a quick review before moving foreword hoping for a happy 2025

a quick review before moving foreword hoping for a happy 2025

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As 2024 slips into memories, and the hopes of a better new year abound, I reflected on what I was working on last year so I may make plans for this one.  A few of my plans for early 2024 were rearranged, with an unexpected hospital trip followed by lots of rehab. So I was left with an army of chickadee armatures, and a rearranged workshop I still should sit down and tell you about.

close up of chickadee armature focusing on one foot with tiny tows1) Chickadee armature in progress

During Glenn’s time in the hospital, I worked on Moose project bags. They wound up being a great distraction and carried all the fibre I needed in the bag too!

2 moose project bags with needle felted moose in 3-D.2) Glenn’s and my moose bags

Next was the tapestry project of the back of the parliament buildings. I had square 16, which also travelled well to the continuing doctors’ visits.

adding the underdawing for a felt picture of the base of the parlement library3.1) Under drawing underway for the back of parliamentary library square #16

the finished square and image i was working from3.2) My finished square, ready to be assembled with the other squares.

I also created a chickadee picture with a limited pallet. This is a very well-fed winter chickadee!

framed felt picture of winter Chickadee on a banch4) 2-D Winter Chickadee I made while Glenn did rehab.

Next was off to one of the 2 local gaming conventions, this time at a curling club downtown. I worked on another 3-D chickadee and then moved on to a 3-D moose head.

5.1-5.2) Chickadee on felting mat wings poisoned to be attached.  Finished Chickadee with Bat on a stick supervising library work at the guild studio.

needle felted moose head, working on getting the nose shape correct5.3) starting to finalise the moose head noose shape.

I had come to the conclusion that I wanted to know more of the new Guild members but was having a terrible time with remembering names. So I started a series of Name tags in the hope of inspiring others to consider making their own too. I started with a train themed one for Glenn, which he could use at the guild or while he was gaming. I even wove a kumihimo lanyard for him.

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6.1-6.3) Glenn’s Name tag, adding a kumihimo lanyard, Trying it out at a guild social.

I was inspired by a photo of one of our guild members Summer holidays, so promptly felted her! I started on a name tag base but the size got away from me and it was a bit big for a name tag!

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7.1-7.3) Vicarious Vacation enjoyment!  It was a much better picture than a name tag.

About this time, Ann mentioned she had misplaced the name tag she had made for herself.  So I made her a new one, not mentioning I was making it for her, I kept asking her design questions. She even donated a bit of her handspun so I could add a name.

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8.1-8.3) Ann’s New name tag. She did find her old one as soon as I made this.

Ann asked me to join her in a project for the exhibition at the guild sale. She needed a dragon hand. With some consultation, I think I made a hand she was pleased with.

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9.1-9.2) The requested Dragon hand. Dragons obviously like sheep!

The second exhibition was at the Textile Museum in Almonte. I had been asked if the Mer’s might be available to participate. So I got busy finishing all but Miss Mer, who is still hiding somewhere in the house. She is going to be so disappointed she missed all the fun. Mrs. Mer got her red spots and hair. Shark Boy finally got his mohawk, and Mr. Mer got his pike spots! Miss Manta and Sharkette were both already complete. I hope they didn’t cause too much havoc at the Museum!

the Mer's at the Museum in Almonte10.1) the Mer’s at the Textile Museum in Almonte

Needle felted Mer people Mr Mer trying to get someone to play tennis with him

10.2) Mr Mer trying to get someone to play tennis with him, and Mrs Mer still admiring her hair.

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10.3-10.7) Most of the Mers and pets

I returned to the Moose bag theme, but this time I was working on the background and not the moose ground as it were.

needle felted landscape in progress around moose on project bag.11) Moose landscape in progress

My last project started in 2024 was my card exchange with Leonor, a Solstice Raven. I hope it has found a good spot in her felt collection. It must have used its wings to help move the package since it escaped just before the postal strike, and was particularly quick crossing the ocean! I really was planning for a smaller picture but kept getting distracted by creating the background!

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12.1-12.2) Solstice raven in progress and completed

Looking back on 2024, I have created a mix of both 2-ishD and 3-D projects. I can see I am avoiding getting wet. I am still having trouble keeping picture felting flat!!

For 2025 I hope to continue with name tags, another moose themed bag and find and finish Miss Mer….. I know you are good a hiding but I will find you!!!! I hope that maybe I can take my own vacation photos and felt them too.

Unfortunately, it’s my turn for Doctors’ appointments in January. Hopefully, they will not be too bad or as long as Glenn’s. Maybe I can do some felting as I recover! Better order more Wool!!!

Fish for Christmas

Fish for Christmas

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I know you’re thinking, fish for Christmas? Don’t you raise turkeys? Why are you having fish? Well, we did have turkey and the traditional fixings. In this case, the fish was a present. When I asked my husband what he wanted for Christmas, he said fish.

In the last few years, he has taken to cooking, particularly new things. I appreciate this so much. I have been cooking dinner since I was 15, and I just do not want to do it any more. Anyway, his idea was he does not know how to cook fish and would like to figure it out. He thought if he got them as a present he would get on with doing that.  My thinking was, if I buy fish before Christmas, it will be in the fridge too long before he has a chance to cook it, what to do? I could just make a card, I owe you some fish fillets of your choice. How boring is that?

A couple of days before Christmas I decided to make him a fish.

I drew an image of a fish and traced it onto some fulled wool from an old wool coat.

Then fixed the nose. I didn’t want to needle that close to the edge. Having done that before I know it can distort things.

Then onto the felting. I did well with following the lines not remembering until after that the easy way to do it is to lay the wool across the line, felt the line and then fold it over to the correct side.

Fish Head
Tail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided the front was a bit plain. I thought of adding gull lines but I didn’t want them to show on the skeliton side. Instead, I made a fin separately and added it, completely forgetting to take a picture. You can see the line from it in the first picture below. It was covered by a piece of the skeleton. I didn’t want the bone lines to show on the front so I used “invisible” thread to sew the skeleton down.  the felt Snakes are from scraps. when I cut open a reaist I always roll the cut of bit into a snake and then store them in a bag for later use. Then I carefully cut it out of the background.

And this is the finished fish.

He was thrilled with the fish. He loves hand/homemade gifts. So next week we will go pick out some fish.

This is my first post of 2025 so I will wish you all a Happy New Year! I hope you have a happy and healthy year.

 

Learning and Experimentation with Online Classes

Learning and Experimentation with Online Classes

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Have you wanted to be a little more experimental in your fiber art practice? Do you want to learn new techniques and add embellishments to felt or other fabric? Why not try an online class all about embellishing felt? Anyone from anywhere in the world can take these courses, no need to show up at a certain time (you can even wear your pajamas) and the classes are 6 weeks long so you have plenty of time to learn a new technique and try out an experimental approach. My online courses are 4 stand alone classes under the title Embellishing Felt with Surface Design Techniques – A Mixed Media Approach.  You can take just one or work through all of them. The classes are only $45 US which is a tremendous deal for 4 weeks of video and written PDF’s plus 2 weeks extra time on the class website with full instructor support. Registration is now open and the class begins on January 10, 2025.

The first module is called Nuno Felting with Paper Fabric Lamination. The bark I created above used this technique.

You will learn the technique of Paper Fabric Lamination and then how to use these pieces in nuno felting. As you can see from the examples above, there are many possibilities with this technique. Click here for more information and to register for the class.

The second module is Experimental Screen Printing on Felt.

You will also be able to use these techniques to screen print fabric such as silk to use in nuno felting. These same techniques can also be used on cotton fabric to use in fabric collage or quilting.

You will learn how to create thickened dye, make your own screens and many ways to use these screens in an experimental approach. Click here for more information about Screen Printing and to register for this class. 

The third module in Embellishing Felt with Surface Design Techniques – A Mixed Media Approach is Printing, Stenciling, and Playing with Thickened Dye on Felt.

This one is really fun and experimental. Learn to make stamps, stencils and how to use a variety of objects from around the house to create your own unique surface design on felt. Develop your own style with designs you have created.

The techniques you learn in this class can be used for felt, other fabric types and even paper. The stamps and stencils can be re-used over and over and applied in different ways to create exciting patterns. Click here for more information about Print, Stencil, and Play with Thickened Dye on Felt and to register for the class.

The last module in the series is Free Motion Machine Stitching on Felt.

In this course, you will learn the basics of free motion machine stitching and how to use this specifically on felted projects. Does the thought of machine stitching seem a bit scary? If so, you should take this course to get a handle on how to use your sewing machine to create wonderful embellishments on felt paintings or other felted items.

We’ll start with how to set up the machine and some great practice techniques that will build your skill level until you feel comfortable with your machine. Then you’ll learn about machine lace, thread sketching and how to incorporate machine stitching into felt paintings. Click here for more about Free Motion Machine Stitching on Felt and to register for the class.

I hope you want to expand your fiber art skills. If so, click on any of the links above to read more about the classes, see the supply lists and to register. I look forward to “seeing” you in class!

And don’t forget, if you are a beginner, our online class Wet Felting for Beginners is always available.

This class teaches you all about wet felting. You’ll learn how to make a piece of felt, how shrinkage works and how to calculate it and the basics of felting, fulling and creating felt from wool fiber. Click here for more information and to sign up. 

 

 

 

CCCE – AKA….Carlene’s Christmas Card Exchange

CCCE – AKA….Carlene’s Christmas Card Exchange

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Spoiler alert – Carlene don’t read this if you still want a total surprise via the post!

 

For everyone else – please read on….

Regular readers will know that a group of us have an international card exchange each year and, as you have rightly guessed (too easy, so no prizes!), I was paired with Carlene.

I started off well – obtaining the postal address and checking what colours Carlene liked, which I should have remembered….it is known among other friends that should you want blue/purple coloured fibres that are for sale at various wool fests, then you need to get there before Carlene 😜

My major problem was – what to create? Should I stick with a Christmas theme and if so, should it be traditional or contemporary. But blue/purple was, for me, at odds with a traditional theme. So, contemporary, and if so then maybe something suitable for all year round….mmmm food for thought!

And that was precisely as far as my thinking went.

 

Life leapt in and totally dominated everything, like the sheer face of a cliff. Then prepping for a much-needed break by visiting family in Europe (all in a bid to escape this cliff-edged mountain), a little email plopped into my inbox….Card exchange….

OH NO!…HORROR!!!! Just to expand the graphic picture, imagine….startled, rabbit in headlight eyes; hands over gaping mouth and totally speechless! Some might say the latter is unheard of 🤣, but it was fact.

With no time, before imminent travel departure, to make my creation, all I could make were heartfelt apologies to Carlene. She totally understood my situation and was very supportive even to the extent of releasing me from my commitment. However, ‘giving up’ is not in my vocabulary.

 

Whilst away, I finally had my ‘Ta-da’ epiphany (quite an appropriate word for the time of year, so I feel I can use it here!) – a colourful contemporary wreath. I could incorporate Carlene’s colours and, as a wreath, it doesn’t have to relate solely to Christmas.

With the ‘What’, follows the ‘How’ – more thinking required….

 

On returning home (11 days before Christmas) I raided my huge wool/yarn stash, selecting a range of colours I felt would work together. I then set about crocheting a mix of differently sized semi-spheres to represent the baubles. As Carlene is into knitting, I thought she would appreciate the crochet work.

 

03 Quite a few crocheted semi-spheres of different sizes and colours.
04
05 Some being the size of my small fingernail.

Next it was creating the 3D wreath base, for which I used ironing board padding (I often use this in projects, as it is more substantial than polyester wadding).

06 Finding the right size circles to fit the card required an investigative trip around the kitchen!
06 Finding the right size circles to fit the card required an investigative trip around the kitchen!

 

07 With the ring cut out, I reinforced the 3D-ness by blanket stitching the edges to be flat and adding cotton piping to the centre.
08

07-08   With the ring cut out, I reinforced the 3D-ness by blanket stitching the edges to be flat and adding cotton piping to the centre.

With the base prepped it was time to add the crocheted baubles, playing with the colour combination along the way. What I hadn’t bargained for was that the wreath ‘gobbled’ all the semi-spheres. So, it was back to my stack of boxes (it is always the one at the bottom in the second pile behind!) to pull out more yarn to create yet more semi-spheres.

An aside….with extremely limited space, I had unstacked my large boxes (60x40cm 24x16ins) of yarn stacking them into the doorway…Yep…..a Laurel and Hardy situation….until I restacked all 9 boxes I could not get out 🤣

My New Year’s resolution – sort out my ‘stuff’.

09 Fortuitously I was able to recycle an empty box for Carlene’s card, it was perfectly sized. All it needed was a little padding helped by a trio of ribbon cones.
09    Fortuitously I was able to recycle an empty box for Carlene’s card, it was perfectly sized. All it needed was a little padding helped by a trio of ribbon cones.

 

10 Ribbon cones – folded 1cm ribbon pieces, pinned to polystyrene egg shapes. Each cone is the size of a tea spoon!
10 Ribbon cones – folded 1cm ribbon pieces, pinned to polystyrene egg shapes. Each cone is the size of a tea spoon!

 

11 The completed wreath
11 The completed wreath

 

12 The wreath is 3D
12 The wreath is 3D

Ready to be sent I thought my story was complete, but there is another part to this saga.

Episode 2 – At home, I did not have a suitably sized Jiffy padded envelope. So, with completed addressee and sender labels it was a trip to the post office the second they were open, only to find they had very limited supplies, due to something called ‘Christmas’. One option was an origami type box which required two thinking minds (one being the postal assistant herself), and many dexterous fingers, to put together. Finally completed….it was….4mm too short!

The only other option was a humungous bag, so with no alternatives, the bag was duly labelled and handed over….

OHHHH!…This is going to Canada!…They have a postal strike….We (British Postal Services) can’t accept any more mail, due to the massive backlog, until 30 Dec at the earliest. Whilst I was fully aware of the Canadian Postal strike, I had not bargained on our postal service refusing to take packages, due to the backlog.

In hindsight, I’m so glad I ventured into the contemporary theme and chose to make it an all-season creation because poor Carlene will have to wait until well into the New Year.

Skidding in moments before this post is scheduled, I have received my Exchange Card from Carlene. It is amazing and is already with my collection of precious cards I display each year. Also included in the package were four knitted cloths in my happy colours….Thank you Carlene….Xx

3 My surprise exchange collection from Carlene.
3 My surprise exchange collection from Carlene.

 

14 The card displayed
14 The card displayed

 

I hope my endeavours at the end of this year have brought a wee smile. I did try Carlene….I will ‘keep you posted’ – so to speak 😜

 

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and creative 2025 to come….🎈🍹

Making cards, Malta and Miniature Felts.

Making cards, Malta and Miniature Felts.

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Anyone who knows me knows I’m not big on Christmas and up until last year I rarely gave, let alone made, Xmas cards. Then Ann reintroduced the holiday card swap and after making Caterina’s “non Christmas” card I found myself sketching comic reindeer and having fun making a whole batch of stitched cards! This year I’ve resurrected the same designs but changed the colour schemes.
Appliqué fabric shapes laid on card prior to machine stitching.
I enjoy making these and using free motion stitch to attach appliqué fabric shapes on to a card base. Finer detail is then added using felt pens before stitching the coloured base on to a blank card using the machines zig zag stitch.

Three comical reindeer Christmas Cards.


For Helene’s card I wanted to incorporate some fibre so decided it should be a quirky Santa with a bushy Merino beard. This is how he started out but in my rush to meet our agreed deadline for posting I completely forgot to take any other photos so you’re just going to have to use your imagination to fill in the blanks!! 

Let’s just say that when I received my wonderful Christmas Box from Helene with her gorgeous felted card, red bells and those lovely papers I wished I had put more time and thought in to my contribution!! 

Close up photo of Christmas tree with home made baubles
Anyway, moving on…….There must have been something in the air the day I was making my cards as Mark wondered in to my workroom and asked if he could make one too. This is a man who rarely (and only at a push) sews his own buttons on and who has never ever used a sewing machine in his life. Here he was saying he wanted to sew a card!!! I suggested he draw out a basic shape and we’d take it from there. He drew a snowman (thankfully simple enough) and traced the shapes on to fabric before cutting them out. I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive at the thought of teaching him how to use a sewing machine. Turns out he’s a natural and I was amazed at how well he did, not only that but he looked to be enjoying it, just look at the concentration on his face! He doesn’t know I’m sharing these photos though so, if you’re reading this and you know him, please don’t let on!!

Did I mention I’m not big on Christmas? Once the cards were made and my tree was up and decorated I felt I’d peaked and got the urge to get away from it all! A quick search on Airbnb and I found a beautiful apartment just a twenty minute walk from Valetta so we flew out to Malta on the 14th December for a week.

The weather was changeable but very pleasant with temperatures ranging from 17 to 20 degrees. You could easily spot the tourists in their sandals, shorts and sleeveless tops because even on the warmest days most of the locals wore boots, sweaters, hats and coats!

View of Valetta taken from L-Isla
View of Valetta looking from the Lower Baracca Gardens along the water front.

Malta’s capital Valletta is a fortified city located on a hilly peninsula between two natural harbours. It’s built on a grid system with its narrow, steep streets fanning out from the main thoroughfare, Republic Street, and dropping down to the waters edge. Approximately one kilometre long and pedestrianised Republic Street runs from the City Gate to Fort St Elmo and houses buildings such as the Maltese Parliament, the Courts of Justice, the Royal Opera House, and many more. This is the area to be if you’re looking for lively bars, restaurants and shops but you only need to walk a few steps either side of Republic Street to feel like you’re in a different world!

Ornate balcony windows are a big feature of Maltese architecture and they are everywhere you look in Valetta.

One of the many narrow steep streets in Valetta with ornate overhanging balconies

Exploring these narrow streets you can find fabulous boutique hotels serving great coffee and home made pastries, tiny bars with wonderful atmosphere and good beer. I also came across these impressive window displays with outfits constructed from folded paper…..

Valetta shop window display of an angelic figure with cloths made entirely from folded paper
Valetta shop window display of a human female figure with a stags head. The costume and head are made entirely from folded paper.

Another window display that caught my attention was this one in Sliema with skull shaped vodka bottles.

Skull shaped vodka bottles

And instore was even better with these bottles of tequila encased in very elaborate beaded heads. Unfortunately my budget didn’t stretch to bringing one of these home!
Tequila bottles with beaded covers in the shape of a dragons head

Close up of Tequila bottle encased in an elaborate beaded head

Back in Valetta I came across a sign for the St Paul Shipwreck Church above a narrow entrance on the equally narrow pedestrianised St Lucia Street. When you see a huge impressive building you have a bit of an idea of what you are going to find inside but when I stepped through this open door I had no idea of the cavernous interior that would open up in front of me! I’ve since read of others who have struggled to find this church so I’m pleased I popped my head through that doorway!


Interior of the Church of St Paul’s Shipwreck
Interior of the Church of St Pauls Shipwreck
Interior of the Church of St Pauls Shipwreck
Silver head of St Paul

Obviously we didn’t escape Christmas altogether in Malta but it was nice experiencing it in such a scenic setting.

Valetta is the smallest capital city in Europe with a surface area of just 0.55 km² and approx 7,000 inhabitants and the city was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. It’s a beautiful city steeped in history with a wonderful climate and friendly inhabitants with the added bonus that at this time of year there are not too many tourists so it proved to be the perfect getaway.

I’ll leave you with a couple of small wet felted pieces I’ve made since we got back. The first is a little Nuno snake inspired by a free online wet felting tutorial from feltmaker Yaroslava Troynich (also known as Bibabo Puppets) If your not familiar with her work or online classes I recommend taking a look. Hissing Sid makes the perfect pet and now sits on his felted stone on my desk keeping his beady eyes on my every move.

The other make was this very tactile small spiral shell approx 7cm wide and made from 10gms of Bergschaf. 

I hope you’ve had a lovely Christmas, however you’ve chosen to spend it, and wishing all of you a Happy New Year and a very creative 2025!

2024 Christmas Card Exchange

2024 Christmas Card Exchange

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I participated in the card exchange again this year and got matched up with Ruth Lane. Of course, I put off making her card until she sent me an email telling me that my card was going out in the mail very soon.  Nothing like pressure to get things done!

I didn’t really want to make something that could only be displayed at Christmas time. But I knew I wanted red in it. I have several bins of hand dyed fabrics so I started looking there and found this piece.

hand dyed fabric yellow, red, blue

Since I didn’t have a lot of time, I thought I might try fusing some shapes onto this background. I have quite a bit of fussy cut shapes that had already been fused to Wonder Under so I started playing with those.

I first tried using just the circles and it wasn’t doing much for me. Then I came across the bag of fussy cut fish and thought these would become my Christmas Fishies!

Fused circles and fish on hand dyed background

Then I thought it needed some seaweed so I found some fancy yarn that I thought might help to bring some of the blue color in.

Fused circles, fish and yard for seaweed on hand dyed background

Next, I needed to quilt it and zig zag the edges and get it put onto cardstock.

Ta-Da! Christmas Fishies all ready to be mailed off. Approximately 5″ x 6 1/2″.

Fused circles, fish and yard for seaweed on hand dyed background quilted

Hope you all had a marvelous Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Tesi Vaara

Happy Holidays 2024

Happy Holidays 2024

Comments 6 comments

Merry Christmas, Belated Happy Solstice, Happy Hanukkah, and all the other seasonal and religious festivities happening, around this time of year!

I fear it is now too late to finish off this year’s last minute presents, but Don’t Despair!!  Today Is the longest time you will have to start working on next year’s Gifts!!!

As the local weaving and spinning guild finishes its 75th year anniversary, you have seen many variations on a Moose project bag.  The canvas gave an interesting ground to work on. (i have been using the T38-333 to attach wool to canvas).  it has also been lots of fun to try out different ideas on a single theme. You have seen my various moose and my utter failure to keep them flat. They have made great presents to give and a couple to keep.  It has been fun to see other guild members ideas and embellishments too.

My last variation has left the moose alone (leaving the original black silhouette) this time focusing on what was not there, a back ground. I showed you the start of the bag on the Sunday of the Kanata Gaming (and Felting) Convention. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2024/11/15/kanata-board-gaming-and-felting-convention-2024/

I had brought it with me to Doctors appointments, this time, mine and not glens. I also optimistically took it in to work on at a Guild Socials, but kept working on the library.  At one social, it got compliments and was compared to the original.  I got a good shot of it.

comparisons of moose bags, both hanging in front of cabinets one on the left is not felted the one on the right has only the background worked on. it is not yet finished.1)Moose comparison

I am sure I will finish off with more doctors appointments (Drat), in 2025.

I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday hopefully with fiber friends food and fun! i also hope that 2025 will be a year of inspiration and adventures in fiber and felting! Now i better let you get back to fun food family and friends!

Post Script:

OH NO its already Christmas and this didn’t post so I will add one more photo to show you the debris field on the bed this morning. See if you recognize my new friend and I am going back to read my new book shortly, then on to making the Mashed potatoes!

post christmass unrapping, stuffed fosle, tin of toffies, licorish alsorts, shortbread, and book on felting! 2) The pile of debris, hint look up pailleeanntologly of the Burgess Shale to find out who my new little friend is. (he or she will fit in with a Bellrog, an oni, an octopus, triceratops and an IKEA moose!)

Needle Felted Sheep Workshop.

Needle Felted Sheep Workshop.

Comments 11 comments

It’s the time of year when thoughts turn to warm woolly sweaters( jumpers). So, where do they get all that wonderful wool in amazing colours? Why for colourful sheep of course.  Dyed in the wool as it were. And where do you get those? Well, you make them of course. They can really spruce up a manger scene for Christmas or you can add them to the scenery of your model railroad or add a pin and wear them.

I had 8 lovely ladies to make some cute little sheep. There should have been 9 but one couldn’t make it so her sister who was there paid her materials fee and took some supplies to her so she could make a sheep at home.

After this point, once the students arrive, I forget to take pictures.  We start with the legs. I show them how to make them with needle felting. It is long and tedious to make them dense enough to hold the sheep up. Then I show them how to make wet felted snakes to cut up for legs.  You can see a plastic bag on the table it has the sheep samples and all the snakes I made so they could have legs and move on the the rest of the sheep. they make bodies, heads, and ears and then they needle felt them all together. they usually look a little wonky at this point and everyone has a good laugh at them and worries there sheep will not look right.

Most of them look like they are on stilts at this point. It is better to start that way and then do some hoof trimming at the end, to get the length you want.

Next is the best part, giving them their colourful ( or natural) coats. we used Bluefaced Leicester curls. they are small nice curls.

As they have all their wool, their personalities emerge.

Everyone seems happy, I will need to find out if I had any comments on the evaluation forms. Fingers crossed there are no complaints. When you teach with our guild we have the student fill out an anonymous evaluation. It helps to head off problems before they really start and sometimes you get good ideas for your next class. Students pop them into an envelope and it’s sealed. Someone else opens it and has a look and you get the feedback later.

This is my last post for the year so I hope you all have a

Happy Holiday and a Fantastic New Year!

Green "branchy" background added to purple ornament card.
Painting Christmas Cards

Painting Christmas Cards

Comments 23 comments

Happy Winter Solstice! It’s the shortest day of the year so we’re on to longer days now. Yay! The shorter days make it a bit dreary sometimes but I decided to create some Christmas cards to cheer myself up. I saw this method on numerous posts and videos online so I can’t credit one person for the idea. This method makes it fairly simple to create ornaments or baubles for a card with watercolors.

Artist's workbench with watercolor set up for creating cards, including palettes, brushes, water and paint rimmed jar.

Here’s my set up in the studio. I had several palettes of paint and it works best with two brushes I found. I didn’t use the very thin detail brush until the end. Also, two sources of water, one kept clean, work well too. I found a couple of glass jars in different sizes that would work on my 5″ x 7″ cards.

Glass jar rim being painted with red watercolor paint.

Get some “juicy” watercolor on to the edge of the glass jar and print it on to your paper or card.

Using clean wet watercolor brush to "grab" red color from edge of printed circle.

Then quickly add clean water around the edge to get the paint moving. You can also use your other “juicy” brush to add in more color while the paper is still wet. Remember to leave some white spots for the “shine” on the ornament.

Using gold gel pen to add ornament top to purple round ornament.

I painted sixteen of these in four different colors. This photo shows using a gold gel pen to add the ornament top and string.

Four pieces of watercolor paper with painted ornaments in a variety of colors.

Here’s what the cards looked like after that. I wanted to add something in the background or something more festive. I started with the “gold” ones.

Golden ornaments decorated with pine greenery and splatters.

I added greenery and some splatters. But I wasn’t particularly happy with the look.  It’s okay but I decided to try something different on the other colors.

Green background added to red ornament card.

I started with the red ornaments, added water to the background and dropped in some green paint. Okay, but still not exactly what I wanted.

Green "branchy" background added to blue ornament card.

I changed my green color and then worked on trying to make the background look more like pine branches. This was looking better.

Green "branchy" background added to purple ornament card.

So I finished out the purple ornaments in the same way. Then I glued them down to a regular 5″ x 7″ greeting card with Yes Paste. I have found that is the easiest glue method with cards/paper. So now, my Christmas cards are off in the mail. It was a fun activity and really pretty simple. If you want to try it, there are quite a few YouTube videos showing the process.