Archive for Stuff I Make

Small Folk Fairy Wand diy Ideas

One of the things that I’ve been inspired to create are fairy wands.

I love nature. I sense a lot of wonder and magic in nature. I easily see nature spirits, especially in trees, rocks and flowers.

About a year ago, I was inspired to take a course in Fairies and received a certificate in fairyology!

Sometime after I finished the course I was inspired to create fairy wands.

I’m still at the start of this idea but I’ve created two so far.

I collect wood sticks that I pick up on my hikes, along with rocks and driftwood. As for sticks, I pick up what I consider good sticks for walking, guiding my dogs on a path or to point and reach. So, I already had sticks on hand to start. Most everything I already had on hand: acrylic multi-surface paint, feathers, wire, twine, glue, glitter, tulle, fancy stickers and small crystal wands.

The first one I made is right below.

DIY Fairy Wand

On this first one, I tried to wire wrap the crystal to the stick. This was a little bit trickier than I had expected. I used glue to make sure the crystal wouldn’t fall out of the wire wrapping. There ended up being some glue residue. I used E6000. I don’t think I’d use this glue again for something like this.

DIY Fairy Wand

At the end of the wand, I stuck some gem style stickers onto the tulle bow. This created a fun light-hearted child-like look. Great for making wishes come true here and there!

In the second version of the fairy wand, I decided to use a tiny little stick I had kept, hoping that one day it would come to life. The little stick finally found a purpose. And it was a great purpose …a fitting fairy wand for small folk.

This time I knew that wire wrapping a crystal to a stick this size would probably not work out so well for me. Then it hit me. I needed some kind of plaster or clay. It does still incorporate wire though; it further enhances the wand’s energy!

diy small folk wand

Here’s another side of it..

diy small folk wand

I like how this version turned out overall. I’d like to improve the sculpting of the clay … next version!

The clay I used worked magically. It’s called Premier and it’s light weight stone clay. I found it at my local Michael’s store.

I went through a bunch of clay descriptions before I decided to venture on this one. The Premier stone clay turned out to be just what I was hoping it would be. I’m happy with it. I think it will really help me to bring ideas to life.

Oops! I almost forgot to show the final touch I added to it. It’s the leather strapping around the wand handle. DIY Small Folk Fairy Wand w Leather

I’m excited to work on the next one!

Until next time … it’s the little things in life 👍 

A Simple Felt Fairy Home Just for Fun

Here I share my humble felt fairy home.

I hadn’t done any felting lately and I wanted to do something. So, I attempted to create a tiny little home for the fairies hanging around my home.

If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve turned out better felting projects. Yeah it’s not a masterpiece, but I still think it’s adorable and it’s lovely.

If you practice one thing or maybe even two, you can become very close to perfect at it.

I’ve been lucky enough to know a few masters of their crafts. I’m married to one. But as for me, I’ve never been so engrossed by a single thing that I can put so many hours into doing it to the point of mastering it.

Maybe Aikido could be the closest thing? Or maybe it’s my practice of Reiki? Maybe … but the point is, it’s never been one thing. My heart is in many things.

If I were to mostly spend my time and energy on felting, I’d expect my felt art to look different than what it does now. I’d probably expect it to look better.

But then again, I’m not after perfection.

I am mostly after expression.  🎆

I enjoy doing things that are close to my heart. That’s definitely more than one thing. So I do them all.

It’s impossible to get to all of them all of the time. But it’s okay. I just love to spend my time and energy on the things I enjoy. The results may not be the prettiest or most perfect. That’s alright. I feel there is beauty in imperfection. Beauty in humility. Beauty in what most people don’t consider to be beautiful.

It’s important to simply create something from inspiration within. That’s why I love to wool felt. I feel inspired by cute and little things. Wool felt is a great medium for that and felting is fun.

We don’t need to get boggled down in turning out something perfect. For many of us that can stop us from continuing the work or from even starting it.

Sometimes it takes courage to work on something and be okay with how it turns out. Sharing it can take even more courage.

I think about how when we were little kids in art class our work, good or bad, got hung somewhere no matter what. Some were better than others. It was all art though.

Until next time … it’s the little things in life.

 

Enjoying Needle Felting

I really enjoy working with wool felt and the needle. The craft of shaping and sculpting the wool is called needle felting.  A couple of reasons why I liked needle felting right away is because I noticed that it could quickly reduce stress and  because it’s very forgiving to a beginner. Even if whatever I’m  working on doesn’t come out exactly as intended, it doesn’t come out horrendous, either. That makes me want to keep on trying it out. Another reason to like it is that it’s a pretty minimal craft. The basics are: a needle, wool batting and a foam felting pad or you could use a kitchen sponge. From that point, you can make whatever you want! I just love that.

The first time I ever felted was from a kit. It was one from Woolbuddy. I found my kit while browsing in Maido, a stationary  and gift store in SF’s Japan Town. It was a penguin kit. My First Wooly Friend

woolbuddy felt making kit

This is the Woolbuddy kit for my first felty

The penguin wooly had a good albeit short life. Unfortunately, recently its life ended abruptly after a visiting dog mistook it for a toy stuffy after the wooly had fallen off its shelf. Sad. I reflected on it being my first needle felt wooly and comforted myself by promising the creation of more wooly’s to come.

The latest wooly art that I made was for my Aunt’s birthday. Like me, she likes little cute things, especially if they’re small, have fur and are rodent- like.

Image of a wool felt hamster

Wool felt hamster with a food bowl and hamster wheel.

 

Image of a wool felt hamster approaching his food bowl

Wooly hamster approaching his/her food bowl

 

Image of handmade wool felt hamster eating out of pretend food bowl

I can’t wait to eat! Then go on my funwheel!

 

9 Neat Things To Know About Felt:

  • Felt is an industrial material.
  • Felt is used on stuff like the underside of cars to protect the car body, as well as in the construction of a home.
  • The finer the wool, the softer it is. Think of merino wool, you see it a lot in clothing. Coarse wools are used to make carpets.
  • Coarse wools felt quickly. Softer wools take much more time to felt.
  • Wool roving  is rolled up wool that  you get in thin 5 inch wide strips. The fibers are all straight and go in one direction. It looks smoother and can feel softer.
  • Wool batting is wool that’s rolled up into sheets. They’re wider than the wool roving and can be fluffy-like. The fibers are not straightened nor directional. It looks a little coarser than wool roving.
  • Felting needles have different gauges and therefore will felt the wool a little differently.
  • The felting need was created and used for industrial use. In the 1980’s, David and Eleanor Stanwood developed the felting needle into a handcraft.
  • Needle felting is different than wet felting. Wet felting is the oldest technique of the two. Historically, it’s also been the one that artist use more. Wet felting involves rubbing soapy wet fibers together. Needle felting is a dry process that has been growing in popularity.

Do you want to try needle felting? Just go for it!

It’s fun, doesn’t require a lot to begin, and it’s not rocket science. But I mean, if you’re into rocket science, that’s cool, too. I get it … Still! You’re going to love needle felting.

‘Til next time, keep enjoying the little things: because it’s about the little things in life!