American Crafter Round 2: Learning Center

I’m back with another project for the American Crafter Competition hosted by Nap Time Crafters and I am absolutely *thrilled* to be in the competition for another week. It was tough to make through last week with all of those other amazing projects!

This week’s theme of Kids was right up my alley; I have two small kids and my son is starting his first real preschool next week. I wanted to come up with something that would be fun for him to practice everything he’s learning, something that could grow with him, and something that would help us stay organized. The Learning Center was the perfect answer.

 Using plywood, crown moulding remnants, felt, and some small cup hooks, I created a moveable felt board that we can use to practice all of the concepts he needs to master. I also created sets of flashcards for him to hang from the bottom that are available to dowload below. Interested in making your own? Keep reading to find out how!

I’m going to give you fair warning before I get this tutorial started: it’s long, it’s in-depth, and I’ve loaded it up with pictures. I just wanted to make sure they you could replicate my masterpiece (ha!) on your own. So I did it for your own good and you’ll thank me later. 🙂

Materials:

2 ft. x 2 ft. piece of plywood * crown moulding pieces (ea. 26ish in. long)

26 in. square piece of felt * scrap felt

hammer * nails * staple gun * scissors * saw

spackle * white acrylic paint * black acrylic paint

Start by stapling the large piece of felt onto the plywood. Start by stapling at the center and work you way outwards. Pull it tight!

You’ll need to cut the edge of each of your moulding pieces at a 45 degree angle. The Husband was super worried about how we would get it right and I came up with a simple solution: cut a square piece of paper the width of the moulding. Fold the square in half to create 2 triangles and there you have it. A perfect 45 degree angle (and a husband who is thoroughly impressed).

See what I mean? Perfect 45 degrees. Because our pieces of moulding were varying lengths (they were left over from when we added crown moulding to Reagan’s room), I also marked lines to where each piece needed to be cut on the ends as well.  Cut the pieces when you have them all marked.

See how nicely they all line up?

Hammer the moulding pieces down.

Use the spackle to fill in the gaps between the moulding pieces to create a seamless transition. Also spackle the nail holes too. Allow the spackle to dry and then paint two generous coats of the white acrylic paint.

When the paint has dried, apply painter’s tape in a diagonal pattern. I tore off an extra little piece of the tape and would put it in between so they were equally spaced.

Apply a thick coat of black paint making sure to not leave any white spots. When the paint dries, carefully remove the painter’s tape. Touch up with the white paint any spots that may need it.

Screw the cup hooks in the bottom of the moulding making sure to evenly space them. You might need to drill a pilot hole before they’ll go in; it all just depends on the kind of moulding you pick out.

The last thing you’ll need to do is cut letters and shapes out of the scrap felt and to dowload, print, and cut out the flashcards below. I tied my flashcards off with a cute ribbon, but you could also use a more durable ring.

Download Alphabet Flashcards Here

Download Color Flashcards Here

Download Number Flashcards Here

The kids are in love already and have had a field day playing and learning with the Learning Center. Now {you knew this was coming} I need your votes! If you could hop on over and vote at Nap Time Crafters for my fun project, I’d really appreciate it. Like, seriously. Also, I wouldn’t hate it if you shared this so other peeps might vote for me too. 😉

Linking Here: