Fairy-tale Wool Bird Tutorial

Making these soft wooly birds is such a lovely Easter activity!

The finished birds can be tied to a branch so the children can let them fly.

Required Materials;

(Note; 1 cm is about 0,4 inches)

- wool roving 1 piece of 20 cm and one of 10 cm

- tiny thread of wool(roving) red 2 cm

- (embroidery) thread + needle

- scissors

- optional; felting needle

         a branch

Inspiration Source- "Making Magical Fairy-tale Puppets" by Christel Dohm

1 - Lay the larger tuft of wool roving (20 cm) on the table and place the tiny red tuft (beak) and the thread on top.

2 - Make a knot, tie and cut the thread with scissors. Make tips from the ends of the beak with wet fingers.

3 - Fold the ends of the wool roving down and create the head of the bird by tying another knot with thread. Secure and cut the ends of the thread.

4 - Fold the other piece of woolroving (10 cm) between the body and secure by tying a knot with thread. Cut the ends of the thread.

5 - Shape the wings of the bird (you can use a felting needle) and make tips at the end of the wings. The tail is folted inside and gently brushed with wet fingertips. 

Attach a thread to a branch and the back of the bird and let it fly.

Enjoy your loved ones these days and take care,

with love xxx sas

Flower and Nest Fairies - Free PDF-pattern download

Here are some cuties I wanted to share with you. The flower and the nest fairies. These tiny fairies are only 5 cm tall and are the guardians of the flowers and bird nests.

Required Materials;

- 2 pipe cleaners (2 x 3 cm)

- 1 wooden bead 9 mm

- 2 wooden beads 3 mm

- wool felt scraps white

- beeswax scrap

- tuft wool roving in the color of the felt

- scissors

- (embroidery) thread

- needle

- eco glue

- feathers and moss

- a copy of the free pdf-pattern (click here to download)

The basis for both the fairies is the same. Use the pattern to cut out 1 jacket. Cut 2 pieces of pipe cleaners of 3 cm each and place them crosswise + on the table. Wrap the vertical pipe cleaner one time around te horizontal pipe cleaner. The baseframe is now ready.

Now sew the jacket and attach the head and arms. For more detailed instructions click here. Finally take a small tuft of woolroving and place it horizontal in the jacket. Fold the pipecleaner around the wool and fold the ends of the wool down together. Wet your fingers a bit and make a tip.

You can decorate the fairy with feathers (for wings and head decoration), flowers and moss. I use beeswax to secure the decorations so I can replace them easily once they are withered.

The nest fairies are flying around small quail eggs and the flower fairy is flying around a basket with white Muscari flowers (her jacket can easily be pushed over a stalk).

I hope you will enjoy these tiny fairies as much as I do. They make great gifts and are lovely in all kinds of flower and table decorations. Enjoy!

                   

                            

Felted Wee Bird Nest

Required Materials;

- (ping pong) ball

- woolroving in soft yellow or brown for the nest

- woolroving in natural or light blue for the eggs

- access to hot and cold water

- liquid olive soap or eco dish soap

- bubble wrap or a plastic bag

- a bowl

- scissors

- optional; a felting needle

and a nylon stocking

This little wee bird nest is a lovely decoration for the seasonal table and is so easy to make. You can follow the tutorial for the felted stones but instead of stones we use a ping pong ball this time. Click here for the complete tutorial.

After your felted ball is completely dry you carefully make an incision in the middle of the ball with a pair of scissors and you cut around the ball. Now you have two small bird nests. The inside of the nests can be a bit fluffy and can be smoothened with a felting needle.

For the eggs you fold the edges of a small piece of wool roving to the center 

and wrap it with a small tuft of wool roving into a small ball.

Now follow the same instructions as for the felted stones but make an egg shape by rolling the balls between your hands before you let them dry. 

 Enjoy this lovely symbol of spring!

                                                 Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Felted Stones Tutorial

Making felted stones is such a relaxing and lovely thing to do especially with children.

The stones we have made today are for the upcoming spring and Easter celebration, but you can give them any colour or design you like. At the moment I'm thinking of making some rainbow stones and soft pastel fairy stones...

Required Materials;

stones (or wooden eggs)

wool roving (no 'superwash')

access to hot and cold water

liquid olive soap or eco dish soap

bubble wrap or a plastic bag

a bowl 

optional; a felting needle
and a nylon stocking

1 and 2 - Fluf out the wool roving broadwise and pull out strands. Lay down multiple thin layers in all directions and place the stone on top. Look closely at the shape of your stone. Wrap your stone in the roving folding the layers carefully but firmly around the stone. Tuck the ends underneath the stone and close with another layer.

3 - Now your stone should look something like this. At this stage I prefer to even out the fiber by pricking it with a felting needle until it is no longer visible where the fiber was rolled. When you don't have a felting needle you can wrap a very thin layer of fiber around the edges. Check if the stone is covered evenly and add extra thin layers to balance any thinner spots.

4 - If you would like to give your stone a pattern or multiple colours, add some very thin tufts of wool roving and press them lightly into to the wool wrap.

5 - Add a few dropps of soap to the hot water. Delicately sprinkle some water on the stone until it is moist. Be careful not to flush away the fibers. When the stone is moist put some soap in your hands and very gently move the stone from hand to hand. When you work with children you can wrap the stone in an old stocking or cheese cloth.

6 - After a short while you can see the fibers start binding together around the stone. Now gently add more pressure by rubbing the stone between your hands like when washing your hands. Keep doing this for a couple of minutes and keep the stone soapy and wet by dipping it into the hot water from time to time.

7 -  For the final felting rub the stone with some more pressure over the bubble wrap. Make sure you rub all the sides and edges evenly. Keep rolling and rubbing the stone until the wool is firmly felted. Immediately rinse the stone with ice cold water and make sure you rinse out all soap. The temperature shock will improve the felting. Shake off superfluous water and let it dry on a towel in a warm place.

Your stone is now finished. Don't wring it with a towel or squeeze out the water. Leave it just as it is and let it dry. Usually I put the stones in front of the radiator in the evening and the next morning they are ready. After they are completely dried you can trim off any fuzz using scissors.

I wish you lots of fun with this wonderful technique!