DIY: Toddler Activity Mat (Christmas Version)

My cousin reached out and asked if I could make her little one a felt activity Christmas tree.  She gave me a detailed description of what she wanted: A decorative felt Christmas tree that came with ornaments that Baby J could hang on the tree.  I was pretty sure I could do it.  I mean, I make some pretty awesome sensory blankets.  But had to sit down and work out the logistics first.

Remember:

Being a crafter is part design, part engineering.

Design:

I Sketched out a tree that measured approximately 2.5 feet high because Cuzzo asked for something between 2 and three feet. I then had to put on my engineer hat and figure out a viable pattern for the tree, how many pieces would be involved and how exactly I was going to construct it. 

I came up with this:

1 back panel: attached to the outside of the back panel would be a pocket to store the ornaments. Attached to the inside would be interfacing to make the tree durable and stiff.

1 front panel: Attacked to the outside would be green tree tiers.

3 Green Tree Tiers: Attached to these would be six ornaments with the hook side of Velcro squares sewn to them as well as colorful buttons sewn onto the green tiers.

6 felt ornaments: Each ornament is comprised of three felt circles. One of the felt circles will be sewn to the tree tiers.  The other two circles will be sewn to each other. One side of the ornaments would have the loop side of Velcro squares attached to it.

Construction:

I put the tree together in the following steps.

1. Construct the ornaments and star.

For each ornament, sew the hook side of the Velcro to the first felt circle (this will serve as the receiving ornament). Sew the loop side of the Velcro to the second felt circle. Then sew the second felt circle to the third felt circle, making sure that the Velcro is exposed. Set the ornament unit aside until the end.

2. Sew the buttons, star and receiving ornaments to the tree tiers.

3. Sew the tree tiers to outside of the front panel of the tree.

4. Sew the interface to the inside of the back panel of the tree.

5. Sew the pocket to the outside of the back panel of the tree.

6. Sew the front panel to the back panel wrong sides together, making sure to insert a ribbon for hanging between the two panels.

7. Trim.

Please note that I reinforced the tree with TWO seams when connecting the front and back panel.  I also used an ultra-firm Pellon interfacing inside the tree to give it a little more stability.

I used the right side of my brain WAY more than the left while working on this project.  I realized early on, that the potential for screwing this up was super high. So when I completed it without having to take a seam ripper to it, I was pretty proud of myself.  But the true joy came when I got to see my tiny client enjoying her new activity tree.

Special thanks to my cousins for letting me share this DIY story!

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