Felt is Felt?! Take another look!

We here at New Image, and especially CPE, often hear this dreaded phrase from family and friends when we start getting passionate about what we do: "What is the big deal?  Felt is felt!"  Well, you couldn't be more wrong my friends.  We have a wide range of different styles of felt that are appropriate for different projects.  For some inspiration, check out our project pages to see all the different ways to use it.  Here is a quick cheat sheet for your crafting needs:

Soft Felt

• These are the typical felt sheets you see in craft stores.  They are great for all general purpose needs.  You can buy them in 9 x 12 Sheets, 36 x 36 Craft Packs, or by the yard.
• Our Classic Soft Felt is also sold by the yard in 72" width and is perfect for costumes, banners, drapery lining and general crafts.  We achieve our soft hand by using a fine fiber and needling over 3000 punches per square inch.  You have to feel the difference!
• Our Quick Stick felt is soft felt with adhesive backing.  It is great for creating your own stickers to embellish your projects, scrapbook pages, or add a little extra touch to your accessories.

EZ Felt

• Our EZ Felt is made up of Soft Felt that has been stiffened.  It allows you to add some structure to your felt projects by being a bit more durable than standard craft felt.  Available in 12 x 18 sheets.
• Our EZ Felt also works with a variety of personal cutting machines.  You can create your own beautiful shapes for your crafting needs!
• Stick-It Felt is our EZ Felt line with an adhesive backing.  These are available in 9 x 12 Sheets and the majority of our Felt Stickers are made up of Stick-It Felt.

Premium Soft Felt

• This style of felt works better for the majority of your sewing projects, as it is designed to withstand wear and tear. Premium Soft Felt also has a great anti-pill quality so the fabric will remain as lovely as the day you brought it home. Available by the yard. It is machine washable and again the use of our fine fiber gives a great soft hand to the felt.
• We recommend projects such as making purses, mantle covers, play mats, and other decor out of premium felt.

I had a blast making this hopscotch mat with most of the different felt varieties. Now that you know there is so much more to Felt, what will you make today?

Easy No Sew Felt Projects!

Often times with fabric crafts, you are limited to options if you have access to a sewing machine.  Well, here at The New Image Group, we heard your cries loud and clear and have offered up some great fashion pieces out of our new printed felt designs that don't need your typical needle and thread.

For those of us that don't need to carry a lot with us while running errands or want your children to have a place to store valuables while at school or out and about, there is the easy to make no sew felt wallet.  It can hold three cards or two cards with a space for some money. 

For the fashionista in all of us, we also have a no sew felt clutch.  It is inexpensive to make and you can easily change the design up for each season.  They also make great gifts for birthdays, etc.  I am making a bunch for my bridesmaids that coordinate with my wedding colors.

Show us your crafts in action but uploading them to our flickr inspiration page.  Maybe you can inspire your fellow crafter into a great new project idea!

Natural Wood Ideas

Lara's Crafts Unfinished Wood Pieces provide great building blocks for some really interesting and innovative projects.

I really have just started crafting with the various pieces and parts of the Lara's line (I have always felt a bit more comfortable with fabric) but I have fallen in love with the ability to really customize wood pieces and turn them into something truly inspired.

My favorite project I recently completed is the collection of "Learn Your Colors" Wall Art. I used some 5 1/2" Wood Rectangles, 1 1/2" Wood Discs, and our Wood and Felt pieces to bring my idea to life.What is your favorite project? Post it to our flickr page!

Wood & Felt Shapes Fun!

I love how cute the Lara's Crafts Wood and Felt Shapes are and I find fun and interesting ways to use them.  Well, it appears that I am not the only one.

A friend of mine referred me over to Simple.Messy.Fun where they showed a great and fun game to play incorporating our Monkey Wood and Felt Shapes.

The blogger uses them as a fun counting game while singing "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed."  The best part- she used a small magnet on the back of them and keeps them on the fridge for storage and cute magnets when not in use!

What other ideas can you think of?

Via Simple.Messy.Fun

Fun Back to School Projects

With the school year back in session and the fun of summer activities over, why not stretch that family time into some great back to school projects?

My personal favorite was making these pencil toppers this past weekend at a birthday party. The kids had a great time making either a flower, bee, alien, or just painting some good ol' wood beads. And, the best part of all, I got to keep the title of being the greatest Aunt ever to the parents and the kids!

Another easy one to make with the kids is this no sew felt pencil pouch. With just a little bit of glue, you are on your way to having the coolest back to school accessory on the block. I love how you can customize it with any of our Stick-It felt shapes.

A great gift I made this year for my niece's first day of school was this Back to School Frame that looks like a school bus. It is simple to make and is a great way to show off that big milestone for all grades to come.

Lastly, a great project that will help reinforce what your young ones are learning at school and at home are these adorable Learn Your Colors Wall Art made from our Lara's line of products. You get to show off your creativity and aid your children's advancement all that the same time. Plus, they also make great bright additions to the bedroom or the classroom.

I hope these offer some fun moments with you and your loved ones this season and make sure to check back often for more great project ideas!

Fun Suncatcher Ideas!

Just because they are called suncatchers doesn't mean they are stuck in the window! There are plenty of fun things to do with them once they are painted.

Here are some of our favorites:

1) Gift Tags

This a quick and easy way to add an extra touch to any present. We just added ours onto the ribbon and made an extra pop for our loved ones. This is a great idea for children to add their own handiwork on gift giving!

2) Zipper Pulls

With the snap of a lanyard hook, you can jazz up anything with a zipper. It is a fun way to rotate out the seasons on your child's backpack or to show off their favorite things. My nephew loves Monster Trucks and shows off his to all of his friends.

3) Ornaments

With just a bit of ribbon, you can easily transform your space into one of bright and awe-inspiring color. They look great on Christmas trees as the lights help add a little extra twinkle to your suncatcher ornaments.