Sometimes, you just have to do something that makes you smile. And that’s what I’ve been doing for the past week; in between reading library books while heaped in our “nest” on the floor beside a sunny window and wiping a rainbow of tiny finger paint prints off the cabinets and simultaneously wishing they would hurry up and grow OUT of this phase and desperately hoping they never ever get any bigger, I’ve been working on something just because.
Strawberries never fail to make me smile. So much sunny summer goodness in a plump little package. And who could resist chunky beaded strawberries with sweet felt leaves? Not my little girl, that’s for sure! They look so cute cradled in her little hands.
Or spilling out of a basket!
Here’s a mini tutorial so you can make your own little smile makers.
First, gather your materials. I used two different sizes of wooden eggs (found at Hobby Lobby), seed beads (red with a sprinkling of gold for one version, a mix of reds, pinks, and whites/clears for another), two different colors of green felt, and Mod Podge. You’ll also need a small paint brush and some toothpicks. Oh, and a hot glue gun.
Place your beads in a small bowl. Working over the bowl, choose a wooden egg and coat a small section of it with Mod Podge using your paint brush. Then, sprinkle beads onto the Mod Podge until the section is covered. This is where your toothpicks come in handy- use them to move the beads around and fill in any gaps. Alternate applying Mod Podge and beads until the whole egg is covered, then set aside to dry. After the beads have set, go back and coat the entire berry with another coating of Mod Podge.
When your strawberries are dry, the beads should be firmly in place. Now they need some leaves! Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut leaves from your felt. I played around until I found the size I wanted (they ended up being about 3/4 the length of my eggs) and used 6-7 leaves on each egg.
Using your hot glue gun, glue the ends of your leaves on top of your strawberries. Each leaf should slightly overlap the one before it until you have made your way around the berry (see photos below). At this point your strawberries will look more like helicopters or pineapples…remedy this by carefully gluing each leaf to the side of the strawberry so they lay relatively flat.
And now you are done! There is no need for a stem because the ends of the leaves poke up from the middle since they are overlapped.
*Note- If you have itty bitties that are still mouthing, keep these out of their little hands for right now, but by all means, go ahead and make some for yourself!
These are so pretty! I especially love the two different bead color mixtures.
So pretty! I love that you made them “just because,” but I could think of a million things to do with them. I’m sure you can, too. I haven’t attempted to use Mod Podge for anything yet, but you are inspiring me, as usual!
I adore these, Stephanie!! I am going to pin this tutorial so I can make them for my preschool class’ home center. These will be perfect for pretend play (among many other activities)! I love the different colors you used for the beads.
Beautiful! I love how creative you are in your craftiness and play!
These are so beautiful! You are so talented:-)
What a creative idea, Stephanie! They’re so adorable!
Our play kitchen is complete with fabric and knitted berries, but I never thought to use the wooden eggs like this. Beautiful berries!
These are sooo cute! They’d make a sweet little gift too.