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I’ve been digging around in my felt bin again–and working on another simple pattern that is ready to share with you.  This time it’s a FELT DOLL DRESS UP PATTERN.  And, I gotta let you know, I made this for my niece but I have had a blast playing with it.  I just can’t stop!  How would that outfit look with a new hairdo?  Add a flower to the hair?  Maybe the purple shoes instead of the green?  What if I added a necklace?  Dress that dress down with boots?

It’s more fun to dress up this little felt doll that it should be!  I dare you not to have fun.

This FELT DOLL DRESS UP PATTERN will allow you to make a fun, wonderful (and cheap) gift for the special little girl in your life.  Head over to my etsy shoppe and grab the pattern (I have it listed for just $1), then stop by the craft store and pick up some felt–and you are in business–the business of crafting!

Just check out all the fun combinations my daughter and I came up with!  She’s funky and spunky and classy and sassy, casual and dressed to impress.  And, she’s a mermaid too!  I think I could play with this all night long.

Like I said, I’m selling this pattern for only $1 over in my etsy shop.  I really hate to charge for these cute little patterns, but it is the only way I can justify the loads of time I spend on them.  And plus, it’s only $1!

This is an instant download, so as soon as your payment is fully processed the pattern will instantly start to download and you can get to work.

Thanks again for your support.

This pattern is yet another reason why I love felt–and as you can probably tell from poking around here, I really love felt.

All the best,

 

Hello friends!

I am **almost** ready to share a couple of really big projects–can’t wait–but until then I thought I would share another basic tutorial, one I use all the time: How to Stiffen Felt.  This is one of those things that I often think of as a STEP within a larger PROJECT, but, because it is a little involved it’s worthwhile to write out exactly how to do it–and the methods that I have had the most success with.  I used several of the tips my friend Jessica shared on her blog, and tweaked a few things.

First of all, stiffened felt is really useful when crafting toys or objects that you would like to stand up without stuffing.  I recently stiffened felt for this nativity set I made.  Grab the free template HERE.  So, in this way, although stiffening felt can be a bit tedious it is a time and money saver in the end.

 

Ready to stiffen felt?  Let’s do it!  Here’s what you’ll need:

• Felt–I use a wool blend felt I purchase HERE.  Much cheaper than 100% wool felt and yet so much nicer to work with than yucky acrylic felt.
• White School Glue
• Warm Water
• Old Container
• Wax Paper
• Iron

First off, cut your felt into pieces larger than the piece you ultimately plan to cut.  The felt may shrink or change shape in the stiffening process.

Next, mix 1 part glue to 3 parts warm water in a disposable container.  I know Jessica used more glue, but I found that more glue left a film on my felt and using only 1/4 glue in the mixture was plenty.  Stir the glue and water until they are completely combined.

Place each piece of felt in the glue/water mixture, submerging it completely.  Let the felt become completely saturated.  Jessica has a good tip about starting with the lighter colors and working your way to the darker colors, as most felt (mine certainly did) will bled and tint the glue/water mixture.

Now, for the tricky/time consuming part–drying the felt.  First off, it is important to try and get out as much of the water/glue mixture was possible. Don’t wring out the felt, as this will destroy the felt.  I found that pinching the felt between my hand and the side of the dish and pulling it through worked the best to get out most of the liquid and in the end having a repetitively flat piece of felt.  Any extra time you spend getting out the liquid will save you oodles of time on the drying step.

Lay out the felt in a single layer on wax paper and allow 24-48 hours to dry completely.  Drying time will depend largely on the type of felt you used and how well you got out the liquid.

Once the felt is totally dry, flatten it and make it nice and crisp with an iron.  Place each piece of felt under a clean cloth while ironing.

And, now it’s time to get on with the rest of your project!

As a final note, I always encourage people to use tape when cutting out patterns, and not straight pins.  HERE is the full explanation on that.  This is even more important when working with stiffened felt.

Thanks for being here!

 Today I’m doing it–a totally indulgent roundup where I try to make all of those hours and hours I’ve spent on pinterest pinning and pinning owl stuff mean something–maybe.

And so, here are 35 adorable owl crafts.  And, they are adorable precisely for that reason–because they are OWL crafts.  I love owls and have made several owl projects myself.  And, after my time on pinterest and working on this roundup I have a feeling I will be making a few more, very soon.

If you love owls, than here you go.  And, if you fall in love with one of these ideas make sure to pin from the original post (link found below each picture.  Have fun!

Clever Cross Stitch Owls from Cross Stitcher Mag

Baby Owl Costume from Cutesy Crafts

Owie Owls Ice Pack Alternative from Sugar Bee Crafts

Felt Owl from Sew Set

Owl Bathroom Hook from Happy Hour Projects

Owl Coin Purse with Hidden Closure from Do Small Things with Love

Scentsy Container to Earring Holder from Creative Carmella

Crocheted Owl Apple Cozy from Petals to Picots

Crochet Drowsy Owl Hat from Repeat Crafter Me

Felt Owl Coin Purse from Do Small Things with Love

DIY Owl Apron from Pink When

Folksy Owl Pouch from Do Small Things with Love

Free Printable Owl Valentine from 733Blog

Embroidery Hoop Owl from Repeat Crafter Me

Needle Felted Owl from Petals to Picots

Adorable Owl Card Project from Cross Stitcher Mag

Painted Owl Pumpkins from Alisa Burke

Paper Roll Owls from The Centsible Life

Book Page Owl Art from Pitter and Glink

Crochet Owl Applique from Repeat Crafter Me

Rice Filled Owl Heating Pads from Modern Mrs Darcy

Felt Owl Pouch with Free Pattern from Do Small Things with Love

Crocheted Owl Pouch with Pattern

Kid’s Craft Felt Pinecone Owl Ornaments from Lia Griffith

Oh my goodness!  Which one are you going to do first?

Thanks for being here and happy crafting!

While naming this project I realized that I have made a lot of owl purse things.  Like, I have these felt owl coin purses, this felt owl coin purse with hidden closure, this felt owl pouch and these felt owl ipod cases.  Notice a trend?

But, all of these previous projects should not be confused with what I am sharing with you today: Folksy Owl Pouch.  This pouch is different than any other pouch I have previously posted.  Sure, it is also made of felt and it also has a free template and it also is an adorable owl.

But, this one has a strong and sturdy magnetic closure.  And, it is designed to be the perfect size for a phone and a few other essentials.

And, these are adorably folksy.  I love folksy–especially folksy owls!

And, since I know you are dying to make your own folksy owl pouch, here is what you will need:

• Template printed on regular paper
• Clear Tape
• Siccors
• Felt in desired colors (I use a wool blend I purchase from BenzieDesign.  So many beautiful colors–and a great price)
• Permanent Fabric Glue
• 2 Magnet Closures.  (I used these)
• Embroidery Thread and Needle

As a first step, use the template to cut out the pieces you will need.  Pay attention to the special instructions for cutting the body (2 the full size, and 2 pieces that are 1/2 of the body–see picture below).

To get percise, beautiful cuts use a very sharp pair of scissors and clear tape.  Do not use pin as this will cause your pattern to bubble.  Simply tape the patter directly to the felt and cut around it.

After you have the pieces cut, here are the steps for putting together your folksy owl pouch.  It is important to do these step in order!

1. Sew the 3 pieces of the eyes together.  I added some longer stitch details and glues on the black center.
2. Glue down the feather details, longer pieces on top.  These should be glued to the 1/2 body piece that you cut.
3. Put in your magnetic closures, as pictured below.  2 will go into one of the bigger body pieces and 2 will go into one of the 1/2 body pieces.  While you do this make sure to line up the closure ends–and make sure they are at the bottom of the flap
4. Place both 1/2 body pieces together and stitch around 3 sides: short sides and the side with the straight corners.

5. Now it is time to start making this look like a pouch!  Line up the clasp sides and trim if necessarily.  You are trimming this because it will be the inside of the pouch and you don’t want this sown into the top hem.

6. Layer the pieces as follows: 1/2 body pieces (both should be stitched together already), then the full body piece with the clasp and then the blank full body piece.  Connect the claps.  Then, blanket stitch all the way around–making sure to stitch through the 1/2 body flap and the back piece on the left side, and then only through the 2 full body pieces on all three other sides.

7. As a final step, glue down the beak and eyes.

And there you have it.  There are so folksy owls!

I hope this doesn’t sound too complicated.  Take your time and think about how the pieces need to be layered and it will turn out just fine!

Thanks for being here!

Hello Friends!

Today I am returning to one of my favorite projects (besides embroidery)—Photo Transfers.  I am excited to share this Rustic Photo Transfer with you.  Are all things rustic wonderful?  I think mostly thanks to my mother’s obsession with photos, I really enjoy working with images and finding creative ways to turn them into art.  Photo Transfers fit this bill well, and I have enjoyed explore all of the possibilities with photo transfer over my tenure as a crafter.

In case you’ve missed it, I’ve already transferred photos onto canvas, fabric, wood and glass.  I also did a reverse photo transfer with watercolor.  I love all of these projects, and actually have 4 of the projects displayed in my home–the other one I gave as a gift to my parents who have it displayed in their home.  Transferring photos is really fun and if you have yet to give it a try–it time!

If you’re interested in making your own rustic photo transfer here’s what you’ll need:

• White canvas in desired size
• Gold acrylic paint
• Transfer Medium
• Mod Podge
• Image to Transfer (I used a magazine image, but you can use any image as long as it was printed on a LASER printer.  Images printed with an ink jet printer will not work).
• Art Brayer
• Paint Brush
• Wet Rag

Once you have all of your supplies, it time to start transferring.

But, before I get into this, I wanted to add a little note.  Transferring a photo is something that takes a little bit of time.  There are several stages of drying involved in the process–and in the end you will not have a perfect transfer–but that is one of the things that I like.  As I said, this is a RUSTIC transfer.  I like the imperfect look.  But, if you don’t like the imperfect look this is not the craft for you.  Also, I recommend not trying to transfer a picture of a loved-one’s face.  For instance, this would be no good to do with this year’s family photo.  Since small parts of the image will not transfer (hence the imperfect nature of this project) chances are a part of someone’s face will be missing…and this will likely ruin your project.

Okay, let’s get to it!

First off, paint on the gold paint with long, vertical strokes.  Allow to dry.

Next, spread a coat of transfer medium unto both the face of the picture you are transferring as well as onto the canvas.  Make sure to cover every inch and get to to the corners.  Then, place the image face down onto the canvas and roll with the art brayer.  Don’t push too hard, but it is important to get all of the air bubbles out.  If you don’t have an art brayer, use the pads of you fingers to message out all of the art bubbles and globs of transfer medium.

Allow to dry completely–12 hours to be safe.

Place a wet rag over the back of the image you are transferring and allow it to soak through.

Once the paper is soaked, use the pads of your fingers to rub off the paper.  And soak again…and rub again…and soak and scrub…and rub again.  Okay, so this step takes some time and patience.  Once you think you have gotten all of the paper off, allow it to dry and you will probably see some more paper still there.  Soak and rub again.

After you have removed all of the paper you should see your image pretty clearly even when dry.  Coat with Mod Podge to seal.

Done!

I love my rustic photo transfer–and I love the picture I used.  It’s old-timely and shows a couple sitting at the end of a dock that overlooks a city sky line.  The picture is interesting and the transfer process is fitting and adds even more interest.

I can’t wait to see what you all decide to do with this technique!  If you give it a try I’d love to see your projects!  Shoot me and email or post them to my facebook page!

And, if you’d like some more photo transfer ideas, check out these projects:

Embroidered Photo Transfer

DIY Canvas Wedding Photo

All the best,