Holy Felt Batman!

[serenetabbie]

Ok, so my foster mom mentioned she was cleaning out the church's craft closet and asked me if I could use some felt. I said "Oh sure Mom, we can always use some craft stuff" thinking she would send a little package of a few random squares I could use for the felt book I am working on. Uh, no. I got a BIG box of sheets of felt. How sweet! I have made a few small felt horses, but since I have craft ADD I am tired of them now The book is just about done, and no where near even putting a dent in the felt mountain.

Here are my Q's for all you crafty mamas;

What would I use to make felt stand up in a square (like those cute little house purses someone posted)? If I made a box, how would I make the sides a little stiffer?

What else can I do with all this felt? I do not have a glue gun or sewing machine, so everything is sewn slooooowwwllly by hand. I am thinking of making those cute little skate ornaments... any other ideas?

[momaste]

How about felt play food? There are a few threads with ideas here.

[serenetabbie]

I though of that... that is an excellent idea. However, I currently have no one to give play food to; my DD & neice have outgrown play food for the most part and I fear it is too late to start for the HH's. I think I will try it over the summer though for a friend's 4 yo

[operamommy]

As far as the house purse goes, using stabilizer should work just fine. If you're not familiar with it, just go into your craft store and ask - they'll show you what you need.

Penny rugs are always nice to have/make. I've been wanting to make one for ages but still haven't found the time.

[rere]

I made this one just using two layers of felt.It stands by itself but is still soft.I also used felt to make bracelets and fancy barrettes like these.

[ilikethedesert]

rere, I LOVE the tree bag, (and the barrettes!)
Would you mind sharing how you made that?

I was recently looking on thesilverpenny.com and she mentioned a fabric called TIMTEX that is used inside her fairy house pattern kits. I think it is stiff so would probably work for the loads of felt!

[Miss Information]

Thanks for the info on the timtex. I'll have to find some the next time I want to make something that stands up.

[rere]

Originally Posted by ilikethedesert

rere, I LOVE the tree bag, (and the barrettes!)
Would you mind sharing how you made that?

Sure!I just cut out 10(2 for each side and two for the bottom) squares of the same size.I machine sewed the felt trees(on of each season) on through both layers of felt to keep them together(I also machine sewed a pattern on the bottom pieces to hold those together).And then I used embroidery floss to hand stitch(the second one I made I used a blanket stitch.That looked a little nicer than the one in the pic) the squares together.I started by attaching each side to the bottom piece and then went up the sides.I machine sewed the handles on at the end.

I made them for some 1 yr old boys.I'm going to put either felt balls or bean bags in them.I hope they like them.I'm at the point where I'm starting to doubt all my gift making.UHG!

[ilikethedesert]

That is a fabulous gift!!!!!! I recently gave a two year old some felt balls and she loved them. Mine weren't in quite pretty of a package, though!
Thanks for sharing!

[rere]

Originally Posted by ilikethedesert

That is a fabulous gift!!!!!! I recently gave a two year old some felt balls and she loved them. Mine weren't in quite pretty of a package, though!
Thanks for sharing!

Thanks!

[serenetabbie]

Rere, your photos are beautiful! I love the little bag and am looking forward to making one ASAP.

I went to the craft store near me and do you know not only did they not have rick rack (what kind of craft store has no rick rack!?), but the lady had no idea what I was talking about when I said stabilizer. I ended up getting iron on stuff (like for appliques) that she said might work. Hm... thoughts on that? I will try rere's double layer of felt... and if that is not suitable for my design I am just going to use thin cardboard. I am not going to spend any more money on this project.

[ian'smommaya]

this is a fantastic thread. thanks serenetabbie

[serenetabbie]

No problem at all Hope it all helps... and I hope we get more suggestions!

[rere]

Originally Posted by serenetabbie

Rere, your photos are beautiful! I love the little bag and am looking forward to making one ASAP.

Thank you!

[um_hanna]

super cute ideas subbing for sure!