So excited this week to be entering an art competition by an amazing company called Wraptious. I discovered them a few years ago after seeing some lovely coasters and prints by one of their sellers at a craft market and was so impressed by the work I saw I have been following them ever since. (Of course I also treated myself to a few gifts :-)).
They support the talents of British artists but since lots of artists like me would love to work with them and they can only take on one or two artists each year, they set the bar high with a competition.
I have entered this year’s competition with three cushion designs as I would absolutely love to be chosen. They are my watercolour paintings inspired by a few of your favourite Fit to be loved needle felted animal characters – Fox, Long-eared bat and the Tawny owl.
The competition ends this Sunday and I need your help please to vote>>>
>>>Please click ‘like’ on the cushions below!
For a limited time only UNTIL THIS SUNDAY (while the competition is running) the cushions are for sale too ! So please don’t miss out on getting one of your very own Fit to be loved art cushions NOW. Just follow the individual weblinks by the picture to purchase.
Each cushion is vegan-suede and handmade in the UK. Free UK delivery too.
Bat lovers alert!! – I will donate 15% of sale price of the bat design to the Bat Conservation Trust Helpline bat care project. Such a great cause!
Here’s my three original Fit to be loved characters 😀
Just finished needle felting a beautiful black and white dog called Poppy. I wanted to capture the smiley faced playful character of the real dog Poppy who loves to fetch a ball, go for a swim and have lots of fun on her walks, sometimes with legs splashed with mud!
I am not sure what breed she is but she looks like a spaniel/collie cross.
She was a delight to make. She is made from core wool over wire and then merino wool layered over the top. Her eyes, nose and even her tiny collar with a paw print disc is made from wool. Her layers of long fur were added with my usual technique (click here for tutorial).
Once needle felted I was able to pose her with head slightly tilted, front leg bent and tail ready to wag……
So back in November some of you voted for the animal you wanted to see me needle felt next and the red panda came top!
I agree red pandas (Latin name; Ailurus fulgens) are tremendously cute creatures and they have such vibrant colouring.
She was not at all easy to make with her long fur, markings and ringed tail (apparently in the wild they use their big tails as a wrap around blanket in the cold mountains of Nepal, Burma and China) – but then you know how much I love a challenge!
She took a while to make and a lot of patience and I have to say I did leave her half done for a few weeks at a time with lack of motivation at one point… however she was worth it in the end.
I decided she was a ‘she’ early on as her eyes stared back at me with a kind of sparkling prettiness about them..
A lady in Yorkshire fell in love with her after spotting her on a facebook forum while she was just a mere face and so she is now being loved and cuddled by this lady at her new home 🙂
So here is a photo montage of my red panda to show you the stages of how I created her as well as an indoor and outdoor (garden) photoshoot of her once finished.
It is set to a beautiful piece of music called ‘rain’ that will hopefully inspire you. For me I feel like I am being transported to a distant land where maybe you would find a real red panda! 🙂
Hope you like her 🙂
So, what on to next?? a lion, a wallaby??
If you would like to know in more detail how I add long fur to animals my needle felting tutorials can be found over on my tutorials page
Don’t ever miss out on my latest tutorials! Insert your email address and click the ‘Follow’ button on the right hand panel to receive notifications of when the next post is up..:-)
Visit my Etsy shop today to see my latest creations. Or like my facebook page to see what I am making next.
Would you like to watch techniques for creating a detailed and realistic long fur look on your needle felted animal?
You have likely seen my photo tutorial with basic techniques for adding long wool fibres onto a badger. Well here is a video for those who learn best by watching how it’s done. This is far more in depth with more techniques and tips along the way!
‘In this full length (1.5 hour) diary-style tutorial, I demonstrate how to add layers of wool to a miniature donkey. These techniques can be adapted for any long furred animal. Join me on my journey from preparation to finish; starting with carefully ‘needle brushed’ leg fibres, then fluffy tummy and long textured back fur. You will also see how I create a middle parting on the donkey’s muzzle, add a long fluffy fringe and a beautiful flowing mane.’
Watch the preview below
The full length video tutorial is available to buy for just £3.75!
(Watch live multiple times or download it- it’s up to you!)
Difficulty ranking: Intermediate level or beginners looking for a challenge.
The result: Amazing detail; the look of a real animal with layers of fur.
Skills you will master:
Simple hand blending of wool roving for natural, textured colour tones
Preparing wool lengths and a test/sample piece
Knowing how firm to felt your core base
Two easy methods to firmly attach various lengths of wool fibre
The art of layering and trimming fibres
Specific skills for adding fur to various body parts including legs, tummy, back, ears, tail, face and mane
How to prevent over felting or flattening of long fibres
Finishing techniques for defining strands or fluffing them up
Chapter start timesfor easier video navigation.
0:00 Introduction
1:00 Overview; what techniques will I learn?
2:07 Where to start?
3:35 Preparing and blending wools
12:03 What tools do I need?
13:25 Shorter fur – layering on the legs (the basics of the two techniques)
28:28 Soft tummy fur (technique 1)
34:05 Continuing the tummy (and a few ways of blending colour)
38:10 How firm should the core wool be?
40:05 Lots of thick fur layers (across the torso) (technique 1)
45:00 Tips for preventing fluffing up and positioning animal whilst felting
46:14 Adding fur on rump (techniques 1 and 2)
49:45 Long fluffy back fur (technique 2)
57:40 Ears and tail (brief overview for ideas)
59:12 Fluffy textured muzzle and fringe (very long fur pieces) (technique 2 plus other tips)
Don’t ever miss out on my latest tutorials! Insert your email address and click the ‘Follow’ button on the right hand panel to receive notifications of when the next post is up..:-)
Don’t have time to make one but would love a one of a kind needle felted animal by Fit to be loved for yourself or for that special someone? Visit my Etsy shop today to see my latest creations. Or like my facebook page to see what I am making next.
I would like to introduce you to a gorgeous needle felted guinea pig called ‘Teddy’.
As you can see he has a cheeky little face and I really tried to make sure his autumnal orange fur tones ended up looking as fluffy and soft as possible just like a real guinea pig.
He is now on his way to France to live with a lovely lady who will take good care of him.
Bon Voyage little guinea pig! You were a pleasure to create and I hope you have a wonderful life at your new furever home x
His core is made of natural undyed Corriedale wool from New Zealand. His beautiful soft fur and detail on his cute piggy paws, ears and face are of soft merino wool (non-mulesed) from South Africa (Cape). His toes have been sculpted by wool wrapped delicately onto wire.
His eyes are made of wool too, so no glass or plastic.
You can see he is life-sized from the close up of me holding him in my hand.
Hope you like him 🙂
Would you like to know how to make a guinea pig? (click on the photo to get started).
Making a needle felted animal and need some help adding layers of wool to achieve a realistic long fur look? (click the photo to learn more…)
See here for a variety of tutorials, tips and ideas to suit your project
Here are some other needle felted guinea pigs for more ideas.
Seeing as I manage the National bat helpline (UK) as my day job it was about time I made a bat! Thankfully I was asked to make this little brown long eared bat (BLE) (Plecotus auritus) – although when I say little she is very big compared to real BLEs which have a body length of around 5cm.
She was a challenge as not only did I have to work out how to make folded wings and a tail membrane but BLEs have such massive ears as you can see. She is made of corriedale and merino wool and has wire inside her forearms, legs and ears.
BLEs can live up to 30 years, eat thousands of insects each night, have only one baby a year and these fantastic huge ears help them to listen for prey as they glean them from leaves.
This one is definitely alert and looking for a cuddle but usually at rest their ears curl back a bit like ram’s horns to show only the tragus (the pointy inner ear lobe). Hope you like her and agree that bats are amazing! 🙂
