How to - Valentine's Day Felt Card Tutorial

Ohhh it's that smoochy time of year coming up again and so I thought I'd do a fun little no-sew felt tutorial for you.

Here's what we're making:

It's a fairly simple tutorial, so I'm going to put the step by step instructions in the comment field for each photo.

If you're looking for presents to go with your handmade card, have a look in my Etsy Shop and also at Uniquely UK for masses of gorgeous pressie ideas!

Obviously you can change the slogan, but as it's supposed to be a jigsaw puzzle I chose 'We are a perfect fit!'

Materials:

Card (I had a pre-fold card in my stash, but you can always fold in both ends to meet like a door)
Thick red felt (if you want to make your felt thicker you can glue two layers together but it doesn't matter if it's thinner felt)
Paper
Pencil
Ruler
Red Pen
Glue

Instructions:

1. All the materials you'll need

Fold the piece of paper in half and draw half a heart shape as shown

Cut out the heart shape (with the paper folded over so you have a perfect heart shape)

Using your pencil, draw around the heart onto the felt.

Draw a jigsaw shape into the heart. I went straight down the middle, but you can do it in any shape and on any angle you like.

Cut the heart into two pieces according to your jigsaw line

Draw around the jigsaw line, using one side of the paper template (it doesn't matter which you use)

The trickiest bit is to cut out the heart and cut the jigsaw line into the shape keeping both sides looking perfect... small cuts and take it slowly is the best advice.

Your cut out heart should look like this when placed back together.

Using your paper heart, work out where to draw your lines on the card (you may need more or less lines, depending on what you want to say)

Write your message in pencil first, to make sure it fits on ok.

Go over the pencil writing with your red pen.

Then stick your heart onto either side of the card, so when it's closed, the heart fits together.

If you don't want to use a card like the one above with two doors, you can use a standard folded piece of card and either stick the heart pieces together, or just apart to make the jigsaw shape more obvious.

When the red pen is dry, rub out the pencil marks and you're done :-)

I hope you all have a very Happy Valentine's Day!

DIY Tutorial - How to Make Christmas Felt Gift Tags

Today I'm taking part in a Christmas Tutorial Link Up, hosted by the lovely Laura of the fab Bugs & Fishes blog.

Perfect timing as I was just about to create a new tutorial for you guys after the wonderful response I had to the Pirate Sword Tutorial and the Pirate Eye Patch Tutorial from September.

I decided to make a tutorial with plenty of scope for imagination and alterations, so I've gone for reusable felt gift tags for your Christmas presents. The one I'm sharing the step-by-step photos for could also be a Christmas Tree decoration and would look very tasty nestled amongst the greenery and twinkling lights!

To make 1 Gingerbread Man Felt Gift Tag

You will need:

- 2 pieces of pale brown felt 10cm x 15cm (4" x 6")
- 1 piece of white felt approx. 9cm x 5cm (3.5" x 2")
- 1 piece of ribbon 30cm long (12")
- 3 buttons or sequins
- 2 strand thickness of each of the following embroidery threads: Black, Pale Brown & Green
- Small length of white thread (for sewing on white felt name piece)
- Water Soluble Vanishing Fabric Marker Pen
- Gingerbread Man Cookie Cutter
- Needle, scissors, pins

Directions

Step 1: Draw round your gingerbread cookie cutter onto one of the pieces of pale brown felt using the water soluble pen. Pin both pieces of pale brown felt together and cut out two gingerbread men

Step 2: Take the top gingerbread man and draw a smile and two eyes using the vanishing pen and embroider using your black embroidery thread. For the smile using a simple back stitch and for the eyes a double french knot for each eye should make them in proportion with the head. (For instructions on how to do a French Knot - click here)

Then embroider the front of this gingerbread man piece with the three buttons or sequins:

Step 3:

Cut your piece of white felt so that it will fit comfortably onto the back piece of your gingerbread man:

Then, using your water soluble pen, write out the name you want to embroider onto the white felt:

Then using your green thread, sew over the writing working from left to right, don't worry if the purple writing is still visible underneath the thread, it will fade and completely disappear within a few hours.

Step 4:

Sew the white name piece onto the back piece of your gingerbread man, using the white thread and a simple running stitch:

Step 5:

Fold the ribbon in half and sew the folded part to the inside back piece of your gingerbread man, using the pale brown embroidery thread:

Then pin the front and back pieces of the gingerbread man together and using a blanket stitch, sew all the way round your gingerbread man, until he look like this:

Well done!!

You can then tie your gift tag to a present, if you are using ribbon round the gift... or if not, you can use scotch tape or washi tape on the ribbon, which will be easily removed after the gift has been opened, so the tag can be hung on the Christmas Tree and then reused next year:

I've also made up a couple of other gift tags, all using different cookie cutters as the templates:

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial - these are such fun little personalised touches that will make your Christmas gifts stand out. I'd love to see any that you make - I'm just putting together a post with the various Pirate Swords pics that have been sent to me by lovely readers and would be really pleased to be able to include some handmade gift tags too.

There will be another Christmas Tutorial coming your way, but through the Uniquely UK website, so keep your eyes peeled there, although I will of course link it from here.

Please feel to make as many of these as you like for personal use, but I would ask that you don't sell the finished items. Please do not reproduce any or all of the tutorial, without linking back to here.

To find the rest of the amazing tutorials that have been shared through this link up, click here.

How to Make a Felt DIY Pirate Eye Patch Tutorial

In honour of tomorrow being my favourite celebration day, International Talk Like a Pirate Day I thought I'd share a tutorial with you today, ready for your little Pirates to wear tomorrow (or any time if your kids are like mine!)

A Felt Pirate Eye Patch

You will need:

Black Felt
White Felt
Black Elastic
Scissors
White & Black embroidery thread
A pencil or tailors pen
The pattern (which can be found at the end of the tutorial)

Step One:

Cut out 2 black eye patch pieces and 1 white skull & cross bones piece

Then using the skull & cross bones template as a guide mark on the white felt the position of the eyes and the nose and using sharp embroidery scissors cut out the eye sockets and the nose

Then using either a sharp pencil or a tailor's pen (which has disappearing ink) draw on your mouth and teeth:

Then using the black embroidery thread (2 strands) and using a back stitch, embroider on your mouth and teeth. You should now have a finished skull

Next using the white embroidery thread (again 2 strands) with a simple running stitch, sew on the skull and cross bones to the top layer of the eye patch

Once you've gone all the way round, your eye patch will look like this

Next using your black embroidery thread sew the elastic onto the back piece of the eye patch, securely going over it a number of times

Then repeat for the other end

Then pin your front eye patch piece to the back and sew round the edges, using your black embroidery thread and using a simple running stitch, but making sure you go over the elastic bits 2 or 3 times to ensure they're secure

And tie off your thread neatly at the back.

You now have an eye patch fit for a real Pirate, me hearty! Arrrrrrr!

And here is my little Pirate modelling her eye patch

I'm afraid (as is always the way!) that my printer/scanner has just decided to play up, so I've taken a photo of the template page and will get my husband to scan it in for me from work tomorrow, so it should be available as a printable sheet then! Why do printers always go wrong at just the most inconvenient moment?!

Please feel free to make as many of these eye patches as you'd like for personal use, but please do not sell the finished articles or the instructions.

I'd love to see any pictures of anything that you make using any of my tutorials, so please do feel free to email me a picture at simmi@gracesfavours.co.uk

Enjoy and Arrrrrrrrrrr!

Another felt tutorial will be available tomorrow.