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

Sunday, April 2, 2017

DIY: Felted Bead Necklace

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

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

DIY: All Things Needle Felted!

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

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

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

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

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

Whew! Believe it or not, I actually left a handful of other needle felted pieces off this here post just to save your fingers from scrolling. They're gonna need all the energy they can get for your own needle felting adventure. I'll be starting that free needle felting series here in April...and you can pick up your kit full of supplies right here. Thank you for letting me share (just about) all of my needle felted faves with you!
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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Exciting News: Free Felting Workshop!

I have EXCITING NEWS!

I have been working with Sue Bunch of Back to Back Fiber Products for the last couple of weeks dreaming, plotting and planning a free online felting workshop

Like, what?!

That's right! It all started during one of my Wednesday night Facebook LIVE chats. I host one each Wednesday evening at 8pm CST. We cover all sorts of art teacherin' topics which are archived on my page. One evening we were chatting about Teacher Burnout and I mentioned that one way I combat burnout is by hosting craft nights at my home. I don't do it as often as I would like because, honestly, when the weekend hits I usually spend the following 48 hours in pajamas binge watching RuPaul's Drag Race and making big messes. This lead to following the idea: what if we spent the month of April, during my Facebook LIVE chats enjoying a craft night? We wouldn't have to leave our house, we could spend time with folks who get us (art teachers!) and we could learn a new craft while creating something beautiful and fun. What could be a more perfect evening than that?
So, how can you join the fun?

1. Start by "liking" my Facebook page. This is how you can stay posted and join the chats. If you've never joined a FB chat, it's quite simple. If you've liked my page then at the time when I'm LIVE, I will pop up in your feed. Don't see me? Then hop on over to my page. If you happen to miss the chat, NO WORRIES! All my chats are archived on my page. I'll also be archiving them on my YouTube channel. So you can join the craft night live or think of my page as an after pass. 

2. Purchase the supplies for the workshop. Sue and I have been working very closely to put together a kit which will proved all the supplies needed for our month-long felted workshop series. She's been super kind to keep the price economical and offer free shipping to those in the continental USA. If you are outside of the US, please contact Sue for shipping information. 

You don't have to purchase the kit to join the fun! If you already have the supplies, you don't have to purchase the kit. I'm teaching this class for free because I LOVE needle felting and craft nights. This is not a money making venture for Sue or me. We are doing this because we love felting so much and want more folks to explore this craft. So don't feel obligated to purchase. Just be sure to join the fun!

Here's a peak of what is inside each kit:
What does each kit include? All of the supplies you would need for the month of April's free felting workshops. Each Wednesday evening, for the month of April, I will be introducing you to a new felting technique. Here's a peak at our fibers schedule:

Wednesday, April 5th: Learn to Needle Felt
To kick off our craft nights, I'll share with you how to needle felt! Included in the kit, Sue has provided a little list of supplies you'll need for each session. I'll provide a more detailed description of what we'll be making right here in blog post form as we get closer to the date. Essentially,  I want to share with you the basics of this craft so that you'll feel comfortable creating whatever you like! All projects will be very open ended so that you can explore what interests you. 

Wednesday, April 12th: Intro to Wet Felting
While needle felting is one of my favorite crafts, sharing needles (ahem) with your students in the classroom might give you the shakes. Wet felting however is PERFECT for kiddos of all ages and it's super fun to explore. I'll be sharing a couple of my fave wet felting techniques on this evening.

Wednesday, April 19th: Sculpting with Fiber
Felted sculptures are so much fun! This is an area that I really want to explore more as well. I'll share ways to create basic sculptures with an armature and both wet and dry felting techniques. 

Wednesday, April 26th: Felting in Fashion
Y'all come prepared to create something fashionable! We'll be creating that wee palette hair clip I love so much and felting old sweaters into masterpieces. I'm super excited about this one. 
Are you excited yet? I know I am!

Join the chat right here tonight. If you have ANY questions, either leave them in the comments or throw them my way this evening. I plan to do an unboxing of Sue's kit so you can see what you'd be receiving. 

Interested in ordering a kit? Pop on over here! If you have any questions for Sue, feel free to reach out to her at sue@backtobackalpaca.com. 

I can't wait to have y'all over for a craft night starting in April!
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Sunday, July 10, 2016

Art Scouts, Tennessee Camp 2016

Well, hello there, strangers! My sincerest apologies for how quiet it has been on this here blog over the last week (let's be honest: you enjoyed the peace) but I've been super duper busy with my buddies Jennifer, Laura and Ginger getting ready for the Tennessee Camp of Art Scouts
Laura and Ginger arrived in town on Wednesday afternoon from Ohio. Jen and I  had just enough time to show them around our favorite place: Franklin, Tennessee. Franklin is a small town with a big history just 15 minutes south of Nashville. The downtown has a lovely Mayberry-esque vibe. After a stroll up and down Main Street, we took them to a local fave, Pucketts Grocery and Restaurant. The food was delish but the best part of the meal was when we walked in, Jen's husband Miguel and two sweet daughters were there. What a happy surprise! It was so fun to pull up a table and chairs to join them.
On Thursday morning, bright and early and fueled up on coffee, we began to set up Camp for our Scouts. Thankfully, we had the help of our art teacherin' friends Stephanie Preston and Jennifer Staples to get ready for the next couple of days. Those two girls were our right hand gals during Scouts and we just can't thank them enough for all they did for us and the Troops. Thank you, sweet friends! Also, a big shout out to my buddy Mr. Joe for hanging out with a bunch of wild and crazy art teachers for a couple of days. 
Friday morning, folks started to arrive and, after breakfast, chatting and a super secret Art Scout ceremony (sorry, y'all. Must be present to get the scoop), we dove right into the art of making big messes!
I have to tell you, we simply have the nicest folks attend Art Scouts. We had teachers from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, California, Florida, Alabama, Virginia, the Carolinas, Texas (and I know I'm even forgetting some)...we were blown away! These sweet, kind and dedicated art teachers are a gift to their students, faculty and staff. 
 Not to mention, some seriously talented (and funny!) artists.
I mean, when is the last time you saw folks having this much fun at a professional development? And we had just as much of a blast hosting them. We were so lucky!
We had a little over 50 Scouts in attendance. Laura and Ginger lead 25 Scouts on their quest to earn their painting and clay badges in my art room. They created over three clay projects and multiple painted paper pieces during their first day with Troop Leaders Laura and Ginger. 
Now, y'all know that Laura is the master of all things painted paper and collage. Having the chance to learn her approach is so much fun...and I speak from experience. I had that opportunity at Tennessee Arts Academy last year. We've been friends long before that. I love and respect what she does for her students and the art education community. Not to mention, she's funny as all get out! 
 
 I loved the variety of creations that I was able to sneak a peak of when I popped down to my art room.

Ginger had folks working with Amaco's air dry clays because it has a very similar texture as kiln fire clay. Ginger is such a jack of all trades but, unlike me, she's a master of all. When we were brainstorming ideas on what badges our Scouts would earn and what we'd like to share, Ginger is so versatile, she could teach it all!  She did such a fab-o job sharing fun clay projects with our Scouts.
I so wanna do this with my students, I know they would have a blast!
Ginger is also our Mural Maven (if you've not seen the time lapsed videos of her students painting murals, go here). The Scouts worked on this scene of the Smoky Mountains that Ginger drew. This helped every understand her simply and impactful method of teaching mural painting to children.
I love how the colors pop on that black paper!
Back in our territory, Jen and I shared everything we could pack in on fibers and printmaking. Jennifer shared such a fun assortment of printmaking projects that are not your usual carve-into-block type of thing. What I love about what Jen shares is that she brings her bright and cheery personality to each project. The sunny sun prints and the colorful wax crayon prints are a true reflection of how colorful the projects are which she shares with her students. 
Because Jen has 30 minute art classes with her kindergarten through fourth grade kids, she was able to share how she breaks her projects down into bite sized bits. She also enlightened us to some fast and easy clean up tips!

 Marker prints were also thrown into the mix!
 We also had a big time exploring Gelli Arts printing plates!
Those printing plates are so versatile and fun. I mean, check out these effects!
These look fabulous just as they are...however the Scouts turned them into beautiful flower collages.
 Love this orchid collage by Stephanie.
And this one being cut out is fabulous. I love that the Scouts swapped flowers to add variety to their collages. 
Now all y'all know that needle felting is my jam. So when I shared that we'd be taking a stab at it (wink, nudge), the Troops were thrilled. And shocked at just how easy needle felting can be. Check out the cute lil palette hair clips we made!
Because I'm secretly on a mission to have ALL art teachers dress like CRAZY art teachers. 
 We also learned how to do some of my favorite weaving activities, circle loom and tree weaving, to name just a few. 
I always love the variety of paintings created on something as simple as a paper plate.
I mean, I wanna paper my walls in these beauties!
Remember: you can circle loom weave on anything round! Hula Hoops! Embroidery Hoops! CDs! Just make sure you have an odd number of warp threads. 
To earn their fibers and painting badges, our Scouts created three printing projects and three weaving and one felting masterpieces. We were busy, y'all.
 It's been such fun getting to know these new friends of ours. One of my favorite things was seeing all of the fun images shared on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Here's a collection of what was shared by our Scouts.
P.S. THAT PENCIL DRESS!! Beth, you know I love that dress, girl!
I love this collage of art teacherin' fashion that Rina created...so glad I made the cut! 
 Painted paper fun!
Happy faces, fun projects!
Just one half of the Scouts wearing their needle felting palette hair clips!
I love this photo collage created by Scout Brandi!
We had so much fun sharing out passion of making big messes with little people...with our new best friends, the Art Scouts!

We couldn't have done it without our Ohio friends Ginger and Laura! After our Scouts left Saturday afternoon, we broke down and put our feet up. 
 Because I live just 4 miles from my school, I had the gang over to my place for some dinner and chill time. We're already brainstorming ideas on plans to bring more Art Scouts Camps to our future Troops...and we couldn't be more excited! 
To keep up with us, you can follow us on Instagram! You can also join our Facebook group where you'll find a ton of more images and be able to make inquires and chat with attendees. 

Here's to more art making fun! 







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