Month: April 2020

more felt goodies.

I’ve been keeping busy making a few custom felt goodies! Floral Clip This design was greatly inspired by my hula days and all of the colorful floral clips I got to wear during my performances. My friend Tiffany ordered a custom clip for her lil one. I hadn’t made these in a while so it was nice to revisit this design. And, fun news – I’m planning to turn this into a DIY kit so you can make your own anytime, anywhere! Stay tuned. Better Late Than Ugly Another crafty lady friend, Sarah, ordered a custom wall hanging to add to her Feed the Fish co collection. Keke, this is perfect for any vanity! I like receiving requests for custom wall hangings. There’s a lot more room on the wall hangings versus the pennants so people get super creative! Sister District Marin Felt Suite One of my repeat customers works for a local democratic political organization and she wanted some Feed the Fish co flair for her group gatherings. She ordered a garland for use …

weave along.

This past weekend I hosted my first workshop on the interwebs (on Instagram!), and it was so cool because people actually joined me and crafted along! It was a free class, but I sold weaving kits complete with Crafterateur loom and assorted yarn for those who needed materials. Class was two and a half hours. I demonstrated a weaving from start (setting up the loom) to finish (adding a stick and hanging), and shared tips and tricks along the way. I also took questions as much as I could, but it was definitely a different experience not being able to see my students during class. Here’s the piece I worked on, plus some of the weaving stitches and techniques I shared. And here are some of the in-progress and finished works from makers across the state and nation! Tap through for weaving/photo credits; I’ve tagged all the makers’ Instagram handles. Thank you to everyone who joined my first online workshop! As a bonus I’ve recorded a few low-budget videos so you can craft along, too. …

macraweave.

I created this macrame piece for Craftcation 2020; my friend Rebecca and I were going to host a community weaving project and use this as the base for the weaving. But Craftcation was cancelled, so I continued the weaving on my own. For the macrame base I used a 3 foot dowel and 48 strands of 12-foot rope, plus more for hanging. From top to bottom, I included Lark’s head knots, square knots, double half hitch knots, ‘loops,’ and finishing knots. Check out my fiber arts station – it’s a bike rack. 🙂 For the weaving I stuck with using roving and super thick yarn so it would fill in the gaps nicely. First mustard, then some white, then lots of earthy colors leftover from my soap felting project. And then I filled in the rest with white. I used variations on tabby stitches and soumak weave. Since this project was quite large and I wasn’t working in straight lines, I found it best to work in sections. Also, the roving is delicate and passing …

birthday hoops.

It’s my birthday tomorrow! Also, Trolls World Tour comes out tomorrow on demand and I’m totally going to watch it because I’m turning 4 (x9)! I made some colorful hoops for the occasion (birthday/Trolls watch party). You can make some, too. Materials: Streamers (you can also use ribbons or yarn) Double-sided tape Embroidery (or other) hoop (I used the inner hoop for this project) Scissors String (for hanging) Cut strips of streamer paper however long you wish. You’ll use about 1 inch of each strip to wrap around the hoop. Attach crepe paper strips with double-sided tape. I placed tape on the edge of the paper strip, wrapped around the hoop, and taped onto the paper, versus taping onto the hoop. This was a personal preference, so I could shift the paper strips around as I put the hoop together. Add paper strips until the whole hoop is covered. Add four ties equidistant around the hoop. Then, tie the four strands together to form a loop for hanging. Hang and celebrate! Can you imagine a …

easter baskets.

I don’t think I’ve ever shared an Easter basket with you yet, just egg ideas. So here we go! Same rules apply when I’m making gift baskets for Easter: I love using containers that can be repurposed, finding local goodies / shopping small, and including something handmade. I had these rope baskets in my collection (you could say I have an addiction) that I thought would make the perfect size gift baskets for Easter. To Easter-fy them I added felt eggs. Since I wanted the recipients to be able to reuse the basket not just for future Easters, I attached the eggs onto the baskets like luggage tags versus glueing them on permanently. Here’s the easy how-to to create the felt eggs: Stiffened felt works best. Cut out egg shapes (it helps if you first cut out a rectangle to act as a shape guide). Cut out stripes, zig-zags, triangles, circles – any shapes for egg decorating. Glue shape decor onto eggs (I used hot glue). Trim excess felt. Now to fill the baskets! I …

egg hunt: zinnias.

Here’s my last Easter egg design for the year! Complete your plant trio with zinnia Easter eggs. For this craft you will need: Plastic eggs Felt in colors of choice (I went with warm tones) Fabric scissors Hot glue Unlike the last two in this egg series, this flower requires strips of petals. Cut out 3-6 strips (the more you use, the fuller your flower!). For the center, cut fringe into two small rectangular pieces of felt. Roll the inner piece and seal with hot glue. Roll and glue the outer piece onto the inner piece. Glue to the top of the egg. Glue the petal strips onto the egg. Wrap each row with two layers of petals to get a fuller flower. Glue petals first to the top half of the egg. Then glue petals to the bottom half of the egg. Make sure petals don’t get attached to both the top and bottom halves of the egg so you can still open it. I like to keep the base bare so the flower …