~Magic Wool Fairies~

Blue Princess Fairy

The Blue fairy~ kinda like the one in Pinocchio.

Woodland Fairy

I've been making these needle felted fairies. The one on the left is my Woodland Fairy. It's a little tricky to see in the photos but she has green & brown feathers for wings. I should have taken a shot from the back so you can see her pretty hair! Coopworth curly locks from my friend Hope over in West Va. She hand dyes her wool... it is fabulous stuff for felting~ especially for fairy hair!

You can see her feather "wings' a bit better here

peach Blossom Fairy

 and my peach Blossom Fairy.

I'd been experimenting with making fairies off and on over the past year or so.

 For Christmas, my dear husband got me the book Magic Wool Fairies by Christine Schafer. 

It was wonderfully helpful with detailed instructions.

 I have been making these for the past couple of weeks and having such a delightful time... it feels as if I am bringing them to life. each one seems so individual and has a distinct personality!

Soap in a Sweater~ a fragrant fuzzy fat free valentine!

Fresh scented soap encased in soft merino 100% wool.

 Gently exfoliates while it cleans! After use, place so it can air dry.  

When the soap is gone, you can use the felt as a scrubby pad or you can cut a slit in it, insert another bar of soap, and then stitch it closed. Or have a  little pouch for small treasures.

~Using Felted Soap is Good Clean Fun~

I have been a neglectful blogger... between computer updates and felting items to provide for the gallery I have not taken much time to sit and write.

I have been busy making fairies ( photos soon!) and making these nice felt soaps.

Here's how you do it~ in three easy steps!
1-  For my base soap I am using some lovely soap I got at the new Trader Joe's....

2- Wrap ( snugly) the wool around it. I use roving and make sure i don't put it on too thickly.. a few thin layers will felt up quicker than a big think layer. You can use different types of wool but I prefer merino it felts up quickly! and makes a nice finish... a gentle exfolliant not too scratchy.

3-Submerge it in warm water~ CAREFUL HERE...

 When I first started making these I would put the wool wrapped soap into a pantyhose or knee high to help keep the fibers together until they start holding together on their own.
 This is what you might want to do if you do not have much experience in wet felting.
You must be VERY GENTLE with the fibers at this point... just transfer the woolly soap back and forth between your hands until the soap starts to bubble thru.
As the soap starts to work it's way up and you continue some gentle agitation the fibers will swell and start to shrink. Continue gently to work with the woolly mass of soapy fun and the fibers will shrink around the bar.

It will take awhile... you can alternate some hot water and cold water which will speed up the process.
 As the fibers begin to shrink around the soap you can get quite "rough" and rub with more vigor... just don't too it too early in the process.

Email or Fbook message me if you have questions

Check out my Facebook page  and "LIKE" it !
and the link to the Gallery in Charlottesville, Va



https://www.facebook.com/SimpleGiftsSimplyFelt

http://charlottesvillearts.com

Felt Soap!

Now that Christmas is behind us and I am not making Santa's, snowmen and angels, I am needing to create other felty fun things.

So while watching Lord of the Rings ( the first two movies) with my family this week, I made these soaps. 

I wrapped wool around the bars of soap ( i used a variety of soaps, but mainly using Yardley's English Lavender) and needled the designs loosely in place before adding water and wet felting the wool around the soap until the wool shruck and it was nice and snug around the soap.

My felted soaps with needle felted embellishments

Fresh scented soap encased in soft merino 100% wool.

 Gently exfoliates while it cleans! After use, place so it can air dry.  

When the soap is gone, you can use the felt as a scrubby pad or you can cut a slit in it, insert another bar of soap, and then stitch it closed.

~Using Felted Soap is Good Clean Fun~

Hand Felted Soaps

Happy Holidays!

Needle felted holiday family!

Happy Holidays!
from my felted friends to all you out there in blog viewing land!
Merry Christmas
may you have a healthy & peacful holidays

Happy Birthday to me!

Princess Cake!


Today is my birthday!

Mt cake is a special cake from Albemarle Bakery Company.
 It is  a traditional Swedish cake with layers of vanilla sponge cake
and bavarian cream with a thin layer of marzipan over all!
And a pretty pink rose on top. Heavenly!
a great way to kick off my birthday.


well, it's not my birthday any more and I didn't get this posted... but I like the photo....
so Happy Belated Birthday!

Needle Felted Snowmen!

needle felted snowmen

I have been a bit envious of the photos of snow that some of my Facebook friends have been posting. Here, in central Virginia it's been very warm... a bit unseasonable warm actually. So I decided to make a little snow of my own and felt me up some snowmen!

Santa and the Seventeen Sisters

Santa & Me!

On "Black Friday" I ventured out with my daughters to Williamsburg to meet up with our  Yankee relatives that were down visiting for Thanksgiving. After a yummy lunch at an interesting restaurant called Food For Thought, we went to Colonial Williamsburg to wander around.

One of the first things I saw was SANTA ~ this was not just any jolly old holiday Santa... but the real deal with a beautiful cape and crown of holly on his head. We snapped a photo... it's a bit in the shadows... but I think you can see how splendid he was!

Seventeen Sisters~ Narcissus bulb

Wandering down the cobblestone streets on Williamsburg there was a stall with garden goodies.  I remember my grandmother putting narcissus bulbs to flower in a vase at Christmas time & I always like to do that too. ( plus they are my birthday month flower) There were some amazing bulbs there-like the ones in the picture above-with delicate yellow centers. I bought a few for me and got more to give as gifts to friends. As I went to pay for them the woman told me these were called the "seventeen sisters" (or Avalanche) because on each stem there are about 17 blooms!

 I am eager to seem them in bloom... I just put them in a vase today with rocks & water!