Felty Slipper Fun!

I have had so much fun with my felt group over the last couple of months.

We have been making all manner of things. Here are a few examples of the recent slipper workshops.

I just love these colour combination, it was really touch and go whether I would allow Jodie to take these home!

Teresa was working very hard, she isn't going to wear these. She has made a smaller pair that she is going to frame and put on the wall. We are looking forward to seeing the final version, bet they'll be lovely. I know this because I have seen them without the netting and all rolled.

So many different styles...although from these pictures it looks like blue and purple were the hot favourite colours.

These are just lovely, lots of hard work went into these.

Beautiful details added by Prue. These are fabulous. Prue soled her slippers by recycling the sole of an old pair and stitching them onto the bottom. Must get a picture for you...I was too busy being impressed with the detailing ion the top.

And Jane's...she is have a 'ball' moment. All part of her grand plan which I hope to share with you when she has finished it...it may be some time.

These are the soles I tend to use. I get them from Get Knitted in Bristol. This link should take you to them.

It was great fun doing this class, we opted for using 2 resists and making individual slippers. A long day for everyone but lovely results.

Finished Batik

Alice is really proud of this piece she made for Granny's birthday.

She really enjoyed the process and worked so hard on it. We are definitely going to try more projects from Suzy's Artsy Craft Sitcom

And....good news....Granny loved it!

Batik With Crayons

I saw an article on Suzy's Artsy-Crafty Sitcom when looking for craft activities with children. I thought that it looked like great fun and have had it on my list waiting for a suitable opportunity.

We have a family celebration coming and I showed the images to my daughter who said "Yes". How excited was I? The perfect opportunity to play with crayons and Batik!

Part 1.

We decided to do a simple drawing that we would copy using the wax. When we read Susy's comments they mention the wax goes solid quite quickly, I also thought that if A knew what she wanted to do on the fabric this would help. We prepared the table putting tinfoil under the fabric (so it doesn't end up sticking to the table). Then we taped everything in place , so it didn't move about. 

We grabbed the crayon box, selected the colours and broke them into a muffin tray. (I didn't read the bit about using tin pudding cases and keeping them warm in a bath of hot water until I had already heated these up! Note to self- read all instructions before getting over excited). The crayons were melted in a really hot oven - 230 degrees, it doesn't take long. You have to keep and eye on them or the wax really starts to smoke (and smell). 

A. started the painting. We had to have several breaks to re-heat the crayons. We ran out of a few colours and had to scramble around for more crayons. We also noticed that the thicker the wax gets the more you use when painting, so it pays to keep the wax thinner by keeping it warm.

Close up of the finished painting.

The next steps....

add dye, allow to dry and iron out the wax.... fingers crossed!