Gifts for a newborn: DIY felt finger puppets and theatre

When friends had a beautiful baby boy last month, I knew I wanted to get crafty and give them some handmade gifts. It just made sense since they are great supporters of this blog and my DIY projects, plus Mrs Tee (now Mummy Tee!) is known to make amazing advent calendars each Christmas for her little family members.

After seeing the felt characters that Jenny made for her daughter on Little Green Notebook, and reading how she treasured the things her own mum made for her growing up, I was inspired to make felt finger puppets.

For the puppets themselves, I found heaps of inspiration by doing a Google image search and just picked animals and designs I liked. See my Pinterest board for more ideas and to see where I borrowed my designs from. I ended up with a lion, zebra, giraffe, rabbit and fox.

The fox was inspired by this chevron onsie in Big W. I'm not big on heaps of emblems, patterns and words splashed all over baby clothes but I think this one is adorable. Bargain prices at Big W too. If you are prepared to wade past the not-so-adorable clothes and squint creatively, you can find some good stuff at the cheap department or chain stores.

Baby Tee will be well out of this body suit by the time he can play with the finger puppet but I enjoyed making it all coordinate :)

 To make the puppets, you will need felt pieces in various colours, sharp scissors and glue. I also used little stick-on eyes but you don't need these if you'd prefer to cut eyes from the felt.

 I found all the supplies at Spotlight but most craft stores would have these items. I chose to use a hot glue gun because I had one already. Fabric glue would also work.

After lots of cutting and glueing while baby Leo was napping or playing, I ended up with five finger puppets I loved. Somehow, they seemed a little lost without a theatre so I transformed a box from one of Leo's toys into a little home for them. The hot glue gun worked wonders in adhering the striped fabric onto the box as curtains for the theatre. For the red cardboard though, a combination of craft glue and double-sided tape was more than enough.

The back and sides of the theatre are covered in brown kraft paper and jazzed up with stars cut from yellow card and stickers from Kikki K.

The box originally had a red lid so it was perfect for creating an entrance to the backstage area.

So there you have it, a little theatre and five furry friends for Baby Tee. Hopefully it holds up long enough for him to direct a few puppet shows in years to come. I had such fun making it.

To round out his gift, I picked up a few other pieces at Big W that we've found really handy with Leo.  Firstly a three pack of these white body suits or onesies. My nanna got Leo a set in size 000 and we had them on him for so many months under clothes in place of a singlet or with a pair of leggings (like the navy and grey pair below which were about $5). They just seemed to stretch with him. I promise we weren't squishing the life out of him when I say he was still wearing them even when his other clothes were 00 and even 0! I've noticed Big W doesn't always have stock of all the sizes in white so I may not be the only person to think they are good value (about $9 for a 3 pack).

In the suit pictured, I sewed on a little pocket just for fun.

The last item, in the far right of the photo below, is a new style Bonds Wondersuit. The fabulous thing about these is the two-way zipper which is exactly what you need when changing nappies overnight. Who really wants to do up all those buttons or snap fasteners in the dead of night?! Or anytime really. A baby might as well take advantage of being able to wear a onesie day and night. After all, they grow up so quickly and will be wearing separate tops and bottoms for the majority of their lives. Baby Tee, kick back while you can. Wear onesies and play finger puppets! And have a lot of fun! xx

The big kids go out to play

With a new addition to the extended family, I found an excuse to head back to Spindleberry. You may remember me sharing my delight over this children's store a few months ago and declaring it sing-worthy. My sentiments haven't changed and there are still many things in there that I want for the big kid in me. Alimrose Designs makes a lot of them, like a little red riding hood doll:

 Cute! And a British guard soldier:

How smart is he? Who cares if it's a squeaky rattle thing used to console a screaming baby?

With so many gorgeous gift options calling your name in Spindleberry, decision-making is difficult, but the shop assistant is so helpful and patient. I dare say she was pleased when I left so she could finally unpack all the new stock she had waiting.

After much deliberation, I settled on a jointed toy pony and bib in the same fabric from Alimrose Designs and a little red case to present them in. The case may seem unnecessary but I have already seen it used as a doctor's case by the new addition's big brother! Why, how versatile.

Alimrose Designs are stocked in stores within Australia and internationally and sold online through various websites.

I visited Spindleberry at:
276 Union Rd, Moonee Ponds, VIC, 3039
(03) 93706677

In a spin about Spindleberry

When asked if I'm clucky, I usually answer in the affirmative and add that it started at age seven. That's when my second youngest brother was born and I spent as much time with him and his delicious baby skin as possible. As an adult, I've always thought I'd like children, maybe when I'm less partial to investing in the dining out experience and acquiring frivolous material possessions (will this ever happen?!) My maternal yearnings are in check and there have been no long-lived aches in thy womb. Nothing overwhelming anyway.

Until last week that is, when I stepped into Spindleberry in Moonee Ponds and shouted to myself "I need a child". In fact, I said something similar aloud to my husband to which he replied "about time". If having a brood meant having rooms like this for them, I would order myself three on the double. Everything is so delightfully co-ordinated and set out. We were hunting for a baby shower present, nothing too practical as the parents-to-be have the nursery well-equipped complete with nappys and baby cream to see them through the first months.

Spindleberry is sing-worthy. An oasis where children would never nag for licenced merchandise, rather they would shun Barbie and dream of locally made wooden toys in colours to fit their room palette. Beds would not be wet to ensure the continued perfection of exquisite quilting crafted in fine linen. A Spindleberry child would not be showered in plastic fantastic toys on birthdays, simply because they would not fit into their dreamy wooden toy box and every parent knows that children hate their toys scattered on the floor ready to play with at any opportunity. Mmm, somehow my little fantasy seems at odds with reality. It's nice to dream though and Spindleberry suceeds in sparking the imagination and creating a beautifully serene collection of rooms and products to bring the fantasy one step closer.

The styling in the store is so delightful that I found myself wishing my own bedroom looked like this and that I could squeeze into one of the red velvet jackets! Apparently I am not the first to say this.

Our final selection for the baby shower gift is pictured above. It's a little red drum (with a "mellow" sound according to the swing tag), a drumming babushka doll and a mini set of maracas. The bub's dad is a drummer so we thought it was fitting.

 

The shop assistant on the Saturday that we visited was very helpful and attentive when we needed, making the experience even more enjoyable. Maybe not nice enough to ignore the pain of childbirth and sleepless nights, but pleasant enough that I look forward to finding an excuse to go back.

Spindleberry
276 Union Rd, Moonee Ponds, VIC, 3039
(03) 93706677

173 Ferguson St
Williamstown VIC 3016
(03) 9399 9727