DIY Hymn Board & Sunset Times Felt Board Play Set

This DIY felt board set has been a real hit! I think for the lower primary aged kids numbers and letters become pretty fun.

My sister says her kids wouldn't even know what a Hymn Board is. Even though they attend church every week, they go to a church where hymns are seldom played, contemporary Christian music dominates, and the words are projected onto a screen.

Fortunately for us, we often visit smaller country churches where a hymn board is still mounted on the wall and a Hymnal can be found tucked into the back of a pew.

I have been singing Tahlia to sleep with hymns since she was born so she knows a few and it melts your heart to hear her randomly singing them. 

Because we believe in keeping the fourth commandment, our church also has a sunset times board on the opposite side of the pulpit to the hymn board. In Genesis God says there was evening and there was morning, the first day and so on. Like the Jewish people, we know that the day begins and ends at sunset. So it is handy to know what time sunset is so we know when Sabbath is coming.

I had intended that these would be part of a church (as opposed to Bible) themed quiet book, where Tahlia could copy the numbers from the board at church and kind of follow along with church each week. And they will probably make it there eventually, but for now we are having lots of fun with them mounted on our felt board like you would find them on a wall at church.

Tahlia has been learning to follow along with the words in a hymnal of late, and I have been encouraging her to flip through and find the right one that is coming up next based on what the hymn board tells us. Apparently that's not so fun... too much like school work I think. But for some reason the Hymn Board and Sunset Times Felt Board Play Set rates high on the fun scale.

How We Made the Hymn Board and Sunset Times Felt Board Play Set

You will need:

• Korean hard felt in gray, black and white
• Sewing thread to match
• My DIY Hymn Board and Sunset Times Felt Board Play Set Free Pattern Template
• A Sizzix Original and capitals lollipop alphabet/numeral die set or another method of cutting numbers about 2.5 x 3 cm in size - see my post on Letter cutting hacks. (Or you could just print them onto the felt using the sublimation/heat press method and save yourself a lot of sewing - see my post Sublimation Printing on Felt - Test).

1. Use the template to cut out your pieces (for the number cards it would be easier to rule up a piece of white felt and cut them out that way but I included the piece for size reference). I made 63 number cards (six of each number 0-9) and 3 colon cards for displaying the time. That way there is an extra in case one gets lost. My white felt sheet divided into 63, so that is how I decided how many to make. Plus 60 number cards is a common amount if you were to buy a set for an actual hymn board, so I figured there would generally be enough of each number required.

2. Double the thickness of your black runners by sewing them to another piece of black felt and cutting them out.

3. Position your black runners in the positions shown on the next two pages of the template. You can cut out the black runners places on the positioning templates and lay the runners in the position and pin, then remove the template. It doesn't matter if it rips when you take it off.

You could use this pattern to make a sports score board too!

4. Sew the runners down the center for the ticker ones and either the upper or lower edge of the thinner ones to allow the number cards to slide into the track formed.

5. Use an original sizzix to cut out the required letters and numbers and sew in place on the backboard and number cards. I used the centers of the zeros to make the colons for the sunset times.

6. Play with your DIY Hymn Board & Sunset Times Felt Board Play Set!

Baby likes to play too!

If you make one of these please tell us about it below or send us an email with a picture. It would make our day. It actually took me at least 1.5 hours drawing up the template on this one so you guys could download it (not including the design time so I could make it initially) so it would really make it feel worthwhile to see some pictures if you do make one 😍

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Easy Peasy Jellyfish Counting Quiet Book Page

It's been a while since I did an Easy Peasy page - but who doesn't like it when a quiet book page comes together quickly?

Don't get confused with an octopus quiet book page where there should only be eight tentacles - jellyfish can have lots! I must have a little obsessive compulsive disorder because it really grates on me when a counting page only goes up to eight. Admittedly I did make one that only goes up to eight, but in my defense that wasn't the primary purpose of the page - see Genesis 28 - Jacob's Ladder Quiet Book Page.

My jellyfish is a simple semi-circle. I used one of the rows from my Malachi 4 - Sun of Righteousness Quiet Book Page template and lined it up along a straight edge of felt and only cut around the outside edge.

Then I cut lengths from a 3mm white ribbon and threaded beads on (1-10). I made a card to stick the lengths of ribbon to so they would be evenly spaced when I went to sew them.

Then I pinned and sewed down the ends of the ribbons using zig zag stitch and angling in the two at either end so they would fit under the head of the jellyfish.

Finally, I sewed down the head of the jellyfish covering the ribbon ends and trimmed it with double gathered lace. This adds a touch and feel element to the page.

I am not sure I am a fan of the look with the looped tentacles... what do you all think? Although I don't think the ribbon would be thick enough when knotted to keep the beads on if they weren't.

Some variation ideas include:

• Touch and feel tentacles made from various ribbons and trims - these can be curled using a hair iron or wet and let to dry around a pencil etc
• Beads inside mesh tubing - If you look closely at this pinterest pin, Elena Rihsi has threaded the beads onto a thin cord before inserting them through the mesh cord. That way if the mesh breaks, the beads don't go anywhere! Genius.
• Inserting a squeaker under the jellyfish head
• Making a button/bead maze in the jellyfish head
• Jellyfish swimming in reversible sequin fabric - comes with a beautiful free template from teenytinymom

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Have you made a jellyfish quiet book page? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Genesis 39 - The Temptation of Joseph Quiet Book Page

Genesis 39 demonstrates Joseph's integrity.

Memory Verse: "No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9

Materials needed to create The Temptation of Joseph quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet - I used black
• sublimation printed Ancient Egypt dress-up dolls by Gabi's Paper Dolls (I only printed some of the female costumes and the dolls) - you can read how I had it done on my Sublimation Printing on Felt - Test post
• Veltex material (also called loop fabric or industrial webbing) in skin colour
• Velcro dot
• hot glue gun and glue
• Double sided iron-on interfacing scrap
• gold coloured material that won't fray - I used pleather but it was difficult to sew due to it's stretchiness (made easier by gluing first)
• clear craft glue if using pleather to make sewing easier - I used polyacetic acid & ethylene resin based glue
• decorative material
• two decorative buttons
• jump ring tassel
• gold ribbon
• gold elastic
• felt in gold/straw colour
• sewing thread to match
• my free template (Egyptian wardrobe only)

First cut out your paper dolls, clothes and wigs, cutting off the tabs as you go. Then use your male paper doll to cut out a section of Veltex and double sided iron-on interfacing to the same shape as his torso/legs.

This one is Tahlia's favourite dress

Arrange your pieces onto the background and iron on the Veltex to the background in the correct position using the interfacing. Sew around the edge to hold in place.

Potiphar's wife acting like a 'cougar'... - this one is my Grandma's fav dress

Hot glue the feet of the male doll to the background in place over the Veltex. Cut out his undergarment and finish gluing down his legs. Hot glue the Velcro dot to the back of his undergarment and place in position. Then line up the head and glue the remainder of his body down. Hot glue the woman into position.

To make the wardrobe, trace the pieces using the template onto the back of your pleather using pen - this will avoid puncturing the pleather unnecessarily. Cut them out. For the decorative panel, cut the size to the back piece and then trim down slightly so it doesn't show on the edge of the wardrobe when layered. Using the clear craft glue, glue the decorative panel to the gold/straw felt and allow it to dry. Then glue the gold edging on top and allow to dry. Sew the inner section around the decorative panel.

Glue two sections of gold ribbon on the back to form hinges for the front door of the wardrobe. Then glue some pleather to the back of your felt and allow to dry. Sew around the outside edge of your wardrobe door and then cut it out, making sure not to cut off the hinges.

I found I had to shorten the bottom of the wardrobe base by around 5 mm and overlap the door over the lower section of the wardrobe front slightly to fit it on my page. I didn't change the pattern as you may be using a different size page to me.

Glue the pleather wardrobe base to the background page and insert the hinges from the door underneath on one side and insert a short loop of gold elastic with a jump ring tassel threaded onto it on the other side where you want the latch to be. Allow to dry and sew in place, reinforcing the stitching over the hinges and elastic loop.

Glue the remaining pleather pieces to the gold/straw felt and sew along the top edge of the draw and lower section of wardrobe front. Cut the draw out and sew the lower edge in place over the lower section of the wardrobe front. Then sew the lower section of the wardrobe front down over the base on the bottom and sides to form a pocket. To complete the wardrobe, hand sew your buttons on.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Hard

It will be easier if you use something other than pleather that stretches! If you use pleather, be sure to use the glue.

"Hey Joseph, want to see my secret garden?"

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 38 - This page teaches about how we need to be prepared to suffer even when we do the right thing.
• Buttoning - Open and close the wardrobe
• Tucking - Tuck the wigs into the wardrobe draw
• Imaginative Play - dress up Potiphar's wife in all her outfits
• Velcro - rip off Joseph's undergarment (and re-position them)
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Genesis 39

Devotional

I admire the way that Jacob brought up Joseph. He was only around 17 when he was sold as a salve and yet His devotion to God is to be greatly admired. It must have been difficult to follow God in the situation he found himself in, and it would have been easy to go along with new cultures and customs and tell himself that God had forgotten him, so he may as well do likewise.

"Hey Joseph, do you want some 'trifle'..."

There are a few boundaries Joseph put in place to reduce the chances of finding himself in less than ideal circumstances. You can read about Joseph's 5 Steps to Avoid Temptation: Genesis 39:6-23 on the God Running blog. He had resolved to keep himself from "strange" women (those who did not follow God) as told in the story of Joseph and Asenath, translated by H. F. D. Sparks. He must have envisaged a celibate life, exiled in the land of Egypt. And not only exiled, but imprisoned. Nevertheless, as stated at the end of the blog post mentioned above, God preserved his life in that the punishment due Joseph was death. I noticed that Joseph was sold to Potiphar the Captain of the Guard (Genesis 37:36) - and the same titled person is in charge of the prison. It looks like Potiphar realises that Joseph is innocent because instead of putting Joseph to death, he saves face by putting him in his prison, but eventually puts him in charge of it just as he had done with his household (Genesis 40:3-4). Despite his circumstances, Joseph sticks to his values and God rewards him with freedom, power, and a beautiful convert, Asenath.

There are so many parallels between the story of Joseph and Jesus in the Bible, and I can only see more told through the love story of Joseph and Asenath.

Dreamcoat Part 8 - Potipher

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Hearing from you gives me great encouragement!

Genesis 12 - Abram's Journey Quiet Book Page

In Genesis chapter 12, God tells Abram to go to a place He would show him. I have included a few verses from chapters 11 and 13 here for convenience.

Memory Verse: "The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you." Genesis 12:1

Materials needed to create Abram's Journey quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet. I used deep blue.
• brown felt, plus tan scraps
• sewing thread to match, plus blue for the rivers
• a shoelace
• crotchet rings
• my free template

First place your map UPSIDE DOWN on your brown felt and trace around it with a pen.  This way the pen side will be face down...

...and the map will be the right way when placed on the background felt. Sew it down.

Next mark each point at which you will turn when sewing the rivers. I placed my template on top of my felt version and pushed in a pin at each turning point. I started at the branched ends and aimed for the entrance point of each pin when I got to each subsequent pin.

Sew down your pyramids and crotchet rings where indicated. For the crotchet rings I set my machine to zero length on zig zag stitch and secured them with about 20 stitches.

Measure the length of shoelace needed by threading it as shown in the first picture and  leaving enough of an end to stitch it down underneath the zigurat. Melt the ends of the shoelace to prevent fraying before using zig zag stitch to secure it to your page . Place the ziggurat over the end of the shoelace and sew down.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Intermediate

This is a very easy quiet book page to sew, except for sewing the rivers. You might find this part easier if you do it by hand.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 12 - This page tells the story of how Abraham obeyed God and moved his family to Canaan
• Threading - thread the shoelace through the places mentioned that Abraham stopped at on his way
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Genesis 12

Devotional

Abraham had already moved from Ur to Haran when God called him to move again. Moving can be a hard thing, particularly when leaving family - although sometimes it is the reason for the move! Perhaps it was one reason that God wanted Abraham to move, although maybe not. Whilst it is recorded in non-Biblical sources that Abraham's father was an idol worshiper and even owned an idol shop, it does seem that God waited until his death before instructing Abraham to leave.

It is also difficult to trust God and take those first steps when you can't see the end of the road. But God asked Abraham to go to a place that He would show him. Abraham didn't know where the road ended. But He decided to trust God anyway.

It ended up being a bit like a wander in the wilderness for him, and although he eventually ended up living in the promised land, the only piece of it he owned was a burial plot. I assume he could not build a house on land that did not belong to him, and that he continued to live in a tent for the rest of his long life.

There is a lot of pressure on people these days to buy their own home and people who are not able to often feel unsuccessful and like they lack something to show for their efforts. Circumstances are far from perfect and though someone works hard, often things don't work out how we plan. God wants us to remember that this earth is not our home - we are wanderers here. And if we live in a tent for the rest of our lives here that is quite OK. One day we will possess a 'mansion'.

Abraham's Exciting Journey - Song for the Kids

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How To Ring Bind Felt Quiet Books - Free A4 Buttonhole Guide

One of the reasons I chose to use felt pages my quiet books was because they are so simple to sew together.

I sew my Bible Quiet Book Project pages back to back and insert a ribbon tag to use to thread rings through. This allows me to completely disassemble my pages if anything requires fixing.

When I am making a book for someone else however, I usually use buttonholes instead. Threading the rings through buttonholes seems to keep the book more sturdy and keeps the pages lined up better. The rings pictured below are 50mm Album Rings from Daiso. You can get smaller rings, sometimes called split rings or hinged rings from places like Spotlight in the scrapbooking section, and sometimes in office supply stores.

In case you would like to follow the buttonhole binding method, I have uploaded a free A4 Buttonhole Guide to make lining up your buttonhole quick and easy. You will need to print it out and copy the hole spaces onto card stock and cut them out. Use this as a template to mark where you want your buttonholes to go. I did mine in pen, but it is best to use chalk or fade-able pen so there is no chance you will see the marks later.

My sewing machine has a one-step buttonhole setting, and I used a female Kam Snap as the button at the back of the buttonhole foot to get the correct sized buttonhole for this guide.

Thanks to my friend who allowed me to use her Betty Lukens felt activity book kit as an experiment! Have a good look at the next lot of page spreads to see if you notice what my experiment was:

You may have to click on the photos to make them big enough to notice. Post your guesses in the comments below! 

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The quiet book owner having a Michelangelo moment with St Peter

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How do you prefer to bind your quiet books?

Isaiah 25 - God Will Wipe Away Our Tears Quiet Book Page

Isaiah 25 looks forward to the time when the troubles of this world are over and God will take the time to comfort us and wipe away all our tears.

Memory Verse: “He will swallow up death forever,

And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;

The rebuke of His people

He will take away from all the earth;

For the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 25:8.

Materials needed to create the God Will Wipe Away Our Tears quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet. I used maroon.
• white handkerchief
• patterned felt and plain felt in a similar colour
• wide translucent ribbon
• matching thread colours
• God Will Wipe Away Our Tears template

Start by using your template to cut out a piece of the patterned felt including the hole at the top. Pin this to the similar coloured felt and stitch it down around the outside and the hole. Cut it out including the hole.

Cut two lengeths of ribbon to reach across and past both edges the longest section of the tissue box. Melt the ends of the ribbon with a match to prevent fraying.

Pin the ribbon in position on top of the tissue box and sew them down. Fold the longer ends of the ribbon underneath the tissue box before pinning it to the background page and sewing it down around the outside edge only. Leave the hole open to allow you to fold and place the handkerchief inside.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Easy.

This is a very basic page.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Isaiah 25 - God cares about the tears we cry
• Imaginative Play - pulling tissues out of a box is a pretty exciting thing to do for a toddler -then you can wipe everyone's tears with it too
• Pulling - pull the tissue out of the box
• Folding - older children can learn to fold the handkerchief so it fits nicely back into the tissue box
• Tucking - tuck the folded handkerchief back into the tissue box
• Touch and Feel - if you use a handkerchief edged with lace, it will provide sensory stimulation through varied textures
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Isaiah 25

Devotional

Wiping someone else's tears is rather personal. Our God loves to have a personal relationship with each of us. He often makes me laugh. He gets my sense of humour and He knows which verse to show me when I am feeling down in the dumps.

Sometimes you can't tell a soul in the world what you are going through or what is gnawing away at your peace of mind. But you can trust these secrets to the One who gave you life. 

There is a saying "If you love something, set it free; if it comes back to you it is yours". He cared enough to create you, He cared enough to give you freedom, He cared enough to come rescue you. It's up to you if you want to return to Him and allow Him to wipe your tears and restore your status.

God Shall Wipe All Tears Away

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Is there anyone who wipes your tears? Let them know they are appreciated.

Makeup Palette Felt Board Play Set

Hanging Tahlia's felt board on her bedroom wall was a big achievement! After we set it up with a calendar ready for starting school, she decided to use the free space to pretend to do her makeup for school in the morning - just like Mummy does for work.


Which inspired me to make her this...

... her very own makeup palette!

You can make your own with our free template available here.

I used craft glue to attach the felt to the background, and hot glue to attach the plastic pocket. You don't have to attach them at all if you don't want to - aside from the plastic pocket of course. 

Tahlia really enjoyed adding the glitter glue to the top of the oval eye shadows. I won't pretend I didn't enjoy it either. It really makes the item, really topped it off.

This activity provides a great opportunity to learn shapes and colours. And I suppose if you don't attach the items, you could use it to learn spatial awareness too.

I refuse to spell colour the American way... the English way is correct in Australia, and so much more rich and colourful - pun intended!

It does fall off the felt board easily when played with, which is disappointing. It is just too heavy. It will stay up for days when not being played with though. If you have one of those A-frame or slanted felt boards, it would work wonderfully I'm sure. Here is our tutorial on How to Make a Felt Board.

I will probably convert the makeup palette into a quiet book page once it gets neglected like most toys do eventually. Hopefully that will spark another bout of imaginative play, and I'll get twice the value out of my efforts.

See also:

Menorah felt board play set for Hanukkah

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Which colours would you need to include if you made a make-up palette?

Psalm 46 - Be Still and Know that I Am God Tea Set Quiet Book Page

Psalm 46 tells us to "be still and know that I am God".

Memory Verse: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10.

Materials needed to create a Be Still and Know that I Am God Tea Set quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet. I used mid blue.
• about 4 sheets of brown felt
• thin brown and cream ribbons
• clear vinyl/plastic scraps
• small button - I used one with a shank (loop at the back)
• printed herb material
• wadding / batting scraps - ask your quilting friends
• white felt
• stiffened white felt (for the teapot and tea cup handles)
• light blue felt scraps
• light blue ribbon to match the light blue felt (optional but easier)
• light blue embroidered flowers etc to decorate
• sewing thread to match/contrast
• hot glue gun and glue
• printer to print the templates and the words "tea chest" in a nice font to use as a template - I used Cooper Black in size 120.
• I used the following colouring sheets as templates for the teapot and teacup - they may need shrinking to a size you are happy with. I think I printed the teacup to fit about four on an A4 page.
• a cup or glass to use as a tea bag and teapot cutout template. Check that it fits inside the teapot and tea chest pocket when you print it out.
• my free tea chest template (minus lettering)

Tea Chest: First cut out some lettering that will fit on your front tea chest pocket. Sew it onto the front single layered pocket piece. Next, cut out the base of the tea chest and sew it down onto the same coloured felt to double and strengthen it. Do the same with both pocket pieces. Cut them all out and sew the doubled pocket pieces in position on the base.

Cut out the lid from your vinyl and edge it with the brown ribbon. Start a little off the midpoint of the bottom edge and end back at the midpoint, overlapping your starting point. Form a loop at the end by folding the ribbon back under itself before finishing. Stop sewing before you get to the end of the ribbon to leave a loop of ribbon. You will use this ribbon loop to hook over the button and close the lid. Re-enforce the stitching here several times as mine is already starting to pull off.

To enable easier movement of the vinyl through your sewing machine, you can do several things. I wedged a piece of paper between the sections of my sewing machine so it would slide properly and not stick to the plastic on my machine. You can use scotch / frosted sticky tape on the bottom of your sewing machine foot for the same reason, but I found I didn't need to as I was sewing on top of the ribbon.

If you want to store your tea pot in the tea chest like I did here, you may need to make some hinges. This allows for a gap at the top which you may need if your teapot is too tall like mine was. I have made two versions of this tea set - one for the Quiet Book Bible Project, and one for my niece. Since I want everything to fit on one page for the Bible Quiet Book Project, I needed to store the teapot and cup in the tea chest - one of the reasons there is only one cup featured here. (Also, the Bible verse is rather conducive to one cup - it can be hard to be still at a tea party)! The version I made for my niece didn't require everything to fit on one page so she has a double page spread. My sister made her a storage pocket to keep her teapot and cups in.

Create two ribbon hinges for the lid by cutting two small strips about 8cm long and melting the edges with a match to prevent fraying. Fold them in half and sew them to the top of your lid. I put my machine on zig zag stitch with a stitch length of zero to go backwards and forwards over the same spot. I did this twice in an 'x' shape on the top of the folded ribbon hinges.

I used a ruler to make sure the angle was 45 degrees.

Pin the other end of the ribbon hinges underneath the top edge of the base and sew the base down around all sides except the right or left slanted side. That will create a secret pocket to store extra tea bags in if needed.

If you are not using hinges, sew the base down to the page leaving the same gap on one of the slanted sides to form a secret pocket. Then sew down the lid on top of the base along the top edge only.

You should be able to fold this little corner back so you can sew the tea chest
onto the page without sewing over the top of the upper pocket.

Sew your button to the middle of the front pocket that says "tea chest" and use the ribbon loop to close the lid.

Tea Bags: Use your cup or glass to mark circles over the printed herbs on your material. Cut them out in a square shape leaving plenty of room around your circles.  Then cut another square the same size from each of the herbs as well.

Sandwich a piece of wadding or batting between the two squares of material, right sides facing out. One of the squares should have a circle traced around one of the herbs. The other side should be the same herb but without a circle traced around it.

Cut as many 20cm lengths of ribbon as tea bags you are making. I made twenty tea bags because that is how many different printed herbs there were on my material. Melt the ends using a match to prevent fraying.

Pin the sandwiched tea bags together around the circle. Slip both ends of a length of ribbon between the wadding and the side with the circle traced on it and pin it in place. This will form a ribbon loop for your tea bag. Set your sewing machine to zig zag and a stitch width of just under 1 (like you would when sewing a buttonhole). Sew around the circle shape. Cut out your tea bags ensuring you do not cut off the ribbon loop whilst doing it.

Tea Pot: Cut out your teapot template from the colouring page. You will need to print it out several times and cut out the teapot handle with extensions at the ends to allow it to be sewn in place between two layers of felt. Also, cut the teapot bodies a slightly smaller width and slightly taller at the top to allow it to fit underneath the lid so it can close properly.

Cut your handle from white stiffened felt. Cut two teapot bodies and two teapot lids from white felt. If your child is right handed, draw around the cup or glass on the inside of the front teapot body. Cut out the hole. Lay a piece of clear vinyl over the space and sew around the circle to form a window into the teapot. That way you can see which type of tea you are pouring each time. Trim the excess.

There are tips for sewing with vinyl listed above in the tea chest section.

I purposely used a thread in the contrast colour so I would not have to keep swapping colours on my machine so frequently.

Cut out your strips of ribbon and contrast felt sections (the knob at the top of the tea pot and the edges of the teapot and tea cups). If you are using felt you will have to print out a couple of copies of the templates and eyeball some of those sections from that. If using ribbon (recommended to reduce the thickness when sewing it together), melt the ends with a match to prevent fraying. Sew all sections in place. If using ribbon, only sew along the bottom edge of the ribbon at the edge of the teapot body where you will be joining on the lid. This will enable you to fold back the ribbon and allow you to put a split pin through without damaging the ribbon.

Pin the teapot bodies together and sandwich the handle in between the two layers. I chose not to sew the spout closed. Pin the lid together too. Sew both together. You may need to use the hand knob on your machine to get through the thickness of the stiffened felt when sewing through the handle.

Use a darning needle to make holes for the split pins and insert them. I used one on each side.

Hot glue your embroidered flower embellishments in place.

Tea Cup/s: Cut your template from the colouring page in a similar manner to the teapot. Cut your handle/s from white stiffened felt.

Cut out your strips of ribbon or contrast felt sections. If using ribbon (recommended to reduce the thickness when sewing it together), melt the ends with a match to prevent fraying.  Sew in place.

Pin the tea cup/s together and sandwich the handle/s in between the two layers. If you are only making one tea cup, remember to put the handle on the opposite side to the teapot so you can hold one in each hand and still see the pretty decorations. I put both mine on the same side and had to undo it later and swap the handle to the other side on my tea cup to please Tahlia. She wasn't happy she couldn't see the decorations on the tea cup while pouring her cup of tea. I did four tea cups for my niece, so I did two of each side for her.

Sew the tea cup together. You may need to use the hand knob on your machine to get through the thickness of the stiffened felt when sewing through the handle.

Hot glue your embroidered flower embellishments in place.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Difficult.

I have suggested a few changes to make it a little easier. I wish I had thought of them earlier!

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Psalm 46 - Learn to be still and trust God to help us through our problems
• Imaginative Play - Practice relaxing, "let go and let God" while talking things over with Him over a cup of tea
• Herbal Medicine - Get informed about what each herb looks like, which parts to use, and what properties they have
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Psalm 46

Devotional

Though the tempest rages around us, we can sit and confidently enjoy a cup of tea knowing that God is in control. We may be overwhelmed by the things we experience, but to God all our trials are like a storm in a tea cup. He can sort our problems and give us calm in the midst of the storm. Take a moment today to talk over your problems with Him over a cuppa. It will be time well spent.

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Do you find yourself praying while you sip on a cuppa?