Foxtail Creek Studio

Wonderful start to the weekend

2012-02-18T08:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday!

I woke up to the most beautiful, peaceful foggy morning today. Before I even put on a pot of coffee (wha??), I grabbed my camera and went outside.

What a great way to wake up!!

Hello Out There! =)

2012-01-31T21:57:00.000-05:00

It's the end of January already...looks like my resolution of blogging more frequently has already hit the skids! Where does the time go? Well for me, part of the time since my last post was spent discovering Pinterest. It was a little confusing at first but then it quickly became a glorious time-suck =) I'm over there as janine200 and while I don't have a whole lot of things 'pinned' yet, I have really enjoyed looking at all the goodies that other people pin to their boards.

I've also been working on some new designs for the shop, there are so many ideas in my head and not enough time to finish (or even start) them all! I did make a new bird's nest ornament, and I got a little creative with the photography--I used natural twigs and pods I found on the ground outside of my dayjob as little props, and then I brought the pic into Photoshop where I played around with lighting and curves to give it a bit of a washed-out look. To me, it looks more like an art print than a product shot and I love how it turned out! Happiness!

Other things I've spent time on lately: I needle-felted some new mushrooms for pincushions, and spent some time dyeing ostrich feathers. I love the look on people faces at the office where I work when they ask, "What did you do this weekend?" and, grinning like an idiot, I answer, "I dyed ostrich feathers!" =) More on that to come in another post, I'll take some photos next time I dye a batch and show how (and why) I like to color my own.

That's it for now, it's time for me to head to bed (I've got Stephen King's book Bag of Bones on my nightstand calling my name). I hope you all have a wonderful, happy week! ♥

Quick photo of orders in progress

2011-12-06T13:50:00.001-05:00

I've been so fortunate to have several orders for my pincushions the last few weeks! Here's a shot I took while I was in the middle of a pine-tree-making-frenzy...these little guys are waiting to be added to pincushions and then they will be shipped to their new homes.

Oh, and after I made the texture tools I talked about in my last post, I couldn't seem to stop sculpting little cottages...these are in various stages, some need paint or other finishing touches, but I like how they look all together like a little village :)

Time to get back to it so everyone can have their goodies by Christmas =) Bye for now!

Returning to Clay - making texture tools

2011-11-25T14:01:00.001-05:00

It's been so long since I've really dug into my clay, aside from making tiny eggs for my bird's nests. This week I had a dream about adding some clay elements to my wool pincushions (don't you get the best ideas from dreams??)...so I broke out the stash of clay in my studio and have been having lots of fun the past few days :)

I wanted to make some tiny little cottages, and I wanted them to have a nice rocky or sandstone-type texture. Time to make some tools! I looked around the house and found several odd things to help me...a stencil brush, a finger cone (you can find them in office supply stores, they're used for helping to flip through stacks of paper), a wire nap brush for fluffing up yarn from when I made crocheted bears years ago, and last but not least, a corn-cob holder I found in my kitchen catch-all drawer! These things could also be used directly on the clay, but I wanted a solid square surface to make it easier to add texture to the walls of the cottages.

I cut squares of clay and textured the squares with my found objects. Then I carefully inserted a piece of brass rod into the back of each one so they would have a handle. Baked them up (this is polymer clay which doesn't require a kiln, just an oven) and they turned out great! This first one was made using the stencil brush, and I hadn't yet thought about adding a handle :) Click on the photos if you'd like a closer look.

Here are some cottages that I've sculpted and textured this morning, mostly with the tool made from the wire nap brush. They are waiting for windows and doors...but I have them in the refrigerator right now to firm up the clay a bit first so that I don't mess up the texture while adding those details.

That's all for now, if you have any questions, feel free to ask away!

Missing the kid but making the most of it :)

2011-07-27T18:40:00.000-04:00

My 15-yr old son has been in Connecticut since July 7th, working with his grandfather doing renovations on some rental properties. While this is a great opportunity for him to know what it IS to actually get up early and put in a full day of hard work (whaa??) I do miss him being around! He'll be back home in Florida next week and I am one anxious Mamma :)

There are definitely advantages to having the place to myself though! It's been nice to be able to really clean the house, knowing there won't be a band of teenagers traipsing through 5 minutes later...and if I feel like watching something on Netflix, guess what? I watch it. As in, right then & there, without having to figure out a way to vacate the living room of said band of teenagers involved in an all-important, can't-pause-now game of Red Dead Redemption on the XBOX.

My crafty side has taken over for sure...I've been more productive in the last few weeks than I have been in a long time. I seem to be just churning stuff out lately, which is always a positive thing for my shop :) I've also had time to pore over some books I ordered...The Bookshelf for Boys & Girls, a ten-volume set of encyclopedia-like books of stories and crafts & science/nature stuff, published in the 60's. I had this set when I was a kid and it was so great to flip through them again, giggling at pictures & stories that I hadn't seen in 25+ years...they even have that same awesome old-book smell that I remember!

All that being said, I will gladly trade my new-found time & freedom for a hug and a grin from my amazing kid when he gets home. ♥

What I made this week

2011-06-04T17:17:00.000-04:00

After what seemed like months of running into a brick wall with every crafty idea that I had, this week finally felt like I was doing something right! Everything I did just seemed to fall into place and look the way I imagined it. From the mixing of wool colors and getting the layering right, to actually having the perfect color ribbon on hand, I am one happy girl. I wish I could bottle that up, whatever it is!! Here's what I finished this week:

Birds Nest Dimensional Mini Wall Art - 3 inch hoop

Tree Stump Mushrooms Wool Scene

Faux Terrarium

Do you ever have those times when nothing goes right, and then suddenly BAM it works?

Re-opening my Etsy shop

2011-05-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

Today I re-opened my Etsy shop after a year-long hiatus. I figured it's time to expand my little presence on the web and thought I would give it another shot there. I only have a few items up right now, it's taking me a little time to get used to the changes that have been made in the last year...but all in all, the listing process itself is easier than I remembered it. Boy was I surprised to have one of my items put in a treasury within an hour after the shop's re-opening! What a great welcome back! Here are a couple items that I hope do well...

Needle felted and embroidered bird's nest wall decor:

Needle felted mushrooms pin cushion/miniature scene:

Wish me luck! :)

New kitty - bittersweet situation

2011-01-02T15:47:00.000-05:00

Some of you may already know that my little gray tabby ^ Toby died on Christmas morning. He was only a year and a half, and already had to have three teeth pulled a few months ago and just didn't have any interest in eating after that. The vet said that Toby had a gum infection, and that it's a genetic thing that he'd seen before (I guess that's what they say instead of "there's nothing I can do"). So for the past few months I'd been feeding Toby with a syringe, but he just kept losing weight and stopped showing any interest in anything the last few weeks. On Christmas morning I could tell that he wasn't going to be around much longer...so for two hours I just held him and talked to him and even sang to him until he took his last little breath.

I brought Lacy home about a week before Christmas, a little black & white fluffball, with the hope that having another little one around would perk Toby up a bit...but I know now that he was beyond that point. Even though I miss Toby like crazy (it's hard to even look at these photos of him), Lacy has filled the house once again with kitten antics and she gets along great with Leo the fatcat :) She's a sweetie and I think she's helping me AND Leo get used to the fact that Toby's not here.

Needle Felting & Mushroom explosion :)

2010-12-18T13:34:00.001-05:00

There are so many different ways to create things, and so many themes...and I seem to go in spurts for a couple months at a time, switching back & forth between all the things I love to do. I've been mostly focused on needle felting and embroidery for the past few months, while crocheting has taken a back seat somewhat! Mushrooms have been a favorite theme of mine lately; here's some of what I've been up to:

Pincushion in a 3.5 inch terra cotta base, about 5 inches tall

Close-up

Another in soft pastels with linen thread details (grass sprouts and pale yellow roses), about 3 inches tall

Close-up

And a miniature version in a 2-inch pot with tiny embroidered cap spots & flowers

I'm looking forward to starting some Valentine's Day themes!

*****

Back online! I don't like lightning.

2010-09-19T16:10:00.001-04:00

I feel like I've been "cut off" from the world lately! Last Sunday night, my house got zapped by lightning. My son & I are both fine, along with our two kitties. But here's the list of electronic casualties:

Ethernet card

Modem

60-inch projection TV (it's about 10 yrs old & it was given to me, but still...I got spoiled by that big screen)

Xbox 360

My son's guitar amp

Hot water heater (that was installed brand-new 4 months ago when I moved in, the realtor & landlord will replace it this week, thankfully)

Do I have renter's insurance? Ummm no. But you can bet I'll be looking into it for the future!

So, even though there are things that we'll have to do without for a while, I'm just glad we're ok, and that there was no structural damage to the house...and I'm REALLY glad my computer didn't get fried too.

I was able to get online elsewhere during the week and order a cheapie ethernet card on Ebay. I also had an old modem here at the house so I could get back online late last night (after only a couple bad words trying to take out the old ethernet card).

Let's just say I'm glad to be back!!

Nature Collections

2010-09-05T19:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Recently I was inspired by some Flickr friends who photograph their nature collections. So today I gathered a few things and started shooting.

The snail shells were found outside my office building last week after all the rain we had (which caused some chuckling by my co-workers as I ran from one to another like a little kid..."Oooh! Here's another one!")...the willows are needle felted, and the embroidered bag is my first try at sewing a drawstring pouch, finished yesterday.

All the snail shells, grouped together (after a thorough cleaning, of course!) I actually discovered one of the small shells *inside* a bigger shell while cleaning them...bonus!!

One more shot of the pouch, with the snails "spilling" out:

Looking at my pitifully small "collection" (and the fact that I was ecstatic to find snail shells at work) makes me really miss the woods and forest areas I use to play in when I was growing up...I miss the ferns, the moss, the acorns...wild strawberries, bright orange salamanders, queen anne's lace, clovers....

I must find some woods around here that I can visit soon.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday Monday!

More embroidery practice

2010-08-22T14:50:00.002-04:00

Hi there! I hope you're enjoying your Sunday :) It's been raining here in Central Florida all weekend but that's perfectly ok...it gave me an excuse to stay home and play!

I finished a couple embroideries while listening to the thunder and rain...I tell ya, there's nothing more peaceful!

The first one has cherry blossoms on cotton fabric:

And the second one I just finished about an hour ago...dandelion fluffs on cotton fabric. For fuzziness, I used a thin mohair yarn that I still had from a few years ago when I was crocheting teddy bears. I can't stress enough how happy I am that I save EVERYTHING =)

That's it for now, my son starts high school tomorrow (holy COW) and there's last-minute stuff that needs to be done. Have a great week!

Happy Saturday and New Crafties

2010-08-14T11:15:00.001-04:00

Hello friends! It's been a pretty fast & busy summer; it's hard to believe that it's time to start thinking about autumn already! How come the older you get, the faster time flies past? There must be a scientific explanation.

I've been having fun challenging myself to new crafty things...I'm still practicing embroidery and I thought I'd try an animal. Of course I chose to try a fawn because, well, fawns just rock my cute-o-meter! The back of the piece is a bit of a mess, but it's only going on my own wall anyways, so it doesn't matter.:) This is a 4-inch hoop, and I topped it with a bow of vintage seam binding.

I also tried my hand at some really tiny-scale needle felting. I'm still obsessed with bird's nests for some reason, I seem to try to incorporate them into everything and it just never gets old to me :) This one measures just under 1 cm. The glass bottles have been in my stash for so long, and I just ran across them recently. Don't you love when you find stuff in your supply stash that you had forgotten about, and it gives you a ton of new ideas? THAT'S why we hate to throw things away, see?

I'm off to do some house-cleaning, then it's back to the crafty stuff...I hope to have a small update to my ArtFire studio by Sunday night. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Embroidered linen wrist-cuff DONE!

2010-06-23T20:41:00.001-04:00

The embroidered wrist cuff is done! This was definitely a learning experience...there are mistakes I made with this that I'll know to avoid next time. And I just may have to consider getting a sewing machine sooner or later just for basic construction stuff...even though sewing machines and I have never gotten along.

*kicks dirt & grumbles in Homer Simpson voice* Stupid bobbins...

I'm quickly realizing that hand-sewing isn't all it's cracked up to be (what it IS cracked up to be, I'm not quite sure but you know what I mean). But if I plan on doing any larger sized projects, sewing everything by hand is sure to become tedious and a huge time-suck. I like to get to the fun details as quickly as possible! :)

Overall I'm pretty happy with this cuff and I'll wear it for sure...and I learned a lot so, yep! Time well spent!

Any suggestions for a somewhat simple sewing machine that won't suck the fabric into the bobbin plate thingy? Yes that's happened...is it just me? :o)

Embroidered linen wrist-cuff WIP No. 2

2010-06-21T22:24:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post tonight to show the progress so far on the embroidered wrist-cuff. The main stitching and beadwork is done (freshwater pearls and tiny 2mm tiger's-eye beads), I just started adding a blanket stitch around the edges. Hopefully I'll get it finished after work tomorrow...right now it's bedtime :)

'Nite!

Happy Dad's Day and an Embroidery WIP

2010-06-20T17:05:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! I hope you're having a wonderful, relaxing day :)

I've got yet another kitty pic for everybody--- I caught Toby going nutso with the quilt on my bed (he always seems to think there's something underneath it that he MUST get to). I grabbed the camera and walked in, and he immediately flopped down like he was just innocently lounging there the whole time, and what was my problem? :o)

This weekend I set aside some time to work on an embroidered linen wrist-cuff that's been in my head for a while now. I'm still in the newbie stages of embroidery so I thought it would be good practice. Here's a sneak peek; I'll add more stitches, maybe some freshwater pearls, and I thought I'd crochet around the edges in the same color as the linen.

I hope everyone has a good week! I know I'm looking forward to the 3-day weekend off work for July 4th :)

Follow Friday 40 & Over!

2010-06-18T09:48:00.002-04:00

Blog Hopping? Linky Lists? Never heard of them before today, but this looks like fun (and I'm 40 so this one fits me perfectly) so I thought I'd join!

Get to know your fellow 40 & over (and fantastic!) bloggers, "hop" around to visit different ones...say hello....have fun :) Thanks to Katie Jean's Jewelry for the suggestion and Java of Never Growing Old for hosting!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Thrifty Find and New Hydrangea Bobbies!

2010-06-09T11:41:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I went into an antique store for the first time. I had always thought of antique stores as places that had really expensive antique furniture and collector's pieces, etc., so I was never too interested in going into one.

Well last weekend a friend and I went into one...and I cannot believe that I've missed out all these years! It was like a well-organized garage sale, the kind of place where you want to see *everything* because if you don't, you'll always wonder if you missed something that you would have fallen in love with. Ya know those kind of places?

I left with this awesome, totally 70's style sugar and creamer set.

Here's the front:

and the back:

and the bottom:

They're about 4 inches high and I LOVE them.

I also got some more bobby pins made over the weekend...I recently discovered hydrangeas and they are such pretty flowers! I layered the fabric flowers the way I wanted them, sewed a faux pearl to each center, and attached them to the silver plated hair pins. I'm really happy with the way they came out.

Light Autumn Hydrangea Bobbies

That's it for now, hope you have a great day!

The moving is done! In more ways than one--

2010-06-02T18:40:00.003-04:00

Heh that rhymed. I'm a geek :)

Yep I'm all moved and (mostly) unpacked. Pretty time consuming, this moving stuff!

I also made another move in the last month...I moved all my handmade stuff from Etsy to Artfire.
I don't know if this will be permanent; it was just really time to try something new. I won't get onto Etsy-bashing here, I like the idea of Etsy and I like how it looks, and I still go there everyday to keep up with what's happening (or not) over there. I still have my favorite sellers that I will buy from. I'd like to go back to being a seller there eventually, but only when they make some much-needed (and long-ago promised) changes.

Within a week of setting up my Artfire shop, I sold one of my nest pins (the buyer found me through a Google search, no less!!); I was so pleasantly surprised!! I had to *unpack* my packing supplies so I could ship it out LOL
So the craft room/studio is pretty much unpacked and organized, and I was able to make a couple new bobby pins over the long weekend. I haven't listed them in the shop yet; they still need some more photos but I thought I'd go ahead and post the ones I have here:

(update: they are listed in the shop now if you'd like to see more photos, click on the pics to go to the listings)

That's about it for now, just some major changes that I thought some of you would like an update on! I hope you all have a great, creative week :)

Moving....

2010-04-29T21:14:00.001-04:00

Yep I am in the middle of moving to a new house, my online shops are in vacation mode (any inventory I have is packed up, and my shipping supplies, including boxes, are IN boxes) so things are pretty frazzly right now. Yes frazzly is a word :o)

So for another couple weeks or so at least, my internet usage will be spotty at best. Not ignoring anyone, just busy!

I can't even begin to find a picture to insert here that illustrates my frame of mind right now, so just imagine barely seeing my face poking out from mountains of cardboard. Can't wait until this is done :o)

Tank-or-Tee Tuesday March 30, 2010

2010-03-30T10:02:00.001-04:00

Happy Tuesday, time for another cool tee!

This one is from TeeShirtGnome on Etsy:

I think the headphones make this already cute tee into an awesome tee :) TeeShirtGnome has all kinds of cool & cute shirts; you should check 'em out!

Have a great day!

Tank-Or-Tee Tuesday!

2010-03-23T08:53:00.002-04:00

Happy Tuesday morning everybody :)

I have another bird-themed selection for you this morning...I can't help it, I love things with wings! Well, except for houseflies. Those I could do without. But birds, butterflies and dragonflies...I love them all.

Here's today's awesome tee:

From CritterJitters on Etsy:

This is listed as a man's t-shirt, but I really think anyone could wear it...I absolutely love the graphics!!

*************

Ok, back to work for me (and a little bit of Molly-watching throughout the day), have a great day!

Tank-Or-Tee Tuesday

2010-03-16T11:31:00.000-04:00

I'm going to start doing a brief weekly post featuring an awesome T-shirt or tank top, because there are just so many cute ones out there! Most will be from Etsy, as that's where I browse the most, but I'm sure some other sites will pop in from time to time. Soooo here's the first one!

From nikacollection on Etsy:

I love the bird, love the twigs, love the color. So pretty!

Learning new crafties=stagnant blog :/

2010-02-16T06:22:00.002-05:00

It seems I have neglected my blog once again. Aaannnd here comes the excuse, er, I mean reason---

I have been occupied with learning something new... hand embroidery. Not embroidering hands, but embroidering BY hand ;) Sewing machines and I do not get along so I do everything thread-related, umm, on my own (I really didn't want to say "hand" again. And yet there it is).
A friend of mine picked up a little organizer box full of cotton floss for me at a yard sale for 50 cents (!), it was arranged all pretty by color, and it went to my head...I HAD to learn how to use this beautiful stuff! I had done some embroidery in the past, if you could call it that. I never knew any proper stitches, and it never looked quite right to me. Enter Youtube :) Along with a DVD I picked up for $11 that teaches 20+ stitches for silk ribbon embroidery (yep, got into that too).
So, armed with my very newbie skills, I decided to try and mesh some of my older crafty knowledge with the new stuff, and came up with a piece of 3D wall art: the needle felted nest comes out from the base and holds tiny little pearl beads--

I have to say that right now I am addicted to making French knots. Love it!

I have 3 more in various stages of doneness right now, which I'll post when they're finished.

Until then, I will leave you with Leo and his huge blue eyes O_O Have a great week!

Estate sales -mixed emotions

2009-12-12T16:50:00.001-05:00

I went to my first Estate sale today, and actually left without buying anything. At first. I wasn't prepared for the awkward feeling that came over me when I overheard the deceased's daughter talking about how sad it is that it all comes down to this. I suddenly felt like I had no business being there...some stranger pawing through a beloved mother's personal things.

So I went home and posted on the Etsy forums (the first topic I've ever started, I think, in my 2 yrs there) asking if it gets easier. Do you just get used to it after a while? After some very nice replies and people sharing their own experiences with Estate sales , I decided I had to put on my big girl panties and go back to get what I saw and loved. I'm SO glad I did!

When I went back to get this mug rack, the daughter happily stated, "She made this!". I'm so proud of myself for not crying right there on the spot, I'm a big-time sap!

This is 17 inches tall, ceramic, made in 1980....and it's already well-loved in its new home among my deer and fawns and generally forest-themed living room :)

Latest nest pins

2009-11-29T20:17:00.001-05:00

I've been busy-busy the past few weeks and have horribly neglected my blog! So I figured I'd at least post some pics of what I was able to accomplish. I noticed that there are quite a few people doing the needle-felted bird's nests, and mine didn't really stand out from the rest very much. So, back to the drawing board (felting foam!), I wanted to add something more, and I really like how the new style turned out.

The branches are felted over wire so they're bendy :) The 'eggs' in this particular nest are wooden beads, and the branches have glass leaves and a glass flower. The whole thing is about 3 inches long. I had to use my newly-Ebay-won fawn as a photo prop...I almost can't stand how cute he is!! He arrived with his beautiful Mom as well...they will have a photoshoot all to themselves soon :)

(sold)

I like the soft grey color of this one. The 'eggs' are white glass pearls, and the branches have more glass flowers and leaves sewn on. This one's a bit bigger at 3.5 inches across at the longest point.

My long weekend is over and it's back to work at my dayjob tomorrow. I wish I could do this stuff all day! I hope everyone enjoys their week, bye for now!

Snagged my first Etsy treasury

2009-10-31T12:08:00.002-04:00

Last night when Treasury West opened up, I jumped in and snagged one, first time! I used Etsy's Poster Sketch feature yesterday to pick out the items I wanted to use so I'd be ready. It was fun to choose from all the beautiful items and create a color scheme. BUT the opportunity to create a treasury didn't happen until 2 a.m....I hope it's not like that all the time because this could be really addicting!

So much for getting enough sleep (from last night's post)...now I'm off to clean the house and then pick up all the kids for the sleepover. Have a great day!

Tiny unfinished needle felted bird's nests

2009-10-31T00:05:00.001-04:00

Wow it's really late already...where did the day go?? But I wanted to get this posted tonight before bed.
I really love the woodland forest-y feel of these little needle felted nests. I have a couple in my second Etsy shop as stick pins, but I've been making more the past few days just because they're so much fun. I'm weird...I like having these tiny nests everywhere! These are nests in various stages of doneness; the eggs are made of polymer clay that I baked and then painted with little brown flecks (click on the pics for full-size)...

I was playing around with my camera's settings, determined to find a way to get those awesome shots that have great depth of field (DOF).I think I did it! I also have one of those fabric collapsable photo-cubes that I've been using for a long time now, but I was never quite happy with it. I just didn't like the shape and it was too constricting, so tonight, I cut out the back and the bottom of it. Now it's 3-sided and I can just set it over whatever I'm shooting, and my backgrounds don't have to fit INSIDE of it. Why didn't I think of tearing it up before? I like it much better, and I'm pretty happy with the way these photos turned out!

Ok, time for bed! I have at least 4 kids coming over tomorrow night for a Halloween sleepover. I'm really going to need all the sleep I can get tonight -o-

Best Monday Ever & New Felty Stuff

2009-10-26T12:52:00.005-04:00

I'm usuallly not a "Happy Monday" type of person, but today is different. It definitely made up for the ridiculous Mr. Bean-type of weekend I had.

I got some new items finished for my second Etsy shop (dedicated to felting) over the weekend, and when I got to work this morning, I found out that one of those items had made it to Etsy's front page!

Holy cow I had pretty much given up hope on ever doing that. It was picked by Admin (wow) and this little needle felted nest pin was up there at 6 a.m. this morning....right about the time I was hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock :)

Here's a photo of some other items I finished this weekend for the new shop...hand-painted mini terra cotta pots with needle felted pincushions and steel pearlized pins that I had fun dressing up with glass flowers. These are really fun to make, they combine lots of crafty things that I enjoy (painting, needle felting, beading) all in a little 2-inch tall project.

If you'd like to see the whole Front Page treasury mentioned above, you can click here to see it on Craftcult.

Yep, this is the best Monday I've had in a while :o)

October Handmade Challenge - Birds

2009-10-25T14:59:00.002-04:00

If you haven't heard of the Handmade Challenge, you should check it out! It's so neat to know that people from all parts of the world are creating something with the same theme in mind, since it is required to make something new just for the month's challenge (submitting something you've previously made kinda takes away from the whole idea). This month's challenge theme was birds, and here's my submission...a crocheted, stuffed mini-pillow with a needle felted bird and branch silhouette. The pillow is about 5 inches long and 3 inches high.

One of Those Days

2009-10-25T00:24:00.005-04:00

Ever have one of those days when you continually feel like something's telling you to just go back to bed? *Snicker* Oh boy did I start out having one of those today. I swear I was channeling Mr. Bean or something.

I had so many ideas for projects that had been building up in my brain during the workweek, and ideas on how to photograph them once they were finished. But it seemed like everything I tried didn't work out the way I needed it to, and I was all thumbs. Not a good thing to be when wielding a felting needle!
I decided to take a break from any new projects and thought I'd photograph some finished items. I wanted to shoot outside as I'm trying to get better at outdoor photography...but it got really breezy and any props I was using (specialty papers for backdrops, dried flowers and twigs, etc.) kept blowing around because I didn't have enough hands to hold everything down. :o) At this point, with shoulders slumped, I gathered everything up and carted it back inside (3 trips).

The only thing left to do was flop on the couch for a few minutes, you can never go wrong with that! My son's friend left his Nintendo DS-I at our house...I spotted it on the coffee table and picked it up. Wow are those things neat. Not only can you play games on them, but you can record things and play them back in all kinds of funny ways, chat with anyone else who has a Nintendo DS, play music files...anyway I played Mario Kart for about 30 minutes (I've always loved any game with Mario!) and actually giggled out loud a couple times...fun little game :) I don't know why, but I was renewed! Maybe it was the result of doing something completely mindless and non-productive for a bit. I went back in to my studio and things just kind of fell into place. I got 2 projects done, set up my photo stuff in the kitchen and turned out some product photos that I am in LOVE with.

Maybe the kids are on to something here. Hopefully this little gadget will stay at my house for a couple days....ya know, just so I can take those mindless breaks that I apparently need once in a while. *grin*

Wool Dyeing with Koolaid

2009-10-17T11:28:00.001-04:00

Hi guys!

I've been dyeing wool with Koolaid drink mix for a couple months, and last night I finally took some pictures while making some new batches. My kitchen smells wonderfully fruity :)

Dyeing the wool with Koolaid is really simple and fun. I just heat up a big pot of water on the stove until it's almost boiling. Then I pour the water into glass bowls (sometimes I also use canning jars). A lot of people just do everything in the pot, but I like to see the different colors through the glass.
I add some Koolaid mix straight from the packet into the bowls of water and mix well so there are no little "clumps" left.
I then wet the wool thoroughly with water from the tap (this helps the wool to take the color evenly), and place it in the bowl of colored water, dunking it with a spoon to make sure it's all covered. If you want more of a variegated color effect, you can just dunk dry wool in the colored water. That method is pretty unpredictable, but it can be so beautiful (see the blue raspberry drying on the racks below).
Then I have to be patient and wait until the wool absorbs all the color and the water surrounding it becomes clear (usually between 20 minutes to an hour).
When all the color is absorbed, I remove the wool and squeeze it gently to get rid of excess water, then spread the wool out on drying racks.
Then I have to be patient again until it's dry! I usually do this at night and go to bed while it's drying. You can help it along by using a hair dryer or setting the racks out in the sun.

Ok, on to the pics! I found a Koolaid flavor that I'd never seen before...Mango! Is it ever pretty!! So the colors I used here are Mango, Pink Lemonade, Blue Raspberry Swirl, Cherry and Grape. For the Blue Raspberry Swirl (in the canning jar), I submerged the wool without wetting it first so it would take on varying amounts of color in different places. I love how it turned out.

Blue Raspberry Swirl, Pink Lemonade, Mango

Cherry with different amounts of grape added, makes nice shades of wine/mulberry.

Blue Raspberry Swirl drying on the racks

Mango (this color is so realistically mango!) drying on the racks

I am definitely hooked on dyeing my own wool, and it's so cheap to do it with Koolaid!
Now I'm off to make something with my new colors..... :o)

More flower scarves and experimenting with photos

2009-10-04T21:43:00.004-04:00

I got two more flower scarves finished this weekend. I am loving how these are turning out...it's too hot right now in Florida to wear them, or else I think I would keep them!

I normally take all my photos indoors with lights set up, but I thought I'd try shooting outside (while letting the kitties out for some fresh air for a few minutes). I like the natural look to them, but the colors are somewhat unpredictable and I had to tweak a lot in Photoshop (but that may be just my lack of expertise)! Any thoughts/constructive criticism? Should I stick to the indoor setup?

Flower Scarf in Cream

Flower Skinny Scarf in Dusty Pink

Keeping things fresh!

2009-10-03T23:06:00.008-04:00

I had to take a short break from needle felting, I've been neglecting my Etsy shop for too long! Speaking of which, I set up another Etsy shop just for needle felted stuff. I don't have anything listed yet, but I wanted to go ahead and get it set up as Foxtail Creek Felt. My other shop (the one I've been neglecting) is Foxtail Creek and is mainly crocheted stuff.
I have to switch back & forth between mediums sometimes because things start getting stale! And it always helps...when I'm working with felt or clay, I'll get an idea for something to crochet. And I was crocheting when the idea for the needle felted Costume Kids came to me. Well it happened this time too...a new line of flower scarves popped into my head while I was stabbing away at the wool on my Fantimal in my previous post. Obviously I tend jump around a lot with projects, but one thing's for sure: I'll never be bored! :)

This is the first flower scarf, just listed, and I have three more in various stages of completion.

Flower Scarf in Honey

Just a short post this time, it's late - have a great night!

New fiber sculpture series: Fantimals! More pics added-

2009-09-26T17:48:00.005-04:00

What is a Fantimal? It's simple....Fantasy + Animal = Fantimal. Ok, yeah, it's a bit silly but it seems to be the perfect name for the things I'm working on. Needle felted fiber goodness with no restrictions :)

I've been having a lot of fun making the Costume Kids and various little animals...but lately my imagination has been getting restless. I want to make animals that don't exist!

They will most likely be loosely based on a dinosaur/dragon theme, but I want to mix things up and add whatever features pop into my head. Could be cat ears...a mohawk...horns...

I have really been stifling my creativity by sticking to how things are "supposed" to look, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens when I just let imagination completely run the show.

The first one has already been started...I've taken a few work-in-progress photos. I'll take more pics as I work on him, and I'll keep adding them to this post.

Have a great day!!

Ok I got more done! He has legs, feet and a tail...here he's just waiting patiently for his toes, which are being held captive by the evil felting needles:

Ahh, that's better! You can see in the pic above that I had originally made six toes, but after putting only two on each foot, I decided I really liked how they looked with just two! So that's how it shall be, because there's no right or wrong with animals that only exist in my head. Heehee....I'm liking this more & more.

Next I'll be adding the base color to his body...it's a soft sage green that I dyed last night. You can see a little bit of it up there on his head...see that little stripe? I was impatient and had to test it out :)

Needle Felting Tutorial: Using glass eyes with loops

2009-09-23T18:20:00.004-04:00

A reader asked for tips when using glass eyes with wire loops on a needle felted face, so I decided to write a tutorial. This is probably not the only way to do it, it's just how I do it :)

This is my first actual tutorial (as opposed to work-in-progress pics), so bear with me. ♥ You can see larger photos if you click on them.

*****

What you'll need:

Glass eyes with wire loops - mine are 6mm eyes from glasseyesonline.com

A long doll needle - mine is from JoAnn Fabrics, about 5 inches long, sold in packs of two

Thread (preferably button/carpet thread for strength, but any thread will work)

Exacto knife

Your needle felted head shape - a simple ball is fine

*****

When I first started trying out needle felted facial features, I would use a piece of yarn to mark the middle of the face to keep myself straight, so I thought I'd share that tip. Needle it lightly (just enough to keep it in place) in two spots, the top and the bottom of the head. You'll remove this later :)

Determine where you want your eyes to be and lightly needle a circular line to mark the spot.

*****

Continue to needle in your marked spots, needling somewhat deeper, making nice little indentations for the glass part of your eyes to fit into. Don't worry about making a place to insert the wire loop yet, we'll do that in the next step.

*****

Once your indentations (eyesockets!) are done, you can remove your center-mark yarn if you used any. A light tug should do the trick.

Now we're going to use an exacto knife like this one:

*****

To make an opening for the wire loop, insert the exacto knife into the center of the eye indentation you created. Be sure not to slice too deeply, we just want a slit deep enough for the wire loop to slide into. I always make the slits horizontal (don't know why, really), I'm sure it makes no difference if you do them vertically. Here are two angles of the exacto knife in action; notice it's not in very deep:

*****

We're almost ready to start sewing them in! So make sure you have all your other stuff gathered--

****

Before we start sewing the eyes in, we need to make sure everything fits. Make sure your wire loops are straight, and slide them into the slits you made. You may have to wiggle them a bit, but try not to bend the loops. If they just won't go in (trust me, it happens!), use your exacto knife again and make the slits a little bit deeper and wider until the eye loops slide into place with only a little push. Once you're confident that they will fit, remove them and let's get to sewing!

*****

Thread your doll needle with a length of thread about 12 inches long. Insert the needle into the back of the needle felted head, coming out in the center of one of the eye slits (or as close to it as possible). Leave a few inches of thread-tail at the back of the head.

*****

Once you pull the needle through, thread one of the eye's wire loops onto the needle like you would do with a bead.

*****

Leaving the eye dangling for now, insert the needle into the eye very close to where you just came out, with the needle exiting very close to the same spot on the back of the head where your thread started. SLOWLY pull the needle through, and as you pull the last bit of thread through, use your fingers to guide the wire loop into the slit you made.

*****

Make sure your eye is set into the slit correctly, and, while leaving your needle still threaded, tie the threads at the back of the head with at least two knots to secure it.

*****

One down, one to go! Insert the needle into the back of the head, coming out in the center of the slit, just like you did for the other eye.

*****

Repeat the same steps as the other eye, threading the eye's wire loop onto the needle like a bead, inserting the needle back into the eye socket and through the head, and guiding the wire loop into the slit as you pull the thread all the way through. Still keeping the needle threaded, secure the threads by knotting in the back of the head (you can add a tiny piece of wool later, and just cover those knots up by needle felting a 'patch' over them).

Once you have secured the eyes by knotting the thread, insert the needle into the back of the head again, but this time, exit down through the bottom where the neck would be. Pull the thread taut, snip it very close to the head, and it should disappear back into the felt.

*****

Done! Seems like a lot of steps, but after only a couple of times, it becomes a lot simpler, believe me :) If you have any questions, just ask. Have fun!

The difficult life of Leo

2009-09-18T13:49:00.003-04:00

Hello there, just a quick post today to show some photos I took of my fatcat Leo while he lounged on the arm of the couch the other night. The bottom right pic makes me giggle, the way he just has his arms flopped on both sides....what a life! I plan on working on a lot of artsy-crafty stuff this weekend so I'll post more later, but for now, I hope you enjoy the kitty goodness :)

More Costume Kids :)

2009-09-16T08:32:00.004-04:00

Hello! It's been a couple weeks, but I finally got time to make a couple more little cuties....a skunk girl and a dinosaur boy. Click on the links below if you want to see their auctions.

Auction for the little skunk girl :)

Auction for the dinosaur boy :)

I was able to take some silly pictures of my (real) fatcat Leo over the weekend, I'll get them posted as soon as I get them arranged in some kind of order. Bye for now!

Another Costume Kid

2009-08-24T20:21:00.005-04:00

I've been busy today!

The fourth in the Costume Kids series is a 3-inch little girl dressed as a bluebird, and she comes with her own nest. She's up right now looking for a new home; wish her luck!

Fun mail day

2009-08-24T18:32:00.004-04:00

I love getting stuff in the mail :)

I bought a set of two new pouches from kaylah7 (The Dainty Squid) on Etsy, aren't they neat? I ordered them on 8/21 and already got them today. They are beautifully made and just awesome! She has so many cute styles and fabrics, I had a hard time choosing which ones to get, but I'm very happy with my choice.
I don't really like to carry a purse if I can help it, I just carry a small zipper pouch that holds my license/credit cards/money/phone. The one I had been using was pretty old and needed to be replaced...these are sooo much prettier and I can't wait to show them off :)

Costume Kids newest addition

2009-08-23T11:59:00.009-04:00

Last night I finished the latest in the Costume Kids series, and this morning I did his photo shoot. This pumpkin baby is 3 inches high, has glass eyes and little leafy feet :) Here are a couple of the shots; he will be listed on Ebay later this afternoon and I'll update this with the link. <-- Updated with link :)
The more of these I make, the more fun I have ♥

Yay! And...my newest obsession--

2009-08-21T13:04:00.007-04:00

Happy Friday!!
The bunny girl and the bumblebee boy have been adopted and are on their way to their new home in Illinois. Take care, little ones!

There's another Costume Kid already in the works right now, and I have a couple Halloween/fall themed kiddos planned.

Once those are done, I'm going to have to give in to my latest obsession, which are fawns/deer. I don't know why, but suddenly everything that I see featuring these adorable creatures is making me swoon. It doesn't matter if it's a realistic drawing or a little kawaii-type fabric...my heart skips a beat. And if it also happens to have little mushrooms, well, then I just go nutty.
Here is a photo of some deco tape that I found on Etsy today. It's on my wishlist. It WILL be mine.

Soooo, when you're into creating things...and you become obsessed with something, you know what it leads to: I must make one! Or five!

Probably needle felted. I thought about sculpting them from clay, but I know I will end up wanting to squeeze them... :) Maybe after I make a couple soft sculptures and get over my 'Lenny-Of Mice and Men' phase, I'll go for the clay. We'll see.

Looking for a home :)

2009-08-12T22:16:00.006-04:00

The photoshoots are done! The editing, cropping and uploading is done! I decided to list both the bumblebee and the bunny on the 'Bay. Clicking on the photos will take you to their listings if you'd like to see them :)

Please wish them luck in finding a new home!

Needle Felting - A work in progress Part 3 Done!

2009-08-11T23:19:00.013-04:00

The final set of progress pics, I think he's done! This cutie will be entering the world of Ebay soon...I'll post a link when I list him.

As promised in my last post, he's getting a nose :)

Here I'm making one of the wings, basically just a fat teardrop shape. I'm leaving the pointy end fluffy so that I can attach it to his back.

I'm using just a tiny bit of a lighter colored wool spread across the wings, to give the appearance of that veined look that insect wings have...

Now the wings are done and I'm working on the antennae. Here I'm using jewelers' needle-nose pliers on black craft wire to make a couple 'squigglies', with a Swarovski crystal bicone bead at the top for a bit of sparkle.

He's done, I think! He's making himself comfy on some flowers that I crocheted. I'm wondering...should I give him a stinger??

Needle Felting - A work in progress Part 2

2009-08-08T20:27:00.012-04:00

Ok I finally got some time to do some more work on this little guy! Click on the pics to see them a little larger. Here we go:

I decided he's going to be dressed as a bumblebee, so here ^^ I'm using black wool and needling it into somewhat of a cone shape for the body.

Gotta have bright yellow stripes for a bumblebee! I like to do the edges of the stripes first and then continue filling in the middle of the stripes. Here I'm almost finished filling them in.

Now that the stripes are done, it's time to add the hood to his costume. As you can see, I've already fixed his hair-do, I just needled it down here and there along his forehead. Now I'm using more black wool for his hood. Again, I find it easier to needle the edge of the hood first to get a neater looking line, and then I fill in the rest. I'm also leaving some wool "fluff" at the bottom so I can use it to attach the head to the body.

That's it for now, next time I'll be adding his little feet, arms, antennae and wings. Oh and a nose, since he doesn't have one yet :)

Needle Felting - A work in progress Part 1

2009-08-04T21:12:00.013-04:00

One of my all-time favorite ways to create things---by using super-sharp, barbed needles, repeatedly stabbing into fluffy wool until the fibers interlock and form shapes. Ahh...definitely a great stress reliever, and FUN.

It had been a while since I'd done any needle felting and I was really starting to miss it. Then the other day an idea popped into my head to make some tiny little art-dolls...but different than anything I've seen done anywhere else in needle felting. Cute little kid-faces peeking out of hooded costumes...I've got so many ideas swimming in my head with these, I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything else.
I've already finished a "practice" one (or prototype if I want to sound all fancy) so I could get a feel for how to approach it, what to do and what to avoid. Now I'm making one for REAL :) Here are a few photos taken at my worktable tonight (click on any photo if you want to see it a little more closely)...

After shaping a ball from the wool, I begin needling in 'eyeholes' and doing a little basic sculpting of the face. I like to do these steps first because it gives the whole "coming to life" effect sooner, and it always spurs me on to keep going when I see a little face emerging :)
The hair I'll use for these dolls is silky Tibetan Lamb; this stuff is so soft and beautiful. I have a lot left over from doing polymer clay sculptures - I love crossover supplies!

The little bunny girl up there is the first one I made when I got the idea...she's looking down at the featureless face and waiting patiently for a friend to be created :)
I'm using black German glass eyes with loops on these little guys (and girls) as you can see in the photos, but I'm applying the hair first, and here's why: I do a lot of 'deep' needling when applying the hair because it's so silky... I find that it needs a lot of poking to be really attached firmly. And since I am going to be sewing the glass eyes in for extra durability, I don't want to risk hitting the eye-thread inside this little guy's head while going to town on needling the hair in. It would weaken the thread and I kind of like everything to stay put! So the major hair application is done first, then the eyes get sewn in using a long doll needle.

Here, I've sewn in the eyes and am finishing up the hairline, with quick little jabs as you can tell from the blurriness of my right hand! And yep, that does result in quick little jabs to my own fingers once in a while, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Really it's more startling than painful. Honest.

That's it for tonight, hopefully I'll get some time tomorrow night to continue!

The obligatory kitties post

2009-08-02T13:28:00.013-04:00

Gotta post my kitties, because they make me happy :)

The bottom pic is Toby; a 4 month old gray tabby and ALL kitten. He seems to love chasing things that don't exist.

The top two pics are Leo; a 5 year old seal point lynx bobtail. A friend was moving and couldn't keep him, so now he has a new home with me. He is HUGE, I have to keep myself from calling him Cartman (South Park anyone?). He is beautiful though, and has the biggest blue eyes that I've ever seen.

Leo spent his first few weeks here hiding under my bed, a stodgy old man that wanted nothing to do with the young 'un that was running around chasing things that aren't there.

But now, almost two months later, Toby's kitten-ness is starting to rub off on Leo. He's more playful and has actually lost a couple pounds (trust me, he could stand to lose a few more). They are funny to watch...kinda like Foghorn Leghorn and the little Chicken Hawk.

Treasury Happiness

2009-07-30T22:07:00.010-04:00

Holy cow I'm in another Etsy treasury!

I'm already doing a happy dance because this is the second treasury I've been in this week. If this one makes it to the Front Page, I may just fall over.

EDIT: This treasury has expired, I removed the link to it. But here's what it looked like :)
(Click photo to see a bigger version)
Thanks so much to 3squares for including my wrist cuff in her beautiful selection of coral-colored handmade and vintage items.

"Purple" is the other treasury that featured an item of mine.
Thanks to Imaginat ionInFlight for including me in another beautiful collection.
(Click photo to see a bigger version)

Crochet Vines Part 1

2009-07-19T14:43:00.003-04:00

So I have a lot of blank white space on my walls since my "ex-roommate" moved out (they had put up huge flags all over the place, I never was that crazy about that look so I quietly took them down on moving day so they wouldn't forget them).
Now I have the walls all to myself. Huge, white and empty. I've looked around for some framed art, but never really found anything that grabbed my attention unless I wanted to spend LOTS of money, which I don't, because of the aforementioned mover-outer. I'm keeping this place up by myself, I'm much happier, but poor! So thrifty is the way to go.
I love the look of vines, so I thought I'd try crocheting some. That way, I can make them any colors I want, as large as I want.
I was browsing around JoAnn's with a friend of mine the other day and came across some beautiful yarn that would work perfectly for this project. It's a wool-acrylic blend called Traditions by Debbie Mumm, and the color is called Pine Needle. It was $6 a skein, but with my trusty 50% off one item coupon (told ya, thrifty!) it was mine.
The photo represents probably a couple hours of work on and off, and I still have a lot to add. I just started with a long chain; branching off, adding leaves and slip-stitching back down to the original chain whenever the mood struck. I think it's definitely going to end up wild-looking, which I like...I don't think vines should be symmetrical and be perfectly proportioned.
It's really a fun project, no counting or pattern-reading, completely free-form work (which I happen to love). I figure when it's done, I'll put it up on the wall with some double-sided foam mounting squares that I have. I can cut the squares into the tiniest little pieces and tack the vines to the wall, using the foam pieces to guide their "growth". I'll post an update when I have more done.

Getting Started

2009-07-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

I'm Janine of Foxtail Creek Studio and this is my first blog post, yay! Unfortunately I have nothing to blog about at the moment, but I wanted to get it set up and tested out and all that good stuff.
I never thought I would ever "do a blog", but for some reason lately it's kinda been calling me...

~~~More to come soon~~~

Foxtail Creek Studio

Wonderful start to the weekend

Hello Out There! =)

Quick photo of orders in progress

Returning to Clay - making texture tools

Missing the kid but making the most of it :)

What I made this week

Re-opening my Etsy shop

New kitty - bittersweet situation

Needle Felting & Mushroom explosion :)

Back online! I don't like lightning.

Nature Collections

More embroidery practice

Happy Saturday and New Crafties

Embroidered linen wrist-cuff DONE!

Embroidered linen wrist-cuff WIP No. 2

Happy Dad's Day and an Embroidery WIP

Follow Friday 40 & Over!

Thrifty Find and New Hydrangea Bobbies!

The moving is done! In more ways than one--

Moving....

Tank-or-Tee Tuesday March 30, 2010

Tank-Or-Tee Tuesday!

Tank-Or-Tee Tuesday

Learning new crafties=stagnant blog :/

Estate sales -mixed emotions

Latest nest pins

Snagged my first Etsy treasury

Tiny unfinished needle felted bird's nests

Best Monday Ever & New Felty Stuff

October Handmade Challenge - Birds

One of Those Days

Wool Dyeing with Koolaid

More flower scarves and experimenting with photos

Keeping things fresh!

New fiber sculpture series: Fantimals! More pics added-

Needle Felting Tutorial: Using glass eyes with loops

The difficult life of Leo

More Costume Kids :)

Another Costume Kid

Fun mail day

Costume Kids newest addition

Yay! And...my newest obsession--

Looking for a home :)

Needle Felting - A work in progress Part 3 *Done!*

Needle Felting - A work in progress Part 2

Needle Felting - A work in progress Part 1

The obligatory kitties post

Treasury Happiness

Crochet Vines Part 1

Getting Started

Needle Felting - A work in progress Part 3 Done!