Bird a Day - Final Thoughts

So the Bird a Day Challenge is over... here are a few questions I've been asked over the last week.

How do you feel now?

It's finally over... it's a strange feeling to be at the end of something, I do feel a sense of achievement at having done what I set out to do and I am tempted to make it a regular thing in my crafting as it forces me to be creative.

Doing something creative everyday has had a positive impact upon my well being and peace of mind too. I feel a lot better than I did at the beginning of the year, when I felt burnt out. People find it strange when I talk about not feeling creative considering the job I do but sometimes even a creative job starts to feel like a bit of a slog. I do feel more invigorated... things are starting to feel normal again.

What were your favourite birds to make?
My favourites surprised me! They were the ones that were most challenging initially but turned out the best. I'm very fond of the Spoonbill, Pelican, Dodo and the seagull... but my favourite is the Tree Creeper, because I saw one in the park and he caught the feeling of him perfectly!

Was it hard to make a bird in an hour?
The felting part is the easy bit! Making them tiny and starting with the bead cuts the time down... It's the photographing and blogging that really takes up time! I didn't take that into account when I set out to do this so it ended up taking up 2 hours of my day rather than just 1... next time I think I will find a better way to just snap a quick picture. 

Did you miss any days?
I didn't miss out a day of making but sometimes there just wasn't time to photograph things or I was too tired. That just meant a couple of days when there were double posts. 

Are you sick of looking at tiny bird feet?
Never!

Wait next time? You're going to do this again?
Yes... but maybe not for a while... or on a weekly basis rather than daily.

When will the birds be up for sale?
I'm hoping to get them up for sale by monday... I will keep you posted.

What Advice would you give to anyone taking on a challenge like this?
Go for it! Even if you think you might fail... you should go for it. Find something that works for you and make sure you find a way to share it as being held accountable by others is great motivation. II have to admit... I tried something like this once before and didn't share it and I failed, sharing was the best thing, it's hard to work in a vacuum. You'll be amazed how supportive people can be! 

Also... make the time to do it, it could be anything, make a bird a day, a drawing a day, write something, bake something... it's worth it, you'll feel like a different person at the end an you will want to keep being creative!

xx
mel

Bird a Day: Day 23: Tree Creeper

 Bird a Day: Day 23: Tree Creeper

I was walking through the Museum Gardens with mum last week and I saw one of these chaps on a tree... he was amazing, he crept right up the trunk and then upside down on a branch! I attached this one to his own little bit of tree! I went back to look for him but all I found was a tourist taking selfies with a selfie stick!

 and I had an audience taking these pictures... he wasn't impressed that I had no nuts for him!

Bye Bye Big Owls

We're starting to get super busy for the festive season and the gallery and shop orders have been coming in thick and fast. We're very excited about our first Christmas with our new stockist especially Pippin in Edinburgh who commissioned a special order for a wonderful window display.

 

 Yes Folks today is the day that the big owls are flying the roost to their Wintering grounds up North! (well thursday is!) I have been carefully packing up my big owls for their journey along with a pile of robins and little owls!

 

Each owl gets it's own box with packing peanuts to keep the extra safe and warm on their journey, some aren't looking especially pleased with the arrangements but short eared owl always looks a bit miffed! I got a little emotional while I was packing them up, I kind of feel like I am sending my babies away but Erica at Pippin has a wonderful plan and I can't wait to see it!

  

All our stockists can be found here with links to their personal websites and instructions how to find them, we have stockists in York, Scarborough, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Mersyside, Dorset and Masham in North Yorkshire so if you want to visit any of them they'd love to see you. (stores and galleries only stock limited selections, if you are traveling a long way we recommend you call ahead if it is something in particular you want. Stockists details are here) Full range of birds are as always available in Feltmeupdesigns on Etsy

The Feltanomicon Closeth...

The feltanomicon is closing... and as such I have reduced all it's felt denizens to bargainalicious prices, when they are gone they really are gone. 

 

It is with a heavy heart and a deeply burdened soul that I admit that I am but one slightly strange and very geek woman and can only do so much... with this in mind I have decided to close the Feltanomicon, lock it in a box, tie it up with chains, lock it in another box, bury it in a cellar, lock the door and hide the key with a warning to future generations that to open is to do so at one's peril!

That said should I find myself haunted by the ghosts of the Feltanomicon I might reopen it... but only if I can give it the time it deserves. So the yetis will be moving over to Feltmeupdesigns shortly as I love them so much and I have a few brain squids I need to finish up and list which will go there too... as will any Feltanomicon designs which happen to sneak back into the world.

 

All my evil felts are reduced now, most £5 or less so hop over there and grab a bargain now!

Shop Improvements... surviving the July slump!

I am on a mission to improve my shop 1 listing at a time! Looking back on my photos I have realised how much I have come on over the last year as a photographer and as a result some of my listings look a bit sad and drab compared to my newer ones. Also I have learned more about using better more appropriate props and composition.

Before

After

A few months back I bought a light tent (a small investment but such a great little thing!) and a copy of The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos and am working thru my listings one at a time starting with my best sellers, then on to wedding cake toppers and once they are done then everything else! I am trying to photograph, edit and list one thing a day with new shiney photos and so far it is working, it's now the first thing I do every morning after my coffee (if the light is good enough!)

It's a tedious process going back thru over 100 listings but doing one or two a day means it doesn't feel like such a huge chore and it's worth it and my shop is starting to shape up nicely and I think my better images mean more views and treasuries too! Plus I feel my products are better represented now so my customers can see exactly what they are getting!

Big Birdies at The Felt Menagerie

I've been pretty quiet in the blogosphere lately, I've been keeping my head down and working hard and haven't had the energy to blog so I thought we were well over due an update since the last one I posted was in April. The last 2 months have pretty much been about weddings, wedding cake toppers and generally going mental making them (yellow and grey are the current bestsellers!) but I have managed to fit some fun time in for myself as well and made 2 big barn owls.

I made the first one as an experiment and love her sweet little face but I wasn't totally happy with her tail and wings so I set out making another one. The 2nd owl has a much fluffier bum and looks a bit like he is wearing very frilly knickers! They look so cute as a pair!

The owls stand at around 7.5 inches tall and each took more than a week to complete... although I wasn't working on them continuously because this feltmaker has a very short attention span! I had so much fun making big owls I am planning on making a bunch more next on the list is either a snowy owl or a scops... I haven't quite decided!

Also I have been watching lots of nature programs and think I really need to make some more life sized realistic babies to go with the adult birds as the babies grow very fast and are almost the same size as the adults but really really fluffy!

One barn owl is up for sale already in my shop here at etsy and the other shall be up for sale soon.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/96540997/needlefelted-barn-owl-life-sized

On another note I am currently languishing at 1197 etsy sales so pretty soon I'll be passing the 1200 mark... and you all know what that means... yes... we'll be having a giveaway! Yay!
 

Every Colour Tweet Challenge continues...

I have been a busy busy girl since my last post... not just with the making. I have just come back from my annual holidays so I'm now ready to focus and get down to felting!

The Every colour Tweet challenge is well under way, I have now finished the pink and most of the blues... here they all are looking so cute!

So I just have the greens, purples, reds to cover now before I start thinking about if I am going to do all my browns, grays and  neutrals! I'm still umming and aaahing about if I should do the sludgy colours or just all the brights... still I have given myself a whole year to do them so I guess there's lots of time to decide.

All the tweets I have made up already are now for sale at my Etsy shop Here and are looking super cute in their egg boxes too!

 

Yeti Summer!

A while ago it snowed very hard... this was probably over a year ago because I was still at my old home. I wrapped myself in blankets and made 3 little yetis with soft curly fleece... I had a surprise last monday when I went to The Feltanomicon and found that 2 had sold!!!
What really surprised me was the tug on my heart strings as I wrapped them in tissue paper and wrote a little note to go with each one! I am really going to miss those yetis, they were very special to me! Immediately I sat down to make some more... these ones are for me to keep but being the business woman I am I made some for the shop too!
I've also been working hard on other Feltanomicon beasties both old and new... Cthulhu... or Feltathulhu as we like to call him... or Old Tentacle Face as we really like to call him! Has had a make over... he now has more elegant tentacles! He like them as they are longer... better for grabbing things to nom!
And I made a teeny thu... a pint size lesser evil minion! There are other projects in the pipeline but I'm keeping them under my hat... or somewhere near the top of my head at least!

Autumn Creeps In...

A nestful of Autumn tweets

Pumkin Pie Tweet

Things have been a little quiet at the menagerie, lots of making but not a lot of new things going on, and then this week I noticed a slight chill to the air which hails the end of our all too brief British summer.Chestnut Tweet

Pretty soon the leaves will start to turn and we'll be settling into the Autumnal season, long rainy days, windy nights and an extra blanket on the bed. Copper Beech

Autumn is actually my favorite time of year, an excuse to get out all those big jumpers that I packed away at the end of winter, harvest festival, crunchy dried leaves underfoot, the kids all back in school, the tourists all gone home.

Sweetcorn Chowder Tweet

Inspired by the change in the weather I decided to make some Autumn colour tweets and am enjoying naming them all. Am having a little trouble with this last fella tho... any ideas... he's a cutie no doubt but he doesn't want to settle on a name! Sweet potato? maple leaf? He just can't settle... any help would be gratefully received and the person who suggests the best name will get a little goody bag of postcards and magnets as a thankyou!