Business + Wedding Meet: Our Handmade Ring Box

I haven't mentioned my upcoming wedding since my announcement post about our engagement. I could tell you that I'm trying to keep wedding planning and House of Moss somewhat separate, as they both threaten to take over my life and together they would be unstoppable!!

Just kidding. I've simply been too busy to write blog posts about everything, that's all. :)

If you know me at all, you might be thinking I would be planning a woodland/rustic wedding. That's what I spend all day designing and making, anyway! Well... you would be wrong. I love so many styles that it has actually been an exercise in restraint to not mix different aesthetics into House of Moss over the years. I have to try very hard to keep it focused on my shop motto of "Handmade Woodland Decor for the Natural Home."

So, for my wedding, I finally get a chance to completely immerse myself in two of my other aesthetic loves: Art Deco and Japanese styling! SO excited about this. Art Deco has been one of my favorite design eras for about a decade now, and Erik's half-Japanese heritage provides us with a lot of material as well. They dovetail nicely, as they share some of the same motifs and lines, the scallop pattern, shown above on our box, being one of them.

We're DIYing as much as we can for our wedding. Pinterest is awesome for this. After spending literally hours on Pinterest trying to find the perfect ring bearer pillow/box idea, I found... nothing I liked.

[You would not believe how much rustic/woodland wedding stuff there is out there right now! From my Pinterest search, I am convinced that 80% of weddings are currently that theme.]

And leave it to me to not want to do what is currently popular. ;) So we designed our own ring box. We chose a box instead of a pillow because our ring bearer will be a little boy of not-quite-two in August, and we wanted our rings to be somewhat more protected.

Erik and I sat down one Saturday and collaborated on the design of our ring box. I chose the colors and the box, and E suggested the stamp and the embossing powder. It turned out looking so sharp!

Then we had the problem of the "pillow" part inside. After considering foam, fabric, ribbons, and some other ideas, I finally realized that I actually make my living, full-time, creating felt things... like the perfect solution to this problem. HA! How did I not think of that at the beginning?! So we ended up with a light teal felt cushion inside, which matches nicely to the emerald stone of my engagement ring. And the gold shell clasp is reminiscent of the actual shell ring box that Erik made for the proposal!

So there it is! Our Art Deco/Japanese custom ring bearer box with a handmade felt cushion. It's fun to share these little projects. Thanks for reading!

Thumbnail Glitter Armor for Needle-Felters

I'm not going to lie, needle-felting is kind of a dangerous craft. Poking a notched triangular-tipped needle, several times per second, within millimeters of your fingers, is asking for trouble.

I go through periods of time where I rarely stab myself, but sometimes there will be a week when I draw blood from my fingertip or the side of my finger several times. But recently, I began stabbing through my thumbnail. Four times in the span of a few weeks. One time, the needle went into the same spot it had poked through before. Mind you, I have been needle-felting for nearly four years, and this had never happened before last month.

So I finally decided to do something about it. I went to the store and bought the most glitter-filled nail polish I could find. And I put several layers of it on my thumbnail. Fixed!

It's already proven itself, too! We needle-felters should start a trend. It's like the manicures with the contrasting color on the ring-finger nail. But this one has a purpose!

2600 Acorns - Finished!

I did it! 2600 acorns in 17 days.

That's a record for sure, as well as a big milestone. Now to work on all the projects that got pushed to the wayside during my mad rush to finish this order!

Lately (because you deserve to know why I have been so quiet)

It's because I am drowning in acorns. And spending entire days watching Arrested Development. Let me explain...

Last week, I was surprised by the biggest order in House of Moss's history so far. An order of 2600 acorns, destined for the display windows of a chain of 20 clothing stores in Tennessee. Hooray!

This order came with a very tight deadline, one in which I must spend over 2 weeks straight making more per day, every day, than I've ever counted as a full day's work. But I do love a challenge, and having my items as window displays has been a dream for me. And since over the years I've acquired decent hand-eye coordination with my sharp felting needle, I can at least spend the time entertained by one family's hilarious shenanigans.

So please understand my absenteeism from the internet world. I'm just over here wearing out the tendons in my hands and dreaming of piles and piles of acorns.

New in the shop: Sheep Terrariums!

These little guys have been a long time in coming, but they're here now! A tiny wool felt sheep stands on a green mossy hill, all inside of a half-pint canning jar. So cute!

Featured in an Associated Press article!

My work has been highlighted in this Associated Press article about crafting with felt!

 I know the screenshots are tiny. Here's the full text of the article:

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KIM COOK, The Associated Press 

Posted: Saturday, December 22, 2012, 5:00 PM

 

It's that time of year when texture, character and warmth define the most successful decor. The perfect time for felt.

This season has seen a variety of creative, decorative felt items for table and tree. You'll find it sewn, lasercut, appliqued or otherwise manipulated to create eye-catching fashion accessories, charming toys and sculptures, and chic items for the home.

Or you can try your hand at felt-making and crafting yourself. (More on that later.)
In Portland, Ore., designer Alison Comfort offers a woodsy wonderland of little felt pumpkins, acorns, mushrooms, nests and forest animals — small sculptures that might add charm to a holiday table — at her Etsy.com shop, www.etsy.com/shop/houseofmoss.

"There's something so dear and precious about starting with a natural material in its raw state, using a simple tool and my own hands, and transforming it," she says.

There are guides online for making felt candy canes, but if you aren't crafty and still love the look, consider Land of Nod's delicious-looking versions; here too, round ornaments in felt stripes or gathered layers. All would look cute on a kids' tree. www.landofnod.com

At Crate & Barrel, laser-cut felt placemats with seasonal motifs, felt ball garlands, and a collection of tree ornaments including gingerbread men, Swedish style birds and owls add homespun charm. A felt pillow with appliquéd partridge in a pear tree might make a welcome hostess gift. www.crateandbarrel.com

The nature of felt — soft, pliable and able to take on a variety of colors — makes it terrific for crafting, not only for designers but for creative amateurs.

"Felt is one of my favorite materials. It's an extremely easy material to work with because, unlike most fabrics, it's non-woven, so it won't unravel and doesn't require hemming," says Jodi Levine, designer-at-large for Martha Stewart Living.

April Tatom of Louisville, Ky., sells felting supplies on her website, www.feltorama.com. When she decided to try her hand at appliqued clothing for children and experimented with various fabrics, "I found that nothing matched the lush texture of felt. It just beckons to be touched and adds a cozy dimension to any project. There's no 'right' or 'wrong' side to it. Felt toys are wonderfully tactile for little fingers and visually stimulating for kids of all ages."

For her own kids, Tatom recently completed a felt "picnic" set complete with a lunchmeat-, cheese- and lettuce-filled baguette, and a cookie for dessert. She also recreated one of her son's favorite book characters, Lowly Worm, from Richard Scarry's "Busytown."

Food is a popular subject for felt crafters, often as soft children's toys but sometimes so realistically rendered that it's elevated to something more artful.

Roving, a washed and carded wool with a texture similar to cotton candy, is the basis for many sculpted felt creatures and items. The fiber is pulled into strands that can be formed and poked with fingers or needles into shapes. Many of the animals on Etsy and in stores are crafted this way; it's easy to manipulate roving and no sewing is required. Check out www.livingfelt.com for supplies and kits.

Alternatively, a method called wet felting uses hot, soapy water and agitation to enmesh wool or other fibers so tightly that they cannot be pulled apart.

Additional online sources for wool and wool-blend felt, Levine says, include: www.purlsoho.com, www.achildsdream.com and www.commonwealthfelt.com .

Or you may not have to buy anything at all if a common laundry mishap occurs. "If you've ever shrunk a wool sweater, scarf or hat, you've created felt," Levine laughs.

Check the closet for sweater castoffs, then machine-wash and dry them on hot settings and get crafting. Projects like pillow covers, patchwork blankets and pouches are on www.marthastewart.com.

In the felting community, that method, which uses yarn rather than roving, is called "fulling."
Martha Stewart's site also has instructions for making little felt mitten clips, mini stockings and mice ornaments, tree skirts and gifts, as well as some easy kids' projects.

Children also might enjoy making little felt animals with EK Success' penguin or snowman craft kits. www.eksuccess.com

For first-time felt crafters, Tatom offers these tips:
— Invest in high-quality felt so it will hold up over time.
— Use a rotary cutter for larger cuts and small embroidery scissors for details. Rotary cutters save time, give precise results, and are also available in scallop and zigzag designs.
— Experiment with different types of felt. Each has benefits: recycled eco-felt (created from recycled bottles), 100 percent wool felt (rich texture), wool-blend felt (affordable, versatile), bamboo felt (ultra-soft).
— Don't create a machine-washable project without first testing a swatch of the felt in the washer.

 

KIM COOK The Associated Press

Lately

If I've been a bit absent lately, it's because I've been swept up in a whirlwind of change. Life has been unfolding in the weirdest of ways, and I find myself back where I started– but with a renewed thankfulness for the situation I have. I was offered a couple of different possibilities for day jobs... but I've decided to keep the one I have for now in the interest of putting more into my own business these next couple of months.

My current day job has been asking lots more hours of me, House of Moss business has been picking up thanks to the holidays, and somehow Erik and I found time to carve pumpkins with my parents.

One might think that all of this would make me too tired to get much else done, but I've managed to be quite productive. Wool is so unbelievably soothing, and the process of needle-felting is very grounding. And so a happy neighborhood of little wool cottages has sprung up during the evenings.

Acorns of the summer

Who cares if real acorns could never be flourescent pink! My little shop needs some color!

Bodhisattvas and saints

In my Etsy shop, I have little felted sitting people. They're about 6 inches tall, and I usually make such figures as calm seated women, St. Francis of Assisi, and Buddhist monks in red or saffron robes.

Last week I had the most inspirational custom order request by a man on the East Coast; he wanted to know if I could make three inspirational Buddhist figures:
Kwan Yin...

Thich Nhat Hanh...

and John Muir.

Hipstamatic tutorial: How to make needle-felted hearts, a Valentine's Day project

What you need: a felting needle (I use a 36-gauge triangle), a felting pad, a little puff of wool, and, if you want, a multi-needle tool.

Using the single felting needle or the multi-needle tool, punch the wool into a sort of flattened rounded-triangle shape.

Fold in one of the sides of your wool shape just a bit to form a flat side, and tack it down using the single felting needle. Fold in an adjacent side at about a right angle, and poke it until your new shape begins to felt together. This will be the tip at the bottom of the heart.

At the top of the heart, poke the space between the remaining original corners of your flattened wool puff, to make the dip at the top. Shape the rounded parts, too, by poking any place that seems to be sticking out too far, until your heart shape looks the way you want it to.

And there you go! A sweet little heart you can give to your dear ones as a reminder that they are loved.

What's new in my Etsy shop: So many mushrooms!

Come and visit them!