Interlocking Felt Coasters

Coasters are not something every household has. Most people either use whatever is already on the table (like a book or a cable bill), have plastic/granite/linoleum tables, or they choose to accept the water rings that will ultimately be on their wood table. Coasters can also be ridiculously expensive... I mean, these coasters from Crate and Barrel will set you back $20! So when I found this post on HowAboutOrange on how you can make your own felt coasters AND have them look cool, I tested them out to see just how easy they were to make. Anything that looks like that must take hours, right? Wrong. They're quick, they're easy, and would make great housewarming gifts, stocking stuffers, even a graduation gift for your college-bound kid (can you imagine the kid placing their cheap PBR on a coaster? Ok, maybe not...)

Start by downloading this template (which will make two coasters) and gathering your felt, scissors, and an x-acto knife.

Next, cut out the perimeter of the template, place the template on top of the felt, and pin it down. Every place you see a diagonal line, cut it out with your x-acto knife.

Once you're all done, cut out the 8 individual rectangles, remove the pins, and remove the paper. The left column is one coaster, the right column is another.

Next, take four pieces and interlace them like what you see below. You'll want the four pieces overlapping each other with four little triangles "chasing" each other, kind of like a pinwheel. At this point, make sure all the slits that are in the center of the square are cut all the way through to the edge. This will help you down the road, I promise!

Now here's where it can get a little tricky. You see those four little triangles? Well, you're going to want to pull them ALL the way through the opening. If your original slit isn't big enough for you to pull the triangle through, you can always cut the opening a little bigger but be careful!

Here's what it should look like once all four triangles are pulled all the way through.

And here's what the back will look like (the side that will lay against the table).

Take your scissors and cut two triangles on the front side in the middle of each side. Trim the sides so that your square is even.

And there you have it folks! Your very own unique, simple, yet functional (and inexpensive!) felt coasters!

TOTAL COSTS: $.33
$.33/color of felt at Michael's (the stiffer the felt, the better!)
Scissors & x-acto knife already on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 25 minutes/2 coasters

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 2 out of 5
It look me a while to figure out that the tiny triangles have to be pulled all the way through the slits but once I figured it out, it was a piece of cake!

How to Make a Felt Box

There always comes a time when you need a small box and you can't find one. Maybe you're giving someone a gift, or you need a place to put your jewelry or cufflinks, or maybe the Easter bunny has a great place to hide an egg! In my case, I was trying to find a creative DIY way to give baby onesies. So when I found this photo of felt boxes, I figured they were easy enough to make! And by golly, they are!

Make sure you have stiff felt, scissors, a pencil or pen to mark your measurements, and a hot glue gun, as you'll need a way to connect the sides together.

Pick two pieces of felt and cut one 9" x 9" (this will be the bottom of the box) and one 6 1/4" x 6 1/4" (this will be the top).

Lets start with the bottom. Mark every 3" around the square until you have 2 marks on every side.

Fold and crease the square into thirds both horizontally and vertically. Once that's done, you can either eyeball this or get your pencil/pen and draw the lines like you see on the squares below. Whether you draw the diagonal lines from inside corner to outside corner or from inside corner to halfway between the crease and the edge, it's up to you. I tried both ways and the boxes came out fine.

Cut where you made your lines and your square should look like this. The bottom is done!

Onto the top piece! Grab your 6 1/4" x 6 1/4" square and mark 1 1/2" on either side of every corner.

Just like with the bottom, fold and crease the square into thirds both horizontally and vertically. Again, you can either eyeball this or using your pen/pencil, draw lines like the ones you see below.

And cut out the triangles so your top looks like this.

Now comes time to assemble. Grab your hot glue gun, fold in one of the triangles, and apply glue to all of the edges of that triangle. Push the triangle into the square or rectangle piece and hold it until it's secure. Do this for all the triangle pieces until the top is complete.

 Do the same thing for bottom, fit the top on, and you're all set!

TOTAL COSTS: $6/pack (though you could find single sheets of stiff felt at Michael's for much cheaper!)

$6 for a pack of felt from Fiddlesticks in San Francisco
Scissors, hot glue, and pencil already on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: 15-20 minutes
It depends on if you measure everything out or eyeball it and cut without measuring

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
This isn't hard at all, it's just a matter of cutting felt, folding it, and gluing the pieces together!

Zombie Catnip Toy

Whenever I walk into a Petsmart or Petco, the cat toys are ridiculously cute. Pink feathered birds, blue mice with little red noses... not exactly my style. So when I saw this post from DreamALittleBigger for zombie catnip toys, I knew I wanted to make one. Now I don't have a sewing machine so I sewed it all by hand, which does make it take a little longer but you can definitely conquer this project.

So to get started, you'll need:

1. Green, pink, white, and black felt
2. Corresponding thread and a needle (if sewing by hand)
3. Catnip
4. Scissors
5. (optional) A marker


First, create your zombie body template. I drew mine by hand and have uploaded the pdf here, to save you some time Otherwise, create your own, cut it out, and trace around it on the green felt. Cut out two bodies (one for the front and one for the back).


Put the two bodies on top of each other and cut off whatever body parts you like. Be creative! Cut off a leg, part of the head, maybe some of the insides (but only cut the front body, in that case). It doesn't have to be perfect because, after all, it is a zombie.




 I decided to go with the original's and show the zombie's intestines. To do that, cut out a light pink piece of felt and using your red thread, stitch in the lines of the intestines. Once you're done, sew the pink felt to the green piece of felt that has a hole in it. Don't worry if the back looks like a mess because it will be hidden.



I decided to add some exposed brain so I did the same thing to the brains as I did with the intestines. Small piece of pink felt, red thread for the lines, and sewed to the head of the green piece of felt. I also added an eyeball, a line under the eye, and an X for the missing eyeball, just to give our little guy some character. And don't forget the mouth!



Once all the pieces of your zombie are in place, do a blanket stitch around the sides (if you're not sure how to do one, I walk through the steps in my "How to Make Felt Booties" post). Be sure to leave a 1-2" opening to pour in the catnip. Use a funnel or use your fingers to push the catnip to all the corners of the zombie. I decided to have the opening be the head so I could use my finger to push the catnip through the extremities.





One word of caution, if I may.... the thicker the felt, the better. The reason being, if you overstuff your toy (like I did), your cat may or may not chew a hole through it, which will require some repair. This happened about 15 seconds after I gave him the toy...

Other than that, you're all set! Your little zombie catnip toy is ready to be devoured!

Now isn't this so much cooler than a stuffed purple mouse? My thoughts exactly. 

WARNING: Your cat may or may not act like a zombie wanting brains. Batman was first curious, then ravenous, then paranoid.

TOTAL COSTS: About $6.50

$.33/color of felt at Michael's

$4.99 for catnip at Vons

Thread and needle on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About an hour and a half

20 minutes to make the template, trace, and cut out felt

20 minutes to make the intestines

10 minutes to sew them to the body

10 minutes to make the brains

5 minutes to make the eyes

15 minutes to sew the body

15 minutes to fill the body with catnip and sew together

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very hard): 3 out of 5

If you're not good at sewing (like me) you may find this more difficult than if you actually had sewing skills or better yet, a sewing machine. However, it's a zombie, so if the stitching isn't perfect, that'll just add to the zombie's character! 

Four Ways to Decorate a Onesie

Recently I posted an easy, yet creative, yet affordable baby shower gift called Peas in a Pod with baby washcloths. Today, I'm keeping with the theme of babies and baby showers. I wanted to show four easy and creative ways to decorate a onesie that will save you a lot of money if you just make it rather than buy a similar one online! Two are gender neutral and two are for boys (though honestly, if I were a baby, I'd want to wear all four).

Onesie #1 and #2 - The Moustache and The Crescent Moon

When I saw this baby gift set, I thought it was adorable until I saw the price tag. The onesie alone could be between $18-$37 for a freakin' moon on it?! No. Way.

For the moustache onesie, I saw this one on Etsy for $13 and again, I thought the price tag was ridiculous.

Here's how to make the exact same onesies. You'll need:

1. A bodysuit/onesie
2. Fabric paint
3. Freezer paper
4. X-acto knife
5. Paintbrush

Print out your moon, moustache, whatever you want on the onesie on the dull side of freezer paper and cut out the inside of the pattern with your x-acto knife. If you choose not to print onto the freezer paper itself, you can print your moon/moustache/etc. on regular paper, put it under freezer paper, and then trace the outline with a marker so as to cut it out.

Here's where I recommend putting a piece of paper or cardboard inside the onesie so paint doesn't seep through. Iron the outline onto your onesie shiny side down for a few minutes. I did it for 3 minutes, just to make sure it was completely stuck. Make sure the edges are ironed flat to the bodysuit, otherwise paint will seep out and it will look unprofessional.

After you've ironed, paint on a layer inside the template and let dry for 2-4 hours. Add another layer of paint if necessary.

Once dry, slowly remove the template, then take a towel or washcloth and place it on top of the onesie. Take your iron and "set" the pattern in for a few minutes. This will guarantee the pattern won't fade away after the first wash.

And you're done! Enjoy the money you saved by making another one!

Onesie #3 - The Home State

This is much like the first two, however the word "home" ups the difficulty level. Note that it's still cheaper than buying it for $28 online (if it looks familiar, it's the same company that Kristin Cavallari wore when she debuted her baby bump... why do I know this?...)

Just like before, find an outline of the state of your choice, print it out on freezer paper, and cut it out with your x-acto knife. I found it was easiest to print out "home" on freezer paper and cut out each letter individually.

Just like before, iron the freezer paper to your onesie and make sure there's a piece of paper or cardboard inside the onesie.

Paint over the word "home" and wait until the paint dries. Try not to paint off the freezer paper (I did a little at the top... whoops!)

Once it dries, add another layer of paint if you wish (I kept with 1 layer since it was a light-colored onesie). Slowly remove the paper and the letters. Hopefully you ironed it down well enough so it didn't bleed too bad!

Original for $28 versus what I made... I didn't keep the period after "home" but other than that, can you tell any difference?

Onesie #4 - The Switch-Out Bow Ties

This is a little different... you're going to be making bow ties that can be switched out with the help of some snaps or, in this case, velcro. An easy way to dress up a onesie and a versitile option too!

Here's what you'll need:

1. A bodysuit/onesie
2. Felt
3. Needle and thread or glue
4. Velcro or snaps
5. Ruler
6. Scissors
7. Pen or marker

First, measure and cut two strips of felt. Strip #1 should be 3/4" x 2 1/2". Strip #2 should be 3/4" x 9 1/2". Fold Strip #2 into thirds - fold one end in about 2/3 of the way, then fold the other side on top.

Pinch in the middle to make the center fold.

Take Strip #1 and tightly wrap it around the center. Either sew or glue the ends together in the back.

Take your velcro and apply one side to the tie and the other to the onesie. Make sure if you're making multiple ties to apply the correct side to the tie every time.

And that's it! I only made two ties but the possibilities of color are endless!

And there you have it! Four onesies for the price of one you would buy online. Go out there and be creative!

TOTAL COSTS: About $25 to make 4 onesies

$1.99 for Disney Bodysuit 4 Pack for on Amazon

$7.99 for freezer paper from Vons  (for 150 sq. ft!)

$5.99 for fabric paint from Michaels

$6 for felt from Fiddlesticks in San Francisco (click here for another baby project with felt)

$2.75 for velcro from Vons

X-acto knife, paint brush, ruler, scissors, needle & thread, and pen on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Depends on project

Depending on the amount of paint you use and the color of the bodysuit, it varies how long it might take for the paint to dry. 

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): Depends on project

The tie is the easiest to make (especially if you don't know how to sew, you can just use glue). I'd rate that a 1 out of 5. 

#1 and #2 are the second easiest, I'd rate them 2 out of 5. 

The home state is the hardest but you just need to go slow and steady when cutting, ironing, and painting. Even still, I'd rate it a 3 out of 5. Not hard at all but not a walk in the park.