FeltedChicken Blog

The Craftcation Conference

2012-01-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

So I saw a flier for this at a local craft show & am seriously thinking about going....

It looks like basically a business conference tailored to crafty & DIY people. Here is a little bit from their statement about who & what they are...

craftcation is a three day indie business & diy workshop conference. it’s a retreat to inspire, network and build upon the independent craft business community. our objective is to ignite the entrepenurerial business spirit, strengthen skills and abilities of both seasoned business owners and newcomers to indie craft business. this is an opportunity to network, communicate and share with your peers.

events and topics include:
indie business: how to start a crafty business, maximizing social media, blogging, in’s & out’s of indie craft shows, etsy, wholesaling, merchandising, accounting, legal issues, branding, website design and more.
diy workshops: screenprinting, sewing, canning & preserving, cheesemaking, needle arts, terrariums & edible gardens, organic bath products, jewelry and more.
community: meet & greets, pop-up shops, yoga, bbq & cocktail socials and so much more!

It's not cheap, $275 if you register before February 1st, but since one of my GOALS this year is to really focus on building my business(es), I think some of the talks look like they might be really helpful. Some of the specific topics that I want to attend are:

making the most of craftcation through social media
financial basics for indie business start-ups

is your social media strategy really a strategy?

breaking into the art exhibition world

Definitely take at look at their website. I think after I get a paycheck from my day-job, I might sign up. I think the difference between an at-home-kitchen-table crafty Etsy seller, and being self-employed by owning and operating your own business is knowledge & I'm tired of swimming around in a world of business that I know nothing about!

Inspired by a Fetish

2012-01-25T22:16:00.000-08:00

This is a book that I got when we bought our 2 little carvings.
I wish I had more time to read it!

This isn't exactly the one that we got, but our looks just like this.
White buffalo with a few beads, but our has turquoise horns.

Armadillo	Slow, Sure, Gets things right. Keeper of the home

Dolphin	spirit of friendship, trust, loyalty

Spider	creative patterns of life

Turtle	oldest symbol of Mother Earth, longevity

For All You GleeKs Out There...

2012-01-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

I had to share this video to all my fellow GleeKs....
(and if you don't know what a GleeK is, don't even bother)

I think this is probably THE cutest little boy EVER!

Road Trip Tricks & Tips

2012-01-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

Growing up we never really took family road trips. We drove places, but it would be like overnight to my grandma's house. We never stopped at the quirky road-side, Biggest-Ball-Of-Yarn type places. My husband on the other hand, likes to drive around for fun, just driving with no destination.

Now I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the idea of road trips. I want to drive all sorts of places & stop at all the odd-ball historic markers, eat at the weird dinners, etc. So here are just a few things we learned on our South Western travels....

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Never, ever leave home without it.

My in-laws got it for me, and we actually used it.We got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere & called to have them fix it. Awesome! If you know you will be on some crazy 2 lane highways in the country, GET IT!

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Get the Roadside America App for your phone!
It's amazing, you can search for all of those neat off-the-beaten-track places.
I think the best places we visited came from this App.
GET IT!

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Here are a few misc tips that any well prepared road tripper must know & do:

Make a car emergency kit. Include things like a flash light, water, snacks like protein bars, toilet paper, paper towels, Windex, first aid kit, etc. We used almost all these things during our travels.
Stay at Motel 6. We stayed at a few different motels, but Motel 6 was definitely the best place for the price. Clean rooms at a good price.
Give yourself time. We felt rushed cause we didn't give ourselves enough time to visit all the places we wanted. The time spent getting to your destination is as important as the destination.
Buy a postcard or magnet. We get a postcard and magnet from every place that we visit. It's just a physical reminder of all the places we've been.

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These are a few pics that we took on our adventure....

UFO Museum in Roswell New Mexico.

The O.K. Corral in Tombstone Arizona

Antelope Canyon in Page Arizona.
This was one of the most beautiful places. Was so unreal it looked fake.

Grand Canyon. It was snowy & all the trees looked dead & I like how creepy this picture looks.

Awesome place we visited. It was called Gold King Mine Ghost Town - in Jerome Arizona.
It was a cool ghost town / junkyard with tons of old cars, machines, barnyard animals, etc.
It probably the most surprisingly spectacular place we visited.
Found using the Roadside America App!!!

Yummy, Yummy Angora...

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

I made my first non-sheep wool purchase over the holiday. I've been thinking about experimenting with more advanced wet-felting techniques. Basically I know soooo many people that are either pregnant or have newborn babies right now, that I kinda want to try my hand at felting some baby booties.

With that in mind, I have been ogling some Angora Wool on some of my favorite wool websites, but didn't buy any because it's so expensive. We were at a craft show right before Christmas & I saw this beautiful wool and just couldn't pass it up. It's not pure Angora, but has some cashmere & merino mixed with it.

It's hand-dyed, beautiful, called "Sour Apple". It's white with painted red & green highlights.

I'd like to try wet-felting the slippers with this wool on the inside & maybe white, red or green merino on the outside.

Ahhh... Put it on the list of projects that I want to do when I have time...

Isn't It Ironic...

2012-01-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

I should know by now that I really shouldn't say things out loud, because I just jinx myself.

I write a list of News Years Resolutions & now it looks like I'm pretty much about to break all of them. Just when I am ready to get down to some serious Felted-Business, I get a call for my day-job. It was just for a couple days, so I thought, "eh, what harm can a couple days do. It'll just be a little extra money for traveling this summer (or a new pair of Uggs)." Then the next day I get a call for a big job, and I couldn't turn it down.

My day-job is pretty cool, I guess. I make movies & Disneyland rides & commercials, etc (not positive, but think I might be working on the new S. Treck - spelled wrong for confidential reasons- movie). It's hard, dirty work; not the glamorous vision that people have of the movie business. It's 12 hour days 6-7 days a week, but really excellent money.

So here's another declaration that I'm making out loud...

It would totally suck if I won the lottery tonight. It would be too much paper work, yuck. Mo' money, Mo' problems.

Just a few of the movies I've worked on. There might be more, but I don't remember.

New Year, New Resolutions!

2012-01-09T16:08:00.000-08:00

Me at the Big Texan Steak Ranch,
the place that sells the 72 oz. Steak challenge!

Lance & Me on our Road Trip! This is the Grand Canyon!

So it's 2012. Damn.

So with the start of the new year, I've made some New Year's Resolutions....

1. BLOG MORE - Okay, so I know I said I was going to blog more, like months ago, but I actually have a good reason for skipping. I was commissioned to be in a Felting Book! Yep, it's a project book so I had to make the projects & write all the instructions for them. It was a lot of work. I'll give you guys more info as the book's publication comes close!

2. LOOSE WEIGHT - This one is pretty standard. I was doing so good last year, lost almost 20 lbs for the wedding. Well marriage makes you lazy I guess, cause all that hard work is almost gone! But we just got a Fitness Bike today, so that resolution is about to get under way!

3. COOK MORE - I hate cooking, and this doesn't help with resolution #2. But I got a Crock-Pot for X-Mas & love using it! I've been pretty good so far, so gonna keep going with it! Got lasagna & my favorite dessert, MOCHI cooking as we speak.

4. FOCUS ON BUSINESS - I have some great ideas, why not make them? It's my goal this year to not have to go back to my day-job. I have another business in the works, too. My husband happens to be an AMAZING photographer. I'm working on setting up a shop for his prints, and make some fun photo-based crafty projects. Be prepared to see fun felt & decoupage projects coming this year.

5. TRAVEL - I love traveling. Got the bug last year when we went to Hawaii. Since then we've been trying to figure out how to become globe-trotters! Already did some over Christmas, went went on an epic road trip across the Southwest from Los Angeles to Dallas. I've got some killer picts to share with you soon! We have a trip to Yellowstone National Park in the works this summer with my family too!

So that's it... Doesn't seem too bad... We'll see!

Cuckoo, Cuckoo!

2011-10-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

So this is my latest piece that I've finished up. It is definitely the most ambitious sculpture I've made to-date!

This is a little Cuckoo Clock & Bird that has decided he's had enough with these new-fangled Digital Alarm Clocks! He's taken his revenge!

The Cuckoo Bird is needle-felted, with armature wire in his wings. The Alarm Clock lights up using a 9V battery, and the REAL Cuckoo clock base actually works! It was so much fun making him!

Type 2 Diabetes Alert!

2011-10-25T06:51:00.000-07:00

Please read this article if you or someone you know has Type 2 Diabetes. There is a highly prescribed drug called Actos that has been linked to increased risks of Bladder Cancer. It has already been banned in many European countries and needs to be banned here!

I just found out that this issue has had a VERY PERSONAL affect on my life. So please share, ask, & tell anyone that is affected by diabetes if they have heard this information. Information is power!

Dia De Los Muertos!

2011-10-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

We spent yesterday at the Day of the Dead festival at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. There were so many talented artists there selling work! It was so awesome to be surrounded by wonderful costumes & beautiful art. I LOVE the folk art look of the altars, sugar skulls, masks, & skeleton figurines. The festival was such a celebration with live music & dancers... even though it was in a cemetery!

Most of these skeletons are hand-made of paper-mache or clay. I just LOVE them!! So fantastic & so inspirational! I wanna make skeletons now!

Totally Back on ETSY!!

2011-10-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Yep, That's Right!

I'm officially BACK IN BUSINESS!! It's been over a - year? Maybe a year & a half that my shop has been on "Vacation Mode". I only have a few things up right now, because I want to reshoot all my photos, and I have to go through my inventory to see what I still have. Check in to the shop to see all sorts of stuff that I'll be adding!

Here are a few more photos of some pieces that I have up in my shop!!

Lights... Camera... Fish!

2011-10-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

LIGHTS...

So I finally invested in a Photo Studio Kit. It came with a HUGE light-tent & lights. I've been thinking about it for a while, but was hesitant about spending the money. BOY, am I glad I did it!! Still learning how to use it to it's full capabilities, but I'll figure it out. I'm already happy with how my first photos have turned out.

CAMERA...

We also invested in a new fancy DSLR camera!! It's actually more for my husband & his photography, but takes AMAZING picts of my sculptures. I never thought that camera quality made that much of a difference, but it does. This is a Pentax K-r, an entry level camera, but still a huge upgrade to my previous point & shoot.

*I took this photo with my iPhone in my Studio! Looks like a stock photo, but it's totally our camera!

FISH!!!

So this was my first attempt at taking photos with my new set-up. I think they came out WAY better than before, but still am learning how to use the camera & lighting. I love the colors & detail the camera picks up. That is one thing I've always been frustrated with, how do you show the real texture of a needle felted piece? Most of the time it just looks fuzzy.

This Felt Koi I made a while ago, but he always seemed unfinished. One the project before this one, I experimented with some Clear Casting Resin. That inspired this "pond" base. I colored the resin & left some texture with the aluminum foil I poured it into for the "water" texture. I then made a few Felt Cherry Blossoms (the ones from my previous post!)

Usually I like to finish sculptures right away, but I'm learning that if something seems unfinished, don't push it. Let it sit & stew for a while (a year with this one). Then maybe you'll come up with the perfect solution!

***This weird picture layout is kinda a "happy mistake". The layout for my blog has changed & I'm still figuring out how to use it, but I kinda like how the photos created a nice collage look. Don't know how or why it happened, but I'm okay with it....

When an Accident Makes You Go "hmmm..."

2011-10-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

Do you ever work really hard on a project, then you really screw it up?

You think, "IT'S RUINED!!! ... i worked so hard... why did i do that...

With me this usually happens when I think I know what I'm doing, I have a grand 'ol plan! Then I kinda forget to think about one tiny step in the process, & I mess it up, BIG TIME!!

This happened to me yesterday. I had some cute little cherry blossom flowers that I had made for a piece that I'm finishing up. The plan was to pour a clear "water" resin base & place the flowers on top so that they were attached. Well, dumb me didn't think about how casting resin is a liquid & that it would soak into the flowers....

Well I quickly pulled them out, ruining all the hard work I had done painting the flowers. I worked long & hard on them. But this is what came out of the "Happy Accident". Kinda a cool pile of solid resined flowers.

This specific one isn't that pretty, but it did get me to thinking about how maybe I can use this technique later on... ON PURPOSE!!! So take your mistakes & look at them with an open mind, you might like what you see!!!

These are the new cherry blossom flowers I started today, I like them better that those others anyways!!

DIY - Wire Bending Jig!

2011-10-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

So I bought some awesome thick 1/2" armature wire a while ago for a project that I'm finishing up. What I didn't realize was how incredibly difficult it is to cut & bend.

Instead of investing in one of these traditional wire bending gadget-jig-things, which I don't even think would work....

I decided to use what I got around the house!

Used a couple C-Clamps & a scrap of wood.
Clamped it to my work "bench", which is really
just an Ikea shelf outside.

Before I unclamped it, I just bent the wire up!

This was another "wire bender jig" I used.
The iron bars that are on the outside of my windows!!

So the moral of this experiment is...

You don't need no stink'n fancy tools to get the job done!! Just look around the house & you are bound to find exactly what you need!

MIssing Hawaii... already!

2011-10-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last month, my husband & I took a trip with his family to the Big Island, Hawaii. It was my first time there (his 10th or something) and I think I have found my place in this world. There is something magical about being surrounded by so much beauty & the spirit of "Aloha". It's a place that EVERYBODY has to visit at some point in their lives. We didn't go to Honolulu or any place that touristy, but Hilo, more of the local, real Hawaii. I used to dream about visiting this unbelievable place, but NOW it's my dream to move there & make art! What a place to live & be inspired everyday!

ahhh... someday...

My talented husband took so many beautiful photos while we were in Hawaii.

Oh, Yea, that's LAVA, baby!!
Totally took a helicopter ride over the Volcano! No doors, you could feel the heat!

These turtles were just spending a lazy day sun-bathing on the sand! We went snorkeling at this black sand beach, and was so awesome to swim with them! Surreal!

My totally awesome camera ROCKED! Underwater feature was so worth the $

Evolution of a Drawing!

2011-10-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'll start at the beginning... Of a sculpture!

So to get back into the swing of things, I thought I'd show you part of my process. This is a concept drawing that I did for a SUPER TOP-SECRET project that I might be working on!

Steps of drawing a Dinosaur....

Really bad sketch of idea!

My new favorite paper to draw on....
TRACING PAPER!!
Makes drawings so much easier to clean up!

Cleaned up Tracing Paper line drawing.

Transferred line drawing with some added shading.

Final drawing with some painted color & background!!

So like I said, this is just the process of a CONCEPT drawing. Doing a drawing like this helps me figure out the structure & anatomy of the subject. Then when it comes to actually creating the sculpture, I can focus more on making him look awesome!

Starting Anew...

2011-09-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't written a blog post in over a year...
sorry...

BUT, I think I'm ready to start fresh & new! It's been a busy year. Births, Deaths, Marriages, Vacations, Work. I've made a few new sculptures in the last year that, experimented with new techniques, and am inspired to create & share!

I want to get my Etsy shop back up & running & have a few exciting opportunities on the horizon. Get ready for some awesome new FELTED FUN!!!

Thanks

Chrissy M.
(used to be "Chrissy P." but getting married kinda changes that!) And yes, we did get married in Vegas... by Elvis! A dream come true!

It's a Good Day at Work....

2010-07-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

When a couple of the creative director guys at Disney call you sculpted work "Bad-Ass"!! I've sculpted on quite a few of the Disneyland, DisneyWorld, Disney Tokyo, etc. rides in my career. But this was the first time that anyone actually said what I made was "bad-ass". Sculpting is what I do, it's not really a big deal. I like working on the theme-park rides cause then I know that my sculpted work is seen by millions of people every year. I don't get any name recognition, but I've always said that I "wanted to make art that my Grandma could enjoy." Well, now tons of kids & families get to see my art. It's hard, sweaty work.... but somebody has to do it!!

Movie recommendation...

So we've watched a few really good documentaries in the past couple weeks, but I want to recommend one that I've been thinking about.

It's called "Confessions of a Superhero". It's an awesome documentary that follows 4 of the costumed actors that work the "Hollywood & Highland" area. They work outside the Grauman's Theater & take pictures with tourists. They are all aspiring actors that are making their way through life. It tells of the 4 character's background & what they do in their everyday lives. I just like how it shows these iconic Hollywood attractions' real-life alter-egos. Their stories are awkward, sad, inspiring, weird, etc.

It's very cool & I totally recommend it if you have an evening!!!

Picts from Renegade!!

2010-07-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

So here are a few picts from the L.A. Renegade Show. It was a blast & I'm still recovering from the weekend. I pretty much slept from when I got home from work till this morning last night! I was sooooo tired!!

I think one of the funnest things that people tell me at shows is (and it's usually fellow felters!!!), people comment on how nice the shading is on my work. They ask me how I get such nice gradations & shadows & when I tell them I use the airbrush they usually go "Oh...." and look super disappointed.

I know I've never been a traditional "felter". I find easy & cheap-trick ways to make creating my sculptures faster & better looking. I think my fellow felters feel cheated by how I use the airbrush to do shading. The way I look at is that I'm creating sculptures and part of creating those sculptures is the process of painting them. If I were sculpting sculpey sculptures, they need to be painted... If I were creating ceramic pieces, they would need to be glazed.... I don't feel bad about using any technique to get the look I want. I've got almost 10 years working as a prop maker & sculptor & 5 of those was almost exclusively creating work for Disney. Disney has a VERY specific aesthetic they follow & I enjoy the clean, graphic, animation inspired look to my sculptures. There is NO WAY to create that using traditional felting techniques.

Wool is just a medium for me to express my ideas in a sculptural form, not to be confined & limited by.

So Sorry....

2010-07-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

So I know I haven't posted much recently, that's because we've had some tragic family concerns. We lost a VERY loved & (will be) VERY missed member of our family. If you happen to be a friend or family member I just want to Thank You for all the love & support that you have given Lance & I. It only gets easier with time....

So because of the family stuff going on I have been lacking in inspiration with my art work & with my blog. Time heals, and this past weekend I was a vendor at the L.A. Renegade Show. I did WAY WAY WAY better than I was expecting, so if you are a new friend that I met yesterday or an old friend that maybe has been missing me...

I AM BACK!!!

Super motivated & excited about making some awesome piece after this past weekend. So, starting tomorrow I promise to start working & posting stuff more!! Will have a few picts from my booth tomorrow!!!

Thanks!!

Chrissy P.

The Pink Predator....

2010-07-01T18:05:00.000-07:00

So he's all done! I took him to work yesterday & took lots of photos. One awesome thing about making theme-park rides for a living is that there is all sorts of neat places to take photos. The "rocky" backgrounds are actually samples for a new Disneyland ride. And there were lots of cool industrial backgrounds.

So...

Here he is!! And be sure to click on the photo cause it will take you to the KidRobot page to see all the entries. There are some pretty awesome ones! And be sure to "LIKE" mine!!!

Quick Post!!!

2010-06-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Got some color on the Pink Predator Munny!!! His pink armor is coming along nicely. Want to do more detail & more layers of color. His dreads aren't attached cause I want to get all his armor painted before I glue them in. Soon!!

Hopefully I will be able to finish him up this weekend!!!

I miss Vegas & Unemployment....

2010-06-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

Do you have a "Day-Job"?

I just wanted to vent a little about how having a Day-Job kinda SUCKS! I love what I do at my job... but I miss vacation... I (surprisingly) miss being unemployed... I think it's the TIME that I miss. I love being on vacation cause it's an excuse to do whatever you want, spend money you really shouldn't, and eat whatever without feeling guilty. Despite the worry I felt when unemployed, I miss the 8-14 hours a day that I could work on my art. Now I get home & have maybe a couple hours to work on stuff. It really was nice to have unlimited time to start & prefect my craft.

It's funny cause I'm trying to work on the Predator Munny to finish it in time to submit it to the KidRobot contest, so I'm working like 3 hours after I get home from my Day-Job. Lance is so nice cause he is willing to go get us Fast-Food cause I'm busy working on it. It's nice, but annoying cause I don't seem to have any time to just chill. I think it's pretty much self-imposed business, but there always seems to be something that I HAVE HAVE HAVE to get finished. I have a craft show in July (which is getting close) that I haven't done much for, so I'm sure that I'll be frantically working on that once the Munny is done.

Sorry for the "pitty-party", but I just am feeling slightly overwhelmed. PLUS - I have the Art Supply store that I work at on the weekends to keep that job going.... ARGGGG!

This is the show I will be selling at in about a month!!!

Happy Father's Day!!

2010-06-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to wish all the Dads out there a very Happy, Relaxing, & Fun Day!! I want to give some extra love to my own dad & brother!!!

OMG!! I'm so there!!

2010-06-17T16:56:00.000-07:00

So Lance happened to show me a News clip of a dinosaur walking around a Japanese Mall, and from that I have found WALKING WITH DINOSAURS: LIVE!!!

OMG!!!!! I am so there!! It's a beautiful live show with life sized dinosaur puppets!!! From what I've seen, they are so beautifully sculpted & AWESOME!!!

I don't think I can emphasize how freak'n EXCITED I am about going to this!!! The show is going to be in Los Angeles in September & I am SOOOO going (even might have to pay for the most expensive seats because I want to be up close!) I LOVE dinosaurs & this is so awesome.

Here are a couple of videos of the dinos. I am just soooo impressed with how beautifully sculpted the costumes are & how awesome the puppetry is.....

Work... Work... Work...

2010-06-15T17:35:00.000-07:00

So I started my new scenic sculpting job last week & it's funny cause now I see why I hadn't made my own art for so long. When you spend all day sculpting or painting at work, then you don't feel very creative when you get home. You kinda get your "art" fix all day & the last thing I want to do when I get home is work on more art!! Working at the Art Supply Store is different cause you are around artsy people & art stuff all day, but you can't make anything!!!

So with the VERY little time I've had at home to work on my own stuff, I have updated pictures of the Pink Predator!! His head is almost finished, just need to clean it up a bit more, then bake it!! Working with sculpey is a little different & I'm learning alot, and still need practice, but here it is so far!!!!

New Drawings!!

2010-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some inspiring drawings that I did in the last week!!! My lack of motivation is cured! Too much I want to do... Too little time!!!

This is a drawing I did for the next felted sculpture I want to make. I want to make him BIG & BEAUTIFUL!!! Should be fun with lots of details & line work. I want to make him 2D with individual tail feathers that will layer all on top of each other. I'm excited!!

And this is a concept drawing that I did for a Munny. Munnies are the fun DIY vinyl figures that are made by KidRobot. They are super fun & I've always wanted to customize one. Well, KidRobot is having a fun competition in June so we bought a couple & are finally going to try it. It's my first ever Sculpey sculpted piece... so wish me luck!!

P.S. - Yes, it is the Predator!! I wanted to make a Predator with a twist, so I'm going to make it Pink w/ a Hello Kitty Skull!!! So much fun!!!

What a Week!!

2010-06-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

So last week was pretty awesome (hence the reason there was no posting). Last Wednesday was my 30th Birthday!! Lance & I went on a vacation... VEGAS BABY!! I love Las Vegas!! We did spend quite alot on the Penny Slots, but I also just love walking around the strip. We spent a good 9-10 hours each day just walking. I love stopping in the casinos & walking around the malls. We didn't buy anything, but it was fun just looking & watching people. Here are some picts from out super fun trip!!

A beautiful picture that Lance took of the fountains at the Bellagio. This is probably one of favorite things in Vegas! It makes me so happy!!

The typical "Party" shot that needs to be taken in Vegas. I have to admit that I didn't get drunk AT ALL!!! We were to full of food & RockStar Energy Drinks to drink much. But felt the need to have the shot!

Lance's first trip to Hoover Dam. It's really beautiful there, but also DAM hot!! It's a nice day-trip if you have the time. About 45 minutes from Vegas.

They are building a giant bridge across the valley of the dam. It's so huge! This picture looks like I'm standing in front of some sort of fake, printed backdrop!

And a decent picture of me! We were at our traditional breakfast at Terrible's Casino. It's the kind of place that has like $5 steak & eggs breakfast. Needed coffee cause it's amazing how you can be hanging out in Vegas & the next thing you know, it's like 3 am. So crazy!!

I love Vegas & miss you already!!!

And I have some drawings to share tomorrow!! I have been working, just needed a break. Have to finally finish the Sparrow today & then working on a fun little project!!

Almost Done!!

2010-05-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

Here is the completed picts for the felting part of the Sparrow Sculpture. Just finished all the sculpting, and just need to finish the wood base so it can hang. Should finish it tomorrow... and have finished picts!!!

All the felting done!! Line work is fun, but takes a little time.

Detail of finished felting.

Time to put it all together! Just cut a small hole to allow the armature wire to slip through the felt to the back.

Felting the wings on!

All done & ready for it's wood base. Just laid it on the wood....

And traced around the outside. I like this look cause it will be like a bold black outline around the whole thing. And gives me a way to hang it!

Outline ready to cut out. It was too late tonight to jigsaw the wood (little kids living next door) but will cut it out first thing in the morning!

Have a Great Memorial Day Weekend!!
Be safe & eat lots of BBQ!!!! Yea Summer!!

A Long Day of Felting!

2010-05-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

I worked most of today, it felt good to get some work done cause I've been kinda lazy recently. So I shared the first process picts for my newest piece yesterday, so I thought I'd continue! Here was today's progress picts for the Tattoo Sparrow Felted Sculpture!

I started by sketching a pattern for the wings. I wanted both to be the same, so I made a drawing to cut the wool-felt from.

I traced the pattern of the wings on some pre-felted white wool. This is my new favorite material to make things go faster. Instead of felting wool from scratch into a thin shape, I just use the pre-felt & needle on top!!

I want one of the wings to come off the base into 3d, so I felted the armature wire into the wing. This helps with support & posing.

Both wings all cut & ready for color!

I used my handy new PhotoShop Elements to scale the original concept drawing up to the size of the wings. I like the shape of the body that I drew before, so I just printed it out to be able to use as a pattern.

This is another great reason to have the pattern. I cut it up to insure the shape & placements of the different colors.

I wanted the blue color on the body of the bird to be slightly thicker than the rest, so I just added a layer of white wool to add a little bulk.

Time to start the color!!!

I'm a sucker for some nice clean lines & graphic elements in my pieces, so I took the time to sculpt in the colored highlights. I wanted to have some white at the bottom of the wings.

After much needling, I finished all the blue! It was alot of needling!!

I then used the body pattern to sketch in the placement for the red under-belly color.

Fun color on the body is done!

All the color is done! Looking good!

Time for the line detail! Just using my handy black wool yarn to felt in the bold black lines around the shapes...

It was a long day & I'm done working, but he is coming along nicely!!

I dye with iDYE!!

2010-05-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

So here is a short tutorial on how to dye some wool using Jacquard's iDye. I wanted to start another series of process picts for my newest sculpture. So in the coming days (or weeks depending on how fast I get this piece done) I will be showing the complete process of creating my newest Felted Sculpture A Tattoo-Inspired Sparrow. Sh here is the first step....

I dye with iDye...

Start by pre-soaking your wool in a warm bath of water with a splash of vinegar. Pre-soaking your wool helps the fibers open up & gets them ready to receive the dye. It also helps with getting a nice even overall dyed color.

While your wool is soaking, get you pot of hot water started on the stove. I have a specific pot that I use for dying so that I don't make stew or something that ends up slightly blueish in color.

I wanted to dye my wool a nice blue color. Be sure to check out these iDyes cause they have so many yummy colors made for natural dyes. They are technically made to be thrown into you washing-machine, but I've found it's super easy to use them on the stove top!

You will be adding some white vinegar to the pot of hot water. This is used as the dye's MORDANT, which is to help set the dye in the fibers. I'm not quite sure of all the science-type stuff on it, but it has to do with attracting the dye molecules and affixing them to the individual wool fibers. You can use this method with cotton fibers, the only difference is that you will use Salt as the Mordant!

Now add your dye to the pot. Since you are controlling the amount of dye for the wool, you can add as little or as much depending on how saturated you want the color to be. I wanted a medium (not too light, not too dark) so I added a little bit, then added more about 1/2 way through.

So add the dye, add the vinegar, then add you wool! Be sure to gently stir the wool through the time of dying. You don't want to aggressively stir the wool cause it will start to felt (which I have done) but you want to be sure to move the fibers around. This will help with getting even color coverage.

Now let the wool sit & cook for about 1/2 hour.

All dyed! You will be able to see if the dye has been completely soaked up by looking at the left-over water. It should be fairly clear. If your water is still dark or opaque, then you either added too much dye & your fiber can't take anymore, or you need to leave it in the water for longer. I've also just pulled wool out after a short time cause I wanted a lighter color *This may cause bleeding because the dye has not had time to set.

All done & just hanging up to dry. Should be ready for me to use tomorrow. I have a home-made clothes line hanging outside my window with some twine & clothes pins. Not that pretty or strong, but just perfect to hang tufts of wool!!

I love dyeing wool because I get to control what colors I make, but also get surprised & inspired by anything that I wasn't expecting!

Sorry...

2010-05-24T18:09:00.001-07:00

I haven't blogged in like a week! This last weekend was super busy, but fun! Got to spend some time with my brother, so now I'm trying to catch up on all my missed emails & blogs.

I thought I'd share a little something I came across last night. I was reading something on a blog... which led me to another website... then I came across a link... etc...

But I found this video showing painter Mark Ryden's process of creating a beautiful piece. I guess I have always like Ryden's work, and after seeing this video, I like him even more. I enjoy seeing process pictures of art. I enjoy seeing the awkward phases of a piece, where you think it looks horrible, but then turns out amazing in the end!

I also love seeing how many reference pictures he uses while painting!! I'm such a fan!

New Computer Toy!!

2010-05-19T06:47:00.000-07:00

So I downloaded a Trial version of Photoshop Elements. My (kinda) old & well loved MAC has no paint program or graphics program which makes it hard to make basic graphics for Felted Chicken. I just wanted to tell you that I think I'm liking Photoshop Elements... ALOT!! I know it's lame, but I'm really excited about updating my graphics (avatar & Etsy Banner) all professional-like. It's still the trail version, but I think for the price of like $80 it's totally worth making my life easier. So if you don't have a nice program for working on your graphics, maybe check out the P.S. Elements program. And if anybody has experience with it, let me know what you think & maybe some expert's tips on working with it!!!

Here is a comparison of what my original Avatar looked like before and after a little work in Photoshop Elements!!! I think you can totally see the difference!! The "after" jpeg just looks so much better & cleaner & brighter!!! It's the little things that make me happy!!

Airbrush Process!

2010-05-17T06:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted many process pictures recently except for the Koi, so I thought I'd share some with you today. I was asked a while ago to put together a Airbrushing Process Tutorial for the Dabbled Blog. Nancy was kind enough to have me guest blog with this tutorial!! I haven't posted a tutorial in soooo long, I thought I'd repost it here & give a Shout-Out to Dabbled!!

Airbrushing some Chocolate Frosting!!!

Here are all the supplies you need to help paint & shade your Felted Sculptures!!

*Airbrush, Compressor, & bottles
*Watered down Acrylic Paint
*Yummy Felted Cupcakes!!

This is what the cupcakes look like BEFORE any paint has been sprayed. Just plain white frosting all ready to be transformed into Chocolate!!

I didn't want to get any over-spray of the brown onto the "cake", so I put a little paper & masking tape to cover that part.

First layer of color a warm yellow!!

I like to paint in light layers of many different colors. I think this gives the colors more depth instead of just blasting a single color on to the wool. Also if you get to much acrylic paint onto the wool, it tends to bleed & get a little crunchy.

Slowly getting darker & darker!! Going from the yellow base to a warm brown.

Starting to look like chocolate with the darker brown!! This could pass as a Milk Chocolate, but I want a darker frosting.

Working with the darkest (almost black) brown to add some dark shadows within the twirl.

Yummy Yummy!!! Looking Delicious!! Love the dark shading in the creases!!

Almost done just need....

Cherries On Top!!! Yea! All done!

Being Inspired... Part II...

2010-05-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

So I spent the morning & early afternoon trying to get inspired by drawing in my sketch book! I finished a couple of drawings & have a few new ideas for pieces I might start. I'm starting to look at my sketch book as creating more of a conceptual journal, rather than the way I used to use it by just drawing & ironing out the details of my next sculpture. It's kind of like photography, not every picture you take is a masterpiece, but 1 out of 100 is AMAZING!!

Concept drawings of Sugar Skulls!!!

I've always loved the traditional "Day of the Dead" images. I especially love the ornately decorated Sugar Skulls. You can do so much with them. These would make great wall hanging pieces... or something even better....

Concept for Swallow Tattoo!

Would love to make more wall hanging pieces like the Koi. I also like the graphic styles of traditional tattoo designs. I think it would be fun to make a 2-d , 3-d version of the traditional Swallow / Sparrow!

Being Inspired!!

2010-05-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

So the good thing (and bad) thing about finishing a big piece of art is the time before you start the next. I love the time because it allows me to clear my mind & think about what I want to do next. I usually spend a good amount of time researching ideas, or drawing in my sketch book. But also, I can never decided what to make next....

What inspires you?
Where do you get your ideas?

There are so many pieces that I want to make, but I'm not always motivated to make them. Once I make a decision, I'm good to go & will work it through. But sometimes, some of the pieces that I've been meaning to start just don't sound that fun at this specific time.

so...

What will it be...

Don't know yet, but something will light a fire under my butt!!

Koi is Finished!!

2010-05-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

So he's all finished!! It was a dash to the finish, but I got him all done & photo'd yesterday, then went and hung him at my work today! Feels great to be done & I'm really happy with how it turned out. Here are the final picts of the Koi & what he looks like in his new home....

And I think it's funny cause when I finally hung it, it looks kinda small. When you are working on a piece (in hand) and up close, it seems HUGE... but... when hung next to giant paintings, he looks less than impressive. But he still looks cool!! Come by the Blick Art Supply Store on Beverly if you are hanging out in the Hollywood area!! He will also be listed in my shop this morning!!

More Koi Picts!!

2010-05-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

Almost done... Got all the main parts done, just gotta finish the details & paint his wood base & mount him on!! I'm super excited & want to be done!!! Ready to move on to the next piece!!

I also am excited about my new toy!! I bought myself a Fancy-Shmancy Jigsaw. I've needed one for a while, and this project gave the best excuse to buy one. Went with the middle-grade one (rather than the super cheap or super expensive). I think it'll come in handy cause I'm dig'n making wall-hanging pieces. I think there might me more of a market to sell sculptures that hang on the wall. At least people might not ask me "What is it for?" anymore. These piece have a purpose... hanging on the wall... and now maybe I can open my buyers into people that buy paintings & prints to decorate their houses.

I used the jigsaw to cut out the wooden base for the Koi. I just laid it down on the wood & drew a nice outline around it. It will be painted black, have some armature wire to hold the tail up, & have the hanging hardware on the back.

And here are the Picts of the Koi!!

These are of the Koi before his last round of paint & after I attached the fins. You can see how he will be sculptural - going from his flat head to full 3D tail. To give you a bit of scale, the piece of wood that it is sitting on is 2' x 4'. I like how it is turning out!!

These are the picts of Koi after his final paint job! Now he just need a bit more detail.

Donation Time!!

2010-05-05T19:05:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a few days late for this... but it's time for me to donate to my Featured Charity!!! Thanks to all of your support (and a couple months of rock'n Etsy sales!) I was able to make a HUGE donation to the American Red Cross!!! It's just in time too, because OUR donation will go towards helping the victims of the past Haitian & Chilian Earthquakes, but also the very recent floods in the South. There has been so much destruction & many deaths here in the U.S. and it isn't getting much coverage on the news!! Our thoughts go to you all in Nashville & all the other communities that are being affected by this tragedy.

And I would also like to announce the next Charity that I will be donating to!! (I know that Mother's Day is this weekend) But also Father's Day is in June, and because of this I want to announce that I will be donating 10% of all of Felted Chicken Sales to a charity that is close to my own Dad's heart. He has been involved with Engineers Without Boarders, and even took a trip down to Honduras with the organization to help the local people build & construct some water purifying structures. They are an amazing orgainization who:

EWB-USA helps create a more stable and prosperous world by addressing people's basic human needs by providing necessities such as clean water, power, sanitation and education...

Engineers Without Borders – USA supports community-driven development programs worldwide through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while fostering responsible leadership...

I think the best thing about what EWB does (from what I have talked to my dad about) is that they go into communities and really work with the local people and teach them how to build and maintain their own infrastructure. This allows them to then take the responsibility into their own hands rather than just relying on the charity organizations to support them. It's like they always say...

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

So for the Month's of May & June, Engineers Without Boarders is the Featured Charity!!! Please check out the link on my sidebar if you are interested in donating or getting more information about them!!!

And I just thought of this....

Now that the chaos of the Haitian & Chilian Earthquakes is over, it is now time to help them REBUILD!!

Koi Progress Pictures!!!

2010-05-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I am feeling sooooo much better & even got a ton of work done on my newest felted sculpture! I thought I'd share some more progress picts of the Koi Hanging Wall piece that I have been working on. It's almost done, just gotta attach the fins, finish any additional detail & painting, & make the supporting wood piece to allow it to hang on the wall!! I'm super excited about how he has been turning out, and hopefully will finish him this week, then show him at my work!!

This is what the koi looked like when I finished felting & sculpting and before I started airbrushing any color or shadows. I used the iDye in Sun Yellow (maybe... don't remember exactly which color it was), but I LOVE those dyes!! When my parents were in town last weekend I totally talked my dad into buying me like 5 more colors! Now I have the whole rainbow!!

Here's the Koi with his first layer of color. Started with a bright orange for shading & overall color. I dyed him yellow at first to allow plenty of light highlights.

All the parts finish painted (for now). Now just need to attach the fins, that's gonna be tricky, but I'm sure I'll figure something out!!

Love how the shading on the scales turned out!! He's actually much more brilliant orange than these pictures show.

Detail of face & scales. I'm not sure about how "airbrushed" his face looks right now... may need to work on that just a little bit more.

A Bit Under the Weather...

2010-04-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted much this week, but I think I've gotten some sort of cold-ish type sickness. It's lame cause I don't feel bad enough to call in sick to work, but just bad enough to go to bed the minute I get home. Hopefully I will be feeling better today!! Promise I will have fun & interesting posts in the next week, once I'm feeling better!!

Unique Los Angeles!

2010-04-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

If you are in Los Angeles area, be sure to check out the Unique Los Angeles show this weekend!! I was going to be a vendor here, but with everything going on, I decided to ship it this year. We are going today as visitors & to spend money on awesome Handmade Goodies!! The show runs this weekend April 24th & 25th from 11am- 7pm in Down Town. Be sure to go and support your local crafters and see some excellent work!!

And tomorrow, we are going to take an awesome Sunday PCH drive! I love driving up to Mailbu at maybe stopping at Neptune's Net for lunch!!!

Have a great weekend!!

EarthDay Giveaway!!

2010-04-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everybody know that I have been included in an awesome Earthday "Love Your Mother" Giveaway that is being hosted on the Monster Bites blog today!!! My little Eco-Friendly Globe Needle-Felting Kit is included among a short list of amazing handmade items that are featured today in celebration of Mothers & The Great Mother Earth!!!

These are just a few of the items that are included in the Giveaway Today!!! Be sure to click & enter to win!!! And Thank You to Monster Bites for thinking of me & including my Kit in their awesome post today!!!

*Items include:

FeltedChicken - Eco-Friendly Needle Felting Kit
Odelea - Earth Gift Cards
Green Eyed Monster - Reusable Tote Bag

My New Favorite Animal!!!

2010-04-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

So I was looking through Yahoo News to get my daily dose of useful & useless info, & came across this article about my new favorite animals!!!

The woolly mystery known as the Sheep-Pig!!!

At first I thought this was a joke (it reminded me of that South Park episode with Al Gore & the "Man-Bear-Pig"). But to my surprise & delight, it's a real animal!!!!

It's a combination of 2 of my favorite animals Sheep (cause of their wool) & Pig (because of bacon)!!!!!

OMG... So awesome.. need to felt it!!!

Waiting for the Rain....

2010-04-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Figuratively & Literally!!

It's supposed to rain here in SoCal for the next couple days, but hopefully it will clear up by the time my parents get here on Friday!! I'm so excited... but... also have to clean the house :( PLUS I might be starting back on the movie job that I was working on last month again next week. Tranformers 3 here I come... maybe... again...

It's funny cause I have FINALLY caught up with my everyday life, and FINALLY started to read my back log of blogs that I've been neglecting, and FINALLY have time to work on some new sculptures...

then...

"Here Comes the Rain Again...."

But I will share a few picts of the newest felted piece that I started a couple days ago. I'm really excited about this one because I'm making it to display at my job - Blick Art Supplies. Once it's done it will be on permanent display so if you live in the L.A. area, you can come & see it!!! (and buy some most-awesome art supplies while you're at it!!)

This is a picture of the Koi Wall piece that I took with my hand so that you could see the scale of the piece. It's definitely the LARGEST sculpture that I've ever started. He will eventually be totally airbrushed & have a wood base so that he can hang on the wall.

This is just a reminder of how BRILLIANT I am!!! I got the bright idea to use Wool Yarn for my black line work for this piece. It just takes forever to felt long lines of... well... yarn, by hand, so I thought I'd try using the real stuff!! It's going really well & fast & even the package states -

"Alpine Wool... This soft, natural 100% wool roving yarn is ideal for garments, accessories, and felting projects"

We have a winner!!!

And just a picture of how the fish is starting out! I'm pretty excited to see what I do with it!! i'm pretty sure it will be awesome by the time I finish!! HAHA!!

Finished Mini-Angler!!!

2010-04-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

So I hope everybody had a great week & got your taxes done in time!! I did mine a couple weeks ago, so wasn't under the pressure of dashing to the Post Office on Thursday. HOORAY for TurboTax!!! And it wasn't sooooo bad doing my taxes even with all the business stuff included. I'm sure there was some sort of deduction that I missed, but got a killer return so I'm not complaining. I think it also helps that I've been a freelance sculptor for the past few years & have itemize deductions before, so I'm used to keeping receipts & organizing the items into their proper categorizes.

And I also wanted to share the final pictures of the Mini-Angler Fish!! He's all done, just needs to be packed up & mailed today. I darkened his eyes (which I think made him look a bit meaner!!) And got some nice photos of him yesterday! I also just started my newest felted sculpture yesterday too!! It's going to be the BIGGEST piece I have ever done!! I will hopefully have updated progress picts sometime next week!!!

Mini-Angler Done (almost)...

2010-04-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

So here are a few pictures of the newest Felted Sculpture that I just about finished!! It was a custom order for a Mini-Angler Fish!!! I liked how he turned out! It's the first time I tried using polymer-clay for his teeth. It was fun & super easy to make them a bit more wicked-looking. I painted them to add a little shadow. He's almost done, just want to darken his eyes a little (they look kinda peek-a-boo right now). Then I want to take some nice pictures, then he is off to his new home!!!

Process Picts of Mini-Angler!!

Great Weekend!!

2010-04-12T08:11:00.001-07:00

Had an awesome (busy) weekend!! Lots of fun family time! Spent Saturday with Lance's family, great time, great food!! And my brother was in town for business Sunday. We met down at the Lakers Game. Great seats, great food!! We even got into the secret "Celebrity Bar" where all the stars go during half-time. Saw a couple celebs: George Lopez & Adrian Brody. Then we met Kobe Bryant after the game (and by-the-way... Kobe is a "hugger")

Here are a few picts from the game yesterday!

Picture of the Famous Lakers' Girls!!

Picture of some of the game action from our seats!!

Pictures of me & my Bro on the court!!

And just to remind you...

Here are some pictures of the Black Mamba Felted Sculpture that I made for Kobe Bryant!!

New Look New Items!!

2010-04-08T06:13:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to be playing around with the layout of my blog in the next couple days (just to warn you). I've been needing to redesign my blog & personal website for a while, but haven't had time. I like this layout (for now) but still need to tweak it!!

Also just wanted to share some new items that I am listing in my shop this morning!!

Felted Tiered Cakes w/ Cherries on Top!!!

Here are some yummy new Sweet-Felted-Treats that I have available in my Etsy shop! They are super cute & fun 2 tiered cakes with accenting frosting & a bright red cherry on to!!! Please stop by and see them in all their glory... in my shop.

Stuff in the Works...

2010-04-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

So I know I promised to Blog soooooo much this week & well, I'm lame and haven't thus far.

BUT...

I'd thought I'd share some of the newest drawings of some pieces that I have (or will soon) start. These are all Felted Sculptures I have in the works!!

This is a drawing for a piece that I kinda started at the Pink Parlour Festival. I was just kinda sculpting some core wool & this idea came to me!! I want to make an Ugly Duckling & use some Clear Cast Resin to form his base of "tears". Hopefully he will be super cute & slightly pathetic!!

This is the concept sketch I drew for a Wall Tattoo Koi Felted piece that I want to start this week. I have a great space at work to display my work & needed to come up with a wall-mounted piece to hang. I want to make it kinda like the previous Koi Tattoo piece that I made, but also with a twist!! I want it to start flat (like a tattoo or drawing) and then have it sculpt into 3-D with the tail coming out of the wall!! I think it's a neat idea & we will see how it turns out!!

And this is the drawing that I made for a custom Mini-Angler!!! He's almost done now, just airbrushing him & need to add the teeth & colored wool accents. Hopefully I will finish him this week & have pictures for next week!!!

So the moral of the Blog-Post is....

I am actually working on stuff, but I'm also trying to focus on making some nice LARGE sculpted piece which take more time than the (re)GIFT BAGS or the small felted treats. So I will try to be better about posting... just give me a chance!!!

HAPPY 3-Day WEEKEND!!!

2010-04-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

And Happy Easter!

And Happy Passover!

And Happy April Fools Day!

And Happy... um... Spring!!

Hope everyone gets to spend some quality time with your loved ones this weekend! Take the time to reflect & appreciate the things you have in you life, not the things you want!

And just to let you know, I'm off this next week so I have plenty of times to post some awesome Bloggy-Goodness!! (and just for a preview... I will be
sharing some super-awesome Hollywood Trick-of-the-Trade tips!!!)

Guest Blog Spot!

2010-03-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let everybody know about a guest Blog Spot I wrote on one of my favorite blogs:

Dabbled.org

Nancy was awesome enough to ask me to share a tutorial about my airbrush work. I did a photo tutorial showing the progression of some Chocolate Cupcakes!!! Please check it out....

(preview)

And my Movie Gig is going well!! I had to sign all these wavers about how I wouldn't Blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc ANYTHING about the production!!! So far it's pretty tame, and i wanted to share a picture with you!

Ever wonder what People Who Work on Movies drive to work???
Well, I'll give you one guess which car is mine (here's a hint):

Truck... Big Truck... Fancy Truck... Truck... Beetle... GIANT Truck...

You guess.

new Jacquard iDye!!!

2010-03-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

So we just got this new product in at work & I am so excited!! We just got the iDyes by Jacquard in and they look like they have alot of potential! As you all know I'm a huge fan of dying my wool with Kool-Aid. It's way non-toxic & easy & not that messy. But am seriously limited to the colors available (I guess kids only like to drink Bright & Fruity flavors instead of ones like "olive" or "gun metal"). I've also played with the WashFast Dyes by Procion, but there are way too many chemicals to help set the dye & it can be quite a production to dye a batch.

But Now....

There is Jacquard's iDye!!!!

I was so excited because these dyes come in so many Yummy colors! Plus they are really easy to use. They are the kind of dyes that you are supposed to just drop in the washing machine and just add some Vinegar, but they do include instructions for stove-top dying. I just cut the pack open and added a little of the powder to my pot & dyed away!! I tested the dye on this little turtle (sorry for the bad picts) I made for my niece's birthday next week! With just a tiny bit of the powder, the color was super bright!! I think once I get a little money in the bank from my Movie Job, I will have to invest in all the colors!!

These are definitely worth a look at if you like to dye your own wool. I will be trying on my next big piece this week (mini-Angler) and will post picts of the outcome!!

Available at your local Dick Blick Art Supplies Store ;)

*Had to add this in cause that's where I work!!!
**They also make a iPoly Dye. The original iDye is for natural fibers, but the iPoly is for synthetics!!

Picts of the new Display at work!!

mmm... iDye...

...

It just keeps coming...

2010-03-18T08:06:00.001-07:00

Thought I was busy before... Now I just got a call to work on a movie for a few weeks. I'm excited about the money (totally need it), but then not excited about how tired I will be (plus the lack of time I will have to make all the new sculptures I have in mind). I do have a custom order that I HAVE to do this week (mini-Angler Fish!!!). Plus I get to keep my awesome job at the Art Supply Store!!! I love working there, but let's just say it pays a wee less than the Union work.

So don't want to officially say what movie I will be working on, but here is a teaser picture of one of my favorite toys I had as a kid....

You connect the dots....

This also means that I will probably be Blogging even less than I have been :(
I will try my best...
.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

2010-03-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

Today everyone claims to be a little Irish!! (I am... a tiny bit... on my mom's-mom's-dad's-mom's side!)

Don't forget to wear green, or you will get pinched!
Don't drink too much, you gotta work tomorrow!
Spread the Love o' the Irish!!

Green inspired stuff from my shop!!

Pink Parlour Festival Picts!!

2010-03-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

Even though it was supposed to be a relaxing day off after my show yesterday, I still found myself running around like a chicken with their head cut-off!!!!

The Pink Parlour Festival was a ton of fun!! Didn't sell a whole lot, but handed out plenty of business cards, made some great connections, got some amazing feedback on my work, & had interest in some special orders!!

Here are a few picts of my table set-up. There's even a couple picts of Lance, who was awesome all day & helped me out with displaying everything.

Back To Business: Week 2

2010-03-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Week 2 Topic:
How much is TOO much Social Networking

You all have heard me complain about trying to find a "Nice Balance" between the Real-World & my Online-Life for the past month. Having a full time job PLUS trying to continue to be creative PLUS trying to keep up with all the different Social Networking that is needed to have an Online-Life is really overwhelming.

I love to make things. This is why I started my humble little business.

BUT...

I guess I didn't realize how much time you have to put into getting your name out there in the infinite World Wide Web. Every Marketing Blog (crafty & business oriented) always talks about how your need to have a FaceBook Fan Page... Twitter really brings traffic to your site... Blog EVERY day... don't blog too much people will find you annoying... Post in the Forums... Comment on other people's Blogs... Update & renew you listings everyday... Make sure ALL your graphics are the same (helps with branding)... etc... etc... etc...

So...

Questions of the Week:

What Social Networking Sites are you addicted to? Which have you tried & think are WAY too much trouble?

Do you Etsy, Ebay, Blog, FB, Tweet, Flickr, Hoot, Post, Comment, etc?

As a Seller - What Sites are a must for your online marketing?
As a Buyer - Where do you find those artists with MUST-HAVE creations?

I think the most annoying Social Networking site that I just can't seem to keep up with is Twitter. I tried it last year, lost interest, got back into it in January, and (again) find it too overwhelming to keep up with. How do people find enough time to do everything, still create new products, and live a normal life?

.

HUGE Week!!

2010-03-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a big, busy past week here at Felted Chicken!!! I've had 4 sales (which pretty much doubled my total sales in February). Not only have I been getting ready for The Pink Parlour Festival by running around town getting stuff & finishing product, but I also am working 40 hours at my job, AND have made my FIRST GIANT Etsy sale!!!

I sold the Angler Fish!! He will be missed because he has had a permanent spot on our bookcase in the living room for the past year. He is going to a great home in Germany!! It's my first major sculpture sale & it feels awesome!! I feel kinda justified & like an official Artist!!

And here is a Custom Cupcake that I made for a customer this week, too! It's a sweet Chocolate Cupcake with Frosty Blue Icing!! It's got me thinking of making some more interesting Cupcake Color combinations.

OH!! I forgot to mention before....

I just listed my 100th item in my Etsy Shop!!! Gots lots of stuff, now just need lots of buyers!!! HAHA!!!

Back To Business: Week 1

2010-03-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

So I thought maybe if I tried to add some more weekly Features on my Blog, it might help me organize my thoughts & keep me writing. So I decided to started writing a Monday Feature called:

Back To Business!!

Your weekend is over... it's Monday Morning... so... Back To Business!!! I figured this would be a great day to bring up interesting business topics that I thought maybe everyone can think about, Buyers & Sellers!

Week 1 Topic: Free Shipping!?!?!?!

So I've been thinking about this for a while now because, personally as a buyer, I'm a sucker for Free Shipping!! I love finding a product that I kinda-sorta need & am totally swayed in the purchasing direction if the shipping is super cheap or free. I hate when you find something that you absolutely need, then see that the shipping cost is as much as the price of the item. I definitely DON'T buy things with high shipping.

While reading my blog feed I came across this interesting Post from the Etsy Forums:

uniqueartpendants says:

...
This is the most important tip I have. Ready?
drumroll...
Offer free shipping. It DOES make a difference. Huge. My sales soared as soon as I offered free shipping. It's a marketing strategy that works. One woman contacted me and told me how she had a vase for $20 plus $10 shipping and it sat in her shop forever. She changed the price to $30 with "free shipping" and it sold in two days. It's a change of marketing and the buyer ended up paying the same in the end. You pay a little more in fees with the shipping included in the price - but it's worth it for the sales.
The key is to write "free shipping" in your title. If you look in my shop you will see that all of my titles have "free shipping" in them - not just in the tags. That way when buyers do a search for "free shipping" the listings with "free shipping" in the TITLES come up before the listings that have just "free shipping" tags.
...

This excerpt came from a post that uniqueartpendants started about how she made 2000+ sales. I tend to take tips from a power seller like this seriously.

I also think that the investment in Free Shipping might not be so bad when I noticed that there is a place to "deduct shipping fees" while trying to start my taxes. So technically (I think) I could probably write-off the shipping costs from my taxable income.

So...

Question of the Week:

What are your thoughts on FREE SHIPPING? As both a buyer & seller? I know it seems like a lot of money not charge a customer during an online transaction, but will that investment lead to more sales? Maybe just for domestic shipping (international can get pricey) or for BOTH?

.

TGIF...

2010-03-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Even though I do have to work tomorrow.... I didn't think that working one extra day this week would be that big of a deal, but the evidence of my lack of blogging tells a different story. But I do have the excuse that one of my two days off was Lance's birthday, so I really only had one day to catch up on all my Crafting Stuff.

Trying to finish off all the projects that I started for the Pink Parlour Festival next weekend. I have been listing new items in my Etsy shop regularly for the past couple weeks though. Here are a few of the newly listed AWESOME things that I've finished!!

Be sure to check out my Etsy shop this next week because I will be putting it on "Vacation Mode" next weekend, packing everything up, & hopefully make some $$ at the Show!! If there's anything that you've had your eye on in the recent past, grab it now!!!

(sorry for the shameless plug... you all know I'm usually not like this!!! But wouldn't mind a sale or two in the next week ;)

.

New Charity!!

2010-03-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

Well, January & February are past, and thanks to everyone who supported my Featured Charity the ASPCA!! i just made my FeltedChicken donation this morning & thanks to a few last minute sales in February, I got to make a sizable donation!!! I'm sure there are many homeless animals that will benefit from all our support!!

So now's time to announce the Next Featured Charity! 10% of all my FeltedChicken Sales for the months of March & April (including my craft show sales!) will be donated to....

I wanted to Feature this Charity because of the amazing work they did during the Haitian Earthquake, and their continuing need for our support for the most recent Tragedy of the Chilean Earthquake.

March is American Red Cross Month!!

The American Red Cross is part of the world’s largest humanitarian network – 97 million volunteers helping in 186 countries. In this country, the Red Cross helps change lives seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

* 200 times a day, American Red Cross volunteers help a family who has lost everything in a house fire or other disaster.
* 475 times a day, the American Red Cross connects deployed service members with their families.
* 21,000 times a day, a patient receives blood through the American Red Cross blood program.
* 43,000 times a day, someone receives life-saving American Red Cross health, safety and preparedness training.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org

So Please help me support this amazing Charity by making a donation from my "Featured Charity" Link, or help me make a larger donation by making a purchase from my Etsy Shop!!!

I've been a bad Blogger...

2010-02-28T10:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my lack of posts this week. Work & life & Crafting can be overwhelming. Still trying to find that balance. It's making me feel a bit anti-computer. Will try harder in the future!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANCE!!!

Yea!! Today is my man's B-Day. Letting him sleep in, then we will be going to dinner at Sizzlers!! I love Sizzlers!! They have a great salad bar & are budget friendly!! Can't wait!

Still Listing New Items in my Etsy Shop!!!

Be sure to stop by to see all the fun & (slightly) Girly items that I've be listing!

Pink Parlour is only 2 weeks away!!

Still have alot to do, but it's nothing compared to my first show. And of course I am scheduled to work 40 hours next week. Been doing about 30 which gives me 3 days off to work on crafty stuff, but of course I get scheduled for more the weeks before my next show... Just my luck...

Be sure to come by if you are in the Los Angeles Area to help support your fellow hand-makers!!

Hope everybody has (or had) a great weekend!!!

An All-Out Esty Assault!!!

2010-02-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

Yep, doing another Etsy Surge in the next couple weeks!! Got lots done on my day off yesterday, including getting photos of 20+ new items that I will be listing in my shop. Here are a couple of new Cupcakes that I just listed!!

Got lots more Cupcakes and New (re)GIFT BAGS that I will be listing!! Be sure to check out my shop for the latest additions!!

Lots of Pictures Monday!

2010-02-22T09:55:00.001-08:00

So here are some pictures that I took today & that I've been saving up for a fun photo post!!!

Frog Automaton Almost Done!!

Just need to tweak the motion & glue him into place, then he's done!! Hopefully will finish him off & get some final picts & video done in the next couple days....

Finishing Up Koi Automaton!!!

Need to finish painting the box black & gluing it together. Then final stages of tweaking, and done!!

Felted Chicken Goes Hollywood!!

Here are some pictures of me (looking pretty short & dumpy) next to NBA SuperStar Kobi Bryant!! Everybody's laughing and having a great time with the Felted Black Mamba!!

Need Your Advice...

2010-02-19T07:40:00.001-08:00

So this goes out to all my fellow Crafters, or just really busy friends & family.....

How do you find a balance between your Day-Job, your house & family, and your Crafty Business???

Man, I know I've only been working at my new job for the week, but I'm going through Crafting Withdrawal. I still get up at like 7 am, and try to do my crafty computer stuff (FB, Twitter, Etsy, Blogging, etc), then get like an hour of creative work done. Then I head off to work. Get home and am too tired to get anything done at night. I haven't been able to put my time in on Etsy & marketing, which makes me scared because it was hard enough to get the little exposure online when I had all day, everyday to work on promoting.

I also have so many ideas that I want to finish up & start on.... I know that I'll get used to working & won't be so tired after a couple weeks (that's a major bummer of being unemployed for like almost 2 years). And I know that I'll get into a groove where I can schedule my time better & get things rolling again... but in the meantime...

Do you have any TIPS or advice on how you found a non-stressful balance between your Crafting Life & the Real World!?!?!?

A Very Big Thank You!!
Have a Great Weekend!!!

Hawaiian Dreams....

2010-02-16T07:56:00.000-08:00

So I don't know what it is... It could be the fact that my mom is going on a Caribbean Cruise next week, or the the T-Shirt Lady is blogging from Jamaica, or that the EtsyBloggers Blog Carnival is themed this, or that I just started my Day-Job a couple days ago... but I'm dreaming of a VACATION!! I don't have the excuse of being snowed in all winter like many of you, but I don't remember the last time I went on an official Vacation (not just visiting friends or family).

If I could go on vacation anywhere, I think I would go to Hawaii!! My boyfriend is Hawaiian & his whole family is amazed that I've never been there. I love going to the Hawaiian Festival every year here in L.A. I love watching the Hula Dancers, and love vintage Hawaiian themed stuff like advertisements, figurines, kitchen stuff, etc.

I also love Plumerias!! They have quickly become my favorite flowers!! I have 4 small plumeria plants that don't have flowers yet but I haven't killed them, so not too bad!! There are so many varieties, some smell so sweet, and the colors are so vibrant & different!! I think if I were to get more tattoos, I would get some plumeria flowers to surround the rose on my shoulder.

This is a painting by Mark Ryden. I like this image, and it shows that so many people are inspired by the Hawaiian culture. I can confirm from personal experience, that the laid-back, slow-going, no-pressure, no-stress stereo type of the Hawaiian is actually pretty accurate (as far as my boyfriend goes!!) He's so level headed, on the quiet side, but totally balances me out. I'm pretty high-stress & anxious, but he is always there to remind me that there are more important things than work, money, worries. This weekend was our unofficial 2 year anniversary, we didn't do anything special & I'm pretty sure he didn't remember, but that's okay. We don't need to do anything extra special to celebrate, we have fun every other day.

So we'll see... being poor kinda puts vacation planning on hold for a while... But I'm not getting any younger (turning 30 in a few months)... We should make the effort.

Happy Valentine's Day!! Plus Drawings!

2010-02-14T08:32:00.000-08:00

(not-so-but-was-supposed-to-be) Quick Sunday Post:

Started my day-job yesterday, it was fine, work is work. I was nervous cause of the awkward first-day thing: introductions, eating lunch by yourself, feeling dumb cause you don't know how anything works.... But it went really well. We were busy & I was impressed that I could pretty much help all the customers w/o help (occasionally having to ask if we had something or where it was). But overall pretty good!!!

And here are a couple of drawings for my next sculptures!!! I'm gluing the boxes together for my Frog & Koi & should finish them today!! But already looking forward to bigger & better projects!!

I've been wanting to make a Pink Elephant for a while now. And I really want to make something CUTE!!! I've been working on more realistic type felted pieces, but want to take inspiration from some of my fellow Needle-Felters (Kit Lane, feltmeupdesigns, paintgranny) who make really amazing, clean, fun, stylized characters. So I want to make my Pink Elephant super cool, plus I want him to twirl in a drunken spin. Going to try to do an electronic motor on this one!!

And this one was my Boyfriend's idea!! I think it will be really cool! Want to make a tattoo-style Asian Dragon with a snake like body that undulates up & down all snake-like. Want to make him BIG, and since I made the Black Mamba, I think I can pull this one off pretty easy; basically a giant snake w/ hinged legs & a bearded horse-face. No problem!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!
Today is me & my BF's unofficial 2 year anniversary, nothing planned, not really into celebrating holidays... except Christmas of course!!

A Week of Ups & Downs....

2010-02-12T07:19:00.000-08:00

It's been a crazy weeks of Ups & Downs here at the FeltedChicken Headquarters. Haven't got much crafty work done, which is bad cause I have the Pink Parlour Festival coming up in about a month. Need to crack my own whip & get down to some serious felting. It's not going to be as stressful as the Unique L.A. show because I only have a 8' table space (instead of a whole 10' booth), but that doesn't give me the excuse to slack off!! So here is a short list of the Ups & Downs this week.....

Got Super SICK last weekend. Sick enough that I had to go to the doctor & get some meds. This was bad cause I'm pretty poor & I knew that every time I go to the doctor, it costs me like $500. I have crappy Health Insurance, so I was hesitant to go....

Got a call back for a possible job! Of course it was on the day that I was couch-ridden & felt like POO! Called back & had a phone interview... Pretty much got the job....

Woke up feeling better yesterday.... BUT... then saw that some Punk-A$$ stole my credit card number & decided to drain my bank account. Luckily I didn't have that much money in it, but some little PUNK-A$$ is going to get like $400 worth of Rock 'N Roll Tee-Shirts... no joke, those were the websites they bought from...

Got a call, then went & filled out my final paperwork for the possible job... AND... Start TOMORROW!!! YEA!!! It's been years since I worked retail, but I thought working at an Art Supply Store would be pretty fun. Lots of artists working there, probably a rock'n discount on supplies, and a chance to brush up on my some customer service skills.

So overall, the week looks like it's gonna end on an Up... but I'm not going to get too excited, the trend shows that I'm due for another downer today.... But pretty happy & trying to stay positive & totally going to get some crafty work done today!!!! Hope everybody has a great weekend....AND...

Wanted to wish my Mom a

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!

And want to wish everybody a

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY
on SUNDAY!!!

Being Sick is LAME!!

2010-02-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

Been sick for the past couple days, and it's LAME!! You'd think that being forced to sleep on the couch & reading all day would be like a vacation, but it's not when you have crafty stuff you want to do!! But feeling better today & going to try and get some stuff done!!

Even though most of you have seen this, I thought I'd share my favorite commercial from the Super Bowl. When I saw this is made me so happy!! My favorite part is when the Sock Monkey is getting the MOM "tattoo"!! Oh, and when the Robot does the "robot" on the dance floor.

Hope it brings a smile to your face today!!

AND THE WINNERS ARE....

2010-02-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's right!! WINNERS!!! (randomly picked by using Random.org)

GINNY from The Mom 2 Dancers Blog

AND

Nicole (or) k_towngrl823

**So GINNY & Nicole, I need you to email me at FeltedChicken@live.com -

(actually just Ginny cause my stupid computer won't allow me to open your email link from your blogger profile) with your Choice of Cupcake Color!!! I know Nicole likes the Blue one, but need both your addresses & Ginny's color choice! The sooner you email me, the sooner I can get your cupcakes in the mail!!!)

YEA!!! I decided to give away 2 Felted Cupcakes because I was so humbled and excited by how much interest there was in my little GiveAway!! Thank You to everyone that entered.... and don't worry, I will try to keep you all reading with some awesome posts I have planned for the near future!! PLUS, I think I will do another GiveAway soon!!

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Plus just wanted to share a few Featured FeltedChicken links!! This week was great for seeing all the links & posts Featuring my little Felted Creations (many thanx to you guys!)

First Etsy Storque Feature!! - Top 10 Tax Time Tips From Outright
Featuring my Felted "Burning Dollar" Plush!

Featured on Dabbled Blog - Fabulous Felted Snake
With pictures of the Black Mamba

Picture on Dude Craft Blog - DudeCraft Flickr Pool Roundup
Including the picture of Black Mamba biting my hand

In 2 Etsy Treasuries! - California Dreamz, & QUE Cute
The Treasuries include a Felted California Set & Gut-Zilla!

Thanks to all the links & views this weeks!! I promise to keep working hard! Am just now building the wooden Mechanical Parts (ran into some trouble) for the Koi & Frog, got some more Sweet Treats in the works, and a new crazy, rock'n idea that I might start today!!!

LAST DAY TO ENTER!!!

2010-02-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

Yep, you've got less than 16 hours to Enter to win one of these Super Cute Felted Cupcakes with a Cherry on Top!!!

Thank You to everyone who has entered so far!! So many new friends!

I will be announcing the winner tomorrow morning!

Just to remind you how you can enter....

1. Follow my Blog! - Then comment on THIS post - Feb 1, 2010 - "Blog Giveaway #1"
2. Blog about this Giveaway - Then comment with the link on THIS post.
3. Tweet my Giveaway - Then link to your Twitter Account here so I can find & follow you!
4. Become a Fan on FaceBook - Then remind me on THIS post.

ENTER HERE!!!

Filming Commercials is Hard Work!!

2010-02-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

I'm still tired after my long day of work on Thursday!! Got to work with my brother on filming a commercial for his company, and learned alot about setting up lights, cameras, and green-screens. It was a ton of fun, got to hang out with my brother for a couple hours, and got to meet Kobe Bryant! He was the star of the commercial! He's super nice & he is who I made the Felted Snake for!! his nickname is the Black Mamba & he was really excited & loved the snake!!

Here are a couple pictures of the action from Thursday....

Here are also a few nice pictures of the Black Mamba....

DON'T FORGET.....

Tomorrow is your last day to Enter the FELTED CUPCAKE GIVEAWAY!!! I'm going to check out the links right now!! So many awesome people have taken the time to comment & so many nice comments!!!

TOMORROW NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT....
THEN ANNOUNCEMENT ON MONDAY!!!!!

Snakes & Cupcakes are No Joke

2010-02-03T06:19:00.000-08:00

Today's post is full of in-process PICTURES!!! YEA!!! So to start it off here are a couple of pictures to prove that I am super serious about CupCakes!!! Here are a couple of working photos of the new slew of Cupcakes & Cherries that I'm finishing up!

Don't forget...
Enter to Win your very own Felted Cupcake Here!!!!
Still got plenty of time to enter, getting off to a great start!!

And also included in this Picture Post today is a series of Photos that show the Airbrush Painting process from my newest Felted Sculpture!! It's a custom piece that I did for my brother (actually it's the first "celebrity" piece I've done, and hopefully will have picts of said celebrity and the snake in a couple days!) He's a Black Mamba Snake!!! Very cool, the snake is kinda boring, but had fun doing all the shading & painting!!

Here is the snake all plain & white needle-felted Romney Wool. 99% of all the sculpting was done before I started to paint him. So, got the airbrush out & mixed the watery acrylics & was ready to go!

Started with a yellowish base color all over the snake. Wanted to have the under color to be warm instead of white.

Dark brown was next. This is the start of the dark shading & super dark body color on the top. You can see how I started to shade the top scales while trying to leave the lighter space in between.

BLACK BLACK!! Yea, He's starting to come to life!! This is the first of many, many layers of Black color for the body & even more shading.

After many layers of black, he's almost done!! I like how his scales turned out with the lighter lines between the diamond shapes. I was trying to make him pretty realistic (well, a little general, but has all the details. I've been trying really hard to work on adding uber detail cause many of my favorite felting artists are those that make tiny super fine detailed sculptures! So Jealous!)

So here he is!! Added a few details on his face to help make it pop. He turned out pretty cool, wish the subject was a bit more colorful, but hey, this is what the Black Mamba looks like, so whatcha gonna do?

This is his done & shaded under belly!! Like the ridges!

Don't forget about the BLOG GIVEAWAY!!!

.

Blog Givaway #1

2010-02-01T06:56:00.000-08:00

YEP, THAT'S RIGHT!!! FeltedChicken is hosting it's first ever Blog GiveAway!!!! You could win your very own FREE Super Sweet Felted CupCake, just in time for Valentine's Day!!! I'm making lots of new Felted CupCakes w/ Cherries on Top for the Pink Parlour Festival as we speak, so I have a ton of new colors!! If you are the lucky winner you get your choice of color!!

What Do I Win?

You win 1) Super Cute Felted Cupcake! Your choice of color: Red, Orange, Yellow, Lt Green, Blue-Green, Blue, Purple, Black, or Tan!! So many to choose from!!

How Do I Enter?**

Easy!! Just do one of these easy this! You CAN enter multiple times!!

1. Follow my Blog! - Then comment on THIS post - Feb 1, 2010 - "Blog Giveaway #1"
2. Blog about this Giveaway - Then comment with the link on THIS post.
3. Tweet my Giveaway - Then link to your Twitter Account here so I can find & follow you!
4. Become a Fan on FaceBook - Then remind me on THIS post.

Who Will Win?

It's very important that you leave a comment on THIS post for ever Entry because I will number each comment & choose a random number using RANDOM.ORG. So if you want many entries, do one of the 4 things & comment for each one!!!

When Will it End?

The chance to enter the contest will end on Sunday February 7th at Midnight!! I will pick the random winner on Monday morning & post the winner!!!

**I've always wanted to type out some "Small Print". Don't know if anyone will actually read this, but I think its funny!! Blah, Blah. There isn't anything to disqualify you from entering, I think.... You can be a friend, family, or stranger. The Felted Cupcakes are really cute! And depending on how this giveaway goes, I might do another. That's why it's titled "Blog Giveaway #1". And who knows, if I get enough traffic I might giveaway 2 Cupcakes. We'll see how it goes. If you actually read this small print, comment with "small print" and you get a Bonus Entry!
*** Just realized I'm dumb & it should really be called "Fine Print"!!!

Monday Teaser...

2010-01-29T08:00:00.001-08:00

So I'm going to post something on Monday that I've never posted before. I'm going to try and be a little more pro-active with connecting to fellow crafters online, so be sure to check back. February is a new month & there might be lots of fun & exciting FeltedChicken shenanigans coming.....

Sneak Peak....
It just might have something to do with this....

Sharing the Blog Award Love!!!

2010-01-29T07:16:00.000-08:00

I was so humbled this week by being nominated by 2 different Bloggers for this awesome Blog Award!! I've been feeling a bit beat down this week & this definitely lifts my spirits!!

Thank You Eugena's Creations & Butterscotch Grove for nominating me for this Blog Award!!

(And yes, I'm going to cheat & nominate them back for the award, but whatever, they have great blogs & I want to give the love back!)

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity & creativity inspires others in the blog world.
The rules for accepting these award:
Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
Link the nominees within your post.
Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

So here are my 12 nominees:

http://www.craftypod.com/

http://cuteable.com/

http://dabbled.org/

http://www.ellifolks.com/blog/

http://thefunkyfelter.blogspot.com/

http://eyesoftime.blogspot.com/

http://needlefeltedart.blogspot.com/

http://curiouspug.blogspot.com/

http://eugenascreations.blogspot.com/

http://butterscotchgrove.wordpress.com/

http://thursdaysweettreat.blogspot.com/

http://salvagenation.blogspot.com/

Please check out a few of these amazing & inspiring blogs. Some of these blogs are new friends, some are old friends, and some are my secret Blog-crushes!!

Cooking on a Budget...

2010-01-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was the first (of many I'm sure) Job Hunting Days. Yep, being poor sucks, and with movie production in Los Angeles down like 20% in the last year, my prospects of landing a great paying Union Gig are next to nothing. I'm okay with that I guess, it's been 10 years of hard work and ups & downs, but I think it's time for a new stage in my life... We'll call it the "FeltedChicken Era". But since my little felting business can't support me right now, I've been learning to shop on a budget & need to find a day-job to help pay the bills.

So I'm willing to share some of my secret tips to cooking on a budget (which you probably already know, but I'm slowly learning).....

Even though it's pretty gross, roasting a chicken at home is pretty cheap & delicious!! We used to buy the store roasted chickens, but for the same price I can get twice as much chicken! I was surprised to have to pull the guts out of the chicken, but it's well worth saving the few dollars.

Stock up on FROZEN VEGGIES!!! This is my favorite cause I can beef up any meal by just adding a couple cups of mixed frozen veggies to anything. I add them to tacos, chili, pasta, roasted meat, etc. And they might not have quite as many nutrients as the fresh ones (slightly) you can get pounds of them for a couple bucks!

Make Tofu your friend. Tofu is a great protein substitute that is comparatively cheap. I use Tofu in my taco & lasagna. It's a great filler coupled with some frozen veggies, that costs only a couple bucks.

Shop the "Bulk / Discount " stores. We don't have a membership to Costco or anything, but we have a local bulk grocery store called "Smart & Final", some places have "Sack 'n Save", "Food for Less", etc. They don't have the widest selection, but you can get meat cheap, buy gallons of Soy Sauce (which runs like water in my house), and one of the best things I've gotten there, a giant box of Mashed Potato Packs. I got like 12 for $8 & they are super fast & easy to make in the microwave. OH, also got like 2 pounds of whole-wheat pasta for like $5.

So those are a few of my cheap eat'n tricks. If you live, or have ever visited California you know that the "cost of living" is slightly above average here. Gotta watch those grocery ads & learn how to cook. I personally HATE to cook, but am slowly learning cause it's the best way to eat healthy & watch your wallet. If my boyfriend had it his way, we would order Take Out (preferably steak) every day. At $50 a meal, that's really why I'm kinda in control of the house-hold finances!!!

*Went to Home Depot yesterday & am going to start building the mechanical parts for the Koi & Frog today!!! I'm no carpenter, but I can use a circular saw & screw gun, so it shouldn't be that difficult!!!

** Totally just jinxed myself....

*** OOHHH!!! And I don't care to hear what your Political views are, or tell you mine, but remember to watch the "State of the Union" speech tonight. It's everyone's responsibility to be informed on what's going on in our nation. The more we all know, the stronger we will be. I never miss it, been watching it for like 10 years, it's kinda like my SuperBowl!!

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Koi & Frog all Painted....

2010-01-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

So got some basic picts I wanted to share with you guys of the Koi Fish & Frog all airbrushed & ready for their mechanical parts. I still need to go to Home Depot & get the wood for their boxes, but I'll do that today cause I will be out anyways. Hope the rain we are supposed to get holds off till I get back home!!

Koi Fish Painted:

So went with a dramatic Tattoo Look. Right after I painted him, I was iffy about the shading (I tend to have a really heavy hand cause I'm no airbrush expert), but he's growing on me. Now I just need to build the box & mechanical crank parts. I'm gonna go with black for the wood parts, and add the couple cherry blossoms or lotus flowers to accent his tattoo-ness.

Frog Painted:

I'm happy how he turned out with his shading. I was going to add some warty-type details on his back, but am rethinking that. I kind of like his generic look, almost a little more fanciful. He's soft & pretty. I'm probably going to make his box & mechanical parts blue (like water) and maybe have him sitting on a lily pad. Gotta think about it.

Amazing Artist...

2010-01-25T09:37:00.000-08:00

So just had to link to this Artist I saw on one of my favorite Blogs - Make: Online - It's the more Macho Brother of Craft: Online. It usually posts about all sorts of Tech-type subject or (in this case) AMAZING ARTISTS!! I just had to link to Matthew Albanese's website because I was blown away by the amazing photographs. He creates miniature landscapes, lights them, then photographs them. It's amazing to see each photo then read the Materials list, which includes things like "cotton, steel wool, sugar, paprika...".

Freak'n Amazing!!

BRAND NEW KITS!!!

2010-01-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

So I've been wanting to make these for a while, had a few at the Unique L.A. show, and finally got to list them in my shop! The very first ever Needle-Felting Kits by FeltedChicken!!! Yea!! There are 3 kits (as of now) and I'm sure you won't be surprised by what the kits are. All 3 are pretty FeltedChicken-ish. Each Kit has Wool, A Felting Needle, Photo Instructions, Felting Tips, Online Recource List, and are available in my Etsy shop for $15.
So here you go.....

Needle-Felting Kit: Tuna Sushi

Tuna Sushi Kit Includes:

* Quart Sized Plastic Container for storing wool & parts
* Enough material to make (2) 3" pieces of Tuna Sushi
* 0.5 oz of White Eco Friendly Core Wool - to use as the base
* 0.2 oz of Red Kool-Aid dyed Romney Wool - for Tuna parts
* 0.1 oz of White Romney wool - for the Rice parts
* 12" x 4" Black Pre-Felt Wood - for the Seaweed parts
* 1) 38 gauge Felting Needle
* 1) Rubber Finger Protector - to help prevent pokes
* Full Color Instruction Pages, Felting Tips, & Resources

Needle-Felting Kit: Eco Friendly Globe

Eco Friendly Globe Kit Include:

* Quart Sized Plastic Container for storing wool & parts
* Enough material to make 1) 3" Globe
* 0.5 oz of White Eco Friendly Core Wool - to use as base
* 0.4 oz of Blue EcoWool - to use as water
* 0.1 oz of Green EcoWool - to use as land
* Tuft of White EcoWool - to use as ice for the poles
* Tuft of Brown EcoWool - to use as desert
* 38 gauge Felting Needle
* 1) Rubber Finger Protector - to help prevent pokes
* Color Photo Instructions, Felting Tips, & Resources

Needle-Felting Kit: General Kool-Aid Dye

General Kool-Aid Dying Kit Includes:

* Quart Sized Plastic Container for storing wool & parts
* Enough material to make whatever you want!
* .5 oz of White Eco Friendly Core Wool - to use as base
* .3 oz of undyed White Romney Wool - to dye
* 38 gauge Felting Needle
* 1) Rubber Finger Protector - to help prevent pokes
* 1) Pack of Kool-Aid - your color choice
* Color Photo Instructions, Felting Tips, & Resources

The Koi is Coming....

2010-01-22T11:48:00.000-08:00

So I just realized that I haven't shared any process picts of the Koi Fish that I've been working on. He's being sculpted as we speak. He's been dyed & is currently getting his pre-paint detail. I decided to make him REALLY Tattoo inspired, so I'm going with the black outlines and detail right now. He will have airbrushed shading, then final detail. I haven't done his face yet, just cause doing all the line detail takes a long time. Hope these picts get you excited about seeing him finished!!! I really like how his scales are turning out!!

And I hope everybody has a GREAT WEEKEND!! We don't have any plans, as of now, but hopefully if it finally stops raining, we can get out of the house!

Still Raining...

2010-01-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

Since it's still raining outside, I've been less than motivated. So don't have much to post today. Here are a couple more picts of the Frog. He's all sculpted, now just gotta wait till the rain stops so I can airbrush some shading & color on him.

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We got some movie tickets for Christmas & we have been searching out what we want to see. My boyfriend is OBSESSED with watching movie trailers, and had to share this one with you! It looks AWESOME!!! Doesn't come out till April, so I'm crossing off the days on my calendar!!

Featured Blogger - NICO Designs!

2010-01-19T07:26:00.000-08:00

**Thanx for all the comments about Crafts Shows yesterday!! It was awesome to see the variety of ideas that people have. I think it gave me a lot to think about, but I agree with your guys, definitely showcase my sculptures with my own "voice" coming through the displays.... BUT... I think I can capitalize on the Girly, Spring Feel of the show with a few specific items... Yea.. that sounds about right...

It's January & since I've been really bad about keeping up with the requirements of my EtsyBlogger team, I wanted to be sure that I got them done this month!! So I'm writing today's post on my fellow EtsyBlogger..... NICO Designs.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these little stuffed pears that NICO Designs has in her Etsy Shop right now. They are PERFECT for the season & are made from cotton fabric scraps & eco-spun Felt.

I think NICO has a great eye for the interesting patterns she uses in her items. I like the retro feel of the patterns, they might be scrap, but they look vintage!

NICO Designs has also started to create these sweet little Art Dolls. On Blog she gives a little background about what inspired each one. They are lovely and, again, have a very retro, maybe even Art Deco feel to them. They kind of remind me of those figurative antique jewelry stands.

Also be sure to check out NICO Design's Blog!! She has all sorts of neat stories about her art, and (from a fellow blogger point of view) has a great Blog Design. I like how she post's a kind of "Question of the Day" and has links to "You might like this".

Now that I'm blogging more, I guess it's time to try and update & innovate my blog design!!! It's just that I loved reading all the comments yesterday & need to figure out how to get you guys talking more!!!

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Rain, Rain, Go Away...

2010-01-18T08:18:00.000-08:00

So it is the beginning of a long week of rain here in SoCal. They are predicting that it could be the worst rain storms in the last decade, which kinda sucks cause my house is old & totally not rain-proof. Also, when you live in a place where it rains like days out of the year, it's annoying cause I count on having warm, dry days to help with crafting. I work a lot outside with painting, or hanging things to dry, or taking pictures. Well, glad I got a bunch of stuff photographed last week, cause it's going to be a while before I get out there again.

So here are some awesome in-process picts of my jumping frog!! He's all dyed & has his joints put in. I put grommets in the joints to help protect the felt, then put some small nuts & bolts in to have the movement. I just need to finish the detail on him, add a couple more joints & make the box & hardware, still a lot to do to finish, but he's coming along!!

Upload pictures

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Question for my Fellow Crafters!!!

So I've got a question to those of you that sell at Craft Shows regularly:

Do you customize your table or booth display for each show or season... OR... Do you just keep the same setup for every show?

I'm going through my products & thinking about what I want to sell & how I want to display it for the upcoming show Pink Parlour Festival. I see that it's about 2 weeks before Easter & was wondering how many of you really tailor your products to the holiday or even the feel of the show. If you are selling at a more Artsy Show, do you feature more fine art pieces, or a more Crafty show, do you show more hand-made DIY stuff?

Or do you even think that much about it?

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2010 Resolution #1... CHECK!

2010-01-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

So I get to check off my first FeltedChicken 2010 Resolution! The first thing that I wanted to focus on was getting more involved with selling at Craft Shows. I just sent my payment for my first show of 2010!!! I'm excited and have a lot of work to do, although not nearly as much work as last time!!!

So if you are in the Los Angeles area, stop by and find me!! I'm getting an 8' table this time instead of a 10' x 10' booth. I'm hoping that this won't be as overwhelming as last time & I can focus more on featuring my best products instead of just throwing everything into the space to fill it up! Maybe I will work my way back up to a booth some day. A table is more manageable & cheaper!!

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And my Etsy assault has started! Got several new items listed in my shop! Got some cute Valentine's Day (re)GIFT BAGS, and some more Sushi Magnets! Be sure to stop by and check them out!

A Paranoid Saturday Night Post....

2010-01-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

So, I don't know if it's the fact that I've been listening to the CNN coverage of the catastrophic Haiti Earthquake all day, or the fact that (I'm not gonna lie) I've had a couple of glasses of my favorite Boxed Wine, but I saw a post on one of my favorite blogs about having a 72 hour Emergency Plan. It got me thinking, cause I live in a place that fears to have a mega earthquake & could possibly fall into the Pacific Ocean.

While at home this Christmas, my Dad & I had a conversation about what to do in case of an earthquake. He's a structural engineer & knows a hell-of-a-lot about what happens to your house during an earthquake. He gave me a great bit of advice that I think about everyday. He said that if you are involved in an earthquake, the best thing to do (contrary to the popular belief of standing in a door way) is to crouch down near a large piece of furniture, like a couch or cabinet. This way, if a floor of your building were to collapse, you might be able to hangout in a small space that is left after the furniture takes the majority of the impact. Or if there is time, run to your staircase. The stairway in a building is one to the strongest areas of the house cause there are multiple walls that surround it.

I want to share this link with you also:

Building your Family's 72 Hour Kit

It just gives you a great guide-line for what you should have on hand in case you are involved in an emergency. They say you should have a 72 hour kit because in the event of a catastrophic event, emergency services might not be able to help you for 72 hours, and up to 6 days. It's been 4 days after the Haiti Earthquake & there are so many people that are in desperate need of aid.

So there is my paranoid, slightly drunken post for the day. Please check out the link, cause even if you don't get everything on the list, at least it might get you thinking. It's got me thinking, and I THINK that I might grab a few more canned goods to store in the pantry the next time I go to the grocery store.

And to quote our not-so eloquent former President regarding the Earthquake in Haiti:

"I know a lot of people want to send blankets or water... Just send your cash."

...

An All-Out Esty Assault

2010-01-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

So finally got pictures of some of the new items that I made for the Unique L.A. show last month. I have enough items to list 3 a day for like a week, plus more I have to still photograph. So starting (probably tomorrow cause I have some stuff I need to get done today), I will be listing LOTS & LOTS of new product in my Etsy shop.

Here's a preview of some of the new stuff I will be listing in the next week:

Spreading the Geek

2010-01-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd just share a bit of my geekiness with you guys today. I'm working on 2 felted sculptures, but don't have pictures to share yet. In the mean time, I've been watching the first season of the awesome PBS documentary series. If you don't know by now, I'm an UBER dork, and proud of it!! I can watch boring documentaries about pretty much anything (except war shows, not really into that). But science, history, art, religion, etc. This show is called
Art:21 - Art in the Twenty-First Century.

It's not the most action-packed show out there, but I think it's neat and inspiring. They basically go into a contemporary artist's studio & talk with them about whatever. It's not an interview, it's more like a monologue. Sometimes the artist is very descriptive of their process and inspirations, and sometimes they just talk all artsy-fartsy & philosophical-like. Depends on who the artist is. Some shows are better than others, but I feel like making art after I watch them, so it's doing it's job!!A

More info about Art:21

Art in the Twenty-First Century is a groundbreaking documentary television series focusing exclusively on contemporary visual art by artists working in the United States today.

The series provides behind-the-scenes views of the artists in their studios, homes, and communities. The artists speak directly to the audience, in their own words, about how, why, and what they create....

While many programs about visual art look to the past, Art:21 presents a diverse group of both established and emerging artists working in America today and to the art they are producing now. The ongoing goals of this project are to enlarge the definitions and comprehension of contemporary art; to minimize the intermediary positions of curator, gallery, and museum as arbiters of taste and value; to offer viewers, teachers, and students a straightforward experience of the artists and their work without interpretive mediation; and to encourage viewers and students to participate in interactive and outreach programs. The underlying philosophy of this project is that contemporary American art is of real interest to a national audience. By making contemporary art more accessible, the series affords viewers and students the opportunity to discover their own innate abilities to understand contemporary art and to explore possibilities for creative thinking and self-expression.

I'm not the biggest fan of "contemporary art". When I think of "contemporary art" I think of splashy painted canvases, or giant abstract wood sculptures, or an instillation space filled with rotting meat to show the decay of the western culture or something. Can you tell I'm kind of jaded with modern art? Anyways, I was a little hesitant to watch this show, thinking it would be filled with super-conceptual artists, but it's (mostly) not. There are some really cool artists, and it's definitely expanding my idea of what "contemporary art" is.

Here is a clip from one of the shows, I have only seen the first season (there are 5!), but I picked it cause you probably know the artist, Jeff Koons.

DONATE! DONATE!!

2010-01-13T12:36:00.000-08:00

So unless you have been living under a rock, then you have heard about the TRAGEDY of the earthquake in Haiti. I visited RedCross.org, and made a small donation to help the 3 million people that need aid. Everyone can spare a little bit (forgo buying that name brand Toilet Paper this week). This is so tragic, I heard that anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000 people have died.

American Red Cross Pledges Initial $1 Million to Haiti Relief

Send a $10 Donation by Texting ‘Haiti’ to 90999

Call (202) 303-5551 to speak with an American Red Cross spokesperson.

National Headquarters
2025 E Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20006
www.redcross.org

State Department sets up toll-free number for information about Americans in Haiti -

The toll-free number to call for information about family members in Haiti is 1-888-407-4747. The State Department advises that some callers may receive a recording because of heavy volume of calls.

**Sorry for the hodge-podge of info here, and I'm sure that if you are affected by this tragedy, that the last thing you would be doing is reading the "FeltedChicken" Blog, but I wanted to inform everyone of all the information.

Lovely Feature!

2010-01-11T09:48:00.000-08:00

Had a nice surprise this morning when I saw that I was featured in an article on MyShoppingConnection - Great Finds for Fine Living. It is a beautful & comfy post called "Warm by the Fire". Inspired, I'm sure, by the arctic freeze that is gripping most of the United States right now... except, of course, here in Southern California where it's been in the 70's and 80's for the past couple weeks.

Please check out my Felted Log on the "Warm and cozy fireplace finds on Etsy!" post!!

Wet-Felting a Vessel Tutorial

2010-01-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

Here is a MONSTER of a tutorial for your viewing & crafty pleasure. I made this Felted Vessel to use as the body for my future Koi Fish Sculpture. I wanted a hollow body to help with the ease of movement when it shakes it's head and tail back and forth.

Have to give credit for these fellow felters and their Felted Vessel tutorials that inspired me and gave me some ideas on how to go about doing this....

Zed of the UK Flickr Tutorial
SpiderFelt Blog Tutorial
Lexis on Craftster.org Forum

These are the materials you will need for your felted vessel:

A pair of Nylon Stockings
A towel to soak up all the water (you will use alot!)
You felting form
Some fluffy wool (I used layers of core wool, then white Romney)
A spray bottle filled with Hot Water & some dish soap

I first started by creating a shape to felt over by crumpling up some Newspaper and then covering it with clear packing tape. I wanted a custom cylinder shape, but you could pretty much use any shape you want. You can felt over a bowl, or basketball, or balloon, or probably even a styrofoam shape. Anything works (as long as it's water-proof, which is why I used the packing tape to seal the paper in).

Felting with raw wool roving can be a bit sticky, literally. If the wool is not wet, it will sticky to your hands. I tried to help the layout of the wool a bit by wetting the form first. You can get the fluffy wool to stick in place if the layer below is wet.

Now it's time to start putting down the layers of wool. You want to layer the wool in alternating directions. So I first pulled the wool into thin tufts & placed them down running the length of the form. Then spray it down with you hot, soapy water.

*You can use colored wool while putting down the layers! This is where you might come up with some awesome color schemes, like having the inside a different color than the outside. You can also use more wispy tufts of colored wool to create shading or flowing colors. Have fun with this step, be creative!!!

The best way to get the fluffy wool stuck down is to pat is. You don't want to start rubbing the wool because the fibers will slide around, and then you might end up with uneven felt. So just pat the wet wool down till it gets completely saturated with the soapy water.

I laid out 3 layers of Core wool (in alternating directions) then I started on the Nice White Romney layers. I want a pretty thick, strong piece of felt in the end, so I laid out a total of 6 layers of roving. It's pretty thick, I think you could use less. But the thicker the felt, the stronger your vessel will be, and it will be able to stand up on it's own. **Notice the different direction of this layer, going width ways around the form.

Be sure to watch your edges. When I was finish with all the layers, I pinched & tucked in the fluffy edges of the form. My cylinder has 2 open ends to help with incorporating it into the fish later, but you could just close off one end & you get an awesome vase or tube! Just be sure to layer the bottom with alternating wool while you are laying out the sides. This way it will be connected well.

Now, the trickiest part of the whole project. You might want to get a friend to help you with this one (depending on how big you vessel is). Sorry I only had a pair of red & black striped tights that were big enough to cover the cylinder!! **CAUTION!! Be careful when you put your piece into the stocking. You don't want to disturb the fibers too much, they have not begun to felt yet, and they could slip & slide around messing up all your hard layout work!!

There! My felted piece all tied up in the nylon stocking!! Looks kinda like a sausage, a giant sausage!!

Finally time for some felting! Wet your wool form with some really hot water (hot water and frictions are the recipe for faster felting!) Add some more soap, I use regular liquid hand soap when I felt, but many professional felters use different kinds. I can't tell the difference between dish soap & hand soap, so I don't think I need to invest in some fancy expensive Olive Oil soap, although if you are a professional, I'd like to hear your thoughts on soap choice!

Rub & Scrub... Rub & Scrub... Time to get down to felting. I love wet felting cause it's kind of mindless & I enjoy just working with the fibers & rubbing & scrubbing. It's pretty easy to felt at this stage cause everything is contained in the stocking, but be sure to use a light touch at first, the fibers can still move around. As you feel the wool firm up, you can use a more aggressive rub & scrub.

You will be able to see when your vessel is ready to take out of the stockings because you will see fibers start to come through. You want the outer layers to be felted fairly well before you take it out (it will be unruly & might get out of shape if you take it out too soon). Don't worry about the inside not being felted as well, we will take care of that in a couple steps.

Another Tricky step!! Be careful as you pull off the stocking. The fibers that are peeking through the stocking is in fact the vessel being felted TO the stocking. Pull the stocking off your vessel slowly, making sure not to pull apart the felt. Mine came off pretty easy (I tend to over-felt things), but you might have to finesse your nylon away from the felted wool.

You can continue to Rub & Scrub the exposed wool at this point till you feel that it is pretty strong. Then you can take out your shaped form.

Now it's time to focus on the inside wool & felt that a bit. I started by rubbing & scrubbing the inside with my hand. This can help get the surface layers felted down so that you can really get down to some aggressive felting.

You can turn the vessel inside out! This will definitely get those inner fibers felted down!

I used my trusty felting mat to get some fast felting done! Just rub back & forth over the mat.

*Felting tip - while you are felting at this stage (which is technically called fulling because you are shrinking & tightening the fibers) the piece will shrink in the direction you rub in. i.e. - If you felt the down the length of the vessel it will become shorter.

Almost done!! I like to rinse out the soap from the wool by using alternating HOT & COLD water. I feel like when you shock the wool with the temperature change it tightens up the felt. Be sure to rinse out all of the soap, you don't want to have stinky rotting wool later on!

Turn it right-side-out & you are almost done!!! YEA!!!

Now's the time to shape you vessel. As long as your wool is thick enough, your felt should be able to keep it's shape as it dries. You can put the vessel back onto your form (althought it might have shrunk a bit & won't fit) or wad up some towels or paper to put into the vessel as it dries. Your vessel should keep it's shape and be able to stand on it's own after it dries!!!

This was a pretty fun project & I think I might take advantage of it as I get more complicated with my felting sculptures. I have some pretty giant ideas & having hollow shapes might come in handy.

Hope you enjoy this tutorial, It took me FOREVER to write up!! Stay warm & have a great day!