Much has changed or is about to!

I know it's been a very long time since my last post here. Much has been changing & more is about to change. We are packing up to move to Texas to be near our son & daughter in law & our grand children. We hope to be there before Christmas.
Sorting & tossing & packing & downsizing what we have can be time consuming & emotional at times. We have had a wonderful 10 years living on our little "off grid" farm in Northern New Mexico. Now all the goats are in new homes as are the chickens. Sure seems strange not to have chores to do..but it also seems strange not getting fresh eggs every day.
We are already planning our new garden space in Texas. The availability of water & the longer growing season are most attractive!

Back to the sorting, tossing & packing now. Hope to get back here to post again soon.

Brand New to my etsy shop

Here are some pictures of the new Beading Looms
we are now making. They are adjustable from 24 inches to 45 inches, to accommodate those longer bead pieces for Hat Bands, Belts or Guitar Straps etc. It will allow pieces up to 4 inches wide & is prefect for Delica bead, as well as other sizes. They are custom made to order & are available in my ETSY SHOP . The first person to own one other than me, said "I have done loom work before but left it alone for a long time because I got frustrated with the warping and having to release the tension to wind up the work and get the tension right again to continue.

This particular type of loom is a breeze to warp and eliminates releasing the tension because you set the desired length before hand - life is good."
The loom will come with warping instructions.

New Items in my Etsy Shop

I have started making leather purses again & am adding my beadwork to them. These purses are all my own design & are mostly deer skin. I cut all my own continuous lacing for the purses & most are lined with cotton fabric. The straps are mostly 4 strand round braid & the edges of the purses are laced to match. The lacing alone takes hours. Please check them out in my ETSY Shop Charlottes Creative Web

Happy New Year Everyone

2009 is really almost here!!! May all who read this have a Happy & Prosperous New Year!

Dec 27,2008 Where did the time go?

It's been way too long since I posted anything here & I hope to get back into the habit of posting regularly.
I have not done any needle felting in ages, mostly knitting, Beading & leather work. I have gone back to work beading for a beaded suede & leather clothing designer. I do beaded applique on suede, lazy stitch on suede clothing & jeans. I am fortunate in that I can work mostly at home. I am starting to try to make some things to sell in my ETSY shop, but have not had a lot of time to work on my own things. Christmas gift making kept me busy when I wasn't beading for my employer. Christmas is past for another year & I hope to work on new things for my Etsy Shop.
If you get a chance, stop by my ETSY Shop and let me know what you think.

Needle Felted Rabbit Pin Tutorial

The site where this was hosted is no longer available, so I have posted the entire tutorial here.



Needle Felted Rabbit Pin Tutorial
Including start to finish photos
By: Charlotte Des Roches

Materials:
A sketch of the desired Rabbit
4 x 4 1/2 inch Foam Working Block
Felting Needle Size 38 Star
Core Wool
Pin Back
Embroidery Floss in desired colors

Directions:
Take a piece of Core Wool, that is about the size of your foam working block.
Draw out the basic shape of the desired Rabbit with your Felting Needle, by poking the outline of the shape over & over until it is well defined.
Start folding the extra wool on the outside area all the way around the outline, over onto the piece, poking as you do this.
Continue poking all over, firming up & smoothing out the entire Rabbit. Once the piece has become firm, turn the piece over & work on the back side of the piece. Pay special attention to rounding out the edges as you continue poking & firming your work. You also can begin defining the legs & ears & tail now.

Sew the pin back onto the back of the piece by stitching part way through the wool, so the stitches don't come through the front side. Note: the piece must be very firmly felted, so the stitches hold the pin back in place.

I decided to give my Rabbit a collar and eye of Embroidered French Knots.

If you have any questions or comments about this tutorial, please feel free to contact me.

New Items in my Etsy Shop

I added more items to my ETSY Shop.

Gnarl and his egg & his big sister Spring,
The Dragon Kids, and bunny pins & little
ducks and a new "Inchie" pin.