In the studio with The Dragon Charmer

It’s been quite a Christmas!

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:51:01 -0500

Now that all the hustle and bustle is over for Christmas, it’s time to get some new patterns out. I hope you all will enjoy the creatures I’ve pulled out of my imagination. I plan on bringing you a snail for your faeries to hitch a ride on, two new bears, two new dragons, a pixie, a Gnome Baby and a Faerie Animals baby, just to name a few! There is a sneak peak of the new bears and the gnome baby on the sewing patterns page. I’ve also embarked in a new direction, combining painting and fabric. I hope to have a few projects out soon, but I’ve begun by listing a few painting patterns on a new etsy store, www.faerytails.etsy.com. Come and check them out!

New patterns available!

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:07:46 -0400

Wizard's Apprentice
Grimelda and Gramour are 13" tall with jointed arms and legs. Directions are included for the spellbook and pocket bag. Hopefully these apprentices will do no harm to your dwelling as they learn. If damage is done, please remember that the designer of this pattern is not liable. Detailed written and illustrated instructions. Retail $14.00

Salmon Nosed Squaller
This easy to make 14" furry faerie is fully jointed with needle felted features. If you make him as a gift be sure to include a warning tag. The salmon nosed squaller received his name from the piercing howl that is emitted if you neglect to cuddle him. Can be made from long or short, fur, acrylic or mohair.Requires 5- 35mm joints. Detailed written and illustrated instructions.
Retail $12.00

Sneak Peek at a new pattern for Faeriecon!

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:12:51 -0400

Two new patterns are making their debut at Faeriecon this year! Above is one, the Salmon Nosed Squaller. Don’t let the cute furry face fool you, he is not a teddy bear! The Squaller uses that misconception to his advantage. If you make eye contact with him, but don’t immediately pick him up for a snuggle, he makes the most atrocious noise. Available at Faericon first!

Tutorial for Pea Pods & Goblin Babies!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:02:35 -0400

I have been asked to put a step-by-step tutorial up for doll makers who are new to needle felting. So here goes! I took lots of pictures = )

Begin by deciding where you want you eyes to go. I put pins in so you could see the placement. You might want to draw circles with an air erasable marker.

take a small amount of white roving and fold it into a ball.

now, with a single needle, felt the outside of your shape.

After you are pleased with the size and shape of both eyes, use a multi-needle tool to get the white of the eye relatively flat. I like the Clover tool because the needles are grouped tightly together.

Now add your eye color in the same way you added the whites, felting the edges first.

Now the pupil. I like to use dark brown Yak down, as it doesn’t have guard hairs that stick up.

For the highlight you need a very small amount of white roving.

Needle felt first one edge, and then the other. Don not push in the middle of your highlight or it will disappear.

For Goblin fangs, take a small amount and fold it into a ball like before. With a single needle, felt the edges of the fang into a triangular shape.

And now for the second fang!

Okay, many of you are now asking yourselves, what about the eyebrows??! Simply felt a bit of roving in a nice little arch above the eye. I like to use camel down, it is a nice, not too intrusive color, and again, has no guard hairs that stick up.

If you want eye lids, start again with a small folded up ball.

Felt the inside corner of the eye,
then the outside corner.

Then felt the lid just above the eye, and then the top part, shaping it in a half-circle. Voila! Your cute Goblin Baby face is done!

Now to add hair! I like to use tibetan lamb as it moves more like real hair, but you can also use yarn, roving, curly roving, etc. Start by placing a line of tack glue on the head from ear to middle of teh back of the head.

Now cut a bit of the tibetan lamb off the skin and place the ends in the glue, like so:

Now needle felt the ends into the glue. When your needle gets sticky, wipe it on a wet washcloth. When you’ve finished covering the first line of glue, add the second from the middle of the back of the head to behind the other ear. Repeat the process with the locks of hair and needle felting. Below is a photo of what the next step should be. You just repeat the glue/ needle felt process until the head is covered. Leaving the front part till last.

Smile for the camera!

July roving of the month...

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:48:18 -0400

Shakespeare’s Kiss is July’s roving of the month and available at my etsy store, patternmart and on the felting supplies page.
Also check out this cool blog featuring me, but also some really cute clothes by redclix kids!