Perfect Kids Craft: DIY Itty Bittys from Hallmark

One of my kids’ favorite things to collect are Hallmark Itty Bittys. We simply adore the petite plush that range from Disney Princesses to Star Wars characters. Since Itty Bittys are so small and affordable, I often have some in my gift stash to have on hand for little gifts to surprise the kids.

Needless to say, when Hallmark reached out offering to send our family some of their new Do It Yourself Itty Bittys, I enthusiastically said yes, we’d love to make some.

The Do It Yourself Itty Bittys are simple white Itty Bittys, which allow for kids and adults to create any kind of Itty Bitty they want.

When we opened the box, Elias and Adeline squealed “COOL!!!” and immediately wanted to get to work designing. I said that they should color some ideas first and then we could figure out if we had the right supplies or needed to get a few. (Hallmark has a blank Itty Bitty template to download here, which is great for imaginative planning).

While we could surely make do with the supplies from my craft stash, I never need an excuse to go to Michaels.

You can use regular Crayola markers on the DIY Itty Bittys or fabric markers. We tried both and found that the Crayolas were great for skin tones (we love this skin tone set), but the fabric markers were better for colors because they were more vibrant. We used thin sharpies for the face characteristics like eyebrows, eyelashes and mouths.

Though you can simply color the Itty Bittys, they are much more fun to make if you add embellishments like fabric, fake fur and ribbons. Hot glue makes it super simple to attach the embellishments.

Adeline and I each made two Itty Bittys and Elias made one.

Elias wanted to make a monster. We used pipe cleaners for his horns (I punctured the seam with a scissors, added hot glue to the pipe cleaner and stuck it in the hole.) We covered his body in black fur fabric and then Elias used a red fabric marker and sharpie to decorate the face.

Adeline wanted to make two princesses. She loved selecting the fabric and adding jewels to their outfits (notice  the jeweled cape on the left). The first princess’s hair we made using felt, but I think she turned out a bit like she is part of the nativity! The second princess we used yarn and I think she looks a lot better.

We used ribbons for their “belts” which helped cover the seams of the dresses. Adeline decided that the princess with the flowered skirt needed earrings, so some small jewels completed the look.

It definitely took patience gluing all that yarn hair on, but it was worth it! Adeline was so delighted!

I had a ton of fun designing two Itty Bittys. The first was a colorful bird covered in feathers. I simply used a mix bag of colors and glued the feathers on one by one, taking time to cut the stems off the feathers. The result was this sweet little bird with a wild rainbow of feathers. The kids squealed when they saw him.

And I've saved the best for last…. As y'all know, I ADORE Anne of Green Gables. Adore. (Remember my letter to Gilbert?) So I designed by own Anne Shirley Itty Bitty.

The trickiest part was making her hair. I gathered up a bunch of yarn and glue it across the back of her head, then braided it. It is a little longer than I would have liked it to be, but because it was so thick, it was necessary. I do like the emphasis that it makes.

Her dress was made with a scrap of green fabric that I covered her body and arms with (attaching with hot glue). Then I cut a little apron for her to wear over it. The chalkboard is ready to break over Gilbert's head.

I think she is so adorable that I took her to work for my desk. I've also convinced myself that Hallmark is going to see this post and put her into production. With the news of the new Anne of Green Gables movie and Anne Netflix show, I think it is timely and would clearly be a best-seller.

Swoon. Oh, Anne girl.

Aren't they all so fun? Hallmark DIY Itty Bittys are available at Hallmark stores now. Join us tonight around 7:30 CST for a demo on Facebook Live (watch the video here.) Click here to like The Mom Creative on Facebook.