My Favorite Creations Today

Vintage Peacock Fiber Art

How do you decide what your "favorite" of anything is? Is it the thing that is part of your current interests? Is it the thing that was very hard to come by, and therefore has a built-in satisfaction level? For me, I get a rush of energy when I am around my favorites, whether that be my favorite people, places or things! Do you get that rush of positive energy?

I want to share two items that make my heart sing. When I began making each item, I did not have a firm plan in place for the end product. Don't you love working like that? To me, it is like being open to what happens, instead of being determined to force something in particular to happen. I love the energy of that creative flow.

The first item began as an ornate and shabby vintage frame. After it was cleaned up and painted a bright and glossy purple, it was time for me to create fiber art. I have been playing around with printing my images onto fabric. This is a photo of a magnificent peacock that I printed onto cotton fabric. I added some sparkle with seed beads, thinking "If a peacock in full plumage cannot sparkle, who can?".

Aspen Grove Fiber Art Pillow

The next item represents a favorite place for me: the mountains of Colorado in the midst of an Aspen Tree grove. I love the towering presence of those trees, but I especially love the sound you hear when you are near them...the quaking sound.

This needle-felt and applique pillow was made to recreate that feeling -- the one where you are standing on a mountain and you look over a gently sloping field, and just beyond the aspen trees, you see another glorious royal-blue mountain range. Have you ever been there? I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Top Ten Tuesday -- June 26, 2012 -- Owls for All

The mysterious nature of owls is endearing to most everyone, and in my opinion, their eyes are a big part of this appeal. The pensive, yellow-eyed stare of a Great Gray Owl makes them appear to be thinking or perhaps even plotting a sinister next-move. This spine tingling reaction I have toward owls is one reason I've collected this week's top ten favorite owls. Most of the owls in this collection have big round eyes with goofy looks on their faces! Much more relaxing, don't you think? If you are an owl fan, this week's collection will give you all sorts of ideas about how you can add more owl-love to your life! Enjoy...

DIY Felt Owl  --  A fun sewing project for your household

This friendly owl can be easily hand stitched using the simple whip, running, and simple straight stitches. This would be a great project for you to introduce basic stitches to an owl-loving 10+ year old. Lupin on Etsy can provide you with this fun pattern and all the instructions you will need. Your young girls will be so proud to show off their creation!

Owl of Blodeuwedd -- Wool Felt Brooch

This handmade wool felt brooch is meticulously made using 7 layers of felt with an average of 400 tiny hand stitches. The brooch measures 3" x 2" and features a charming embroidered feather on her wing. Love that part! FoxOwlRoad on Etsy tells us the "Blodeuwedd" is the oldest of creatures and she calls this owl the Bird of Wisdom. This fiber jewelry would be perfect most every season of the year on a jacket, scarf, or coat. This is a treasure for the grown-up girls.

Owl Slippers Hand Crocheted in 100% Cotton

These fun house slippers will be great fun for folks of all ages. FrancescasToyChest on Etsy will hand crochet these Little Pea Shoppe pink/green/blue pair in any size or you can request a brown/orange/tan pair for a more realistic colorway! Machine wash and dry on low heat, these slippers will get softer and more beloved over time.

Beauty in Every Shadow by Dolan Geiman

I'm a big fan of Dolan Geiman who creates original mixed media works with wood, paint, printmaking and collage. This acrylic and found paper collage on wood features a majestic owl and a gorgeous tree trunk, which I also love! Dolan's art is appreciating in value and I highly recommend that you check out his many terrific art assemblages.

Needle Felted Owl Family

I am a fan of the charm that St. Paul's artist ScratchCraft has added to these 3-D wool felt owls. The four owls actually look like a bonded family unit to me, and I would have guessed they loved one another even without the red heart that tells me for sure that they do! Perched on a tree branch and measuring 4" wide and 2" tall, this hanging fiber art is a beauty.

 Pleased as Punch -- Recycled Chubby Owl

I like this owl's attitude! This lamb's wool-stuffed friend stands 7" tall and would add a fun, graceful note to your home decor. The body of this owl is made from up-cycled, felted wool and the eyes are hand sewn. This owl from ForMyDarling on Etsy has so much personality, I think you will want to give him a name!

Mid-Century Modern Hootie Owl Needlepoint

This 14"x15" needlepoint pillow certainly takes me back! If you were alive in the 60's and early 70's, you probably remember the Sunset Needlepoint Kits that helped us learn needlepoint on a printed canvas. This bright red and coral owl is a great example of a charming home made decorating style that is newly popular and still colorful! This fun vintage pillow is being made available by Call Me Anytime Vintage and will bring a pop of color to your mid-century decor.

Hand-Knit Felted Owl with Tufted Ear

The talented folks at Woolly Something have created this wool hand-knit sculptural owl that they then felted and stuffed for standing display. It stands about 7" tall and has poly-pellets in base for easy standing. It looks so soft and fluffy, and while it may not be a toy, I'm sure that the young people in your life will have trouble keeping their fingers off the soft ears and wings! The stitching around the eyes is simple and dramatic: I love it!

Recycle Wool Owl Tote Bag

This handsome owl is ready to give your fashion statement a fun boost! Handmade from brick red recycled wool and reinforced with pellon interfacing, this fun tote bag is ready to be a playful and practical addition to your wardrobe or a favorite gift for a young owl lover. I particularly like the use of the wool plaid fabric in this piece. You can find it at the popular Grannies Raggedy Bags on Etsy!

Funny Animal of the Week -- Good Morning Owl!

It is important to end my Top Ten Tuesday post with a funny animal, and this little guy gets my vote! He looks a lot like some of the other owls I've shared with you today, and he may even stand about 7" tall like some of the handmade versions of his brothers and sisters! I know he will grow up to have the yellow, piercing eyes that make my spine tingle, but for now anyway, he couldn't look more cute and friendly.

Thanks for stopping by,

Georgianne

Aspen Grove Needle Felt Pillow -- New Design from Nestle and Soar

Aspen Grove, ©2012 Georgianne Holland

I am pleased to introduce you to the latest original needle felt design from my fiber folk art studio, Aspen Grove, a handmade tree pillow. I had a great time creating this wool on weaver's cloth pillow. Handmade embroidered pillows are often on my work table, but this design was off-and-then-on the table many times over the course of two months! I just couldn't land on how I would handle all of the forest elements. When I finally decided that the aspen tree leaves needed to be golden wool sheeting appliqued to the needle-felted landscape, I was finally able to finish this design.

I like to think of my handmade tree pillows as soft art for the home, especially when I tackle a landscape using wool roving. The texture of the wool roving when I needle felt is perfect for such a nature-inspired scene. No two pillows by Nestle and Soar are exactly alike, even when I am following my original designs! And beyond my own imagination, I love capturing my collector's favorite photos onto a pillow such as this...it is fun to receive a commission request with photos of a favorite vacation memory.

Aspen Grove Pillow, close up

What type of forest or woodland scene calls to your heart? Living in Colorado, an Aspen grove has a lot of meaning to me. Which type of tree to you think of when you think of forest? Please let me know, as this will give me inspiration for future pillows!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne

Freckled Birds Folk Art Pillow

I have freckles and so do my birds! This fun folk art pillow was recently featured in an Etsy article title A Colorful Countryside, and it has been fun to see how many people from around the world are enjoying these little birds! Click here to read the article. A Colorful Countryside Article.

There are many ways to applique a design like these birds. Lots of folks are enjoying the raw edge applique technique, which my design could be described as, because I did not turn under the edges of the birds when I sewed them. My birds are made of wool felt, so they will not fray or change shape. I found a helpful video about raw edge applique using a sewing machine, if you'd like to learn more.

The method I used for making my Freckled Bird Pillow involves all hand embroidery. Using embroidery floss and a simple running stitch, I apply the felt birds to the taupe linen pillow front. I know that it would be faster to sew these birds on by machine, but I like how the hand stitching looks in this design. I've sewn seed beads onto each bird to represent the freckles. It almost makes freckles seem charming...which is an attitude about freckles that I wish everyone enjoyed!

I've heard from dozens and dozens of people since the Colorful Countryside article was published this weekend. It is fun how immediate activity happens in this world of Internet retailing. I am pleased that this pillow design strikes a chord with people and I will have fun making the custom orders that are coming my way for this pillow design. I will be teaching an applique class in August and plan to teach several applique techniques. It is a time-honored method for creating quilt blocks, pillow fronts, and embellishing clothes and accessories. It is one if my favorite art forms!

Thanks for stopping by,
Georgianne