Small Good Things

Craft Tutorial; Plastic Animal Pin Cushion

Hello there! As you can see in the photo above, today’s tutorial is something that’s going to make you smile – llama and pin cushion, what’s there not to smile about :) Of course, it doesn’t have to be llama; any plastic animals that are stashed in your drawers or kids’ toy box, now is the time for them to be in the limelight!

* As I am writing this, I found out that my dear llama is actually an alpaca…! Poor alpaca, he is not supposed to work like llamas, no? Too late now!

What you’ll need:

plastic animal of your choice (mine is made by Schleich)
felt
pom pom trims and jacquard trim
double-sided tapes
felt ball, about 5 cm in diameter
hot glue gun

Instructions:

1) Cut out a piece of felt into an oval shape, apply double-sided tapes on pom pom trims and jacquard trim, then attach them to the felt. I also added a black and gold trim around the edge of the felt.

For the pin cushion, I’m using a needle & wet felted ball (wool felt will keep needles rust free), but you can use any type of pin cushion as long as it’s small enough for your plastic pal.

2) Apply double-sided tape on the wrong side of the felt, and attach it on the back of ~~llama~~ alpaca. You can use hot glue gun to attach the felt to the body as well, but I chose double-sided tape so that I’ll be able to take it off (one day I might want to free him from the labour, you know?).

3) Place a small amount of glue with hot glue gun on the middle of the trim (I put a bit too much there).

4) Place the felt ball, and voila, you’re done! Don’t you think he’s got a cute bum, by the way?

Oh, sweet ~~llama~~ alpaca, my craft space is going to look so much more cheerful now!

From this…

to this. Pretty awesome, right?

I’m in the middle of re-organising my craft space, and hopefully I can reveal it sometime next week (there were lots of failed painting attempts and crafty crisis…), and more plastic animals coming along the way, if you like it or not!

I’m linking this post on Today’s Creative Blog, Home Stories A 2 Z, Katie’s Nesting Spot, Sassy Sites!, The Shabby Nest and Flamingo Toes; make sure you check them!

Crafts Needle/Wet Felting34 CommentsMar 21 2012

34 Commnents to “Craft Tutorial; Plastic Animal Pin Cushion”

Thanks Jessicaj :)
April 14th, 2013 | emi
oh my yes! ball fringe is ridiculous and if i had ever seen a small plastic alpaca i would have def scooped it up! this is fantastic!
April 9th, 2013 | jessicaj
Thanks Marlene :)
April 6th, 2013 | emi
This llama pincushion is the cutest! Lovely photos too. I’ve just featured this project in a roundup post on my blog: http://jadeandfern.com/2013/04/05/friday-finds-not-so-hidden-inner-child/
April 5th, 2013 | Marlene @ Jade and Fern
South American beast of burden! Well said, twirling betty :) One of my resolutions for this year is to do some proper exercise so that I’ll have better bum than my alpaca!
January 9th, 2013 | emi
This is one of the cutest and funniest things I’ve ever seen. LOVE IT. And yes, I do think your llama/alpaca/South American beast of burden has a cute bum.
January 9th, 2013 | twirling betty
Yay!! Thank you Terry, hope you enjoy making them :)
January 3rd, 2013 | emi
How cute is this? Love it! Yes, I will be making a couple of these.
Thanks for sharing.
January 3rd, 2013 | Terry
Thanks, Sandie! Hope you & your kiddlets enjoy making one :)
October 2nd, 2012 | emi
oh man.. I was searching tiny craft spaces and this image of your alpaca came up.. GORGEOUS!! I really want to teach my kiddlets to do this.. I especially like that the alpaca remains unstabbed by pins – as I have always found that a faintly disturbing tendency in pincushions:) magic
October 1st, 2012 | sandie
Thanks, Jill! I just went to see your blog, and wow, your pincushions are so beautiful!!! Real work of an artist!!!
September 24th, 2012 | emi
Oh my! This makes me so happy. I make a lot of pincushions but none have as cute a bum as this one does! Love it!
September 23rd, 2012 | Jill OLeary
Oh Mimi, lucky you have real alpaca! I’m really jealous!!! Thanks for stopping by :)
July 22nd, 2012 | emi
This is so cute the only probulm is that i have real alpaca and i dont thank they will let me use them for a pin cushion so i will have to find a plsy one to use but i do love it
July 22nd, 2012 | mimi
Thanks Tara, and yap, it really cheers me up to see the alpaca on my craft desk :)
May 16th, 2012 | emi
Love this! It’s the most fun pin cushion I’ve ever seen.
May 16th, 2012 | Tara
Thanks Alice! The beaded pins are dressmakers pins with beads threaded and glued. They are super easy to make :)
May 9th, 2012 | emi
love this! are the beaded pins just long headpins with beads glued to the top? very pretty!
May 9th, 2012 | alice
Thank you Melina :)
May 1st, 2012 | emi
Wow! So cute I love this and think they’d make great gifts for crafty pals
May 1st, 2012 | Melina
Hope you’ll have fun making it :) Thanks for stopping by, Audrey!
April 15th, 2012 | emi
Such a cute little project! So fun, I love it :) Just discovered your blog, I’ll be coming back for sure ;)
April 14th, 2012 | Audrey - This Little Street
Hello Susan, unfortunately it’s an alpaca, not a camel – but he is a cutie whichever way, no? And yes, I myself should’ve started learning how to sew much earlier!
April 6th, 2012 | emi
A camel, what a cutie. Now to find a camel a cute as yours. A 4 yr. old sewing , great I love to hear that. I never did till late 40′s (im 72). You are a talent of original design. Thanks

HAPPY EASTER to you & family.
April 6th, 2012 | Susan M Jensen
Oh Jenny, a frog with a hat sounds so cute! Also, it’s so cool that your 4-year-old is learning to sew already!! Thanks for stopping by :)
April 5th, 2012 | emi
This is not my usual style, but it’s just SO cute! My four-year-old is learning to sew, and I’m thinking of making us a pair of these. Maybe a frog with a hat (she loves green). Thanks for the inspiration. Just looking at all your colorful projects brightens my day :-)
April 5th, 2012 | Jenny
Thank you Katy! I’m so happy to hear that my alpaca made you smile :)
April 3rd, 2012 | emi
This is one of the cutest and most original ideas I’ve seen in a while! Thanks for the inspiration and the smile :)
April 3rd, 2012 | Katy
Thanks Claudia :D
March 29th, 2012 | emi
Looks great!
Fantastic idea!!!!
March 29th, 2012 | claudia
Thank you Nina :) Hooray for alpaca!
March 24th, 2012 | emi
this is amazing. the cutest thing ever!
March 24th, 2012 | nina
I know, they have more potential than we thought, don’t they? Thanks for stopping by!
March 23rd, 2012 | emi
who thought that you can actually turn plastic animals into something pretty? :)
March 23rd, 2012 | Maša