Friday, August 6, 2010

A Very Simple Felt Board



A little while back, I made this little felt board for my daughter. It was really easy to make, and Luca has a great time playing with it. Plus, it is one of those toys that you can constantly modify by adding new felt pieces.

I started by buying a basic white frame. Any size will do, but this one was 21 x 17". I removed the glass and mat from the frame (I used the mat for this project). Then I cut a piece of cardboard (I used the cardboard that the frame was packaged in) to fit the frame. I cut a piece of blue felt slightly larger than the cardboard.



I attached the felt to the cardboard by gluing the overhanging pieces of felt onto the back of the cardboard (it helps to cut triangles out of the corners so that you don't get bunching from excess felt). When the glue was dry I put the felt-covered cardboard in the frame, and voila!



So far I have just cut a few basic shapes out of colored felt, along with some pennant letters, but you could really have so much fun with this. I am thinking of buying one of these sets off of etsy if I don't get around to making my own.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Now this is my kind of sewing machine...



I'm not sure that my daughter would know what to do with this, since my sewing machine hasn't seen the light of day in quite some time. But, it's so cute that she might have to fight me for it.
This pretend plush sewing machine is from the etsy shop Nifty Kid Stuff. They also have some adorable plush bunnies and pretend cake decorating sets.

The owner, Caitlin also has a great blog. You can check it out here.

Monday, August 2, 2010

ABC!

I just designed an alphabet poster for my daughter, so now I've got letters and typography on the brain. I love how a simple letter can look so beautiful, graphic and bold. As a designer, I have so much fun playing with different fonts, colors and negative space. With that in mind, here are some of my favorite 'typography/alphabet' themed finds on etsy:


White Wood Ampersand by Hindsvik


Paris Letters - 5x5 Original Photos by Little Brown Pen


Initial Letter G (from Antique Typewriter) by QA Create


Yellow Orange and Pink Alphabet Pillow by Pillow Factory


Wood Alphabet Blocks by August Grove