A Little Inspiration . . .

One of the best parts of owning Prairie Point Junction is all the opportunities to meet fantastic people that are using wool felt in extraordinary ways.

Here's a little inspiration to get you started thinking about using wool felt for flowers. Amber North is one of those super talented gals that I happened to "meet" through our website. I asked Amber to share a little info about herself and her creative projects:

1. What lead you to start creating with wool felt?

I first started making felt play food for my daughter who was 4 at the time. She was my muse but as she got older and my skills became more refined, I began to create "plushies" and appliques with embroidery. I enjoy teaching my children about our natural world and we spend loads of time outside collecting and inspecting bugs, their favorite being the "Roly Poly" bug or "Pill Bug"....which led to the creation of "Charles Chuggypeg".

2. What other types of creative projects do you enjoy?

I also enjoy making fabric and felt flowers (http://www.rebloom.etsy.com/) . My grandmother was a floral designer who was my inspiration for these "Reblooms". They are even more special if they are made with a piece of fabric that one is sentimentally attached, like a child's favorite outfit that has been outgrown.

3. Where can fans find your work online?

I have 2 Etsy shops online: http://www.rolypolyplanet.etsy.com/ and http://www.rebloom.etsy.com/

Thank you for your interest in my creations and I hope you have a great day!


Sincerely, Amber North

Thanks for sharing your work with us, Amber.

Hope you've inspired everyone to try their hand at our little wool felt flower challenge.

Wool Flower Shower Challenge

We’re going to shower the web with flowers! Wool flowers that is! And, one of our lucky readers will have the chance to win a FABULOUS prize from Prairie Point Junction.

Drum roll . . . and the fabulous prize is . . .
Your choice of 12 wool felt 12” x 18” pieces & a wool felt swatch cardTotal value: $27.80

Use your garden for inspiration or go for a walk in a nearby park to check out the gorgeous lilies and daisies in bloom. Not only will you find it inspirational, but it’s good for your heart too! I’ll also be posting some works from other artists to showcase their talents and to help get the creative juices flowing.

Here are the challenge guidelines
- finished project must include a least one flower and incorporate wool felt
- embellishment with stitching or beading is encouraged
- a photo of your completed project must be submitted by Friday, July 17
- please email photos to ppjguestblogger@yahoo.com
- include a brief description of your item along with your name and location (Example: Julie G., Cozad, NE) with your email
- only one entry per person
- The winning entry will be randomly selected and posted on the blog the weekend of July 18th
- The winning entrant will be notified by email

Craft on!
Kelli
aka The Guest Blogger

Road Trip

Summer is flying by much too fast. It seems like school just got out, but yet that was already 4 weeks ago for us. All my big plans are still sitting on the back burner. One fun thing that I did get squeezed into the schedule was a fun little road trip with the gals from Prairie Point Junction. On June 6th, six of us piled into a van and headed to Kansas for a little Shop Hop fun. We visited quilt shops in Hebron, Nebraska; then Kansas shops in Abilene, Concordia, Salina, Belleville, Manhattan, and Holton. We found plenty of treasures and tons of inspiration.

A special little side trip on our journey was a stop in Paxico, Kansas. If you never been to (or even heard of, for that matter) Paxico - this is a must see stop on your journey across I-70 - smack dab between Manhattan and Topeka. Their downtown area is straight out of a western movie. Check out the Paxico Merchants Association web page for more photos and details about all the fun antique stores and more there. http://www.paxicomerchants.com/

You may be wondering what in the world led me to this town in the first place. As the gals at my shop know, most of my conversations start with, " I was messing around on the internet . . . " Well, another Julie - Julie Dillingham - happens to own The Gathering Place in Paxico and she happend to by messing around on the Internet and discovered Prairie Point Junction. Julie is considering adding fabrics and/or wool to her antique shop and contacted me for some information. Several e-mails later, I discovered I was going to be passing be her darling shop and she rolled out the red carpet to welcome our caravan on Sunday afternoon.

Be sure to head on over to The Gathering Place's website at http://www.thegatheringplaceinpaxico.com/. And if you ever happen to be in Paxico, be sure to stop by and tell Julie that Julie from Prairie Point Junction sent you.

Introducing . . . The Guest Blogger

Julie has honored me with the invitation to blog on Prairie Ramblings. I've been promised a fancy title . . . oh, what should it be. . . Executive Guest Blogger? Vice President of Blogging? Any suggestions? Whatever the title, the promise is fun and the opportunity to share and explore the world of creative ideas.

Who am I?
My name is Kelli and I'm a friend of all arts and crafts. I love fabric, felt, beading, crochet, knitting and more! I love fiber and glass! I love metal and plastic! I love buttons and ribbons and rick rack! I love paper and found objects! I love it all! I'm a huge fan of Prairie Point Junction and an even bigger fan of Julie! You could say she is the sister I never had. Julie and I met in college and spent many an idle hour day-dreaming about Prairie Point Junction (PPJ) and all of the wonderful possibilities. The coolest part our day-dreaming is that Julie and her awesome staff have made it a reality in Cozad, Nebraska! And, if you can't make it to the store, they have a wonderful website where you can order online!

Safety briefing:
Before we begin our blogging journey, we must first start with a safety briefing. I've attended several quilting workshops where the instructors insisted that all students close their rotary blades while not in use. Very wise advise! Well, my safety story is to encourage you to be careful with your cutters (scissors too!) at all times! Almost two months ago while working on an adorable Buggy Barn quilt, "It's in the Bag" from the "Those Crazy Kids" book, I had a slight accident. Short story: sliced finger, later passed out and knocked my head on the wall, woke up laughing at my "stupid" accident, went to the emergency room for a CT scan and 6 stitches in my head, a very large bandage on my finger and a prescription for pain relievers. My finger is still healing and now the bills are starting to arrive in my mailbox. Of course, I thought I had it bad until a friend reported that she met a woman with a similar experience except that when she passed out, she also broke a tooth! Healing can take a long time so taking all safety precautions when working on arts and crafts is advised. Have fun, but be safe! On a more positive note, the quilt will be on display later this summer at PPJ. Then, it will be sent to Omaha to serve as the featured silent auction item for "Art in the Bag" a benefit for Cancer Awareness, Research and Care.

Until next time
Kelli
aka The Guest Blogger