DIY Felt Unicorn Ornament

My daughter saw the cutest ornament at Boscov’s the other day…a unicorn. It was made from felt and I thought, “I can make that!” If you know anyone who loves unicorns then this simple felt ornament can be made for Christmas, or enlarged as a stuffed animal!

Materials needed:

-Felt in various colors: I used leftover felt I had from other projects. Any colors will work. I used white, yellow, blue, and pink.

-scissors, needle, thread

-hot glue gun, felt marker, cotton for stuffing

First I laid out a white piece of felt and drew the body. I didn’t use a printout or pattern, I just eyeballed it by looking at pictures. I cut it out, then laid it on top of another piece of white felt to trace and again cut out. This way I had both sides of the unicorn’s body.

The second cut out of the unicorn body ended up a little larger, but I just cut and adjusted the size as I was sewing it. Next, I moved onto cutting out the hair for the mane and tail. I also cut out an ear and horn. I looked at pictures and drew it freehand on the colors of felt I desired. They ended up looking like little worms.

I placed my tail pieces on the back to make sure they looked okay and hot glued them to the back piece of the body. I did not glue them to BOTH body pieces, just the front of the back piece of the body (see picture).

Next, I placed the hair and ear on the unicorn to make sure it looked correct. I didn’t glue it, but just placed it there to make sure it was to my liking. I drew on eyes, a mouth and nose with a felt marker.

I hot glued the horn onto the front of the back piece of the body. I hot glued the mane and ear onto the front body piece. Next I sewed the unicorn together. As I was sewing, I stuffed it. Don’t wait until the end or your won’t be able to fill the smaller spaces like the legs.

After sewing and stuffing the unicorn, I cut a piece of ribbon and hot glued it to the back of the unicorn.

Next, I hung it on the tree. Wallah! DONE!

Happy Ornament Making!!!!

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Dress up a dress!

This time I just didn’t have time to make a full princess dress, who does when the kids are little? So last minute I used a plain tutu dress that actually has paint stains I couldn’t get out on it! Don’t worry, they get covered up!

Then I ordered a special mermaid appliqué with the number 5 for my daughters birthday off of Etsy. I also had some leftover sequin fabric I wanted to add to the dress.

I used the sequin fabric and sewed it all

Around the bottom inner layer of the dress. Then I added the patch and wow what a difference with that easy change! I was going to add some puff sleeves but the weather was warm so I ended up keeping it sleeveless.

Purchased an assortment of gem heart stickers and used fabric stitch glue to place them on the dress!

This can be done easily and quickly and you have a birthday dress! You can add sleeves, bows, a sash or belt!

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Felt Weather Board

A felt weather board is a great way for a toddler/preschooler to learn the days of the week and the weather! I ended up having a few pieces of felt, some thread, and ribbon left over from other projects so I thought, why not? Weather board time!

The first thing I did was fold a piece of felt in half, horizontally. I decided to make 2 pockets to hold the weather icons. Sew the two sides together, going through both layers of felt, then do the same in the middle.

Next, decide on a background color. Lay the felt pockets on the bottom overlapping the background color. I overlapped 2 inches then hand sewed the sides 2 inches down (only on the inner layer which you can’t see) and along the top.

Next, I used a sharpie and wrote “Today is” at the top. I didn’t intend to do the days of the week as my girl is only 2, so she won’t really grasp that, but I had more felt and space! This weather chart can grow with her. Not only will I add more weather icons such as hail, sleet, moon phases, but I will also add the days of the week as she gets older. For now I will store them to the side to focus on weather!

Time for the fun part, making the weather symbols! There are countless ways to create them, I decided on these.

I also added a partly sunny symbol which you will see in later pictures. I did all of these by hand, sometimes outlining the pattern I wanted on the felt first, then cutting them out. I used the glue gun to add some different colors such as the white on the snowflake, the mittens, wind, lightning and rain.

I bought some velcro from Michaels. You can use the scratchy side on the back of the weather symbols. This scratchy side will stick to the felt that is the background, you don’t need the soft side of the velcro at all.

I also added a partly sunny symbol you can see at the top of the picture. I did not use the hot glue for the velcro, it just happens to be in the picture. The velcro has a sticky side that will adhere to the felt.

I had extra felt so I made days of the week!

My daughter won’t really grasp the days of the week but we can practice anyway. I can also store them until she’s ready. I might have to do that! She loves the felt weather board so much she puts them all up and takes them all down. Her favorite symbols are the sun and partly sunny. She had to take them to my sister’s house. Luckily I convinced her to leave them in the car so we didn’t lose them and I returned them to her board!

I ended up adding ribbon by making a stitch at the top. To make it extra sturdy I decided to hot glue the bottom of the ribbon to the felt too! You can use string, small ribbon, or anything you choose for this! I hung it above her work table using the clear command hooks that will easily come off of the wall if I want to remove them.

You can make the weather board a daily routine! Do it in the morning, or change it throughout the day based on the weather. Enjoy!!!

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DIY Felt Height Chart

Years ago I made my sister a felt hot balloon height chart for her baby shower and I’ve meant to make my own baby (more of a toddler now) a height chart. So, I headed out to the local craft store.

I knew I wanted to make a height chart with her favorite things, a panda and a moon. Her first birthday was twinkle twinkle theme, so stars would be perfect.

For this project I used:

1 yard white felt
Pink Embroidery Floss
Sewing needle
Black Fabric marker
assorted sheets of felt in different colors
Hot glue gun
Measuring tape
ruler

First, I cut the yard of white felt into 2 pieces. Next, I lined them up so they were about 6 feet high back to back and hot glued them together.

I cut out the star shapes using a cookie cutter. I traced the stars onto the white and yellow felt and then cut them out. You could also print a star out to trace, or free hand it. I drew the moon, panda, and bamboo freehand and cut out the felt pieces. If you are making different shapes and animals, just do the same. Trace or freehand and cut them out!

Next, I used a measuring tape and ruler to draw the lines for each inch. I made each foot line a bit longer, and the 1/2 foot a little longer too. For the numbers, I decided to use stencils. Again, you could free hand or trace. I used the stencils on the pink felt fabric squares and cut them out.

I used embroidery floss since I was doing this all by hand. If you have a sewing machine you would approach this differently, and it certainly wouldn’t take as long. I decided to work on it while I was watching television in the evening or when my girl was napping.

I simply put the embroidery floss through the needle and did a double knot. I brought the floss through the back first, and looped it in and out of the the numbers, along the outside. I did this for each number. I placed the moon next, and did the same thing, when finished I cut the floss and knotted it off (make sure you do this on the back of the felt so you don’t see the knots). I did this for all of the shapes and animals on the height chart.

The scene with the panda on the bottom of the height chart took more time due to the detailed sewing. I had to hot glue the eyes because the layers made it too thick to get through. I sewed an x on his belly button. I had a lot of extra thread and wanted to do a border, so I sewed the border all the way around. This is definitely a keepsake.

This can be used for many different designs. You could sew on your child’s name, different animals, shapes, and so on.

Here is a pic of the hot air balloon height chart I made for my sister:

As for recording their height, you can write the date and age for each child right on the chart, or you could use tags like these with safety pins. This will allow you to use this again, or use for more than one child.

This is a great gift for a baby shower, birthday, or to make your own child.

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How to Make an Owl Costume, It’s a Hoot!

What a hoot! I made this owl costume for my toddler girl for Halloween. This costume can be adapted for any age! Not only is it soooo cute, but it’s also soft, comfortable, and easy to make!

Let’s start with the materials. If you are making this for a larger toddler, child, or adult, you will need more material. You will need:

Felt, 3 or 4 colors or more, I ordered half a yard of each and it was more than enough
Hot glue and hot glue gun (I got a cheaper version at Michaels and it worked great!)
Scissors
A piece of cardstock or thicker paper

Let’s start with the cape (aka wings).

I didn’t have cardstock so I used a flier in the mail for my pattern. I simply drew a teardrop design and cut it out. To make all of the feathers for the owl, you must trace the teardrop design over and over.

I ended up tracing over 80 feathers in each color. I did this because I wanted to do wings (the cape) and put feathers on the front of the sweatshirt (optional). Trace the feathers in each color and cut them out.

I used 3 colors, but I recommend 4. If you have 4 feathers it will be easier to vary the pattern the feathers are glued in, so that there is no repetitions. 3 colors definitely works though.

Next, measure the wingspan of your toddler (or adult). You can use a measuring tape or eyeball it with the fabric like I did. I held up the white felt with my daughter’s arms outstretched and make a mark from fingertip to fingertip. You can also adjust and cut the cape when you are finished, so if you are unsure make it a little larger.

Next, warm up your glue gun and choose a pattern for your feathers and glue them on. I put glue on the top half of the feather, so that when I did the next row I could snuggle a feather underneath the bottom of the feather. Check out the picture to see what I’m talking about.

The feathers overlap so don’t put glue on the bottom half of your feathers. You’ll notice the first row I did very straight, as I was working I realized I wanted to tilt feathers a bit to the side so they looked more natural. Continue gluing until you have filled up the wings!

Beautiful! Now it’s time to add a tie to the top sides. You want the wings to be able to tie around your toddler’s neck. I wanted something that wasn’t tight, would hang down, and very comfy, so I used felt. I cut some extra pieces of felt. I simply used my scissors and in the upper right and left hand corner of the large piece of white felt (that the feathers are glued to), I made a hole with the scissor. I tied the shoelace type felt piece on each and wallah! Then I could tie the cape together.

The cape is done. I happened to have an owl hat. If you don’t have a hat, you can make one. If you like to crochet, then simply google and find a video and pattern. If you want to make the hat from felt (which is easier), then simply google “diy toddler owl felt hat.”

Here is where options come into place. You can do the wings and hat and leave it at that. I bought a pink sweatshirt and pants at walmart for $10 for the costume, but you can use any clothes you like.

This is a picture without doing the feathers on the front of the sweatshirt. This is very cute and if it’s cold weather in your area, will work great with a winter coat.

I went ahead and did the front of the sweatshirt, but as you can see in the picture below, ended up covering it anyway because of the cold weather. The cape (wings) can easily go over a large winter coat.

If you want to cover the front of a shirt, then simply cut out more feathers. I wanted to reuse my sweatshirt, so I didn’t glue the feathers to the sweatshirt. I measured the front of the shirt, used a large piece of white felt and glued feathers to the felt (just like the cape). Next, I put it on top of the shirt and sewed it on in the corners. This way I can simply cut the thread and take the felt off and use the sweatshirt again. If you don’t want to use the shirt again, gluing is easier.

Happy Halloween! I hope you have a hoot of a time!!!

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DIY Placemat Place Setting

My daughter loves to assert her independence, even at meal time! So I thought, why not make a placemat that she can set her own place setting at? There are many ways to make placemats.

One way is simply laminating a printed out version of a placemat setting such as this…

However, my laminator is only big enough for a regular printer sized paper. You can take it to your local staples or office store to get laminated. You can even make your own placemat out of fabric and have it laminated.

I decided to go with the fabric version and just use the washer to clean it.

So you want to prewash the fabric to make sure it does not shrink.

As always there is a video youtube tutorial and a written one below.

What you need for this placemat place setting is…

1) fabric: it will end up being 12×16 inches.

1 batting or felt for the middle or back side 12×16
1 center front piece 12×12
2 outside front pieces 4×12
1 back side
felt or non fraying material to cut out fork, spoon, cup, and plate

2) Next, take your front center piece and your side front pieces and pin them fabric facing fabric on the sides and sew. Then iron the seems.

3) Following that, you want to use your felt or nonfraying material to outline a plate, cup, fork, spoon, and any other utensils that you want on your placemat. Then cut them out and sew them directly on the front piece. You can also use fabric glue if you like.

4) ***You want to put the piece of fabric you want as the backing down first facing the front fabric and then the basting or felt behind that (as you can see I did it opposite and ended up with my black fabric as the back outside as you will see). However, if you are using felt, it ends up rather nice as a backing since it prevents sliding.

5) Sew all the way around leaving a 3-4 inch opening so you can pull it out the right way. Don’t forget to backstitch. Once this is done, pull the inside out and make sure all the sides and corners are all the way out. Iron it all out and sew the remaining opening with either a hand stitch, or if you want to use your machine then sew around the whole placemat to give it that look.

You can add any other embellishments, I used my daughter’s name on the side. Enjoy and check out the other videos and tutorials! Let me know if you have any questions!

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DIY Rudolph Slippers!

DIY RUDOLPH SLIPPERS

This easy DIY sewing project can be made for any size shoe! All you need to do is trace the shoe (or foot) size and create! Easy peezey Christmas fun! Also makes a great gift!

As always, there is a video tutorial on the ceceliasspot channel and here is the link…

rudolphslippers

Baby Slippers Tutorial! this has a pattern for baby slippers if you don’t want to trace a shoe or foot

And there is the written format below. ENJOY AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

First, what you need for this project:

Non-skid fabric
Fabric colors (I used cotton and fleece)
1/4 or 1/8 elastic
Sewing tools, googley eyes, red cotton ball, and any accessories you would like to add

Next, trace your subject’s shoe or foot (if you are using their actual foot add 1/2 inch all the way around).

2. Trace the top of your childs shoe to make the front of the slipper. Cut four of these pieces. Then trace the back and cut 4 of these (add 1 inch to the long length side so you can overlap)

IMG_0387 - Copy - Copy

3. Take pattern facing pattern and sew the two front pieces together only on the straight side as shown (do this for both slippers).

4. Trim excess and turn right side out, iron right side out and sew across the top you ant on outside (this makes it look nicer.

5. Take pattern facing pattern for both back pieces and sew across one long side for both slippers.

6. Take your elastic and cut it about 2.5 to 3 inches shorter than the length of the back piece and pin it and pull it tight while sewing across to the end. This is still on the wrong side. Sketch

7. Flip the fabric over the elastic with right side out and iron and then sew right below the elastic and down the sides Sketch2

8. Freehanded antlers by looking at a picture of antlers. cut 4 sew around except bottom and stuff it.

9. Check sizing and put front and back piece pinned together with pattern facing down (right now you should only see (the side that is up) what will be on the inside when you are finished done).

Sketch3

10. After pinning the front to the back and the antlers in between the front and back piece, sew across front to attach front and back piece

IMG_0389 - Copy - Copy

This is what it should look like now.

11. Line up the sole two pieces with the patterns on the outside (not the usual, but it doesn’t matter since its on the bottom) You can see it in the back there with the nonskid on top.

Sketch4

12. Line up the sole with the top piece (nonstick sole facing upwards to the reindeer face) by finding the middle of the front and back (you can fold to find this). Then sew all the way around. And turn right side out and WAH-LA!! IMG_0398 - Copy.JPG

I sewed on the red cotton ball nose and hot glue gunned the eyes on. If you have a little one then please don’t use googely eyes since they might try and eat them!

Don’t forget to check out our facebook site and subscribe to our youtube videos! ENJOY! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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Princess Dress and Party!

My daughter has recently developed an interest in princesses and playing dress up. I decided to take on the challenge of sewing a princess dress. I’ve made many dresses, including the princess-like 1st birthday dress, but I wanted to make something different, so I did some research and then bought fabric I thought she would love, and designed a dress. I made several adjustments during the process and added embellishments.

Since I did this all during the process of making it, I decided to take pictures instead of video like I usually do.

There is no pattern for this since I designed the dress as I went. I used one of her regular party dress to eyeball the correct sizing for a 3t dress. (This is what you can do too!)

So below are pictures and some steps. If you want to design a similar one just use a dress to get an idea of the sizing. I don’t work with a lot of tulle sewing, so it didn’t turn out the best, but I’m proud of the end results, and she loves it too!

So I first made the front and two back pieces. You can copy these shapes from the picture and use a dress for sizing.

I ended up making another three pieces (another front and two back pieces) and using it as the inside of the dress. So I took pattern facing pattern for the front piece and left a 3 inch space to pull it right side out. Then I sewed this shut and ironed it all. I also used sparkly elastic and pinned it in between the pattern facing pattern (this is what I should have done but forgot and ended up just sewing it to the top).

I also added a tulle happy birthday and two pieces of silver design on the front. You can add or not add as many embellishments as you want.

Next, I used interfacing ironed on both back pieces and then used white hair ties cut in half. I pinned the half hair ties facing inwards in between the pattern facing pattern pieces then sewed all the way around except a 3 inch area and pulled it right side out and sewed then ironed it.

Following that, I placed the two back pieces on the front pattern piece and sewed the sides and then folded them back to have the top finished.

I then measured the skirt by measuring from the top down to the right length for my daughter with a measuring tape. I used the soft fabric of the top for the under-skirt and then cut happy birthday tulle and tulle for the skirt. i made the white tulle width three times the width length since I will gather it to make the skirt more “poofy.” I then gathered the tulle using the easy method of dental floss, on top of the soft under skirt. With this method, you use a large zigzag over the floss and then at the end you pull the floss out and it is gathered!

Next I decided to use the happy birthday tulle and sewed it on as well. Then, I put the layers together and I put pattern facing pattern and sewed it all together.

I ended up sewing on a bead embellishments on ribbon in between the top and bottom.

Happy Sewing!

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DIY Romper Time!

I decided it was time for the classic romper tutorial to come out. I decided to make my first one with a free pattern of dinosaurs for my little cute nephew for his first birthday! Now the size is 2-3t since he is not so little. But you can easily adjust the pattern to your little ones size, just size it up with one of your little one (or big ones) outfit and adjust! Easy Peazy!

Here are the parts of the free pattern..this is a 2-3t however just hold up a onesie or romper to the pattern and adjust for smaller or larger!

Also see the photo with the pieces cut out or the tutorial to see how they go together if you can’t tell!

pieces

2. TopBody

3. BodyMain

4. BottomMain

And here is the link to the youtube tutorial as always!

Here is the written one besides what is written on the tutorial:

What you need:

Fabric choice 1-2 yards depending on size. I used flannel fabric
If you want an alternate color/fabric for for neckline and bottom (a stretcher fabric is best)
Snaps/buttons/or velcro depending on what you want to use

Steps:

Cut out fabric pieces as written out on the pieces.
Take one main body piece and find the center by folding in half and one neckline piece (and fold it in half and mark the middle) and place pattern facing
pattern and stretch and sew. Look at the pictures below to see how you need to stretch it and sew (it is not easy if you are a beginner but it just takes practice! Also, if the neckline is a stretchy fabric it is much easier)
Line center to center
This is the end result, do for both main pieces
Turn to the backside of the main body piece and fold up and iron the seam line as shown below. Then fold the top down and iron to make it easier to sew and pin.
Turn it right side and either change pins to the front or be careful and take pins out as you sew bottom of collar
Sew both necklines like this then we will create an envelope neckline.
You are going to line up your front and back body piece with finished necklines and measure from the top of each side 1 to2 in down and this is where the top of one side touches the other side and you pin together (this may not be true if you need a bigger opening or smaller based on head size, adjust opening based on head size). Pin this on both sides
Fold sleeve piece in half and line up middle of sleeve piece (the curved part facing outwards as shown) and where the collar intersects with pattern facing
down and stretch and pin (see pics)
Then sew using a zig zag stitch (which keeps it strong). Do this for both sides and it will look like…

I then added double sided bias tape, for convenience and time saving, to the outside of the sleeve edge.

19. Body pieces and sleeve pattern facing pattern, pin around sleeve and down straight to bottom again I used the zig zag stitch. Then I trimmed the sides. Then you can iron it out.

20. Turn your project to the backside and take your football piece and fold in half and line up middle of football with middle of opening pattern facing pattern, pin middle and stretch and pin around then sew. Make sure the front piece is pushed out of the way (you don’t want to sew it shut! Just sew onto the back piece

21. Take two of your leg banding strips and line up pattern facing pattern and sew the outside 1/8th straight stitch and then do this for the other two as well and turn right side out and iron.

22. The binding piece ends up in the inside and it is used for the buttons or snaps (you can alternatively use fusible interface)

23. Next take your one banding piece and line it up with the front bottom with the fold on the inside and then stretch and sew (see video if this is too confusing!) You pin the outside and sew 1/8th zig zag around

24. Now you will sew 1/4 inch around (the white part as shown will now be in the inside after you do step 23.

25. Next (phew we are getting there- keep going!) is the back banding strip, Same method for the back piece, except you just sew the one time and not the second sew around as in setp 24 because of the flap (you will see what I mean after you do the first sew.

26. I hemmed the bottom leg openings and then did my snap buttons using the hammer method! I used thick material for the banding which I regret (also that it was not stretchy!) I had to use bigger than normal snaps to get it through the fabric!

Congrats you did it! Let’s see some pics!

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DIY Superhero Cape!

Superhero cape time! You can make an easy superhero cape in less than 15 minutes! My daughter needed to be distracted in a fun way while I needed to care for her baby brother, so we pretend to be superheros who fetch diapers, plastic bags, and bottles for baby brother! Also, her dolly had to have a super cape too! So I went to the fabric store and found the perfect superhero fabric! The fabric has a great design and also is very stretchy and does not fray easily. I also bought double sided bias tape in gold for the outside. Her dolly also needed a superhero cape so I designed a small one for dolly.

As usual, there is a written and youtube tutorial for this cape. I only used one side of material but you can easily do two fabrics (this is outlined below). Enjoy!

What you need:
1) Fabric (one or 2 different cuts 1/2 yard each)
2) Velcro or your preferred method to connect
around neck
3) Optional: Bias tape and/or monogram

You can decide on the best size by either knowing your childs height and how wide you would like it, or you can always look at their clothes! I do outline the length and design in my video and written tutorial.

I made the cape for my 2.5year old but it ended up being very big, big enough my German Shepard dog could wear it! The sizes I use could most likely fit up to a 4t. Fold 1/2 yard of fabric in half. Measure long way 26inches long (this was a bit big for my 2.5yr old but still worked) and cut straight across. If you are using two fabrics (one for front and one for back), repeat this whole cutting process.
Then measure about 4 inches down from the 26inch top and cut in and up for the connecting part of the cape (mine was a bit big for my 2.5 year old but she will grow into it!)
If you are using two fabrics take both sides and cut and then face each other and sew all the way around except leave a 3 inch opening (as with all other projects with two fabrics). Then pull the fabric through the hole and sew hole shut (make sure you push out corners).
Next, I took the bias tape and sewed all the way around (pinning it first).
Lastly, I ironed on the Velcro sections with the softer side facing on side downwards (that way if its too big at one point it is not rough on the skin). You can also use snaps or any other closing you would like.
And that is it! Pretty easy just eyeball the size or you can measure your little one! Enjoy!

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