Felted Topper with Curly Hair Tutorial (Gwyn and Danny)

The best thing about making custom toppers is that each project allows me to try something new or different. That means there is a lot trial and error, doing research and generally just learning and testing throughout.  I would not consider myself a needle-felting expert yet and I know that I still have a lot more to learn.  So I'm grateful for the wealth of knowledge, expertise and tutorials on the interweb.  Many of my techniques are hybrids of other tutorials that fit my expertise and my purpose.  So what may work for me may not work for someone else.  

Gwyn and Danny

For Gwyn and Danny's topper, Gwyn's hairstyle was a romantic half up-half down with curls.  I was very experienced with felting updos but not with "down dos".  Down dos, that's a word, right??  For updos, I had previously cut thin strips from a flat felt sheet and then felted them to the back in little curls.  But I found that this method didn't really look realistic.  Since a felt sheet is only one thickness, the curls didn't quite have that dimension and they looked, well, flat.  Also, flat felt sheets are very limited in colour choices and therefore sometimes makes it impossible to colour match with my wool roving.  

So I played around with wet felting each strand to give them more dimension.  Since I didn't have a teeny little curling iron lying around, I had to "set" the strands in a miniature form of "rollers" and let them dry into shape.  So I did what I normally do, find something I already have lying around.  In this case, it was wooden BBQ skewers and chopsticks.  Check out my tutorial!    

Felted Topper with Pups (Caroline, Craig, Winnie and Jemma)

Ever since I blogged about my C+J topper, I received a lot of interest from all over the world.  So it's really quite amazing now that I'm making custom toppers for people from across the country and the world!  Doing custom projects are a wonderful contrast to my day job.  As an industrial designer, I work on consumer products that are mass produced and are sometimes quite technical.  These toppers allow me to work on more handmade, custom products that will hopefully become lasting keepsakes for couples of their special day.  Also, needle felting is truly a labour of love that takes time and patience.  The fact that people are interested in my work and recognize the time and effort that is put into each topper is a true testament to the growing handmade craft movement.  Also, many of my customers tell me that after all the wedding dust has settled, the topper is a perfect memento that is all the more special because it was made only for them.

I've got several toppers on the go right now but I wanted to share one that I did recently.  See more after the jump!

Autumn Cake Topper

Now that we're in the thick of autumn (with pumpkin beer, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin Pringles (!)) I thought I'd share a custom fall themed wedding topper that I made.  This one was over the top detailed and personalized, right down to the pattern on the groom's tie.  I had a lot of information to work with, such as the groom's custom suit with paisley tie and the bride's dress with flower details, so it was fun to incorporate as much as I could.  Working with polymer clay is always fun and allows me to sculpt and re-sculpt however I want.

See more after the jump!

Felted Wedding Topper (Jenn and Chris)

After the success of J+L's wedding topper, another friend asked me to do their wedding cake topper.  Jenn and Chris gave me complete creative freedom with the only requirement that I use their signature pose: the high five jump.  Chris and Jenn love anything quirky and cute so I knew that I would have fun creating personalized characters.  I also wanted to create soft figures and decided to try needle felting.

Needle felting is pretty much sculpting with wool and it is a breeze to learn.  All you need is some wool roving and a special barbed felting needle.  Then you stab the needle into the wool to create a denser shape.  Since it was my first time, I wanted my shapes to be perfect so instead of stabbing quickly into the wool, I more so poked cautiously - I'm such a risk-taker.