Scrappy Sheep Ornie

Anyone who visits, knows that I have a ‘thing’ for my sheepies. In all fairness, I love my goaties just as much – and really need to do MORE STUFF with a goat theme! lol

I don’t know where this week has gone? Just kind of flew by… I’ve been busy, but don’t seem to have much to show for it! (I’ve been working on another 3 dozen ‘soap in sheep’s clothing’ (aka felted soap!).

I’m hoping, even if you don’t have a ‘thing’ for sheep, you might take away some ideas/inspiration and apply it to your own ‘thing-y’ WHATEVER that may be?!

I’ve been hopelessly smitten by St. Valentine’s Day bUg  since our XMas decorations came down.  I made a few more ♥-shaped ornies.

You don’t have to be a serious scrap-booker to make these ornies. I was actually re-organizing a drawer of bits  when I found some wood heart cut-outs (available at most craft stores). You could make ANY shape ornie from card stock.

I decided to use book pages from an old romance novel (it seemed apropos) and stained/aged them with coffee. (To give a vintage look to paper, spritz with a strong solution of instant coffee; place the paper on parchment paper in the oven on the lowest setting to dry. Once dry, you can iron the paper if you’re planning on running it through the printer.) Or, you could use sheet music or any decorative craft/wrapping paper.

Trace the heart onto the paper and cut it out… I also stamped a sheep onto the paper. Next, apply a coat of Mod Podge or dilute white craft glue to the wood heart and neatly place the paper onto the surface. Carefully smooth and remove any air bubbles. Apply another thin coat to the surface of the paper to seal.

Now comes the fun part… you can decorate with trim, lace, bits of this and that, buttons, glitter! Whatever suits your fancy. I used tissue paper hearts, bits of paper lace doily, pink sequins, ribbon and vintage lace. (I decorated front & back.)

I used ‘letters’ cut out from old magazines for little messages: love, ewe, bliss, etc.  Some I cut and pasted; others, I used packaging tape to transfer the ink image from a magazine page onto my ornie.

I wanted simple & prim: ornie, gift tag, garland… for the sheep lover & fiber enthusiast.

I drilled a hole at the top and added a piece of twine to hang! I think this would be a fun project for the kids too!

A Funky Little Tree

I’m often picking through the wood scraps that hubby tosses into the fire-box… looking for little bits that could possibly be transformed into something ‘cool’? Something like my little funky Christmas ‘tree’.

To make my little tree, I used (six) scrap wood slats cut to desired lengths, painted first with a coat of burnt umber and then a thin topcoat of antique white acrylic craft paint. But, you could paint a more traditional ‘green’ tree, or use no paint at all. I’ve seen similar trees made with different bits of trim mouldings too! Since I didn’t have a set of alphabet stamps in the font/size I liked, I decided to use my computer/printer and ‘aged’ paper. (However, you could hand-paint your sentiments directly onto the wood.) I used Mod Podge to ‘glue’ the letters to my wood. Next, I added a coat of tinted wax and nailed a wood star to the tree-top. My ‘tree’ stands about 28-inches tall and can be placed in an old crock on the doorstep or hung on the wall… to greet holiday visitors!

Today, I also made a few ‘graphic’ ornies/gift tags similar to these lovelies from pilo.ca that are featured in the current issue of Country Living.

I really like these ornies… a lot! So, I went to my fav graphics resource… The Graphics Fairy and made a few of my own:

Of course, I had to make a sheep or two. I like the pair of reindeer/stags…

And, oh ya, I’m in l-o-v-e with this goat too! You don’t often see many goatie decorations!?? I’ll have to make a few more of these goats for sure!

I used inexpensive cotton muslin and an iron-on transfer media available for purchase at most craft stores. (I found mine at JoAnnes) I used a natural, coarser weave fabric for the backing, and top-stitched the two pieces (front & back) together leaving an opening for stuffing. Don’t forget to add a ‘hanger’. I used hemp garden twine for my hanger. Instead of a synthetic filler/stuffing, I added my herbs and spices (rosemary, lavender, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, cinnamon, orange peel, etc.) for a pleasantly scented ornie! I think they would be a nice hand-made tag embellishment on a gift too!  

Well, I’m off to find a DUCK graphic for my brothers ~ who are BIG duck hunters! Maybe a Christmas goose…??

Thank Ewe

The dastardly deed, disbudding, is done! The bucklings are no worse for wear, bouncing everywhere. They enjoyed their first day – ALL DAY – outdoors, basking in sunshine and fresh air! We’re still on kid watch with Coriander…I’ll keep you posted.

This is a little lamb I worked on yesterday.

 

The little wooly lamb is needle felted with my white/natural Shetland sheep’s wool. I started out by needle felting two little rounds…making the head a bit disproportionately large for the body. I then attached, needle felted them together, slightly off-setting the head from the body (rather than centering it…).

I cut a little piece of ‘scrap’ WET felted wool (I never throw anything away) for the face…for a different texture…and needle felted it into place. I added a little bit of gray wool around her eyes and stitched on a small black bead. The nose/mouth are needle felted.

Now, for the ears and tail, I cut a piece of contrasting color from my wool snippets stash and stitched them in place. Last, I needle felted little feet and tied a little rusty bell around her neck. Oh, and a bit of chalk for color on her ‘cheeks’.

I added a string…this one is an ornie…to embellish a gift. But, wouldn’t it be cute tied onto an Easter basket?

♥blessings!