Felt + Cricut = LOVE!

Oh, golly -- you know those crafting moments where you go "A-HA!" and you jump up and down with glee?  (Okay, some of you might be too cool to actually jump up and down and clap your hands, but I bet you're doing it on the inside...)  Well, I had one of the moments on Saturday night.

My dh's cousin sent me a message asking about the Cricut and whether it could cut felt.  My first thought was no, how could it possibly?  But I'd never actually tried it, so I decided to give it a go.  I got out my Heat-n-Bond UltraHold (the must-have if you're going to cut fabric with the bug) and ironed it onto two different kinds of felt -- one the cheap polyester kind you get on the bolt at Joann's, and the other some nice wool felt I bought at a quilt shop.  Wool felt is much sturdier and just all around nicer than the polyester stuff.

I tried the cheap stuff first, and it behaved just like I expected:  badly.  The felt stretched too much for the blade to cut properly and it got red fuzzies all over my mat.  I tried several different settings and both my regular and deep-cut blade housings but saw no improvement.

After a quick swipe with the lint roller (another indispensible tool when working with the Cricut), I loaded up the wool felt.  My expectations were not high, but to my surprise it cut like a dream!  I cut it with my regular blade housing at blade depth 6, pressure and speed at max.  I used my experiments to create this adorable pin for my little girl's skirt:

You do end up with iron-on adhesive on the back, so one side will be shiny, but I can't think of many applications where that would be a huge problem (and it may even be just what you need for your project!).  You do also need to check the blade frequently to remove any felt fluff that gets caught on it.

So I've got all sorts of plans a-brewin' for fun felt accessories.  I told my hubby that a whole new world had opened up to me!  Lucky for him, it's a world for which I already have all the supplies!

Other notes:  I used the flower from the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge at 2, 2 1/2, and 3" and hand cut the leaves.  The green button is from Stampin' Up, and I'm not sure where the pink button came from.  I attached a pin to the back and pinned it to my little girl's skirt.  I realized when I went to wash the skirt this morning that that was a BAD idea -- she pulled at it so much she put a pea-sized hole in the skirt.  So don't do the pin thing if you have a toddler who doesn't appreciate your attempts to make her so so pretty! :)