Split stitched felt leaves

Here is a very diverse felted Oak Leaf tutorial that can be used this fall and into the holidays. Now is the perfect time to collect your leaves to use as patterns for this project. Lisa suggests that you scan the leaf to create your pattern. I know my yard is filled with beautiful leaves for this purpose. Lisa of 5 Orange Potatoes, suggested that you can find any type of leaf for this project in your own backyard. I know Martha Stewart has and oak leaf templates on her site. The headband that Lisa has made is just adorable and would be gorgeous to wear on Thanksgiving. She also sewed one onto a bag and it looks smashing. Enjoy this tutorial and stop by and tell Lisa you found her on craft gossip felting. About Lisa: I am a stay at home, nature lovin,’ felt lovin,’ vegetarian earth mama! I have two lovely daughters, a hard-working husband and lots of animals- turtles, cats and dogs. We love the outdoors and nature…which inspire us daily. I have a BA from Ohio State University and my Masters of Arts in Teaching from Mary Baldwin College. I have taught elem. ed. and preschool for about 20 years in schools and parks, my focus has always been science and env. ed. I have a great love of herbs and their medicinal qualities have been studying them for a long time and continue to learn all I can about them. I have been asked numerous times how I have raised such nature lovin’ and creative little ladies. This site is dedicated to those questions; this is how I do it!

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Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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