One Potato, Two Potato

My Friend Yuliya over at She Suggests has a daughter who is turning one soon. So, I'm making a Russian themed play food set as a birthday present. So far, I have pull-apart cabbage:

And now I'm adding a couple of potatoes. Keep an eye out for some beets to come!

The Ingredients:

-4 kidney shaped tan felt pieces, top and bottom for two potatoes
-Embroidery Floss to match
-Stuffing

That's it! This one is super simple!

The Recipe:


First, we want to make "eyes" for our potato. For simple indents, make small stitches all over the potato, pulling the thread taunt after each stitch so the felt puckers slightly. Do this to both potato pieces. Alternatively, you could also do French Knots for eyes, as well:

After you have all your eyes. it's time to sew the potato together.

When you get most of the way around the potato, add stuffing.

Finish stitching around your potato. All done!


Happy Felt Fooding!

~Brittany

How to Make a "Mama's Milk" Carton for your Little Lactivist

A few weeks ago, my dear friend Yvonne was visiting us from Washington. I had just started my felt food kick, and though that is not her chosen craft, Yvonne jumped right in. She designing this adorable carton, and at my hubby's suggestion, made the logo for "Mama's Milk" rather than cow milk, which my son doesn't drink. I've never been a huge fan of milk myself, and my mom can attest I went through a phase as a teenager where I didn't consume it. I think she thought I was silly, but obliged me and bought Tofutti Cuties and rice milk that summer. I also think it is important to remind ourselves we are mammals, too, and human babies deserve human milk (even if it's only the felt variety).

Please head over to Cartolina Bella and check out Yvonne's real passion: beautiful handmade greeting cards!

The Ingredients:

-2 white rectangle felt pieces, the front and back panels, 4.5 inches by 2.5 inches
-2 white "house" shaped side pieces, the sides 2.5 inches in length
-1 white square bottom piece, 2.5 inches
-1 white logo circle, 2 inches in diameter
-1 red logo piece, 10.5 inches long by 1 inch wide
-Embroidery Floss to match red and white felt


The Recipe:

First lay out all your side pieces around the bottom square. Attach all four sides to the bottom piece like this:

Next comes the logo. I wrote out free hand with a pen. Be sure to mark gently or use a disappearing ink pen so that the wording doesn't show through once embroidered.

This took me a few tries before I got it how I wanted it, so you may end up cutting out an extra white circle or two. Of course you could also leave off the "Mama's" and just put "Milk" if you feel so inclined.
The first time, my pen lines were too heavy so I made another. Once you have your logo to your liking, it's time to start constructing the carton:

Using white thread, stitch up all four sides, just until you meet the "roof" of the house pieces, leaving the top open.

Measuring to make sure it is even (this is .75 inch from the bottom), pin the red ribbon piece around the carton. Keep the edge of the ribbon in the corner of the house piece furthest from the front rectangle where the logo will attach.

Using a running stitch, attach the bottom of the ribbon all the way around the carton.

Then attach the top of the ribbon to the carton.
Now, we whip stitch the logo to the front of the carton using white thread.


Attach the corners of the ribbon with white thread for a cute accent.

Now that we are done with the decoration, back to construction! Add stuffing to the carton.

Working from the corners of the "roof", stitch the front panel to the side panel, leaving about a .5 inch up top where the front and back panels meet, forming the carton tab. I apologize for the blurriness of this picture. Apparently I took no good photos of this step.

Stitch along the top and sides of the carton tab.

Lastly, do a running stitch along the bottom of the carton tab, even with the tops of the "roof" pieces.


And our carton is done! Perfect for the mama's milk drinker in your life!


Happy Felt Fooding and thanks again for the pattern, Yvonne!

~Brittany

***

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Personalized Lunch Bags For Holding Your Felt Treats

Once my Valentine's Day lunch was complete, it still seemed like something was missing. How about a bag with the recipient's name for carting around your felt food? I know one of my toddler's favorite games is taking the felt food in and out of the felt grocery bag I made him. Mostly out. And mostly all over the floor. :)

The Ingredients:


-2 rectangle pieces, these measured 13 inches long and 9.5 inches wide
-1 bottom rectangle piece, 3 inches long and 9.5 inches wide
-2 triangle pieces, 3 inches wide at the base
-Felt letters
-Velcro strips for bag closure
-Embroidery Floss to match the color of the bag, lettering, and Velcro
I did my bag in red, but you could use any color you like.


The Recipe:

First things first, attach the letters to the front panel, a little more than half way down. I used a back stitch and left the edges open, but you could also do a whip or blanket stitch. It is almost always easier to attach the embellishments first, before construction.


Once your letters are affixed, sew the bottom piece on to both the front and back panels.

After your bottom panel is attached, sew on one side triangle. . .

and then the other. Next, fold the front panel back over and lay your bag flat. Pin the bag together like this:

Then, cut off about the first 2 inches off the top of the front panel. This will give us a flap that will fold over to close the bag. Position Velcro.


Sew Velcro in place. Use the same thread as your bag for the top Velcro piece so that the stitches are less conspicuous when the flap is closed.

Now, starting back at the triangle at the bottom, stitch all the way up the right side,


then the left. Our bag is almost done!

If you were pressed for time or patience, you can leave the edges around your bag top unfinished, but I did a quick whip stitch all the way around.

And there you have it, our completed lunch bag! You could probably carry some real snacks in this bag, too.

Happy Felt Fooding!

~Brittany

Banana Slices Tutorial

These cute little banana slices are super easy to make and are a great addition to a breakfast set. The slices are on the smaller side, so you will want to supervise children under three if they play with them.

The Ingredients:

~ 8 cream felt circles, 1.5 inches in diameter, to make 4 slices
~ Cream and Tan embroidery floss
~Stuffing


The Recipe:

The first step is to make the center detail to all the top banana slice circles using tan floss. This starts with a "Y" shaped set of three stitches.

The second step is to make French Knots in between each of the segments of the "Y". Please see my Valentine's Day Cut-Out Cookie tutorial if you need help with French Knots.

Here are all 4 top pieces with the center details. Now it is time to sew them together! Use cream floss and whip stitch around the outside of the two circles.

Add a scant amount of stuffing when you are about 2/3 done sewing the top and bottom pieces together.

And now you have banana slices! Alternatively, you could forgo the center stitching detail and affix small Velcro circles to the centers of the top and bottom pieces. Then you have a slice-able banana!

Happy Felt Fooding!

~Brittany

Pineapple Slices Tutorial

February isn't exactly the time of year for pineapple, but it's tropical taste reminds me of summer and I had an abundance of yellow felt, so pineapple slices were next on my list of felt creations.

The Ingredients:

I was making 6 slices so I used:

-6 yellow felt wedges (the long sides of the wedge are about 3" long)
-12 yellow felt side pieces
-6 green felt rind pieces
-about 24 small tan felt triangles for the detail on the rind
-Embroidery Floss to match felt


The Recipe:


First, attach each little tan triangle to the green rind piece. I wanted to get the little pieces secure so I didn't get them all over the place. A simple "X" on each triangle should do.

Next, I back stitched a design to look like ribbing to give the pineapple some texture. I only did a few stitch on this slice, which was my first, but added a few more veins on my subsequent slices.

Then, attach the first side with a whip stitch. . .

and the second side, too.


Add the second triangle piece now that the sides are attached.

Insert the stuffing, though not too much as you don't want a swollen looking pineapple wedge.

Now sew on the rind piece to the back of the stuffed pineapple wedge, and you are done! Complete this same process for the remaining slices.



This also completes my Valentine's Day lunch set!


On that note, it's time for my little cook and I to have a real lunch!

~Brittany