Warm Fuzzies by Betz White

Oh my goodness. Do you know what I got when I got my new Betz White book? Warm Fuzzies; both metaphorically, because this book is the best, and literally. Warm Fuzzies is one of the coolest new books I have seen (other than Crafter Culture of course). First of all, Betz White is a really cool chick. You should surely check out her blog, of which I regularly stalk along with my early morning coffee and blog-reading ritual. She is witty, up-beat, and eternally carefree as she moves along in her busy life of kids, business, and artfulness. To prove how artful this book is, I have even thought about our other wonderful critics, and thought I might offer some of you some inspiration to find peace and get crafty through the world of feltyness:

• Granola girl - You will be happy to know that these projects are encouraged to come from recycled materials, such as old wool sweaters. What better way to help the cause of clean food than to reduce waste?
• Womanyst - The basic instructions on felt constructions could surely be applied to a nice felted set of ovaries or other female-specific genitalia
• Mr. Kriticle - I think you would be pleased by the organized implementation of each project.
• Tech nerd - You would just love the possibilities of many tech gadget cozies made of felt. LOL, LMAO, TTYL.
• Mad Critic - Hmmm…there is something very sinisterly pleasing about my mental pictures of you meticulously hand-sewing a bed for your beloved Westminster acclaimed canine, while subsequently cussing at your thread in Latin.
• Pornstar - Every great girl needs a great bag, you should try one of the adorable totes. Take a little time out for yourself and sew.

I plan on making one of the super-easy pins first to get used to the felt technique, and you just know I’ll have to make a cute bag for my little girl next. In fact, instead of using a sewing machine, most of the projects are diverse enough that you could hand sew instead of using the machine and let the kiddies get in there to make their very own hat, gloves, or purse. This F+W publisher isn’t too bad either. After doing some digging on publishing a craft book (wouldn’t this be the ultimate for an artist? A girl can dream…), I found some of their other books. Here are a few that caught my eye:

• The Art of Personal Imagery: Expressing Your Life Through Collage - After all, the whole point of art is to have time to look within and be uninhibited in expression
• Nuno Nouveau: Fashionable Felt for Accessories and Home Decor – Though I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet, I hear Nuno felt is the cool new fiber art. I first heard about it on one of the first blogs that I stalked, Heal My Life. The author of this blog used these techniques to make awesome bags, but I have seen beautiful scarves and such too!
• Kaleidoscope: Ideas And Projects to Spark Your Creativity – Another one I have seen on several crafty-art blogs! Great price, and another way to delve into the artful person who resides inside of you.