Because life’s celebrations shouldn’t cost the Earth

Tuesday 9 April 2013

Felt Cupcake Toppers

Little Felt Ornaments


Alice has lost her Japanese Kokeshi Doll hair slide.  I originally made a set of three of these as Mr. Larkin's beautiful god-children are Japanese on their mother's side and celebrate Hinamatsuri, 'Doll's Festival' or 'Girl's Day', on 3 March each year.  We have searched and searched and Alice's has still not turned up, so I guess I will have to make a replacement.  In one last ditch hope, before I get started, I pulled out our box of felt cake toppers in case it had been inadvertently been tidied away there.  Alas, no luck, but as they were out I thought I would take a few photos of some of them to share with you.

The shapes were either cut by hand or with my Sizzix machine and then hand stitched and embellished. I wanted to have a 'staged' photo shoot with real cupcakes but they would never last long enough in this household!  So instead I used some vintage wooden cotton reels, they are definitely much nicer than the modern ones.


I cut the little birdies using a Quickutz die, but if you don't have a die-cutting machine simply cut a basic bird shape by hand.  The eyes are french knots, the wings are stab stitched and the edges have been blanket stitched.  I glued a little bead under each topper for a touch of bling, they really catch the light.  We use them at Easter, but they would also be super for a baby shower. 


The mini Easter egg ones are pretty cute too and with a pin on the back would be perfect as a little brooch or hair clip.


Everyone loves cup-cakes and this yummy example was also cut using a Sizzix die.  The sprinkles are tiny glass beads.


I made loads of these owls for a Halloween party, but this lonely lad is the only one left!


This bird is a little big to be a cake topper and would probably have suited being a brooch or hair barrette better!


Russian 'Matryoshka' Dolls


Felt is a great material to use as it is widely obtainable and is easy to sew as it doesn't fray.  I also like having a hand sewing project on the go as it means I can take it anywhere rather than being 'tied' to the sewing machine.  Now I better get started on Alice's Kokeshi Doll.  Watch out for the new post as soon as it's finished xx

2 comments:

  1. Very,very cute! And yes, I need a little hand-stitching project too - it's not always practical to set my machine up with a one-year old and a 5 year old about and only a few minutes to spare! Although perhaps I should be attacking my repairs and refashions pile (mountain) first! :-) Thanks for the inspiration. Catherine x

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  2. I know the feeling Catherine, I've just finished the mending ready for 'Back to School' tomorrow! Hand-sewing projects are great to pick up and pit down as and when the children allow x

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