3. More fun with FELT!

11/16/2009

Please feel free to check out my Etsy shop:
Amused Creations (eco friendly accessories)Felt is sooo versatile. First of all, it's readily available in craft stores and fabric stores and second of all, it doesn't need hemming! It doesn't unravel so no ironing down a hem and sewing it. YAY! I am addicted to craftster, and I love what people do with felt. What I did with felt was make some play food, starting with the easiest: COOKIES! I don't have a tutorial. These were just freestyled and anyone can do it with some imagination. I used embroidery thread and felt for these. I handsewed them so they're for looking, not touching. If making play food for your children, I suggest using felt fabric, not craft felt because it's a bit stronger. Also, you may want to machine sew them to make them a bit more durable, or else handsew and make sure the stitches are tight. You know your children, so if they're destructive on toys (or you have a pet who might get their mouth on it) try tugging on them to make sure nothing comes off.

Chocolate chip cookie, sugar cookie, two fortune cookies and a cupcake with a smile on its face!



If you have a baby, make some shapes a bit bigger and add a bell, cellophane, rattle or squeaker inside, stuff and sew up. You can add a loop to hook a baby carbiner (those little links you add to toys) so it can dangle from a car seat handle or on a play mat. If you use these with infants and you add anything inside that could be swallowed, make sure you take it away as soon as it shows wear. To be honest, you really shouldn't add anything inside that a child or pet could choke on. A big bell or big squeaker is probably safer. I made these as busy toys for children. For awhile, I had to accompany my sister a lot to the emergency room where kids were always at their breaking points. I used to bring these with and hand them out. For some reason, it made the entire waiting room more patient and left kids being a lot quieter.



There are a lot of awesome tutorials on craftster.org. You can search for play food to get a few ideas. If you'd rather buy, search etsy.com for sellers who sell play food.


Another "by the way"... this probably won't just be tutorials and ideas. I'll probably be writing about new things I'm working on, maybe posting a few of my latest works. Also, if you make anything I've shown, please don't hesistate to send a picture or a comment on how it goes!