Printable Sheep Embroidery Thread Bobbins

There are a ton of advantages to using embroidery thread for felt projects – not only are the skeins of thread inexpensive but they come in a huge variety of colors and are easy to store. The biggest problem with embroidery is its tendency to get tangled once they are stripped of their paper cuffs.

Rein in your threads Bo Peep style with these printable felt sheep bobbins.

I tried printing these on cardstock but found it too flimsy for the larger skeins.

Thin chipboard proved to be the perfect material for this project and I think the natural brown color looks awesome on these little guys.

I won’t lie to you dear reader these a pain to cut out but hopefully you need less than I did.

But come on they are crazy cute right and over 100 sheep later I have no regrets!

While we’re on the subject here’s how to move that thread from skein to bobbin without finding yourself surrounded by tangled threads and tears…not that that happened to me like 25 times or anything.

ANYWAY

Slip one cuff off at a time taking care not to distort or twist the thread too much. Keep the thread in its circle and look for the shortest thread along the top. It should come apart smoothly.

Print at full size

Happy Crafting!

~Andie

This tutorial brought to you by the letter P

This party tutorial brought to you by the letter P, as in Patriotic Popsicle Party!

Just throw in some hot dogs and watermelon for a practically perfect patriotic Popsicle party.

Heres what you’ll need:

6- 9″ x 12″ sheets or 1/2 yard of red felt (I used Lipstick)*

6- 9″ x 12″ sheets or 1/2 yard of blue felt (I used Indigo)*

3 – 9″ x 12″ sheets or 1/4 yard of white felt (I used White)*

1 – 9″ x 12″ sheet light tan  felt (I used Pastry)

Stuffing

Sewing needle

Felt Popsicle template with instructions HERE

A printer

Scissors

Popsicle sticks

Felt  glue

Twine or ribbon for banner

Sewing needle

*Matching Thread

6 felt balls (I used Natural)

Card Stock (for invitations, 3 invitations to a sheet)

Woven wreath form

2 containers for table decorations (small buckets would be cute)

Sand (a small amount to fill containers)

Baggies for Popsicle favors

Ribbon, rick rack or twine for Popsicle favors

Printable labels for Popsicle favors (I used Avery 5294)

Frozen Popsicles and lots of ’em (store-bought or homemade see recipe below)

Elmer’s  or school glue (optional)

Outdoor play things like hula hoops, water guns, a sprinkler,or sidewalk chalk (store-bought or homemade in Popsicle molds if you’re a theme purist, recipe below)

Let’s get started:

First I printed out this insanely cute invite designed by Maura Huston of Blackbirdie and Pink Monster Knits onto card stock.

Here’s a blank version

Download this free printable 4th of July Popsicle party invitation it by control-clicking (Mac) or right-clicking (PC) and saving to your computer.

And while I was at it I created my stickers with another version of Maura Huston’s design:

Download it by control-clicking (Mac) or right-clicking (PC) and saving to your computer

These would also make adorable cupcake toppers, simply print onto card stock and sandwich two together with a toothpick in between!

Next I constructed my decor:

Felt Popsicle and pin wheel banner:

To make the banner you will first need to make 2 blue popsicles, 2 red popsicles and 1 striped popsicle from felt. Instructions can be found HERE

From there I made my pinwheels from this template

Each pinwheel is 2 colors and for this banner I needed 6 so I cut 12 squares.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————I stacked two squares together and cut through the dotted lines (but NOT through center ring), the folded the upper right hand corner (marked with a star on template) to the center and stitched down with a small running stitch. I repeated this process with the upper left corner (also marked on the template with a star) this can be done in any order but only fold down the areas marked with stars. Finish by folding the remaining points inward tacking down with a running stitch as you go.

With my pinwheels and popsicles done I was ready to assemble my banner, I made a loop on either end of my twine for easier hanging and then sewed each of my pieces to the twine. Pinwheel, felt ball, popsicle (repeat) with the three color version in the center. Technically I guess you could glue them but the Popsicles have to be properly balanced to keep from flipping around and it’s much easier to gauge this by sewing.  When sewing the Popsicles to the twine I noticed that creating a bit of a V shape helped, tacking twine to center and then to both sides nearer the top.

Felt Popsicle table decorations

For these I created 2 Popsicles in red, white and blue as described here.

But rather than fitting felt sticks into the bottom I created a little more space inside the popsicle by cutting with my scissors.

I then slipped real Popsicle sticks through the bottoms and applied a small amount of felt glue (tacky glue will also work) and sewed up the bottoms.

When I had finished all 6 I simply filled my containers with sand and arranged my Popsicles.

Door Wreath

I constructed my wreath by making 3 pinwheels and 3 felt Popsicles and attached them to the wreath with felt glue

(SUPER AWESOME  TIP: double stick tape will hold this puppies in place like you wouldn’t believe, making both your wreath and felt objects easy to store and 100% re-usable.

Favors:

To keep with my theme I made these felt Popsicle magnets.

I made a few brightly colored Popsicles, glued magnets to the back with felt glue, (allowed them to dry 24 hours) placed them in bags, added my stickers and tied some rick rack to the bottom to close them up.

These look adorable on any fridge and are daily reminders of your awesome shin-dig!

If magnets aren’t you thing try attaching a key ring or for your littlest guests add a mini rattle for sweet summer baby toy.

You may also consider store-bought pinwheels Slinky brand makes an awesome American flag version.

I plan to keep my guests entertained with fun outdoor activities like:

Popsicle stick house building contest (warning men seem to find this activity irresistible and you may lose your co-host for a few hours, possibly days!) Just throw a basket full of Popsicle sticks into a basket and set out some school glue and prepare to oohh and aww.

A sprinkler run, or water gun fight (gotta get those sticky little bodies clean somehow)

Sidewalk chalk, try making it in a popsicle mold with this recipe:

Word of Warning: DO NOT let any plaster of Paris go down the sink. It will harden and ruin your pipes.

• Petroleum Jelly
• Plaster of Paris (available at any craft or hardware store)
• Washable Tempera paint in the colors of your choice
• A Popsicle mold

Directions:

Grease mold with petroleum jelly.

Mix 1/2 cup of Plaster of Paris with 1/3 cup water. Mix well and slow for about 1 minute.

Immediately add 2 TBS of paint (or more for desired color) and mix well.

Spoon into molds. Tap molds gently to settle. (This will start to set very quickly so work in small batches)

Let chalk dry overnight.

and of course lots of Popsicle eating!

If you decide to make your own try this DRIPLESS recipe from Kitchen Scrapbook:

Picture courtesy of Kitchen Scrapbook.

 http://kitchenscrapbook.com/2009/07/06/no-drip-popsicles/

Oh and if you like Maura Huston’s work check out her website,  blog, or her knitting pattern now available at our webstore.

HAPPY SUMMER!

Follow @feltandcraft