Pinterest Inspired Projects Day 3: Chair Envelopes

One of the most delicious joys in life for me is receiving a letter or a parcel in the mail.

And with 

Valentine's Day 

just around the corner,

 I thought it the perfect opportunity to share this joy with my children.

 But instead of letters in the mailbox, they'll be receiving little 

love notes from their Mama

in cute 

felt envelopes

tied to the backs of their chairs at the breakfast table! 

I was smitten with this idea from the moment I spotted it on Pinterest. From the picture I had seen I thought the pin might be for instructions on how to make your own, but it turned out that the one I saw was a store-bought one. It was featured on Blonde Designs Blog where Angie Gubler, a mother of two gorgeous little girls wrote: 

A few years ago, Pottery Barn Kids sold the most darling oversized felt envelopes that are meant to be affixed to a child's chair and filled with goodies on Valentine's Day. It seemed a waste to let the envelopes sit with nothing in them until February 14th. Hence, my husband and I decided last year, beginning on February 1st, to write little notes for our girls at night, leaving them in each of their envelopes. 

Isn't that just the sweetest idea?? 

Anyway, you KNOW how I love felt, and this really didn't look too complicated, so here's a special treat for you: I came up with a tutorial for making your own.

CHAIR BACK VALENTINE ENVELOPES!!

NOTE: Please do as I say, and not as I did - I took many of the pictures after the envelopes were nearly finished, so they are just a rough guide!

You will need:

* One piece of white felt (the size will depend on the size of the chair you use. See below.)

* A small scrap of red felt for the heart-shaped 'seal'

* Red embroidery thread

* A small piece of velcro

* Two pieces of red ribbon, each approximately 80cm long.

* A fabric marker

How to:

1. Measure your chair: Using a tape measure, measure the width of the back of the chair that you will be tying the envelope to. I made mine just slightly narrower than this measurement.

2. Now measure the height you want your envelope to be.

3. Draw he pattern: Using these measurements, draw a pattern onto paper. The length of your pattern will be twice the height of the envelope, plus 3/4's of the height (for the flap, which will be just a little shorter than the height of the envelope. I really hope this makes sense to you? Hope the picture helps!) Note: My completed envelope measures 19 x 32 cm, and the flap is 14 cm.

4. Pin your pattern to the white felt and cut the envelope out.

5. Sew on the velcro: Fold your envelope in the correct way and use a fabric marker to mark where your velcro needs to go. Now sew the rough part of the velcro to the inside of the flap, and the softer part to the outside of the envelope.

6. Add the decorative stitching:. Using your fabric marker, draw a faint guide on the bottom part of the envelope and using red embroidery thread, sew the lines as shown. For the lines on the flap, measure in about 1 cm from the edge and draw a faint line with your fabric marker to guide you.

7. Attach the seal: Cut 2 red heart shapes out of red felt.Stitch together using blanket stitch. Sew the heart onto the outside of the flap. (I made a smiley face for ArrowBoy as a more boy-friendly alternative to the heart)

8. Use your fabric marker to mark the place where the ribbons should go. Sew the ribbons in place on the back of the envelope. 

9. Stitch the sides of your envelope using either a straight stitch on your sewing machine, or a running stitch or even blanket stitch if you are choosing to stitch it by hand.

10. I trimmed the side edges of my envelopes with a sharp scissors. (I really, really want a pinking shears for projects like these, but for R442 I can feed my family for three days!!)

Now tie to the chairs and fill with sweet valentines! Voila! What pretty way in which to bless your little ones with affirmative and tender words! 


Linking this to ABC and 123's Show and Tell
and
It's Playtime on The Imagination Tree