Tutorial: Let’s make a felt board!

The other day I was out shopping with Elliott when I got this feeling in the pit of my stomach.  That feeling was the fear that maybe–just maybe–I had become one of those moms who didn’t work with or stimulate their second child as much as she did her first.

I couldn’t live with that fear festering inside me, so we rushed to a teaching supply store in search of preschool teaching tools.  I found little to nothing that suited what I had in mind.  As we roamed the aisles, I tried to think back to my school days and dug deep in the recesses of my scattered brain for hands-on learning tools that I might have enjoyed as a kid.  FELT BOARDS!!!  I had to find a felt board and fast!

I did find one in the store.  It was small, plain and expensive for what it was.  It just didn’t feel right.

So, I ran next door to the craft store and gathered supplies.  And…enter the felt board tutorial!

What I used:

• 1   20″x30″ foam board (like poster board, but…foam)
• A large section of felt (I bought 1 yard of 72″ wide felt and had enough for 2 boards)
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Trim & decoration

Spread your felt out on a flat surface.  Place the foam board on top and trim felt about 4-5″ larger than your board in all directions.

Take one corner and fold it inward, securing with plenty of hot glue.

Repeat with remaining 3 corners and your board should look something like this:

On 2 opposite ends of your board, fold the felt over and glue.  Make sure to pull it tightly and evenly so that your finished product will look nice and tidy.

Repeat with remaining sides.  Remember…nice and snug.

Now it’s time to make it pretty.  Flip it over and decorate!  Elliott chose green rick rack.

And it just wouldn’t be right without some purple eyelash trim…right?

Finished product and my little satisfied customer…

And the letters?

I got our felt letters in the scrapbooking section of the craft store, but you can find all kinds of felt cutouts on Etsy, Ebay, teaching supply stores and your local craft store.  I plan to cut some of the more simple shapes by hand when I have more time.  Also…I thought little families of felt stick figures would be fun!  And maybe a little felt house, pets and a car!  Oh man, felt boards are fun for moms, too!

(Green alternative: rather than using foam board, use a good sturdy piece of cardboard from a leftover box if you have one available.  Use scraps of felt and trim that you have around the house or find at a garage sale.  Reduce, reuse, recycle!)