I love the monsters that Lesley Breen Withrow created for our picture book, “Maximillian Villainous.” They are fun, bright, and so kid-friendly — kids might even be inspired to create a monster of their own (one of Max’s relatives perhaps?).
Because a blank page can be intimidating, I extended my “Make A Monster Portrait” drawing activity to the felt board. With cut-out felt shapes, kids can dive into creating and re-creating–it’s super easy to swap out monster features, and kids will want to make more than one. Here are the steps:
-
- Felt of all different colors—lots of bright colors are fun. Remember a dark color for the mouths, white for the eyes and teeth, and a portrait background color!
- Elmer’s Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive
- Tacky Glue
- A picture frame
Easy-to-make Felt Board Portrait Frame
-
- Remove glass from the picture frame.
- Spray backing board with Elmer’s Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive.
- Cut background felt to match size of backing board. Check which side is “stickier” to other pieces of felt. Spray the other side with the Elmer’s adhesive.
- Smooth felt onto the backing board. Let dry.
- Slide backing board into frame. Voila! Felt board!
Cut out heads, bodies, and accessories for the monsters. Patterns can be used for repeated shapes. Use tacky glue to attach felt to felt (i.e. for outfit designs). Make sure to let everything dry.
Be sure to give your monster a name. How is he or she related to Maximillian Villainous?
I named this one Uncle Morty.