stuff your stockings saturday: mini play mat

Sisters Jeanine and Amy are the co-creators of everything crafty over at Serving Pink Lemonade.  Today for this edition of Stuff Your Stockings, we are welcoming Amy from the crafty duo.  Welcome Amy!

How exciting to be over here at twelve crafts till Christmas!  Thanks for having me Elizabeth. I've loved seeing all the other stocking stuffer crafts so far.  So many great ideas out there.  And Christmas is just months away.  Can you believe it?

Over at Serving Pink Lemonade my sister and I share the fun things we do with our kids.  You can find crafts, homemade toys, activities to keep your kids entertained while traveling, learning games, songs and stories, book recommendations, free templates and more.  We would love for you to stop by sometime.

Today I'm going to share with you a mini play mat that I made for my kids.  They're 8 1/2" x 11"--which makes them the perfect size to roll up and stick in a stocking and they're also great to bring along in the car or when traveling.

First I drew up a template. I made it the mirror image of what I wanted the end result to be.

(Click to enlarge)


Once I was satisfied with my template I placed it right under my Wonder Under and traced the different parts onto it.

I then cut around each piece. I purposely didn't cut on the line at this point. It makes it easier when cutting out the felt.

I then placed each piece on the color felt I wanted . . .

and ironed it on. I always use a press cloth when doing this. It keeps my iron from getting ruined and protects my project from melting from too much heat. Always spray a little water on your press cloth before you iron.

I then cut each piece out on the line. I find it's best to wait about an hour after I've applied the Wonder Under before I peel the backing off. If I try to do it right away it's hard to peel, but after I've given it some time to cool it come right off.

After you have all your pieces lined with Wonder Under and cut out . . .

You're ready to assemble your picture on the blue felt. Once everything is lined up and where you want it cover your project with your press cloth, spray a little water and get those pieces ironed on.

I did mine is phases, ironing and securing on the bottom layer first and then ironing the others after that.

I then trimmed the excess blue felt off, added a backing, and did a zig-zag stitch all the way around to bind them together.

All Done . . .

And ready for some serious dinosaur play!

Hope that makes sense. It really is an easy-peasy project. All you have to know how to do is trace, cut, and iron.

And for those of you who don't have dinosaur lovers in your home, here are some mini car mats that you can also find over at Serving Pink Lemonade.  They can be made using the same concept as the dinosaur mat.  When you make all four of them they can be arranged together to make one big mat.

Hope these help inspire you to make a homemade Christmas. 

Thanks Amy!

I was so inspired by Amy's felt project that I added this to the list of things to make for my nephew's busy bag.  And just for fun I made an extra mini-car mat for your chance to make it or win it. 

Here's how you can win your own 8 1/2 x 11 inch mini-car mat:

**Leave one comment for each entry.**

1)  Be or become a follower of twelve crafts.

2)  Be or become a follower of Serving Pink Lemonade.

3)  Link up an idea/stocking stuffer to the stocking stuffer idea page. 

4)  Help promote Stuff Your Stockings Saturday by posting the button (code on sidebar) on your blog or on the stocking stuffer idea that you linked up.

5)  Leave a comment with your favorite item to put in a stocking. 

Giveaway will be open for entries until Friday, October 8, 2010 @ 11:59 PM (CST).

Craft on!

a winter wreath on the first day of fall

Today is the first official day of fall in North America. 

So . . . naturally, I made a winter wreath. 

What? 

I know . . . I'm just a tad bit ahead of the calendar. 

I tired and tried and tried to get into the fall crafting mood.  Every single blog that I follow is full of festive fall crafts - painted pumpkins, Mod Podge leaves, corn husk wreaths . . . I could go on and on.  Inspiration is everywhere . . . for fall, but I just couldn't do it.

Then I received this little package of bamboo felt from National Nonwovens treasures from my blog-friend Sandi over at A Legacy of Stitches. . .

. . . and my mind went instantly to winter.  I have lots of plans for these beauties.  Here's my first one.

Let It Snow Wreath

    
Here's what you need:
-felt . . . I used bamboo felt. I love the look and feel of it - so soft.
-cardboard or a wreath form . . . I'm cheap, so I use cardboard.
-glue . . . You could use any kind.  I used Gorilla Glue because I had it on hand.
-invisible thread
-a snowflake stencil or clip art cut out
-ribbon

Here's what you do:
1)  Cut out several circles of the same size from cardboard and glue them together with Gorilla Glue or other glue.  Use as many layers as you like for thickness.

2)  Cut the felt you are using to cover the cardboard wreath form into strips that are 1 1/2 inches wide and long enough to wrap around your cardboard form.

3)  Wrap felt pieces around cardboard form.  Do not glue the first piece very securely yet because you are going to have to tuck the very last felt strip underneath this one.  Glue them on the back using Gorilla Glue.  Layer each piece over the previous piece as you go around the form. 

4)  Wiggle the last felt piece underneath the first one to completely cover the cardboard.

5)  Use snowflake stencil or clip art cut out to trace and cut out as many snowflakes as you like.  I used three blue and two white.

6)  Use needle and invisible thread to attach the snowflake to the back of the wreath at varying lengths. 

7)  Attach one snowflake to the wreath with glue.  (Uhm . . . I'm pretty sure that felt isn't one of the recommended materials to  use with Gorilla Glue.  However,  I'm lazy.  Since I used the Gorilla Glue for the cardboard part, I didn't want to get up and get a different glue for the this.) 

8)  Slide ribbon under wreath and glue together overlapping ends.  I had the most perfect snowflake ribbon from Michael's for this project.

9)  Hang up . . . of course, you may actually want to wait for winter.  ;)

Craft on!

Check out the great parties I may link to by clicking on the blog name below or visiting my "I like to party" page that shows off all the party buttons.  These gals go to a lot of work to host these parties.  If you particpate in parties please take time to look through a variety of the projects linked up.  They are a great source of inspiration!

Weekend - a little lovely, Craft Envy, Under the Table and Dreaming, Be Different Act Normal, A Vision to Remember, 504 Main - Tickled Pink, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, I heart naptime


Monday - Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, The Girl Creative, The Trendy Treehouse, CRAFT, Making the World Cuter, Mad in Crafts, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Tools Are For Women,  It's So Very Cheri, Skip to My Lou, Sew Can Do, Polly Want a Crafter, Texas Monkey


Tuesday - All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee, New Nostalgia, Creative Itch, Lucky Star Lane, Hope Studios, These Creative Juices, My Delicious Ambiguity, Today's Creative Blog-Get Your Craft On!,


Wednesday - It's So Very Cheri, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blue Cricket Design, Trendy Treehouse, Tea Rose Home, Someday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Sew Much Ado, Night Owl Crafting


Thursday -  Fireflies and Jellybeans, Life As Lori, House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, Seven Thirty Three, The Train to Crazy, PonyTails and FishScales


Friday - The Sabby Nest, A Little Knick Knack, Fingerprints on the Fridge, It's Fun to Craft!, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Kojo Designs, Simply Sweet Home, Frou Frou Decor, Remodelaholic, Momma's Kinda Crafty

HELP!

Well, it's April 1.  You know what that means.  Okay, maybe you don't know what that means, so I'll tell you . . . the beginning of a new month means the beginning of a new craft.  I'm waffling between felts foods, a felt playhouse, felt slippers or a felt board.  Are you sensing a theme?   

I have a stockpile of felt that I would like to start giving new life so it doesn't just sit around, but I just can't decide between these four fun ideas.  I'm crazy busy for the next few days, so I won't be starting anything new until after Sunday.  That leaves me four days to decide.  Help me . . . pleeeeaaase!  Leave a comment below and vote for which one you think I should do.  If no one comments, I'll be left to my own devices . . . yikes!  

In the mean time, go pick up your own felt rainbow from your local craft store and . . .
craft on!