Inspiration, Collaboration and Serendipity!

You might want to make yourself a cuppa tea for this post - lots of links and pictures and stories!  This is the blog post I promised a few days ago when I left you with a little teaser of what I was working on...

I made something!  Yay!  I'm usually up to my eyeballs in the Felt Mines doing all the things I do on a regular basis to keep my business running smoothly.  But lately I've had an overwhelming urge to make something, and an underwhelming urge to find the time.  But thanks to an internet connection with Erin of Clever Charlotte and that rare and wondrous thing called serendipity, I made an Embroidery Folder!  

It all started when Erin was inspired by the colors in this artwork by Alyssa Nassner of SmallTalkStudio.

Erin wondered if I could pull together some of my wool felt colors to recreate Alyssa's unique palette in her 'Dream Catcher' print  (silly goose... I can recreate any palette!!) for an embroidery/needle case she wanted to make for herself.  Here are the colors I chose:


Baby Yellow
Yellow Green
Avocado
Blush Pink
Coral Pink
Coral
Grey
Slate Grey

Once I saw this pretty pile of wool felt, I started thinking about a project that had been brewing in my mind for quite some time...an Embroidery Folder using parts and pieces cut with dies.  My name, Felt On The Fly, comes from the fact that I love to design 'on the fly'!  It always starts with a need, which fuels my creativity and off I go - designing from my imagination.

Erin and I decided that we would each design our own project using the same color palette and compare results when we were done.  You can see her finished project right here. 

 My wool felt cuts like a dream with most of the popular dies available in craft stores and on-line.  I used just three Sizzix dies for all of the parts and pieces shown here.

The largest pieces were cut with the Sizzix 'Pocket Page and Tag' die which requires the huge Sizzix Big Shot Pro Die Cutting Machine.  The smaller embellishments were cut with the Sizzix 'Flower Layers #7' die and the Sizzix 'Jungle Leaves' die using the smaller, more manageable Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutting Machine.  

I knew I'd need lots of pockets for my Embroidery Folder because I like to carry lots of bits and pieces around while I'm designing and stitching.  Lucky for me, the 'Pocket Page and Tag' die includes holes - so much neater than trying to make little slices with scissors!  Those holes made it really easy to insert metal rings to keep the pocket pages lying flat when the Folder is open. 

Some creative cutting and folding and stitching ensued and, what the heck, why not toss in a few sparkly little beads too... and here's what the inside of my Embroidery Folder looks like:

There are three layers of pockets.  Each of the top two layers open like a book.  The bottom layer is one large pocket.  I used the tag die cuts to make a needlebook and a handy little layered pocket for reading glasses and my needle threader - both of those little extras fit right inside the Embroidery Folder making one nice, neat little package.


I cut out embellishments using the same color palette and used those embellishments to repeat the theme of Alyssa's artwork. 

And finally, so you can get an idea of how all of this looks when it's actually being used...here it is, stuffed with the bits and pieces of my next project!

Here's a few close-ups of some of the detail work...

The three-dimensional flower is actually three flower die cuts, folded in quarters, embellished with beads and stitched together.






 I love the 'Jungle Leaf' die.  Looks just like a feather, don't you think?

And here's the simple leaf/feather design again - simply embellished with minimal embroidery and a few tiny beads.

All done!  Easy peasy!  Thanks, Erin, for the unintentional wool felt project throw down!  I look forward to the next challenge, whether it's matching a color palette or designing another project on the fly....

Givin' It Away....over at TheLongThread

Ellen Luckett Baker of TheLongThread posted a give-away today - it's my merino wool felt 'Apple' color story.  And you don't even have to do anything fancy to win!  Just post on Ellen's blog, TheLongThread, by midnight on Saturday (December 10). 

 In case you're not familiar with TheLongThread, it's a pretty fantastic blog.  Full of great ideas, sources and crafty fabulousness.  Ellen is one busy lady who is accomplished in so many things it makes my head spin!  One of the things I admire most about her is this statement in her profile:  "I have increasingly begun to appreciate the value of handmade items in our mass-produced world."  Uh huh.  I totally get that : )

So... if you'd like to experience some truly exquisite, pure merino wool felt, visit TheLongThread and leave a comment for a chance to win this lovely five sheet set.  Or, come visit FeltOnTheFly and check out all of my Color Stories.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE.... to get a wool felt kit for Christmas.  Whether you'd like to stitch something up to give as a gift, or if you'd like to give the gift of a kit, there's still time!

You know the saying about giving a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime?  Well, that sentiment holds true as well for crafting.  Here's Felty's take on it:

"Give someone a handmade item and you've given them a lovely gift.  Teach someone to stitch or craft and you feed their creative soul for a lifetime".  

 Felty Bookmark Kit

Eight die-cut bookmarks, hole reinforcements, coordinating buttons in various sizes/shapes, buckles and extra felt!  A wonderful gift for someone who likes to craft, or someone learning to stitch.

Wool Felt Peter Pan Collar Tutorial

Well, hello you dusty little blog, you!  *swipes at cobwebs*

And so we meet again...at long last.  It's not that I don't think of you.  In fact, truth be told, you haunt me.  What?  So why don't I post more often you ask?  Well, there are a hundred perfectly good reasons.

K.  Now that we've got that all settled....

Hey!  This was soooo cool!  Thanks to Etsy's new little Shop Stats toy, I noticed recently that I had lots of views on a particular listing in my shop.  So I scrolled around in the Stats and noticed in Top Traffic Sources a blog I'd never seen before:  "Honestly....WTF".  Really.  I didn't make that up.   Here's their link:  http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-peter-pan-collar/

Upon further investigation I discovered the ladies at Honestly...WTF put together a tutorial to make a cute Peter Pan collar and linked to my shop for felt supplies.  Who knew that a Peter Pan Collar could be so cute the second time around??  Well, when a fashion powerhouse like Louis Vuitton decides that, yes indeedy, Peter Pan Collars are most definitely fashion-forward, trendy and worthy of runway status, you can bet your bellbottomed bippy that those collars are indeed the latest 'must have' accessory.

The tutorial was put together for an article for Lucky Magazine.  Man oh man, these chicks are *connected* and I'm so happy they linked to my humble little shop....

So scoot on over to Honestly...WTF, (http://honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-peter-pan-collar/) download the template and get started on your super-simple-Louis-Vuitton-Wanna-Be-Wool-Felt-Peter-Pan-Collar.  Hey....now that I'm thinkin about it, why the heck didn't Louis come to me for felt??? Hmmmm???  Louis?  Are you listening?  My felt is the feltiest wool felt, truly environmentally friendly, soft to the touch, gloriously gorgeous and a joy to behold. I realize you made yours out of who-knows-what, but next time Louis, how about thinkin outside the boring old linen or cotton box and come try FeltOnTheFly 100% pure merino wool felt.  Just sayin'.

And for the rest of you, imagine this sweet collar made in any of the 96 colors in my shop.  Personally, I'm thinkin' Camel... Maybe this would be the perfect gift for the girlfriend who has everything.... your grandma.... or, why not, even for a pampered pooch.  And for sure, anyone who carries a Louis Vuitton bag.... or reads Lucky Magazine...

; )

Wool Felt...Really!?

Wool felt...is that what you're looking for? Make sure that wool felt is what you're getting!

When I read a label, for example, on the front of a juice bottle and that label proclaims 'JUICE!', I expect...well, juice! Fruit juice! All juice. And nuttin' but juice! But is it ever really just juice? Closer inspection of the label on the back of the bottle will tell the sad tale...the contents are often a lot more than just juice. In fact, the amount of actual JUICE is minimal.

The same thing is true for WOOL FELT. That's a term that's tossed about willy-nilly and it drives me a bit bonkers. It happens far too often that a felt product is labeled WOOL FELT when, actually, it contains only a small amount of wool. Now I ask you...if the amount of fiber in a felt product is primarily something other than wool, does that felt product deserve to be called 'wool felt'? I think not...


The term 'wool felt' seems to me like it should be reserved for a product that is MOSTLY wool. As opposed to being mostly something else other than wool. I'm OK with the term 'wool blend'. At least you would know right up front that it's not pure wool felt.



So when shopping for wool felt, watch the fine print. Make sure you're getting pure, 100% wool felt and not a blend containing very little actual wool fiber. Or, better yet, just come visit Felt On The Fly at Etsy and know that you are at the premier source of pure, 100% wool felt - and nuttin but!


Oh, and did I mention the abundance of 96 gorgeous colors of wool felt (yeah, the really awesome 100% kind) available in my shop?!?!?

Etsy :: Treasury West List

Etsy :: Treasury West List

Every time I'm featured in a Treasury, I'm totally amazed (not that it happens all that often, but hey, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while). Out of all the items on Etsy, somebody found one of mine, and somehow, it fit into their plan. Gotta love it, ya know?

And this little guy, Plaidius - A Cashmere Mouse, is one of my favorites. I hope he finds a good home pretty soon!

Thank you iluvlucy8 for creating this very pretty RED Treasury, and for including something from Felt On The Fly!

http://www.iluvlucy8.etsy.com

Hello everyone! I am brand spankin' new to this blog thing, so bear with me while I figure it out! And while I'm doing that, you just might want to hop on over to my etsy shop where you'll get an idea of what I'm all about.

www.feltonthefly.etsy.com

See you soon!