focusing the muse

I mentioned in my last post that my muse is feeling a little unfocused.  She's still feeling creative, just not in the way I'd like her to be.  Not knowing exactly how to focus this side of me, I decided to revisit a project I had done in the past, the "mother nature's palette" brooch you see here.  I thought maybe if I could work on a familiar project it might make the transition from bagels to brooches a little easier.

I sewed up one, reflected a while, then made another.  It seems to have worked a little bit as there are the beginnings of a toadstool and a piece of cedar on my table today, signs of creativity returning...

I've put the two brooches in my shop this morning, along with the last two acorn ornaments I'll be making until I can gather more of the right caps this fall.

Speaking of caps, these teeny tiny acorn caps on the brooch just kill me.  I find them on the French Rapids trail by the Mississippi river and make a trip there every fall just to gather them.  The entire acorn, minus the stem, is only as big as my pinky fingernail.  So cute!

Hope your week is off to a good start, everybody.

on the workbench

Work has finally begun on my holiday gifts.

These beads are from the clay I dug this fall and once fired will be stringing beads for my daughter.  Okay, to be honest I might keep a few for me to play with too.  I have a few other clay pieces worked up and I hope to have my first firing in the fire pit before we get any significant snowfall.(wish me luck)

Sonia did a nice post the other day about some simple and handmade gifts to consider giving this year, if you're looking for some inspiration.  I firmly believe that gifts don't need to be expensive to be appreciated.  A simple, thoughtful gift is much more meaningful and I'll take 10 minutes of thought over $100 spent any day.  (but hey, if husband is reading, that Wustof knife combines both...)

I've also been working on some wool brooches and am just finishing up the wood bases.  Each wool scene has to have a base that I feel goes with the scene, so it isn't quite as easy as just popping them in whatever I have on hand.  They have to be the right color and shape so I've been out at the saw and sander tweaking away.  (sometimes I drive myself crazy, but this is how I am)

The brooches, along with a few new stones, will be in my shop sometime this week.  I'll post once I know when I'll be adding them.

I'm be back at the workbench today after I finish my coffee and shake off this Halloween candy hangover.  (ohh Charleston chews, I both love and hate you)  There is much to be done in the next few weeks; holiday gifts, book projects, en masse mitten-making... the list is endless.  I'd better get to it.

Have a good day everyone!

new wool landscape brooches

I've been working on just a few new brooches lately and wanted to give you a peek.  These are all small needlefelted wool scenes fitted into bases that I make by hand.

I was really liking how the cracks in this stump lined up with the leafless trees in this nighttime scene.  This one has a teardrop shaped base made from an oak limb I brought in from the woods.  I think with all this heat we've been having I was subconsciously seeking those leafless winter nights in the woods.

A golden field against a clear blue sky.

I've shared this piece previously in a Wordless Wednesday post.  This one has been fitted into a piece of antler that I cut and drilled and it is, to date, the smallest landscape scene I've made.  I think it may also be one of my favorites.

Making these little scenes allows me to daydream about peaceful places I've been and places I'd like to see.  I sometimes think of them of as little postcards saying "wish you were here". 

These will be in my shop on Monday at noon CST.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

New in the Shop

I'm running a little late today.  I'll blame it on being sluggish from the enormous sundae I had yesterday... mmmm.

Today I'll be digging through the rubble that is my house after a leisurely weekend, and hopefully finishing up a few small projects.  This morning I did get a few more buttons put in my lilfishextras shop and 2 mossy wool brooches in my lilfishstudios shop so I'm feeling good about that.

If I can stay away from the rest of the ice cream in the freezer I just might have a productive week. 

Wish me luck!

Happy Monday, all.

A Peek

Here's a peek at just a few of the things that I'll be including in my next shop update.  These pieces and more (that I haven't photographed yet) will be in my Etsy shop on Monday Nov. 29th at 4pm CST.  I'll share photos of some of the other goodies later this weekend.

There will be new brooches made of wool and wood.  I love the combination of textural wool and smooth wood but I wanted a wood setting that felt natural and organic.  I like work that is a little "perfectly imperfect" so as I cut and shaped my wood pieces from an oak limb I salvaged, I drilled the holes off-center and left planes and angles in the wood.  They're sanded smooth, but the wood feels like something I might have picked off the forest floor, and I like that.  I finished them simply with beeswax.  There will be some pieces with scenes from nature and a few that are free-form and inspired by lichen and fungi.

There will be a limited number of tiny canoes, strung up with waxed cotton cord for hanging.

There will be just a few wool acorns, some for tying on gifts (or hanging in the tree) and some with rusty caps, all of which will have a special price.

There will be some birch bark birch leaf tags/ornaments as well with woodburned details.  They hang from a soft length of alpaca yarn.

 

This will be my last shop update for 2010.  I plan to keep the shop open for a few days afterwards then I'm shutting down the shop for all of December to work on gifts for family and friends. (and to recharge a little)    I'll still be here on blog though, so I hope you stop in and see me.

Happy Friday, everyone.  Have a great weekend.

Monday's Mushroom

I'm starting this week with a teeny tiny mushroom brooch, made of recycled felted wool. Measuring just a wee 1.5" wide by 2" tall, it's a bit smaller than some of my other brooches but I kind of like this little niblet of a pin.

It just made its way into my Etsy shop.

Happy Monday!

A shop update

Whew! I just updated my shop and am excited by how much color is in there. Check it out if you're so inclined. There are a few bouquets, brooches, acorns, and more. I'm hoping to do another update in two weeks with some totally new ideas I've been working on so stay tuned....

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Happy crafting!