Taking a stab at...Needle Felting!

Hello, Everyone! Hope you had a good weekend. It was bound to happen, but I succumbed to a cold and have been out for the count for the past 5 days. What a bummer. It really kicked my butt. Brian took good care of me, though, bringing me lots of soup! I'll be back to work tomorrow, but I'm just keeping quiet so as not to have a coughing fit. Ugh!

In the interim, since my trip to Absolutely Everything, one of the things that I got sucked into was needle felting. I've seen a few projects in magazines, on line, as well as the new products that Clover has unveiled this year. Kate had some felting needles, roving, etc. and she gave me a quick lesson. My first go 'round was a felted bead from Art Girlz to which I added some swirlies. It looks like a furry marble. I never do anything half way, so I then began going onto the 'net looking for more information. I purchased a great pattern for needle felting a bear from Marie Spaulding, so I took a shot at it. The bear head was pretty cool, but I ran out of the matching roving and his body looked too thin, so it almost looks like a short Pez!

I then attempted a cat. I used what I had, which was some multi-colored greenish roving. I worked on it here and there, but at least I finished it. For my first attempt, not bad, but I could critique the bejeebers out of it. Of course I then ordered more stuff to improve on this. I will definitely get working on some fun decorated felt beads, and who knows, maybe some felted kitty beads!

I also wanted you to go and check out Hero Arts' new blog. Shari Carroll asked me to create a card for her blog, which she posted last Friday. It was fun to do..."bandannaed", of course!

Because of being away and then with my cold I was remiss with my beadbloggers! Please check out these wonderful blogs! There's some new additions...so click away!

About.com Jewelry Making With the cost of metals on the rise, many jewelry makers are turning to copper. Here are some copper connections for you.
Art Bead Scene Free Project at ABS!
Earthenwood Studio Chronicles Melanie digs in deep and picks at the heart and bones of her creative process.
Jennifer Jangles Blog Jennifer shows a sneak peek of a project from her new book, Ceramic Bead Jewelry, due out June 3rd.
Jewelry & Beading What do cherry donuts have to do with jewelry? Come find out ;-)
Katie's Beading Blog Look what happens when spring fever meets beads! A colorful necklace is born.
Make It Mine Magazine A challenge: transform something unpurselike into a purse
Naughty Secretary Club Bead Simple: Essential Techniques for Making Jewelry Just the Way You Want It - A book report by Jen.
PearlEsq. Robin reports on her fun trip to Absolutely Everything and her "Kate's Neighborhood" Creation!
Savvy Crafter Hey Everybody, it's a wrap! Candie shows some finished pendants from the wire wrapping workshop.
Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! Jean interviewed Melanie Brooks Lukacs for Jean's book, Links, as Melanie is a terrific ceramic artist!
The Impatient Blogger What's your Googleability Factor? Madge coins a new phrase and discovers that she's quite Googleable. Help her select a new promo photo too!