This week's featured crafter uses one of my favorite materials -- pipe cleaners! She travels the country sharing her love of twisting pipe cleaners into fanciful creations for kids as Wendy The Pipe Cleaner Lady a.k.a. the "Pied Piper" of pipe cleaners. Let's meet Wendy!
Name: Wendy Feldhuhn Baner, 47
Hometown: Asharoken, NY
Occupation: Entertainer
Craft: Twisting pipe cleaners
Web site: www.thepipecleanerlady.com
How did you get into twisting pipe cleaners?
My husband or soon to be ex-husband (my "wasband") told me to get a "real" job ... so I made one up! Now I'm going to get a "real" husband! ha ha! But seriously, as a child I got excited if a telephone truck was parked on my block. The telephone men used to give me their leftover telephone wires. I took them and made them into jewelry. Back then I made a daisy ring which is the ring that started my career only now I'm twisting pipe cleaners.
What's your best craft tip?
Artwork is a bunch of mistakes until you like it and sometimes you just don't like it yet. Sometimes a mistake will take you to another more creative place then you would have gotten to without it. Some of my mistakes turned into my best projects.
Where do you find inspiration?
Living here in Asharoken on the beach inspires my creativity and nourishes my soul. In the summer, my office is on my lounge chair twisting pipe cleaners on the beach. Everyone should make up a job like I did. Shouldn't you always do what you love? 
What craft would you like to try next? I always wanted to lean how to do real stained glass. I've only done the fake painted versions.
What are your favorite local craft stores?
My house is like a huge craft store so if you name any of the local craft stores I've been there and have something here to prove it. There aren't enough hours in the day for me to be creative. pipe cleaners are an easy craft item to find and are inexpensive. Any craft store carries them, most drug stores and big department stores do too. I buy big quantities from the manufacturers. I once got 500 pounds of pipe cleaners in one delivery for me, one little pipe cleaner lady.
What's your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is to be patient and deal with all the kids calling my name out at once. It's not easy to keep flowing along helping them and not getting stressed out by them all wanting my attention and help at the same time. I'm there at any event to have fun, play and teach what I do. Not to be yelling at the kids and trying to control them. That's not a fun party to me. I guess that it's not that big a challenge as I thought since I haven't yelled at one kid yet and it's been five years.
Any advice for beginners?
Get lost in it and enjoy yourself. It's like a meditation. Be creative, think positive and know that there are no rules just use your imagination. That's what I did. I made it all up and then I turned it into a business and I get paid to play!
Why do you love twisting pipe cleaners?
I love my craft because of the endless possibilities it holds for me. You won't have any idea about what I mean until you go to my Web site and see to the extreme I've taken plain old pipe cleaners. On my Web site you can see all the fun events I do. You can even see me with the real ballerinas from The American Ballet Theatre event I did and the article with my Christmas crafts projects in Nickelodeon Jr. Family magazine. Enjoy!
For more on Wendy the Pipe Cleaner Lady and her cool creations and parties, please visit her Web site: www.thepipecleanerlady.com.
Comments (2)
Youe 'wasband' sounds like a lucky guy. Maybe you can make a new one with pipe cleaners.
I attended an event and the kids went nuts---the boys--the girls--even the adults loved it. WHO KNEW YOU COULD DO SO MUCH WITH PIPE CLEANERS