Wet Felting and Tangkou Dolls

Step 1: Laying out the wool fibres into a pattern

 Wet Felting
 
It's been a while blogger, last week I didn't feel much like blogging as had caught a bad flu/cold bug and was down for the count :(. Anyway I'm feeling a bit better and have been busy crafting away today. I thought I would have a try at "Wet Felting" to those unfamiliar with the term "Wet Felting" is basically natural wool fibre matted with hot soapy water to create felt. Sounds easy but my first try was quite a challenge (especially since I didn't cross layer correctly and thus had holes). Note to self and others reading this, while pre-cut felt might seem like a good idea at the time it is an complete pain in the tush to fuse pre-cut felt with the wool fibres (whether glue has anything to do with it I have no idea).

Step 2: Adding hot soapy water

Step 1 (above) is all about laying out your wool fibres into a pattern (least if your doing a tapestry anyway).

Step 2 (right) is the fun part >< adding the hot soapy water and beginning to fuse/agitate the wool fibres together (note to self and others it's definitely worth the investment of a fine mesh or muslin cloth so your fibres don't casually float about.)

Step 3 continue adding soapy water until the fibres are squidgy to touch, then you can start rolling your "tapestry" with your bamboo placemat this should make your tapestry nice and flat (though in the image below I found that although my tapestry was nice and flat my pre-cut felt kept wiggling about :\)

Step 3

Step 4- Finished product

Step 4 once satisfied with the flatness and composition wring the soap out and wash with hot water. When the water comes clear (basically not soapy) wash with cold water, wringing it out as you wash. Et voila one wet felt making tapestry complete :) (I wasn't entirely pleased with my first attempt as I realised that I had layered the layers to finely so I had another attempt (see images left).

My second attempt was definitely more successful a) because I didn't include pre-cut felt and b) because I layered the felt up much more thickly.

I have yet to photograph them but  after my second tapestry attempt I decided it was time to try out making synthetic felt dreads (though it seems I struggle to roll the felt with my bare hands so I ended up having a handy assistant (otherwise known as my mother to roll the length of felt into dreads (and there fairly easy to make you just roll the felt with your hands and add a bit of hot soapy water as you go).

 Completely unrelated but my tangkou doll family expanded (I now have a fab family of 3). Tangkou's have definitely changed since I purchased Marilyn (Tangkou France) last year, the clothing is definitely more detailed and as for face up's well they two have had an "upgrade" with detailed eyeliner and eyebrows (which really surprised me). If you want to see more of my Tangkou Loli Izzabella you can visit my set on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/jam-gloom/sets/72157631761669160/ and if you want to see more of my Tangkou Vampire Veronica you can visit here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jam-gloom/sets/72157631761669164/

Hope you feel inspired 

Haus of Gloom

xox

Dolly Diorama making

Dolly Diorama-Bathroom (c) Jam Gloom 2012
 (Do not redistribute any of my photography
 without my consent.)

Had planned to post this yesterday as that was when I made and photographed my dolly dioramas, but I ran out of time. Thankfully kind of a good thing as college kept me busy from doing anything creative outside of the project I am working on.

Close up of the bath Dolly Diorama
(c) Jam Gloom 2012 

Have been wanting to make a dolly diorama for a while and the one's I made yesterday were of a 1/12 scale. The "room" is in fact a old soapbox with the top and lid removed and then lined using double sided sticky tape. I chose a soothing blue for the "bathroom" diorama with blue felt and orchid gift wrap for the floor and walls. The small box on the right hand side of the scene used to be a matchbox but I covered it again with giftwrap and for the drawer knob I used a brads pin. The ceramic bath and washbasket cost £3.99.  The plastic props and doll for that matter are from MGA's Lalaloopsy line (the doll is a version of snow white and the props belong to marina, think the duck is from a littlest pet shop blythe release though). Lastly to make "fake" bubbles I used cotton wool balls. >< Was fairly pleased with my makeshift outcome.
In regards of photography I had an external flash gun pointing downwards (lighting the scene) and a macro lens.

Dolly Diorama 2- The Bedroom (c) Jam Gloom 2012

My second dolly Diorama attempt was using pre-made setting (a fake wooden book that I bought awhile back for £1.99). The plastic props come from MGA's Lalaloopsy line and Moxie Teenz Line (Teddy and purse=Moxie Teenz +Alice doll, cheshire cat, white rabbit, and snow white squirrel=Lalaloopsy). The bed is from the same line as the bath and cost £6.99.
It's not as great as my makeshift room, however I think the outcome is reasonable for the time being.
I used a macro lens and an external flash gun pointing at the doll from 45 degree downwards angle.

Thanks for reading,

Until Next Time

Haus of Gloom

xox