Creating Fleece Curls for Needle felting

Have you seen the lovely curls you can buy and drooled over them - only to buy them and been a little disappointed by the quality



Or you have wanted locks to match a perfect colour for your needle felting project




That was me - until I found several methods to create my own curls using my own roving or tops in every single colour

 Here in my very first video on curls I showed my method that I found and have loved of winding a thin strand of tops around a kebab stick (or a chopstick if you want looser curls, and then tipping a kettle of boiling water over the fleece to 'shock' it into taking the shape

I then discovered how to make sure they work every single time by making sure to add a little twist as you wind your tops rather than making it totally flat like a ribbon

(this video is really worth watching)

And finally how do you use these curls? or how to quickly make some when you dont have time to create some and wait for them to dry? You can just use roving and felt it on 'curly' to make bobbles and lumps of a short curly coat (if you want flowing locks like a unicorn mane or a mermaid hair (am I giving you ideas for projects?) then you do need to create the locks first)

I hope these little tutorials help and inspire you with ideas for new projects - and save you money :) 

If you make anything with 'my' locks please share them with me #BenMcFuzzylugs or come over to 'Pam Duthies Felting Friends' on facebook 

Oh and I am asked often how long these curls last - I have had some for several years and have seen no signs of the curls dropping - they seem pretty permanent 

How to use photography to boost views on Etsy

In this weeks Etsy tips video 'Love a Loser'

I talk about taking a listing that isnt doing well and showcasing it for a month to see if you can boost things

One of the changes I made to my little needle felted yorkshire terrier was thinking about the images

Obviously this is a custom listing so there is little I can do to actually reshoot the dog (he was sold ages ago)

But it is SO SO important that an image catches the eye. Even if I can get him to the front page for a search term if he dosent catch the eye of shoppers then no-one will click, no-one will pin share love interact with or buy

So I had a go at trying to make him pop just using photoshop 

This was the original photograph, at the time I was super happy with this, his expression is great and its a fairly crisp photo, I like the slightly blurred kennel in the background 

But of course over time I have learnt more and styles change so I see plenty faults in this

First of all the background is not properly white - it has a pink tinge - and the colours are not saturated, it is a bit washed out

I like there are some pops of colour with the kennel roof in green and the dogs pink tongue 

But to stand out things have to pop

So first of all I tried this, I lightened the background to make it properly white and I did actually intensify the colours. Then as red is very eye catching I tried this border

But honestly although the red draws the eye it draws the eye only to the border and the image looks even more washed out - so new plan 

So this time I kept some of the red for the eye catching - but added a paw print border - just to stand out from all the other listings. I also upped the saturation of all the colours and sharpened the image up some more

What do you think? He is not perfect, I am still learning but hopefully this catches the eye a little more without insulting the eye :)

Fuzzylugs Friday

Fuzzylugs Friday

Fuzzylugs Friday

Fuzzylugs Friday

Todays Fuzzies, there were all taken in the 'carpark in the Sky' Overlooking Paisley
If you like them please visit my store 

McFuzzylugs at Crufts

Some of my wee fuzzies made it to Crufts this year :)

Fuzzies on holiday

Some of my fuzzies escaped for a wee holiday. A lovely lady did a photoshoot of them. You can see more of them on my facebook page (feel free to like it and to share any of these amazing photographs) and some of these are on my Etsy shop. Please contact me if you would like a fuzzy made just for you

Needle felted Japanese Chin

Blue roan Cocker Spaniel

The fuzzies are taking over the madhouse!

Last week the horrible happened. My computer hard drive died along with everything from the past 3 years.

All them images of my fuzzies! Thankfully most of my real life fotos are saved due to me sharing them on photobucket and facebook

 A very good lesson to me to back up things.









So now I am sorting through my drawers of fuzzies trying to figure out which ones I need a new photoshoot for
(not the best now we are heading for winter and the light is rubbish for photographs)








Pulling out everything I see just how many fuzzies I have made in the past 5 years!
Many have gone to loving homes all over the world but I also have quite a lot still with me

They really need a home somewhere where they can see the light of day





and I really need less clutter in my house

So I have decided to have the biggest sale I have ever had!!!

check out my sale section,
It is like the biggest ever spring clean in autumn :)








 Many of these items have been in my shop for a while and have had some amazing views, likes and been in many treasuries, this is why I have been resistant to selling them off cheep, but now is the time!! Lots of there are way less than 1/2 price

So if you have loved needle felted sculptures but been a little weary to start your collection there has never been a better time
Have a look and see, everyone tells me how much better these wee guys are in real life
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/BenMcfuzzylugs?section_id=11175199

A mini staffie

I have been neglecting sharing my new small range of fuzzylugs as I have been so busy making and shipping these to the Beauly Gallery where they are selling like hot cakes :)

But I had to share this wee man

I dont usually make clothes for my fuzzies but I just had to with Ben. This is the outfit he wore for his owners wedding, a lovely well behaved addition to their day. Sadly not long ago Ben passed away and when his owners asked for a fuzzy I was very honored and tried to do him justice

Bedlington Terrier

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welsh springer spaniel

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Needle felted Alaskan klee kai

In my Etsy shop this week alaskan klee kai needle felted in silky alpaca

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A-Z needle felted dogs Saluki

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#benmcfuzzylugsgiveaway

First time I have ever done this!!
But I have decided when my facebook page (http://facebook.com/benmcfuzzylugs) gets 1000 likes then I will start a MASSIVE shop wide sale

But thats not all
To get 1000 likes I need help - and you will be rewarded :)
For every person who shares my facebook page or blogs, tweets, retweets, pins or whatever else out there that you are on (and if you can add the words #benmcfuzzylugsgiveaway somewhere on your post it helps me find it easier) and comment here or on my facebook page that you have done it, you will be entered in my draw to get your very own custom sculpture of any animal for free - free worldwide shipping too

And STILL that is not all.
Once I have that 1000 likes I will then start sharing your work with my new adience, thats right, Im bringing back my featured Friday. So everyone who shares my facebook page somewhere, tells me about it and tells me about their work and asks to be included in a feature I will feature your work here on this blog and on my facebook page on a first come first done basis

So one little share by you means a shop sale, a chance to win your very own sculpture AND a feature on my blog

Thankyou for supporting me :)

Pyrenean Sheepdog - A-Z needle felted dogs

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A-Z of needle felted dog breeds - pug

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