Owls and a Cornish Pixie

I have been making some fun little owl brooches lately from the leftover wool scraps from my witch hats.  They are very fun to use to decorate costumes.  I'll definitely be wearing one to LeakyCon this year.

For ages I've been wanting to make a Cornish Pixie doll based on the pixies in the second Harry Potter movie.  I finally got around to it, and I'm excited by how he turned out.  Even the cat likes him!

  

Valentine Dolls

This year for the Valentine exchange at work I made sweet little clothespin dolls with flower petal skirts and wool felt caps and jackets.

I started by drilling holes through the clothespins.  First I marked them with a Sharpie, then I started the holes with an awl, and finished them with a cordless drill.

Next I gathered my supplies; scraps of wool felt and satiny lining fabrics, fimo clay and wire.

Using a 5" piece of wire, I threaded it through the hole in the clothespin and made loops on both ends.

I made a head and hands for each doll out of the clay.
 

I lined the dolls up on a cookie sheet and baked them according to the instructions on the clay's package, about 30 minutes.

Next I cut circles out of lightweight lining fabrics.  This only works on synthetic fibers, so no silk or cotton.  Using tweezers, hold the fabric circle about 2" above a tealight's flame until the edges begin to curl.  Continue until the entire circle's edge is curled.  It takes 6-8 1½" circles per doll.

Using the felt, I cut hats to match the petals and jackets to coordinate.

I glued the petals around the clothespin to make a skirt, and some lace around the neck to make a collar.  Next I glued the jacket around the body and arms.

A piece of velvet ribbon made a belt, and some brown cotton lace (or yellow rickrack) made cute short hair.  I put the little felt cap on and my dolly was done.

I think the look pretty cute when they were finished.

 

They also look adorable with nylon butterfly wings to make them into fairies.

 

Everyone at work enjoyed their little dolls, and it was a lovely Valentine's Day!

Decorating a Tree

        We just finished our Thanksgiving weekend open house at the winery, and Allie and I made some homemade ornaments to decorate a little fir tree that needed to be cut down anyway (it was growing on the dam to our pond).  We set it up in the winery and it looked beautiful and smelled great.  It was a lovely addition to the holiday atmosphere.

Cork Ornaments with Buttons, Pearls and Swarovski Crystals.

Ribbon Roses

Wool Felt Owls

Woolen Pompom Birds with Top Hats

Stained Glass Candles

A Wool Felt Star with Pleated Ribbon

The Tree

Our Decorated Winery

This morning I saw some very lucky turkeys foraging for acorns under the oak trees by our Maypole.  I’m sure they are glad Thanksgiving is over!



New Deluxe Pirate Hats

          I have been making some fancy new pirate hats lately.  My new deluxe tricorns are now available in my etsy shop.  They are made out of wool felt, and have pleated ribbons and elaborate braids as well as removable peacock feather and ostrich plume pins and huge fancy ribbon rosettes.  I think the brown one looks very steampunk.  I’m really pleased with the way they turned out!