farm a couple moons ago also made it so I have a big stash.  
Since I was using this as kind of a demo for my free online felting class, which, if you've not seen what folks created that night, check here and also search Insta with the hashtag #creatingwithcassie, I decided to keep the motif simple. Well, that was the plan, anyway. But I'm kind of a more is more is more person, so this is the result. By the way, if you missed Wednesday night's session, here you go:
It was so fun...even if my LIVE creations were lackluster!
I wanted a bright color on the inside so I opted for yellow roving when wet felting.
 Nice and bright for me to find my stuffs. 
While at an estate sale the other day, I picked up a vintage clutch with a strap like this across the back. I decided to add something similar to mine. I'm so tempted to make another clutch with a vertical strap and wear it fanny pack style. Please give me permission to do this!
My grannie hands fit, hurray!
I had to teach myself how to do the blanket stitch to finish the edge...I'd never done a blanket stitch before. Isn't that nutz? 
 I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I truly love the look of all things felted!
Until next Wednesday night at 8pm CST right here, have fun felting!
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Thursday, April 6, 2017

DIY: Intro to Needle Felting!

In case you missed it, last night I hosted my first free felting session over on my Facebook page and it was a ton of fun! We had almost 200 folks join me for about an hour of Intro to Needle Felting. If you'd like more details on this free craft night, pop over here. You can still purchase a kit if you'd like to join the fun! Those that participated and used the hashtag #creatingwithcassie on their Twitter and Instagram posts are being featured here today. If I missed your post, my apologies! I'll share it here next week. By the way, you might wanna give these folks a follow as they are creative artsy types just like you. I'll be certain to share their IG handles. This masterpiece was created by @jill_nettels!
Felted masterpiece by @dwade1721.

If you missed last night's session, no worries. It's been archived on my Facebook page. I've also uploaded it to my YouTube channel. So even if you miss me live, you don't miss a thing. 
It's a long one...here you go!
 Isn't this gorgeous? Created by @swshumaker!

Last night was my second attempt at creating LIVE. If y'all remember I tried it once before with creating my Art Teachers in Training badges...and it was a struggle. I couldn't see the screen to field questions, I couldn't get a good angle for y'all to see...it was not pretty. I was determined to give it another shot and I hope last night was better. But there are some things I learned! 
 A needle felted pouch! So perfect, by @echopaitsel. 

1. I'm not so good at creating and talking. I notice this in teaching too, do you? I'll lose my train of thought, forget what I was saying, end up just making a muck of things...I think it's that whole right brain/left brain thing. At least that's the excuse I'm using for those not-too-pretty examples I created live!
 Aren't these pins going to be so cute?! By @mary5409.


 LOVE this sweater by @mrs.newtonsart!

2. Keep projects open-ended. I really didn't want to tell y'all: this is what we are going to make and this is what yours will look like when you are done. Because...what fun is that? The beauty of needle felting is that there are no "rules", no "right and wrong" ways to do it. I think I succeeded in that...just look at the variety of awesomeness that y'all created! 
 Look at this sweet flower by @artteacher!
 One question that came up a lot was: what can you needle felt on. Y'all...ANYTHING! Check out this flower felted onto cotton by @ms_kibbe.
 I so loved seeing everyone's set up where they were going to be working. Look at this art room corner! @chapin_schnick, I love it so much, I might be able to forgive the Purdue sign (I.U. grad here, sister, ha!).
 I am loving this ladybug...I think I need to add some bugs to the clutch I am felting! @mrsmillsartfromtheheart, this is fabulous.

3. Y'all are fast learners! When it took me 30 minutes to create a circle and a leaf, y'all were busting out stuff like this. I was just floored when I saw my IG feed. 
 I mean, @emilystuver, for reazzz tho. Beautiful!
 Anything with a cat gets my seal of approval, y'all. @art.teach.at.the.beach this is so cute!


 4. Y'all are problem solvers...and great at helping each other. When someone asked how to felt on a pocket without felting the pocket closed, the idea of cutting the foam and placing it inside the pocket was shared. I love that the questions I couldn't answer, y'all solved!
 I have one word: wooooaaaahhhhh. @visualpraisestudio, this is amazing.
  I so love that the boyfriend decided to join in on creating with us! How awesome is that @daynabayna?!

 I loved the running cat theme. There's actually a book called Felting with Cat Hair that my mom gave me some time ago. I've yet to take Crazy Cat Lady to THAT level tho. Isn't this adorable by @nachtule?

 I think one thing everyone learned is that needle felting is a labor of love...heavy on the labor. But this sweater by @disneychica1313 is going to be so cute when she is done!

5. You guys are the best recruits! I loved how you involved fam members, boyfriends and pals to join the fun. It really was like a craft night with a ton of buddies. Thank you for making it so worthwhile. 
I love this photo from @jenjencarey...she cracked me up! I do love her C...even if her collar is hiding it. She just needs to flip her collar Rizzo-style! 
 Another beauty from @nachtule!
 Look how pretty this is by @cherishines!
 This one makes me so happy, I love this color combo by @chapin_schnick. 
 What I love most about needle felting is that you can start out small and simple...and grow so much from here. I can't wait to see what @artsygirl1978 creates with this! 


 Those of you who I missed, my apologies! I'll add you in next week's update of our craft nights. Remember if you'd like me to share your photo, simply use the hashtag #creatingwithcassie on your preferred social media outlet. And be sure to join the fun next week as we dive into the waters of wet felting. See you then!
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Sunday, April 2, 2017

DIY: Felted Bead Necklace

 Hey, kids! If you follow me here, then you know I've been sharing all things felted (including video tutorials). I'm getting super excited about our Craft Night this Wednesday, April 5th at 8pm CST right over here. If you'd like to hear more about our craft nights and how you can join (it's free, my favorite price!) just pop over here and read more. 

Now, I've put in my time with two-dimensional needle felting and feel like I have that got that down pat (check out this blog post of all my needle felted wares). Wet felting...well, that's another story. But I'm determined to get better at this craft. One project I did recently was create this felted bead necklace!
 I own many an item with wee felted balls on them: a handbag, coasters, a necklace and even a pillow. But I'd never learned how to make them. After doing some homework, I discovered how...and then put my own spin on it by adding spots to my dots. Here's a 3 minute how-to just for you!
Easy, right? For real, the hardest part was the time...but I just worked on them over the course of a couple evenings and then I was done!
Full disclosure: these balls are hairy (ahem) and wooly (double ahem) and therefore, slightly itchy. If you have skin that is akin to a delicate flower, as I do, then you'll probably find yourself scratching like a dog with fleas after a few hours of wear. That's why you'll often see me wearing my felted necklaces over a top.
Yes, I'm completely aware that I have the aesthetic of a twelve year old girl who occasionally drops acid. I grew up with Lisa Frank, what can I say?
 These are all of my favorite colors! 
I happened to have a necklace clasp in my stash (hoarding does have it's benefits) and I used a waxy string for it's strength. But you could totally use regular thread. Just make sure it's strong. If it breaks when you try to pull it, then find yourself something stronger. 
Have fun, y'all! Love to see your felted items as you create them. Tag me here or shoot me an email at cassieart75@gmail.com. 
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Wednesday, March 22, 2017

DIY: All Things Needle Felted!

Hey, y'all! I'm currently on this magical thing called Spring Break. It's divine. Everyone should try a week off to unwind and unplug. One of the perks of being a teacher, y'all! I've decided to take this evening off from Facebook LIVE (I do hope you'll forgive me) to drown myself in clay project prep. I'm going full blown Clay Week next week with the kiddos and I need to wrap my mind around just what it is we will be creating. I'll be certain to share. Until then, I thought we could talk about All Things Needle Felted!

In case you've not heard I'm offering a FREE felting class right here! During my Facebook LIVE chats, I'll be walking you through several weeks of felting. Check the project listing below. With my friend Sue Bunch over at Back to Back Fiber, I've created a felting kit that contains all of the supplies you will need for four weeks of felting. Sue is offering the kit at $24.95 with free shipping for friends in the continental U.S. You can pick you kit up here.
Here's a little listing of what we'll be creating as well as the supplies included. 
And here's a little peak of what you'll receive. 

Just a reminder: You don't have to purchase the kit to participate! If you have the supplies at home then feel free to join the fun and use what you have. Also, you can purchase the supplies at any time, there is no deadline.

All videos will be archived! If you can't make the felting sessions LIVE, no worries. They will be archived on my Facebook page as well as my YouTube channel

I do hope you'll join the fun. Until then, I thought I'd take y'all on a walk down my Needle Felting Memory Lane (it's a long walk...I didn't realize I'd created so much).
My very first needle felted attempt was this sweater. I was so excited by the results that I quickly started stabbing just about all of my sweaters! 
Next up was this Put a Bird(s) on It sweater. Again, this was just a thrift shop sweater that I decided to bird-dazzle. 
I do recall this one taking FOREVER. All those little bits of flowers and things, whew! This was my first time to use yarn and I was really pleased with the results. You don't have to use 100% wool yarn for needle felting as I had originally thought. This sweater was inspired by an Anthropologie one that was way outta my budget. 
My sweet cat Asha was the inspo behind this sweater. Again, I just used an old sweater from my closet for this one. 
I had a dude awkwardly ask if he could join the "Naughty Kitty Club". Um, no. Needle felting on this lace material proved to be no more difficult than stabbing away on this jacket...
I'd had this jacket in my closet for some time...I thought it needed an artsy update. 
One of my favorite sweaters is this one...and it was so easy to make! In other news, when is Crayola gonna ask me to be an endorser? Between this sweater and that bag, I'm a walking advertisement! 
 Not all of my needle felting projects take hours. These quickies were made in a matter of hours over a weekend. I wore them during test taking week. 
I forgot about this sweater! This is how you know you've needle felted one too many items in your closet. 
I always feel foxy when wearing this faux fox sweater. See what I did there? I know, you don't have to tell me how punny I am. 
This sweater was another one inspired by Anthro. For the first time, I included wet felting (the buttons) and felted applique with the flowers. I also used yarn to create words for the first time. Check this post to see what is written on the back of this sweater. 
This sweater also included felted pieces from a sweater!
Now y'all know that I do get a lot of inspiration from artwork. Check out these fascinators inspired by famous works of art. 
One of the first dresses I needle felted was this van Gogh inspired one. Sadly, the lights have gone out on Starry Night as the lights no longer work but it was fun while it lasted! 
Oh, yes, the dress that MADE me wanna scream. This one took forever and turned me off to all things needle felting for a couple of months. It was worth it tho, I love this dress! 
The Kandinsky-inspired dresses were created when our local art museum, The Frist had a big showing of his work. I was so inspired that I made two dresses after his paintings.
My dream is to wear this dress to Giverny one day, how fun would that be? 
Jim Dine was a fun artist to explore when creating this simple dress after his heart-themed artwork. 
When el hubbo got me a needle felting MACHINE, that changed everything. Suddenly I could work on bigger projects with even thicker fabrics like this splatter paint coat
And this number. I love this coat but it was rather boring to create. I was glad to have the machine to help me tack everything in place. 

Whew! Believe it or not, I actually left a handful of other needle felted pieces off this here post just to save your fingers from scrolling. They're gonna need all the energy they can get for your own needle felting adventure. I'll be starting that free needle felting series here in April...and you can pick up your kit full of supplies right here. Thank you for letting me share (just about) all of my needle felted faves with you!
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