Felted Votives with Woolly Branch

Design and hand-crafted by Kim Buchheit; © Kim Buchheit

Oh, I am just so happy to have finished this piece! I was experimenting with assemblage of the ropey branch... first sewing, then binding the pieces together with embroidery thread. Then, after deconstructing it all, I settled on needle-felting the pieces together after binding the joints with a bit of cormo wool. In the end, I just wanted to use only wool in the piece. But I do love mixing wool with other materials, too. Maybe next time :)

Felted Wee Bird on Juniper Branch

Design and crafted by Kim Buchheit; © Kim Buchheit.

I really enjoyed developing this little sculpture today. Initially I had hoped that the long-legged birdie would stand on his own... but, alas, he simply couldn't (poor fella). As I looked around my cluttered studio I spied a nice weathered piece of juniper wood, and that was the aha moment. I think he turned out cute, and the wood base makes him more substantial and stable. Yay! He is now hanging out with the other woolly wonders in my Etsy shop.

Something to Light Up the New Decade...

Design and crafted by Kim Buchheit; © 2009, Kim Buchheit.

Hand-felted, flame-free woolly light pots! These night owls will light up your evenings with their sweet soft glow. Also available in a contemporary polka dot set. If this is any indicator, I think 2010 is going to be way too much FUN!

Felted Mirror with Owl Charm

Design and handcrafted by Kim Buchheit. © Kim Buchheit

I wanted to make a special gift for someone this holiday season, so I hand-felted a pocket mirror and attached a sweet little woolly-bee charm to its side. I thought it turned out so (ahem) charming, that I decided to make a few with owl charms for my Etsy shop. It's so fun to have new gifties in my shop all ready for the new year!

HeartFelt Stones

Heart-shaped and palm-sized, these felted stones are sure to please. Made from actual stones and nested in hand-felted merino wool and llama hair... this set makes the perfect gift for the nature-lover on your gift list! Available now in my Etsy shop. [UPDATE: Sold.]

Design © Kim Buchheit

Felted Don't-Worry-Stones®

I'm so excited to be offering these hand-felted stones in my Etsy shop as of today! I owe a big thanks to my e-sista, Linda Lanese (thanks, Lin), for all her great input and support. Each unique "Don't Worry Stone"® is an actual stone nested snuggly in a colorful felted wool cozy. Each cozy is both needle- and wet-felted by hand with care.

Design and product name © Kim Buchheit

Felted Owl Brooch

Need a small gift under $25? Here's just the thing: Hand-felted owl brooches! These sweet little fellas are just 1 1/2" tall, and would look oh-so-cute pinned to your favorite cuddly sweater, scarf, or woolly hat this winter! I've needled-felted up just a few and they're sure to fly off the shelves... so grab yours today!

Designed and crafted by Kim Buchheit

Tiny Ollie Owlie in a Treasury

My tiny green felted owl made it into an Etsy Treasury this past week! Thank you, underoakstudios :) He is available for adoption here ($15).

Owl designed and handmade by Kim Buchheit

Felted Owl Bowl

This charming charcoal-grey owl bowl flew into my Etsy shop today — he is one-of-a-kind and kinda wonderful! The "feathers" surrounding his big striped eyes, plus his handsome felted ears, add a nice 3-dimensionality to this functional art piece. I will make more if I get lots of requests :) UPDATE: This item has sold.

Felted sculpture © Kim Buchheit

Etsy Front Page & Treasury

What a great week it's been, and it's only Tuesday! The reason for the excitement is that Ollie Owlie made it into Etsy's holiday Gift Guide, another Etsy Treasury (thank you, Ligia Rocha), and onto Etsy's home page of handpicked items... woot woot :D I'm very grateful to all who made this happen — thank you!

Felted Owl

Look who-who landed in my Etsy shop today: 1-inch teeny-tall Ollie Owlie! Available in a variety of heathered-spice colors, he comes in a custom designed pillow box with a tiny adoption certificate and hang tag. Ollie makes the perfect ready-to-give handmade gift (if you can possibly bear to part with him)! UPDATE: This little curry-colored owl has sold; but other colors are still available.

Felted sculpture © Kim Buchheit

Remake, Restyle, Recycle, Renew...

... that's the subtitle of Garth Johnson's fabby new book, "1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse" from Quarry Books. Available for pre-order at Amazon for a steal at just $16.50 (that's less than 2 cents per idea!) For those of you who don't know, Garth is an incredible hipster crafter, amazing studio artist, writer, and educator! Check out his crazy-fun and inspiring blog — extremecraft.com— when you have the chance.

A bit-o-bragging: I'm so pleased that some of my felted cosmetics were included in this book (thanks, Garth) — it really is an honor, considering some of the blow-your-mind creativity featured between its covers! Go buy this book right now — then pass it on, or remake, restyle, recycle, or otherwise renew it :)