52 Weeks of Felting - Week 43

Happy Weekend!  Check out my new pin cushion!

It's a moss-covered, spotted egg bird nest.  It's weighted on the bottom, so it's perfect as a pin cushion, but it could also be used as decor. 

You can find it here in my shop for 25% off until next weekend. :) 

P.S.  Did you see my shop special yesterday?? 

Halloween Shop Special

I have a quick shop update for you!!  Today is FRANKENSTEIN FRIDAY (who knew?) so I have a little store special for you:  Spend $50 (before shipping) and get a free zombie or frankencritter of your choice--just let me know which one you want at checkout!

This special is good through Sunday, October 27!

I finished a 15K Trail Run!

Remember that 15K trail run I've been training for? Well, it was last Sunday!  I have lots of different emotions about it right now.  Actually, other titles I considered for this post were:
     Damn, I'm glad that's over
     Trail running is effing hard
     This is how I earned a donut and a beer today

Regardless, I'm proud of myself for persevering through these last couple of months. I've been pretty stressed.  It's not like I have a lot of free time to go run miles and miles every week.  But I did it. And it wasn't easy.  In fact, some days it was damn hard.  There were definitely tears.  There was even blood once. As of last Tuesday, I wasn't even sure I could run the race the following weekend because I had hurt my ankle.  So I iced it, took some Advil, and went for a quick run on Saturday to test it.  It seemed to be okay then, I was was just hoping that it would hold up for nine miles on Sunday.

And it did!  My husband was the one who talked me into this run, so the deal was that he would stay with me, though he could have easily placed in his age bracket. So sweet, right?  I finished in 2:02. Which is not fast. But it's better than I expected to do, and for that I'm happy. 

Dogwood Canyon was beautiful! It was a chilly morning--I couldn't feel my toes for about a mile into the run.  There were plenty of water crossings, lots of mud, and just enough hills.  We even saw a few deer dart across the path in front of us.

So here's a not so pretty picture of me after the race.  And, even though all finishers got a medal, I'm proud of mine.

Now excuse me while I take a week or two off from running.  Running and I are still friends, but we need a short break. At least now there won't be any pressure to get in a certain number of miles or make a certain time.  At least until my crazy husband talks me into another race...

Oh, and I will be eating a celebratory doughnut this week and treating myself to a massage this weekend!

How do you treat yourself when reach fitness/exercise milestones?

52 Weeks of Felting - Week 42

Hi friends! I'm cheating this week and using something I completed a couple weeks ago (and you might have seen it already) for my 52 Weeks project. I still made it, though. So it counts. Besides, it's cute enough to warrant being seen more than once. Because everyone loves hedgehogs, right? Thought so...

Here's the link to my shop if you want one!

I was on TV!

So last week I was contacted by a producer of a local show called Ozarks Live.  She saw me at our local craft show Cider Days and wanted to know if I was interested in coming on the show to demonstrate how I make my wooly wares.  I got the email in the car, and said in a very excited voice, "Oh NO!" 

I was excited and terrified all in one moment.  Of course I was going to say yes, but I was instantly nervous about it.  But seriously.  I speak to groups of people for a living.  Why oh why would this freak me out so much?  Maybe because it was live...maybe because it was tv....but honestly, now that it's over, I can say there was no need to be so nervous.  It was a piece of cake!  I loved it!  Now we just need to convince them that there needs to be a semi-monthly "Felting with Dani" segment on the show....ha!  :)

Here are some shots taken by my friend, Sarah, before and during the segment.  She was there for support, and I truly appreciated it!

Waiting in the green room and with my set-up.

Waiting to go on air.

Demonstrating how to make a pumpkin.

And here is the actual segment! 



I had so much fun!! And everyone at the station was so nice! Let's do it again!!

Fur, Feathers & Scales: Hedgehog

Hi friends!
I've got a treat for you today--a post all about Hedgehogs!

This is Barry! He is an African Pygmy Hedgehog.  There are many different kinds of hedgehogs, which can be found in Europe and Africa.

Hedgehogs are covered in hard, sharp spines.  When threatened, they can roll up into a ball and make all of their spines stick straight out to protect their soft belly and head.  They also will make quick little jumps upward when startled. Sometimes they will create a foamy saliva and spread it all over their spines to make it them even more irritating if you are poked--trust me, this is definitely effective.

They don't release their spines like porcupines release their quills.  (Porcupines and hedgehogs are not the same animals, by the way.  They are actually not related at all, other than they are both mammals.)

Hedgehogs can live an average of 10-12 years.  They are omnivores and eat a wide variety of foods: insects, snails, worms, vegetation, etc.

An a side note, I recently created a hedgehog pin cushion.  I thought it might be fun to do a photo shoot with a real hedgehog.  The hedgehog in these photos is Bramble, and I think he made a friend, no?

Have a great week!

52 Weeks of Felting - Week 41

Summer is over, but goldfinches are such pretty birds, so I couldn't resist making one into a felt painting.

He's availabe here in my shop.  Happy Weekend!

52 Weeks of Felting - Week 40

Now that it's October...

But really, it doesn't have to be Halloween time to love zombies.  Especially when they are this cute!
I love some of the little details: the girl's bow, peter pan collar and up-curled hair and the boy's tie and side-swept bangs.  And the bunny's nose and teeth!  These are my new favorites, but there will always be a special place in my heart for my zombie chicken!

You can find these in my shop here, here and here.

My September was Batsh*t Cuh-razy!

....aaaand there's no end to the madness in sight.  But that's okay.  I'm in a good spot right now.

I finished three craft shows last month: a small Arts & Literary festival, our local Cider Days Festival, and a Maker Faire in Tulsa.  September was spent prepping for those shows ,so all of my other orders were delayed.  Now I'm playing catch-up.

I attended the national Association of Zoos & Aquariums conference in Kansas City.  It was fun and inspiring--just liked I'd hoped it would be.

I now have my felted goodies in two (soon to be three and maybe four!) brick and mortar shops.

I'm on an organizing kick.  I really need it.  I tend to be messy (much to my husband's dismay--thank goodness he really likes me), and any organizing/cleaning that I should have done in September just didn't happen.  My husband did all the housework, leaving me time to make things.  Thank goodness.  For a stretch last month, I was really feeling the stress.  But, like I said earlier, I'm in a good spot now.


Hopefully I can work on a few projects soon.  I have an idea for a couple's project, and there's a home improvement task (or two or three) I'd like to accomplish.  I'll be sure to share them here.  

Here's to a productive, healthy, exciting Autumn!

Mini Maker Faire in Tulsa

So last Saturday, I attended the first Mini Maker Faire in Tulsa as a vendor.  If you've never heard about Maker Faires, their slated as "The Greatest Show and Tell on Earth."  This was my first show in Oklahoma, so I was really excited to have a new audience for my felted goodies. 

But then the weather forecast came in: rain.  And boy, did it! We arrived in Tulsa right around 9:30 a.m.  We had just enough time to make one unloading trip to our tent site before it started to pour. We finished unloading in the rain, threw a tarp over everything, and eventually got the tent up so we could at least have some shelter (miraculously, we're still smiling).  But by this time we were soaked.  My jeans were wet for hours! At least I had the forethought to grab my wellies!

The rain kept coming, but eventually it did lighten, so we began to set up displays around noon.  Part of my tent included a felt painting that anyone and everyone could contribute to!  I prepared a canvas with the beginnings of a flower garden so Maker Faire attendees could add their own flower.  I had SO MUCH FUN teaching others about needle felting and showing them how to do it.  I really had fun letting curious kiddos add to the painting, too!  By the end of the day, we added twenty flowers!  My plan for this painting is to add a few more flowers and hang it up in my studio.  I mean, what a fun souvenir, right?!

There were so many cool exhibitors that stuck it out and braved the rain.  There were 3D printers, robots, beer brewers, wood carvers, instrument makers, a buffalo fiber spinner, laser artists, and SO many more.  It was a really cool place to geek out over lots of different things!

Oh, and there were mini donuts...

Eventually the sun came out (before it set), and we had a wonderful evening.  The organizers and volunteers of the Maker Faire were outstanding.  Seriously.  I had a great time, and I'd do again next year!