DIY-Hootie the Adorable Felt Owl Ornament

Teddy Forest Owl by smallgirl

Okay...so this is a lovely Teddy Forest Christmas ornament...but Christmas was two days ago. However, owls look nice around the house anytime, so I decided to post anyways.

Supplies:
Felt in a colour of your choice (we used Ecofi, felt that is made from recycled plastic bottles, but wool is still the most eco-friendly choice)
Scrap felt for feet and beak
Scrap of cotton or flannel fabric for belly
Scrap of ribbon or twine for hanger
Sequins for eyes
Glitter glue for the wings
Polyfil or scraps for stuffing

Tools:
Scissors
Sewing needle and thread
Stuffing stick/chop stick

What to do:
1. Cut two of the following body pattern from the felt. Add the marks in on the wrong sides.

2. On the right side of one of the body pieces, sew on sequin eyes, beak, and belly
3. On the wrong side of the second cut piece sew or glue your ribbon hanger
4. Sew the two pieces together, wrong sides facing, from A to B (you won't be able to see them once you sew both sides). Note that there is no turning involved, so your stitches will show.
5. Stuff from the opening in the tail, using a chopstick to help move the stuffing.
6. Sew the tail hole closed.
7. Draw on the wings with glitter glue.

Voila! You have a gorgeous owl!


by smallgirl

*This tutorial is for personal home use only, not for resale, manufacture, etc, and was created by smallgirl

After a long hiatus...a few ATCs to show

Hi! I have not been spending as much time in Teddy Forest as I would have liked in recent weeks, but I hope to share more of Teddy Forest with you soon, especially as I will be posting a fun tutorial soon (hopefully this weekend).

In the meantime, here are some owl ATCs I have made recently...

Airmail Owl by smallgirl

Pink faced Owl by smallgirl

Poetry Owl by smallgirl

Professor Hoot by smallgirl

I've been enamoured by owls since observing a beautiful barn owl hunt in the field near my home. Hint for my upcoming tutorial: it is also owl related.

Have a nice day!

DIY Craft- Recycled Forest Friends!

Egg carton forest friends photographed by smallgirl

I love creating things from salvaged and recycled materials. This fun project is a great alternative to the plastic toys kids get bored with so quickly these days. I made this project with my young cousins last month and with a group of kindergarten students last summer, so it is definitely kid-friendly (and fun for silly adults like me).

What you need:
Scissors
Markers and pencils
A paper egg carton
Fabric scraps
Wiggly eyes
Glue

What to do:
1. Cut the egg carton into individul egg holders. Each egg holder will become a creature.
2. Draw the animal's body shape onto the egg holder and cut it out
3. Glue wiggly eyes, fabric, and draw on the animal to give it its own personality
4. If you want to make it into a hanging ornament, simply poke a hole in the top with a sewing needle and thread some string through.

Voila! You have a new friend for your own forest!

Have a recycled-fun day!

DIY Craft-How to recycle a bus ticket into an artist trading card

One crow sorrow, by smallgirl

The bears and I have been fascinated by artist trading cards lately and made some today out of all those used bus tickets sitting in my purse. Artist trading cards, or ATCs are tiny 2 1/2 inch by 3 1/2 inch works of art, traded by their makers with other makers, much like trading sports cards (does anyone do that anymore?).

What you need:
Scissors, Glue stick, Cardstock scraps, Ruler, Pen
Bus tickets
Paint, markers, sparkles, collage materials, etc for decorating

What to do:

1. Base coat your bus ticket with paint or colour it
2. ATCs must be 2.5 by 3.5 inches, so you will need to add a bit to your bus ticket.
3. Here's how: Cut some 2.5 and 3.5 inch strips from your cardstock

4. Glue the strips together to form either an "L" shape or a box shape. As long as you have cut with the right measurements, all you need to do is line up the corners of your strips. This is your frame.

5. Position your bus ticket over the frame until the edges are parallel and glue. You now have a card to work with.

6. Go wild! Create whatever cool images you want on your card and start trading.

Three crows a wedding, by smallgirl

Seven crows a secret, by smallgirl

Seven crows ATCs by smallgirl

Here, I've decorated a set of ATCs with the beautiful West Coast bird, the northwestern crow.
Let me know if you want to swap :)
Happy trading!
For more info on ATCs, go here: http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/

DIY Craft- Fun block stamp prints with recycled materials :)

do it yourself recycled block printing by smallgirl

The teddies in Teddy Forest have a super-fun stamping technique to share. It's cheaper than linoleum block printing, uses recycled materials, and doesn't require sharp tools, so it's easy with kids from kindergarten up (and fun for adults too!).

What you need:

Scissors
Ballpoint pen and pencil
Thin foam, like an old take-out container or scrap funfoam
Piece of thin cardboard, cut from a cereal box or cardstock will do
Glue
Washable paint
Paper to print on

What to do:
1. Draw your shapes/picture on the foam with a ballpoint pen and cut them out with scissors.
2. Scratch additional detail onto the shapes/picture using a sharp pencil. Try to go deep, so that the paint won't fill the depressions.
3. Glue your shapes onto a piece of thin cardboard. You now have your block print stamp!
4. When the glue is dry, spread paint on your shapes. Acrylics work well.
5. Press your stamp onto paper. You may need to practice a few times to find your desired amount of paint, as it can spread with pressing.

Bears in starlight by smallgirl

Voila! You have a fun, beautiful print! If you carefully wipe off the excess paint with a bit of water, you can use your stamp again and again.

Happy crafting!

As seen on: http://stamping.craftgossip.com/tutorial-make-a-stamp-from-recycled-materials/2012/08/21/

Hope has eyes!

Hope, needlefelted and photographed by smallgirl

My dear little moon bear, Hope, who I needle-felted several months ago has been patiently waiting to see the world. I was short a pair of glass eyes and didn't want to order a whole package online just for one bear, so poor Hope waited and waited in the dark. Yesterday, on a routine visit to my local sewing shop, I discovered that they have started selling German glass eyes by the pair, so of course Hope got eyes right away. Here he is exploring the garden.

needle felted moon bear, Hope, by smallgirl

To find out more about moon bears and how to protect them from cruelty and the medicine trade, please visit: http://www.animalsasia.org/index.php?UID=2J0NIOGTVCWA

Red Hot- A Teddy Forest Friend Restoration

Teddy Bear Restoration

Before

Do you have any old things that you made as a child that you can't bear to throw out? I do, especially if they happen to be bears! Red Hot, a failed Brownie Valentine's Day project, was battered and old with only one arm (yes, the sad white pom pom counts as an arm). Rather than banishing him to the landfill, everyone in Teddy Forest rallied together to fix him up. We hope that his transformation will inspire you to save some of your old friends (and just be satified with having old things) too.

On the operating table

Red Hot's New Look

Have a fantastic weekend and try to reuse and refurbish rather than throw out!

"I mean, perfect is a lot to expect from something, right? We all have our faults [...] If something doesn't work exactly right, or maybe needs some special treatment, you don't just throw it away. Everything can't be fully operational all the time. Sometimes, we need to have the patience to give something the little nudge it needs." from Keeping the Moon, by Sarah Dessen (in many ways, this book got me through highschool and contributed to who I am today)

Flea Market Treasures

I went to the flea market looking for some new friends for Teddy Forest, but came back with some inspiring sewing supplies. These beautiful vintage threads on wooden spools are beautiful and the colours are so unique!

I also found this awesome sewing friend at the same booth:

It looks as though someone handmade him to keep their sewing supplies; the little bucket is meant to hold a thimble and the body opens up to act as a needle case.

I can't wait to use my new threads to make some teddies! Happy crafting!