While brainstorming up new felt board activities, I decided it would be fun to make some mix and match monsters, similar to our mix and match owls.
So I came up with this felt monster set, perfect for building and creating a wide range of hilarious little monsters. It's a perfect quiet time activity for kids and is a really great way to explore emotions on the felt board.
How to Make Felt Mix & Match Monsters
The pieces for this play set were all cut free hand (as is my usual style) using scraps for the features. However, the bodies are larger, roughly the size of a 9" x 12" sheet of felt. A lot of the details on the mouth pieces and eyes also required some hot gluing. Here are the pieces that I created for the set:
- 6 monster bodies
- 6 mouth pieces
- 12 eyes
- Accessories like antennae, horns, spikes, and a wavy piece
The pieces can then be assembled to build monsters like these.
.jpg "Adorable mix and match monsters from And Next Comes L")
Since Spring has finally arrived, the boys and I explored the new felt monster set together out in the sunroom. See, it's a good thing I haven't hung up our new felt board yet. It can easily be moved from room to room. Anyway, K showed no interest in the monster set, whereas J spent a lot of time over the weekend playing with it. Here are a few of his cute monster creations.
J even spent some time playing around with the emotions of the monsters, turning their smiles upside down to make them sad. So apparently this activity turned into a great way to explore emotions. Here are the happy monsters.
Here are some of his sad monsters.
.jpg "Monsters on the felt board from And Next Comes L")
I am having a blast making all these new felt board sets, especially when they turn out so darn cute!
Other Ideas 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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