How to Create Felted Easter Eggs

Easter will be here before we know it and these easy to make felted Easter Eggs would be perfect to display for the coming holiday.

Have you ever tried felting?

It is surprisingly easy to do, requires very few supplies and the creations are only limitted by your imagination! A few years ago I created several felt pumpkins for my entryway and that post is still getting pinned. I just love how they turned out. I display them every year.

I have always wanted to start a collection of Easter Eggs to display every year and I have a few half-finished knit eggs in my WIP pile. This year though, I wanted to take a stab (pardon the pun!) at making a few felt Easter Eggs. Luckily they take less time to knit. The perfect project for a rainy day.

First you will need a few supplies:

• Plain roving wool
• colored roving wool
• felting needle (barbed)
• thick foam for shaping

I like to buy a large bag of plain white wool for making the base of my shapes. It usually costs less than buying all dyed or colored wool. I can add a layer of colored wool over the top. But, feel free to use the wool you can find, or have on hand.

I buy smaller balls of colored wool, depending on the project. I found these primary colored roving wool on Amazon. You can also find a variety of sellers on Etsy.

Then you need to get yourself a felting needle.

Felting needles can be a little intimidating! They are very long, tapered and sharp.

If you look closely at the tip you can see the little barbs. This helps to pull wool into the center as it is jabbed. I have gone through several different needles and simple is best for me. Unfortunately I have broken the tips off of more expensive needles.

Used properly, they are quite safe. Even my kids enjoy felting. Just make sure your needle never gets too close to your hand during shaping.

Begin with a big handful of roving wool. It will compact down a lot as you shape it. For one egg, I used a large handful of wool. The nice thing about felting is you can always add or take away wool until you achieve the size and shape you want.

I press the wool together with one hand and gently jab with the other. I will fold and roll the wool into the desired shape as I make controlled jabs until the object starts to shape up.

Once I had the basic egg shape, I could jab and turn the egg to get a more compact and smooth shape.

To decorate the white eggs, I took small amounts of colored wool and layed them over the egg. Then slowly and deliberately jabbed them in place.

Use the needle to pull any loose fibers into place, or stretch them with the needle tip to fill an area. If you don't like the placement, just pull the colored fibers off the egg. It is that easy.

For my multi-colored banded egg, I layered on multi-colored roving yarn and then layered it with a little more white, then another layer of colored wool till I achieved the desired pattern.

On another egg, I put created red flowers and green leaves.

In the future I would love to try stencils to achieve patterns around the eggs. Experiment and let me know what works for you. If you make your own felt Easter Eggs, leave a link below, I would love to come check them out.

For more craft ideas, visit a few of my favorite bloggers:

How to Make Your Own Night Cream for Beautiful Skin by The Socialite's Closet

St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun Trap by TigerStrypes Blog

Zoey's Treasure by Immutable Ramblings

Easter Spring Wall Decor by B is 4

Homemade Citrus Enzyme Cleaner by Girly Creation

Feather Rings

Of course, I am back with another jewelry craft. This one is fast, simple and fun! We created our own feather rings with ring blanks, guinea fowl feathers, and Dimensional Magic Mod Podge.

One thing I don't enjoy about fall is that our birds all start molting. We seem to have feathers everywhere in the yard. As much as I get tired off all those stray feathers being molted, I do get excited for the guinea foul to shed  few. These little polka dotted beauties are from my 3 guinea fowl. I promise they are not much to look at, but the feathers are beautiful.

I know, not everyone has their own supply of feathers walking around the yard, but these are also commonly found at craft stores. The feathers are relatively small and have a thin shaft. They are also popular for fly tying.

For this project you will need:

• 1 clean feather
• 1 ring blank
• Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
• toothpick
• scissors

Start by picking a good feather to fit your ring blank. I tried out several feathers to test their size and shape inside the ring. Don't worry if your feather is larger than your ring. Just make sure it fills up the inside completely.

Don't worry, we are going to trim the feather to fit. I decided against using the smaller feather because it didn't fill up the outsides of the ring. I used a larger feather and just trimmed off the top.

With your squeeze bottle of Mod Podge, start squeezing into a paper towel and then fill in the bottom of the ring blank. Do not fill the entire blank, just coat the bottom. Use your toothpick to remove any bubbles that may have formed.

Lay the feather on top of the partially filled ring blank. Using the toothpick, make sure the feather edges are inside the blank. Trim as necessary.

Then add a little Dimensional Magic Mod Podge to cover the top and completely seal the ring.

Let the ring dry flat for several hours. I like to prop mine up between two jars. Once it dries, the Mod Podge will dry clear and you are ready to enjoy your new feather ring.

For more crafts from The Brand Connection, visit a few of my favorite bloggers:

• Create It Chalkboard by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
• Thanksgiving Leaf Banner & Centerpiece by B is 4
• Create Some Pallet Art by TigerStrypes Blog
• Tea Set for Dollies by Girlie Creation
• Tree Motor Skill Craft by Say It, "Rah-shay"

"You are my Sunshine" Stamped Metal Bracelets

I have recently become smitten with metal stamping.  I have found so many fun items on Etsy and project ideas on Pinterest, I just had to try it for myself. It is a fun way to personalize items. I love how it can range from very simple, to extremely complex with patterns and texturing.

I made this easy stamped bracelet for my first project. I have been singing, "You are my sunshine" to my children since they were babies. I already have the first line hanging up in their playroom and thought it would be perfect for a bracelet for my daughter. The key was to find something short and meaningful. It is amazing how fast you run out of room while stamping!

 As with most new craft endeavors, it requires a little practice and a few supplies to get started.

I suggest getting a nice and stable steel stamping block, tape, metal stamps in the font of your choice and a good metal stamping hammer.

I also tried this project with a small regular hammer and found that the stamps slid more and it was not as clean an imprint  (more double impressions). The specialty hammer gave me better control, a larger strike surfuce and didn't require much energy to make the imprints. Either will work, of course, but the specialized stamping hammer does have some benefits.

Since I wanted to create a bracelet, I also used a bracelet kit which included a bending form and metal stamping blanks.

To get started I selected my phrase, "You are my sunshine", removed the protective film on the metal blank, and used the tape to mark out the spacing. Check and double check that the stamps are turned the correct way. This was the first time I used the Bridgette font and I had a few mistakes!

Hold the stamps securely against the blank and give them a firm tap straight down. Getting the technique down was the hardest part.

But, save those mistakes and use the blanks for practice next time!

After stamping out the phrase, just remove the tape and rub a sharpie into the indentations. Rub away any excess ink and the lettering will stand out just a little more.

Then I used the bracelet form to bend the blank into cuff form.

Overall this was a quick and fun project. Once you invest in the initial supplies (stamps, hammer, etc.), the blanks themselves are pretty inexpensive. So, what would you put on a bracelet?

For more blog posts from The Brand Connection crafters:

• Fall Button and Twine Bracelet by Confessions of an Overworked Mom
• DIY Fall Banner Wreath by B is 4
• You are my Sunshine Stamped Metal Bracelet by Adventures in All Things Food