Felt Ornament: Robot

  

Inspiration: A friend and I were looking at crafts to make (DIY kits) on Etsy.  She really liked a felt robot she made.  I may have ordered 2 sets of them for us to make after the holidays but I felt the gift needed something real for now to go with it.

How I Made It: I found a cute little robot image online.  Printed a few copies of it out.  Cut out a part at a time and created a template.

Then I cut out the felt pieces.  I tape the template to the felt to help hold it in place when I cut.

Then I stitch most of it together using applique stitch with embroidery floss to match the piece I'm attaching.  The ear bolts and the hands got attached as I blanket-stitched around the two pieces of the body.  I also added in some silk cord on the right side - to make it more robot-like, and a hanger piece.

Things I'd do differently:  Maybe a different combination of colors.  I think the googly eyes should be bigger for the head but I only had little ones left.  Also I feel like the head is too long on one side, so I might modify my template a little for next time.

Felt Ornament: Among Us Imposter?

Inspiration: My daughter played Among Us quite a bit this past year.  One of her teachers even led a group who would play during their lunch break.  She says her favorite is the yellow character so I thought I'd surprise her with a felt one.

How I Made Them; I found a picture online, printed it out and used that to create the 2 basic shapes.  After doing a little research, I decided to make the backpack? (or is it a jet pack?) a separate piece.  So I cut 2 of each shape in the yellow.  I stitched the face mask onto the main piece with black thread and also outlined it.  I applique stitched one part of the backpack onto the back 2nd main piece but not all the way to the edge.  I then blanket stitched the main parts together (not stitching the back part of the backpack but definitely holding the front of it between the two main parts).  I added a hanger as I made my way around and also stuffed the main part with polyfill.  Then I added some more stuffing just in the backpack and blanket stitched it's two parts shut.

Final Thoughts:  Is it an imposter?  Maybe.  My daughter liked it.  I need to make a bunch in different colors so she can share with her classmates if they're still playing next year (but there will probably be some new game by them that they'll all be into).  Though it would make a cute thing for Valentine's Day.

 

Felt Ornament: Panda in a Teacup

 

Inspiration: I was browsing images of kawaii pandas and came across this really cute sticker image I liked.  I thought it would make a cute ornament so I bookmarked it and then came back to it when I had some time this past week.

How I Made it: I'm actually going to take you through this step by step (trying something different).

Step 1: After playing with the size of the image a little, I printed out 2 copies of it so I could cut them up and use them to help me make templates on cardstock (something a little thicker than my usual printer paper).

Step 2: After cutting out the templates, I cut out all the felt pieces I thought I'd need using them.  Tip 1: Put a small tape roll on the back of the template to secure it to the felt as you cut.  Tip 2: For parts that will "stick out" of the piece, use stiff felt if you have it (I did for the ears but didn't have any for the teacup handle or bottom).

Step 3: Using an embroidery floss to match the color of felt used for the teacup fill, applique the teacup fill to one of the teacups.  I used DMC 3773 with my tan floss.

Step 4: Using white embroidery floss, applique stitch one panda head to the teacup.  It will overlap the teacup fill lining up directly to the bottom edge of it.

Step 5: Using black embroidery floss, applique stitch the panda hands to the teacup.  They will overlap both the panda head and the teacup fill at various points.

Step 6: Using black embroidery floss, applique stitch the panda eyes and nose on the panda head.  Again going through all the layers.  As an alternative if you find the panda nose to be too small, you could embroider it using a satin stitch.

Step 7: This is when I glued on my goggly eyes.  I used E6000 adhesive this time but sometimes I use Aleene's Tacky Glue for these.  Both work well.  If you don't want to use googly eyes, you could stitch a white french knot (using all 6 strands of the thread) for the panda eyes and then use a single couched stitch in black for the closed eyes on the teacup.

Step 8:  I cut larger cheeks than the original image.  Using embroidery floss to match the light pink felt (DMC 761), applique stitch the cheeks on the teacup.

Step 9: Using black embroidery floss, backstitch the smile on the teacup.

Step 10: Lay the top finished piece face down on the table, Layer on the 2nd panda head so the edges line up.  Lay on the 2nd teacup so it's edges line up.  Then pin just the 2nd panda head and 2nd teacup together.  Finally using embroidery floss to match the teacup (DMC 3761 for the light blue teacup and DMC 209 for the light purple one), applique stitch just the edge that meets the panda head to assemble the back of the ornament.

Step 11: Place together the front and back of the ornament (finished sides facing out).  Position the ears in between the heads and a ribbon or charm holder at the top of the head (again between the heads).  Using white embroider floss, blanket stitch the heads together.  Get really close to where the teacup is so you don't have a gap when finished.

Step 12:  Using embroider floss to match the teacup (see Step 10), blanket stitch together the teacups starting on the right side of the ornament.  Place the teacup handle in the correct place after you make your first 2 stitches.  If you want to include the teacup bottom, place it in the correct location about 2 stitches after you finish securing the teacup handle.  I gave up on the bottom because I didn't have stiff felt for it.  It's a cute ornament either way.  Pause before finishing the left side to stuff the ornament with polyfill (keep it light and don't overstuff).  Then finish the stitching.

Review: Felt Solar System from PollyChromeCrafts (Etsy)

A friend and I decided to continue our Zoom-based crafting sessions to work on this cute Felt Solar System from PollyChromeCrafts available via Etsy.  I purchased the PDF instructions (mostly because I don't want to work with glitter and really wanted to add google eyes).  If you don't have the time or really want to spend the effort locating the supplies needed, PollyChromeCrafts also offers kits with all the supplies included.

As I mentioned, there were some modifications I wanted to make like using google eyes and avoiding anything glitter-based.  For all the planets, I also used cut felt cheeks (except Mercury) rather than the recommended brads.  I used the #4 circle from the provided stencils to size all the cheeks.  For our ribbon, we used a dark blue (like the sky in outer space).  I'll point out the modifications as I cover each planet.

We worked on our planets over 5 different Zoom sessions that ranges from 2 to 3 hours each (one might have been a bit longer and the last one was a little shorter but if you're planning something similar, give yourself at least one hour per planet).  I put together kits with all the supplies for both of us, pre-cutting a lot of the pieces (the planets, anything where a stencil was in the PDF instructions), choosing thread colors, and filling little bags with the little bits needed for each planet.

When we finished, our solar systems turned out very cute.  I'm glad I made two sets myself because my daughter  (whose dream is to work for NASA when she grows up) took one of each as soon as they were finished.

Here's the details on the modifications along with the order we created the planets in:

Day 1: Saturn and Earth

Both of these were pretty straight forward.  Other than the google eyes and pink felt cheeks, we mostly stuck to the provided instructions.  For Saturn's rings, I found a sheet at Hobby Lobby (sorry I couldn't find it on their website but in the store it was right with all the glitter felt sheets) that more like gold sequins on fabric that glitter felt (and luckily it doesn't shed like glitter felt would).  We used Alene's Tacky Glue to secure the google eyes and applique stitched on the cheeks using a light pink embroidery floss (as close a match to the felt as I could get).

Tip: My friend found it easier to remember to stitch in the ribbon holder by pinning it to each piece first (remember to do it in a way that will allow you to remove the pin after).

Day 2: Mars & Venus

For both of these planets, the original instructions called for glitter felt (Red for Mars and Yellow for Venus).  Did I mention already that I don't like working with glitter (it gets on everything!)?  For Mars, I found a really dark red felt and we also stitched on some Mill Hill Red Red Seed Beads (02013).  For Venus, I couldn't locate a yellow that felt right so I got creative and picked out some gold holographic sequins.  We stuck with the smooth round ones (holes near the tops) and only used the 2 smallest sizes.

Days 3 & 4: Neptune & Uranus

My biggest challenge for these two were finding the right colors of felt for the stripes.  I kind of gave up on finding the exact colors mentioned in the instructions and looked for colors that I thought would look good together.  Again, the original instructions included some glitter felt.  Instead we added more beads.  I did need to purchase some turquoise colored seed beads but we also reused the beads from a bracelet I had that broke (and wasn't about to figure out how to re-sew together all 1000+ beads but I saved them knowing that one day I'd have a use for them).  I kept the beads on the stripes (as if they're like ice chunks floating in the layers of the atmosphere).  With the stripes and all the beads, these two took the longest to put together.  We did manage some time to start on Jupiter on Day 4, sewing some of the stripes/bands.

Day 5: Jupiter & Mercury

For these last 2 planets, we stuck mostly to the instructions.  I had to stray a little on color but I was super excited to find Pumpkin Spice Felt to use for the big stripe under Jupiter's Red Eye.  We both agreed that having one of the actual eyes as Jupiter's eyes was cute.  I used smaller google eyes on these two than we had for the other 6 planets.  For Jupiter it was so more of the Red would show and Mercury was just too small to use bigger eyes.  Also for Mercury, we glued on small pink round gems for the cheeks rather than using pink felt since cutting circles smaller than the #4 stencil with the kit would have been difficult.

Overall, we both really enjoyed putting together this solar system.  It took a number of Zoom sessions that we spread out over 5 weeks but they were fun to make and the finished product is very kawaii!

Review: DIY Gnome Kit by AmysFarmhouse (etsy)

 

To help fill in some time and get crafty during lock down, a friend and I were looking for things to make and found these really cute DIY Gnome Kits by AmysFarmhouse.

I chose the Coffee one and my friend chose to make a Bee one.  This kits arrived with most of the needed materials and a piece of paper with the address to a YouTube video with the instructions.

Following the video, in addition to the supplied materials you also see 1-2 cups of dry rice.  Instead of rice, we used Poly Pellets (I really don't like using food items in crafts).  Many of the steps also used a glue gun.  I don't have one so where I could, I sewed things together and if I really needed glue (like attaching the wooden nose), I used E6000 Industrial Strength Adhesive (it's lower odor than super glue and dries a little faster too).  It took use a 2 hour Zoom crafting session to make our gnomes together.

My Coffee Gnome turned out really cute and now lives in the coffee nook of my kitchen/dining room.  The was a great craft to do with a friend.  There were plenty of choices and we could each make a gnome with a theme we liked.  Even with minor differences (my friend's gnome kit had a black sock but mine was white and we had different charms to attach at the end), every kit takes the same steps to make and you can make alternatives work (sewing instead of using a hot glue gun for most steps like attaching the hat and the beard).

Review: Origami Paper Dolls

When I bought the Origami Paper Doll Bookmarks in Japan, I also bought a set of Origami Paper Dolls.  They're from the same company and very similar.

Having made the bookmarks first (which have smaller dolls) actually made making these easier.  Most of my time on them was spent measuring and cutting the paper.  More so that the folding and the little bit of gluing.

Again, I kept the paper scraps and will eventually use them for something.  I also stuck with Alene's Tacky Glue and used very small amounts where called for.

Another tip I have is to use the end of a ruler when doing the folds.  It made it easier.

When I finished making the paper dolls, I turned them into cards.  So the recipients could see the back of the dolls, I made little windows in my cards so those parts were visible (sorry I didn't take a picture of it).

Review: Origami Paper Doll Bookmarks

I picked up this Origami kit when I was in Japan 4 years ago but if you're interested in it I did find it on Amazon.com.   It sat in a drawer most of the time because when I first looked at the instructions I was a little overwhelmed and thought that maybe this would be too hard.  I also thought I needed to get some more pieces (not really remembering why I thought that).  With the lock down, I decided I had plenty of time to spend doing some crafting so I finally brought this out to try.  

The papers in the kit are so beautiful (I've actually kept the scraps though I'm not sure what I'll do with them - any ideas?).   Despite the instructions being in Japanese, the images really made it possible for me to do the kit (once I drilled in my head that all measurements were in CM or MM and not Inches).  Some of the paper is really delicate so while I could cut some using my paper cutter for most things I really needed to use my scissors (so much harder to cut straight lines).  I also found it easier to fold if I used a ruler to help.

There are some small points where it has you glue.  I used Alene's Tacky Glue with just the tiniest amount and that held up pretty well and didn't cause any of the paper to wave (mostly because of using the tiniest amount).

The final bookmarks turned out awesome.  My daughter immediately claimed one and we also sent one to my Mom.  I sent one to a pen pal and I still have one left (for now).

As for how long it took, I took my time making this and spread it out over 4 days.  I prepped by cutting the paper to the specified sizes before beginning any folding (to make sure I had all the pieces I needed).  Since I was super careful to measure twice, cut once and because I worked slowly, I spend from 1 1/2 to 2 hours per bookmark.  It was fun and I was pretty absorbed when I was making them.

Hope you like the picture of the completed bookmarks.

Cards: Origami Animals

Inspiration: I picked up this origami kit when I was in Japan several years ago.  I finally pulled it out and made the cute animals with my daughter.  I decided to turn mine into cards that I could use for writing to my pen pals.

How I Made Them: For the origami we just followed the instructions. When I finished, I used glue to secure them to folded 5x8 card stock.

They turned out really cute and it's been fun to get comments back about how much my pen pals liked getting them.  They were really easy to fold so this would make a great kit for a beginner.

 

Cross-Stitch: Lightning Astro

 

Inspiration: I wanted to make a small gift for someone in the Salesforce Community who is also a #PlatformChampion (former Lightning Champion) like me.  I thought Astro in his Lightning suit with the lightning bolt would be perfect.

How I Made it: I took an image of Astro and used LunaPic to turn it into a Lego-ified image.  Then drew it out on graph paper making some modifications along the way.  I picked out embroidery floss colors based on what I had and started stitching.

What I'd change: I'm still not certain I like the background color.  I made two and on one I used a dark blue but neither is really right.  I don't like it just with no background because it's harder to see the little lightning bolts on the helmet and the arms are pretty pale.

Cards: Remaking Felt Ornaments as Cards

Just a little share.  I took several of the felt ornaments I've made and reused the templates using paper to make note cards to send quick notes to family, friends, and pen pals.  Some turn out better than others.  Some I embellish with coloring to add background. Take a look:

Bomb Pop into a Thank You card for teachers.

A Happy little Rainbow on a Cloud

Fries and a Drink (always makes me hungry!)

Llama - thinking about making a Happy Llamakah card next year

I like this little fox

Even my Salesforce character obsession gets in the ix with Earnie...

...and Astro with the Trailhead logo in the background

Aside from the ones I made from felt ornament templates, I wanted to make one Salesforce character I hadn't done in felt, so I made a Codey the Bear as a Bearista card.  I used different colors to add some variety.  I've been using these to send to my Developer Group members.

Felt Ornament: Snowman

Inspiration: Our neighbors have some nice traditions at the holidays.  One couple stops by on Christmas Eve each year and delivers a bag full of cookies and a fruit/nut bread along with some yummy Bourbon Balls.  Others just drop off cards, sometimes with cookies or a small gift.  We often drop off hamantaschen during Purim (any where from early March to mid-April) and cards for different holidays.  Given the stay at home orders this year and knowing many of our neighbors were staying home for the holidays and unable to celebrate with their extended families, I made extra little ornaments to drop off with our cards.

How I Made Them: Like most of my ornaments, I started with making templates.  I made one for the body/head that was a slightly smaller circle above a larger one.  I made a template for the hat and the hat band and one for the carrot nose.  Using the templates for each snowman, I cut from felt:

• two white bodies
• 1 black hat
• 1 orange nose
• 1 colored hat band

Then I glued the bad to the hat.  I stitched the nose near the head and stitched the hat onto the head.  All with embroidery floss (orange for the nose and black for the hat).  For the first set I made, I glued on googly eyes.  For the second set, I sewed on blue or green pony beads for the eyes.  I searched through a jar of old buttons I had looking for matches.  I used pairs to sew onto the bodies.  Then I took quilt fabric scraps cut into 2" squares.  I folded one into thirds and sewed it around the neck.  I took a second one more loosely folded in thirds and secured one end at the neck and then cut little slits at the far end.  It made a nice scarf.  I used white embroidery floss and blanket stitched the back of the head/body onto the decorated front, pausing to add a lobster claw hanger and to stuff it with polyfill.

Alternatives: There are so many ways to be creative with these.  Besides switching eyes between googly eyes and pony beads, other things I might try in the future include:

• more than 2 buttons if they're smaller
• finding a way to incorporate small twigs as arms
• adding a flower to the hat (like Frosty's in the animated classic)
• Finger weaving or knitting small scarves to use instead of fabric
• Adding a small ribbon smile
• Seeing if I can find something that looks more like a carrot for the nose

Felt Ornament: Turtle

Inspiration: I don't know about you but between the weather and doing pretty much everything at home, I'm starting to get some cabin fever.  I'm also running out of ideas of things I really want to make.  Last week, I just had a day where I felt like I needed to make something and I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do.  I remembered this cute little turtle my daughter used when we were creating a Scratch program, so I decided to use that to make my next piece.

How I Made It: I printed 3 copies of the image.  Then I cute them out.  I cut out parts, traced out templates with card stock.  Then cut and traced some more until I was pretty sure I had all the pieces I was going to need.  (It really wasn't very many - body, back, back edge, front leg, 2 back legs, tail, cheeks, and some spots).  I looked through my current felt supply and decided on colors (mostly greens) and I used the templates I created to cut out the pieces.  I sewed the pieces together using embroidery floss and applique stitches.  I sewed the 2 body pieces together with blanket stitches, pausing to add a hanger (lobster clip with a loop), and to give it a little Polyfill stuffing.  I finished it by gluing on googly eyes.

Things I'd Do Different: I kind of think the head part is a little long from the body so I might reshape if I want to do over or else reposition the spots so it looks better.  I could also add in some embroidery stitching to make the turtle's back a little more elaborate.