Wishing all of us a very happy new year

We find ourselves full of good wishes at the beginning of every year, to be happy and surrounded by loving company seems to be a deep human necessity, inspired by that I went far beyond the original Etsy order of a few baby bunnies creating a full family with parents and extra siblings. The result you can see in the pictures.

Let 1012 be a year full of positive experiences and creativeness for all.

Etsy Shop

I would like to share a link http://www.etsy.com/shop/TextilePlatypus?ref=seller_info this is my Etsy shop, I mention it before but lately I have been adding new things that I love, as scaves and new toys, brooches and bookmarks, I hope you enjoy!

Pay it Forward

I want to tell you a little about this very fun project for bloggers named Pay it Forward 2011 I read about it in my friend Andrea's blog http://stitchparade.com , it consists in (here I will copy and paste, thanks Andrea for this involuntary help :)

The idea is that the blogger who signs up for this project (that would be me) has to send in the mail a little something handmade to the first five people to leave a comment on her blog (that would be you), if and only if those five people who leave a comments also commit to doing the same (i.e. talking about the “paying it forward” project on their own blogs and sending five hand made items to the first five people who comment), thus paying it forward… get it? The items don’t have to be fancy or big, just a little something to celebrate the spirit of sharing.

This will be a challenge since I'm not very dedicated to my blog and, frankly, I doubt five people are following it, but it will not stop me, it seems to me like lots of fun already.

I have something in mind for the gifts, it is suitable for males or females alike and for all ages, it is not in my Esty shop er anywhere else then, if you want to find out you need to PLAY!

The pictures above show the wonderful pinch pouch I got in the mail inside a fat, mysterious and promising envelope a couple of weeks after I decided to participate and Pay it Forward... It came accompanied by an also hand made (heart made) beautiful card and the whole thing made me feel again the pure joy of playing for the sake of it, as we do in childhood. Thanks Andrea and thanks to whoever decides to play along.

Wet Felt Process continues...

There are several steps involved in the creation of felt using the wet felt technique, here you can see a few more pictures that correspond to the description in my previous post.

This sequence of pictures shows the step by step creation of a felt toy, starting with virgin merino wool to finally obtain a full of life finished toy.

Wet Felt Process

To transform a handful of virgin wool into a finished felt toy is a process always magical and very playful.

I part mainly from white merino wool, use acid dyes to color it and blend the fibers with natural shades of browns and beige, using llama and alpaca on occasions to add a fuzzy touch. The wet felting process will wash away any dye residue that might be left in the wool, and provide with a very strong and easy to shape material, during the felting process is the moment when colors and textures are added, to make each piece look very particular and unique on its own way. Once the piece have been finished, dry and pressed, it's ready to be cut and that also involves fun and creativity, since each toy will contain sometimes pieces of different colors felt and will always result on a one of a kind piece. When hair is needed I spin the yarn and slightly felt it to prevent it from falling apart, and the eyes are individual round pieces of felt in most of my toys, made especially for each of them. I use cotton thread for the hand stitching and for the filling I recycle a hundred percent wool from carefully selected and washed sweaters. It is very important to me that the finished product is entirely natural, a vibrant creature that will not harm our precious planet Earth in any way.

Also the work of human hands combined with natural materials and tons of love make the toys alive and loving. It also make me very happy to share my work with other people and add a little warm touch and a smile to their lives.

My rainbow

I just posted my bunny rainbow on Etsy and I'm so happy with it. These are some of my favorite toys...

Make It

I just want to announce that I will be participating in the Make It-Spring Arts and Crafts Show.

The Gladstone Hotel is a very interesting place and I'm proud to be there this time, everybody is invited to come and enjoy the creativity of local people, and what's best: everybody can take something home!

Many thanks and see you there!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=143533712386504