Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Bling in the New Year

Available in my Etsy shop.
© Kim Buchheit. Designed and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit; photo by Mike Buchheit
My final felting projects for 2011 included two more plush purses in dark cocoa and cinnamon — yum. Thought they'd make nice holiday gifts and coordinate perfectly with a sparkly New Year's Eve dress. Begin 2012 with a little good-luck glam and have a lovely holiday season!
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Friday, November 4, 2011

Some Blog Love

Sunshine Brooch by Katrine at The Gentle Flower
The talented Katrine of The Gentle Flower interviewed Wildly Woolly yesterday. We shared some inexpensive, easy-to-implement business tips for entrepreneurs and enjoyed getting to know one another. Read the interview here and comment if you can... 'cause it's all about the love! :) Thank you.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Glam Continues...

Available in Wildly Woolly's Etsy shop
Designed and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit; photo by Mike Buchheit
These little posh purses will escort you stylishly into winter! Soft round-bodied sweeties with decadent luxe feather trim. Recession schmession... a girl's gotta look good. Handmade from merino wool, and each one is unique — to touch one is to fall in love! I'll be making a few more cute clutches for the holiday season, but as always, my pieces are limited editions — mostly because I love designing new things rather than making multiples... okay, I'm a little ADHD too.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Woolly Woven Bowl with Foiling Feline

Available in Wildly Woolly's Etsy Shop
Designed and hand-crafted by Kim Buchheit
(Click to see animation!) Heh heh... oh the challenges of photoshoots. ;D Happy Monday...

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Posh Purses

 
Designed and hand-crafted by Kim Buchheit; photos by Mike Buchheit 
Everyone who's come into my studio this past week has shrieked and cooed over these little posh purses. I've finally got them photographed and up for sale in my Etsy shop — and I'm guessing they'll go fast! These sweet wool, llama-hair, and feathered clutches feel so soft and sumptuous in the hand — adding a bit of everyday glamour to your life. Hope one finds its way to you soon!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Striped Silk & Wool Scarf

Designed and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit; photo by Mike Buchheit 
I made several nuno-felted scarves to show at my fall workshop, but the class got cancelled... rats! The good news is that it got rescheduled for next year and we've already got several people interested. If you'd like to learn more about it, drop me an email. The other good news is that I've got loads of scarves to give away as gifts and to sell in my Etsy shop. Here's one of my faves — an eclectic mix of canoodling stripes. I hope to get this into my Wildly Woolly shop soon — let me know what you think. Happy autumn! UPDATE: Item has sold.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Felted Acorn Ornaments for Fall

Design and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit; Photo by Mike Buchheit
At our house making felted balls is akin to baking pumpkin pies and decking the halls — it marks the beginning of the holiday season. Last week we dyed merino wool a lucsious orange with our favorite non-toxic dye: kool-aid :) And then we drilled large handsome acorn caps and made these charming ornaments for Wildly Woolly's Etsy shop. Learn how to make your own felted acorn ornaments — watch my how-to video.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

More Woolly Baubles

Available now in my Etsy shop!
Designed and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit, © 2011.
The elk are bugling at the canyon and we've had a few sweater-weather days of late! To usher in the season, I've added more felted wool bracelets to my Etsy shop. Grab yours today and greet ole Jack Frost in style :)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Woven Woolly Bowls & Felted Bead Bracelet

Designed and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit
Been so busy making making making that I keep forgetting to take time to photograph my work and put some of it up in my Etsy shop. I promised myself I'd do so this week.... so, here are my latest woolly gifties: some ethnic-inspired, shabby-chic bowls and another fabby felted bracelet. The insides of the bowls were woven with churro and merino wool, jute, and some cotton/poly pompom accents; the outsides were crocheted in wool and attached to create substantial colorful vessels — rather Anthropolgie-esque, I think! I've got many more bracelets to shoot and add to my Etsy shop just in time for holiday gift-giving.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Felted Baubles

Designed and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit, © 2011.
JoAnn's is having a buy-2-get-1-free sale on a slew of jewelry findings... so there's no time like the present to make presents for loved ones! Felted-ball bracelets are fun for girls of all ages — I'll be shipping these woolly baubles off this weekend to two sweet fashion-niece-stas (made in their school colors; sorry for the crummy photo, the talented hubby was out of town). If you haven't seen my quick tutorial on how to make felted balls in no time, visit Wildly Woolly's Facebook page — this little trick cut my production time in half. Have fun making stuff!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Nuno-Felted Clutches

Designed and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit.
Over the weekend I made these fun little nuno-felted clutches to carry art supplies, make-up, or other goodies in style. These purses were handcrafted of merino wool and silk, with no-sew construction. Magnetic clasps and felted flowers are the finishing touches. (Felting tip: For this project, I used an inexpensive resist material that you can pick up at the grocery store: freezer paper! It works great and you can use your sewing machine to create larger resists as needed.)

Friday, August 5, 2011

Nuno-Felted Crop Top

Photos © Mike Buchheit
This no-sew, seamless top was nuno felted with silk and merino wool. I made some pre-felts first and cut out the flower petals in order to control the design a bit — arranging them on both the front and back. The piece shrunk a bit shorter than I intended, so improvisation was required for the photo shoot. :) This crop top can be worn alone for the brave-of-belly, or layered over a blouse, tank top, or camisole.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Silk and Wool Chemise

Designed and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit; Photo © Mike Buchheit
Sheer femininity, this light-as-air chemise is fit for a woodland nymph. No-sew construction, the piece was nuno felted with just wool fibers and silk — the seams were formed through felting alone. Before summer ends, I'd like to make a matching camisole to be worn underneath this one-of-a-kind piece.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Scarflet with Matching Pin

Design © Kim Buchheit; Photo © Mike Buchheit
This lightweight nuno felted scarf with matching pin will take you fashionably into fall! The design is a mosaic of butterscotch, yellow, blues, and brown — a great color combination to wear with your favorite pair of weathered blue jeans.

Nuno-felted Scarflet with Matching Pin

Design © Kim Buchheit; Photo © Mike Buchheit
This flowery lightweight scarflet comes with a matching felted pin allowing you to drape the piece just so and hold it in position all day. Nuno felting combines silk with wool fibers (soft Merino is preferred) to create beautiful flowing fabrics which lend themselves to apparel items and home textiles. If you'd like to learn how to nuno felt, consider taking a workshop with me and my fellow textile artist, Jen Marshall, at the Grand Canyon this fall. We'd love to have you join us — click here for details.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Wool Workshop at Grand Canyon

felting workshop at grand canyonPhotos © Mike Buchheit
Wool Workshop at Grand Canyon :: October 15-16, 2011
Learn to nuno felt with Kim Buchheit and Jen Marshall in the sublime wildness of Grand Canyon National Park! Enjoy sunrise discussions on the rim and classroom instruction on felting with wool and silk. Sign up now for this wonderful woolly 2-day workshop hosted by the Grand Canyon Field Institute. Space is limited. Course fee: $195. Enroll here — or, call 866-471-4435

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

June 4-5 :: Save the Date!

Photo © Mike Buchheit
If you're in or around northern Arizona on June 4-5, you won't want to miss this woolly event hosted by the Arizona Historical Society: The 2011 Flagstaff Wool Festival at the Pioneer Museum, 2340 N Ft. Valley Rd., Flagstaff, Arizona; 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.; $5 adult admission. You'll find great prices on wool and other animal fibers, beautifully spun yarns, and cozy hand-made items. Historically the weather has ranged from chilly to blistering, but the event itself is predictably perfect!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Nuno-Felt Scarf with Prefelts

© 2011 Kim Buchheit. Nuno-felt scarf.
I made some prefelts the other day and cut out several circles to include in this lively design. I used only kool-aid dyed merino wool and silk in the piece. The kool-aid bled a bit during the hot water stages (meaning the dye was not completely "colorfast") — the bleeding came mostly from the silk scarf, I think. However, by the time I did the final warm-water vinegar rinse, the water was running clear. Regarding the prefelts: I loved working with the prefelt cutouts and am surprised how well the cut pieces retained their shape during the felting process!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Nuno-Felt Scarves

© 2011 Kim Buchheit. Nuno-felted scarves.
In preparation for a nuno-felting workshop that I'll be co-instructing this fall through the Grand Canyon Field Institute, I made some drapey wool scarves over the weekend. I love the fringe on the blue one, and the lightweight red one is much more vibrant than comes across in the photo; Canon seems to have trouble capturing reds. If you're interested in learning how to nuno felt, consider joining me and my fiber friend Jen Marshall, for a fun 2-day workshop at the Grand Canyon. All supplies included in the cost of the class, and the location is simply sublime!

Friday, March 11, 2011

The Fall :: Felted Wall Sculpture

© 2010 Kim Buchheit. Wall sculpture; wool, wire mesh, wood frame; ~32" (h)
I showed this work at a felting show in Tucson last year, but had intended it to be a part of a triptych. My hope is to create 2 more identical pieces and hang them vertically — but I dread having to make 200 more wool dreadlocks (okay, cheap pun). The title, The Fall, suggests waterfalls, hair pieces, and the fall of man (hah!).