[tutorial] grow capsule animal mobile

Today I am going to show you how to make a quick, cute and inexpensive mobile!

1. Gather supplies!

You will need grow capsules (found at any major store in the toy section, and also often in the dollar sections), scissors, a hand needle, clear thread, and half an embroidery hoop (luckily I had a broken one just waiting to be used!)

supplies

2. "Grow" your capsules!

drop capsules in warm water

 3. Watch the animals (or whatever shapes you have) appear!

and watch them grow!

 4. Continue watching. It takes awhile.

there's a lion!

 5. Squeeze out the excess water and allow your spongy animals to dry.

let the sponge animals dry

6. Thread the needle with an arbitrary length of clear thread. 

7. Gently slide the needle through the center of the back of a randomly selected animal shape, so it will hang nicely. 

8. Tie the other end of the length of thread to the embroidery hoop with a double-knot.

9. Repeat for all the animals.

Sassy wants to eat my animals while I work 

 10. Tie three extra-long strings to the embroidery hoop equal distances apart. Tie a knot of the three strings together.

 Hang and enjoy!

completed mobile!

NB: Clear thread is slippery and difficult to see. For an easier equally cute alternative, use strands of colored embroidery floss!

Francois, Fred, Frank, Felix the Gremlin

Last September I made a gremlin for Adam for his birthday, and sent it off to him in his far-away training facility. Today the gremlin gets renamed a new "f" name daily. He's made of felt and fleece with smiling fangs and button eyes. He's got one eyebrow permanently cocked in a quizzical expression. He's stuffed with fiberfill and weighted with plastic pellets to give him the ability to sit up properly.

He's been attacked by Assassin the cat (who just loves pellet-filled toys), and stitched up again, so he's a seasoned war veteran as well as a cross-country traveler!

Old Felt Tree Project

As I was going through my beloved phone today, I stumbled across this picture of a felt tree critter that I made for my friend on February 27th of this year (well, let's be honest, I finished it then, but it was a work in progress for a long time!). Since I haven't been crafting the last few days, I thought now was a good time to post about this project. It's a tree with apples, a flower, and googly eyes. I blanket-stitched around the outside of the tree and trunk and stuffed the whole thing with fiberfill, so it's like a tree pillow!

Black Bear

In honor of my sister being chased out of an internship by black bears (literally!), I made this little guy. Initially he was going to be a little girl with a red dress, but Tom liked the head so much that I had to switch it up and make the bear a boy with a red shirt and little blue shorts.
The little yellow sign was added later, to add a comforting touch to a bad day.
Unfortunately, our little Assassincat also loves the bear, and seeks to play with it whenever possible. We found him missing the other day, and eventually discovered him under a bookcase. He's a little worse for wear after her enthusiastic attention, but still cute!
I finally got thread that matches most of my felt colors, so I will be able to make such critters with different colored outfits.
My apologies for the poor photos - it's hard to find the right lighting in this apartment! I need to get up earlier and catch the morning light.