Beginner's Project: A Felted Card

This is an easy beginner's project, a needle-felted card. Before you start, be warned that these needles are wickedly sharp and are barbed. It is easy to poke yourself and to poke right though a fingernail into the nail bed below (I know from painful experience). If a needle breaks, it can fling into your eye so be careful. Always carefully discard any broken needles and pieces. (Needle felt at you own risk). This is a not a craft for small children. Move your hand and fingers away from the felting to protect yourself.
First assemble your materials. I used some pre-made card stock, wool fabric and colored, carded wools. You do not need to use a wool fabric for a base. I have used cotton and linen, and you can use other fabrics as well, as long as they are not too densely woven or stiff (your needles may get stuck or break). Cut out the dimension of fabric you want to use- I make the wool top the same size as the card stock, but you can use a smaller piece or a strip to nice effect.
Next, loosely arrange the colored wool on top of the the base fabric, which sits on the needling foam or brush. I made a loose purple heart shape. You can add wool as needed to change the shape of the design.
Next, being needling. Take your needle tool and plunge it right through the colored wool into the base below. Use steady, even stokes and always plunge straight down, perpendicular to your project (this helps prevent needles from breaking). Loosely lock down the wool. You will do a more thorough locking later. Loosely locking it makes it easier to move and reposition the colored wool if you make a mistake or want to change your design.
I usually add several colors of wool for accent...
...and a contrasting border. I now use my light green 5 needle holder to firmly lock down the wool. Glue it to the card and voila!
Till I write again, I'll be needlin' around!