52 Weeks of Felt Paintings - Week 35

It's the last hour of August, but by the time most of you see this it will be September---so Happy September friends, and Happy Labor Day! 

I hope you enjoy this fancy raccoon!

I'll be back later this week with a quick recap of the Tulsa Mini Maker Faire!

Car Accidents Hurt

Hi everyone!  Sorry I was a little MIA last week--things got a little crazy and my blogging was set aside.  We were in a car accident last Tuesday (a week ago).  We were rear-ended on our way to work (my husband and I usually carpool.)  A Ford F150 smashed into our poor Toyota Matrix, sending us into the car in front of us.  Yikes.  It was scary and painful.  My head hurt instantly from the whiplash. My neck was sore for days. (It's still not as good as new, but it is much better.)  I have bruises from my seat belt on my arm and my stomach.  My husband was a bit sore too, but not as sore as I was.

Our car was totaled, so now we're searching for something to drive, which is only slightly exciting.  Mostly it's a bummer--our car has been paid off for over three years now and was in great condition.  We were planning on driving it for much longer.  And now we're stuck looking for a car that will fit our two dogs, plus up to three cats at once.  We also need a car that will fit my craft show supplies (separately than the dogs of course), and I'm not interested in something as big as an SUV.  We've got our eye on a particular Subaru, but now the trick is finding one that fits our budget. My husband jokingly showed me a 1976 Mazda wagon last night and was surprised when I actually liked it.  So who knows what we'll do. Maybe it's time to start biking to work again...though this triple digit heat here in Missouri makes that incredibly unappealing.

Here's a few photos from right after the accident.  The damage doesn't look like much, but our whole car frame was messed up and even the cargo floor area on the inside of the car was buckled. The back fender was laying on the back right tire.  There's a cracked taillight, the hood is skewed, and the back passenger door and back gate don't open. Poor, poor car.

 
Do you have any car searching or buying tips for me?   

52 Weeks of Felt Paintings - Week 34

Honestly, I think I feel most comfortable making felt paintings of birds.  It's not that they're easier, but I think I really enjoy making them come to life.  I also get a great deal of satisfaction when they end up looking great.  I adore this hummingbird and plan on making a few more.

Have a great week, friends.

52 Weeks of Felt Paintings - Week 33

We'll take a break from animal felt painting hoops this week and go back to plants for a week or two.  I have some black felt and tried to find a subject that would look great on such a dark background.  I think I found one:

Do you like it? I'm a big fan of this flowering cactus. 

What other things would look great on a black background.  Maybe the moon? A planet?  A light colored or white kitty? 

One of My Favorite Things to Make

I love making custom pet portraits.  It is incredibly rewarding.  For some folks, I'm memorializing their pets that have passed on.  At first, that task seems very intimidating.  What if they don't like my mini version of their furry family member?  What if I can't get it right? In the end though, each portrait comes together, and I'm excited to send it off to its family. Here are a few that I've done lately:

I have two versions of pet portraits: this one is smaller, and these two (dog and cat) are larger and weighted on the bottom so that it could be used as a pin cushion or paper weight.  If you like them, I'd be honored to make one for you.  Contact me on any platform if you're interested.

52 Weeks of Felting - Week 32

 

 

Woot-party time! Seriously, don't you love this little guy! I need to make a whole army of party hedgehogs. This one was snatched up last weekend at the craft show, but I'll be making more! If you want one, send me an email!

Some Updates for You!

Last weekend in Kansas City at the Strawberry Swing Indie Craft show was great!  We had to persevere through a surprise storm that lasted for hours, but the sun eventually came out and we had a fabulous time.  I met some wonderful new customers, saw some fabulous repeat customers, and shopped for some new treasures for myself as well.  I discovered that my new felted paintings in embroidery hoops are wildly popular, so you'll be seeing more of those!

I'll be in Tulsa on Saturday, August 30 for the Tulsa Mini Maker Faire!  I'm taking special orders now for pick-up during the show! (Email me at goodnaturedbydani at gmail dot com.)  I'll also have some DIY Ball Garland kits available then, and I'm considering making another kit.  Maybe a DIY owl? What felted thing would you want to make?

One last thing--a VW update! (If you're a new reader, you may not know that my husband and I bought a VW camper van.  It needs some work and love, so that's exactly what it's getting!)  Currently, there is an old Subaru in my driveway, taking up space that we don't have.  My husband is taking out the engine and wiring (and making ridiculous faces in my photos) and putting it into our van.  Apparently, this is a pretty common modification for Volkswagens (oh, the things I'm learning.)  I'm so proud of him for figuring out all of this, but I'm definitely ready to get rid of this extra car.  Keep up the good work, honey!

52 Weeks of Felt Paintings - Week 31

Happy Saturday!

At first I felted just the fox on this hoop.  But it was missing something.  Of course, it was after I put away all my supplies and was crawling into bed when I realized the fox looked like something was landing on his head.  It was the first thing I worked on the next morning. So now, he has a tiny bird attacking him.  Silly, right? But it's definitely cute!

This hoop took a long time to make!  That tiny bird was crazy difficult.  I might have a hard time offering it for sale tomorrow at the Strawberry Swing. I'm still debating.


I've been staying up way past my bed time for the past 10 days or so trying to bulk up inventory and keeping up with orders.  I've had so many custom orders lately in my shop, from pet portraits to people portraits to party decor--I love it!  Thank you all for supporting me,  whether it's by purchasing my felt goods, or reading my blog, or following me on instagram---Thank you!!