Felting Tutorial Part 3: Curly-que

Welcome to Part 3 of my felting tutorial on making a Curly-que.

Part 3 covers how to shape the Curly-que, after it has been formed and wet felted. You can find Parts 1 and 2 posted yesterday and the day before!





I would also like to give a big shout out to Linda over at The Craftgossip Blog Network, who picked up Parts one and two of my tutorial on the felting section of her blog today. You ROCK!!!

Felting Tutorial Part 2: Curly-que

Here is part 2 of my Video Felting Tutorial: Felting a Curly-Que.

This portion of the tutorial covers the actual process of wet felting around the wire form. Part 1 covered how to wind the felt around the wire form and prepare it for wet felting. (If you haven't seen Part 1, it is in yesterday's post!)

Enjoy!



Link to part 1 of the tutorial here: Take me to it!

Felting Tutorial Part 1: Curly-que

I thought that it would be fun for me to start filming a series of tutorials on some basic felting techniques.

So here is the first in that series: How to wet felt a curly-que, just like the one you see here!

These little curls are really useful as embellishments or as fun elements in larger pieces, I use them all the time. Besides, they are a great place to start because they work up quick, don't take much roving, and they are just as whimsical as all get out. They can take something that is kind of ho-hum and elevate it. They can also be just the thing to add a touch of the organic to a piece that is feeling a little staid or static.

I hope you enjoy part 1 of this tutorial, parts two and three will follow shortly!

Part 1: Taming the wool (The wind up)

Part 2: Prepare to get wet (Felting it up)

Part 3: Taking shape (Forming the curl)

I must be Bored...

Herbert LOL cat shopping for bike shorts, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

If I am doing things like this to my perfectly good photographs. Actually, I recently discovered fd's flickr toys and have become addicted to them. I kind of hate lolcats, but here I am making one out of this picture of my dear Herbert, never-the-less.

I have also created a bevy of psuedo inspirational posters that I am VERY tempted to share with the viewing public at large. They are misanthropic and somewhat offensive. I kind of love them.

My husband wants them for his office, so his college students will really grasp where they stand with him. If you want to see them, click on my flickr stream there on the left sidebar.....go ahead. I double dog dare you.

Wearing your heart outside your chest: Featured Etsy seller: EHMEGLASS

FEATURED ETSY SELLER: EHMEGLASS.ETSY.COM

My husband has great taste. Let me just start off by saying that. He also has the good sense to shop for me from my Etsy favourites list.

Good Man....

So for Valentine's day I received the most perfect peice of jewellry you could imagine for a romantic biology teacher. Isn't it great? I can't wait to wear it to school, and for the kids to see it. Nothing like wearing your heart on the outside of your chest for all to see...

I think one of the best things about it must be in the nature of the glass itself. As you wear it, it gets warm. And while I am certain that it only acheives body temperature, you could almost imagine that it feels a bit warmer than that...giving it the illusion of having a tiny life of it's own. The detail in this coronary cadeaux is just amazing, and the biologist in me delights in it. The artist in me wonders at the process, but honestly, doesn't want the mystery spoiled.

All of the work coming out of Amy Johnson's Toronto TANK studio has this amazing organic quality that just draws you in. It makes you want to touch it, and caress it. Because while all her product is glass, it does not appear precious or weak. This stuff is strong. At least in appearance and intent if not in reality.

You owe it to yourself to see what she can do...I can attest that as fantastic as her work appears in photos, her efforts are even better when you hold them in the palm of your hand.

ON pins and Pins

Hair Pins...something new to do with my hardened felt:

I had these left over felt beads that had already been hardened with the acrylic so I had to figure out what to do with them. I am kind of over seeing buttons stuck on the end of bobbie pins...but I thought that my felt disks were quite different!

Now I think that I shall whip out a few of these whenever I have some left over bits at the end of a necklace making session...

Too Much Mary

Too Much Mary Banner copy, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

So...while I did not get much made, I have gotten some organizing done. In the course of going through my studio I decided that I have too much stuff. Plain and simple: there is Too Much Mary.

I have too much of Mary Jane in me. She was my grandmother who ran an antique shop called "The Elephant's Foot" and never threw anything away. It is a dangerous and delicate rope to walk, and I acknowledge that.

Hence, me opening up a second shop purely for destash. And when I say destash, I mean it. I am getting rid of the dusty, the old, and that which I must finally admit to myself that I shall never use. Maybe these things will inspire someone else.

Come check it out, I will be listing things fairly constantly, until the point is reached where my studio space no longer tests the boundaries of physics.

So the new destash shop is: http://toomuchmary.etsy.com

I will ALWAYS be found making art at my regular address: http://marysusan.etsy.com

A few Favourites on a winter day

A few Favourites on a winter day, originally uploaded by Marysusan.

Still getting into a creative mood...and searching for inspiration on a cold, wet day.

1. Tree Peony, 2. Mietze and his true love 1, 3. Untitled, 4. feltygoodness, 5. Stack of pearls earrings, 6. Indie snow07, 7. PAISLEY PARK, 8. Felt Cherry Drop Scarf, 9. 1008, 10. Loop Di Loo - Sold, 11. Catch the Brass Ring, 12. wedding bouquet, 13. Liebe von Volkwagen #1, 14. dressed without a face, 15. Untitled, 16. winterdetail2

vases

vases
Originally uploaded by Marysusan

I haven't managed to make anything yet today, but have cleaned in my pit of a studio and have taken a few nice photos in the fading February light...and that is something.

Isn't it?

Add: I did in the end make something, now the light just needs to return so I can photograph it.

Abandoned

abandon
Originally uploaded by Marysusan

Where is my muse?

I am waiting for inspiration to strike. Now that the play is over and I can finally get into the studio and make some things for myself alone, I find that I am at an impase as to how to do so.

Perhaps I just need to get in there and make something, anything, to get the juices flowing. I know I NEED to do it....or else I will just stay in this grey limbo of doing nothing, which is a kind of artistic metastasis.

It has got to break.

Beautiful in pink

For our latest show we executed over 35 outfits that had to be made raw....20 of those were for the Beautiful Girls number. We made a progression of pink flapper dresses that went from pale pink to a vibrant orange. They each had a vintage rhinstone buckle at the shoulder and a pink headband to tie everything together. Each dress was custom made for the girls' measurements, so that they could dance in them and feel comfortable. This was probably the biggest overall task that my girls and I had to tackle for this production of "Singing in the Rain". We also made the sparkly pink top hat, to go with the tux (which was donated for the event).

(All faces were blurred as all actors were minors)

Dress without a face

I have discovered the danger of things being too good.

Here are two of the costumes from the show that I just finished. They are from the "Dancing Cavalier" section of Singing in the Rain that I made for our winter production. Faces have been removed, as it is a High School production and the actors are minors.

The dress has almost 20 yards of fabric in it...BTW.

Unfortunately, tons of people just assumed that we had either purchased the dress or had borrowed it from a local museum or costume house in the city (one of the possibilites being this close to Manhattan). Folks just could not beleive that we (my mum and I) made this dress. She gave me some amazing help on the bodice during her Christmas visit and then I completed and fitted the dress over the next week. There were over 30 woman hours of work in that baby. Don't get me started on the man's version...

They were just amazing on stage...I was so happy.