Home Interior: DIY Project Specs

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Book Review: DIY Art at Home

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm not planning to review books regularly but this one is too fabulous not to blog about.  You know I am a huge fan of DIY art - just check out my <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/p/diy-projects.html">DIY Projects</a> page for proof.  <em>DIY Art at Home: 28 Projects for Chic <span style="color: black;">Décor </span>on the Cheap</em> (which can be purchased on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/DIY-Art-Home-Simple-Projects/dp/0823033341/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305036314&sr=1-1">Amazon</a> or borrowed from your library) is a fantastic guide for DIY wall décor.  I used the project photos for inspiration but for beginners, or even kids, there are fantastic step-by-step instructions and even a whole bunch of full size templates.  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95qw5t60yj7SMPQ22dz-fJKkqbuP1y8ueBpk-bA-9BddsQEyTCb8_1CYkpqJyhywAiuJauGftX784RRdapESvHlA26eVUO3Cu8pyrQGJJbZ2EHbVlaRutj4cncDhzpBb_cspx_cc4y86x/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95qw5t60yj7SMPQ22dz-fJKkqbuP1y8ueBpk-bA-9BddsQEyTCb8_1CYkpqJyhywAiuJauGftX784RRdapESvHlA26eVUO3Cu8pyrQGJJbZ2EHbVlaRutj4cncDhzpBb_cspx_cc4y86x/s640/003.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJ9p7oSS9LikjVrzRYxfMPTaKzBli0VXshasNgZgmIyD-ak5VD4o-ZdO-fVk0ANq7Z9K5v6Ncf7tyvJGpFiKV1O31g2BvhKAFaVN2pHw3JtBhyphenhyphenk7mf04LUN2ePNeTvNZVrzlwTNK3qaeX/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJ9p7oSS9LikjVrzRYxfMPTaKzBli0VXshasNgZgmIyD-ak5VD4o-ZdO-fVk0ANq7Z9K5v6Ncf7tyvJGpFiKV1O31g2BvhKAFaVN2pHw3JtBhyphenhyphenk7mf04LUN2ePNeTvNZVrzlwTNK3qaeX/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pardon my low-tech "scanning" of the images</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nPKOlXsho-Jbt5Vu2oe2TjUaGNrlm3nuLOBA8kDuDrXJ-ooJre9Hujb4DHLl1Qp6RQGv3YSCObK3ePil6ZOiSRbIFUc7EJR_VjsmN7MlxpqAbfsGkHsY0BLMrpxE54R7clO7rJrHt4hd/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nPKOlXsho-Jbt5Vu2oe2TjUaGNrlm3nuLOBA8kDuDrXJ-ooJre9Hujb4DHLl1Qp6RQGv3YSCObK3ePil6ZOiSRbIFUc7EJR_VjsmN7MlxpqAbfsGkHsY0BLMrpxE54R7clO7rJrHt4hd/s400/010.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosZd_AfjHLg00ptgw9xcgiB15piuakZx6IETkzLbrEkGt3tlFX83zRXB0d_ip8jEE7c3TXCKNl70lgkWZI45ObE2iLvHLcChAf0ugbFztcIbIo8g71PkD8z9iREmWzW4cOJXqjbJwBFym/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosZd_AfjHLg00ptgw9xcgiB15piuakZx6IETkzLbrEkGt3tlFX83zRXB0d_ip8jEE7c3TXCKNl70lgkWZI45ObE2iLvHLcChAf0ugbFztcIbIo8g71PkD8z9iREmWzW4cOJXqjbJwBFym/s640/006.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_wntmrOZWL4Pnib7_JHWeDQF7IWbqg1RPEI4P7RtalsJdycO0rmxDpVDlOh1gwuPTXMydhssrIb58s5rNkg5KrZsxCUSD6dMHwFVCr4AgvN953RfJWIfie1ZJzmu_5nlDmfPowR0LNTX/s1600/007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_wntmrOZWL4Pnib7_JHWeDQF7IWbqg1RPEI4P7RtalsJdycO0rmxDpVDlOh1gwuPTXMydhssrIb58s5rNkg5KrZsxCUSD6dMHwFVCr4AgvN953RfJWIfie1ZJzmu_5nlDmfPowR0LNTX/s640/007.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fabulous styling, right?</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkH4UTgjpQ5qHdYprUAVrVBvnOPRi4B9zWHYX8qOwfoZj7jOm_j1TDUybyvM7eqNMEY69xGIELAH0TN0i3BqATk75ajtYoLUHEZYvaSVeUzyfBjUU2_qbR05P0CK4FhDp4EcIXthMOmIl/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnkH4UTgjpQ5qHdYprUAVrVBvnOPRi4B9zWHYX8qOwfoZj7jOm_j1TDUybyvM7eqNMEY69xGIELAH0TN0i3BqATk75ajtYoLUHEZYvaSVeUzyfBjUU2_qbR05P0CK4FhDp4EcIXthMOmIl/s400/008.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And look at the step by step instructions!</td></tr></tbody></table>

Book Review: DIY Art at Home

I'm not planning to review books regularly but this one is too fabulous not to blog about. You know I am a huge fan of DIY art - just c...

5:08 AM

DIY Text Painting

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is a detailed how-to for the text painting I made last week for the <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2011/06/guest-half-bath-update.html">guest half bathroom</a>.  Spoiler: I found a neat use for parchment paper!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_er-9p_DZIq0uMKCS2mj4U3OKB6W7hXviN0tmNiMPoCT_uk9m7t4pTE7_KtCUb_rqDO_FkOTyp_F3ym14gdKHN5WC-JkgmRv-y-fr5LwGB5RwNO0dLM7r1aOlPlCcIbUNeNnHDZi9mva/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5_er-9p_DZIq0uMKCS2mj4U3OKB6W7hXviN0tmNiMPoCT_uk9m7t4pTE7_KtCUb_rqDO_FkOTyp_F3ym14gdKHN5WC-JkgmRv-y-fr5LwGB5RwNO0dLM7r1aOlPlCcIbUNeNnHDZi9mva/s640/003.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>How-to:</strong>  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I taped off the first colour blocked section.  I painted it a pale blue/turquoise, using a large paintbrush and acrylic paint.  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSI3Pssh_fjM__DywxYKrnhtzdG10JcU3Ez-e3kcaBW24D51Lrpd_DtrgoeJOTJwUe-Tb3C60QegwMhErsQhv8bwQ_KKZ7B1WggtFCgIdmh9EKPKD4o3ys44lVaRE2TqiPTACR3ZzLLh9/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSI3Pssh_fjM__DywxYKrnhtzdG10JcU3Ez-e3kcaBW24D51Lrpd_DtrgoeJOTJwUe-Tb3C60QegwMhErsQhv8bwQ_KKZ7B1WggtFCgIdmh9EKPKD4o3ys44lVaRE2TqiPTACR3ZzLLh9/s640/002.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't mind the dim lighting in my "studio" a.k.a. messiest basement ever.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I waited three hours for the paint to dry, then taped off another section and painted it.  I waited for three hours and finally painted the final cream block of colour.  For all three colours I used a dry paintbrush and brushed away from the tape to help avoid bleeding.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8B0aL-z_0gIP_r9OM8N5Jkb2xz2HRiOdXH7lG-uwJKvR_G3Er0xddguCNyYdIrmpmvtndIjlaRlFBIBGPWfgZ9Uo40yPR8QduhiUSOIe7GwJLnRy88MKLXaZwyghq0fPMAZniFJ5UyMCA/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8B0aL-z_0gIP_r9OM8N5Jkb2xz2HRiOdXH7lG-uwJKvR_G3Er0xddguCNyYdIrmpmvtndIjlaRlFBIBGPWfgZ9Uo40yPR8QduhiUSOIe7GwJLnRy88MKLXaZwyghq0fPMAZniFJ5UyMCA/s640/003.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></div><br />While I waited for the paint to dry (as tempting as it was to watch), I worked on the letters.  I printed out the letters I wanted and taped them together with spacing that looked "right".<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrcerLX2hY_WicDTkQBIJuE1xjC_MYAfHR0Nye2N3gmmczUGxsgZjW0H_E-BONlthrotwCwC3aw4d-AsqHv-8S9xAM6wof2n4CAxIJgMeoUPPBejDzq-5-vGhL72mmCwx4Fr6sBtVneq1/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyrcerLX2hY_WicDTkQBIJuE1xjC_MYAfHR0Nye2N3gmmczUGxsgZjW0H_E-BONlthrotwCwC3aw4d-AsqHv-8S9xAM6wof2n4CAxIJgMeoUPPBejDzq-5-vGhL72mmCwx4Fr6sBtVneq1/s400/012.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />I laid parchment paper over the word and carefully traced the perimeter of the letters.  You can also purchase artist's tracing paper, but parchment paper was convenient and I found it worked just as well.  And thanks to Costco I have oodles of it.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1sZG41IhxuQ6KEq1FfpjXZoZuaxRyhXWtwqtgYDPWfi4YBH-wtb3jPexKlyDypCSBg8WEPqCkEQ0RRtk4Tb-3aExgJeNeN8nutpIjuU79lrTheuJfbOHWaSlrYo2E5RYk6PR8WZcA97D/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1sZG41IhxuQ6KEq1FfpjXZoZuaxRyhXWtwqtgYDPWfi4YBH-wtb3jPexKlyDypCSBg8WEPqCkEQ0RRtk4Tb-3aExgJeNeN8nutpIjuU79lrTheuJfbOHWaSlrYo2E5RYk6PR8WZcA97D/s400/013.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhCdANsCq9-fo5nGnETPuelKrs68nfJqROIJIzCu5Vxr052ESAn3pZCEFYjJb6-H2cOqwqr82SG1cLE_2Or7-yZG3bHXHsuiaYUttB9_LTiS8Wj1ZlaLb5Ip3VJk4EPm2SOian6JF_BB9/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhCdANsCq9-fo5nGnETPuelKrs68nfJqROIJIzCu5Vxr052ESAn3pZCEFYjJb6-H2cOqwqr82SG1cLE_2Or7-yZG3bHXHsuiaYUttB9_LTiS8Wj1ZlaLb5Ip3VJk4EPm2SOian6JF_BB9/s400/016.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />Then I flipped the parchment paper over and followed the outline of the tracing I had done.  I placed paper under the parchment paper because the graphite transferred.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgiwKKYIdZttZQQmMeFQVQbw9J4FLGVa1Ypi4V1J5a16CtJQbp_L6Ffo71AwDIJLcYPtx_pvBtZD3J_fl0prz_hfUfeUXOBdQZu-Dx0SAgx1KakOg2WXIkWVCRI1I6u9CM8OymTpd2ziq/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgiwKKYIdZttZQQmMeFQVQbw9J4FLGVa1Ypi4V1J5a16CtJQbp_L6Ffo71AwDIJLcYPtx_pvBtZD3J_fl0prz_hfUfeUXOBdQZu-Dx0SAgx1KakOg2WXIkWVCRI1I6u9CM8OymTpd2ziq/s400/019.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />I flipped the parchment again and followed traced the letters with my pencil again.  The tracing I did on the back side deposited graphite on the canvas.  <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwbZlKeJLsEJNXEk28AaxxvoN-_Ei2Ycy6YCsSYXxh1fFD-0IjuwYWNFWFNknJYm9KcgL5-p-v0ijjAkuUdhz8fmvkgv0qoBisWD7dwj2Wna50kBuiHmKwmAS4_EBu_0yt8S21W4Q2JGq/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwbZlKeJLsEJNXEk28AaxxvoN-_Ei2Ycy6YCsSYXxh1fFD-0IjuwYWNFWFNknJYm9KcgL5-p-v0ijjAkuUdhz8fmvkgv0qoBisWD7dwj2Wna50kBuiHmKwmAS4_EBu_0yt8S21W4Q2JGq/s400/021.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, that is a Dora the Explorer pencil.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXpDmZYFB2A8rV_nrJlih0oPQFINM6L80G4j5VY9DLVpE80C9Q0Y_AamFJ9OvURJFaBNsLePjNBMwJw6g7TG_0RROvUhvFNJZmMhT5Mh8mQdFNWu7OIRNWWIWGkY1xNREjPomevy0dgSq/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXpDmZYFB2A8rV_nrJlih0oPQFINM6L80G4j5VY9DLVpE80C9Q0Y_AamFJ9OvURJFaBNsLePjNBMwJw6g7TG_0RROvUhvFNJZmMhT5Mh8mQdFNWu7OIRNWWIWGkY1xNREjPomevy0dgSq/s400/022.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></div><br />I filled in the lines using a very small, angled paintbrush.  I prefer this method because it created a hand drawn look (but much neater than my hands could do unassisted) and not a stenciled look.  But this project would work with letter stencils too.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5O2a9cSVwXtsYzHIaspa7I7DVRur4V8eYxtdXR_gbt234feXRF0C7pHm7lweRKn73u9F5vdb_Bx-3dLjPmnGjDMzgDsU_0rbEiizGsJYbcC_tWi7r3uOdLT5QEsT2MP-hz4NCzXdEUe8/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP5O2a9cSVwXtsYzHIaspa7I7DVRur4V8eYxtdXR_gbt234feXRF0C7pHm7lweRKn73u9F5vdb_Bx-3dLjPmnGjDMzgDsU_0rbEiizGsJYbcC_tWi7r3uOdLT5QEsT2MP-hz4NCzXdEUe8/s400/023.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half-way done.  More paint needed to make the letters opaque.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRFnDF11DNRS41d2Vc-A8swYq6Z6HqwpCAV0zka3mCxz6pQs2gfxb6YJ7hef6LwBTJLPkyVsBuPok0pGzxDvGqTsgBr-4p8av5UkjoCPosMYeAsJUD-lJZ7c9iNTR-h43Sbe5Bc3a9Hp-/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRFnDF11DNRS41d2Vc-A8swYq6Z6HqwpCAV0zka3mCxz6pQs2gfxb6YJ7hef6LwBTJLPkyVsBuPok0pGzxDvGqTsgBr-4p8av5UkjoCPosMYeAsJUD-lJZ7c9iNTR-h43Sbe5Bc3a9Hp-/s640/009.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></div><br />Here is my colour inspiration: an ad I filed away just because the colour combo was so inspiring.  Looking for some inspiration of your own?  Check out <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/art-attack-textalicious.html">this post</a> for some text-y works of art.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4vKm-GScKvxthL_7DHkyBK15-bVNBDJNAdlRAdkxkMIX3MlwOD5dIBfHqXpeJBPB7u60vlBYRG5h5JHQtf5krFpsn2V3-toeYnA508VCcupbQa87heoR_k9p2x2lR7U88ZE6WloPzO36/s1600/028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4vKm-GScKvxthL_7DHkyBK15-bVNBDJNAdlRAdkxkMIX3MlwOD5dIBfHqXpeJBPB7u60vlBYRG5h5JHQtf5krFpsn2V3-toeYnA508VCcupbQa87heoR_k9p2x2lR7U88ZE6WloPzO36/s640/028.JPG" t8="true" width="474" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My inspiration.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS51TMvShDx1ZzGnCzxFpbSO2gezi6cu8pxjWMRakvugI_mDdMjF_AFDh1Rt5WVANwK5bTC3RIYa-bA5R7Msh43N0z__HpCGYWd0PfqEmKhy-JUd3LMVJaWvaiZRZuZIItFnCUTmDWmOix/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS51TMvShDx1ZzGnCzxFpbSO2gezi6cu8pxjWMRakvugI_mDdMjF_AFDh1Rt5WVANwK5bTC3RIYa-bA5R7Msh43N0z__HpCGYWd0PfqEmKhy-JUd3LMVJaWvaiZRZuZIItFnCUTmDWmOix/s640/024.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Word.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Klarb2HvIm0P95BSl3B92BfGV9KGm40kkPR4NMw5UjGCYtHzZiEPbPRmW_JO7Ss5Q0PLHFlQ5PWhp87KZiPVDF-AC0ajHG1qGGwgH86U6QulAlPb-FfJh8rWKe_FqI9ejI6eiJ-RHy71/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Klarb2HvIm0P95BSl3B92BfGV9KGm40kkPR4NMw5UjGCYtHzZiEPbPRmW_JO7Ss5Q0PLHFlQ5PWhp87KZiPVDF-AC0ajHG1qGGwgH86U6QulAlPb-FfJh8rWKe_FqI9ejI6eiJ-RHy71/s640/005.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></div>

DIY Text Painting

Here is a detailed how-to for the text painting I made last week for the guest half bathroom . Spoiler: I found a neat use for parchment pa...

5:57 AM

DIY Felted Wool "Billy Buttons"

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">In case you didn't catch my guest post on <a href="http://youngancrafty.blogspot.com/2011/05/dans-le-townhouse-tutorial.html">Young & Crafty</a>, here it is!<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">While making felted wool beads for my DIY'd</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-felted-bead-necklace.html"> necklace</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">, the yellow wool beads I was felting started to really look like stylized <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craspedia">Yellow Craspedia</a> (small, spherical flowers also known as “Billy Buttons” or “Woollyheads”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Inspired, I made some extra felted wool beads, pierced them with cloth covered floral wire and made an arrangement in an inexpensive West Elm vase.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Scroll down for the how-to.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-dVm7lxWIC5xTUnIH8clRJ04Lfleu_fTOy6GEtQUdIL_NKhkNEGmjpc23KLL6u4R84Q8tkrEevV3t_7aHR0TtOlmD8-pqZLaznWXPRjf-CTwH9i3AokYo2lceLUFSWROqdfbqdv2rVc8/s400/121.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My FAUX Craspedia</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXVXLWV_0rWHzgLBsyi9A3fB2RIBfJVyR4PSWteu63ZqRl-GIbuBfu7BkuOFpWNYPew7JKeAC7PgGdbUZ8MvcFllRaNGb2Qnw2INxgDlSwkYhJ3OeE6TB3VPtxQ2X81z50Q9jxvkM_nZ5/s1600/billy+buttons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXVXLWV_0rWHzgLBsyi9A3fB2RIBfJVyR4PSWteu63ZqRl-GIbuBfu7BkuOFpWNYPew7JKeAC7PgGdbUZ8MvcFllRaNGb2Qnw2INxgDlSwkYhJ3OeE6TB3VPtxQ2X81z50Q9jxvkM_nZ5/s400/billy+buttons.jpg" t8="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">REAL Craspedia<br /><a href="http://inbloomeventdesign.blogspot.com/2009/04/vintage-circus-wedding-flowers.html">Via Bloomerism</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqB2vO4hfZy8MUGnaST4Vmowg2zRq5gER8sC8dqa6EtJlvZz3NDHNpe0mDO6rF6fe_IezU4gViteykqjrxiOEAo-sIxsqKfEF7aJf1moX4j14wc75JEXM9MHoTT1Dm9mTA5mlUvDJlBiFy/s1600/billy+buttons+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqB2vO4hfZy8MUGnaST4Vmowg2zRq5gER8sC8dqa6EtJlvZz3NDHNpe0mDO6rF6fe_IezU4gViteykqjrxiOEAo-sIxsqKfEF7aJf1moX4j14wc75JEXM9MHoTT1Dm9mTA5mlUvDJlBiFy/s400/billy+buttons+II.jpg" t8="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More REAL Craspedia<br /><a href="http://thatwinsomegirl.blogspot.com/2009/11/billy-button-love.html">Via That Windsome Girl</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Supplies:</span></b><br /><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">         </span></span></span>Mustard yellow wool roving (found in yarn/craft stores or </span><a href="http://www.sarastexturecrafts.com/userimages/Merino-64s-Yellow-and-Orange(1598465).htm"><span style="font-family: inherit;">online</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">)</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">         </span></span></span>One bowl of hot, hot, hot as you can stand water</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">         </span></span></span>One bowl of cold, cold, cold as you can bear water</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">         </span></span></span>Cloth covered stem wire (from the floral section of craft stores – I used 20 gauge)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Instructions:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The whole process for one ball should only take a couple minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>First, tear off a piece of your wool roving, like you would tear off a piece of cotton candy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>You want ragged ends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Remember that your wool ball will shrink a bit during the felting process. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try starting with the same approximate amount of wool I use in the photo below to create a ball the same size as mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Real “Woollyheads” are about an inch in diameter.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdqISmF_T77Y7sGEYFxbG6Ml_dWwp09EpdD5TNQUrT169ayqJFectR6w2gzhlVoq_vxZ9AjN6qouxRxJXIY39dw5WSo5fi7LBEfo5SyxFC3XQU8LYoE02zgtFDhxE1IbmYLmdRHeYJFJP/s1600/088.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtdqISmF_T77Y7sGEYFxbG6Ml_dWwp09EpdD5TNQUrT169ayqJFectR6w2gzhlVoq_vxZ9AjN6qouxRxJXIY39dw5WSo5fi7LBEfo5SyxFC3XQU8LYoE02zgtFDhxE1IbmYLmdRHeYJFJP/s400/088.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Next, place a small drop of soap (I have used both hand soap and dish soap successfully) in your dry hands and also rub a tiny bit onto the piece of wool roving.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGCWxU9SbGfmw8O7zocfJSP43LG71YPbOrA1Vn48s993d-ocw8t3LLcxoNbXTT_IY-GZvH7E17FM-GlFCkZ84B-lHrc4jVhdY1Hp6NLYnMoDlDyr5QXLkNetw_9EJr6ultVb98zn379mT/s1600/090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGCWxU9SbGfmw8O7zocfJSP43LG71YPbOrA1Vn48s993d-ocw8t3LLcxoNbXTT_IY-GZvH7E17FM-GlFCkZ84B-lHrc4jVhdY1Hp6NLYnMoDlDyr5QXLkNetw_9EJr6ultVb98zn379mT/s400/090.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then, roughly shape the wool into a ball before dipping it gently in the hot water – you want it a tad wet, not completely drenched.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-3vyzLIZ7wHbraGW3RtzsZ9RQnTiLmN8U9GuBiSvnu35oDWMmjLGjUuNKyGdz_pGQldJrK-FxOX_qmCc6S9UCsNWRJvNXced_Li8JE4NQqssgpTibWgJqDPvUYbtMemmSNRRaAQ-kII1/s1600/091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-3vyzLIZ7wHbraGW3RtzsZ9RQnTiLmN8U9GuBiSvnu35oDWMmjLGjUuNKyGdz_pGQldJrK-FxOX_qmCc6S9UCsNWRJvNXced_Li8JE4NQqssgpTibWgJqDPvUYbtMemmSNRRaAQ-kII1/s400/091.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Very, very gently roll the wool roving between your palms – like you would a clay ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>At this stage, don’t squish the wool any harder than you would a baby chick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Then dunk the roughly shaped ball into the cold water (this time you can soak it) and keep rolling. Then dunk the ball into the hot again, then the cold, rolling between dunks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The change in temperature helps “shock” the wool fibres and is part of the felting process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Plus, you want to rinse out the soap.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkzNnhd0euMTr-0Us-5E3pkhUPn4AZyf2uo7T2MdgjrdXpLJVb9c8GfmXRnzjz8Pvl0eNkadCc-VSwO6KI_4Z48fT2uxGUQ10MwSNitkM5aeeQcNNqYZFOpvQK01_sdKkV1Gp7GPLP2Fu/s1600/098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkzNnhd0euMTr-0Us-5E3pkhUPn4AZyf2uo7T2MdgjrdXpLJVb9c8GfmXRnzjz8Pvl0eNkadCc-VSwO6KI_4Z48fT2uxGUQ10MwSNitkM5aeeQcNNqYZFOpvQK01_sdKkV1Gp7GPLP2Fu/s400/098.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;">                               </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">As your ball becomes firmer (and thus smaller), you can apply more pressure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Your ball is finished when it is firmer to the touch and feels “dense”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>You can see in the next photo how much smaller my ball has become.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqhtrszRusQGcUFhwx0dAMMicmQBpZGIIFlg5LC3MWj5sk4fIObk6bLUbLIryc6ESEv3NWD7djARi0nQF6zSYGjacdcqOET1813XxSAxpJ3ZB6b7WFwfZVTPqO7sC4U2LCmFdtZ7RR-Wu/s1600/100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqhtrszRusQGcUFhwx0dAMMicmQBpZGIIFlg5LC3MWj5sk4fIObk6bLUbLIryc6ESEv3NWD7djARi0nQF6zSYGjacdcqOET1813XxSAxpJ3ZB6b7WFwfZVTPqO7sC4U2LCmFdtZ7RR-Wu/s400/100.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdMCbLJIZTm795FcNemcce3CS72neO1ExqIt4LYbU6DkPLqR3FSpkBt6f00jd1tTskJg6J3AE8ibCbYKfIUFR3eyYNcCyRtIahmmxKovs46WCxm05Qs_CptFR9mue-Hp27jOvxtvR13Td/s1600/101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTdMCbLJIZTm795FcNemcce3CS72neO1ExqIt4LYbU6DkPLqR3FSpkBt6f00jd1tTskJg6J3AE8ibCbYKfIUFR3eyYNcCyRtIahmmxKovs46WCxm05Qs_CptFR9mue-Hp27jOvxtvR13Td/s400/101.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leave the felted wool ball(s) to dry, for 24 to 48 hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The dry felted wool ball should have a slight bounce to it when dropped on a countertop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I recommend making a few as a “test” before diving into a dozen or so for an arrangement.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once your felted wool ball is dry, simply pierce it with the end of the floral wire and twist & wiggle the wire into the felted ball until it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">almost</i> pops out the other side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Your ball should be dense enough to grip the wire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>I flung my finished “Billy Buttons” around and no felted balls went flying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Then bend the wire as you please, making some droopy flowers or more rigid ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Bend the wire gently – you don’t want any kinks – just soft bends.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvKcI87eQb5QV1VEyJJ7FyngszkshEMLkXiyWLuKjdRmhQHgwtfMAN9E6yG6cv6Zf32EQtFsielQDlaBD2DMfldkqNYehABSZ8kQBNj2bjtamBpMxutIW-m3TFeESo04-z6_1lO-FP2tc/s1600/104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvKcI87eQb5QV1VEyJJ7FyngszkshEMLkXiyWLuKjdRmhQHgwtfMAN9E6yG6cv6Zf32EQtFsielQDlaBD2DMfldkqNYehABSZ8kQBNj2bjtamBpMxutIW-m3TFeESo04-z6_1lO-FP2tc/s400/104.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;">                             </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">And, voilà!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzua-7n9r1WNElzQHDchynqIu-t9DOgFncko0f0Dqm4I2146BrLZ9pzaKxU0kGd7AniqPRWyoKSpB9Ycujyb9DKu6LlZ8khYa89AmfEZ9ueZ0ELr-TY7wfVEysgaD9-obfi99V8gtpjtWB/s1600/119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzua-7n9r1WNElzQHDchynqIu-t9DOgFncko0f0Dqm4I2146BrLZ9pzaKxU0kGd7AniqPRWyoKSpB9Ycujyb9DKu6LlZ8khYa89AmfEZ9ueZ0ELr-TY7wfVEysgaD9-obfi99V8gtpjtWB/s640/119.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_g_uQr_3CDYaLK8g4wd-xl4asGAOtdSKWDxVFt_1oPBCzy4-F4zzwthVsVmIw-KRqZAerQtr_r7dgpS-kbqKgFbxERVyaLNop9RYSpVyKjs-syMd-33h71W0y7aiM9FEtb7bXLeHSnNML/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_g_uQr_3CDYaLK8g4wd-xl4asGAOtdSKWDxVFt_1oPBCzy4-F4zzwthVsVmIw-KRqZAerQtr_r7dgpS-kbqKgFbxERVyaLNop9RYSpVyKjs-syMd-33h71W0y7aiM9FEtb7bXLeHSnNML/s640/029.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20WyE5Rfiim9yX_ULg-SA00SbA55xfOi5NXWIWr3KWP88owcFu7_0eYa2ZJNRCCWUmhN4xd3R3aQzMChOhhrcJPRqQGR39CpvARl534IEEQsY0iPBO5Mlve_i_UwayOg5mU9E3kxcdx4Q/s1600/123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20WyE5Rfiim9yX_ULg-SA00SbA55xfOi5NXWIWr3KWP88owcFu7_0eYa2ZJNRCCWUmhN4xd3R3aQzMChOhhrcJPRqQGR39CpvARl534IEEQsY0iPBO5Mlve_i_UwayOg5mU9E3kxcdx4Q/s640/123.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;">                          </span></span></div>

DIY Felted Wool "Billy Buttons"

In case you didn't catch my guest post on Young & Crafty , here it is! While making felted wool beads for my DIY'd necklace , t...

4:27 AM

Finishing Tile With Metal Edging

<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FPOR2pEQuV7DTLl2PWOanITqAfBz0Xm9g8FSNd929Zx3eRI0yJx8qfZ-KcEAEGHczwVH5QqEmXPbcwy1CGS5UzzCF7O3Ujhp0_9AKEV9lE49Jl0aoRuKcwYAt84h5AsRbcGQ2IdtPg40/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FPOR2pEQuV7DTLl2PWOanITqAfBz0Xm9g8FSNd929Zx3eRI0yJx8qfZ-KcEAEGHczwVH5QqEmXPbcwy1CGS5UzzCF7O3Ujhp0_9AKEV9lE49Jl0aoRuKcwYAt84h5AsRbcGQ2IdtPg40/s640/002.JPG" width="480" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKT1J18CzzxxahVsv74nflMFCZiZ8SPMcoEFR0dQoH5mctcAj58w9XLRKUZjyHIbkDQqNN5L9CdjatyW-NYeZCUlp05AOPA4bpCbf7LO5RQBW0fg9IQeIqoEd3vLe8wbyL1URpj-OLC9E/s1600/P1060039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKT1J18CzzxxahVsv74nflMFCZiZ8SPMcoEFR0dQoH5mctcAj58w9XLRKUZjyHIbkDQqNN5L9CdjatyW-NYeZCUlp05AOPA4bpCbf7LO5RQBW0fg9IQeIqoEd3vLe8wbyL1URpj-OLC9E/s640/P1060039.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />Many folks have commented or emailed to compliment us on our herringbone tiling job (thanks!) but recently a reader asked me about the edging we used (you can spot it in the second pic).  So, here are the details:<br /><br />Our subway tiles weren't finished on the sides, so we needed something to finish off the edges.  We used <a href="http://www.schluter.com/products.aspx">schluter brand edging</a>, but there are so many different brands and styles.  Talk to an expert, wherever you purchase your tile, to find the right edging for your project.<br /><br />Installation was super simple.  We figured out where our tiling would stop and affixed the edging to the wall using screws.  <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLv7IlKW8GF1JA-l7-Nw8o1jmeRVVlUYcalFBCoKsszIcgPQZZfKoSKBKn24Yd6RnT415Qlnwpzx3deDBme-Qrq_OwB2dQrOkztjcbdBTXX8LzSidldBDRSSjjJOAsFVnabZ51wKw0vgy0/s1600/P1050589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLv7IlKW8GF1JA-l7-Nw8o1jmeRVVlUYcalFBCoKsszIcgPQZZfKoSKBKn24Yd6RnT415Qlnwpzx3deDBme-Qrq_OwB2dQrOkztjcbdBTXX8LzSidldBDRSSjjJOAsFVnabZ51wKw0vgy0/s400/P1050589.JPG" t8="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Use a level to make sure your edging is,<br />well, level.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbf6EMdWmtAzak2J1wcS9tGHXj-nWIUbf3-XXNvAsPSSPJvYD_dIQ_06Lb6GIYUfPezoqnHijzaK53HYJ-6CywX5HFev-6MP0nsoUA5OagMuLq2It6etdcN0y9iM8BEvH_1FuWJOtbJ9j/s1600/P1050588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkbf6EMdWmtAzak2J1wcS9tGHXj-nWIUbf3-XXNvAsPSSPJvYD_dIQ_06Lb6GIYUfPezoqnHijzaK53HYJ-6CywX5HFev-6MP0nsoUA5OagMuLq2It6etdcN0y9iM8BEvH_1FuWJOtbJ9j/s640/P1050588.JPG" t8="true" width="394" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Then we just tiled up to the edges, ensuring a nice tight meeting.  Our edging had a little "lip," for the tile to slide under, so there are no awkward gaps.  We used the edging at the top of the tiling, and also the sides.  It created a nice "frame" for the pattern.  <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUg_9hJwsHLtXTa7ReAWRtbtqpXlyEYp9ag_EzI8j0215CNfW1um35W-tKQFwKQGGxF_Y2BiQuYAH_SnGNiGXsYXd86f2dBX6Q4Uz9lrttsjRXJeYnyflcXfHu5ix9SKRCQ3w2odujZen/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUg_9hJwsHLtXTa7ReAWRtbtqpXlyEYp9ag_EzI8j0215CNfW1um35W-tKQFwKQGGxF_Y2BiQuYAH_SnGNiGXsYXd86f2dBX6Q4Uz9lrttsjRXJeYnyflcXfHu5ix9SKRCQ3w2odujZen/s640/013.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYfNFqeNrx9nFr_dg0RNLH0h67kPD8m2S3LjocuKuNV5YDq86TOifPJDzo7V44f0wvTneFm9VPTD49j-iLv6WDKxbfPtw7-qiY3qgei7b5wU6Vlp61KuS98TpsWZiiG4ZSaLG5pUHHqnC/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlYfNFqeNrx9nFr_dg0RNLH0h67kPD8m2S3LjocuKuNV5YDq86TOifPJDzo7V44f0wvTneFm9VPTD49j-iLv6WDKxbfPtw7-qiY3qgei7b5wU6Vlp61KuS98TpsWZiiG4ZSaLG5pUHHqnC/s640/015.JPG" t8="true" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1a6y1mV4347HDI4wjqzccedT-N_p0W_GEHTGk0ue22EFPoDb_55q4thciIwkYLGjFcXcU3KNcASgBgFJ_StfN7_Padim2n1zlWgil9m1JB7fy82IEwehJswvcy0AYjVrAxfnJoNC7Cc/s1600/P1060046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1a6y1mV4347HDI4wjqzccedT-N_p0W_GEHTGk0ue22EFPoDb_55q4thciIwkYLGjFcXcU3KNcASgBgFJ_StfN7_Padim2n1zlWgil9m1JB7fy82IEwehJswvcy0AYjVrAxfnJoNC7Cc/s640/P1060046.JPG" width="480" /></a></div> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Click <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/diy-re-varnished-cabinet-fronts.html">here</a> to read about how we re-varnished the cabinet fronts and click <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/kitchen-before-after.html">here</a> to see more of the tiling process.

Finishing Tile With Metal Edging

Many folks have commented or emailed to compliment us on our herringbone tiling job (thanks!) but recently a reader asked me about the edg...

6:00 AM

I'm Over at Young & Crafty Today!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Sl6NBDzI_RVUGyTjAvaWQiCmwLXesahGOJwcSfRcskYwQaAEsTweTMDj2c0ZUeO-EgDaTIqqZHOwKI9wtA0dmsXtfL5kEJoX5WgPyzIdy7wXKxSRFliieURx-3mg4z50Y9PNY_P-09Kw/s1600/youngandxcrafty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Sl6NBDzI_RVUGyTjAvaWQiCmwLXesahGOJwcSfRcskYwQaAEsTweTMDj2c0ZUeO-EgDaTIqqZHOwKI9wtA0dmsXtfL5kEJoX5WgPyzIdy7wXKxSRFliieURx-3mg4z50Y9PNY_P-09Kw/s400/youngandxcrafty.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I emailed Hannah, from <a href="http://youngancrafty.blogspot.com/">Young & Crafty</a>, photos of my <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-felted-bead-necklace.html">DIY felted wool bead necklace</a> and she invited me to share a tutorial with her readers.  Check out my guest post <a href="http://youngancrafty.blogspot.com/2011/05/dans-le-townhouse-tutorial.html">here</a>, to find out how I made these felted wool Yellow Craspedias (a fabulous, spherical flower also known as a "Billy Button" or "Woolyhead"):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjsEqZewmk_AzhTAIJIgJ36VAotVpS_XI4eXGUfKCv7L7nMf3mROL4lmPdTZY2XE-00gfN-G08sM137sD3hx2vujN5cVm2oUWTioGoHh6VKH7-VTeO5yN1Wfc_6bZ5q78fxTb1AxDEeOj/s1600/121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSjsEqZewmk_AzhTAIJIgJ36VAotVpS_XI4eXGUfKCv7L7nMf3mROL4lmPdTZY2XE-00gfN-G08sM137sD3hx2vujN5cVm2oUWTioGoHh6VKH7-VTeO5yN1Wfc_6bZ5q78fxTb1AxDEeOj/s400/121.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>

I'm Over at Young & Crafty Today!

I emailed Hannah, from Young & Crafty , photos of my DIY felted wool bead necklace and she invited me to share a tutorial with her read...

6:00 AM

DIY Needle Felted Art

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yep, I was on a wool craft kick a couple weeks ago.  You already saw <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-felted-bead-necklace.html">my felted bead necklace</a>.  I planned more posts about Houston, but I'm super jazzed about these three needle felted abstracts that I finally popped into some inexpensive <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00078051">Ikea frames</a> - I couldn't wait to share.  It is hard to capture on camera, but the abstracts are three-dimensional, and really vibrant.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe06SOn7hYNFQgpu4leD3VwwpDg0E3TdEoY6H-ql2Gl7j57-yeOK2Mt9iQnCbkR2oUpea8NntDjEo73DtNthfR0ocPsdSqCITamBiF9zvh5AmRgG2iP6iU5DAlYZutZ5YgmF9K3uek39iR/s1600/175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe06SOn7hYNFQgpu4leD3VwwpDg0E3TdEoY6H-ql2Gl7j57-yeOK2Mt9iQnCbkR2oUpea8NntDjEo73DtNthfR0ocPsdSqCITamBiF9zvh5AmRgG2iP6iU5DAlYZutZ5YgmF9K3uek39iR/s640/175.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeQkP1xQjiDQFH20ue5xR5qasDn53wfETea6PDJAGBGesl9BCRJgdR60jKi3XMfRFUGHEcNM4ChbC6TBaxkdZQp83N_16XzFfFPhs5EHqW70pEPJr0sTEj61q3pQbN2674WUnJkOsXHdt/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTeQkP1xQjiDQFH20ue5xR5qasDn53wfETea6PDJAGBGesl9BCRJgdR60jKi3XMfRFUGHEcNM4ChbC6TBaxkdZQp83N_16XzFfFPhs5EHqW70pEPJr0sTEj61q3pQbN2674WUnJkOsXHdt/s640/004.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzxcsmvG_4ptk7UAP5k2ksW8ok1dU1BqHdhWHkTxSzPHaMfIeYgtyArPmfkkMmZzsz8ez0MaTa9T3h-O0y3jFuPD6VAUdOM0jiYuLR4bqjnYCZZC1MuG-UNQ1mE3CuXPJFB9nyx8pPGUa/s1600/176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvzxcsmvG_4ptk7UAP5k2ksW8ok1dU1BqHdhWHkTxSzPHaMfIeYgtyArPmfkkMmZzsz8ez0MaTa9T3h-O0y3jFuPD6VAUdOM0jiYuLR4bqjnYCZZC1MuG-UNQ1mE3CuXPJFB9nyx8pPGUa/s640/176.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />I used my favorite of <a href="http://dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.com/2011/03/bedroom-update.html">the three paintings I made for the bedroom</a> as my colour inspiration:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YDwfHXQUw773racpn83IWP8kKNF6oTZ4s57_XWWeRBzsMtDtTYhj8SiTqROjX_ZAMLLc7V9umFAudbBA_f2UHL0gbjECbedLnGglDeBQ0-XrX7wHeVGeOBrFFliue28NKY0-_AhP_aPE/s1600/197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YDwfHXQUw773racpn83IWP8kKNF6oTZ4s57_XWWeRBzsMtDtTYhj8SiTqROjX_ZAMLLc7V9umFAudbBA_f2UHL0gbjECbedLnGglDeBQ0-XrX7wHeVGeOBrFFliue28NKY0-_AhP_aPE/s640/197.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><strong>Here's the how-to. </strong><br /><br /><strong>Supplies:</strong><br /><ul><li>A square piece of foam</li><li>Felting needle</li><li>Piece of felted wool (you can felt an old wool sweater, or buy felt in fabric or fibre stores - the piece will act as your "canvas")</li><li><a href="http://sarastexturecrafts.com/userimages/Merino-64s-Pink(1598480).htm">Wool rovings</a></li></ul><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYjH-dG4v2zG1ydNuvYDo_2Isy6OL0uvoBFJXcTYOy8RTbRhZDxrwd3cPVHE1MW7jCpbGscSdccy_s6UE6-LbnYu-m-Wk42OpEYqr3zuiQqStOhcrcOfF6wESPzGH_WX_Ixm1m4UNI4m2/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYjH-dG4v2zG1ydNuvYDo_2Isy6OL0uvoBFJXcTYOy8RTbRhZDxrwd3cPVHE1MW7jCpbGscSdccy_s6UE6-LbnYu-m-Wk42OpEYqr3zuiQqStOhcrcOfF6wESPzGH_WX_Ixm1m4UNI4m2/s640/046.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Felting needle and foam block</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmscmZuowyswxjsAZv6szAnDm7iDiQgSm9uKCuJjtnXqFuFaK6sEGLjnYNsaL08BR_jEMDghX8K2RKlN_0ImTJxqAWrWpL6JupG6jbOrC1cH3FeR_MLfLfbu0gY3mdcX2fktZhgyyPGMrK/s1600/052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmscmZuowyswxjsAZv6szAnDm7iDiQgSm9uKCuJjtnXqFuFaK6sEGLjnYNsaL08BR_jEMDghX8K2RKlN_0ImTJxqAWrWpL6JupG6jbOrC1cH3FeR_MLfLfbu0gY3mdcX2fktZhgyyPGMrK/s400/052.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wool rovings</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><strong>How-to:</strong><br /><br />Needle felting is super simple.  Just sketch out your plan on a piece of felted wool (or free-hand it).  Lay your piece of wool on your foam block and grab some wool rovings.  Tear pieces of the wool roving off, like you would cotton candy.  Then you use the felting needle and pierce the wool roving through the piece of wool, using the foam as a surface to stop the needle.  Just keep piercing again & again (& again & again - this is a good craft for tension relief!)  The felting needle has barbs and it catches the wool roving, pushing through the piece of wool which tangles the fibres and locks them.  Like paint, you just build up layers of rovings - you can layer different colours to create depth or just to mix new colours.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYb8VJdNQZv-DxTy7uQVym720sVMdsoxZAliGZR94PsKPbERFfAB-gW7riBxPxJW8utsN7gUHJebp9h4nVoPM2fQXfALs61bi-AqGpZyAp3nQfabZP7RNzRE_NGxDlcBkEdhDcA6qoxivC/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYb8VJdNQZv-DxTy7uQVym720sVMdsoxZAliGZR94PsKPbERFfAB-gW7riBxPxJW8utsN7gUHJebp9h4nVoPM2fQXfALs61bi-AqGpZyAp3nQfabZP7RNzRE_NGxDlcBkEdhDcA6qoxivC/s400/005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62uyb5sLd74S2o0e8ZChVKRsK4DHfeOSJcVjvmQ7IBW2i88bsX0Ah7HM6yW9WgYOBCCGcsMu7KQqVr3GBEWPwFZhnzRTBFClLuP5efsOX2xBUU7bxOC1euKJzayCRncIKrAhdLAE4g3W0/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62uyb5sLd74S2o0e8ZChVKRsK4DHfeOSJcVjvmQ7IBW2i88bsX0Ah7HM6yW9WgYOBCCGcsMu7KQqVr3GBEWPwFZhnzRTBFClLuP5efsOX2xBUU7bxOC1euKJzayCRncIKrAhdLAE4g3W0/s400/013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nGz_JmXdO8ndRl_ZtUhXlvkjY6GHqxCX3KlGQEc1NYKLE5ZbnO735EemOd6c-T4uxhtEQpKML_iUTkR2xJ0Esercb-XfeN77gEHQLX5zHnYAJGNl2QsxgpPJFYS8j54_Yr22NO0Ah7HR/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5nGz_JmXdO8ndRl_ZtUhXlvkjY6GHqxCX3KlGQEc1NYKLE5ZbnO735EemOd6c-T4uxhtEQpKML_iUTkR2xJ0Esercb-XfeN77gEHQLX5zHnYAJGNl2QsxgpPJFYS8j54_Yr22NO0Ah7HR/s400/014.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucubeeB0c9vBqDLdRRqjpc20BuRV_uAppNHUjoMX8abRrGbg42uNa_ASv2z0InKIdC8s6rdIU11NHaHfX34zgcdMJrEInmQYyCXhd5soJZpYSURyk-pkPEYmFUqrg6HpSxbuuS8R8yY_c/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgucubeeB0c9vBqDLdRRqjpc20BuRV_uAppNHUjoMX8abRrGbg42uNa_ASv2z0InKIdC8s6rdIU11NHaHfX34zgcdMJrEInmQYyCXhd5soJZpYSURyk-pkPEYmFUqrg6HpSxbuuS8R8yY_c/s400/011.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What the back of your piece will look like</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKuA095rB9jSrs9pqmSWpIIGdFgO4HUp0E51R0LsjhCrA_N8KMOfflX6U9hgYHFeISr9_g0C971AkKhxQl86JeDjBfWC61jZvcCMBMyUnfLnu8Qi3rMZDHUaBaWWV-WBLIbQXxKhsYdPdG/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKuA095rB9jSrs9pqmSWpIIGdFgO4HUp0E51R0LsjhCrA_N8KMOfflX6U9hgYHFeISr9_g0C971AkKhxQl86JeDjBfWC61jZvcCMBMyUnfLnu8Qi3rMZDHUaBaWWV-WBLIbQXxKhsYdPdG/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The felting needle has sharp barbs - so be careful</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Here are my pieces unframed.  I used a piece of paper with a square cut out to help me frame up the composition as I worked.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcuC7bCJ6RfC0Fip1Zt3bopGQiIVtUvGTpnkJESqmjrdUm0Ew9JhD8Yp8xcoPOBpR2wGqeMIl5Plu_YnlMJOWE1C_NOmm3QdF9XjIFQTqnQ-Zp0ayndsom2fQy-slBw0Ik5bvRMuOIzD2/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcuC7bCJ6RfC0Fip1Zt3bopGQiIVtUvGTpnkJESqmjrdUm0Ew9JhD8Yp8xcoPOBpR2wGqeMIl5Plu_YnlMJOWE1C_NOmm3QdF9XjIFQTqnQ-Zp0ayndsom2fQy-slBw0Ik5bvRMuOIzD2/s400/035.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKU9sZT6mb5NrM4ukwVyJ462OT5dpQr5gn-brnkeFbCZNE9TZaZBi_tErA9-pp04z75hLYDvQuIdv_3J7MxFPI7Oco2sMYOWMDSLDQlnDdrS7ktuDUtvOBZVpx4eM0Erx4GN_yi-rcNnJ/s1600/038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKU9sZT6mb5NrM4ukwVyJ462OT5dpQr5gn-brnkeFbCZNE9TZaZBi_tErA9-pp04z75hLYDvQuIdv_3J7MxFPI7Oco2sMYOWMDSLDQlnDdrS7ktuDUtvOBZVpx4eM0Erx4GN_yi-rcNnJ/s400/038.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "faux" matting for framing up the composition</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Some other felted wool pieces I have made:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGZWVpIAYqoWh22dftABauhw_NRwlEurVgfPCn6xO2X_hSwtrdkUafU4o9gSlWiw3bsmS4zGxTpPm7lXJYmqks1rjr3QWbBT8fbFX5rKyayBHT4P3zuz_rLu582JpH6lpIJEE4m4XnsV5/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGZWVpIAYqoWh22dftABauhw_NRwlEurVgfPCn6xO2X_hSwtrdkUafU4o9gSlWiw3bsmS4zGxTpPm7lXJYmqks1rjr3QWbBT8fbFX5rKyayBHT4P3zuz_rLu582JpH6lpIJEE4m4XnsV5/s400/032.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4trWihdRy4we-NgZin5UZY2SpY9J7HefpGfHAtBuPWP5F46iSiXcoP8Q_ww37-vI1ijBz2VcErnonphR4w7KWYjsjPS43Suwtn4yh6OvyqIxvLcNWZpXcqOIAQK2X74YOwd3y8YleWuu/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI4trWihdRy4we-NgZin5UZY2SpY9J7HefpGfHAtBuPWP5F46iSiXcoP8Q_ww37-vI1ijBz2VcErnonphR4w7KWYjsjPS43Suwtn4yh6OvyqIxvLcNWZpXcqOIAQK2X74YOwd3y8YleWuu/s400/034.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh1nHtWJK13KCQSLnGXCfdS3n1ekFRy4unWdnhsnfIrPoO_zt0lHd8I-dduYoDIV4X61bR1onjSziaBMpeOErpCDP7VpWm_lvWRI0YcJkaPocgo2I5E7W0pjGr0Bhi9oakTTygI3_ji_A/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioh1nHtWJK13KCQSLnGXCfdS3n1ekFRy4unWdnhsnfIrPoO_zt0lHd8I-dduYoDIV4X61bR1onjSziaBMpeOErpCDP7VpWm_lvWRI0YcJkaPocgo2I5E7W0pjGr0Bhi9oakTTygI3_ji_A/s400/033.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>

DIY Needle Felted Art

Yep, I was on a wool craft kick a couple weeks ago. You already saw my felted bead necklace . I planned more posts about Houston, but I...

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