The Mom Life: Makin' Mini Felt Boards

It's rough when your kid is sick. Then when both kids are sick at the same time, well, it's not easy either. And then as one gets better while the other gets worse is maddening because the one getting better is ready to run around like a chicken with its head cut off (even if she isn’t fully recovered) which instigates the other and creates a headache. How to keep one on the couch while giving the other a little freedom? It doesn’t make it any easier for us with both girls missing school. Thing 1 has been tracked out of school for nearly 3 ½ weeks, so she was ready to go back when she came down with a fever the night before going back.

Abby bundled up on the recliner.

Anyway, I’m sitting here on the couch during ‘quiet time’. I’m letting the girls stretch out (one on the couch and the other on the recliner) and watch a movie for their down time so long as they stay lying down and quiet. I’ve stopped working on my project so I would be less distracting.

See, for some reason I got it in my head that now was a good time to take on a new project. With two sick kids. Home. Out of school. With a husband who works ~~late a lot~~ really really hard. What can I say? I suppose I like a challenge. J

My workspace on the coffee table amid all the toys. :)

I’m making mini felt boards. (I would do one large one, but I have a really good reason for going small…but that’s a story for another time.) On Pinterest (honestly, where else?) I saw a woman make a very large felt board for her two little girls and completely fell in love! Natalie over at The Busy Budgeting Mama (http://www.thebusybudgetingmama.com) made an absolutely fabulous board (http://www.thebusybudgetingmama.com/2012/06/our-felt-board-tutorial-inspiration.html) for her girls that completely inspired me and off the deep end I dove.

Patterns sketched out on graph paper, cut out, then cut from felt.

On Monday, after getting the kids to bed, I started making a list of felt board ideas. Uhhh…this place may end up covered in felt if I make everything on my list. Seriously though, I think this is going to be great. Then on Tuesday (with Kyleigh down for the count thanks to a fever all day) I drew out patterns for my first mini felt board. Then after getting the kids to bed, due to a bad case of cabin fever, I went out to AC Moore and bought a bunch of felt.

I am making the boards ‘mini’ by using file folders. (This all fits in with the compact idea.) The inside of the boards are going to be covered with blue felt for the sky and green felt for the grass. I’m going to leave a space down the center so that the folder can be folded up and toted around. Now, the part where I’ve gone crazy – I’m not making just one. Oh no, that would be too simple. I am making the first one (which is more like a tester to see if the girls like the whole idea first) with a ‘princess’ theme. I’m doing a castle, a horse, a carriage, a sun, a couple clouds, some apple trees, a pond with ducks, and of course 2 princesses and 2 princes. All of the pieces are going to go in a zippered pouch that will stay with that folder. If this is a success I may make more fairytale pieces to go with them.

Then I’m going to make folders for each of the other ideas….well, rather, the ones we like best. I’d like to do a pizza factory one, an ice cream & cupcake shop, a farmyard, maybe a Christmas one?, and well, there are lots to choose from. J

I pinned down the big pieces to make it easier to cut on the felt.

After watching me draw out a lot of patterns on graph paper yesterday, the girls are now seeing what all the drawings were for. I suppose you could say they are excited. J I’m cutting out all the drawings from the paper then using those to cut out from the felt. Then the pieces get put together to make pretty things. J