Massive Craft Haul

I was so excited to receive this, I bought these online from China and my mum took it back for me last week. I spent a lot of time going through the shop and picking out the stuff I need, I never knew it would be this much! I am just so greedy for things like these and they were very cheap too :D!! I got a lot of jewellery findings from gold to antique copper colour, cellphone straps, chains, toggles, loser claps, jump rings and ring bases.. and many many more.

oh they look so pretty~

Buying findings here in New Zealand is very very expensive, so I coudn't resist the cheap ones from China.  Got the full pack with all the colours. So excited to make stuff with these. 

Couldn't believe I bought so much! But they look very pretty like this,  it's like a piece of art!

I even got some needle felting stuff and my favourite needle felting artist Rio Fukuda's two books on needle felting sweets!! I have always wanted to make needle felted sweets, and these books are perfect because it has so many great creations inside and the step-by-step tutorials are very clear and useful. I would recommend her books if you are a super fan of fake sweets like me!! ^_^

The only two books that got translated to Chinese so I can read them, might have to buy the other ones in Japanese. 

Her creations are amazing! It also teaches you how to make it too!!

More photos of my newest supply collection!

Cute shiny pink ribbons~

I really want to try doming so I bought these plate. 

I got a lot of these antique copper stuff because they are very popular. 

Such a pretty ring base! Sadly I only got 4 of these.. should have bought more. 

Found these in a local store, had to buy it because it's pink!! hehe, they are very durable unlike the wooden ones.  I am going to do some sweets deco with these. 

Final picture, showing the needle felting stuff I got, that giant brush is really heavy. And I also got 50 pretty packaging bags for my shop!  

I didn't know why I also got these two bags of wool fibers, maybe I want to try the ones from China even though it all from NZ. However, I do find the ones I got from China are less 'wooly' than the ones I bought in NZ. The texture and the smell was different, the one I bought here has a really strong sheep smell. Hmmm.. no idea why, maybe i should make something out of it and see the result.

One more week and I will be free from uni! So all the things I have posted here together I nearly spent ¥600 RMB which is around $120 NZ dollars and $96 US dollars. Worth it? Hmm.. not sure yet :D!!

Happy crafting,
Lisa

Mini Pumpkin Needle Felting Tutorial

Halloween is nearly here! These mini pumpkins are so easy and fun to make, they took about twenty to thirty mins each! This is a very simple tutorial, try it out!

So let's start making these!

You will only need 2 colours,  you can use more wool if you want to make a big pumpkin. 

Gently stab the end to make a loose ball. Do not stab all the way in. 

Do a cross line to identify the shape. 

After that draw a line between each space of the cross to create 8 segments. 

Remember to shape the side as well. 

Make the top flat for the pumpkin stem.

Roll a small amount of green wool between your fingers and stab to firm the top. Leave the bottom loose so we can attach it to our cutie pumpkin. 

Add the leaves just the same way as the stem. And now it's done!

Happy Crafting!

Lisa

Finger Bootie Tutorial

I have always wanted to make baby shoes, while I was looking through the book "Quick & Clever Felting" by Ellen Kharade it has a tutorial on a baby boot. I suddenly got really excited and flip to the back of the book to search for the template. I didn't make it according to the original size, I just used the template just as it is incase I didn't mess up and waste a lot of materials. I would never thought that it turned out to be a cute little finger bootie, the shape has shrunk so much after wet felting and it fits perfectly for your fingers to wear! Another cute craft that I have discovered! 

la la la~ so cute and pink, walking on my finger bootie~

I would want a real one of these. 

So here are my working processes/ tutorial, if you are interested please get the book and it will have the template for a real size baby bootie :D! Full credit goes to Ellen Kharade for the template. Please excuses the photos, I dislike taking photos at night but I am only free at this time. I like to take my photos during the day because it gives true colours and it's more clear and sharp ( in other words, I am not a good night photographer. )

This is the page I saw and I told myself that I have to make it!
I used baking paper as a template but I highly suggest you use plastic sheet rather than paper.
You will be using 4g of wool. 

I used 2g for each boot, therefore 1g for each side.
Add the fiber layers horizontally and vertically to make sure it's even and spray with soap water. 

Flip to the back and repeat the last step. Fold in the excess fibre around the template. 

Both layers are done, spray more soap water. 

Rub it between your palms, the shape will shrink. When you can't pull off any fibre on the surface it is ready for the next step. The fibre now becomes felt. 

Cut it in half! Looks so cute just by this.  

Gently pull out the template and sculpt the shape. 

Back to the sink, keep rubbing with your finger  on the surface to sculpt the shape.
Also run it with warm-hot water so the fibre will shrink and tighten.
Always have soap when you are rubbing, add more if its gone.

When you think you have the shape wash it with warm-hot water and rinse off the soap. 

This is what happened to my fingers after soaking in bubbles for 2 hours.
And then the next day my hands felt really dry. T_T

I needle felted some parts to make the surface more smooth.
You can skip this if you think it's fine after the wet felting process. 

tada! here it is, super cute finger bootie!! 

I made a red one on the other day, it's super fun, but also very time consuming. Might turn the red one into Christmas boots and i'm going make more booties when my holiday comes!


Happy Crafting!
Lisa

Mini Fruit Swiss Roll

Needle felting is also a therapy. It allows a person to take part in a creative activity which involves concentration and patience to bring calm to themselves. I have read articles about people with diseases and problems taking part in this art as an individual or as a group, and they have discovered and expressed their inner-selves to create a piece of art that is very personal. 

The cake is topped with strawberries, mango, a heart cookie and cream. 

I wasn't feeling really positive these days because of the work load from uni, so I made this little swiss roll to release my stress. It was really hard to make because of the small scale and I didn't want to poke myself when making small pieces like the strawberries. However, it was a good first attempt, and I am really happy with the final result. I might make more of these, like different flavours and colours! 

Cute little cell phone strap for your phone~

One thing I noticed from these photos is that the cake looks very fluffy, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Oh well, it's cute anyways! ^_^ Halloween is coming up real soon, I wish I can make something for that too.