DIY Felt Board for Kids

This is a quick post detailing how I created a felt board for our {almost} 2 year old daughter. It's actually really easy and MUCH cheaper than those sold in stores. The hardest part was the tedious cutting out of letters for the felt alphabet. Totally worth it, though! Anyway, below you'll find how I created this DIY felt board in less than 15 minutes and for under $10! The possibilities are endless.

Materials:
* already owned this material

20 x 30 Elmers Foam Board $1.77 {Walmart}
White felt backdrop {$3.97/yd Walmart}
12 pack of multi-color felt sheets {$1.77 Walmart}
Staple gun + staples*
Scissors*
Sharpie*
Stencils*

How to:

First, lay out your piece of felt {I bought 1 yard, but only needed 1/2 yard} and lay the foam board centered on it. Leave a few inches on each side as spare.

                    

Second, one side at a time, pull the felt fabric tightly to the back of the foam board and staple it until it's secure from top to bottom. Do this all the way around the board until you have a blank felt board like the one seen below.

                 

Third, freehand or print out shapes, animals, automobiles, letters, numbers, etc using the colorful felt pieces. I intend to create more, but for now, I did fruit, a school bus, shapes, a sun, colorful circles {balloons}, and each letter of the alphabet. I did use stencils to trace the letters onto the felt before cutting them out. I do recommend using very sharp scissors for cutting the felt. I do know that there are printable online of animals and other such things that you can trace onto the felt should you not feel comfortable free handing it.

Finally, stick your felt pieces to your board and either hang it {3M strips} or keep it stored under the couch, bed, or some other inconspicuous spot when not in use. I intend to keep Emerson's on the wall there right outside of her room. A couple of 3M VELCRO strips hold it up nicely {I recommend the velcro kind so that you can take it off and on as needed}.

Another quick little DIY for little artists: 

DIY craft paper holder

I used 2 tension rods {28-48in} to create this craft paper holder. I put the curtain rod seen in the top picture in between two bookcases and it holds the craft paper roll itself. Then, I attached another rod underneath her IKEA table. It rests between two of the table legs and I just fed the paper between the tension rod and the table to keep it tightly on the table. It works beautifully! Now she can create beautiful pieces of art without me having to reach for new paper every 10 minutes and/or without the paper shifting all around the table!

* The table is an IKEA Lack coffee table that I just painted with chalkboard paint on top. I ordered two children's chairs from IKEA for $12 each. This is her craft table.