Glowing Fairy Jar Nightlight

This adorable fairy in a jar nightlight is no power, super soft and totally portable. Since the fairy is there completely as a friend and is free to leave at any time there is no lid on this glowing bedside jar of magic. This project is surprisingly easy and fast to put together. The toughest part is the cutting the fairy details. For a full rundown on the easiest way to cut felt shapes check out this post: Felt Lab – 5 cutting methods tested or this one: How to cut small or detailed shapes from felt. 

You will need:

Glo Felt– Large Size*

3″ x 4″ scrap black felt*

Stuffing

Cord or string for handle around 11″ -12″ long

Fairy Nightlight template at the end of post

Beans, rice, peas or stuffing pellets to add a tiny bit of weight (optional)

*Matching thread

Cut glow felt on fold to form one long rectangle, and one top and one bottom from glow felt

Cut 1 fairy from black felt for more on this see Felt Lab- Difficult Shapes.

Sew fairy to the center of the cut out jar, be sure to place her near the bottom so you have enough room to make the jar top ridges.

Turn piece so fairy faces inward and overlapping the short end sides of the jar sew down with a running stitch. 

  Sew bottom to bottom (where the fairy’s feet are) Turn inside out so the bottom looks rounded and fairy is now showing.

Fold down top 1″ and around the top with a running stitch. Unfold and fold remaining area in half again. Sew down with a running stitch as you did above. Unfold and add stuffing. If you want to add stuffing beads  to insure it always stays upright if put a small amount in before adding the stuffing. It won’t take much. Stitch top to jar with an overcast stitch.

Knot each end of the cord and sew to opposite sides. with matching thread.

Place in a window sill to charge. Enjoy the magical glow. 

Felt Fairy Jar Template:

Happy Crafting!

~Andie

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How to Make Teething Rings

Teething rings are by far one of the easiest and most personalized gifts you can give. If you can string some beads you can make a teether, it’s really that simple.

Of course because these are given to small children there are a few safety precautions you will want to take but all in all these handmade teethers go together in just a few minutes and are shockingly strong. Follow our quick and easy tutorial to find out how to make piles of super strong, beautiful handmade teethers for your next event, craft fair or baby shower.

To begin you will need to know how many beads you need to make a teething ring and that depends on the size of the beads.

Silicone teething beads come in all sizes shapes etc but in the simple bead shape we carry 3 sizes. 19mm, 15mm and 10mm. We also carry decorative versions like bunnies, basketballs, mushrooms, succulents, letter and heart beads but for clarity we will leave those for another day. Be sure to use medical grade silicone beads made for teethers. These will be dishwasher, had wash and washing machine safe if they have no wood otherwise I would recommend a simple hand wash.

Above is the size difference between the beads. To make a 3″ ish inch circle you will need a 7.5″ ish string.

The smallest silicone teething bead we carry is the 10mm. Three small beads will give you one inch of string.

In the middle is the 15mm silicone teething bead, two of these will equal one inch.

The largest teething bead size we carry is the 19mm one and a half of these beads will give you one inch.

To find out how many teething beads you will need for a teething ring simply add the numbers until you reach 7.5″ to 8″.Here they are pulled into circle.

Now let’s make teethers:

1. After beading your 2mm synthetic string to about 7.5″ pull the loose ends together as tightly as possible to form a ring. Add any teething pendants you are using.  Pull very tightly and knot twice.

2. Cut leaving a small tail on either side. 

3. Using a lighter burn both ends carefully push them together to permanently fuse the string.

Because this bond is so tight it should NEVER be used on anying large enough to fit around a child’s head or neck ect. 

4. Work the melted knot area into the hole of one of the beads on either side of it pull until the knot gets stuck.
The tauntness of the ring will keep it from being exposed again. And further protect the knot by distributing any stress to the piece evenly.

Pull on the ring several times to make sure the bond is secure.

American Felt and Craft carries over 200 different teethers, wood teething beads, silicone beads and all kinds sizes, styles and colors. Which means you can make a nearly infinite number of different and unique pieces.

Below are 3 ideas to get you started.

String silicone teething beads onto cord using pattern shown in the photo. Slide the shell and star wood teethers into place, pull together. Knot twice melt and tuck into place.

Add wooden teething beads to cord, slide crochet bead in center, slide turtle teether into place and add 2 small teething rings. Pull, knot twice and melt. Tuck not into bead.

String silicone teething beads onto cord using pattern shown in the photo. Slide the citrus and pineapple wood teether into place, pull together. Knot twice melt and tuck into place.

It’s so simple right?

Remember there are a few simple rules for making teething rings:

1. Keep the circle tight. You don’t want little fingers to be able to get in between the beads and possibly pinch, you don’t what it to be super floppy or be able to be twisted around a wrist or any other small person part. Silicone beaded teethers will always be tighter because the small amount give to the beads allows them to be tied tighter than wood.
2. Keep the circle small. The silicone teether shouldn’t be much bigger than a 2 or 3 inch circle when done. If you want to make a larger piece breakaways are required to prevent any possible strangulation hazard.
3.  Knot at the end of each side of the beads to secure  pull ends together to form the ring and knot ends together…twice. You want 0 chance the knot is going to come loose.
4. Melt and fuse cord. Use 2mm thick synthetic cord, anything larger is hard to bead with and anything smaller doesn’t hold the melt long enough without cooling to properly fuse. If you properly fuse the ends it should hold a minimum of 15 lbs of constant pull. AKA there is NO WAY it’s ever coming apart.
5. Wiggle the fused knot into the beads. A good shimmy and a little finesse should allow the knot to wedge itself somewhere near the center of the bead, this keeps the knot from any baby teeth, improves the look and helps keep an even pressure on the knot.
6. Give the piece a good tug to test before giving it to your child. Go ahead pull all you want it will should never ever break or budge no matter how hard you pull. It’s small size, round shape, tight beads, fused cord, not one but two knots one on top the other make it extremely strong. That should give you some understanding of the strength of this method and why it should never be used on larger pieces like necklaces. Give it a good tug, if it feels even slightly loose cut it apart and do it again.

That’s it!

Have some questions about teething beads or making teethers, let me know. I am always happy to help!

Happy Crafting – Andie

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DIY Nautical Felt Captain Banner

We all know who run’s the ship decorate accordingly. This simple but elegant felt bunting spells out CAPTAIN in naval flags. It’s super easy to put together especially with the help of the bunting templates below.  This easy DIY felt banner looks great in any ocean themed kids room, nursery or really anywhere you’re looking for some classic wow factor.

You will need:

Dark Blue Felt * I used Ink

Red Felt * I used Big Apple

Yellow Felt * I used Hello Yellow

Black Felt * I used Black 

White Felt * I used White

Twine, rope or string. 1.5 yards (this will give you a little extra just in case)

Scissors

Templates

Sewing Needle (you could use felt glue in a pinch)

*Matching thread

Lay out the pieces as shown and sew down.

C- White felt background, 2 Blue felt stripes, 1 Red felt stripe. Sew down with matching thread and running stitch.

A – White felt background,  Blue felt flag base, cut shapes as shown and sew down with matching thread and running stitch. You will need to make two of these.

P- Blue felt background, 1 White rectangle. Stitch down.

T-  White felt background Red and Blue felt stripes on either side. (We hung this one red side up. )

I- Yellow felt background, Black felt circle in center.

N – White felt background, Blue felt rectangles laid out as shown and stitched down with matching thread and a running stitch.

Assemble the felt garland:

To assemble cut small slits into either side of your completed felt flags. Cut twine into 6″ lengths and knot on each side as sewn. Threading this way allows the bunting to drape more freely yet lay completely flat against the wall.

Tie loops onto the ends of either side of the felt bunting and hang.

Happy Crafting!

~Andie

FELT CAPTAIN BUNTING TEMPLATES

 

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Easy Sew- DIY Cowrie Shell Bracelet

These cowrie shell inspired felt bracelets add a touch of the tropics to your child’s summer crafting. Easy to make these can be made start to finish by a beginning sewer with minimal effort. To make sure these beauties were totally doable for the tween crafter I enlisted the help of my 10 year old niece Ruby.

And they turned out fabulously!

You will need: 

9″ x 1.5″ Bracelet felt color – Ruby used Chocolate, Lavender, and Embossed  felt.

6″ x 6″ Off white felt/ shell color,  she used Linen.

3/4″ Button per bracelet – she used  wood grain buttons

Brown thread

Scissors

Sewing needle

Felt glue

Clothes Pins

Packing tape- Optional

Loosely cut around the bracelet template and try on to get it close to the right size. It will need to overlap so the button works.

Trim the template and tape or pin it down to the felt and cut out.

Cut out 4 shell shapes per bracelet cut the edges of these shapes with pinking shears, scallop scissors or just cut small triangles out along the edges with regular scissors.

Mark where the button should go and sew down with criss crossing stitches.

Mark the correct spot for the button-hole and carefully fold over the felt and cut. Cut less than you need to, you can always make it bigger.

When you’re done your bracelet should button up!

Lay down the shell shapes and sew along the middles with a simple running stitch.

To make the shells curl place small dots of felt glue fold over and clip clothes pins to hold them until dry…about 15 minutes. Then remove the clips and rock those babies!

Kids cowrie shell bracelet template:

 

Happy Crafting!

Ruby & Andie