Epson Photo: .Felt Fun.

Can I just say--
"I AM SO EXCITED, AND I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT!"

I have some wonderful crafty ideas for girls of all ages! Just in time for Christmas too, so grab those stockings and prepare to fill them by following this special blog post containing not one-not two-but THREE tutorials!!!

Time to create flower magic:

Materials needed for this DIY Craft:

- Headbands

- Alligator Clips

- Pins (with a flat edge on top)

- Felt

- Hot Glue

- Hot Glue Sticks

- Scissors

- Pen/Pencil

- Buttons

- Various sized circular items (I used a cd, drinking glass, a vitamin jar, and

a spice holder--look around your house for circular items to trace!)

Let the FUN begin! I originally saw how to make these flowers here, and actually created my very own wreaths! They, however, cannot be posted until after Christmas as a very special someone will be receiving them:) It is always fun to learn a new method of creating from other blogs and it's even more fun when you can put your own spin on it. I will show you all the steps and hints you need to know!

Making Your Felt Flower: Rose Style

1. Gather all of your materials and set up a nice, clean work station.

2. Pick out your first piece of felt and your circular item. (size of item is up to

you)

3. Trace your circular item onto your felt using a pen or a pencil.

Hint: It is a good idea to use ink of the same or

similar color as the felt so it does not show up on

your final felt flower. I used a darker ink on the

tutorial so it is easier to see :)

4. Simply cut out your circle.

5. After your circle is cut, take your scissors and cut around and around your

circle creating a spiral effect or a little pig's tail! It will look like this:

6A. There are now 2 ways you can create your flower. The first way is to

begin on the outer end (where you made your very first cut) and begin

rolling the felt strip keeping one side aligned throughout the rolling

process.

7. When you have finished rolling your felt spiral strip, simply add a little dab

of hot glue on the end and stick it to create your rose:

Hint: When starting to roll with the outer edge, it will

create a fuller, shorter (in height) rose.

6B. The other way of making your rose, is to begin your rolling process using

the inner end (where you made your last cut). This will create a taller,

thinner rose.

Notice the sides of this style rose do not stick out, rather they stand straight up.

It is up to you which step (6A or 6B) to use. I personally liked the way 6A appeared but it is fun to mix them up by completing both styles!

Making Your Felt Flower: Petal Style

This is the portion of the tutorial I put my own spin on this method of creating flowers. I enjoy the look of the Rose flower, but I wanted to make it look more realistic--it needed petals! After pondering for a few minutes, I found a solution!

Steps 1-3 are same as above tutorial.

4. When your circle is traced completely, take your pen or pencil and draw

petals around your circle using the edge you drew a guide.

5. After your petals are drawn, begin cutting! This part is a bit tedious but the

slower you go, the better it looks :)

6. Using your scissors, cut around your circle creating a spiral (or like I said

earlier, a little pig's tail.)

7. I chose to use method 6A from above to roll my flower with petals.

8. Continue rolling until there are no longer any petals on your felt spiral

strip.

9. Simply snip off the extra felt and place it aside. Hot glue your end onto the

body of the flower.

10. With the leftover felt spiral strip, simply roll it up and hot glue your end

to create a rose! It's magic--two felt flowers from one felt circle.

Two completely different looks! Both equally fabulous ;)

Hint: Your Felt Flowers with Petals can appear two

different ways, just like your Rose flowers. Using

step 6A from the Rose tutorial, it will appear like

so:

Hint: Using step 6B from the Rose flower tutorial, it

will appear like this:

It will resemble a star formation and will be taller and thinner.

Are you ready for even more options? ;)

Following the Felt Flower with Petals tutorial, instead of drawing and cutting rounded petals, change it up--draw little triangles to create this look:

Enjoy your beautiful Felt Flowers!

Now that your have your flowers made--GET CREATIVE! I decided to hot glue my flowers onto Alligator Clips:

And Pins (with a flat edge):

We are not finished yet! If you are still reading this post, I thank you. It is long, but I hope you are being motivated by these different varieties of felt flowers! Here is the last type of Felt Flower:

Making Your Felt Flower: Flat and Layered Style

Steps 1-5 are the same as above tutorial.

6. Continue using steps 1-5 to create numerous flowers. Feel free to use all

the same color felt or different colors.

Hint: Use different sized circular items to create a

small, medium, and large flower.