Whisker Graphics

Suzonne Sterling is a professional crafter and all around wonderful person. You may remember how she used Divine Twine in some greeting cards she created. Check out the holiday ornaments she made with felt (my favorite fabric to work with) and Divine Twine.

photo credit: Suzonne Sterling

And this wreath she made. So clean, crisp, beautiful and simple to make.

photo credit: Suzonne Sterling

Click HERE to read Suzonne’s post and learn how to make these beauties. Thanks Suzonne!

On Saturday my family and I went to Maker Faire in San Mateo. This is our third time going and each visit is a different experience. This year I was excited to meet some web friends in person. It was such a pleasure to meet Danni of Oh Hello Friend and Patti of The Tinted Mint. I made a point to see the ever-crafty Cathe Holden of Just Something I Made demo-ing how to turn vintage books into your own custom notebook. She did a great job! She’s doing a Give Away on her blog until May 28th for 2 of the notebooks she created. Click HERE to enter.

This year at the show my daughter and I discovered needle felting. Nifer Fahrion of NifNaks was beyond nice and patient and gave us a 15 minute demo on how to needle felt. Then we came across Moxie of HiFiberKits who had a cool velvet couch and a bunch of chairs around a coffee table piled with wool. You could sit for as long as you like and needle felt to your heart’s content. So we did. We both love it! We bought a starter kit from NifNaks and my daughter spent the evening at home making all sorts of little fuzzy friends.

Fuzzy Felted Friends by Little Cat A, age 11

Back in November I discovered Kata Golda’s book and quickly bought it for myself to make Christmas gifts. Here’s what I made.

Photo pocket for my friend to show off pictures of her new grandson

Little notebook for my friend, Cierra.

For my niece: Animal friend finger puppets with sleeping quarters.

For my mom: Craft pocket filled with goodies to make stationery.

It is such a satisfying feeling working with felt and I love the end results.

For more felt goodness, visit Kata’s site HERE.

My felt arrived in the mail today at 1pm and by 3pm I had a new friend.

I learned a few things. I need to practice my stitches (a lot) and I prefer a more fluffy feel to the felt. After making this little guy I hand-washed all the felt so future projects will have a less “pressed” appearance.  All in all, I have to say I think I will be having lots of fun making holiday gifts out of felt this year.  So. Very. Satisfying.

I highly recommend the book and the felt.

The past few years, our extended family has drawn names for gift exchanging. It just got to be too overwhelming to purchase gifts for everyone. Plus, we all realized that the older we get, the less stuff we need (we all still get presents for the kids). This year money is tight for many of us, so we’re shaking it up a bit. We’ve agreed to keep the budget under $40 and if possible hand make our gift(s). I’m SO excited. Some of the menfolk were concerned about the hand-made part, so we’ve included services too (like fix you sprinklers, make a dinner, etc). I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

This plays in perfectly with my lack of crafting willpower. Remember how the book above was on my Christmas list? Well, I already bought it for myself + I bought some felt from here. The felt hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m eager to get started making gifts. I’ll share them with you after Christmas (maybe sooner, I don’t think anyone in my family besides my mom reads my blog).

I think I’ll try and figure out how to make those finger puppets on the front of the book into work gloves for Uncle Greg. I’m kidding.

Get it? NewFELT friends instead of newfound friends. Well, I tried.

I have a fondness for felt. I think it goes back to my childhood when teachers  and group leaders would use those snazzy felt boards with those cool felt cut-outs as props for their story telling. Man, I wanted to get my hands on one of those.  Imagine my glee when I came across this new book by Kata Golda called Hand Stitched Felt. I can make my own felt friends (among other goodies)! This book is now officially on my Christmas Wish List.

Check out this sweet and uber creative stop motion video. It will make you smile.
(The video has music, so if you’re at work, adjust your volume accordingly.)

Oh. How. I. Want. This. Book.

(Kata has a lovely blog too.)

I have a soft spot for felt (eye-rolling pun intended). I love how it feels and looks and how it’s easy to sew with. I came across these cute felt “gift tags” while I was researching a little project I have up my sleeve and thought they were too darling not to share. Not only do they hold a gift tag, but also business cards and gift cards. Available at Twinkle Wrap.

Felt Gift Tag Holders