Saturday 6 December 2014

Saturday This and That . . .



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This is Socks.  He is a needle felted Dog that I bought for in my doll's house a year or so back.   I bought him on Etsy and I daren't say how much I paid for him.   Let's just say he was not cheap.

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He just showed up on Nora's doorstep one day and they became fast companions.

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He needed a home and she needed some company . . .

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Since then he's pretty much been her steady companion . . . 

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Filling her days and nights with joy and unconditional love . . .

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It's a give and take relationship.  The best kind.

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It works well for them.  ☺
















I have long been interested in the art of Needle Felting.   I never thought I would be able to do it though.  It always sounded so complicated. 

Using a single, barbed needle borrowed from commercial felting machines, wool fibers are tangled and compacted by repeatedly jabbing the needle into the fibers, forming three-dimensional felt sculptures bound only by one's imagination.

My sister has recently taken up the art.



 













 This is her first creation.   I was well impressed that she made this and then she showed me this  . . .

      















It's the beginnings of a sheep she is making.  She made a model for the base using wire and is needle felting onto the wire.

I thought wow.  That's amazing.  Maybe I can do this.   So I went out and bought a bit of wool roving and some needles and a sponge pad.   They are not as expensive as one would think actually.  I was quite suprised.



I watched this video on You Tube and it looked really easy and so I had a small teddy bear shaped cookie cutter that my sister had given me a couple of years back and I went to work.   It was quite therapeutic actually.  And not that hard at all.  Except for the few times I missed the felt with my needle and poked it into my finger.  OUCH!  It hurt.  It bled.   But it was okay.

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This is what I ended up with.   First I had the little teddy bear shape and then I added some cheeks coz bears have puffy cheeks.   Then I glued some seed beads on for eyes and a nose . . .  dotted the cheeks.

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As you can see he's not very big at all.   It took me a couple of hours to make him.  But I am a newbie and if I was more practiced it probably wouldn't take as long.  

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I was quite pleased with the results actually.   He's the perfect size for my doll's house and he cost only a fraction of what Socks cost.

I have plans now.  I would really like to do figures of my artwork.  Needlefelted little girl dolls.  This is the first one I want to do . . .

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She has always been my favourite piece of art that I have done.  I know . . . strange that.  I can't even begin to tell you why she's my favourite.   I don't understand it myself.  I only know that I love her most of all.

Watch this space.  We will see what happens next.   Maybe my sister and I will open up an Etsy Shop together.  That would be nice.

We're going to a concert this afternoon with our friends Audrey and Peter.  Its a recorder concert.  Their daughter plays in a Baroque recorder musical group.  It should be fun.  I remember going to watch them in concert at the Liverpool Cathedral years and years ago and it was just lovely.  I am looking forward to this afternoon.

I do have the sniffles though . . .  our nurse had a cold earlier this week and despite my precautions to try to keep her germs at bay, they have caught up with me.  Hoping it won't be as bad as my colds usually end up being. I don't want to be sick for Christmas.  And with that I'll love you and leave you for today . . .

A thought to carry with you today . . .

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❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
“Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. 
No matter how we may dread the rush, 
the long Christmas lists for gifts 
and cards to be bought and given . . .
when Christmas Day comes 
there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, 
the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.” 
~Joan Winmill Brown
❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥



Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Toffee Popcorn Bark.   Simple.

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Hope your Saturday is as special as you are! Only nineteen days.  ☺


 

14 comments:

  1. Colds are so miserable. I hope this one passes soon for you. Mine started two? weeks before Thanksgiving and I still have a cough. Rest!

    I'm so impressed by your felt work!! That's your first attempt?! You can do anything, then. I'll be interested in watching your talents unfold with this. It's exciting to think that you thought you couldn't do it/it was too hard and now you have a bear of your own creation for your doll house. :)

    And that Christmas illustration is lovely. The pink bow on the wreath!! ♥

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  2. I am so sorry that the cold has passed on to you. I hope you get over it quickly.

    The teddy is adorable. They would make sweet brooches and so on. My Pip loves bears and every time she says no more the rules is broken.

    Enjoy the recorder concert I love baroque music and one of my sadnesses is that my alto recorder has some how lost its bell. No one will confess. Listen and enjoy. What a great way to start the weekend and festive time.

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  3. I know Val! I even surprised myself with this one. I can't wait to see what I can accomplish with this. Happy Christmas to you. I hope your cough resolves itself soon. Xoxo

    I thought perhaps it would skip me Suzan! I should have known it would not! That is the one thing we never considered when having a nurse in the house was that it would be introducing all sorts of germs into our environment! ugh! Oh well, that's life! And she's a delightful girl. So it's not all bad. xoxo

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  4. I love your doll house and the cute pup in it. I'd never heard of felting before but looks like you have taken to it nicely. You have been busy busy for sure. Hope you have a super Saturday !

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  5. I have been oglig felted things too.I am so impressed with your bear..and doggie..and dollhouse..I still ahve the girls in the attic..I should play too..Take care Marie..Vit C.. tea with honey and lemon..Herbal tea:)

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  6. By now you will be home from the concert hope that all went well and that you enjoyed it...Sorry you have another cold...not that long sinse you had the last one. I don't think that you really got it frm your lovely "nurse" you can get these germs from anywhere..even just ging out your own door your postman might have had a cold and transferred it on to your door handle !! we were talking about just thattoday and thinking about all teh ways we coudl catch "something" and what we did...Me I don;t do anything !! but my friend Pam even pulls down her cuffs when she is going up or down stairs or escalators for fear that germs might be on them !! and don't mention loo's to her...she has me in stitches at the very thought of her antics.....and she still catches a cold !!! LOL...Have a lovely Sunday...have a wee lie in and cosset yourself for a day...

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  7. It so nice to see Nora and Socks. Socks really does remind me of Mitzie. :-) Love that water color picture you did with the balloons too.
    Keep up the good work with needle felting. Cute bear.
    Hope you're feeling better soon and aren't sick for Christmas Marie! xoxo

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  8. Oh another delightful post. I love your doll house; in fact I covet it a bit. My girls used to love to play with a small one we gave them.
    Your little bear is adorable.
    Oh I do like your painting; of course, I love them all.
    Thanks for this fun one; I loved it.
    Blessings, love and hugs for you dear Marie.

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  9. Thanks Pam! I hope that you had a lovely day yesterday! xx

    I love my doll house Monique. I always wanted one when I was a girl. Got one now and I am always in it! I did lemon and ginger tea with some honey. xx

    Sybil, I did not go to the concert after all as my cold came on full blown and I did not think it fair to spread my germs. If this misses Todd I will be amazed! I am like Pam. Don't laugh. I pull down my cuffs etc when opening doors and all sorts. I had been spraying disinfectant on the telephone and everything last week after Ariana used it, etc., but to no avail. I got it anyways. lol xxoo

    Thanks Val. Me too! I owe you an e-mail. xxoo

    Thanks LeAnn! YOu are a treasure. xxoo

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  10. Just a note to say been missing your daily posts and hope all is well there.

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  11. Marie - Been missing your blog for the past few days. Hope your cold didn't get the best of you and if so, hope you will be on the mend soon! Missing you - your Idaho follower.

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  12. Pam and Marsha, I have not been very well at all. I've been laid really low with a type of flu/cold. I am feeling a bit better today and with any luck, God willing, I will be back and posting tomorrow. Thank you so much for your concern. It's nice to know I've been missed. xxoo

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  13. I'm sorry you're so sick. 'Thinking of you. ♥

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  14. feeling much better now Val! xoxo

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