“Little Felted Animals Marie-Noelle Horvath” Book Giveaway USA

Little Felted Animals by Marie-Noelle Horvath is a sweetheart of a book for beginner needle felters, with projects that are well illustrated and it gives the beginner a chance at making a charming product your first time. Create 16 Irresistible Creatures with Simple Needle-Felting Techniques by following the step by step pictures and you will be able to create one of the adorable animals or birds in this book. There is a supplies and tips section in the book that explains what is involved in basic needle felting such as tools and wool roving color palette. There is also a lesson on how to add glass eyes to these felted darlings which does make them realistic. Three dimensional needle felting is a fairly easy technique and this book gives you clear instructions for creating 16 animals and birds in miniature. These projects make wonderful Christmas decorations. Dimensions and detailed instructions are given for the following animals and birds: blackbird, brown bear, Chartreux cat, Turkish Van cat, Dalmatian, fox, Jack Russell terrier, koala bear, mouse, penguin, polar bear, rabbit, robin, seal pup, sheep, Welsh Corgi. Marie-Noelle Horvath, is a great source of inspiration offering techniques on how to shape precious small animals. I love the mice pictured above! Pick up a copy at Amazon.com if you want to learn this growing craft or win one here on Craft Gossip Felting, you will love this book. In the comment area, just type “enter me” for a chance to WIN this book by a random drawing. This giveaway will run 9-6 through 9-19! Good Luck!

Lots of Americans seem to think that May 5 is Mexican Independence Day, but that holiday actually falls on Sept. 16.

May 5 is the celebration of the Battle of Puebla, in which the Mexicans defeated the French in 1862. Independence Day marks the beginning of their fight for independence from Spain in 1810. That was the day of what’s known as El Grito de Dolores, or the cry of Dolores, for when the Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang the church bells at his church in Dolores and declared that Mexico should be free from Spanish rule.

They would fight for their freedom until 1821 when they finally gained independence.

Fabulous Classroom has a little of the history and ideas for celebrating the holiday for all age groups. There’s also a link to a good video in that post about the real story of Mexican Independence Day.

Twinkl also has a good tops about the history and different activities, discussion ideas, crafts and foods that can be incorporated into lessons at school or used at home.

I also found a few pins that no longer link to a website but include good information on Mexican Independence Day, including some questions for students to answer based on the reading. You can find more printables and questions for kids from TX Homeschool Mama on Etsy (also available in Spanish).

You can find a lot more paid resources about Mexican Independence Day at Teachers Pay Teachers.

Mexican flag crafts are a fun option for celebrating Mexican Independence Day (though the current iteration of their flag has only been in use since 1968). Kids Activities Blog has a free Mexican flag printable and a few different ideas for decorating it including dot markers and torn tissue paper.

You can also find some great Mexican crafts at Red Ted Art. The post includes all sorts of Mexican inspired projects including Day of the Dead crafts, Frida Kahlo pinatas and upcycled musical instruments. I love the giant paper flowers they shared from Honestly WTF.

Have you read?