Frugal Homemade Gifts from Felt

It's kinda been a felt week here at my house. On Monday, I shared a quick little tutorial on how to make a superhero mask for an inexpensive gift for kids. Then on Wednesday, I shared how to create some fun decorations for your holiday beverages.

Really, I should use felt a lot more frequently. I have a HUGE box of felt in my craft closet that really I need to start making a dent in it. See?

Yeah, my husband probably thinks that it's a little crazy to have so much felt to require its own box. That mauve felt there? That's seriously OLD. Like, my mom used that to make me a 50s skirt when I was in elementary school. Yeah, OLD.

But, felt is so easy to use in crafts and homemade gifts. Best of all, it can be CHEAP! The most readily-available kind of felt that you'll find at the craft store is pretty inexpensive and often made from recycled materials. You can get a 9 x 13" sheet for usually about $0.30 or so. Fabric stores will also sell it off the bolt if you need larger amounts. The really nice felt (made from wool) is usually pricer and harder to find. Personally, I stick to the cheap stuff because I've actually never found any of the wool stuff in any store I've been in.

Felt is a great material to work with. It doesn't fray so it's great for handmade projects. You just need a good pair of scissors to make clean, easy cuts. Trust me, it makes crafting with fabric sooooo much easier if you have a good pair of scissors! Felt is also easy to sew by hand and gives a cute, rustic look.

Here are a few ideas of things that you can make as gifts this holiday season. Just click on the links to find the tutorials:

• Felt Crowns: This is another fun gift for kids -- especially those who like to play "castle" or "Princess"!
• Felt Flower Hairclip: This works for little or big girls.
• Fast Felt Purses: This tutorial includes three versions -- plain felt purse, a felt purse lined with costume satin, and a felt purse lined with costume satin with a divider.
• Felt Covered Journals: This journal would be great as part of a Morning Out Kit. Throw in a thought-provoking book and a coffeeshop gift card.
• Felt Coffee Cozy: This is fun gift for the coffeeshop lover in your life. A link to a template is included in this post to make it easier.

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For other frugal or money-saving ideas, check out Frugal Friday at Life as MOM on Fridays.