Super Mario Quiet Book

An upcoming family vacation has sent me searching for ways to entertain my 3 year old on a plane. Enter the Super Mario Quiet Book. I did not make a pattern for this book because honestly, it disrupts my creative process. Most of this if done free hand or by using clip art or coloring pages as item patterns. There are several Super Mario Bros themed fonts that can be downloaded for free for the lettering. I used more glue than stitches for this particular project. 

For the first page, Mario needs to get dressed before he can set out for an adventure. All these pieces I cut free hand. There are Velcro pieces for the hat, pants, shirt, overalls, shoes and gloves (not shown). The clothing all fit in Mario's hamper on the bottom right of the page. 

 Next, count the coins from the coin box. All ten coins fit inside the box which is a little pocket. 

You can help the mushroom decide which cap to wear with this color recognition game. Each cap Velcros to the blank, cream colored mushroom. 

Yoshi is waiting to hatch out of his egg and join Mario. I made the egg just as it looks, the egg shape first then cutting the zig zag down the center. 

The Yoshi stuffie was designed off of a coloring page I found. The body and face are sewn and the eyes, arms and belly are glued. 

Lastly, help Mario find matching pairs under the red flaps. There is a coin, star, Yoshi egg, and a traveling pipe. This could be made more challenging by using Velcro under the items instead of glue so they can be moved around. 

Don't let the Piranha plant at the very end of the book get you! 

I added light weight pieces of white poster board in between each page as I sewed them together to give the book some shape. The spine is two layers. All of the pages are sewn to the spine first layer and then the edges of the front and back cover are sewn to the second spine layer. 

Overall, I'm really please with how this came out. I hope my little guy likes it and it keeps him entertained!

~Brittany

Easy DIY Glass Cupcake Stand

My sister-in-law is getting married this August. Thanks to the ridiculousness that is Pinterest, I have spent many hours looking at all the wedding pretties on far too many pin boards. Since cupcakes are being used as wedding favors, I thought it would be a fun idea to display the cupcakes as a table centerpiece. Enter this DIY cupcake stand. It turns out Dollar Tree stores have a great selection of glassware and you can order in bulk on their website and pick it up in store for free, a handy feature for the spendthrift bride.

To construct the cupcake stand, I got two of these taper candle holder sticks:

and one of these 10 inch cut glass plates: 

The plate is surprising sturdy and pretty. All of these items were a buck a piece (so we're up to $3 worth of material, if you are keeping count).

To glue all this together, I used E-6000 craft glue. You can find this at pretty much any craft store for about $5 and it is pretty awesome. It does have a strong smell so I recommend using it in a well ventilated area. 

Start by cleaning and drying all your glass pieces. Place a small amount of glue around the rim of one of the candlestick holder tops. Flip the other candlestick over and place it on the gluey piece. Any excess glue can be wiped away with nail polish remover. I let this candle holder pillar sit for about an hour. It was still tacky so take care not to bump it too much. 

Find the center of the underside of the plate. This is easy on this particular one because the candle stick top fits right around the perimeter of the flowery star burst design in the center. Add a small amount of glue around the rim of the candlestick pillar then carefully set it to the underside of the plate. Let this dry for at least 24 hours, though the glue says it can take up to 72 hours to cure, so be careful with it until then.

 And Viola! Here is the stand with some of my felt food on it. I can't wait to see it with real cupcakes. This stand would also be great for displaying brunch goodies if  a wedding isn't really on your radar.

Happy Crafting!

~Brittany

     

Red, White and Blueberry Brownie Felt Food Dessert Tutorial

Fourth of July is finally upon us! What picnic or BBQ would be complete without a patriotic colored treat? Here is an easy felt food dessert, the Red, White, and Blueberry Brownie. 

The Ingredients: 

-2 dark brown felt squares, about 2.25 inches for each side

-1 dark brown felt brownie side piece, about a half inch wide by 12 inches long which will give you more than you need.

-2 red felt strawberry pieces. These are just free hand in a strawberry shape, about 1.25 inches long and an inch wide at the biggest spot. 

-1 white felt hexagon whipped cream piece. Each side is about 1.25 inches long.

-THREE dark blue felt circles. Only two are pictured, but you really need three for balance. These are 1.25 inches in diameter. 

-Embroidery floss to match

-Stuffing 

The Recipe: 

We'll start by making our brownie toppings first. The purple lines on the whipped cream hexagon are cut lines, about a half inch long. 

Once you have your lines cut in the whipped cream, round the right edge of each of the sides, so you have this flower looking piece. 

Starting with the pointed left edge, sew through all the pointed edges, gathering as you go. 

Pull your thread tighter to bring all the points of the whipped cream to the center. 

Once you have your whipped cream taut, I sew around once more through all the pointed edges to make sure  the stitch is sturdy then knot off. 

Next let's make the strawberry. The first time I made this, I used white thread and made French knots for the seeds. 

This time, I'm using tan thread to make small stitches all over the top and bottom pieces of the strawberry. 

Sew the two strawberry sides together and lightly stuff as you go. 

Strawberry is complete! Next comes the blueberries.

Sew a running stitch all around the outer edge of the blue felt circle. 

When you get back to your starting place, add stuffing and gather the thread.

Pull tightly to close off the blueberry. I put a few stitches through the bottom of the berry to make sure it is securely shut. Repeat this for the three other blueberries. 

Sew some stitches through the bottoms of your blueberries to form a little bunch and keep the berries secure. 

All of our toppings are done! Now, on to brownie construction.

First, sew the whipped cream to the middle of the first dark brown felt square. Be sure to only stitch through the bottom of the whipped cream so that it maintains it's puffy shape.

Next, sew on the strawberry next to the whipped cream. I work from the bottom of the strawberry and don't sew the entire way up. Just put in enough stitches to make it secure and let it rest nestled next to the whipped cream piece. 

Lastly, sew the blueberry bunch on the other side of the whipped cream.

Now that all our toppings are on, well, top, sew the side piece of the brownie to the top brownie square. Since there will be a seam where the side piece meets, I started in the back corner behind the whipped cream so the seam isn't obvious. 

Cut any excess side piece when you get back to your starting point and sew the seam together. 

Turn the brownie over and add stuffing. I used some layers of cotton batting because it lays nice and flat but regular polyfil will work too. 

Finally, sew the bottom brownie square to the side piece. All done!

Delish! I hope everyone has a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Happy Felt Fooding!

~Brittany

It's Almost Father's Day--Felt Photo Frame Fridge Magnet Tutorial

Father's Day is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate the dad in your life than with this crafty photo frame? This project is super simple, an older child could probably make this will a little help. No fancy sewing--just a simple in-and-out running stitch.

The Ingredients: 

-1 felt frame piece. I used green felt to coordinate with the picture I wanted to use. Feel free to use what ever color works for you. The piece is 5.75 inches tall and 4.5 inches wide. The inside cut out is 1.25 inches up from the bottom, an inch in on both sides, and .75 inch from the top. 

-2 felt middle and back pieces. These are 5.75 by 4.5 inches like our top frame piece. 

- "I" "<3" "DAD" felt letters. These are freehand, about an inch tall. I cut my heart by folding a piece of felt and cutting half a heart shape. These pieces don't have to be perfect, in fact they are more "kid-like" if they aren't. 

- 1 cardboard insert, 5 inches by 4 inches, approximately

-1 super strong craft magnet and tape to adhere magnet to the cardboard insert

- embroidery floss to match felt pieces

The Recipe: 

First things first, working with just the top frame layer, sew on the "I" with a few stitches. 

Then, it's time for the heart. I wanted the heart to overlap on the photo a little bit so the bottom of the heart overhangs. The stitches don't go all the way down to the heart to leave that little bit free hanging. 

Next come the DAD letters. Again, there are just a few running stitches for each letter. I made the letters point slightly different directions so they seemed more "bouncy" than sewing them in a straight line. 

 Now that our embellishments are attached, it's time to construct the frame itself. Running stitch the top frame piece to the middle piece. Leave about a quarter inch allowance from the edge of the frame cut-out. That little allowance will be where the picture nestles in. When you do the top seam between the "I" and the heart, be sure to only sew through the top frame layer or else a photo won't slide in. 

After the frame piece is attached to the middle piece, prepare the cardboard insert by taping the magnet securely in place. Make sure the magnet is placed so that it will attract through the felt (one side of the magnet attracts other magnets, the other side repels). 

With the cardboard and magnet sandwiched between, sew the second layer to the bottom layer, as shown in the photo. Because we used running stitches, the edges of the frame are free. 

That's it! Our frame is done and ready for a photo of Dad. That's me and my dad on my wedding day.

Happy Father's Day Crafting!

~Brittany