Make a Felt Insert for a Garden Tool Tote

Welcome to the Walnut Hollow and Kunin Group blog hop! April 22 is Earth Day and we are celebrating with a very special blog hop. Kunin Felt and Walnut Hollow, two “Made in the USA” companies committed to eco-friendly practices and quality products  partner  to bring  you indoor-outdoor home decor projects.

At Kunin Group, it all began with Stephen Seymour Kunin in the 1960’s, “the Father of Craft Felts”. Now The Kunin Group, located in NH manufactures adhesive-backed, die-cut, embossed, and stiffened fabrics in several color and style options using their Eco-fi fiber. Kunin turns trash into treasure using 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. Over six hundred million bottles end up in landfills each year, so far this year Kunin has recycled over 350,000, 000 and counting. This adds the value of environmental stewardship to the fun of making crafts.

Walnut Hollow® began as a small family-owned business in Dodgeville, WI in the 70’s. Walnut Hollow is committed to protecting the environment and replenishing natural resources. ·   The company’s owners and employees have been since the beginning strongly committed to preserving natural resources through its raw materials consumption practices, production processes, recycling activities, and community involvement. The Ladd's (owners and founders of Walnut Hollow) have planted more than 300,000 trees and shrubs on personal property in the surrounding area. Whenever possible, raw material is harvested from plantation and managed woodlands for the manufacture of their home décor items and wood surfaces. Through their manufacturing process no wood waste ends up in landfills, all is recycled. Walnut Hollow’s emphasis has always been to bring the best possible quality products to art and craft hobbyists.

Today I am sharing how to make a felt insert to turn a Walnut Hollow Rustic Tote into a divided Garden Tool Tote.

I recently shared how to stain and stencil a Walnut Hollow Rustic Tote to create a farmhouse style planter. I'm all about decor that multi-tasks so I took the same tote, removed the flowers, and created a felt insert to hold my garden tools, gloves, and seed packets.

All you need to create this project is two sheets of Kunin Eco-Fi Premium Felt. I could have kept fussing with the felt to make the insert fit more snugly but it does the job I wanted. the felt keeps the inside of the box clean in case I want to use it inside the house again. The felt also has grab to it, preventing all of the items in the box from shifting and falling over. The divider I creatd also helps keep things in place. When the insert gets dirty, I can throw it in the wash – Eco-Fi Premium felt washes up beautifully!

I created a video showing how I made the insert for this Walnut Hollow Rustic Tote:

I stocked the tote with all the essentials I need for working in my garden: hand tools, gardening gloves, peat pots, seeds, and garden markers or plant stakes. The plant stakes are made from used paint stir sticks, while the peat pots are biodegradable, and the seeds are all GMO-free, organic seeds. Every little bit that we can do to keep things natural and out of the landfill, I am all for it.

To see how I stained and stenciled the tote, check out this post: Farmhouse Tote and Butterfly Picks

Supplies:

• Walnut Hollow Rustic Tote, stained and stenciled
• Two Sheets 12″ x 18″ Kunin Eco-Fi Plus Premium Felt in Kelly Green
• Green Sewing Thread
• Sewing Machine
• Scissors
• Rotary Cutter and Mat
• Pins

I decided to create a second project using Kunin Group felt to make a floral display inside of a Walnut Hollow Rustic Shadow Panel.

Click here to see that project: Backyard Floral Display with Kunin Felt

Find out more about Kunin Group here:

• Kunin Group Website
• Eco-Fi Website
• Kunin Group Facebook Page
• Kunin Group Felt on Instagram

 And find out more about Walnut Hollow here:

• Walnut Hollow website
• Walnut Hollow's History and Earth-Friendly Practices
• Walnut Hollow Facebook Page
• Walnut Hollow on Pinterest

Our teams are sharing projects that pair both Kunin Group felt and Walnut Hollow wood products to create practical and beautiful home decor, organizing solutions, and entertaining items. You can make these projects all year long, not just for Earth Day.