Felt Flower Bouquet DIY

Benzie's very first blog post included some finds of alternate wedding bouquets -some used ribbon and some felt but we inspired you to think differently about the fresh bouquet that traditionally adorns brides. Jen at Something Turquoise did just that -she rocked the felt foliage and pumped out 8 diy's that cumulated in one beautiful bouquet in all its wool felt glory. Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?

In order to make a single bouquet in the colors pictured -all you need is a 9x12" bundle of 15 sheets in these Benzie wool blend felt colors: Pink (2), Cotton Candy (2), Fern (2), Sage (2), Butter, Parchment or Linen (Jen used Parchment but our new color Linen might be a more creamy fit!), Rainstorm, Oats, Graphite, Rose and Mulberry. If two sheets of the same color are selected (like the Pink) -you will receive it in the larger 12x18" sheet.

To get all the crafty details and to view the eight flowers and foliage diy's check out Something Turquoise. And let me know if you make the bouquet or just your favorites -tag with #benziefelt -I would love to see what you create!

DIY Felt Bows in Minutes

I recently taught my 7 year old daughter how to die cut felt -and one of our favorites are felt hair bows -just because they are so quick!! We worked as a team -she ran the felt through the die-cutter while I glued and we had a whole set in no time at all!

Supplies:

--Bow die cut, there a a couple of really cute bow dies in this set (it's a must have!)

--Evolution die cut machine (instructions here)

--Benzie Felt, we used Rose, Ochre and Blue Spruce -and check out the image above to see how we laid out the die -we are able to make 3 bows out of just one 6x9" sheet of felt (that's 3 bows for less than $1!)

--Hair Clips

--Glue

After you run your felt through your die cut machine -just fold and glue as shown above. Feel free to use whatever hair clip works for your hair. I made some for me using french clips just last week -I loved how I could make a hair accessory in just minutes!

And then we went extra fancy and packaged up the bows -we were giving these in addition to a birthday gift -but wouldn't these make great favors? We used We R Memory Keepers "Captured" set. Can I tell you how much I love all the Albums Made Easy card collections? I always have some laying around -they are great for writing notes, keeping lists or crafting with -and so pretty too! 

I grabbed one of the large cards and used my x-acto to cut vertical slits to match up where I wanted to clip the bows. Then I attached a coordinating card and taped it to the back using Sticky Thumb and finished the design with some ribbon and an eyelet. After that was all set up I slipped the hair clips in the precut slot. Perfect little gift right? And easy -the best combo! 

Can I wash wool blend felt?

This is a craft question that I get asked quite often -can I wash wool blend felt? And as you can see from the felt star appliqué -yes you can! But before we get to care instructions let's talk first about fiber content.

Our felt contains both wool, ranging from 20-35%, and rayon. Rayon, or known as viscose, is made from wood pulp -a renewable source too! Most of us know what happened to our adult sized wool sweater when we tried to wash it -it shrunk down to a child's size! Wool should be treated with much care or it will shrink. We suggest dry cleaning or spot cleaning to keep our wool blend felt in its original condition. It's easy and already looks great!

But there are times that a toy or a t-shirt just needs be washer friendly. Before cutting into your design or appliqué -the felt must first be washed. Prewash in a sink of hot running water -immersing the felt completely. We use soap and gently squeeze the felt into a ball, rinsing and repeating until the water runs clear. This process does two things to the felt. First the hot water gets any excess dye out. Not all colors bleed -but this bright Carmine did! Second, the combination of hot water, soap and gentle squeezing is further felting the fabric -binding the fibers even closer together and causing the felt to shrink. Lay flat to dry -or use a blow dryer to speed things up. A washing machine on the delicate cycle is a great alternative to prep large batches.

In the image above you can see the difference between our original felt and felt that has been pre-washed. The washed felt is bubbly or wrinkled -and is thicker then its un-washed partner (this can be flattened by ironing though). Also it has shrunk. The 6x6" square shrunk to about 5 3/4x 5 1/2". Now you're ready to craft!

Grab a t-shirt and your favorite color of Benzie's felt. To make cutting ultra easy we used the Nesting Star die from Lifestyle crafts -but old fashioned pattern and scissors will work just as well. We also found that we really liked Wonder Under's fusible adhesive. It's didn't make the felt appliqué stiff and it made a permanent bond to the fabric.

But before you do any of these steps -your felt and your shirt must be prewashed! Follow the washing instructions for felt above.

1) After the felt has dried -iron your fusible adhesive to your felt.
2). Use your favorite die to cut a shape our of the felt -adhesive side up. We love the Evolution and explain how to use it here.
3. Peel off the top layer of your fusible adhesive -you can see the transparent paper star in the above photo (throw that away), carefully place your star where you want it and iron down. Iron from both the front and back of the shirt to ensure a permanent bond.

It's not necessary -but I think the added machine stitch adds detail and helps the star to stand out among the stripes. To care for your felt appliqué shirt and prevent further felting we suggest washing inside out, cold and delicate with a gentle dry.

I want to see what you are making too -hashtag #benziefelt and have a Happy Independence Day!

Guest Curator: MmmCrafts

I know some of you may think it's too early to starting thinking about Christmas -but I love nothing more than creating something meaningful that will be used year after year. And these little beauties do not need to appear just at Christmas!

This is MmmCrafts first ornament in her 12 Days of Christmas series: Partridge & Pear. See what I mean about keeping them out all year long? Larissa's shop is full of beautiful patterns. I love her mix of bright and deep colors -it's signature to MmmCrafts.

These are the colors in her Benzie felt collection -the left side shows Swan, Moss, Fern, Mustard and Ochre. And the right side Burgundy, Carmine, Orange, Magenta and Cotton Candy. We also offer matching embroidery floss!

Get MmmCrafts Partridge & Pear pattern in the MmmCrafts shop and matching felt and floss in Benzie's shop.

MmmCraft's has visited Benzie before check out her first collection and her second (I'm making a set of needle books right now!). And get crafting!

Jellyfish Feature!

The June issue of Pregnancy & Newborn magazine has a lovely beach themed nursery spread -and guess what it includes? Benzie's Jellyfish mobile! You can buy just one jellyfish -but I think they look even better grouped in a set of three. This is a great mobile for your baby or sea loving child. I first used them to decorate my daughters mermaid themed birthday party!

Do you see the little felt campfire by Patchy at Best on Etsy? There are also fun finds by Land of Nod, Pottery Barn and Blabla Kids (and a ton more!) Really awesome line up -you'll have to check out the June issue.

One of our garlands was also featured last September. Check it out here.

Felt Flower Tutorial

Update -Benzie is now blogging over at Benzie Design - don't miss any of our new tutorials or news!

We are blog hopping today with my friends at We R Memory Keepers -scroll down below to find more diy's and to enter in a giveaway!

My favorite felt craft has to be flowers -always beautiful and I love being able to use all the colors of Benzie's rainbow! These remind me of wildflowers -pretty, bright and whimsical -you'll be crafting up a whole bouquet in no time!

Supplies needed:
Benzie Felt (we love how Fern, Foxglove, Guava and Periwinkle look together)
Benzie PomPoms in Foxglove, Lemonade and Fern, 1cm and 2cm size
Oval Punch Dies from Shop We R
Wire flower stems
Hot glue

First you'll going to want an nice pile of large and small ovals using your die cut machine and the Oval Punch Die. I love this die and find it quite versatile (check out our Succulent DIY -we can't stop using it!) -it makes so many at one time!

To make filler stems and leaves on flowers you will use the large oval die -place a dot of glue on the bottom of the oval and pinch around the floral wire. Space to your liking. 

These little flowers remind me of Cosmos -I love all the colors! We use our small 1cm felt balls and attach to floral wire with a little hot glue (you may want use a needle or an awl to pre-pierce a hole). We use 4 small ovals -place a bit of glue on the bottom and pinch along the base of the felt pom. 

Our large flowers used 12 large ovals total -but this can be varied to adjust the look and style of your bloom. The first layer uses 4 ovals -we pre-pinched each petal before attaching to the base. This helped form the flower.

To finish the flower keep adding ovals around the pom-pom -add a green leaf or two to finish it off!

Don't forget to checkout We R Memory Keepers other diy's this week!

Aimee's Armoire	http://aimeesarmoire.typepad.com
Benzie Design	http://benziedesign.blogspot.com
Cokie Pop Paper	http://cokiepopaper.blogspot.com
Cutesy Crafts	http://cutesycrafts.com
Ginger Snap Crafts	http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com
Gluesticks Blog	http://gluesticksblog.com/
Homework	http://www.carolynshomework.com
Kutz Paper Scissors	http://andreayokley-jessup.blogspot.com
Making the World Cuter	http://makingtheworldcuter.com
Midwestern Girl Missy Dear	http://www.midwesterngirldiy.com http://www.missy-dear.com
One Scrappin Mama	http://onescrappinmama.blogspot.com
Popsicle Toes	http://shellypop.com
Pretty Providence	http://prettyprovidence.com
Scrap Time	http://scraptime.ca
Sew Craft Create	http://sewcraftcreate.com
Snapping Monsters	http://snappingmonsters.blogspot.com
The Creative Mom	http://www.thecreativemom.com
Tried and true	http://triedandtrueblog.com
Waffleflower	http://waffleflower.com
We R Memory Keepers	http://wermemorykeepers.wordpress.com
Worley House	www.andreaworley.com

Go to We R Memory's Keepers facebook to enter to win their Crafters Tote too (love the color -looks like Benzie's Peacock!).

DIY Felt Stickers

I want to plaster these felt stickers all over everything -to seal love letters and place them on gift tags. My daughter has already claimed the extras and we find little bunnies on notebooks and on our clothes. And the secret to making fabric stickers is in the adhesive sheets by Lifestyle Crafts -super affordable at only $5 a pack!

1. You'll need Benzie's felt (we use Calico here), adhesive sheets and a die. We use the Easter die from Lifestyle Crafts -love the silhouette of the bunny! (Don't forget to use BENZIE to get 20% off your We R Memory Keepers order!) Cut your felt and adhesive to the same size -peel the back off the the adhesive and stick to the felt.

A note about dies: some dies come with white ejection foam in the die (like our bunny did); this ejection foam helps paper to pop out easily after being cut -but because felt is so much thicker than paper -it best if you pull that foam out first. You'll have much better success cutting this way.

2. Roll this through the die cutter with die cut side down on the felt. For best cut I used the Evolution die cut machine with Sizzix cutting pads. You can also use the Genius cutting pads -but I found I had to roll it through a few extra times to get a clean cut because of the thickness of the adhesive paper adds to the felt. And there you have your sticker!

3. Stick it to anything -I love how easy the backing comes off and even sticks well to the cotton bag of rabbit tails!

I used my rabbit stickers to adorn a tea bag holder -perfect for a spring or Easter brunch.

I used the Matchbook die from We R Memory Keepers to make the tea bag holder. Sticky Thumb adhesive was the perfect fit to adhere the tea bag to the matchbook -just sticky enough to hold but removable enough to actually use! For a finishing touch I added Benzie's Pom Poms in Natural at the tag for the tea bag.

Happy Easter friends!

DIY Felt Succulents

Update -Benzie is now blogging over at Benzie Design - don't miss any of our new tutorials or news!

We all love succulents, thick petaled plants -smooth, symmetrical and in a beautiful array of greens and blues -natures bouquet. These little beauties also translate well into Benzie's felt -and these will fare well in all types of weather too!

The materials we used:
Benzie's Felt -we love the colors in the Sweet Succulent collection!
Oval Dies (no longer available -check on our updated post over at www.benziedesign.com)
Felt Pom Poms -we used a variety of our 1cm, 2cm and 3cm in the color Stone
Birch tree stumps
Glue gun
Moss

We suggest the felt hues in our Sweet Succulent collection. To use the long oval punch dies we cut a 9x12" sheet in half the hot dog way and ran it through our manual die cutter -you'll want a nice pile of both the small and large ovals. You can read more about how to die cut here.

To make the succulent center take one small oval -fold in half twice and use just a bit of glue to secure. Then take 3 ovals -fold in half and form around succulent center. Continue attaching ovals on the underside of the plant to form your succulent. You can make them large or small by selected fewer or more ovals to attach.

To make the centerpiece I used 3 various sizes of birch logs -glued on some moss -arranged the succulents and placed felt pom poms just so to resemble pebbles that succulents often grown in. I also scattered a few around the base of the centerpiece. A great focal point for your table -or how about try a felt terrarium or decorate grapevine wreath? Let me know what you make!

Four years of Felt

Benzie is celebrating 4 years of wool blend felt! And it just keeps getting more fun -just this past year we had our Moss garland spotted in a magazine, started offering DMC floss, and became a member of Lifestyle Crafts fabric teams.

To celebrate 4 years -how about a few more new items (and a discount)?

Circle hoops are always fun -but oval? Now we're complete!

But you know what I'm really excited about?! Like over the moon about?! Felt POM-POMS!!! Yes, now we have felt balls - 30 colors, 2cm, all felted goodness. Some of the colors coordinate with our current felt collection -some are completely new. I'm like a kid in a candy store!

One thing we have managed to avoid in 4 years is any price increases, unfortunately due to circumstances out of our control we will need to adjust our felt sheets and yard prices, starting next week. This will help us to maintain quick and immediate service and continue adding fun products to our shop. Our yard cuts are already a great deal -and will be even more economical after the change. Also, don't forget we offer discounts on bulk purchases -just contact us!

To celebrate 4 years & felt pom-poms -take 10% off your felt & supply order using FELTLIKEAPARTY4 at checkout. Use that same code to get 20% off your garland order in our handmade shop -through Saturday, February 22. Happy Crafting!

Sequins and Felt: Valentine hair clips

My favorite sparkly embellishment for felt is sequins, it pairs so nicely and sews so easily with felt! Make a pair of heart shaped hair clips or pin one to your lapel -something sweet for Valentine's Day.

1. To make the hearts super quick and uniform I grabbed my favorite nesting heart die from Lifestyle Crafts. And don't forget to use our 20% off coupon BENZIE on any Lifestyle or We R products!

2. You'll also need some of Benzie's felt -we used Flamingo and Magenta to cut two larger and one smaller heart. Here's a tutorial on how we use the die cuts but you can also freehand hearts using a sharp scissors or our freezer paper method.

3. And for the sparkles! Pick out your favorite sequins and some matching seed beads.

4. Layer sequins and beads onto 2 layers of felt and fill in the center heart. You may need to use a beading needle for the seed beads.

5. Stitch a pin or hair clip to the second large heart then attach to the sequined heart. Happy Valentine's Day!

Can I use a die cutting tool to cut felt?

Update -Benzie is now blogging over at Benzie Design - don't miss any of our new tutorials or news!


Two questions I get asked all the time: "How do you cut your shapes so perfect?" and "Can I die-cut felt?!" Yes, I say while nodding my head enthusiastically! You can die cut felt -it makes perfect edges every time and makes felt even more versatile and production friendly.

First -there are two different categories of machines: electronic and manual. We are going to take a look at manual die cut systems today. There are several different systems and brands of dies from companies such as Accucut and Sizzix. Dies for these machines generally fall within two types: wafer thin dies and steel rule dies. Steel rule dies are approximately 3/4" thick dies encased in foam where wafer thin ones are just like it's name; thin, light and kind of like a cookie cutter for crafters. You can mix and match dies and machines using combinations of platforms and shims.

We are going to focus on the Evolution die cutter and Genius platform system by Lifestyle Crafts to cut Benzie's felt but the Sizzix Big Shot is a great option too. Let's get started!

First, the Genius platform is what is used to sandwich your die, felt and cutting pads. Genius is also compatible with other die cut machines as well. There are a couple of fun things about this, first off, the base is magnetic. The wafer thin dies just stick to the base -and don't move around either! This makes it easy to place multiple dies down while getting maximum cuts from your felt. The cutting pad is also flexible -kind of like a self-healing pad so it still looks great after hundreds of cuts! Here's a diagram that explains what order you will want to sandwich the parts.

1. The magnetic platform is placed first.
2. In order for the felt to be cut cleanly -a shim needs to be used. I used a sheet of card stock.
3. Then place your die, cut side up. We are using Lifestyle Crafts bow-tie die.
4. Benzie's 6x9" felt sheets work perfect in die cutters -just order it to the size you need!
5. Then place your final cutting pad 'Mat A' on top.

Then take your die sandwich and roll it through your die cutter.

See how it comes out?! A perfectly formed shape!


With a few quick folds and stitches or glue -it's even easy to make a bow -a bow tie for a boy or a hair bow for a girl! I love that I can quickly put together a gift and not worry about tedious cutting or time consuming patterns. Let me know how you use dies with your felt -I would love to hear about it! Grab one of our felt palettes to get started!. I love these colors together!