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| Farm Travel Flannel |
Flannels are an amazing learning tool, a great way to retell a story, and a wonderful way for children to play and learn. They are also ridiculously easy to make at home so you can have custom stories and play sets.
To begin though, you need to make a flannel board for your stories. This is very easy to do and can be made out of every day items depending on how big you want it to be. The one that I use for storytimes is made out of a large framed canvas covered in purple felt because that is the color I had on hand that was large enough to cover the canvas frame. However, if you will be purchasing felt I would go with a nice bright red, most pieces will stand out very nicely on that color. The base can be a canvas frame, the back of a magnetic whiteboard (this adds a HUGE amount of variety when making or purchasing flannel pieces) cardboard or something smaller like a DVD case. Whatever your decision for a base be sure to really glue the felt to it, I like to use tacky glue and a paintbrush to really be sure its stuck.
Once you have your flannel board you need flannel pieces and there are SO many ways to make flannel pieces. You can use:
1. Felt
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| Felt Transportation Flannel |
It's easy to cut and comes in so many different colors it also naturally sticks to other felt so
there is no need to add anything to the back. You can print out clipart and shapes, use some double sided tape to stick it to the felt, and then cut out your shapes. Once you have your shapes cut out you can use permanent marker, fabric paint, beads, sequins, ribbon, and glitter or anything else you have to decorate your felt pieces. Be sure to make the pieces big enough for your group size. If it is for a group the pieces should be large enough to see from far away but if it is just for one child then the pieces can be smaller.
2. Pellon
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| Pellon with Soft Pencil |
Pellon comes in a few different weights and is also sold with a fusible side. Do NOT buy
the fusible Pellon as it will adhere to whatever it is near if it gets too warm (like left in a car). The lightweight and mediumweight Pellon are the best options as the heavyweight can be too heavy depending on the size of the piece. Pellon is great because you can trace shapes/images and then use soft colored pencils/pastels/markers/paint to color in the pictures. If you use soft colored pencils/pastels/markers be sure to use either clear sealant spray or aerosol hairspray to seal the color onto the Pellon.
3. Craft Foam
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| Craft Foam Dragon Flannel |
Craft foam comes in different shapes and sizes, it can be layered, and some even comes with sticky backing which makes it even easier to layer. Permanent marker is a great way to enhance craft foam designs and just like with the felt; pictures printed, cutout, and double sided taped to the foam makes for a simple template. While craft foam can be dynamic and fun it does not stick to felt on its own so it will need a backing to allow it to stick to the felt. This can be done with a small piece of Velcro, a magnet (if you have a magnet board), or backed with felt or sandpaper. I would not however, use Pellon to back it as the craft foam can be quite heavy especially if you have a few layers.
4. T-shirt Transfer Paper
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| Dark Transfer/Light Transfer |
T-shirt transfer paper is fantastic if you have no time but you want pretty flannel board pieces. T-shirt transfer paper comes in light and dark transfers. The light transfer paper requires the image to be flipped and tends to not be as vibrant as the dark transfer paper since the color is actually transferred to the fabric with the light transfer where as the image is laid on top of the fabric with the dark transfer. - Free clipart and the paint tool on your computer can make some amazing transfers. I transfer them to Pellon being careful not to burn the Pellon but the images could also be transferred to felt.
5. Laminated Pictures
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| Five Fairies Laminated Flannel |
Laminated Pictures are also very simple to make and as deceiving as the name is you don't actually need a laminator (but if you will be making a lot a laminator makes it easier). Just as with the T-shirt transfer you can use clipart and the paint tool on your computer but don't be limited by that, you could also use magazine images, coloring book pages, really any image on paper. The key to this is to laminate the images used, to help prolong their life. This can be done with a laminator but you can also use clear packing tape, just be sure to put a layer on the front and back. Once it is laminated you want to back the image with a small piece of Velcro, a magnet (if you have a magnet board), or back it with felt or sandpaper. I would not however, use Pellon to back it as the laminate can make the image too heavy for the Pellon to hold.
6. Stickers
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| Dinosaur Sticker Flannel |
Stickers are fun and very easy to use on a flannel board but they can take a little extra work depending on the stickiness of the sticker. You can get whatever size stickers you want but die cut stickers tend to be bigger and a decent size for a group setting. You can stick them to felt, Pellon, or sandpaper for an easy backing and almost no work!
These are all the ways that I have made flannel boards so far. As I find new ways of making flannel boards I will add to this post and remember to store your pieces together either in a labeled bank envelope or in clear sheet protectors in a binder.
If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions let me know!
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