Voodoo Mini - Day 68

Another little felt creation. A mini voodoo doll to end a stressful week.
Not that I would EVER wish harm on anyone... its just sometimes the whole 'bad-karma-coming-back-to-them' theory doesnt work fast enough for some horrid people.

Takahe Brooches - Day 20

I have been making more of these Takahe Brooches. Here in NZ, there is a similar looking bird called a Pukeko that seems to get a lot of the attention in art and crafts. The Takahe is often left out, it can only be found in NZ and is also a gorgeous bird, but sadly it is now endangered.

More Fantail Brooches - Day 13

Sunday was a day of Fantails. I needed to make some more brooches and caught myself finetuning some of the design.
My original brooches have a solid border, but I was curious to see how they would look if it was cut closer to the actual shape. I will need to mull this over before my next batch, as I think the closer one is better.

 Here in NZ this bird is actually called pīwakawaka. 
 (Bonus... click on the picture to go and hear some fantail sounds)

 Mythology lesson for the day....


In Māori mythology the fantail was responsible for the presence of death in the world. Maui, thinking he could eradicate death by successfully passing through the goddess of death, Hine-nui-te-po, tried to enter the goddess’s sleeping body through the pathway of birth. The fantail, warned by Maui to be quiet, began laughing and woke Hine-nuite- po, who was so angry that she promptly killed Maui.

Felt butterfly brooch - Day 11

I made a red flower brooch for a friend and was inspired to try a butterfly.

Instead of stitching on the design with  various felt, embroidery or beads, I wanted to try to cut out the design with a craft knife. It has potential, but not sure when I'd use it next.

Mini rough guide of how its done...

Draw up a butterfly with a basic pattern that can be later cut out. 

You will want to keep the outside edge for stitching and just include some basic shapes inside that you can cut out.

Cut out the front and back butterfly shape. Draw the design on the back of the felt you are going to cut.

Using a craft knife, CAREFULLY cut out the inside shapes. The blade HAS to be sharp (trust me!). Sew a small brown or black body section onto the middle.

Once it is all cut, stitch the back and the front together. At this point, you might need to add some tiny holding stitches on parts that stick up. The felt allows you to do this without showing through the back if you aim for the middle.

Done! Now you can add a Brooch pin or attach it to a hairclip. Could also be used as an applique. MIne is missing the classic butterfly feelers, but I'm sure some could be added :)