Butterfly Fairy

So here is my latest creation, a butterfly fairy I made for a friend who is giving this to her grandchild. Like the gnomes, she is made out of wood and felt. I'm thinking I might put her up on etsy.com as a made-to-order option. I go back and forth with how much detail to put on the wings. I did a different version that I thought was too busy. I like the simplicity of this one.

Holiday Tree

I always mean to go all out on the holiday decorations, especially since the kids seem to enjoy them so much. Somehow, though, the business of life interferes and I never have quite enough time. This year, trees are on my mind and I decided that this would be one project I would complete.

I bought the tree base from Joann. It was one of those super coupon deals, so it cost only a few dollars. I would imagine if there are any left after the holiday season, they will be even more drastically on sale. I wet felted the balls by hand. Originally I was going to do the whole tree in the off white balls and then maybe do some other white embellishment. After some thought I decided I wanted more color, so I added the colored balls that I felted for a now abandoned jewelry project. I used a sewing needle and threaded the balls onto embroidery thread, knotting both ends when done. Then I just tucked in the top knot at the top of the tree and spiraled the balls down the tree, tucking in the end knot at the bottom. This way, when I want a different look next year, it is easy to remove and I can use the balls for another project. If you are looking into doing this but don't have the time to make your own balls, I know there are several shops on etsy.com where you can buy them.