Tutorial: Hand Stitched Felt Bow

In my opinion, some of the best holiday gifts are the simplest–a gift card, a candle, a bottle of wine.  And, although I love giving these gifts I can’t help but feel that I’d have liked the gift to be a little bit more personalized, a little bit more handmade.  This beautiful hand stitched felt gift bow is an easy (and inexpensive) way to add a little homemade love to a simple gift.

This bow is very easy to make, requires only a little time, and can double as both a beautiful gift bow AND a beautiful flowery broach all winter long. Ready to make your own? Trippy coloring pages

Supplies needed to make your own DIY felt gift bow:
- Felt (I used white)
- Contrasting Embroidery Thread
- Needle & Scissors
- Clear Tape
- Gift Bow Template printed on plain white paper
- Bar Pin
- Hot Glue Gun
ever free coloring

Directions:

Print out the template onto regular white computer paper.

As you will see, the template is very simple–just 4 different sizes of straight strips.  But, I made a template because it is important that the strips are cut to the correct length.

To get the most precise cut when working with felt, first cut out the pattern.  Then, tape the pattern directly to the felt you are using.  The tape will hold the pattern perfectly in place without the bubbles or bumps that pins would create.

When you have finished cutting out the pieces you will have 10 strips in 4 different sizes.

Next it’s time to add some hand-stitched love to this project using the simplest stitch of all–the running stitch.  The running stitch is just a straight stitch that runs down the entire length of each strip.  Leave about a stitch length between each stitch, but this does not need to be perfect.  I used 2 threads at a time while stitching.

After you have added a running stitch to each strip it is time get make this gift bow come to life.

Start with the BIGGEST strips.  Fold in a “figure 8,” as pictured below.

Then, take an extra scrap of felt and stitch through the middle of the “figure 8” making sure to catch both ends of the strip.

Continue this but taking each one of the 8 longer strips, working from longest to shortest, and making a figure 8 and then stitching through the center.  When you stitch them down begin to lay them out in a circular fashion.

As a final step, take the singular smallest strip.  Twist it around into a circle and stitch.  Then, place it in the center of your bow and stitch down through all of the layers.  This will hopefully hide all of your previous stitches.

Your gift bow is formed!  Now all that’s left is to trim off the extra felt from the base and glue a bar pin to the back!

It’s simple, it’s beautiful, and for us crafty-types, it completes a gift!

I hope you have a very beautiful Christmas!

Father's Day Craft Idea for Kids: Fun Owl Card

Growing up, and even now as an adult, whenever I need advice about friends, decisions, or life, I always go to my dad. He’s like a wise old owl in my life always blessing me with his wisdom. That’s why this Guess Whooo Loves You Father’s Day Kids Craft is a perfect gift for Dad. Father’s will treasure this hand made card,  especially with the cute photo hidden inside. ever free coloring

Supplies:
- owl card template
- colored cardstock
- markers
- metal paper fasteners
- hole punch
- photo of child
- scissors
- glue

Instructions:

1. Begin by printing out the Father’s Day kids craft owl template on cardstock paper. We printed the owl body and wings on colored cardstock paper the card label on white cardstock. Cut out all of the template pieces. doodle art coloring pages

2. Line up the wings on the owl body, punch a hole with the hole punch and insert and close a metal paper fastener into the hole on both sides.

3. Use markers to draw feathers on the wings and inside the owl body. You could also draw hearts on the inside of the owl body. Now glue the “Guess Whooo Loves You” tag on one of the owl wings.

4. Cut out two white circle eyes, two black circle pupils, an orange owl beak and two half-circle eyelids for your owl. Glue them onto your owl body.

5. Cut down a child’s photo to fit and glue it down at the bottom of the owl body. Your Father’s Day craft is all finished. Hand it to Dad and he can open it up to see whooo loves him!

TIP: USE THE BACK OF THE OWL CARD FOR A PLACE TO WRITE A PERSONAL MESSAGE TO DAD FOR FATHER’S DAY.

Kid's Craft: Colorful Sidewalk Chalk Pops

The season for sunshine and outdoor play is finally upon us! School is nearly done, which means every parent could use new ideas on how to fill all those unscheduled hours. Sidewalk chalk is a great way to encourage imagination and physical activity (hopscotch, tic-tac-toe, toy car racetracks, hangman, bean bag toss, checkers, creative chalk photo props, etc). This year, put a spin on this classic summer pastime and mix up a batch of your own colorful DIY sidewalk chalk “pops.” Stained glass coloring pages

Materials: Plaster of Paris, tempura paint (neon works best), silicone pop mold, wood craft sticks, plastic cups and plastic spoons. You’ll also need cold water, scissors and measuring cups (not pictured). I was able to find all these supplies at Walmart.

A few important notes before we begin:
1. Do not put Plaster of Paris down your drain! It will harden in your pipes and cause damage. We are using disposable cups and spoons for this reason. You can rinse very small amounts off your measuring cups and such, but get the majority of the excess (wet or dry) in the trashcan.

2. This can be messy. I would recommend doing it outside and using larger plastic cups than I did!

3. Cold water means between 40-50º F. Yes, it matters. Chill enough water in your fridge for 30 minutes prior to starting. ever free coloring

3. Tempura paint is egg-based and non-toxic, but Plaster of Paris should not be ingested. Older children may help with the mixing, but little ones probably shouldn’t.

4. The following measurements were enough for my specific Wilton Brownie Pop Mold. You may have to adjust your volumes for different silicone molds.

Instructions: 

Step 1: Begin by cutting down your craft sticks to about 3″ long. You will need one plastic cup for each color you wish to make. Since my mold has eight spaces, I decided to mix eight different colors.

Step 2: Fill each plastic cup with 1/3 cup cold water.

Step 3: Add 2 Tablespoons of tempura paint to each plastic cup. I measured the first one then just eyeballed the rest. Since my paint set only had six colors, I created the purple (pink+blue) and aqua (green+blue) myself.

Step 4: Use your plastic spoons to gently stir the water and paint together. Don’t worry if it remains a little chunky or separated—it will smooth out in the next step.

Step 5: Add 2/3 cup Plaster of Paris to each plastic cup. This is where it got messy and I learned my cups were a little too small.

Step 6: Stir until thoroughly combined. Ideally, your mixture will have the consistency of thin yogurt.

Step 7: Carefully pour your colors into the silicone mold. Gently tap the mold on your work surface to release any air bubbles.

Step 8: After two minutes, the plaster will begin to firm up. Insert your craft sticks (cut side down) into the middle of the chalk “pops.” They should be easy to place without having to push hard or hold them up.

Step 9: Setting these out in the hot sun is a great way to cure them quickly. After an hour, you will be able to carefully remove them from the mold. Leave them in the sun to continue drying.

Most sources recommend waiting 24 hours for the plaster to fully cure. This will ensure a nice solid chalking experience. But I’m not most sources. Are you kidding me? My kids saw these chalk “pops” baking in the sun all afternoon, and it was all I could do to keep their hands off of them. I finally relented after 4 hours of dry time. At that point the chalk was still a little “damp” but firm, and it didn’t crumble one bit.

The wood sticks made it easy for little hands to hold the “pops” without scraping their knuckles on the sidewalk and the colors are more vibrant than any store bought chalk we’ve ever owned.

These DIY sidewalk chalk “pops” are a fun activity guaranteed to fill up at least a few hours of that endless summer daylight. They would be excellent party favors or gifts for summer birthday kids, too. And while they look good enough to eat, please no licking!

Lovely Kid's Craft for Mother's Day: Butterfly Handprint Card

These butterfly handprint cards are adorable! We love that these are made from your child’s handprint too. It adds such a nice personal touch. And they are perfect to give for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day!

The best part about this craft is it’s handmade with love and comes with an adorable keepsake of your child’s handprint. These would make perfect cards to make in preschool or a daycare for Mother’s Day. Unicorn coloring pages for adults

There is a really cute poem you can add to it also (print off and add an insert card or hand write and include):

This isn’t just a Butterfly
As you can plainly see.
I made it with my hand
Which is a part of me.
It comes with lots of Love
Especially to say
I hope you have a very
Happy Mother’s Day

Author: Elaine Magud

Here are the supplies you’ll need to make these butterfly handprint cards:
- Colored Cardstock
- Small Googly Eyes
- Glue
- Black Fine Sharpie
- Pom Poms or Felt to add as decoration – you can decorate the butterflies however you see fit! Use glitter, stickers, paint, the sky is the limit! ever free coloring

Steps to Make these Butterfly Handprint Cards

1. First fold over your card stock in half.

2. Now trace your child’s hand as shown below, so that the wrist is on the fold side (when cut out you’ll get a mirrored hand).

3. Now add an antennae and cut out your butterfly!

4. With a different colored paper, cut out a body and head and glue to the outside of the butterfly. Glue on some googly eyes.

5. Now draw on the mouth.

6. Now decorate your butterfly and add a message inside!

So cute, aren’t they?

DIY Gym Bag with Pocket for Yoga Mat

Hey all! Irene here, Production Assistant at Brit + Co. Finding time to work out does not come easy to me. Doing squats is hard enough, but fitting them in is almost just as hard and I have yet to nail the after-work gym routine. Gym bags can be bulky and, let’s be honest, not the most stylish. It’s time for a gym bag that is so cute, you’ll actually want to work out. Ever Free Coloring

We teamed up with to make a DIY gym bag that’s the perfect accessory for your workout outfit. I was really excited to do this DIY project because the challenge was to make a bag cute enough to go to brunch but still be functional enough to be an actual gym bag. We used cotton canvas and lining, so the bag is machine washable, and the best part is that, in total, this bag cost less than $50 to make. The canvas material also makes it super sturdy to carry along on all your adventures. Though this bag won’t resolve all your schedule limitations, it will help you seamlessly transition from your workout class to brunch, work or whatever’s next!

Materials and Tools:
- 2 yards cotton canvas
- 2 yards cotton lining
- 1/2 yard zipper
- (2) 1 x 24-inch strips of webbed ribbon
- sewing machine
- pins
- ruler
- pen
- scissors

Instructions:
Note: When measuring fabric, be sure to cut one half to one inch extra all the way around for easier sewing.

1. First comes making the zipper gusset. Measure two 3 x 19-inch rectangles on both the canvas and lining fabric. Lay one lining rectangle horizontally and face up. Place the zipper face up on top, aligned with the bottom edge of the fabric. Place one canvas strip face down on top. Pin and sew the three layers together. Repeat this step for the other side. Connect the Dots Coloring Pages

2. Cut two 2 1/2 x 4-inch pieces of canvas. Fold them in half, width-way, right sides together, and sew down both sides. Turn out and pin raw edges to each end of the zipper so the fabric forms tabs. Stitch along the edges.

3. To make the side panels, cut two 5x 14-inch rectangles from both the canvas and lining fabric. Layer one lining fabric (face up), the zipper gusset (face up) and the canvas (face down), and pin the short end. Stitch together.

4. Keeping the layers together, stitch down both long ends. Be sure not to sew the zipper gusset. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the other end. Turn out.

5. To make the front pocket/yoga mat carrier, cut a 9 x 14-inch rectangle from both the canvas and lining fabric. Place the two rectangles together, right sides facing each other. Pin and stitch along the long edges. Turn out.

6. Cut two 14 x 19-inch rectangles from both the canvas and lining fabric. These will be the front and back of the bag. Layer the canvas and lining together, right sides out, to make two panels. Place pocket in the middle of one canvas piece, both right sides up. This is the front piece of the bag. Pin down both panels.

7. Take your zipper gusset. Place one ribbon on one long edge gusset, curving it to make a handle. Pin down to secure. Place the canvas piece with the pocket face down on top. Pin and stitch. Repeat on the other side with the second canvas piece. Turn out. You should have a cross-shaped piece.

8. Pin the edges of the panels together, right sides in. Stitch from the corners of the zip gusset down to the bottom edges.

9. To make the bottom of the bag, cut one 5 x 19-inch rectangle from both the canvas and lining fabric.

10. With the bag inside out, pin the bottom edges of the bag to the bottom panel. Make sure the lining side of the bottom panel is facing out. Stitch along the edges. Turn out.

11. Slide your yoga mat through the pocket and you’re good to go!

DIY Copper-Scaled Glass Ornaments

Looking for a last minute gift? Let Angelica teach you how to make these quick, smart, inexpensive, easy to make and super glamorous glass ornaments for the holidays! Cartoon Coloring Pages

Materials
- glass ball ornaments
- copper coated scrubbing pads
- copper wire

Tools
- hand & eye protection
- scissors
Ever Free Coloring

Instructions
1. Remove the cap from the ornament
2. Unroll the sponge
3. Insert the ornament inside the sponge
4. Twist both ends of the sponge
5. Cut both ends
6. Place the cap back in place
7. Make a copper hanger (optional)

Simple but Elegant Yarn Snowballs DIY

Here’s a fun and simple project to do with the kids that yields very pretty results–grab some yarn, balloons and glue, and get snowballing!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:
- Balloons.
- White Yarn.
- Elmer’s Glue-All.
- Stampendous Fran-Tage Shaved Ice .49 oz.
- Scissors.
- Royal Brush Craft & Glue 6 pc.
Ever Free Coloring

Blow up you balloons so they are small, round and about 3-inches in diameter.

Measure out one piece of yarn approximately 7-yards in length for each balloon you have. 

In a small bowl, squirt a big puddle of glue and mix with enough water to make it the consistency of heavy cream. 

Dip a piece of yarn into the glue so it is thoroughly saturated with the glue mixture. 

Pull the end of the yarn out, and run your fingers along foot or so of the yarn to remove the extra liquid. 

Begin snugly wrapping the yarn around the balloon, removing the extra liquid with your fingers as you pull more yarn out of the glue-water, but not so hard that you distort the spherical shape.  Thomas and Friends Coloring Pages

Be sure to make your wraps in all directions to totally cover the balloon.  Tuck in the end. Cover all of your balloons, and let them dry completely. 

This may take a day or more, depending on the humidity, and how wet your yarn was. I sped mine along by setting them on the heating vents in my house, rotating them every few hours–they took a full day to dry.

When the balloons are dry, pop the balloon inside each ball and carefully remove them. Using your paintbrush, brush the top of each balloon with some glue, and while it’s wet, sprinkle with the glitter.  Let dry.

These snowballs look so pretty piled in a bowl on the table as a centerpiece, or displayed on the Christmas tree by carefully poking a light up inside each one to make them glow.

Happy Crafting!