Jennifer Carson's Blog, page 21
April 13, 2012
Playing with PheeMcFaddle, How to dye felt with Kool-Aid
This tutorial is generously illustrated by my good friend Phee McFaddell! Please visit her online at pheemcfaddell.com for wonderful faerie projects, coloring pages and stories!! To find the free dragon ornament pattern that goes along with this tutorial there is a link on the bottom of the page. These images are copyrighted by pheemcfaddell.com and used with permission from the artist.
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Instructions for Dyeing Wool Felt with Kool Aid
Assemble Ingredients:
Kool Aid (un-sweetened in what ever colors you want)
Natural undyed wool felt
Hot water
A pan and cups
An oven
A bit of White vinegar
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Heat enough hot water to presoak the felt in a flat container and fill as many cups as you want for dye colors.
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1. Fill a flat container with hot water and soak the wool felt for 5 minutes. Be careful!
2. While the wool is soaking pour the remaining hot water into 8 Oz. cups.
The more Kool Aid you put into the cup the more vibrant the color will end up,
the more water you have, the softer the color will be. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar to each cup. Be sure to use non-sweetened Kool Aid.
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4. After your 5 minutes are up squeeze any excess water from the felt and place
in an oven proof pan. You can use a roller or towel to help remove the water.
Now pour the color mixtures over the felt in spots and let the colors bleed together.
You can also sprinkle the dry crystals on the felt and rub them into the wool.
If the spots get too bright just add a little water. You might use a contrasting color
for the tummy and head spike.
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5. After the felt is cooked, rinse it in cool water and put in the washer
on the spin cycle only. Then you can dry it in the dryer. If you find the felt
sticks together just pull it apart.
Have an adult iron it lightly on the wool steam setting to remove any wrinkles you do not want, or press heavily to flatten the felt.
The Wool Felt is ready to make the Dragon.
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For the Free Dragon Template click here! Don’t forget to visit Phee’s other wonderful crafting pages!
April 9, 2012
Children’s Author Show, Radio Interview
Don’t miss a great interview with me airing on April 9 & 10 talking about the making of Hapenny Magick! Follow this link, and let me know what you think!
Children's Author Show, Radio Interview
Don't miss a great interview with me airing on April 9 & 10 talking about the making of Hapenny Magick! Follow this link, and let me know what you think!
April 4, 2012
Meet Priscilla Peony Longhill, fully dressed!
Here she is, dressed and ready to meet the world! I'll be working on writing up the pattern, and she'll be available soon!
March 21, 2012
New Hapenny Newly Borns, Pattern coming soon!
Meet Priscilla Peony Longhill. She is the newest, newly born Hapenny in the Wedge. She is assembled quite like a Waldorf doll, but with some Dragon Charmer twists! Her eyes are made from wool felt with needle felted pupils and hair. Fingers, toes, and belly button is sculpted. She is thread jointed but could also be safety lock jointed. Her sewing pattern will be out soon!
March 16, 2012
February 26, 2012
January 22, 2012
World Read Aloud Day, March 7th!
World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child's right to a safe education and access to books and technology." ~from the LitWorld website
A bunch of children's writers got together last year to read aloud to classrooms over Skype, and I am happy to be a part of this great group this year! If you'd like to schedule a Skype session with me to read to your classroom or library on March 7th send me an email! If you'd like to see all the other great writers who are participating you can find the list here. The site only lists To Find A Wonder, but I would be happy to read from either Wonder or Hapenny Magick.
Thank you to Kate Messner, author extraordinaire, for putting this together!
January 13, 2012
New Sewing patterns for characters in Hapenny Magick!
Just released, six new sewing patterns. Two for characters in Hapenny Magick!
Enjoy Maewyn's adventures with her by your side!
Maewyn stands on her own at 12″ tall. There is an option to thread joint her or to use plastic armature (don't worry, I tell you where to get all the supplies you need!) She is really easy to make or you can challenge your doll making skills with the plastic armature! And of course you can find her little piglet for free here on my blog.
With a swish of her wand, Maewyn turned the toadstools into hobgoblins and now you can too! These 5″ tall cuties are made from wool felt with a bit of cotton knit for their head. A cinch to whip together! Would make an adorable nursery mobile too!
Hobgoglins are made from wool felt!
You can download the patterns instantly from Pattern Mart or get a deal on book and pattern packages in my Etsy store!
Happy creating!
Check out my other new sewing patterns too!
November 4, 2011
Maewyn Unveiled!
Hi everyone!
I just finished the prototype of Maewyn, the main character in my new children's book, Hapenny Magick! The pattern for her will be available in December when the book is published, but I thought I'd give you a sneak peek.
You can pre-order the book from my etsy store, www.jennifercarson.etsy.com or at my Kickstarter website!
More character patterns coming soon!
