Today I’m sharing a fun Spring/Easter project that’s a bit of a departure from my usual crafty endeavors. I had the chance to play with dies from the Spellbinders Spring Felt Stitch & Create Collection by Nichol Spohr, and ended up creating a sweet set of felt ornaments to use as Easter decor.
Now, I’ve worked with stitching dies before—but typically, I use them with paper to add a stitched touch to my cards. This time, I decided to go all in and use them with actual felt, as they were intended. And while I did regret that decision once or twice along the way, I’m ultimately really happy with how everything turned out!
Most of the frustration came down to time. I’d assumed these would go quickly—after all, I’ve made stitched card elements before. But felt is a different beast. It doesn’t really take that long to make one ornament… my struggles mostly stemmed from being a bit of a newbie to this medium.
For instance, I didn’t initially think through the order of stitching for the layered pieces. I’d start stitching a cute little detail, only to realize I should have attached something underneath it first. And of course, when I tried to undo the stitches? I tore the felt. Several times. Back to square one!
My first ornament was the chick, made using the Spellbinders Felt Cozy Cluck Etched Dies. And I went for muted, not-too-bright tones to give it a slightly rustic feel. When it came to filling the ornament, I had a bit of a “craft stash win” moment. Years ago, I bought a pack of fake snow—those tiny styrofoam balls—for a project that never happened. I tried to repurpose it for various holiday crafts over the years (all flops), but I never threw it out. Decluttering experts might say that if you haven’t used something in a year, you never will. Well… they were wrong! That little bag of fake snow finally found its purpose—as perfect lightweight filling for my stitched ornaments.
As I assembled the chick, I avoided stitching in areas that would later need to be attached to the torso—like the tail, crest, and large wing section—to keep those joints from getting too bulky. I attached the beak and eyes with Ranger Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue, keeping it simple and clean.
Next up was the bunny… and let’s just say the one in the photo is version three. First try? Messed up the head stitching order. Second try? Color scheme didn’t match the chick (white bunny, pink heart—adorable, but didn’t work). Third time’s the charm! I used colors that complemented the chick, and finally got everything to come together.
Almost forget to mention, the Spellbinders Felt Carrot Companion Etched Dies were using to create this guy.
The carrots were the easiest part, no drama there. I just made sure to pick a toned-down orange that felt cohesive with the rustic palette of the other ornaments.
In the end, despite a few hiccups, this project was super rewarding and definitely a new creative adventure for me. If you’ve been thinking about trying felt stitching, I say give it a shot—just budget a little extra time and keep your glue and patience close by!
 Spellbinders Felt Carrot Companion Etched Dies Click A Shop: SB |
 Spellbinders Felt Cozy Cluck Etched Dies Click A Shop: SB |
 Ranger Mini Multi Medium Matte Glue Click A Shop: SSS | AZ | SC |
 Spellbinders Platinum 6 Die Cutting And Embossing Machine Click A Shop: SC | SB |
Linda BL
Your ornaments are wonderful. I love the way you displayed them. They take center stage and you didn’t have to do a ton of them to make an impact. I made two gingerbread men felt ornaments at Christmas— I had trouble getting the felt to die cut even though they were shown on the website as being used for felt. The felt tore— I ended up with two useable ornaments, but they were not perfect. The gift ornaments I had planned to make were made with cardstock!
Svitlana Shayevich
Linda, I feel you! One essential thing that I used for die-cutting was a shim. I used a metal one, but probably several sheets of printer paper will work as well. Also I run it through die-cutting machine twice, which also made a difference. One last thing, my felt is rather a cheapo quality. I stocked up on it many years ago and refuse to invest into a better one since I have a lot of it. It’s maybe ok for some kids crafts (which I believe it was originally intended), but a bit challenging to use for die-cutting. So I had to make it work. If I didn’t have it and was deciding on buying one to use with dies I would probably considered getting it from cardmaking companies that offer stitching dies and felt to use with them.
Tara C Prince
so sweet!!