Moxie's how-to: needle felted finger puppet

The amazing Moxie has created a great photo tutorial on how to make a needle-felted finger puppet. Be sure to check out all of her fantastic finger puppet monsters.

Knit Rib-And-Cable-Mitts

I have been working on the knit Rib-And-Cable-Mitts pattern from the spring’06 Interweave Knits. It is my first attempt at doing cables. It was a bit challenging at first and I had to frog a couple of times, but then I had the ‘a-ha’ moment.

I am using Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarn in 6285, Oceanic Mix, and 6205, Dark Chocolate. I adore this teal/brown color combo. The yarn is a bit thicker than the recommended so these are coming out a bit larger and chunkier.

Solid Perfume

I really enjoy the smell of essential oils. My two particular favorites right now, which my acupuncturist first used on me, are Geranium and Neroli. I like to wear them as perfume, but because they are not created to be a perfume, they evaporate very quickly leaving me scentless. I have been mixing them with vitamin e oil when I wear them, which helps them last the day. Unfortunately, oily wrists and neck are not so good for the clothes. Luckily, Instructables came up with this tutorial on making solid perfume. It is basicly the same as making lip balm which I wrote about here.

Outdoor design at Joshua Tree National Park

I spent the New Year’s weekend away in Joshua Tree National Park. It was gorgeous, but a bit chilly at night since the sun went down around 4:30pm at our campsite. I saw some fabulous outdoor sculpture and patio furniture at the Western entrance visitor center. I may need to consider some of it for future projects.

There was this gorgeous weather vane at the entrance.


Outside on the patio there were these cast concrete benches and tables. I particularly like how they made the surface look like stone. You can also see that the table bases were cast from paper sonotubes.


Another thing I really enjoyed were these concrete posts (perfect for potted plants) and the metal siding of the building.



Finally, I really liked this wooden gate that pivots around the rusty metal pipe.

Knitted Felted Ballerina Slippers

I have been making a few more pairs of the knit Felt Ballerina Slippers from Fiber Trends for the women in my family as Christmas gifts. I used Berkshire yarn from Valley Yarns. It is 85% Wool and 15% Alpaca. The Alpaca fiber felts very well.

The Berkshire yarn is a heavy worsted weight, so it was a bit tricky trying to get the sizing right. It was also challenging trying to get them to dry into a nice shape. I ended up using a two way shoe stretcher to dry the ballet slippers on.

I embellished the slippers with yarn in contrasting colors and commercial felt that I cut with pinking shears. I sewed the buttons to the strap, and sewed a loop of clear jewelry elastic on to the body of the slipper that loops over the button and strap. The stretch of the elastic allows you to slip the shoes on an off without having to deal with the button.

You can see the first pair I made here.

My favorite felt artists

Whether it be made from loose fibers, knit, crochet, or commercially made, I adore felt. Creating a fabric by wadding up a bunch of fibers seems like magic. I have created a few knit and hand felted items, like this, and this, in addition to a few scarves, but would like to explore the medium more. Here is a list of a number of felt artists that I find truly inspirational.

Lizzie Houghton
Gail Crossman Moore
Thomas Horst
Natalya Pinchuk
Jeung-Hwa Park
Ann Kyyro Quinn
Latifa Medjdoub
Sonya Mackintosh
Nicole Chazaud Telaar

The International Felt makers Guild has some good resources too. What felt artists do you like? The rose in the photo was created from a Two Old Bags pattern.

An Inconvenient Truth, the move.

A few weeks ago I had a chance to see the movie An Inconvenient Truth. If you have not had a chance to see this move, it is really important that you do. I highly recommend it. It simply explains global warming without making you feel guilty or stupid. As a result of viewing this move, I am going to add a few links to the sidebar that offer green products and articles.

Knit Pattern: Mr. Hankey Christmas Poo

I decided to add a little humor to my Christmas decorations collection this year. This is what I came up with.

Materials:
Chunky yarn, brown
Worsted yarn, red



The pattern is now available at my etsy store:
ansleybleu.etsy.com

You can view more photos here.

This pattern is copyright by Ansley B. Davies and is intended for personal use only.

Holiday Art Boutique this weekend

Buy Handmade for the Holidays!

The San Gabriel Bead Company Holiday Staff Boutique

Featuring mosaics, ceramics, magnets, journals, sterling silver jewelry, handmade beads, beadwork, fused glass and more.

Friday, December 8th, 12 – 9pm
Saturday, December 9th, 10 – 6pm
Sunday, December 10th, 12 – 5pm

Featured Artists
Mariah Bonner
Ansley Davies
Jennifer Morris
Alice Neal
Shu – Shu Perugino
Shirley Whong

The San Gabriel Bead Company
325 East Live Oak
Arcadia, CA 91006
626.447.7753

This will be my last boutique for the season. I hope you can make it!

Felted Baby's Yoda hat

I saw a pattern for a knitted baby's Yoda hat today. You can find the pattern at Meandering.
Thanks Sunshyne!

Carrie Fisher and the knit Leia wig.

An amazing artist, Donald Roller Wilson, and dear friend of Carrie Fisher commissioned me to knit a Leia wig for Carrie's birthday. I knit it out of a gorgeous brown Misti Alpaca Chunky yarn.

Carrie Fisher has a new one-woman show at the Geffen Playhouse called Wishful Drinking. The show has had great reviews. At some point in the show she wears the knit Leia wig I made for her. You can see a full sized photo of Carrie wearing it in Variety Magazine here.

Winter Holiday Tree made of wood

Today I went to a coffee shop by work and saw this amazing winter holiday tree.

I usually am not interested in winter holiday ornaments, but this one struck me. I really like that is not completely Christmas oriented. I am going to try to make one. I found some unfinished wood cutouts at Michaels and Woodworks, Ltd.

Galley of Leia Wigs

I have posted a gallery of Leia Wig photos on my Flickr page. Thanks to all of you who sent me photos. They look great!

If you knit the Leia wig and have not sent me a photo, it is not too late. Send it in and I will post it with all the others.

Bohemian Hoop Earring Workshop

Do you love hoop earrings? Would you like to learn how to make your own?

I am teaching a workshop on how to make Bohemian Hoop Earrings. We go through the basics on how to make a hoop from sterling silver wire. You then learn how to embellish the hoop by binding them with beads and more wire.

Details:
Tuesday, November 28th
7 - 10pm
The San Gabriel Bead Company
325 E Live Oak Ave
Arcadia, CA
626.447.7753

Etsy, a wonderful place to shop

Etsy, a wonderful place to shop.

Many of you already know about this great site that features amazing items hand made by artists. It is a great place to purchase unique gifts.

I have linked to my Etsy store in the left hand column marked SHOP. My store is called Bleu Arts, but you have to search for me under ansleybleu. I will be adding new items as soon as I get a chance to photograph more of my handcrafts.

Pincushion Bracelets

I saw this fantastic tutorial on how to make wrist pincushions over at My Little Mochi. I knew I had to make a few as presents for all my friends who sew.

I went to buy elastic headbands and found that the round elastic ones were only available in boring colors. I chose ‘ouchless girls reversible headwraps’ by Goody, which are flat, brightly colored elastic.

I went to my favorite fabric store in Downtown LA, Michael Levine. I found this colorful floral fabric called Celebración that was designed by Kathy Hall of the Museum of New Mexico, Museum of International Folk Art. Andover Fabrics printed the fabric.

I used a compass to make a circular template out of cardstock. That way I could trace out a perfect circle on my fabric before I cut it.

Sous Le Soleil, an outdoor artist boutique Nov. 18th

You are invited to Sous Le Soleil, an outdoor artist boutique.

Saturday, November 18th, 12 - 5pm
330 Redwood Dr.
Pasadena, CA 91105

Featuring the handmade jewelry, clothing, plushies, drawings & more of:
Ian Atol, Kari Atol, Tyn Atol, Michelle Caplan, Ansley Davies, Renee Dominique, Shari Enge, Emilyn Eto, C. J. Metzger, Miss Mindya, Jennifer Morris, Matt & Erin Sloan, and Denise Young .

Live music provided by C.K.T. and guests.

MAP TO THE EVENT

How to: Create your own lip balm recipe.

A couple of years ago I saw a great lip balm tutorial at Not Martha. I was very inspired by it and decided to create my own recipe. It was a little difficult finding information about what works best. After a lot of research, I compiled a list of what to do.

The Basics:
For a firm lip balm that can be used in a tube or tub, you will need a ratio of about 2:4 solids to liquids. Solids meaning wax & butters, liquids meaning oils. If you find your final product too thick, add more oils. If it is too thin, add more solids.

For solids, I use bee’s wax & mango butter. Other solids are also available.

For liquids, I use sweet almond oil, olive oil, castor oil, and avocado oil. Other types of liquids are available.

Put all of your ingredients in a double boiler and let them melt. Make sure to stir the mixture. Add essential oils just before you are ready to fill your tubes or tubs. This way they will not have a chance to evaporate.

When creating a recipe, be sure to write down the ingredients you have added to each batch including the measurement. I add ingredients a half teaspoon at a time until I get it right. Once you get it right, you will know just how much of each item you used. There will be no need to figure it all out again.

Equipment Needed:
• Stovetop
• Double boiler to melt ingredients in
• Measuring spoons
• Plastic pipettes (droppers) to help you pour melted ingredients into your tubes or tubs without spilling.
• Tubes or tubs to hold lip balm. I prefer to use metal tins instead of plastic because they have less of an environmental impact.
• Labels, if you plan to sell or give as gifts.

Where to shop:
There is a big selection of recipe’s at the Ponte Vedra Soap Shoppe. I shop at Majestic Mountain Sage. They have many exotic oils and good prices. Be sure to check the net because there may be a new company that has popped up that worthy of attention too. If you can’t wait to get started, and good health food store or Whole Foods Market will carry most of the ingredients you need.

About ingredients:
Castor Oil will make your balm glossy.

Shea butter can be stinky and needs to be melted at a certain temperature. If you do not pay attention to this it will become grainy. Use mango or another type of butter instead.

Stay away from hydrogenated oils because they are unhealthy.

Vitamin E Acetate is an antioxidant and extends the shelf life of your product. Make sure to use it in every recipe. I use vitamin E oil that comes in gelatin capsules. They are easy to puncture and squeeze into the mixture.

If you prefer a sweet lip balm, add some honey.

If you like tinted lip balm, add some of your favorite lipstick to the mixture. If you want to experiment with making your own colors you can purchase Iron Oxide, Mica Powder, or D&C colors to add to the mixture. Mica Powders will add a shimmer to you final product.

Avoid artificial flavors. There are many natural essential oils that can be used which will increase your lip balm's healing potential.

About Essential Oils:
Use essential oils such as tea tree oil, rosemary, sage, peppermint, spearmint, anise, vanilla, cinnamon oil, camphor oil, lavender or ginger. A combination of any of these can be nice as well.

Tea tree oil is known for its antibacterial, antifungal and antiseptic qualities.

Camphor, and mints are cooling.

Cinnamon and ginger are warming.

Do not use any essential oils that are from the citrus family because they make the skin photosensitive.

About Labels:
If you want to make up your own labels, Dover Publications has a great selection of clip art available. You can sign up for free design samples that they e-mail to you about every other week.

Other uses for ‘lip balm’:
These balms are good for cuticles and hands, if you create one without color or sweetener. Balms are great if you work with PMC too, just as long as you do not use any petroleum products in your recipe.

Public Art at the LA County Zoo

I visited the LA Zoo on Halloween weekend. This may be considered unfortunate because it was a Boo at the Zoo day, so there were hoards of people there. Luckily it was fun to see so many kids wearing Halloween costumes.

I was surprised to find a nice selection of public art throughout the zoo. Many of the structures that house the animals can be considered works of art, but I am referring to actual sculptures located throughout the zoo grounds. The first think I noticed was an amazing fence made of sculptural animal silhouettes.

I liked the recycled glass that had been pressed into the concrete of the entryway.
Just inside the park there is a great curving rusty wall with animal cutouts.

I also enjoyed the mosaic cow and fantastical sink just outside the petting zoo.

Creative Arts Group Annual Art Festival

Creative Arts Group is hosting their
Annual Art Festival

Friday, Nov.10th, 7 – 10pm
Saturday, Nov.11th, 10 – 6pm
Sunday, Nov.12th, 11 – 5pm

The work of more than 70 professional artists will be available for sale. Some of my fused glass necklaces, fused glass magnets, and mosaic flowerpots will be for sale in the gallery. It is a fun event and great place to pick up interesting, one of a kind gifts. Be sure to pick up a workshop schedule too. They have great workshops for children and adults.