Spring

You've heard of Snowflakes... well, get ready for what we have termed "Flowerflakes"! This past winter I did a blog on creating traditional snowflakes. The post can be found HERE.

Besides adding beauty to the house, it served a purpose. Our bird feeders are right outside this window. Our feathered friends can mistake the glass window for "sky" and fly into the window. We discovered that when we put up the snowflakes, we had far fewer mishaps! We decided that we'd need to do something similar in the spring when the snowflakes came down.

Since we liked the airy look of the snowflakes, we decided to make traditional snowflakes using colored computer paper, add a few leaves, and wah lah... our indoor flower garden was created! It works much the same as the snowflakes, giving our birds a visual barrier. Plus, it looks lovely :)

Directions for cutting out snowflakes can be found HERE, plus, if you Google cutting out snowflakes, you'll find tons of patterns. We like to just start cutting, but sometimes it's nice to gather ideas, too :)

The PDF for the leaf can be found HERE. Begin by making a template out of a heavy paper like cardstock. When it is cut out, fold a piece of green paper in half and place the leaf template on the fold. Using a pencil, press lightly, and trace the leaf on the paper. NOTE: I used marker to trace my leaf for purposes of the tutorial. If you use a light pencil, you won't see any leftover marks.

With the paper folded, cut out the leaf, cutting away the "X"ed sections.

Using fishing line or invisible thread, randomly hang leaves and flowers in your window.

 
A lovely Spring decoration, and a safety feature for your backyard birds :)

All photos, text and patterns are copyright protected. You may not copy, reproduce or redistribute any material found on WeeFolkArt.com without written permission. Wee Folk Art retains all rights.

Photos 4-28-13,4-30-13

Statement: My floors are covered in mud. Period. End of story. As the near spring thaw begins to turn portions of our yard into a gooey brown viscous substance, my dogs joyously, nay, exuberantly, prance, dance and generally wallow in the stuff! Don't want this to be common knowledge, BUT, I've even tried dog boots. I think they ate them. Seriously. Or... they are buried somewhere in the yard, and I can just hear them snickering and nudging one another as they bound over the recent boot graves, proud of their clandestine tribulations.

So, no more dog boots. I've resigned myself to believing the mud on my floors is just another way of bringing the great outdoors inside. My floors will again be clean in the summer, but for now, I try not to begrudge them their joyous romps, and keep a mop handy, along with a good sense of humor.

Truth be told, although I'm willing to cut my dogs some slack when it comes to muddy paws, I don't have the same tolerance for humans. We can wipe our feet at the door, AND, wear awesome boots when we are outside. Rain boots have come a long way since I was a little girl. I remember these awful black buckled boots my brothers use to don, and as for me, my rain boots were always a solid colors and blah. Today, Holy Shmolies! There are so many awesomely cute rain boots out there, it rather saddens me when it is time to turn them in for sandals. (Mind you, I love my sandals, too!)  

Today, I am sharing an applique block for what I think are some awesomely cute rain boots. I can just imagine little feet, or big feet as the case may be, stomping in puddles and leaving footprints in mud. As always, this applique was designed to fit a 6" block, but can be enlarged or reduced to meet your needs. Whether you are getting ready for spring or anticipating fall rains, hope you find yourself in a pair of playful rain boots, stomping in standing pools of water and negotiating tempting mud puddles!

The pattern for the Rain Boots Applique Block can be found HERE.

The tutorial on How to Enlarge and Reduce can be found HERE.

The tutorial on How to Cut Out Felt can be found HERE.

The Stitching Glossary can be found HERE.
 

DIRECTIONS - Refer to pattern and photo for applique placements and cutting instructions.

Make a copy of the pattern.

Cut out felt. Transfer any embroidery markings.

Using a blanket stitch, sew boot to block using 3 strands floss.

Using a lazy daisy stitch, embroider flowers using 6 strands of floss. (Do not add flower centers yet.)

Using a running stitch, sew back handle to boot using 2 strands floss.

Using a blanket stitch, sew boot lining to boot using 3 strands floss.

Using a running stitch, sew front handle to boot using 2 strands floss.

Using a blanket stitch, attach cuff and sole to boot using 3 strands floss.

Using a French knot, embroider center of flowers using 6 strands floss.

NOTE: Kits for this project will be available in our shop Monday, 4-23-12 :)

The daffodils in our yard are just poking their heads through the ground, but I was aching for some flowers, NOW, so I decided to make my own. You can make a garland or 2 or 3 for yourself, too. Hang your Spring Flower Garland up and you’ll feel like you stumbled upon an enchanted flower fairy garden. With a kiss of spring and a promise of warm summer days, bring the outdoors indoors with this lovely Spring Flower Garland.

To make your own you will need:

Spring Flower Garland Kit from Wee Folk Art's Market Place [Available April 23]

Note: Kit includes 100% wool felt, cotton embroidery floss, 100% wool yarn and directions. To finish the project you will need embroidery needles, Size F or G crochet hook and blunt yarn needle.

~OR~

Materials:
wool felt - 8 colors for flowers and green for leaves
embroidery floss to match the 9 felt colors
wool yarn
Size F or G crochet hook (it is small for the 2 strands of yarn you will be chaining, but I wanted the chain dense
embroidery needles
blunt yarn needle
pattern

MATERIALS AVAILABLE IN WEE FOLK ART'S MARKET PLACE: [available April 23]
Spring Flower Garland Kit (Items may be purchased separately)
embroidery needles

NOTE: If you want the front and back side finished, you will need to make a second set of flowers, but instead of blanket stitching around the outer edge of a single flower, you would blanket stitch the wrong side of 2 completed matching flowers together.

TIPS for cutting out felt can be found HERE.

ILLUSTRATIONS of stitches can be found HERE.

Directions:
Make a copy of the pattern.

NOTE: In the first few photos there are only 6 flowers and 7 leaves. When I was done with my first garland, I decided I wanted it longer so I added a dark blue and dark purple plus 2 more leaves.

Using 8 different colors of felt, cut out a petal, large circle and center from each color. Cut out 9 leaves. The eight colors I used were light and dark: blue, purple, orange and pink.

Randomly mix and match the flower parts. The only rule... use 3 different colors for each flower.

For each flower:
Using 3 strands of contrasting floss, blanket stitch the edge of the petals.

Using a running stitch and 3 strands of contrasting floss, sew the large circle to the petals.

Using a running stitch and 3 strands of contrasting floss, sew the small circle to the large circle.

Using a straight stitch and 6 strands of green floss, sew 3 lines creating a 6 point star.

Add a French knot to the end of each point on the star using 6 strands of green floss.

For each leaf:
Using a running stitch and 6 strands of green floss, sew a stem down the center of the leaf. Slightly gather and tie off.

For each flower and leaf:
Add a small loop to the top of each leaf and one flower petal using 3 strands of green floss. To control the size, I attached the floss to the wrong side of the leaf and flower. I then wrapped the floss around the base of my crochet hook for sizing, then tied it off. When adding the loop, you want it to be perpendicular to the leaf, so when you later add it to the crocheted vine, it lies flat and the right side faces forward.

Making the vine:
Using 2 strands of yarn, chain 40.

Slip a leaf on the hook with the right side up.

Chain 1 catching the leaf loop in the chain.

Chain 12, then add a flower in the same manner. NOTE: Do not count the chain you use to connect the leaves and flowers.

Continue until all 9 leaves and 8 flowers have been add.

Chain 40.

Pull through your last chain and work the ends at the beginning and end of the chain into the chain.

Ready to hang. Note: when you are hanging the garland, make sure the front of the chain is showing and don't twist the chain. Make sure the front side of all the flowers and leaves are showing, then stand back, and smile at the pretty flower garland!

Pixie

Fairy

Bug

Today, we have a fun filled day planned. We are having brunch here, followed by dinner at my brothers. The weather is lovely. It would be a perfect day if Adam and Raewyn had been able to join us. But, all in all, it truly is a joyous day, and my cup runneth over :) Wish your day is filled with as much joy and love!
 

HAPPY EASTER FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!
 

Kimara and Michelle

I have a few announcements to make. First, please welcome our new sponsors The Felt Pod and Armadillo Dreams. Stop by and check them out. We are planning something special with each of them in the upcoming weeks... stay tuned.

Second, It is spring break time for us. Kimara and I will be taking a bit of time off from the blog as we enjoy some out of town company, get some spring cleaning done, and finish up a few odds and ends to get the store ready. We will be back after Easter, hopefully refreshed and ready to embark on a new phase in Wee Folk Art... aka the Market Place. In the meantime I've collected some of our Spring Projects to keep you busy.

Third, we will probably be turning our comments to moderate after today. It is hard enough to keep up with the spam while we are vigilantly online... impossible on vacation. Please keep posting, asking questions, etc... just know that your comments may not show immediately while we our on vacation.

See ya soon!

Spring in the Thicket
Projects for Your Gnome Home

Flower Fairies

Flower Garland for Gnome House

Flower Fairy Carpet

Spring Sleeping Bags

Peg Flowers

More Spring Time Toys

Walking Bunnies

Lily Pads and Water Lilies

Wooden Frog

Ducklings

Felt and Wood Reeds

Cashmere Frog