Tanglewood Thicket Creations

Cupcake Goblin Anyone?

2012-01-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

Sneak Preview of the first of many "flavors" of Tanglewood Thickets Cupcake Goblins!

This is Boysenberry Swirl Cupcake Goblin. He was a concept dreamt up two or so years ago in which I was not able to get going due to commissions. I wanted a palm size, sweet, soft...but colorful creature with big signature eyes, tiny little legs and huge feet. Boysenberry is the first of a dozen in the first series. All named from sweet and delicious cupcake flavors. This guy has a bit of a swirl on his horn as if it were frosting. He is sparkly! Has little confetti goblin warts, and on the back some cute little goblin wings. Yes, goblins can have wings too!

My husband George wanted me to sneak preview the first one before finishing the other 11. I think he thinks they are ugly. Ha! So far he has had a good feedback on the Tanglewood Thicket Facebook Page.

All 12 goblins, once finished will be all released into the wild at once. (Etsy) No pre orders, no holds, just finally some inventory in my poor neglected store. If they are popular enough I can do another dozen down the road...But they kinda remind me of Gumballs too...I am thinking a gumball Dragon or Gumball Goblin. With a toddler and a 5 week old though I could be dreaming!

Cupcake Goblins will be displayed in an open cupcake box as shown for gifting.
They will be $50.00 each plus shipping. No holds/reserves.

Snout Monster

2011-12-15T17:29:00.000-08:00

Snout monster is the newest creature from Tanglewood Thicket. He is another 2011 late commission. He is actually not 100% finished, but finished as I could get before heading to the hospital in the am to hatch a different kind of Goblin.

Snout is 40" tall standing, but can't actually stand. His horns are wired to be posed.

Lil Rainbow Sprout

2011-12-13T16:18:00.001-08:00

New little Rainbow Sprout Goblin! Ready to hit the road for Christmas. This little goblin has a slightly different look since he was requested to look like the very first goblin I ever felted.

Actually very hard going backwards once you've evolved over a few years.

Inkberry Dragon Pup for adoption!

2011-12-02T18:18:00.001-08:00

Inkberry Dragon pup is up for adoption before Christmas!

Find him here;

www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com

Rainbow Sprite Goblin, Anyone?

2011-11-17T10:16:00.001-08:00

Up for adoption just in time for Christmas is little Blue Rainbow Sprite Goblin!!! He went on a bit of a summer vacation to the states to get his picture taken, but he is back and ready to find a new home!

He will be availible to bid on for the next three days here:
Goblin Auction

6 Months of Creatures...

2011-11-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

Pink Berry Dragon Pup
Ink Berry Dragon Pup

Labyrinth inspired Fiery Goblin
Boober Fraggle Goblin and Sea Monkey
Island Punch Berry Dragon Pup

Sea Monkey

Apple Berry Goblin

Here is a scarce few creatures I created since May. The last 6 months have been not great in the world of Needle Felting for me. I became pretty sick every single day and lost my 5-8 hours of felting day in lieu of staying in my dark cool room in bed instead. Why is that? A new Goblin has been brewing...And he's almost ready!!! December 16th he'll be here!! I am not sure if I can get back to my long list of custom orders once he is here, but I am chipping away at it even though it has taking me almost a year to complete some of the orders of some very patient customers.

Dragon Pups...More Dragon Pups

2011-04-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Just when you've reached Tanglewood Thicket Dragon Pup Saturation...There is yet more to be seen!

A parade of commissioned Dragon pups to start off 2011!

Black Licorice Dragon

Gold Coast Dragon

Acrachnid: Candy Long Legs

2011-03-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

Here is my first Spider commission. Hopefully my last. I thought taking this project on would be easy enough. I figured black spider, maybe green eyes, maybe some orange and black fuzz on it's head. Easy-Peezy! I was wrong.Sooo Sooo wrong. I started off having to research beyond the black spider with eight legs. (Oh and little Disclaimer: I HATE SPIDERS! I am terrified of them. I have bad dreams about them. I worry they will crawl in my mouth when I am asleep. I worry they will eat my toes if I leave my leg out of the blankets when I am asleep...and so on.Okay, you get the point.) So, looking at all different types of spiders was a really hard thing for me. I could not stop flicking at myself and I had to keep looking away. I had a nightmare one night in which it came to life and started poking me with a felting needle. I even typed in cute spider to ease the pain. Finally settled on a random black furry arachnid which was the less threatening of the bunch.

So I started out with what I thought was a sturdy wire skeleton structure. I made a mistake. I used those super long jumbo pipe cleaners from Michaels. I made the body and then proceded to work my way along by coating all the legs. I thought that this project would take no time at all. I thought it would be three days work since there was no horns, or toes or wings or the rainbow gradation that easily adds several days to each project. Once I coated all the legs and then went back to stiffen them up it was obvious the pipe cleaners even as big as they were, were not going to cut it. I had imagined the legs in the crawling posistion. So I cut off all the leg wool I had spent a day or so felting, while trying not to cry inside. Darn it! I then found thicker wire which I wrapped in a spiral around the pipe cleaner and started my two day battle with re-coating the legs. Broken needles everywhere! Darn it again!

I had pre-dyed about five pounds of wool black with about three pots of Wilton's icing dye. It came out really muddy and grey with patches of jet black. Too much wool at a time. Limited time and patients on my part. I was pretty disappointed at first because I had three black projects lined up and in my mind they all needed to be jet black. But It turned out great. I used the gradation of the black to shade the Labyrinth inspired Fiery I just completed last week. The black on the spider was the darkest of the batch, but at the last moment I thought he looked boring so I added orange "knuckles"...then it escalated to Orange knuckles with purple hair, then orange hair, then black hair. Then I thought I should define the purple with bits of fuchsia. I seriously spent over 40 hours on this spider who was originally commissioned at 6" but turned out by my own goof to be 26" wide and 13" long. Opps! I added the little face dots to give it a softer look. Less like, it's going to eat me look. I had intended on making his whole back with black glittery hair, but I just could not do any more. This project really killed my hands from all the leg twisting and holding into place while painstakingly adding the mixed fibres as hair. 8 harry legs was such a battle. But I think he is being well received all over the place which is a good sign I did something right.

Well my Black Dragon is coated, my Orange Dragon is coated and the Baby Mobile which is also painful because of it's small size is back on the table as of this after noon. Five mini goblins riding five mini dragonflies. Gah!

I'm thinking my on again off again project of the mermaid and water monster needs at least a few hours of my attention this week. They are not a commission! Thank God! So up on the auction block they'll go. Whoot! Something to look forward too. My first real human..er, mermaid girl non creature, well creature but human creature. Okay, you get the point.

2011 Projects

2011-02-08T13:06:00.001-08:00

It's proven to be a very busy start to the new year! I just thought I'd take a sec between doing proof pictures of finished commissions, dying 5 pounds of black wool for my up coming three projects...All black! How did that happen? Black spider, Black Labyrinth Fiery and Black Dragon. But before the blackness came lots of light. Here are my finished projects so far this year!

Alaska Goblin Arrival!

2011-02-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

This weekend started off with a awesome little gift from fellow felter Patti of Dream Felt. She had commissioned me to make her a large Goblin in which she plans to construct a Zebra patterned thrown for. I think that is just so cool. But Patti is the first customer I've ever had who did not want to see her Goblin creature before it arrived. Not only was I nervous because I have never created for another Needle Felting artist, but I always send proof pictures to the customer first to get approval. Boy did I do some "mental pacing" waiting to get word her goblin had arrived. I also realized after it was sent that I never did my own pictures for this Goblin. Opps! But I got the best feedback of all this weekend. Patti Taped herself opening her Goblin package and posted a copy for all to see. I just love the video! I think I am hooked! Video feedback is just so awesome!

Patti opening Northern Night Sky Goblin

The goblin is cute, but that little sweet munchkin in the video is adorable!

Commission Cancellation

2010-12-15T00:24:00.000-08:00

Well, My first ever Commission Cancellation was this week. I can't complain. It was not that the customer saw the creature and hated it, although he is a strange little beast. It was just that the funds weren't there. So...Up for adoption on the Ebay Auction-Block he goes. I have to admit I love to auction. So since the cancellation came when he was 90% finished, I just finished him off and up he went.Now, I'll have refrain from checking every hour like I used to do when I was in design school and selling my sculpted fairies. Addict I was!

Have to say my indoor picture taking has not improved as you can see. Not that my outdoor leaves anything to be desired. Can't master everything I guess.

Named after Italian Fizz Candy...Here is Rainbow Zotz Goblin!

3 days on Ebay starting tonight!

Goblin Auction!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130466039911&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

5 Months Later...

2010-11-25T10:44:00.000-08:00

It's been 5 long months since I made my last Blog post. And I only have my husband to blame. :) Actually, he was trying to help me by giving me new blog tools and a new layout package, but in the end it only confused me and it made uploading pictures a pain in the butt. So, I have come back to my original format and I am ready to post again.

My whole summer and now all of fall and winter has been trying to get to the end of my commission list. It really is never ending. I have unfortunately, for most new customers, had to put a hold on taking any more. I feel a massive burn-out coming on if I continue on like this...it's now been 15 months of back to back commission with no break. And when I say that I literally mean I worked at least a few hours every single day this past year including Christmas day. I have maybe had one felt-less day in 365. I need to try and create some other things, and being on a time limit for the most part is stressful. So, I think my current customs will take me until after Valentines Day and then I a free felter!!!!! If only for a month or so. I think it would be awesome to do some smaller creatures for my poor neglected Etsy store. I already have a waiting list for the new custom season which will start after Valentines day sometime. I am also pleased that I will gain around 16 much needed hours to my creating work week! That should help me get through these orders in a much more timely manner. Now with that being said, I can only work as fast as my creations are big. They have doubled in size this past year. From 6-8" to in some cases over 3 feet!

This Post will be short due to the fact that I have a snowed-in bored 2 year old pawing at me for undivided attention. She hates me on the computer and or on the phone. So I have to sneak it in. :)

If you are interested in a custom and have no looming deadlines you can contact me to be on my new commission list. I am not taking deposits until after Valentines day. I also have a new customs wish list sheet to send you as well to make things a lot more easier...for me! :) (in 2011 no more 7 page wish lists!!!)

You can contact me: tanglewoodthicket@gmail.com
My Etsy Store: www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com

Or Join Tanglewood on Facebook!

Bumble Berry Pie Goblin

2010-06-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

This is BumbleBerry and LittleBerry Pie Goblins. This is my most recent creation/custom order. Seems like all I have time for these days are custom orders, which is great - although I must admit I'm feeling a bit swamped with all of them right now.

This was another creation featuring a little "pet", in this case - LittleBerry. That's becoming a bit of a theme as well these days, more and more people are looking for a little companion for their Goblins. Which is fine by me - it's fun to pose them together and I enjoy creating two complementary pieces.

Tanglewood Gralumph with Brownie Rider

2010-05-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

The "Goblin Gralumph" was an attempt at something a bit different. I wanted to create something that was true to my style, but would allow me to try some different mediums (leather, specifically). This was also the first real collaboration between my husband and I. The concept of this goblin quadruped was his, while my contribution was the pixie/brownie rider. We both liked the idea of expanding on the world of tanglewood thicket to include these large "beasts of burden" that would be ridden by other fairy folk.

As usual I handled the detailing, but the grunt work of forming up the basic body was all my husband. You may also notice that the rider does not have felted eyes, but instead uses real plastic doll eyes. Again, an attempt at trying something a bit different. Overall we were both very pleased with the effect. We hope you are too!

Rainbow Twizzle Stick Goblin

2010-05-25T17:33:00.000-07:00

Goji Berry Bean Goblin Nub

2010-05-25T17:18:00.000-07:00

Citrus Fizzle Goblin

2010-05-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Friday Night in the Thicket

2010-05-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post and a glimpse into the Tanglewood Window while at work. Tonight I am hanging out with George, listening to Sade's new album and sipping diet coke. I have 5 projects I am working on all at once. This means I spend an hour on one, get bored move to the next and so on. Maybe not the best time management, but it keeps things interesting any way. I am hoping to have these done by Wednesday so that I can finish the next batch before the end of May. OMG!!! I am very tired. Understatement there! And this is not because I was up at 3am with darling Bailey, which by the way resulted in me not being able to fall back asleep. So what is a girl to do? Count sheep? Na, how about count stabs as I felt a hand. It worked too! I only had to do it for two hours. terrible morning, but I finished a whole arm and hand.

Can't wait to post the final projects!

Sweet Tart Dragon

2010-04-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

Finished this week: Sweet Tart Dragon! My last commission request from the month of December. Yes. some day I will catch up. Luckily though, this was a little Dragon. Well, when I say little I mean 17" long and 13" wide. 10" tall. So, about the size of a toaster. Does that help?
I also have been very busy dying wool. With my new stash of Jacquard Acid dye I have made some amazing colors. I can't wait for them to dry..(with no help of the cheap crappy drying rack I purchased at Walmart!..Grrr...that's another story) Anyways. Now that little Dragon is finished I can start on the five goblin cores I have waiting in the side lines. Yes Five!!! All Large!!! I am trying to do them all at once. I would love a picture of them all together before they part ways. Thought it would make a great Christmas card for all my past customers!

And...The first Husband wife collaboration is in the works. George has started this amazing four legged Goblin creature...He is awesome. Now, I get to detail and bring it to life. I can't wait to show him to everyone! I am considering a leather saddle with a goblin riding him, but George will have the final say since it's his baby.

Rainbow Whistle Pop Goblin

2010-04-19T19:42:00.001-07:00

This is my newest creation. Of course another Rainbow Goblin which was custom ordered. This Goblin has caused me a lot of sweat and tears. Not only was the customer's request 7 pages long, but I also just found out it will cost over a hundred bucks to ship to Monaco. I pretty much dyed a little inside when I found this out tonight. I got to send the pictures to the customer tonight for approval which I know she has been sitting on the edge of her seat waiting for...and along with those highly anticipated pictures I got to unleash the amount of shipping. Holy Crap!!! I have sent things to Europe and frankly all over the world, the most I have ever paid is about $40.00. With that being said though, I never shipped one this large. You can see from the pictures and the cute one of my babe Bailey and Goblin, that she (the goblin) is pretty big. Uhhg! Well, I guess we will see if Goblin does make her trip home to Monaco or not.

Rainbow Tie-Dye Goblins

2010-04-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

The latest of custom orders is finished. Two goblins ordered on Boxing day for a mother and daughter in Ohio. Only Criteria...Rainbow and or colorful and Tie-Dye like. This was easy and fun. I love the colors I made with Wilton's Icing Dye. Of course the violets and purple bleed, but I had enough of the big blots within the wool to get some awesome violet and purples for the Blue Goblins face. I made the blue one with 5 packs of Blue Kool-Aid...such a dreamy cotton candy blue color! I loved the end result! They both were supposed to be small goblins...and the price tag was small Goblins, but in the end I accidentally made Medium-large Goblins. Both are jointed and can stand a bit if supported. I love both of these too creatures and I hope Shelley and her daughter Morgan will too!

I am still working on that huge 7 page custom list order...Man oh man!!!!! and I also took a few minutes to try and human face...to much fun! I love what I made, even if the old women has bugged out eyes. May turn into a Goblin Queen...or maybe an old lady snail creature...who knows.

Rainbow Ju-Jub Goblin Nub

2010-03-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

I am so happy it's Friday! Although less excited that we have about two weeks before we move off the island and George has gone away for his yearly guys cabin trip. But only because there is so much work to do both with Tanglewood and also with getting our house ready for the tenants. And, moving off the island is not as easy as it seems.w w But I may just blow off all the work and spend two days at the beach and park with Bailey. I finished another goblin order which always excites me. This is my second Goblin Nub. I call him Rainbow Ju-Jub. He is fat and chubby with long jointed arms and legs. Big feet and ears. He can almost stand, but not fully unless supported. I enjoy doing these neck-less creatures...something about fat little goblins makes me happy. It's been a productive and exciting week! Not only did I make huge progress on my orders, but I also found out I was Froud Artist of the month! That is just so very exciting I can't even say. I have almost all the Froud books and I've been a huge HUGE fan of theirs for years and years. A lot of people I have told have no idea what the Froud artist of the month is or why...All I have to say is Um..Hello? Labyrinth? Dark Crystal..Lady Cottington? Anyway, I am so thrilled. Also, I made an Etsy Treasury and have had a load of positive feedback from Various Artistic Outlets.

The only thing that would top this week off would be to be able to go see Alice! In time I guess...

Girls night tomorrow night! Needle will be exchanged for Chocolate and Wine! That sounds a little strange...doesn't it?

Happy Weekend Everyone...

Rainbow Jawbreaker Goblin

2010-02-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

So, for weeks and weeks now I have have a side side project. Meaning I am usually doing two-three customs with a few started in the wings. Since August I have not been able to put a new goblin that has not been spoken for in my store. I don't know if I have a following in terms of people coming back to check availability, but if the off chance I do, then I am not really giving reason to come back since everything I have created has been a custom order. So, I started a side project in which I work on for 10-15 minutes a day. I do this because I don't want to take time away from custom order since I already feel I make people wait weeks and weeks. So 10-15 minutes a day and weeks and weeks later I am finally ready to adopt out a new goblin. Yippie! I enjoyed doing this, so I think I will start maybe two more and work them along side the 6 customs I have to finish in the next few months. I'd love to move on to my Alice In Wonderland and Dark Crystal collections...but goblins and Dragons is where the action is right now. In time!
This week has been crazy, while I am packing boxes for the move to Predator Ridge, I am also dying up a storm. Today alone I made 5 pounds of Blood Orange, Peaches N Cream and Sunshine Yellow. All with different amount of Kool-Aid and Icing Dye! My yellow hands with Orange finger tips are less then ideal. Oh well!

This is Rainbow Jawbreaker Goblin...I really wanted to call him Everlasting Gobstopper Goblin, but George nixed that! Boo George!

Goblin is Available in my Etsy store.

Water Goblin

2010-02-21T14:45:00.000-08:00

Babe with the Power!
Okay, So... it's not Toby with the Labyrinth Goblins...But it's as close as I can get! Bailey and her Tanglewood Thicket Goblins. Shown for Scale.

Nice ending to a bright and Sunny week here in Victoria. I finished a custom order for customer Elemental Dragon today. I have been looking forward to finishing him all week. He is by far my most favourite goblin to date. The order came back in November. I don't think I procrastinated on this one, but I do get a little nervous when working for another very talented artist. I always spend way too much time over-thinking and fretting. Angela of Elemental Dragon came up with her own color combo which in the end I just love. Last week she threw in the peach accents which are awesome. Oh, and she wanted Dragon Fins instead of Goblin ears. This really threw me for a loop and I was a little anxious about the outcome. I made goblin's face really wide and squishy and the fins look so adorable on him. As I got going I really wanted him to have a super soft tummy so I laced white silk with Lime Green Sparkle and felted it on. He is just so loviable! I joked on my Tanglewood Thicket Facebook Fan page how I wanted to say my house burnt down and he was lost in the fire so I could keep him, but I knew Karma would looking over my shoulder. He will have an amazing home with many other creatures to keep him company I am sure. Goblin is another biggie! He sits 26" tall from bum to horn tip. 27" long from toe to tail and 18" wide at the face from fin to fin. I don't know if I will do what I call another Water Goblin. Guess we will see. As I am loading pictures for this blog I am also now starting a lime green baby nub in which was won as a custom on Ebay. My first test with my goblins on Ebay was very exciting! Oh and I am also doing a hot pink goblin oh and two goblins for a mother and daughter order. I just came home last weekend with 10 pounds of wool! I made some really awesome colors this week. Hot Pink, Bubblegum, and cotton candy. Popcicle blue and cucumber green! I am trying to work at the speed of lighting so that our move in less then a month won't interfere with my custom order schedule.

Felting has been awesome this past week since I have had the Olympics to keep me company. Go Canada!

Tart N Tiny

2010-02-08T18:42:00.000-08:00

Man what a week! Aside from finishing another custom order which was actually supposed to be shipped out last week, I have been getting ready for a big move off Vancouver Island. George and I have been entertaining the idea of moving closer to family and old friends for a while now but never thought it was realistic to pull the plug here in Victoria. I mean, I co-owed a Design firm here, George and I own a house here and, as a couple for the last 10 years we have never lived anywhere else together. Kinda scary. I put our house up on Craigslist to see if we would get any interest for the amount we had listed it for. It never occured to me that it would happen so fast, let alone at all. Both George and I had thought that the rent we needed to cover the mortgage was too rich for a lot of people's blood. well apparently we were wrong! Not only did we get a huge response but we also had a number of people though and ended up renting it all within a few days of listing it. Oh, and FOR APRIL! Never saw that coming. So, needless to say I have been packing, searching for a house in the Okanagan, felting fast and furious to get through my orders and wrangling my little goblin who's favourite word right now is MOMMY! And of course for no rhyme or reason. Literally from the moment she wakes to even this moment when she should be sleeping in her crib. I am thinking I don't like the work Mommy to much this week. How can 1 25 pound curly blonde munch-kin run a women ragged like this?
I feel like the candle burning from both ends this week. It's only Monday too! Although I am not sure what that has to do with anything, everyday these days feels like Monday.

Oh, and to top it off...I crushed my finger tips trying to close the garage door quietly so not to wake George since he needed to sleep in this morning. Not easy to felt today with numb fingertips.

Anyway...aside from showing the home, packing 80% while curly-Q ride on my hip I have managed to finish another custom order from Etsy. It was an order I got before Christmas. A fellow had purchased a custom order for his wife's birthday which also happens to fall on Valentines Day! Awww! So she wanted Two goblins. One big and one little to represent her own little goblin Zara. I hope she likes them. Uhhgg I hate being late though. No time to get them there for Sunday. Happy Be-lated Birthday Dawn.

Tart, Bigger goblin in Peacock colors is jointed at the arms and sits 14" tall and Tiny, the lil pink and white goblin with no neck (heheh) sits at 7" tall.

Grinn and Friends

2010-01-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

Grinn Goblin is finished. Another Epic Felted Creature is now alive and kicking. Grinn, named by his new owner is one of my favourite and best creatures to date I think. This Goblin was made for my first male customer and I had a great time working with Doug. He was a perfect customer to work with. Knew his theme and colors and gave me lots of details to work with. I really enjoy that in a client. I have to say I was a little worried to show it to him though. He based this Goblin off Starry Night Goblin who was custom made in the Fall. He said he wanted him exactly the same in face detail and color. That was the hardest part and no matter how hard I tired I could not duplicate the face. They are OOAK for a reason. Grinn is the biggest Goblin I have done. He even would tower over the Fiery I did which I thought was massive. Grinn sits at 24" tall and 24" long. His is made from both hand dyed wool and Ashford merino, silk and bamboo. Although I must say I want to get away from the bamboo. It's too fine and breaks my needles. I love the colors I get and the soft silky quality, but adding hair and a mane with bamboo adds at least 14 hours I would say.

Once I posted both Grinn and the Dragons to the various sites and clubs I am a part of it started a flurry of Etsy customers asking for unique and amazing custom creatures. I took a custom order despite my promise to my husband George (I have a 4 foot dragon core waiting for my attention) which will put me into April. If I took all the custom requests I got this week it would put me in July. I hate to turn people down. I just wish I could work more. George thinks he can make a hand powered needle felting tool for me. I think not. I already stab myself with one needle and it kills, I can't imagine drilling a cluster of needles into my hands and legs at full speed. Anyways, I am wasting valuable creating time.

Next to be completed Peacock and Pinkie Goblin Duo along with Another large curly horned Goblin...

Someday I'll get to my unicorns, sea monster, mermaids and Wonderland creatures!

Citrus Sunshine Dragons!

2010-01-22T19:55:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be finished this Dragon Duo. I had originally taken the order back in November I think...and thought it would be a breeze. But then I forgot that it was Dragons. Needless to say I am happy and pleased with the final outcome. The customer is away for the next week and now I sit on Pins and Needles until she either approves them or tells me I'm a nutter. So, these two, if it's not obvious is a Mama and Baby. I tend to think they are both girls, but that's just me. The baby is bigger then a Big Red Apple and Mama is twice her size. The outline I was given was Green, Yellow and Rainbow. So this is what my crazy mind made. The only thing I would do different with the next batch of custom Dragons..(Oh yes, Four to be exact! Uhhgg) is smaller Head fins. I made Mama Dragon's so big that you can't see her awesome three tone iridescent wings. Oh, and I am actually having my own personal Photographer (and very good friend Dion) over this weekend to snap a few shots to see if I can get into a book that is excepting submissions. I think with Dion's talent alone I could have a shot. Dion did all the Pictures for my Interior Design Business and they were amazing!
I am pretty excited about the book submission. But I am more doing it as like a coloring contest. If I get in..YIPPIE! And if not, well it was fun to try.

Anyway...Hubby rented me a horror movie and I am off to complete "Grinn Goblin" all 24" of him. My biggest creature yet.

Wish me luck!

Project Overload!

2010-01-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

Oh it's been a long while since I posted on my blog. I have been on "project overload" for many many weeks now. I may have mentioned that I took on way too many Christmas orders this year which resulted in me working even on Christmas day! I managed to get all but one Christmas order to my customers on time. The last little goblin I shipped I finished on December 18th. I had thought I could send him express but he did not make it. I was thrilled though that the customer was surprised by his size and that he was way more colorful then the crappy picture I sent her had displayed. Ya! So, I'll post pictures of all the creatures I have finished too date.

Above are pictures of: Pop Rock Goblin, Fire-spark Goblin, Mini Starry Night Goblin who ended up so so mini, and Black Cherry Dragon.

I'm still working on a pair of Dragons that I took as a order back in November. I thought it would be easy, but then when I started I said to myself, oh right Dragons!!!! Dragons are more detailed and harder then goblins because of all their toes and claws..and now I am making two for one order!!! Silly, Silly me.

We actually went away this year at Christmas for almost a month. I thought having my in-laws around would help me to get more work done, but Bailey my little one wanted me more then ever which didn't allow for much felting. I even felted in the car after taken a heavy dose of motion-sickness remedy. It actually worked and it was pretty comfortable and the lighting was perfect!

I actually did something silly and took 4 more orders on one day over the holidays. WHAT WAS I THINKING? I have never been good at saying no. George almost killed me. He really wants me to work on the 4' dragon we started and with custom orders I can't work on anything else. Ooopps!

I am currently working on Three Valentines Orders and f more after that to be completed in March and April.

Pixie Stix Goblin

2009-11-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

New to TangleWood Thicket is Pixie Stix Goblin. She is a custom creation for a little girl named Alanna in Eastern Canada. Her mom and dad ordered two creations for each of their girls for Christmas. How excited I was to get not one but two custom orders from one customer. I was more flattered then anything. I never fail to be amazed with each custom request I get. I started this goblin back in October but she was set aside while I finished Snow Cone, Morning Star and Starry Night Goblin. I am excited she is finally finished and love her turn out. This time around I used accents of super soft hand dyed Merino I obtained from a Ravelry Fiber Swap. I received a envelope of amazing rainbow colours to sample from South Africa. The colors were perfect for this rainbow creature.

I actually made a big mistake when making this goblin. She was supposed to be a medium size goblin, which means less time and sold for less. I am so sleep deprived from Bailey's constant wakings and lack of naps that I am making stupid silly mistakes. I mean, it's an okay mistake because I don't need to start over, and it's not like the customer won't get what she wanted...but still. I am trying not to beat myself up over it. Sleep is the answer to this problem though. Does not help that I like my alone time so when Bailey finally is asleep I use any ounce of time to felt, watch smutty TV and Read...Yes, I am trying to cram two books at once. One being Bridget Jones Diary .( This past weekend I poked a lot to make a dent in my Christmas orders. I was delighted that it was grey and rainy out and that Bridget Jones 1 and 2 was one Back to Back not just Saturday, but Sunday Too...So I worked to the sounds of endless hours of Rene's Voice and sneak Peeks of Colin Firth...Hmmm Colin Firth. My husband thinks he is a step up from my usual crushes. Jack Black, Anthony Edwards, Tom green, Rick Moranis, Richard Dryfus. I could go on...) Oh and the other book is by Denise Mina. It's a Scottish Thriller Mystery type.

Next to be completed is Red Dragon....

Goth Girl!

2009-11-10T08:22:00.001-08:00

Something totally different! This is what I call Goth Girl. She may have a name, but I don't know what it is. This was a special custom order that I took for Christmas. This order was different because the concept, design and drawing were already done. I did not have to dive into my own imagination to conceive her. The above picture is the original concept drawing by 16 year old up and coming artist Chelsea Ferguson who lives way over in PEI. I had a lot of fun making my first Needle Felt Doll which was not a goblin or creature. It made me really want to get started on my Mermaids. But first the customs. Goth Girl is needle felted all the way from her head to her Mary-Janes. Where I cheated was the skirt, the shoe laces and the cape. Initially I tried to needle felt these items and the result was pretty gross. They looked awful. So I went out to find felt sheets. Do you think I could find black anywhere? In all of Victoria I was unable to find one sheet of plain black felt. So, she has a black sorta stiff Glittery skirt. I guess felt art by the sheet is very popular. I had no idea.
I used polymer clay to make her corn chopper. Haha.

I do wonder what the story behind this Goth Girl is. Why is she holding a scythe and is also hanging from a noose? I guess I'll never know. I hope that I did Chelsea's Goth girl Justice and did not butcher her little work of art.

Another Christmas custom order in my past. More to follow....

Gumdrop Goblin Part 2.

2009-11-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

Well..it's been a busy couple of weeks. I am happy to say I finally finished part 2 of this custom order. Gumdrop now has his own little Goblin Sprite complete with wings. Also jointed for added playtime pleasure. The pair is adorable if I am allowed to admit it. So much so that I wanted to keep them the instant I slid little sprite into the big frumpy hands of Gumdrop Goblin. Little sprite is about the same size of a large red apple.

I would love to be a fly on the wall the on Christmas morning when the little girl wakes up and opens these two.

Oh, and I have a new Tanglewood Facebook Page...still not sure how to link it so other people can join who are not already my friends. I am sure I'll eventually figure it out. Anyways...stop by and check it out.

Gumdrop Goblin Part 1.

2009-11-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

This is Gumdrop Goblin. Another creature custom ordered for Christmas. This one was ordered by a lady in Oregon for her 13 year old daughter for Christmas. The customer wanted a fat baby goblin...FAT! I started this goblin 3 weeks ago and I was about to attach his last arm and leg when my husband said he is too big for this order. You need to size him down and start again. Wow. What a major pain since I am so limited with my time and still have now 8 of 12 orders to finish. So, I started from scratch. The first Gumdrop Goblin when standing with jointed legs was 21" tall. Since this was a medium priced Goblin my husband put his foot down. Someone has to keep me in check. So a fatter slightly shorter (by accident again) new gumdrop goblin was born. I must admit the first goblin was way too lean and trim. I beefed this goblin up and he truly has a gumdrop shaped body. I used blue Kool-aid to dye my wool Three packs which resulted in a cool ice blue tone. Very pretty. I then accented with greens and peaches. The hair is my own drum carded mix of Merino, silk, bamboo and Angelina is hologram sparkle. Did I mention this little guy has huge feet? So big in fact that he can almost stand on his own. But since I did not brace or support his legs he is pretty wobbly. I jointed this goblin since it's for a child and it turned out very nice. I like the result. I think for my next couple of goblins I will in fact joint them and support their legs for standing. Shipping will be another story though!

So this Goblin is not completed. I still have more face detailing, I need to fine tune his magic warts seen in yellow and he was requested with a friend or pet. So, I am just about finished a little orange goblin friend. When that part of the project is finished I'll post both together!

Posting Gothic Girl next. Another Christmas Custom order.

Etsy Treasury x 2!

2009-10-29T17:12:00.001-07:00

I found my Goblins in not one but two Etsy Treasury selections today. How exciting. Even more exciting is what joins my Goblins...There are sooo many awesome interesting things. Eye candy to say the least. I want many of those items. It's like Christmas for me when I find I have made a Treasury!

Ya, so. Little things thrill me. So what?

Apparently Size Matters!

2009-10-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Oh! I forgot to add an important Picture or two. It was recently brought to my attention by my two very good friends Aubrey and Andy that they had no idea how big my creations were by looking at the pictures. When they saw them in person they were surprised that the Goblins were as big as there were. They suggested that I put something like a golf ball in the picture to show scale. So, I used a scale and an apple to help show the size. Hope it helps. I tried using my hand, but since I have been dying wool and since I am sloppy and don't use gloves my fingers are a little deathly looking in tones of blue and purples.

Oh and I took a shot of Starry Night and Morning Star Goblin together before they part ways!

Morning Star Goblin

2009-10-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

Morning Star Goblin is finished...well almost. Uhhg. I thought he was finished, but while taking pictures I noticed I did not add the orange and yellow stripes to one of his curly horns. That in it's self will take a few hours. Morning star is a custom order that I received weeks ago. He was of course inspired by Pin Wheel as per the customer's request. The difference was that he needed to be in the purple, blue, green spectrum of the rainbow. I again did not use wire for his cork screw horns, and I kinda regret it this time around. I made the length so long that they kept falling out of shape after a few days which made them look like two long striped dread-locks. But I have worked them over and over and over again and so far so good. I have three more orders for Pin-Wheel type goblins...Dear god! And I think i'll use wire just to speed up the process. The count down is on as of November 1st. Canada Post says I need all orders going anywhere other then Canada shipped before or on December 1st in order to make it for Christmas. Do I even dare to say out load how many creatures I have to finish before then? It's not a pretty number.

Well Off to work on Gum Drop Goblin. Alteast she has arms, legs, horns and a head and body.

Ravelry Sweet Swap!

2009-10-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

Um, so anyone that knows me knows I am addicted to Candy. So much so that when I stumbled upon a Sweet Swap on Ravelry.com I had to jump at the opportunity. I can never ever give up the chance for Candy and especially new candies or any candy from the States. So I swaped Candy with my new very sweet Swedish friend Anna. It was lots of fun shopping for someone who has never had our Canadian and North American Candy. I would have bought one of everything I could find if candy didn't weight so much was not so darn expensive to ship. In the end my box going to her had to be trimmed down just so I could keep the shipping under $50.00. Ouch!!!! My box from Anna arrived last week while George's mom and dad were here which was great timing. Can you imagine a large 5 pound plus box of Candy plopped in your lap? I can! That's the problem. Anyways, they managed to help me get rid of a lot of it. Which was awesome. Halloween is already a bad time of year for my will power...:)
So here is a picture of my awesome swedish Sweets!

My favourites things were the Chewy stale tasting rubbery marshmellow candies shaped like cars, The Kex and Plopp Bar, The Marabou Hazelnut bites, the Carmel Shoe String Licorice and the Violia candies which tastes like those little soap candies you can get at the Sweet Factory.
Not so Wonderful was the Tutti-Frutti pill like candies which I actually thought were cough drops because of their packaging, the super sour salty black licorice bites. I have yet to eat the little package of liquid chocolate. I'm thinking it goes on toast?

Oh..how could I forget about those little chocolate Aloha balls that reminded me of Milk Duds but were a creamy hazelnut-coconut combo. Amazing when frozen and they shatter when bitten.

I am definatly looking forward to another Sweet Swap soon!!!

Starry Night Goblin

2009-10-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

Well here is my fourth completed Custom Order for Christmas. I actually had this order from a previous Etsy Customer. I guess she loved Twilight Goblin so much she had to have another. Addicting creatures they are! The criteria for this Goblin was that he has to be BLUE!!!! blue blue and then some more blue. With of course a rainbow face and accents. He was modeled off of Twinkle Toe Goblin and is very similar to him but a different face, horns etc. I never know what people expect when they see one Goblin they love and then ask me to do something similar. Do they want the exact same Goblin? Do they no I could not duplicate another Goblin if my life depended on it? I never know and I always hold my breath after I send the customer pictures. I recieved great reviews from the Customer who adopted Snow Cone Goblin, so that in itself has made my week. I love positive feedback!!!!

So, keeping my fingers crossed that I have made another Custom Customer Smile!

Wish me luck!

A little FAQ

2009-10-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

(The Picture above is me. I created this Masquerade Costume for the 2007 Victoria Masquerade Ball. I set out to Win and I did! The Mask, Head Piece and Mermaid Wand was designed and sculpted by me using Leather, Glass, Glitter, Tulle, Feather, Shells and Pearl Ex. My Mermaid Scales were created by an amazing MAC makeup artist named Alexandra Otto.)

So, I have put myself and my Goblins and Fantasy Creatures out there...Way out there. I am networking pretty much everywhere I can. To get my store out there, and to network with other artists, also sad but true I don't have a lot of people in my personal life right now to share these with, so I share my art with other creative outlets. I 'm also an art junkie and I love to buy all forms of art and I love to discover new Artists. I have two blogs, Etsy Store, Flickr Account, Deviant Art, Ravelry, Twitter, Facebook, Craft Corner Etc...This means that I am getting a lot of feedback which is just soooo awesome. I am also getting asked the same few questions over and over again, so I thought I would post an FAQ on the top questions I get asked. So, here they are.

Who are you?: I'm Kasey, 31 living in Victoria BC Canada with my husband, 1 year old and little Pug Rylie. Cancer. I love candy, theme parks, board games, Halloween, Horror movies, Fantasy, Muppets, Costume Parties, Theme Parties, Mini Golf, Waterslides, Karaokee, reading good books. My favourite day for me would be a rainy one, drinking a pumpkin latte hanging out in a Children's book store.
What are these Creatures?: These creations are invented and designed in my own crazy mind. I love all Fantasy and Fairytale creatures. I make Goblins, Dragons, Pixies, Mermaids, Winged Lions, and so on...I work with Paper Clay, Polymer, Leather, Wool, Fiber, Paper etc..
What are these made of?: Solid Wool.
How do you make them? I Needle Felt these creatures with a single 36 gauge needle. I use my hands to mold and sculpt the wool where wire is not used.
Where do you get the wool?: I buy BC grown wool on Vancouver Island and I dye it myself using Kool-Aid and Wilton's Icing Dye.
Why?: I use Kool-Aid and Wilton's Icing Dye because A). It's cheap and easy B). It's easy to get almost anywhere. C). My Daughter and Pug often get into my mounds of Wool and projects and tend to put it in their mouths.
What other kind of wool do you use?: I love Merino, Corredale, Soya Silk, Bamboo, Silk, Angelina and Firestar. I buy all of this from my Favourite store here in Victoria. Knotty By Nature. I am usually there once a week.
Do you use Foam or Stuffing?: No, I don't. I use solid wool. Do you felt over wire?: Yes. Sometimes I do. I do this when I want my creature to hold, hug, grasp, clasp, hold, etc. I even wire the toes for fun!
Where did you learn this?: I taught myself. I have been sculpting with my hands and different mediums for about 20 years now. I started when I was 10 with Fimo. I found Fiber while browsing Etsy and seeing all those Rainbow Wool Balls...They had me hooked!
You have an eye for color:Thank You! I should hope so! I am educated as an Interior Designer and I co-own an Interior Design firm here in Victoria. I am currently off raising my daughter right now so I have "some" spare time to do this.
When do you sleep?: Ha, yes..Indeed, when do I sleep? I do, but not a lot. But it's not because I am up felting all night long. My darling little monkey has only slept through the night three times in the last 15 months. I spend my evenings felting. It's a great way to relieve stress.
Do you offer patterns?: No, I don't.
Will You?: I don't think of these creatures as being made into patterns. My husband jokes about mass producing or getting someone else to make them. That would steal all the magic from them. They are truly one of a kind. If you were to adopt one, you would hav something no one else will ever have as well. Maybe someday I can help people make something similar, but considering I can't follow writen instructions if my life depended on it, I don't think I could create a pattern.
Where do you sell these?: My Etsy Store. www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com But I will take orders by e-mail as well.
Do you do custom orders?: Yes. I really like custom orders. I love hearing your ideas and the colors you want. If I don't have the colors, I have a lot of fun making the them or going shopping.
How long does it take?: Depends on what you want, and how many other projects I have.
How long does one creature take?: Well, some can take only a week. When I say that I mean a full week of 4-5 hours a day. My larger projects like my Fiery and Pinwheel Goblin took me months to finish. My last Project, Snow Cone Goblin took me 83 hours.
What do you charge?: It really depends on the creature. Jointed and wired creatures take me way longer obviously. My range is between $35.00 to 175.00 at the moment. The bigger the creatures and the more detail, the more time it will take.
Where do you get your inspiration and ideas?: Again, I love art and artist. I love Fantasy and I am a total kid at heart. I love Jim Henson, The Frouds, Tim Burton, Dave Mckean and countless others. There are too many to list.

Snow Cone Goblin

2009-10-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Snow Cone Goblin...Why? Because I was thinking of snow cones when I created this creature. Well, I lie. I did not spend 83 hours thinking of snow cones. It was more like 83 seconds, but who's counting? I had a custom order placed through my Etsy Store in the begining of September and I am finally finished. The Customer wanted something a lot like Twinkle Toe Goblin. Although she had her own ideas too. She really loved the colors but added that she loves hot pink and Orange. I ended up being out of the Awesome stash of Berry Bamboo I had so I went shopping on Etsy. The 8oz I bought special for this custom order were not like the pictures the Etsy seller posted. Oh No! And I had already waited almost two weeks. So this Goblin took on a whole new look. I had to brighten his face and added more highlights to make up for the pastel bamboo I used for his mane. I think he turned out great. But I still like Twinkle Toes more.

This Goblin is every color of the rainbow. I'm getting more skilled with Color Bleeding with each new goblin. I still hate felting over wire though.

Well Just sent the pictures to the customer. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she likes him. If not well, he was fun to make anyway!

Magic Rainbow Pin-Wheel Goblin

2009-09-19T19:26:00.001-07:00

This is my latest Creation. I finished her today as I have been taking brief breaks from Custom orders this week. I have a attention span of a flea these days. So, I'll start a project, or be mid project and I will need to stop and start something else. This Creation is actually a Goblin I already had. You can see her under Goblin Girl and Dragonfly. My husband George has been hounding me for weeks now to change her hair color and add some accents to her to jazz her up. I don't think he expected what I was about to do. It took me almost 20 hours just to detail her face, body and hands, create new horns and give her new toe socks and a mane. But she is so worth it. I just love her. In fact I had almost convince myself that she was mine last night when I set her on my night table with her long rainbow legs dangling off the edge. I bought some soya silk from Knotty By Nature which I also love to work with. It make her mane so soft. I used some many colors. I didn't hold back on the Angelina Fiber either. I used Watermelon, Hologram, Black Onyx, Ruby Red, Peacock Blue and Mother Of Pearl. I am hoping to eventually have all 48 colors. I don't create to my full potential until I have a "full box of crayons" as they say.

I have put her up for adoption on Etsy.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31222004

I'm off to work on custom ordered Dragonfly followed by another custom Rainbow Goblin due to be finished in two weeks. I'll still find time for Muffet and Spider. Looks like they will be my only Halloween creations this season. Then moving on to Mermaids and Sea Monsters.

Custom Dragon & Dragonfly

2009-09-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

This is a custom Dragon ordered on Etsy. I call him Ocean Wonders Dragon, not because he lives in the ocean, but because the customer asked that the colors be of a Ocean theme. I love custom orders for two reasons, first I love the surprise element or not knowing what the client will want and second I love shopping or hand dying the colors I need for a project. For this Dragon, I made him a lot like Rainbow Sherbet Dragon, although as per my husbands request I changed the wings a tiny bit. This Dragon is denim blue. His feet pads are Seafoam, baby blue, teal and leaf green. You can't tell from my bad pictures, but those areas as well as the horns are laced with Angelina is Mother of Pearl. I had a lot of fun looking for him Mane. I went to my favourite store here in Victoria, Knotty by Nature and picked up some smokey teal Merino and some Peacock Angelina. I love that I can buy that local! Then I popped over to Beehive and purchased the most amazing roving. It's from Fleece Artist and it's a mix of Merino and Silk. It is Teal, white, smokey blue, greys and a bit of moss green. It's so soft and awsome. I normally don't buy those colors, but I just love it on the Dragon. The customer also wanted the Dragon holding a Dragonfly. The one in the pictures is the first one I made, but both the customer and I both thought it was too large. So he will be set aside and a new smaller one is being made.

I am taking more Dragon orders. Choose your theme and colors!
www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com

Etsy Poster Sketch

2009-09-09T22:10:00.001-07:00

This was my attempt at trying out the Etsy Poster Sketch tool. I seem to always miss my chance to start a treasury because A) I am not ready with a flashy interesting title..and B) I am never that organized enough to have all my ducks in a row so to speak. This Treasury test is made up of all my own items of course. I must say they look good together!

Grrrr..Still trying to figure out how to get around in Ravelry. I can't seem to upload and add projects etc..etc. If anyone reading this can come to my rescue I would appreciate it!

Custom Order Dragonfly! Finally Finished!

2009-09-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Ah! Finally finished the little custom request order all the way from Norway! Dragonfly is four tones of green sculpted over a wire armature. The client wanted gold and copper wings, so I used Enchanted forest Angelina Film for the wings, Copper Flash Angelina fiber and tiny iridescent glass balls to adorn the wings! He's leaving on his flight tomorrow morning!

Next up, Rainbow Dragonfly Mobile!

I love Etsy Treasuries!

2009-09-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I found myself in a really nice and colourful Treasury in Etsy's Treasury West. I am still new at blogging and have not figured out how to insert a treasury properly, so I just did a screen shot. I actually cut off the bottom row of items, so if you want to see the whole treasury click on the treasury box.

Tonight I am working on My next Custom order. Ocean Dragon. Pictures will be posted soon!

Tomboy Goblin Girl and Bullfrog

2009-09-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

This is my newest Goblin. Tomboy Goblin Girl and her pet Bullfrog. Just finished this afternoon. Goblin girl is wearing Denim Jean overalls which is basically my attempt to make clothes but without a needle and thread. Since I can not sew, I basically felted a pattern for overalls and then felted the shape onto the Goblin Girl. Worked out nice. I would have loved more details such as stitching and or real buttons, but I got tied up with the Frog and just wanted to finish her off and start my new project. She is Aqua green which I used Wilton’s cake icing colouring to make. The frog gave me a bit of trouble because I made his legs so long, but in the end I think he workd out well. Next time I think I will add wire to make him bendable.

My next project will be a Halloween Party Goblin Girl.

Check her out on Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30358378

I'm also on Twitter~

www.twitter.com/katekate78

Orange Rainbow Toe Sock Goblin

2009-08-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

This Goblin finished today at 5pm is Orange Rainbow Toe Sock Goblin. 2 of 7 Goblins from this series. He is posed in a sitting position with his arms and hands placed behind him. His feet are BIG and of course he has on his fun Rainbow toe socks. My last Blue Toe Sock Goblin only lasted four days on Etsy. Maybe he'll be around a little longer. I had thought I could do a group shot of them all when I was finished. I never dreamed one would sell do fast. Luck!

Check him out on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30043606

Rainbow Toe Sock Goblin Girl

2009-08-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

This is a new series of Goblins I am creating. Seven in total. Every color of the rainbow. I loved Rainbow Toe socks as a teen, although they did kill my toes! My husband just reminded me of them when he bought those new horrid looking rinning shoes from Mountain Equipment Co-op. The shoes that are black, rubbery and have TOES! OMG they are sooo horrible to look at. Obviously he can’t wear socks with them, and they have no ankle support, so when he wears them they make him look like he has dipped his feet in black tar! Hilarious actually! So, his new shoes inspired me to make Rainbow Toe Sock Goblins!

This little Goblin girl is my Blue Goblin. She has big purple eyes which I normally don’t do, but tried it again anyhow. She has a very bashful shy look on her face. What is she thinking? Her hair is Hot pink Bamboo Fiber splashed with Watermelon Angelina Fiber.

Fiery Goblin Inspired by Jim Henson's Labyrinth

2009-08-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

This is my latest Fiber Creation. My own version of of a Labyrinth Firey (Fiery)? from Jim Henson’s 1986 movie “The Labyrinth”

Although not identical, I think this guy is pretty special. Only after I was almost finished with him did my husband suggest I make it possible to attach and detach his head. Damn! Maybe next time. Although this guy took me weeks upon weeks to finish. A lot to live up to I guess. It was awesome to to the detailing and hair. Always my favourite part. It was hard to photograph this guy since he’s so long and spindly.

Thanks Stephanie at Knotty By Nature for bringing me more Mulberry Wool in so I could finally finish this Goblin! ?:)

Check him out in my store on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29713749

Rainbow Sherbet Rainbow Dragon

2009-08-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

When is a Lion not a lion? How about when he is a Dragon.

This is the newest addition of the Tanglewood Thicket Family. Finished as of today. Wow. A full week and then some of creating this little guy. He was supposed to be my Rainbow Sherbet Lion. I had been thinking about him for some time, and after making Pink Lemonade Lion, I wanted to do a couple more. I also want to do Cotton Candy Lion. But, once I started making the form of this little guy it was clear he wanted to be something more then a Lion...So, Dragon was born instead. I would have prefered to do a Lion this week. Man, it was a crazy week. Bailey, our 13 month old is still not walking on her own, but wants nothing more to walk every minute of every hour. This means, mom is bend over with one finger being held onto for dear life while we circle the house, the back yard, the deck, down the road to the beach, to the village. You get the point, and I am tired just thinking about what is to come tomorrow. More of the same I suspect. Oh, and I forgot to mention all of the accidents that poor baby indured. Rough week. So why did I take on a project with such detail? Hmmm. I am crazy. There is a reason I have been called Crazy Kase for a lot of my life.

Anyway, Baby Dragon is very detailed. I went crazy with the Rainbow Sherbet Lime Green, Peach and Pale pink...I also went biserk with the Angelina Fiber. You can't tell from my pictures, but this Dragon is just as flashy as a mirror ball. I love that stuff. I must have been a crow in my past life because if it's bright and it sparkles it's for me. Funny that I don't wear or buy jewelly though.

I made His wings with Key Lime Fantasy Film, but George says it does not suite the creatures so I think I will retire that medium for a bit. I must say working with the film is sure a million times faster then felting wings. Plus, lets not forget all the broken needles from the wire armatures within the wing.

Wow, it was a good week too. Kaleidiscope and Fire-Star were adopted and they are moving to Austrailia! Lucky Goblins!

This Dragon can been see in the Fairy Tale section of my Etsy Store!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29409734

Fire-Star Goblin

2009-08-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

well as of today, I found time to finish this new Goblin (between changing diaperas, preparing snacks and having a tiny hand pull me around the house for hours upon end. Uhggg. Bailey is so close to walking, but not that confident yet. She always wants to be walking, which means I need to hold her hand. If I let go..she whales and screams to the point of throwing her whole body on the floor and sometimes hard enough to smack her head. Did I say Uhhggggg! already.) Anyway, I found an hour today to fine tune Fire-Star Goblin, cut away all her woolly strays and bits which drive me mad...and get some nice pictures of her. I must say she was a breeze to photograph. As you can tell I am not that great at pictures, but I am pleased with the results all the same. I had made this little goblin back in June. I bought another Brian Froud book for my collection and George had gone through it and found a little goblin he liked and asked me to do something like it. Well, weeks passed and at the time "he"...(yes this girl goblin was born a he) not only looked nothing like a Froud Goblin, but also was pretty boring and a little ugly. Which, I know Goblins are supposed to be, but not mine. They are charming and adorable! So I gave him a knew nose...new eyes and after giving him a huge hair cut I added beautiful and amazing Bamboo hair which I had bought from an Etsy Seller called Fiber Lady. She says as of today that she will discontinue Berry Blend which is what I bought. I love it that much, I may buy what ever she has left just to make sure I have more in the future. This Goblin is not jointed or bendable, but I think she is very charming and magical. I am excited to see if anyone will adopt her soon! Guess we will see!

Check her out for sale in my Etsy Store!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29153764

Group Shot!

2009-08-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the Gang before they go in there separate directions. My husband liked the idea of lining them up on our hutch for a quick photo shoot. I also thought it made a good listing picture for a custom goblin on Etsy. Although dark, I think it shows the range of Goblins I have and can create.

And...He's gone!

2009-08-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

Wow...less then two hours listed on etsy..and only 39 views later, and he's sold. Adopted. Now that is a record!

Amazing!

Twinkle Toe Goblin

2009-08-07T14:50:00.000-07:00

To Joint or not to Joint....Well after many many weeks working on this little goblin and jointing his arms and legs and then cutting them off and reattaching them over and over again I am finally finished. Wow, what a pain in the ass this amazing little goblin was. He started out as a teal mix of merino and silk drum carded to look soft and airy. But the over all effect was really muddy, so I covered his whole body in teal corridale. That was hard work. Very time consuming and not very rewarding. I wanted him to be jointed at the arms and legs, but something I was doing made him look very odd and lop sided, so I would cut off his arms and then a couple of days later try and re joint him. He is solid as a rock. But since I layered so many layers of wool over his wire armature his legs no longer bend at the knee, or arms at the elbow. Which in the end is not a problem because he still sits very nicely and since he is a larger scale goblin it works out. His toes and fingers are still bendable though which I really like. I love it when they can hold their toes or clasp their hands. I went crazy with the color. Hours upon hours of detail with color went

into his new constructed face and horns. My favourite park of this goblin was his rainbow toes. The remind me those candy astro pops in the 80's. His hair is super soft bamboo which is a brillant blueberry, raspberry and grape. I went wild with the Angelina Fiber in two colors to add so real magic!

Twilight Mist Goblin

2009-08-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Twilight Goblin was born today. Although he was in the making since last Sunday. When I originally set out to make this creature I knew two things. I wanted him chubby and I wanted him holding a large gooey lollipop like the ones you get...(well I always got) at Disney Land or really amazing Candy Stores. I wired his arms and his stubby fingers with pipe-cleaners so that there was firm support when holding a lollipop. I wanted the lolli to be shiny and glossy. So I set out to make it with polymer clay. The effect was awesome. But, since I made it the same size as his face, which was kinda the point to begin with, it was far to heavy for him to hold. *SIGH* So, I set out to make a felted lollipop. Well two days later and lots of frustration and tedious work, I gave up. Even when laced with Hologram Angelina Fiber to give is a gloss like sparkle, it was not the look I had imagined for this little Goblin. So I tossed both lollies away. Now, Twilight Mist Goblin is just his charming self alone. His body is fat and very squishy. Not like the firm rock hard bodies I have previously done. Four wings made from two colors of Fantasy Fiber, a super long soft tail and pretty horns make this Goblin one of my favourites. This little guy is made from wool I bought from a vendor at the Moss Street Market a few blocks from my house. Which I was supposed to be a vendor in myself, but decided this would not be a good year for me to sell my Goblins and other felties. The wool is from New Zealand and is by far my favourite so far. Super white and super clean. I used a denim blue wool dye for his body. His hair is drum carded merino, corridale and Angelina Sparkle. I used denim blue wool dye for his body. His hair is drum carded merino, corridale and hologram Angelina Sparkle. His legs are also bendable.

He is 10" tall from bum to horn and 16" from toe to tail tip.

He can be found on Etsy!

Goblin Girl and Dragonfly

2009-07-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Well, I started this little girl as a special request from an Etsy customer, but in the end the customer could only afford one Goblin and so since she had already purchased Lime Goblin and Flower, she had to leave Goblin Girl behind. But, that is okay, because I think she is cute enough that someone will see her and want to adopt her. Plus, I love this pair and I have them displayed on my dining room hutch. They really make me smile. When ever I do a baby or little girl..which I have actually only completed two now, they look so much like Bailey that it's hard for me to part with them. Ha, when I say they look so much like her, I don't mean to say my one year old is green with horns...Although she has entered Tantrum phase and sometimes I think she could sprout horns any moment now. I just mean that Bailey's eyes and expressions seem to make it into my creations.

I made this Goblin with the intention of making her the same size as Baby and Rag Doll, but she is my biggest Goblin to date. Her Dragonfly alone is 6" long. I loved making the Dragonfly and I think I will branch off with maybe mobiles or something like that. When taking pictures of it outside the Wings just dazzled in the sunlight. It was amazing!

Since Goblin girl was so large and gangly, I had to reinforce her legs and arms with wire. Grrrrr. Have I mentioned I hate wire? It always costs me atleast three needles per creation. Oh well, this pair was worth the three needles I had to scarafice.

The Colors of Goblin Girl were requested by the customer who had wanted her. She has soft leaf green skin, a soft mernio and white tummy and awesome mixed purple hair! Two tone horns and a blue and teal Dragonfly!

Yup...They are on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28382853

Violet Goblin and Ladybug

2009-07-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is a little Goblin I made in which I wanted her to have a pet Ladybug. I loved giving the Baby Goblin a companion so much that I think I will continue to give these little goblins their own sidekick. The Ladybug was of course George's idea. I made this Goblin out of Kool-Aid dyed wool. The hair is so pretty but I was not able to capture it in the pictures. It's so pale and Ghost like. Pale lilacs, pinks and lavender with a hint of bamboo in hot pink. It's kissed with my favourite Angelina Fiber, Mother of Pearl. I decided not to attach the ladybug as I had did to Lime Green Goblin and His Rainbow Flower. This way they can be posed in different poses. I did the wings very frail and delicate from soft merino and sparkle wool. They have no support and are very .

Sold.

Wishing Well Goblin

2009-07-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wishing Well Goblin is my latest creation. Actually, I have been working on him for about two months off and on. He once was made Green and Orange tie dyed Merino. He had smaller eyes, only a lower lip with big pointy teeth and green hair. He also had jointed arms a legs. He looks a lot different now. His Merino body covered with Kool-Aid dyed wool I dyed myself, a new snout and a ton of rainbow accents. I made this one with felted wings. It was something I wanted to try...although I should have added wire to make them bendable. Next time.

Goblin is 9" tall from bum to head.

He is available on etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27763563

kaleidscope Goblin

2009-07-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

Here is my new Goblin. Kaleidscope because of his bright cheerful colorful self. Felted with more of the hand Dyed wool from Qualicum Beach BC, this time dyed with Wilton's Icing Dye in teal. I love dying with that stuff. It is too much fun. I can't wait to do more. I made this little Goblin a little more primitive then normally. I wanted to get it in a price point that was a little more affordable. I hand carded the mane with merino. Rainbow Mane and Tail made me think of a Kaleidscope, so wa-la...he was born! I made this guy with 4 horns which I added a pretty teal-green gradation to. However, I covered it up with "hair".

he is availiable on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27296332

Sunset Goblin

2009-06-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

There is a little guy I finished today. He came together really fast. Again I used my own batch of wool I bought from a farm up Island. Dyed with Orange Kool Aid. I took scraps of merino I had and carded the made on my drum carder. I added lemon Angelina Sparkle to the mane, and Peach to the tummy fur. I love the detail. It really is like painting to me, but with a needle instead of a brush. It helps to have all the colors on hand, then I can have a huge range when designing these little guys. My husband wants me to come up with a series of Flower Goblins. Basically same concept, but with petals around the face. Snap Dragon Goblin, Pansy Goblin...etc, etc. Good idea for sure, although I have so many more ideas to hash out before I can start a series. Plus, I want to start my wonderland series. I am really excited to start doing some darker Alice Characters. Stay Tooned!

Sunset Goblin is available on Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27104892

Lime Green Goblin & Rainbow Flower

2009-06-27T15:43:00.000-07:00

This is my most recent project which is now basically completed. Lime Green Woolie Wog Goblin and his Rainbow Flower Creature. I started off with the batch of Lime Green Kool-Aid Dyed wool I made on Father's Day. My intentions were to make him smaller then my last few Goblins, since I had received a few Etsy requests for "more affordable priced" Goblins. What I came up with in the end was a 9" from sitting postion tall Goblin. Which makes him my second biggest creation. Yikes! Oh well, he is really cute. George then wanted me to have him hold a flower. I came up with the face and we both decided that it should have rainbow petals. Every color came from my own batch of Kool-Aid dyed wool. The best part for me making this little guy was working with the super soft Merino which I bought from Aurelia Wool located in Merrit BC. I love using this stuff for the mane and tummy. It is so fine and silky. The colors are fun too! I did the horns a few different colors and then ended up with the pink candy striped ones you see in the picture. I wanted wings on him, but was worried he would look like a Dragon, so I just used a spray of Fantasy Fiber, unfortunaly you can not tell from the pictures, but it does add amazing glitz and sparkle. I did one toe yellow and orange stipped. I had intentions on doing all the toes, but in the end liked the quirky look of only having one strippey "Lucky" toe. I finished this Goblin in record time too. What usually took me a week only took me about two nights. This I attribute to not having a wire armature, pipe cleaners or jointed limbs. I liked it way better with out the mechanics on the inside. I was still able to attach the flower to his hand, and keep one hand free to pose. My favorite Goblin Yet!

These two are available on Etsy!

www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com

Adventures with Kool-Aid and Wool

2009-06-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

I thought I would show off my first attempt at dying wool. As I had mentioned before in a previous post, my Mother in Law sent me a pound of really fluffy wool from a farm in her area near the Arrow Lakes. I thought I would take a stab at dying it myself. I really like the idea of making goblins and other soft creatures that are non toxic and 100% safe for kids and I suppose even pets. I went out and bought a few choice packs of Kool-Aid, and took out my collection of Wilton's Cake Icing Dye. I was able to get my husband George to set up his propane burner in which he has for crafting his own beer. I set it up on my deck along with a small utility table for setting up my dye, a scale, a bowl, turkey baster and mixing spoon. I put a large pot on the burner and started the Dye Adventure with Red. I find that if I am doing anything with color, I have to do it according to the rainbow, and according to proper gradation. I started with red and worked my way to dark purple. As noted on other Blogs, the Wilton's Violet and Blue dye goes a little wonky. I ended up with a purple, blue and magenta tie dye effect from one squirt of blue in clean water and a splash of vinegar. I think the dye may have separated in the pot. No idea how else I could have managed the effect. I used the turkey baster to try and add darker splashes of color. I also sprinkled Kool-Aid crystals on the wet roving to see what would happen. With the Orange it made this really cool sunset effect. It's so pretty! If I had more time and more colors to play with I would have tried every possible combination. Oh well, next time. What the pictures are showing is about 1.5 pounds of roving hanging in my back yard trying to dry. Although it was a little hard today. I am too close to the Ocean here in Fairfield to get enough warmth to dry them fast. I used my clothes line to hang dry my rainbow for a couple of hours before bringing them into my sun room to dry a bit more.

I can't wait to card all these colors!

Bat Wing Goblin

2009-06-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

I was contacted last week from a fellow Etsy person asking if I had planned to make some goblins in the 20.00 to 30.00 range. I had thought about it, and wanted to make some smaller creations that could be affordable to everyone. I created this next little goblin with that in mind. Instead of the normal 9" I had made my other creations, I only made him 6". Although at the last minute I wanted him to have wings, so that in it's self too me longer to complete him. This little Goblin is actually made from some Wool my Mother in Law sent me down from her neck of the woods. I had read about Kool-Aid dying and wanted to try it, so I went to the grocery store and bought the Blue and Purple Kool-aid. It was my first attempt at dying wool period! It was easy enough to figure out, but one thing I did really wrong was add way to much vinegar. When I took the wet dyed wool out of the pot..it smelt really wrong!!!! The smell of blueberry and grape mixed with vinegar is not appetizing in the least. There is only one thing I could relate with that smell which was an experience I had once at a sleep over at a friends house in high school. Apparently my friend's family was on a well system and their water had sulfur in it which resulted in everything including all their food and beverages smelling like rotten eggs!!! Well my friend decided to make Blue Jell-O, which she of course used the tap water. To make matters worse she thought it would better to just eat the Jell-O about an hour into setting, which made me want to gag. Anyways, this was not as bad as that, but the blueberry and the vinegar smell took me back to the place I had tried to forget about! Now that he has had time to air dry, he smells "comforting" as my friend Denise described.

I gave him a very simple face, with of course the big cute eyes...I have mixed feelings over his face being multi-colored. I Love his mane, I used a Clump of tie-dyed Merino that I got with my Drum Carder.

He can be seen on Etsy as well.

www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com

Baby Goblin & Rainbow Elf Rag Doll

2009-06-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Baby Goblin and her Rainbow Elf Rag doll is my third completed Goblin. I have several more before her that need to be

finished, but I had so much fun with her, it pushed me to finish her off. This sweet Goblin was inspired from my own baby, Bailey. I bought a hand carded batt of soft popcicle greens from my favorite place down on Government Street called Knotty By Nature. The girls down there have been so very helpful. I started this Goblin one morning when Bailey was looking up at me with her big blue eyes. This time around I decided to put wire in her arms, legs and fingers. MAN!!!! What a pain in the butt that is. I can't even guess how many needles I broke. But she is bendable and I did end up jointing her arms and legs. I wanted to make her a big Mushroom rattle, but George chimed in and wanted me to make her a rag doll. Her little Rainbow Elf is what I came up with. Oh yeah, and I stuck her in a little white felt diaper. Very sweet!

I had a lot of fun taking pictures of these two. Being bendable and jointed made for many very cute positions.

I almost could not part with her, but I put her up on Etsy anyway. She has had a lot of great feedback. I think it's those big adorable eyes!

www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com

Pink Lemonade Fantasy Lion

2009-06-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

This little lion was inspired again by a carded batt I found down at Knotty By Nature on Government Street. It was a mix of Corridale, Merino and white silk. I loved that they mixed Soft lemon pale pinks, Raspberry and White. It made me think of a soft little lion. So my little lion was born. It could not be a Tanglewood Thicket Creature without wings. So I created some glass like wings from Fantasy Film and fiber. My favourite part is his soft crazy Mane, and his white merino tummy. I have had people say he looks sad. I guess he kinda does. I may do some more lions. I just had so much fun making him! I came across a Needle Felt Contest for newbies. So I entered him. I think the contest ends this Saturday. So, we will see how he does.

He can be adopted from Etsy.

www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com

Rainbow Goblin

2009-06-03T23:21:00.000-07:00

My second Goblin was inspired by the Merino I bought from Beehive here in Victoria. It came from Aurelia Wool in Merrit BC. The twist was called Jelly Bean. It was an amazing mix of vibrant teals, pinks and blues. The main body of the color was a brilliant Orange. I picked it because it is my husband George's favourite color is Orange. I pulled the twist apart and made the main body from the the Orange, then I used the rest to detail the mane, tail and tummy. I added a dark Magenta and Royal Purple to create a super gradation on his finger and toes. half was through I had cut his arms off and then re attached them with bamboo thread. So his arms are now fully jointed. In the end I loved him, but felt he looked more like a crazy lion.

He now lives in California.

Woolie Wog Goblins...

2009-06-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

So, after doing about a half dozen small scale projects to learn how my needles work and what I can do to manipulate wool, I started a little blue Goblin with detailed eyes and soft fingers and toes. I really enjoyed sculpting him. I say sculpting because I basically used my needles, fingers and hands to work the wool into my desired design. It was alot like working with Polymer actually. Although without the sore hands after. I bought a two ounce braid of blue and purple dyed wool from "Fleece-Artist" down at Beehive. From one braid and a little white, I was able to complete my first Woolie Wog Goblin. Which has me making more because I love the fact that they can all look so different and I can go crazy with the colors. I can add wings, manes, horns and whatever else I can think of. How exciting!

This first Goblin took me awhile, but only because my Bailey-Bear takes up all but two hours of my time a night. (literally) since she is still waking up atleast three times a night. OMG!!!

Goblin is for sale on Etsy.

www.tanglewoodthicket.etsy.com