New Wonderful Felt Gallery

On my way back from the dentist Monday, I stopped at this wonderful felt & fiber gallery, Spiralworks Fiber Studio & Gallery in Canaan, Maine. I was intrigued by a huge, amazing felted bird sitting over a colorful nest of felted balls in the window.

The artist behind all this is Heather Kerner, and her work is amazing... here are a few examples:




To add to my delight, she's going to carry my cards and perhaps some other work of mine in her wonderful space. I'm so excited. Here's her address if you are Mainer that ever goes to Sugarloaf and passes by there:
SpiralWorks
P.O. Box 35
284 Main Street (Rt. 2)
Canaan, ME 04924
207-474-6519

There will be a gallery opening Gala Event on Friday, December 9th from 6:00-9:00 p.m. there,so check it out if you are anywhere near there... really worth the while.

Oh...coming soon, I am cleaning out my CD collection and have lots of CD's I plan to give away on this blog. I'll begin posting them soon...more info to come...

Ornament Thursday #5: Holiday Delight

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Seems fitting to have an edible-looking ornament to start out today's Ornament Thursday post, since we'll all probably be eating a lot today.


India Romeo has the Sweetest (pardon the pun) cupcake ornaments at her site. What better way to celebrate the season than buy handmade for the Holidays!

Several other handmade, albeit very different handmade, ornaments come form Inge-Glas. These are Authentic German Ornaments that make me very nostalgic for my Swiss roots. The Müller-Blech family, glassblowers since 1597, have preserved the tradition and craftsmanship of blowing glass and glass ornaments as we know today for over 400 years. I love and collect them (budget permitting).These are just a few of my favorties. The birds are cool because they clip onto the tree branch and sit on it.


As I write this post, it's starting to snow here in Maine-- the Holiday season has truly begun. I hope it's full of abundance, cheer and happiness for you all, and not too much mall frenzy!

That's how I feel, too...

"Color possesses me. I don't have to pursue it. It will possess me always, I know it. That is the meaning of this happy hour: Color and I are one. I am a painter." -Swiss artist Paul Klee.


Park bei Lu, 1938, by Paul Klee

This little painting of my own was inspired by Paul Klee:

Ornament Thursday #4

For some holiday sparkle, Crate & Barrel has a huge, lovely ornament selection. Here are just a couple of highlights: The Ball Ornament with Paper Dots and the Flocked Teardrop Ornaments.

Speaking of ornaments, I just completed lots of these ornament-inspired gift tags. Some of them are going to The Sampler, and perhaps others will be for sale up at my site. They're made from origami or embossed foil paper & felt collage with added stitching and a colorful string for attaching to packages.


...and if you're looking for some glitzy stuff to add to your Holiday crafts, this site is not to be missed!

New at my site

This sweet Panda handpuppet is up at my site. The body is quite elegant, sewn from a satiny, lightweight brocade-like fabric with an Asian print.

Ornament Thursday

This week's ornaments come from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's store.

I'm a sucker for these old fashioned Father Christmas ornaments-- The "Old World Charm" comes through in this version.


The unicorn in captivity ornament is based on a tapestry from the Museum's collection. I've always loved the image...I remember a friend had a poster of this in her room when we were in 6th or 7th grade and I was enchanted by it.

You can get a better look at or purchase these at the Museum's website...it's doing a good deed, too, as purchases support the Museum.

Up for trade (or sale)

I made a little felt holder to go with two of my felted carrot pens. The holder is 100% wool felt, has 2 little carrots sewn on the front, with the greens embroidered on. And a vintage green button. Comes with the 2 felted carrot pens.
I'm a bit shy saying it, but this is up for trade (or sale)-post here-- or email christina at fernhousestudio.com **This trade has been taken...THANKS-- visit again to see what's up for trading.**

Ornament Thursday

Now that we've all survived Halloween I can make it official... from now until Christmas I'll have a special feature called:

ORNAMENT THURSDAY

That's right... scanning the internet, looking for the the thrill of glittery, and the agony of discrete. I'll be showcasing a different ornament or two here every Thursday. With links, to boot.

Garnet Hill kicked us off last week. Today we're off to
Smith & Hawken ...
Where you can find this squirrel ornament...or a whole set of forest friends. So cute, and sparkly, too.


It's fun to find ornaments that can appeal to my love of animals and my love of the sparkly at the same time.

Gorgeous photos

I'm quite taken with this blog whcih I recently came upon. Wonderful crafty projects and she takes amazingly gorgeous photos! Lots of color, which I really love to see. Very well done, Tsaiware!

Sneak Peek # 3 Snow Lion

Meet the Tibetan Snow Lion. This little guy will be up for sale on my site later this week.

What's a Snow Lion you ask? Well, he's a mythical creature from Tibetan Buddhist Folklore... a white lion with a green mane.

Here's a bit of right-on info about Snow Lions from Snow Lion Publication's website (Snow Lion Publications publishes Buddhist books, images and the like-- a great resource):

"The name "Snow Lion"originates from a mystical animal that has great significance in Tibetan culture as the national symbol of Tibet. Two lively snow lions appear on the Tibetan National Flag. They are fearless and valiant and indicate the complete victory over all obstacles. They represent the strong vitality of the Tibetan people who revere the Three Precious Gems- the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Elsewhere the lions appear supporting the thrones of various deities and symbolize the strength and fearlessness of those who have perfect wisdom and compassion."

I hope my little creation can do justice to that.

More insanity

If I was sane normal person I would wait until Halloween is over to post this. But I'm more like a Christmas-looney crazed misfit, so I have to point out these lovely ornaments from Garnet Hill



Speaking of Garnet Hill, I so want this shirt:


Ok, now that I've said it, I feel better.

Fairy House

Fairy House 2
Originally uploaded by Fern House Studio.

My boyfriend Phil and I made a fairyhouse a few weeks ago... on a whim. I've got more pictures of it on my Flickr page, but this shot shows the "people" Phil made with green hair from pine needles. He even carved little faces on them with his pocket knife. Such a Boyscout! I, meanwhile, did all the construction and landscaping (sigh!) :) It's fun to do these types of ephemeral projects. I love the work of Andy Goldsworthy, which seems to be not so far from making fairyhouses.

Sneak Peek # 2

This very 50's Retro Robot finger puppet will be up on my site next week. There's only one--he's kind of special. I was thinking of those tin robot toys from the 50's when I made him. The antennae are made from plastic-coated wire. I painted him red after a vintage robot toy I saw on Antiques Roadshow a few weeks ago. He's kind of a friendly robot--not so scary. Boy, I'll tell ya, it was hard getting the square shape with the Creative Paperclay! But a fun challenge and I'm pleased with the result, if I may say so. I think someone will be very happy with this little guy.

Speaking of retro stuff, I got this really cool wallet by Tiny Meat at my favorite shoe store nearby (ShoeGazer). You can see their wallets here . They don't have the one I got up on their site, a 50's family in a red van going on a family trip. But I like this one from their site: My only improvement on these would be not to have "Tiny Meat" written on them so prominently. It's a little over the top, for my taste. But their wallets are very cool and outrageously inexpensive at $12 each!

Meet Millie

This is Millie:


Millie is my new sweet friend. She arrived from Washington, where she was made by the talented Karen of Kraf-o-la. I'm so happy to have Millie among all the creatures here at Fern House Studio. And thank goodness she has a scarf! It's getting cold here in Maine.

This just in!

Just a quick note to say that new fingerpuppets have appeared at the Fern House Studio store. View all the thumbnails here.Or see them individually...
Snails
Turtles
Owls.

... also for collectors, I now sell the stands for the fingerpuppets on my website.

COMING SOON:
Wonderful stocking stuffers: Felted carrot pens, felted pens in lovely felt cases, more fingerpuppets. Soon to be back in the store [maybe as early as tomorrow] are these finger puppet favorites: foxy, dinos, squirrel with acorn, piggy, lion & rooster. And several new ones coming, too.

Have a relaxing end to your week

-Christina

New newer newest

Got some wonderful, and very inexpensive, silver earrings from this Etsy seller.

Etsy is so great, isn't it?! Have your tried the search by color feature? It's too fun-- really-- watch it: it's a real time sucker! The latest cool Etsy search tool is this. I guess I'll waste some time on that today.

This little hedgehog is a new addition to my own etsy store

Kinda like this etsy shop.

Ok...I'll be back...Gotta go check out these search tools.

My NEW Flicker Page

I've taken the plunge and set up a Flicker page for Fern House Studio stuff. Please let me know if this link works: My Flicker page. Thanks so much! :)

Funny

Got this idea from Jen via Purple pink and orange's blog.
Google your name and to add the word ‘needs’. Then, post the top ten answers.

Here's mine:
1. Why Christina needs to be "thanked" for her comments in Blender.
2. Christina needs to work with Kanye West, asap.
3. [my personal favorite] Christina needs to wear clothes ON TOP of her underwear.
4. Christina needs to consume 1725 calories per day to maintain her current weight,
and 2225 to gain one pound per week. So perhaps we should let her eat cake!
5. Christina needs to quit losing weight.
6. Why Christina Needs To Go.
7. Christina needs to hear from you right away so she can plan effectively.
8. Christina needs a hand (not like that, perv! :P) [fyi that last quoted part was not from me, was in the google]
9. Christina needs her.
10. And I think I know what Christina needs. Assistant director: Okay, could we have
quiet, please? Stop all the work, please. (chickens start clucking) Please ...

I'm adding 11 because it's good and 9 & 10 weren't so good...
11. Christina needs to advance from good to great and become the bellwether district
in the state.

What's really funny is, that most of these could work for me...

Swoop & Scoop

I've got a lot of fingerpuppet updates coming to mysite. If you want to get a jump on these--they're going to sell out fast-- why not go to my Etsy store? I've posted several new fingerpuppets there... it's kind of a way to beat the rush at my website-- order them from my Etsy store now. These cute blue elephants are among the fingerpuppets you'll see there.

I've been really busy this week getting things packed up to send to the Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon, CT (near Hartford). They are carrying my puppets for their holiday show. If you're in that area, please visit them. Candlelight opening Friday November 18th, then open daily from November 18th through December 24th. For more information, visit their website.

A couple of fun links

I just love the site design for this site. Love her work, as well.

Got this cool handbag thru Crafter's United to support Hurricane Katrina relief. I adore my new handbag--use it all the time! Extremely well made and well-designed with one strap-- so straps don't fall off your shoulder when you're taking things out of it.

That's all, folks!