Nuno & Wet Felting – VIRTUALDISTORTION

June 2, 2014

Strawberry Brooch – Handmade Felted Wool Accessory Inspired by strawberry fields

The other year when I was out picking strawberries I got tremendously inspired to make wearable straweberries and vines. It has taken me awhile to get around to actually making any strawberry items, but I’m happy to show you one that I did complete…. a strawberry brooch!

I combined wet felting and needle felting techniques to create it. It is made up of 100% soft merino wool + the pin and some thread that I used to stitch it together. It’s 3D art that can be worn on clothing, on a bag or purse, etc. This item can be found here in my etsy shop.

May 29, 2014

Spring Time Soap 2014

Soapmaking is a blast! I really have come to enjoy it… the process of making the soap, smelling and admiring it, and of course using it myself. That’s the #1 reason why I love soapmaking so much – I use the product all over my home, especially in the shower. My favorite out of all of the batches of soap I experimented with this spring was a spearmint patchouli bar with spirulina algae powder in it which makes it look green, naturally. I used essential oils in all but one batch of my soap (that one was balsam fir scent and it was worth it, a favorite of the men who I’ve gifted it to) so they are super natural and healthy. My “Essential” batch includes tea tree, lavender, spearmint and eucalyptus essential oils – some of my all time favorites and common germ fighters. My scrub bars are so, so scrubby.. they are perfect for scrubbing dirt off after running around barefoot during the summer, and scrubbing bug spray and sunscreen off at the end of the day. I didn’t share many scrub bars this time around. I gifted out most of the soap I made this year because it was so fun to!

Here are a few of the soaps I photographed and listed in my shop. They will help fund the next batch! I keep getting better each time I make the soap so I’m definitely going to keep making it.

My soaps are available in my Etsy shop – in the Soap section!

A handful of “felted” soaps. I wrap the bars with soft merino wool in bright colors, then rub it around under water which felts the wool around the bar, creating a washcloth-like effect right on the bar. It helps the bar keep longer and you use all of it up! They are super pretty to have around and make really unique gifts. I like to use them on my face!

I made this new idea I had floating around for awhile… a felted “soap on a rope“. I made one for myself to try out too. Wrapped in the wool is the Spearmint Patchouli bar. Since it can be tied up it can dry out real well in between uses, prolonging its life. (Did you know that wool is naturally slightly antibacterial?)

One other thing I experimented with was coffee. I ground up coffee beans and put the grounds in the soap. It works “ok” and doesn’t look all that pretty. I’m going to use it up myself and refine the recipe.

What would you like to see in a bar of soap?

December 27, 2012

Tried My Hand At It : Felt Cat Bed

It was a challenge but turned out great!

What is it?.. It is a cat (or other small animal) bed made out of wool that is seamless, padded, made of an eco friendly material, easily washed and it’s great for going into or pressing it down and laying on top. I’m daydreaming of making a large one for myself..

How was it made?.. I laid wool fibers on top of a wet XL cloth covered volleyball about 17″ in diameter in many layers – thick – all the way around, then wrapped it in tulle fabric and wrapped it with string to keep the tulle against the wool, then wet felted it by getting it wet and soapy and rubbing it a lot. Once it was sufficiently felted (which takes awhile) I cut a hole, deflated the ball and removed it through the hole. I rinsed it clean, threw it on the counter top a few times to felt it more, stretched it into shape and set it to dry in front of a fan overnight.

I have been felting around my water bottle to make can cozys for some time now so this was not a new concept to me but the size of the ball once covered in my many layers of wool was pretty impressively large and hard to work with since the wool kept wanting to fall off the sides. Here it is with the wool all on there and rubbed while dry a little bit:

When I cut the hole, I cut it smaller than I thought it would need to be since it stretches larger when you continue to felt and rinse it. When I made my very first small one around a basketball I cut the hole a bit big so to avoid that with this one I cut a pretty small hole just big enough to get the ball out. Later on I ended up cutting the hole bigger so that a clearly well fed kitty could fit!

November 14, 2012

New Handmade Felt Fashion Scarves

I have been very inspired lately! Here are a few of the beautiful new scarves I have created. Check their availability in the Scarf section of my Etsy shop.

Coffee Lovers Scarf – Silk hand dyed using coffee! Design of wool is of coffee beans and froth. Perfect gift for a java guzzler.

Scarves with adorable owls on them!

Vampire bite!

And now, my favorites!

Eee! I wish I could keep them all, sport them around town to the post office and back home! hehe. More are done but not yet photographed, a beautiful one is on my felting table right now and many more are on my to-do list. My goal is to make about 20 new scarves. I have so many designs in my head, I want to get them out. I know many will be going to people as gifts during the holidays so that is very motivational.. ’tis the season for scarves with a chill in the air!

October 10, 2012

Up At Night…

Planning vampire bite scarves! Appropriate I think.

Wool roving, sometimes silk, bubble wrap, water, soap, and my creative energy and vision create these unique felted scarves…

May 22, 2012

Nuno Felted Vampire Bite Scarves – Two New

I made two new “bloody vampire bite scarves” recently. I LOVE making these scarves! These are the nuno felted version where I use soft merino wool roving in natural ecru (white / cream) and two shades of red as “blood” and white silk gauze fabric.

One of them has a lot of “blood” on both sides and bite marks going horizontal.

View the listing for the More Blood Vampire Bite Scarf on Etsy

The other has less “blood” and bite marks going vertical.

** This scarf was shipped to Sweden!

The reds are bright and the silk adds a lot of beauty to the scarves, causing certain areas to be semi-transparent. Both of them measure 90 inches total – 70 body, 20 fringe – and the width varies between 4-5 inches. Light, warm-yet-cool, and very soft, these scarves are a great accessory to utilize all year long. If you don’t want to show off your bite marks all the time you don’t have to. There are many ways to wear it that make it look like any abstract sort of red and white nuno felted one of a kind handmade scarf…

Be sure to check out the scarf section of my shop for all I have available and examples of what I can make. If nothing I currently have listed is exactly right, contact me to discuss a custom order. I would be thrilled to create something unique for you!