If you're looking for DIY felt board sets for kids, then you have to try these mix and match monsters! This felt board activity is a great way to work on emotions.
I recently made a DIY felt board for our playroom. And I've been brainstorming different felt board activities for it ever since.
One idea that I had was to make some mix and match monsters, similar to our mix and match owls set. However, this monster set would allow for more possibilities and creativity. Especially since monsters come in more shapes and sizes and have more features to change than owls do.
My oldest son had a lot of fun with this activity. He had a blast building and creating a wide range of hilarious little monsters. As it turns out, this activity was a pretty educational one too (as you'll soon learn about). I was kind of surprised where it took us.
How to Make Felt Mix and Match Monsters
The pieces for this play set were all cut freehand (as is my usual style) using craft felt. Most of the smaller features were made using scrap pieces of felt and hot glue. So while I didn't use any kind of pattern or template to make these, you could definitely make a pattern first on some freezer paper. Then pin it to the felt and cut it out.
Here are the pieces that I created for these mix match monsters:
- 6 monster bodies - made from 9" x 12" sheets of felt
- 6 mouth pieces - made from felt scraps and hot glued together
- 12 pairs of monster eyes - again, made from felt scraps and hot glue
- Monster parts like antennae, horns, spikes, and a wavy piece
It might seem like there are so many monster parts here, but I wanted to make sure that the kids could make a wide variety of different monsters like these...
.jpg "Adorable felt monsters that you can mix and match")
Explore Emotions with these Unique Monster Combinations!
Since I haven't hung up our new felt board yet, we were able to try this activity out in the sunroom. While my youngest K showed no interest in the monster set, my oldest, J, really enjoyed this activity, making roughly one kajillion monsters. Okay, not really. But here are a few of his cute monster creations.
There are a few different ways to play with these mix and match monsters. You could use them for storytelling, for instance. You could even use them to learn about body parts or to practice following directions. Or, you could use them to explore emotions like J did, all on his own. See that's why it's important to follow your child's lead.
Anyway, I seriously did not anticipate that these adorable monsters would turn into a discussion about emotions, but they did. J would add smiles to the monsters' faces then turn them upside down to make them sad. Here are some of the happy monsters that he created.
Now, obviously you could make many monsterous combinations (nice play on words there, hey?). But here are some of his sad monsters.
.jpg "Adorable mix and match monsters activity for kids")
I love making fun felt board sets like this one for my boys, especially when they turn out so darn cute!
Other Monster Themed Activities You'll Love
Felt is one of the greatest things for making on-the-spot toys. I love the way it became an activity about emotions. Those are some cute monsters!
ReplyDeleteI agree. Felt is awesome. And there's definitely nothing scary about these monsters :)
DeleteDyan, this is such a creative "starter" project for building body awareness! I love the felt because it builds fine motor skills! Thanks for sharing. Will do the same!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you sharing, Katherine!
DeleteThis is a great idea, just pinned it :) We have just discovered craft with felt & this looks like lots of fun. Found you on the weekly co-op at Reading Confetti.
ReplyDeleteFelt is great. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteYou serious are a genius with the felt activities. This one is so fun! I love all of the colorful monsters. Pinned.
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks!
DeleteHi Dyan! Just wanted to stop by and leave you a comment telling you again how much I love your little monster guys. So creative and I love that you tied in learning emotions. The colors are so bright and the monsters are so unique. What a great felt board activity! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Asia! It definitely turned out way cuter than I imagined!
DeleteYour felt activities are unbelievable! I love these monsters!
ReplyDeleteAw, thanks. Wait until you see what else I've come up with for the felt board!
DeleteI'm the Editorial Assistant for Fun Family Crafts and I wanted to let you know that we have featured your monsters! You can see them here:
ReplyDeletehttp://funfamilycrafts.com/mix-and-match-monsters/
If you have other kid-friendly crafts, we'd love it if you would submit them. If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above. Thanks for a wonderful project idea!
Thank you for featuring us!
DeleteI love these little monsters they are too cute! Such a fun idea! Thank you for sharing, Now following you.
ReplyDeleteSheena @ http://thekeeperofcheerios.blogspot.com/
Thanks! The monsters are fun to create! I will pop over to your blog and check it out when I've got a moment. Thanks for following along.
DeleteHi I hope you read old post because I just found this way cute idea I have a question for you how big is your felt board and what is it made of, the underneath stuff. Thanks. Just wondering how to get started. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Bethany! To make my felt board, I used foam core board. I taped two pieces together side by side with duct tape and then I hot glued the felt on (just on the backside). I think I cut down one of the foam core boards to half of its size. You can use canvases, picture frames, cardboard, or even a piece of plywood to make a felt board. As for size, mine is 34" w x 30" h. Hope that helps!
Deletehow do the monsters "stick"? is there velcro on the backside, or does the felt stick to the felt? :)
ReplyDeleteFelt sticks to felt. Super easy, right?
DeleteWhere did you purchase the felt? I'm struggling to find some affordable felt to make this with.
ReplyDeleteAlso, did you make the board by gluing/taping/stapling the felt to some cardboard?
For the felt, I bought it at Michael's and Walmart. As for the felt board, I wrapped foam core board with the felt and then adhered the felt to the back of the board using hot glue.
DeleteI stumbled across this post via Pinterest a few months back and decided to give it a try for the felt board we set out for kids to play with at my library. It's been incredibly successful! We have a lot of kids who the second they walk into the library say, "Mom, I want to make a monster!" It's been up for several months, and while we used to switch out the felt board activities every month or two, we've kept this one up just because we're all afraid of all the tears it might cause if we replace it!
ReplyDeleteThat's great to hear! Two years later and it's still a favorite at our house! PS: I would love to see a picture of your monsters. Either send me an email or share a photo on my Facebook page.
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