Tuesday, October 14, 2008

How to avoid doing what you should be doing 101

First you dig out an old laptop case. I found ours in the garage when I was collecting all of the old computers to take to the recycling program. Clean it up a little, its kind of dusty. To think I almost tossed the case in the trash. I knew I could come up with a new purpose for it. I just had to think about it for a while.
Get out your glue and line the inside with blue and green felt. Start cutting out shapes with the felt. I actually cut strips of grass that fit on top of the green hill landscape. You'll see why below. I've been working on trees and plants, clouds and a sun, you know all the stuff you'd find in an outdoor setting. I have a lot of other ideas for designs. Actually if you think about it, the list could be limitless. I'm going to make balloons, kites, boats, animals, insects...you get the idea.
Next I took sheets of felt and sewed them together to form a felt book with a cloth binding. It opens up flat. I couldn't let the cover remain plain and boring, could I! Nope! Since the felt board is meant for The Rue Rue, I put her name on the cover and added a couple of felt flowers and leaves.
The shapes stick to the felt inside of the book. She can flip though the book and pick out the shapes she wants. When she's done with the pieces she doesn't want, she can stick them in the book to get them out of her way. Well, in theory anyway...you know how kids are. The book fits right in the case, so we shouldn't have to worry about misplacing the felt pieces. Notice below how the board can be flipped and it works as a body of water with a land mass behind it. Neat huh. It's a two in one special. With all the effort I put into making this felt board, I couldn't allow the outside of the case to go without some needed attention, could I. So I got out the paint pens and did a little free hand design, which I screwed up but I think I made it work.
Want to know how big that felt board is? Well, the felt book is made with whole sheets of standard sized felt pieces, which are the size of a sheet of computer paper. If any of you have extra time and felt shoved in a closet or drawer, feel free to dig it out and cut out shapes for Rue Rue. I think I will make a house for her next.

6 comments:

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

That came out really cute. Nice job there.

Netter said...

Thanks!

Desperate Housewife said...

Is that ever cool! You're much more creative than I am. I would have tossed the bag.

Netter said...

It's a curse really. I'm a packrat...I just have a hard time getting rid of stuff that could have another life in some fashion. Plus my mind is always churning. At least once a year I force myself to toss stuff out. Sometimes it kills me because I'll think of something I could have made with the stuff I tossed, but its usually a week later.

I usually come up with my best ideas when I have another project that I SHOULD be working on. I think I'm a typical crafter that can't just do one project at a time, we have to have 15 or 50 unfinished, partial projects in the wings.

Darlene said...

You are the coolest auntie EVER. Hands down.

Anonymous said...

You are so crafty and clever! What a sweet book! I'm sure Little Rue will treasure it always.