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Interviews With Makers – A Tassel Maker

And we are kicking off a new blog series today where we will be interviewing some of my favorite makers, entrepreneurs and women who are creating beautiful businesses online. These ladies will be sharing some of their own process + tips and tricks you can use to recreate their beauty at home. I love getting a glimpse into the process of making things pretty so I hope you’ll love this first interview as much as I do.

Tassel & pom birthday cake topper

I am really excited to introduce you to one of my favorite new ladies – Elizabeth from Fancy Flamingo Designs! She creates gorgeous pom pom and tassel party supplies that are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. She sent me a box and we immediately started styling a fun tassel clad party. From cake toppers, to garland, to a bright and fun dream catcher she does yarn crafting at it’s very best.

Colorful pom pomstassel party

What made you decide to start yarn crafting?

I have gone through many craft phases over the years, while raising my children… embroidery (hey, my mom taught me), quilting (still have a large fat quarter stash), scrapbooking (you should see all my paper), tissue paper crafting (so much ripped tissue paper!). About a year and a half ago, I decided to make yarn tassel garlands for my niece’s winter baby shower, and that was a revelation to me – I made something pretty that could be used as a party decoration, and then taken home for the baby’s nursery. I loved the idea of creating something that could be re-used & re-purposed!

The bright and the dip-dyed colors are the ones that make me smile while I am making the poms and tassels… I can certainly make a lovely garland in monochromatic shades of gray, but my favorite designs are the ones that have happy colors. :) As my youngest child heads off to college this coming fall, I am excited to continue to create new designs, and see where this love of crafting takes me.

Tassel DreamcatcherTassel Dreamcatcher

What is your favorite design you’ve created so far?

My favorite design is my Carousel Mobile. it may drive me crazy when I’m trying to balance all the poms, but the big, colorful pompoms are just so pretty. My Popsicle Garland is a close second – the dip-dyed tassels remind me of the way that popsicles start to fade in color as they melt.

Dip dye Tassels

Can you share with us your trick for getting such vibrant colors in your yarn?

I spend a lot of time combining different colors of yarns, and paying close attention to how one color makes the color next to it look – does it enhance it, or does it make it look dull? When I am dip-dying yarn, I am using a combination of koolaid (for real), wilton gel paste coloring, and the more traditional Rit Dye in an effort to find the brightest shades. I am also very into dipping brightly colored yarns in bleach to create a kind of reverse dip-dye effect.

Bright Tasselstassel gift wrap

What is the most difficult part of working with the yarn & how do you make it easier?

Yarn is a very friendly, forgiving medium, but, because it has some stretch to it (and is sometimes very curly), I find it difficult to create tassels of a uniform length, even when using the same template for wrapping the yarn. While I love that tassels clearly look handmade, I strive to make mine polished. My secret to making this easier is to use my husband’s clothing steamer (ssshhh) to steam the tassels before trimming them.

tassel garland

What great tips for working with the yarn… I will have to try that steamer trick! Thank you Liz for sharing a bit of your process and craft with us.

You can follow Elizabeth on Instagram for bright pretty photos right here and visit the shop right here.

I hope you enjoyed this peak into a fellow entrepreneur and maker’s process. More fabulous ladies who create beautiful things coming soon.

PS. How we dye with Kool-aid and 10 creative tassel ideas.

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