*sneak peak*

.. just a taste of some of the new designs I've been working on.
I've been playing around in the studio and having a lot of fun (sometimes too much) trying out some new ideas on some of my favorite felted friends. This little lady is a fanciful version of your favorite and mine tofu the giraffe. With a magical twist.
;)
Now my original goal of getting these new designs into my etsy shop by the end of this month has been extended due to computer issues ..can we say...fried motherboard? ::sigh::
Well, thank goodness for internet phones, hooray!
So, for now I'll just have to settle on sharing some eye candy with you as I progress with all this fantastical fun-ness ;) but just until we get back on track, and I can send some of these friends home to you :)

grand plans

Over the last week I've been a busy bee cutting into my sweater stash I brought over from the mainland. Lots of breaks and deep breathing were necessary, as I cut every sweater and some of my most favorite heavenly cashmere into tiny bits using up every last inch. The good news: I now am in process of sewing up this stack of friends destined for my shop at the end of the month. The bad news: I now have empty sweater crates and the very limited thrifting for wool sweaters that I have done here on the island has not been very promising ...although I have gotten some pretty awesome dresses. ;) I'm dreaming of some open ended sewing time in my very near future where I can really focus some of this creative energy that has been building :)
What are your grand plans and dreamings today?

~introducing~

The most joyful return of Tofu the giraffe! One of my very first felted sweater animals has finally made a comeback in a much smaller size and with a bit more personality. I'm sorta obsessed with mustardy yellow -I say  this  amazing wool felt is entirely to blame- and have been playing around with some different color combinations in the studio lately (::sneak peak:: inside that creative space later in the week) I've been busy on a very hush, hush top secret gift of which this little guy will definitely be a part of, and am just bursting with all the excitement and anticipation of  the actual giving  of this gift. Waiting is So hard sometimes :)

So, in my imagination where everything goes well, and according to plan one adorable little giraffe will be up for grabs in the shop tonight, or tomorrow morning ? Okay, let's see what happens!
::update::
so, you guessed it it's tomorrow morning! Well, I did finish last night..does that count? ;)
Here he is on over at my shop

welcome,quiet september morning

..in the rare event that I am the first to rise,

and then not spark a chain of awakening..

I tend to get a bit ::reflecty:: (yes it's a word...well,now it is ;)

so,today I'm meandering through the curvy path

of my felted sweater creations.

..my very first felted sweater animal, Tofu the giraffe

and now two years later & almost to the exact date.. ..Brown Sugar, a baby for the mama (sugar)

I made oh, way back in December as a christmas gift

(I was searching for a white angora blend sweater

for the longest..., they can be tricky to find)

I love that my path may not be one that runs horizontally,

but more of a spiral in fact..

and this timely creation just happens to be an expression

of that circling back while continually expanding outward

~enjoy some ::reflecty:: moments,

on this beautiful 1st of september day ~

love your veggies!

super ultra fabulous mini totes are here!

So, this collection of veggies is a bit of a mix,

some old favorites(mini versions) a corduroy carrot, an heirloom tomato,
and a few new friends to love, and now honestly ...
who doesn't love a potato?

:

:: pssst..cmon' take a quick peek @ the making of ::

scored these linoleum tiles at a yard sale last year

and finally put one of them to good use for some ~block style~ fabric printing

The material I used for these mini totes is actually

reclaimed canvas from some larger totes that never made it to the sale floor.

so in keeping with the eco/recycle/re-use theme,

I set out to see just what I could come up with for the designhold on while I...just fashion a makeshift roller (a.k.a. a mini paint roller),

fake the "ink" with some lightly watered down acrylics and voila!

You can fabric stamp to your hearts content..using what is already available,

and don't you just love that?

just in case anyone out there with kids is curious as to how I make ...um,well anything ..?

I just ~find.. a.. way~see that table in the photo above?

this is what it quickly tranforms into when you have four children at home

who love to create just as much as mama.

See that space in the lower left, yes I sat there ^ and lovingly hand painted

the detail on these mini totes amongst much joy and laughter

(we do get a bit silly when we're painting) :) with the proper motivation

anything is possible

violet

Just put the finishing touches on our newest friend, violet..she's a horse/zebra/friend.?!

It doesn't have to make sense, just has to make you smile :)

Have a Fun Friday!

red zebras

:: Pistachio has some new friends ::

E..I..E..I...Ohhh

a tiny farm

for these kids on-the-go

I had the idea for a little farm way back in December,

when I made this guy instead.

This little Eco-friendly farm comes

stock full ({get it?} oh.. I love terrible puns :)

of the best bitty animals any barnyard could ask for.

we have the ..cows ..the horses..

the pigs

and of course ..the chickens

my favorite part of this project,

everything was created using what I already had laying around

Used in this project:

2 grey corduroy cuffs for the roof

(from pants into shorts project)

a sheet of foam to give the walls shape

(packaging from a box of fruit Christmas gift)

green t-shirt remnant for the bottom of the grass and blue for the pond

cute green cotton print stash fabric

some of Grandma's special vintage wool yarn for the garden veggies

and of course, various felted wool sweaters

still guessing?

here's photo hint #3

hint

::here is today's photo clue::

So ..on a little side note -

I ran 13 miles on Monday!

woohoo!

can you guess..

:: time to play a game ! ::

I call it the..

**~~ Can you tell what my latest completed project is? ~~**

Game!

Here's toady's photo hint

stay tuned for more clues and on Friday ..the Big Reveal!

mamas got a new bag

Yes! I finally figured out what to do with this

amazing traditional Irish sweater.

I've created my very favorite bag..of the moment.

I made the sweater portion of the bag and knew I wanted a green lining,

but didn't have any green fabric on hand.

So I set it aside

and wouldn't ya know a few days later I inherited some of my grandma's fabric stash...

included: just the most perfect shade of green fabric you've ever seen!

I don't care if the temperature is rising outside, I say it's sweater weather ;)

don't toss it..re use it!

Getting a bit of a head start on some spring cleaning around here.

As I was organizing the bathroom cabinet, I realized that old stash

of drug store make-up that only sees the light of day at halloween,

could probably be replaced with an organic, animal friendly version.

Yet, when all those little compacts and containers were just sitting there

in the waist bin I thought, now what is the point of this..if I am just putting them into the landfill?
Then I had a great idea....felt make-up!

TA-DA!

These were super easy to make and only took minutes.

Simply

-clean out the trays really well

- trim the felt just a touch bigger than to fit inside

- put a dab of glue down inside the tray

-press the felt in place

..and there you go!
Of course, the girls were thrilled to have their very own make-up,

I couldn't resist the urge to make an "old timey" make-up puff

..cause I had all the fabric just laying about anyway. :)

..Lilly had to climb the table she was so excited..

oh, wait, she does that all the time ..

There you have it! Three of my favorite things, organizing, recycling,

and yet another use for these fantastic felted wool sweaters!

Wait.. make that four things..can't forget happy kids!