The Studio Graffiti Collection

I’ve been making a mess in my studio and it’s all for a good cause. The new “Studio Graffiti Collection” is a colorful combination of many materials, techniques and styles I’ve been working in for years, but never quite like this. The modern jewelry collection features hand painted acrylic which is laser cut into bold shapes, and no two pair of earrings or pendants will ever be identical due to the nature of the brushstrokes.

While developing this idea in the last few weeks, I’ve tested out several color palettes and landed on a few favorites to launch the collection. Some of these color combos may come back later if they sell well, and I certainly have ton of new ideas for upcoming colorways, but for now, here’s Night Garden, Carnival, Pool Party, and Urban Sky - all available on the website!

To shortcut your shopping on the website, you can type in “Studio Graffiti” into the search bar to see ALL items in this collection, and you can even search by colorway name if you see a color you like and only want to view jewelry pieces that come in that colorway.

Here’s a peek at my process. Watching painting done as a time-lapse video is kinda magical and you can really see how the pattern builds up on the clear acrylic from the backside. I never quite know what the painting is going to look like until I peel off the protective layer of film and man, that’s a happy moment every time! Enjoy this quick look at how this collection is created. The colorway shown in the video is “Night Garden” and is available on my website.

Ready to do a little shopping! Here’s a 25% off coupon code which is valid on any jewelry item now through the end of June!

Coupon Code: STUDIOGRAFFITI25

Coupon valid on any jewelry item(s) only at www.onceagainsam.com

Coupon not valid on Etsy, fiber art items, or commissions.

Virtual Workshops

This has been months in the making, and I’m excited to finally share my first virtual workshops with you! I don’t know if or when I’ll be teaching again in-person this year due to the COVID-19 epidemic, so it was finally time to take my workshops to the virtual realm. Check out the new DIY section on my website!

I have always had students who live in other states and countries who were never able to participate in my classes, and I’ve also had local students who just can’t make the in-person workshops work with their schedules, so I hope this new option will be a good thing for everyone.

The first two virtual workshops I’m offering are my 2 most popular classes - Needle Felted Succulents and 2D Hoop Art. Both of these classes are beginner level so no prior experience is required, but you’ll work up to a more advanced project by the time you go through the lessons. I’ll also show you everything you need to know about tools, materials, and techniques, plus I’ll share some tips and trips I learned the hard way when I first started needle felting in 2009.

Enroll in cactus workshop

Purchase cactus kit

Enroll in hoop art workshop

Purchase hoop art kit

If you prefer to purchase your own supplies, or you already have some, that’s totally fine! I’ll let you know what you need for each class. However, if you need to purchase materials, I have kits available on my website that have exactly what you’ll need to follow along with the workshop. Enroll in the workshops and shop supplies in the new DIY section on my website.

What other classes would you like to see me offering in the future? Leave your ideas in the comments below or send a message through the contact form. I would love to hear from you!

My Favorite Needle Felting Resources

Here it is, you hit the jackpot! This is a comprehensive list of my favorite needle felting supply resources that has been in the making since I started felting in 2009. I will update this list regularly so check back in the future in case I’ve come across any new stores, websites, or fiber festivals.

And of course if you know of some awesome needle felting resources and want to share, please do so in the comments below!

Online suppliers:

I have been shopping at these first two websites since 2009 and get about 50% of my total yearly supplies from those two companies. They have consistent colors (and a huge assortment). They also carry needles, foam pads, and wool fabric. Kits are available as well. If you shop at the Felted Ewe, tell Tina that Once Again Sam sent you!

https://www.thefeltedewe.com/
https://www.weircrafts.com/
https://dorrmillstore.com/

https://bearcreekfelting.com/

Local Craft Stores:

Your local craft store may carry some needle felting supplies, but I find they're somewhat limited. They will most likely carry small 0.5 oz. bags of roving, which is fine for smaller projects. It’s a little more expensive to purchase this way, but if you’re just starting out and want to try out a few colors before you load up your craft room with pounds and pounds of roving, this is a perfectly fine way to go.

Craft stores often have combo packs of different roving colors and usually an assorted pack of needles as well. If you like to work from kits, they’re bound to have some of those too!

Micheals

Hobby Lobby

Joann Fabrics

Regional Supply Stores:

Both of these stores have roving by the ounce, which is fantastic. You just pull off the amount of the color you want, they weigh it, and you pay for that amount. I wish I could buy all of my roving this way.

Asheville, North Carolina: Earth Guild

Newport, New Hampshire: Dorr Mill

Fiber Festivals:

If you happen to be in a state that has a wool festival, go check it out in person! It's well worth the drive. You can buy everything you'd ever dream of having for your needle felting journey, including a pet sheep if you’re so inclined (and I am, believe me…it’s just convincing my husband that we can have a sheep here in the suburbs).

Most of these festivals also have classes and demos available. I can’t say enough about them - they’re incredible! This is a quick video tour from my last time visiting the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF).

These are a few fiber fairs I have personally attended and highly recommend. 

North Carolina: SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair): https://saffsite.org/

North Carolina: Carolina Fiber Fest http://www.carolinafiberfest.org/

Maryland: The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival ​​​​​​​https://sheepandwool.org/

Here’s a peek at some needle felting terminology, just so you know what you’re looking for (or googling). I wish I had know these terms when I first started out needle felting in 2009. I would have saved myself a lot of trouble!

Terminology:

Roving: wool fiber which has been cleaned, combed, and dyed. It’s used for the top layer in needle felting. Roving usually comes in a long “rope” that’s rolled into a ball. 

Batt or Core fiber: wool fiber that has been cleaned and can be dyed (though it can also be natural since it’s going to be covered up with roving). It’s used for building up a 3D shape and is typically fluffier than roving, so it’s great for adding bulk.  

Raw Fleece or “Locks”: unprocessed fiber that has maximum texture and curl. 

Photo by Eli Warren

Types of Fiber:

You can felt with fiber from sheep, alpacas, and even rabbit fur & dog hair. My favorite fiber for needle felting is coarse sheep’s wool, specifically from Corriedale and Blue Faced Leicester breeds. 

Tools: 

Needles: felting needles are specialized because they have tiny inverted barbs which agitate and pull the fiber tight with each poke. I usually stick with a 38 gauge needles. If you want a fine finishing needle, a 42 gauge is a good option, but these break very easily. Needles can come in a spiral, triangle, or star shape. I highly recommend using a spiral shape - the barbs are oriented in a twist around the needle shaft, and it helps grab more fiber every time you poke the needle into your workpiece. It’s a tiny short cut, but I love it!

Needle Holders: You don’t technically have to have one, but they can be useful and make felting more comfortable. I use my single needle holder daily, my 4 needle holder regularly, and I have holders for 6, 12, and 24 needles as well, but don’t use them as often unless I’m working on something huge. 

Feting pad: a dense foam worksurface you keep on your lap or table top while you felt. I recommend a felting pad that’s 2” thick. They come in many sizes - i have some that are 4x4, some that are 24x26, but I use my 8x10 the most. I also have a “felting pillow” I like from Bear Creak Felting & Design.

I teach many workshops a year (and virtual courses too!) so if I can help you in your needle felting journey, please reach out. I love this medium and I hope you do too! Be sure to checkout some of my process videos on YouTube so you can see how this magical medium works.

Needle Felted Insect Collections

It’s been years since I made these needle felted inset collections. They sold well when I made them before, but I had simply moved onto other ideas, other projects in the last few years. However, this spring, I’ve had more time on my hands than usual thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak so I’ve been revisiting some projects from the past lately.

The other reason I’ve come back around to making bug boxes is that I’ve been intentionally using up random materials and bits of things I came across in my recent studio clean out / reorganization project. I found a few shadow box frames that had no plans and were taking up space in my storage area, and then I found some flat felt I had used to cut out the base shapes of insects when I made these many years ago. I figured I had all the stuff to make a few boxes, so I went for it.

My mission was complete, I used up what I had (3 shadowboxes and a few half and quarter sheets of flat felt). I posted them and WHAM - they sold instantly! I wasn’t not expecting that, nor was I anticipating the flood of messages requesting more. So here we are, back to making bug boxes on the regular! Turns out there are a lot of other insect enthusiasts out there and I’m pleasantly surprised to find this out!

I’m all stocked up on materials for these and have been busy making new shapes and sizes, and exploring new insects in my favorite medium, needle felted wool fiber. This has been fun to dive back into and I’m so pleased with my new pieces! My largest yet, a 20”x20” box containing almost 70 felted insects, is part of this new collection. I’m also including a few single insects, and small groupings as well. All felted insect boxes are now available at onceagainsam.com.

Enjoy this combination video showing my process for making the needle felted insects, plus a short time lapse film called “Bugs-a-creeping”. There’s also bonus footage showing how a stop-motion video is shot (spoiler alert: one photo at a time!).

Punching a Pillow

For the first time in a long time, I have room in my schedule for a personal project. Believe me, I’d much rather be out in the world doing craft shows, teaching workshops, and finding inspiration at a residency, but this pandemic had other plans for the spring season. But I’m certainly making the most of this time!

I took a week-long rug hooking course at the John C. Campbell Folk School in the fall, but punch needle is something totally different (even though they’re both referred to as “rug hooking” in many circles). The traditional rug hooking I learned at the Folk School involved pulling up little strips of cut wool fabric (with a hooked tool) through primitive linen backgrounds, working from the back to the front. Punch needle, on the other hand, uses a large needle that’s threaded with yarn (or other material) and you push the needle through your fabric from the backside, creating loops on the frontside.

As a beginner to both of these crafts, I have found punch needle techniques to be far more forgiving, and I think that has to do with using thick yarn. It fills out your piece more neatly, and you don’t have to constantly worry that your strips of fabric are getting twisted or if your loops are slightly different heights. Punching is also significantly faster so you see way more progress in the same amount of time compared to traditional rug hooking.

I received Rose Pearlman’s “Modern Rug Hooking” book for Christmas and after reading through it, I was able to get right to work. I had tried to teach myself and make some pieces on my own before that, but was having trouble getting things to work. It was simple things I had wrong - I hadn’t purchased the right background fabric, the yarn I wanted to use was way too thin (or thick) for the punch needle I had, etc. However, after reading through the book, I could move on from all of those rookie mistakes.

I’ve been dabbling in some mixed media fiber art pieces, combining traditional rug hooking with punching and even needle felting, so this was my first large scale project that’s created from 100% punch needle techniques. This accent pillow took about 10 hours of work and nearly $100 worth of yarn and other materials, so it’s not for sale (I don’t think anyone would pay that much for a pillow), but I really enjoyed making something just for myself, for my own enjoyment. I know once the pandemic is over and we get back into our busy lives, I would never have the time to invest in something like this, so I’m glad I was able to do this now during this slower season.