We’re super excited to kick off a new DIY feature here on Hellobee. Our first project comes to us from the talented Dina from Honey +Fitz!

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I’m SO EXCITED to be guest blogging here on Hellobee! Today I’m sharing what I hope is the first of many DIY baby and toddler related projects. I’ve never met a craft I didn’t love, and I’ve tried my hand at everything from curtain sewing to furniture refinishing, sharing all my adventures along the way on my blog.

My latest craft is geared at keeping the little hands in our lives busy! Inspired by those plastic magnetic alphabets we all grew up with, I decided to see if I could make something softer and bigger (eg a non-choking hazard) for my little guy to play with.

Here are the supplies you need for this fun craft:

I purchased an assortment of 25 felt sheets from Colonial Crafts for this project. A small bag of poly-fill will be used to plump up each letter and give them a nice 3-D effect. You’ll also need some needles, an assortment of embroidery floss, the alphabet template for cutting out your letters, and of course some scissors! If you want to make your letters magnetic as I have, you’ll also want a few packages of 3/8″ magnetic disks.

You can download the template I created of all the letters for this project here. Print them onto cardstock and cut out each letter. Lay out each letter onto a piece of felt and trace it twice so you have a front and back to each letter.

Then cut each letter out.

Keep going… and going, until you have your entire alphabet cut out.

If you want to make your letters magnetic as I did, now is the time to hot glue your magnets into place. Make sure you test the magnets to determine which side is actually magnetic and glue that side down. Otherwise none of your letters will stick to your magnetic surface!

I recommend a minimum of 5 magnets per letter, but lay them out before you glue. Depending on the size and the number of “legs” to each letter, you might end up using less or more. Five magnets was plenty for the X, but the W needed 6, for example.

Once you have all your magnets in place, thread up your needle with some embroidery floss. I like the look of a contrasting colored floss to whatever color felt you’re working with. I used a blanket stitch to connect the the two sides of my letters. Even if you’ve never embroidered anything in your life, I PROMISE you can do a blanket stitch. Watch this video and you’ll be on your way.

Add in some poly-fill as you work. It’s helpful to have a chopstick or something long and thin on hand to work the filler into the corners as you sew.

Keep working away and soon you’ll have a whole alphabet for your little one to play with!

Is it weird that I have a favorite letter? I love the S!!!

Don’t feel like tackling a whole alphabet? This could be a really cute nursery or kid’s room decor project. Frame up their name in a shadow box, or increase the size of the letters and create a cute 3-D art installation above their bed/crib. And because they’re soft, you don’t have to worry about them falling off the wall. I’m always paranoid about that!