WoolPets

Curiobot!

We received an e-mail this morning from Angel Jung of www.curiobot.net  - informing us that one of our products has been featured on their website. Cool - but what the heck is Curiobot.net? We have taken a look and decided that this site is a collection of some of the coolest and most creative products on the web. And we're thrilled to be included! Here's how they describe their site:

"Curiobot is a brand new online archive of strange and wonderful products. We're kind of like a blog, except we're all images... hardly any of this boring text stuff. We scour the internet for fantastic and unusual products and drop them into an explorable database for all to enjoy. Our theory is that ecommerce can actually be a beautiful thing, if you frame it right."

Take a look and see for yourself!

New Needle Felting Kits...

 

These five new needle felting kits are now available in my Etsy shop. The Kangaroo kit came about after I designed the Spring Bunnies kit. As I was creating the sitting up bunny, it started to look a little bit like a kangaroo. So I went ahead and made a kangaroo with a pocket for her baby roo and decided that it would be a fun, easy kit.

The panda kit shows you how to make a sitting panda, holding a piece of 'bamboo'. This kit will also help you learn how to add details to the face and eyes using wool and the felting needle.

I've been working on sculpting cats for some time now-for some reason I had difficulties at first. Once I had an easy method, I could put the instructions in a kit. The kit shows how to make a sitting kitty. I thought it might be nice to have some animals in different positions, other than standing.

I've never been one of those girls who loves ponies, but I sure do know plenty who do! They are the inspiration behind the Pony kit.

And finally, the Red Fox Kit-because I have a great copper-colored roving that was just right for a fox.

 

Madrona Fiber Arts

Attention fiber fanatics! This weekend is the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat  in Tacoma, Washington. I'll be demonstrating needle felting on Saturday the 16th for Village Yarn and Tea . I believe that all of the workshops are full now, but there will be lots of vendors and fiber folks to chat with. Come by and say 'hi' and if you have any questions about needle felting, I'd be happy to help.

Two More Needle Felting Kits Available Now

In addition to the hummingbird and spring bunny kit, there are two more great kits to choose from:

and

The elephant kit has enough wool inside to make one 3-4 inch tall elephant.  The kit also has directions  and wool for making a red ball for the elephant to stand on (as in the circus). The skill level for this kit is rated advanced because it might be challenging to shape the elephant. But don't let the 'advanced' part discourage you from trying this kit. The instructions are very easy to follow and include photographs showing just how each piece is made and put together.

The frog kit is for making an orange frog with blue spots. The kit has enough wool for you to make one or two 3 inch long frogs. If you'd rather have a green frog, it is easy enough to do the same steps but with green wool.

Have fun with these kits and if you have any questions, post a comment and I will do my very best to get back to you with help. And, don't forget to send your photos of completed Woolpets from the kits.

Oh boy! Here Come the NEW Kits

Mr. Woolpets and I have been working our buns off for the last few months to get these new kits ready-and now here they are! To start with, we have the Spring Bunnies kit. I have local author Barbara Berger to thank for inspiration to make this kit. I made a blue bunny for her to go along with her book, "Thunder Bunny" and then I decided to design a kit to make 3 different colored bunnies.  The kit has enough wool in it to make at least one bunny each in blue, purple and pink, plus extra for your bunny's eggs. The finished bunnies measure about 3" tall, depending on how tightly you roll and needle the wool.

Since Kevin and I have so many kits out now, we've decided to have a rating system based on the level of difficulty of each project. When I design the kits and write the instructions, I usually try to keep in mind that most people are unfamiliar with needle felting. If you are a somewhat experienced crafter, you shouldn't have any problems understanding how to make any of the kits.

Many people asked me to design a Hummingbird kit. This kit has enough wool in it to make two 3" long hummingbirds. The kit also has some ruby metallic fiber so that your hummingbird can have a sparkly ruby throat.
The skill level for this kit is intermediate.

You can purchase these kits at my Etsy shop.

Valentine Woolpets

 

Hmmm.....Chocolate or Woolpets?   Or maybe both if you're lucky!

This collection of love-bug ladybugs are available in the shop .  I would've loved getting these for a gift when I was young. I used to save any artful candy when I was little because I always thought it was too pretty to eat.  That is the inspiration to make these little Woolpets. Cute as candy, but you don't have to worry about them disappearing after you eat them.

Clothes for the Woolpets

I really love fabric, especially since I have discovered Fabric Tales. This shop sells really neat stuff from Japan. The shipping cost is reasonable and I received my orders fast. Unfortunately, I am not a sewer. I have a hard time with exact measuring and cutting and I've never been able to use a sewing machine without much difficulty. So what to do with this cute fabric? I decided to hand-sew some clothing for the Woolpets 'people'. When I make dolls, I usually needle felt the clothing directly on to the figure. But I thought I'd try mixing things up a bit and gave the dolls some clothing made with material other than wool.
This gal is wearing a skirt with a cute hedgehog print. She is also wearing a hand-sewn felt blouse. She's on Etsy  right now. And she comes with a little bunny, because no Woolpet doll is complete without a pet.

She's got some crazy hair, too! Thanks to Mr. Woolpets for the creative pose!

Woolpets in the Snow

It doesn't happen too often around here, so when it snows, we are excited!

More snow day photos in the gallery. Just click on the picture above.

Kitty in Pink

Here's a sweet little pink kitty with a hand stitched, heart shaped bed. I'm starting to have some fun using non-traditional colors with the Woolpets!
She's up on Etsy now, but might not be for long.
 

For the love of Sheep

I just listed this sweet gal on my Etsy shop in plenty of time for V-day. Sometimes it's fun to make anthropomorphic versions of animals. Beatrix Potter is a great example of that. I also had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful artists and author of many children's books, Barbara Helen Berger . She has written and illustrated some of my favorite books to use for Woolpets inspiration.  She asked me to make a bunny for her latest book, Thunder Bunny .  It was so much fun making this little blue bunny,in fact, it inspired me to create a new kit 'Springtime Bunnies'. Mr. Woolpets and I are just beginning to put the new kits together, but I will keep you posted!

The Thunder Bunnies!