Inspiration + Hoarding Craft Supplies = New Items!

When inspiration strikes and I have a new idea for a project, I often find it difficult to focus on anything else.  It doesn't seem to matter how many other things are on my to-do list that should take priority over starting something new...that new idea is all I can think about!  So over time I have learned to just accept that fact and allow myself to dive right into new projects, even if I have 20 other things waiting to be finished.

This weekend, I had one of those "ah-ha!" inspiration moments: 

When I make my felt barrettes and hair elastics, I end up with the lots of little scraps of felt.  Being the craft supply hoarder that I am, I've been hanging on to these little bits of felt thinking that surely one day I'll think of some use for them.  Well, I'm happy to say that day has arrived!  As I was staring at my bag full of these little scraps of felt, I finally got that idea that I had been waiting for.  So, I give you the Confetti Felt Necklace:

Here's a close up so you can see the detail better:

And of course I had to make some earrings to match:

I love how these came out, and I'm already excitedly thinking about other color combinations to try.  Maybe a firey orange, red and yellow for fall, or maybe more subtle earth tones, orange and black for Halloween, red and lime green or red and white for Christmas...the possibilities are endless! 


A fun new item to make, and a way to use up little scraps (which means zero waste of felt!)...this is definitely a win-win.  Plus it helps me justify all those other craft supplies I've been hanging on to.  Given enough time, I'm sure that someday I will have an idea for how to use them up!

Getting in the Mood for Autumn

I love Autumn. And although I do enjoy Summer, I must confess that by this time of year, I've usually had enough of the hot weather and start getting in the mood for Autumn. Fortunately for me, I get a little taste of all things Fall throughout the Summer while working on Modern Handmade Child. If you're ready to take a little peek into Fall, be sure to check out our Autumn issue, which was just published this week:


I've also been working on some new Fall and Halloween inspired designs in felt hair elastics. Fun! Here's a little sneak peek at what's to come in my Etsy shop this season:

red apple felt hair elastic

acorn felt hair elastic

yellow birch leaf felt hair elastic

pumpkin felt hair elastic

ghost felt hair elastic

So be on the lookout for those soon. And if you have any other designs you'd like to see, please don't hesitate to ask...I love custom orders! :)

Wholesale order: check! New items in my shop: check!

I've been busily working on a wholesale order the past couple weeks, and I'm happy to say that it is now done and on its way to Canada. Hooray! Here's a look at what I sent:

10 pink and lavender polka dot felted Easter egg rings

10 sets of hand sewn pink and yellow felt Easter egg hair elastics

10 sets of hand sewn yellow chick felt hair elastics

I love seeing big batches of items like this. Makes me feel like I really accomplished something! Here's one last pic of the hair elastics all packaged up and ready to go:

Now that the wholesale order is done, I can start adding some of these lovelies to my Etsy shop. Yay! I've already added one set of the chick hair elastics and one set of the egg hair elastics. More to come soon!

Primroses - new design for spring!

I'm not sure what happened to February.  I know it's a short month, but really!  I think perhaps I crammed to much into it, because I feel like the entire month was a big chaotic blur.  So March is my month to get back on track.  One thing I need to do to get back on track is make good on my promise to myself to set aside time each week for creating. 

So this week I started working on some new designs that I had in mind for my hand sewn felt flower hair clips.  I have a long list of flowers I've been wanting to design, as well as several pages of sketches.  So now it's time to fine-tune the designs, make the patterns, and try them out.  At the top of my list were primroses.  I love primroses...with their vibrant colors, they are such a cheerful sign of spring.  And who couldn't use more cheer in their life?  So here's a little cheer for you:

I'm quite pleased with how they turned out, and have already made a few, which I will be listing in my Etsy shop very soon!

Friday Flower: Felt?

My usual Friday featured flower post is going to be a little different today. I'm having a BOGO sale on all of my hair accessories this weekend, and I just found out that my hand sewn felt poppy hair clip is going to be featured in Etsy's Weekend Deals article today. Yippee!!

I'm super duper excited about this, as it is really great exposure. It's been a rough couple of weeks around here with the daycare crisis and all, so it was really nice to get some good news! So be on the lookout for the article on Etsy today, or go sign up to receive the Etsy Finds email, and get it right in your inbox! Now here's a little sampling of goodies that will be on sale in my Etsy shop all weekend long:

Secret peek at the back of a felt mandala

I've been working on some new felt mandalas recently, and it occurred to me that the back is often quite interesting too, but since the finished product is backed with a second piece of felt, no one else ever gets to see it. So I thought I'd share my latest mandala in progress, and show a little secret peek at what's on the other side.

So here's the latest felt mandala I'm working on, which was inspired by a sunny blue sky day, which has been a rarity this June in Maine:

And here's a secret little peek at what the back of these look like:

Enjoy!

EtsyKids: EtsyKids Design Challenge for March: Vote now!

All the entries are in, and wow, are they ever cute and springy!! It kind of makes up for the fact that it snowed here in Maine today. At least it was just a few flurries, and it's supposed to be sunny again tomorrow. Check out all of the entries and vote here:

EtsyKids: EtsyKids Design Challenge for March: Vote now!

Pssst...my entry is #15!

Spring!

My daffodils are just beginning to pop up out of the ground, and though it will be awhile before they're up and blooming, it's definitely a sign that spring is near! Hurrah!

Spring is a time of new growth, and I've really been trying to grow some new ideas lately. And now the EtsyKids Team is having a monthly design challenge, which I'm sure will inspire me to expand my horizons and create new things. March's challenge is 'Spring', and to me nothing says spring like daffodils, tulips, and crocus!

I had almost forgotten how much I enjoyed hand-stitching until I started making my new felt mandala pendants. Ever since I started making those, I've been obsessed with hand-stitching again! So I decided to make these little flower hair clips for the EtsyKids Spring Design Challenge. I love the way they came out, and had so much fun making them, I can't wait to make some more!

Click here to see the other entries for the challenge. There's some fabulous stuff!!

Mandalas continued...

Remember my mandalas from the other day? Well I've been playing around with embroidering them onto felt. I'm really having a lot of fun with this, and so far I'm digging the results!



This black and white one to the left is one that's in progress. As with my drawn mandalas, I start each of these with no plan - nothing is sketched out ahead of time. Each stitch I take leads me to where the next stitch should go, and I just keep working outwards until I feel like the design is complete.




Now to decide what to do with them! I've been thinking they would make pretty cool pendants, so I made a couple to try out:











I've been wearing this one all weekend, and I love it! I'm seriously considering making a bunch more of these for my Etsy shop. I certainly have enough felt & embroidery floss to get started...it's just a matter of finding the time. They are quite time consuming to make, but they're a small project, so they're extremely portable. That means I can take one or two of them with me everywhere to work on at any given moment. Perfect for my lunch break at work, or waiting at the doctor's office. Fun!