Catching the Summer Waves: DIY 3D Felt Décor & Surfboard Keychain with Spellbinders!

On By islandyu

Hello, crafty friends! Today, I am incredibly excited to step away from my usual paper crafting and share something beautifully unique and cozy with you. If you’ve been looking for a fresh, creative way to welcome the warm season, you are going to love this! Spellbinders has released a gorgeous new collection for June: the 3D Felt Décor Summer I Want It All! Bundle by Sandi MacIver. While the collection features fantastic elements meant to dress up the adorable gnome’s basic coat, I felt it might look a bit too warm for a scorching summer, so I decided to skip that part. Instead, I focused on creating stunning, independent summer accents that instantly bring a breezy, tropical vibe to my space.

The star of my summer makeover is this beautiful, oversized palm tree. It is quite large, which makes it a bit too bold for a standard card, but it is absolute perfection as a home décor piece! I used the Palm Tree Etched Dies by Sandi MacIver.

Here is how I brought it to life:

  1. Die-cutting & Layout: I began by die-cutting the tree trunk from rich brown felt and the lush fronds from vibrant green felt.

  2. Stitching & Stuffing: To give the palm tree a beautiful, realistic depth, I carefully hand-stitched around the edges. Before sealing each section, I added a touch of soft fiberfill stuffing inside to create a lovely, dimensional 3D effect.

  3. The Perfect Finish: Instead of using felt for the coconuts—which I worried might look a bit too bulky or lose their shape—I opted for vintage-style wooden buttons. This little switch added a charming, rustic touch to the top of the trunk!

[HOW-TO: The Beachy Surfboard Keychain] Next, I wanted to create a fun, wearable accessory that I could take with me on summer outings, so I made a beach-themed surfboard keychain using the Surfboard Etched Dies by Sandi MacIver.

Here is the step-by-step process:

  1. The Base: I die-cut the main surfboard piece using a gorgeous ocean blue felt and a warm sand-colored felt to mimic a sunny day at the beach.

  2. Adding the Summer Details: Before stitching the layers together, I decorated the board using the incredibly detailed Summer Embellishments Etched Dies by Sandi MacIver. I cut out a radiant yellow sun, a tiny pair of pink flip-flops, and delicate little seashells and starfishes, placing them carefully onto the surfboard base.

  3. Assembly & Hardware: Once all the cute embellishments were securely in place, I added a chic blue ribbon loop at the top, threaded a silver key ring through it, and hand-stitched around the entire surfboard edge, securing the ribbon tightly in place.

It turned out so adorable, and it looks absolutely perfect dangling from my favorite woven straw summer tote bag!

Experimenting with felt has been such a refreshing change of pace from paper play, and Sandi MacIver’s new dies make working with fabric an absolute breeze. I hope this inspires you to try something new and bring a bit of handmade tropical sunshine into your home this month! Until next time, happy crafting!

Heejung

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