REVolution

DIY {moodkids} felt fish, free pattern!

ohhh uber cuteness in a fishbowl! why did i made these? well. my cute little Sanne is an animal lover. if it was up to her, we would live on a farm with a gazzillion animals to love and take care off. but since we live in the real world, we 'only' have 2 bunnies. and they are more than i can handle anyways. now she had made up her mind and WANTED fish. because, she figured, they were low-maintenance (yes, she knows how to talk right up my ally). well. my sweet girl. she needs to learn a little bit about what really is low-maintenance. there's no animal that is THAT. so i told her i would make her some fish....

and these felt fishies are not only dang cure, they are freaking easy to make too. and i know you like that!

so here we go:

you'll need:

• a fishbowl or anything like it
• different pieces of colored felt (in your stash! or hobbystore :)
• embroidery thread in different colors
• scissor
• pins
• glue (i've glued on the eyes with Tacky Glue (fabric glue)
• thin wooden skewers (sateprikkers) (i use those to hang the fishies on)

the action:

1. you need two pieces of felt for every piece you are creating. i made 2 fishies, 1 octopus and 1 seaweed. you can ofcourse make anything you feel like. just cut it out by hand, place it on top of the other piece of felt, pin down, and cut out.

 

2. use your embroidery thread to sew around, i've used the blanket stitch. don't forget to stuff while you are sewing. when it's to small (like the legs of the octopus) i simply don't stuff. you don't need to make it any more difficult. chill. it's felt fish.

 

 

3. the eyes. i cut out 2 small circles white, 2 a bit smaller circles of black or dark grey and 1 a bit bigger circle than the white of the color of the animal. that one, i cut in 2 and those become the upper eye lids. i glue the black circles on the white ones with the Tacky Glue. than i sew with my blanket stitch the eyelids on top. when the eyes are completely done, than i glue them on the body and tada. stinking cute looking fish. or octopus. or both.

 

4. the mouths are simply cut from a small piece of light pink felt. 

 

arent' they droopy?

 

did you know trying to photograph felt fish in a glass bowl is nearly impossible? no? try it...

ohhh and she's watching you. i love how the muppets play with them already.

 

so that's what i used the tiny wooden skewers for. put some embroidery thread in a loop, through the top of the fishies and the muppets can play with their new best friends.

gonna make these? cute! show them to me, love to see what you do with the felt!

on the agenda today: lots of work to do. last couple of weeks i had so much muscle pain it was not fun anymore. so i try to balance everything out. it was also 'fair in town' so my muppets ofcourse wanted & needed me to come. i did, but ohhh the pain the next day. couldn't hardly walk normally. i know this is just part of the deal. and i'm trying to find a balance in these things. doing something like a few hours on the fair, means extra bonus pain the next day. hey. but that's something i can handle. i just need to make sure i don't have plans the next day :). so back to today. work and i hope to squeeze in some precious REVolution time so i can try and finish at least one canvas that is calling my name for a few weeks now. 

life is good. make felt fish.
rev

mini album "i love my life"

almost a year ago i would have taught a workshop in Finland, but due to my health, that wasn't happening. lucky for me my sweet friend Marsha took over in a heartbeat, and i was so happy that she helped me out! 

but the pictures of that cute little mini-album, i never shared with you birdies. so here we go!

it's no secret i love to work with fabric & felt. it just relaxes me in a way. i love to stitch around the edges. sit. and watch tv in the meanwhile (hey, otherwise Arjan & i wouldn't 'see' eachother at all :)).

i use filling for dolls to stuff the little heart :). the front of the mini is a transparency with a little heart (stitched, but it's glued on :).

i embroidered the word "love" onto the fabric. obviously before you stitch front & back together. duh.

ohhh crazy dude! his name is in transparant letter stickers onto white cardstock, on which i cut the 'flag-thingies' myself. just add stars. keeping it clean & simple birdies.

a little journaling about how i love my sweet kiddo's (as long as they don't bug me :). the butterfly is cut out from fabric, the edges are stitched with the blanketstitch and are glued on a transparancy. me love transparancies :)

see. transparancy. told ya. love.

and since i don't make life more complicated than it already is: the other side of the transparancy: same butterfly! but this time from felt.

on the right a cute handmade embellishment from felt & fabric. easy peasy lemon squeezy peeps. REAL easy peasy. just make it yourself.

close-uppie

oh that sweet girl! hearts were in place. love to play a bit with just one bright color.

me with the short cut. when i have my hair short, i WANT long hair... when i've grown it long, i NEED short. what's with that?? anyways. felt embellishment hung directly onto that book binding ring.

ha, when i'm reading this journaling (it's about being happy with my life but also wanting that own label, line of products with my design on it. this was in february 2012). PROUD to realise i HAVE that label now! REVolution. postcards, christmascards, iphone and samsung cases, notebooks, art journals. wow. this year has been pretty amazing. i need to remind myself i'm on that road already!

o my that cute bird! the legs are from a bend paperclip. and than i punched holes into the transparancy. is that bird on a transparancy? YES. it's hard to see, but IT IS. so. punch tiny holes, and than wrap around with your needle & embroidery thread. not that fun to do, but such a cute outcome. right? right.

die of cuteness.

see. it really was on a transparancy!! and again, i'm the easy peasy technique queen, so another bird on the other side of the transparancy. traliela.

ah. die of cuteness again.

simple taggie thingie cut from felt. the edges a simple stitch. and i made the tag a bit longer, so it sticks out, and looks like a 'tab'. hand stitched "love rules" on there. it was very tiny, ittypitty-hard work. you could use letter stickers. but than, you wouldn't be badass.

an old pic of Arjan, i guess ruben is only 2 years old there. apparantly Arjan doesn't like his picture taken. and i respect that. i work with what i have. and that's ok. oh handsome guy needs to be in the books more!

journaling about mr. dude & me being together for already 22 years now. yes. that's crazy huh? we've been through so much together, but everytime we come out even stronger. he is my man.

my wish is that our family will be this close for like evvah. that i'll be working at home on my big fat huge kitchen / art table, running my own label REVolution and always be there for those crazy muppets. and you now what? i'm half way there already!

the back. always make sure your back looks lovely. dressing yourself, but also dressing your mini-album :)

it looks like i could take a bite!

fun little mini-album, so close to my heart. let's make another one. i really need to make one of Rubens *and ours* crazy past 3 months. and that keeps reminding me of mommy's (and daddy's) who have chronicle sick children. i knew there was an ending. i knew things would go back to normal again. but also having a friend with a severe sick child, i constantly kept thinking of her. there's no ending for her. it just keeps going on and on and on, and even getting worse every freaking time. i already respected her, but now the feeling is even deeper. my heart goes out to those who have to live life with pains and sickness over and over again.

on the agenda today: lots of work to be done. wanted to take a few hours of. and just sit. maybe read. think about stuff. plans happening, things changing. Sanne almost 10 years old (waaahhhh that freaks me out!). random. the weather seems to be changing again. since i don't like the heat, i'm okay with that. secretly ofcourse.

life is good. create a mini-album. like. now.
rev

easy d.i.y. postman bag

okay okay. i see now. a bit shaky hands but hey practise makes perfect right? so i keep hitting my tablet till i master it. for now you have to deal with me. simple.

i've created this lovely postmanbag i guess a few years ago already. (in denial my muppets are growing that fast...). Sanne & Ruben still LOVE to play with their 'postman bags'.

wanna make some? they are amazingly easy to create. promise.

in case you were wondering which of the muppets got the sheep/airplane bag... (i just wanted to play, you get that right?). and since my muppets are strong minded.... (geeshhh) they 'dictate' me what to create ON them. yes. like i have any saying in what i'm making. pitty party for me, and let's move on.

stuff you probably have lying around allready. right? right.

let's try some instructions now. you'll love it. and i love playing with my tablet.

i told you it was an easy DIY right? 

don't forget to create some cute envelopes too! (front felt/back fabric and some 'real' stamps :)

on the agenda today: WE ARE STILL ALIVE. important message. thought you should know. it's extremely foggy outside, so maybe we'll be eaten by that soon. vanished in the fog. waaahhhhhh. before that i plan on finishing a new cute crochet project which will kill you of cuteness. and it's christmas holidays for the kids, so why not bake some chocolate chip cookies. i got you drooling now! ha!

life is good. it's christmas time.
rev

the monster of the dude.

it's no secret i love to work with my hands. i love to paint, scrapbook, sew, crochet and create whatever i feel like creating. i'm grateful i can and i love to share. my little people are pretty good at noticing this too by the way.

so it happens when the dudes finishes his drawing of a lovely monster, he simply hands it over to me with the words: "i want my monster to be alive mommy". sure. so here we go with the felt & a needle and some imagination. dude happy.

on the agenda today: this week is crazy busy at the office, and those weeks i tend to lose my faith. i have to remind myself that it is okay i have another company. that company brings in the bread so we can live the life we live. my dream isn't a destination. it's a way of living. i'm working on REVolution every free minute i got, and i need to relax & remember it's all good. i know i'll reach my destiny, but i would be happy to have a little more patience.

life is good. create monsters.
rev

still chilling.

{bought the pattern for the little lamb here. bunny is my own design}

life is good. keep chilling.
rev 

my felt forest of hearts.

"wouldn't it be fun to lighten up the house with a little lovely forest of felt hearts?" i was thinking a few weeks ago. and so it happened. 

* don't you love my painting in the mirror. ha. gotta love shots like that.

what you'll need:
- enough empty jars, like fruitjuice/vegetables/younameit jars. clean them please.
- wooden sticks. i simply bought them at a do-it-yourself-company (dutchies: karwei 6mm circumference, 1.50 m long). can you picture me explaining to a dude: "well. i need sticks. to put my felt hearts on. to make a forest ya know?". i guess i am known as the wacko chick with the strange questions. and frankly. i do not give a shit.
- felt in all the gorgeous colors you like. heck. if you only use one color: be my guest
- scissors. of course.
- glue. i've used glue dots cause that really sticks well onto the felt. but maybe you want to use your own favorite glue. we all have them...
- embroidery thread. i've sewed my hearts by hand, but you can easily use your sewing machine. goes a lot faster. but i love the 'blanket stitch look'. i've used matching thread, but lighter or darker is fun also!
- stuff to fill up the hearts (fiberfill)

 yes. i love messy boxes of embroidery stuff.

first of all you need to cut a gazillion of hearts. 2 of each color (front and back). i've used all the colors felt i had. i love rainbows and lots of color.

than i sewed each heart, one by one, closed with the blanket stitch. leave some room to fill it up with fiberfill, and than close it. it's really relaxing while watching your favorite tv shows. like 'lie to me, the mentalist of castle' for me :D

just a little bunch of happiness.

look at the arrow. that's a glue dot. neat huh?

once you've finished sewing all your hearts, let's attach them to the wooden sticks. BUT. before you do so, make sure you've cut your sticks in different sized pieces. and be wise. i usually use my droopy face, so Arjan will move in to be my hero and saws my sticks. cause. what can i do with 1.50 meter long sticks, right? and me + saw = loss of fingers. use your hubby's to be hero's they love it. i'm sure. if not. your loss. ha.

 

when you put your sticks in the jars, they'll tumble and face the other way. the hams. so i simply cut my glue dots in half (i'm dutch, so i won't spoil...) and simply jammed the stick in, attached it inside the jar, and tadaaaaa it stays the way i want. me so clever.

hello lovelies.

let the fun start! decorate! you can put them in simple glass jars. or you make the jars a little bit more comfy, with let's say a crocheted jacket!

ahhh. don't they look lovely together? you can also spice the hearts up by attaching little accent. i adore skulls. the little pirate in me.

you can play with them on sticks. the muppets LOVE to play with them! and i let them. why not. my house is not a showroom. they can play with decoration too. if they wreck it, i will empty their piggy bank. don't worry.

they work perfect for photoshoots also! {remove the sticks loonies}

fab picture take by Corinne Delis.

now. go on. make your own forest of lovelyness and don't forget to show me! i would love to see your ideas with a bunch of hearts!

life is good. heart it.
rev 

felt food anyone?

they got this cute kitchen from Sinterklaas so now i'm working on some felt food, cause i cant' stand the look of the plastic blah. i've bought some gorgeous patterns in this fun Etsyshop and they are pretty amazing. if i can follow the instructions, anyone can! remember I AM the one that sews her finger INTO her project...

although the felt food is NOT a favorite of the muppets yet. they still prefer the plastic blah. that's more REAL. SAY WHAT? i guess i'll be "accidently" vacuming to closely to the ugly beasts and replace them (and the tears) with my beauties. sounds like a good plan to me!

life is good. plastic felt food too.
rev 

oh deer

he lost his mommy...

made the pattern completely by myself. thinking of making it into a tutorial, whatcha think?

life is good. love ya!
rev