Safari Lion Baby Tag Toy DIY

Hello! I'm sharing a Safari Lion Baby Tag Toy DIY Tutorial today and I hope you join me! Do you remember when taggie toys first hit the baby scene? It was crazy such a simple concept could make cause such a fuss. But that seems to be the way of innovation doesn't it? I'm lucky enough to be hosting a few baby showers this spring and decided to try my hand at MAKING my baby gift. I'll admit, I'm usually an Amazon Prime gift giver but there was something about this little lion I fell in love with!

Affiliate links are provided for your shopping convenience. By clicking and purchasing, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. Please see my disclosure page for any questions. Thanks for supporting Halfpint Design so we can continue providing awesome party ideas!

Lion Baby Tag Toy Supplies

The supplies are simple:

• Thicker {but soft} Wool felt in tan, light brown, or rust
• Espresso foil iron-on
• (18-24) Four inch pieces of ribbon in coordinating colors (I used 9 colors/patterns of ribbon)
• 1/4 cup popcorn kernels
• Sewing pins
• Thread to match felt color
•  Easy Press or Iron
• Cricut Explore Air 2 to cut lion and felt circles
• Sewing machine {basic model I love}
  • Beginner machine {got for my 8 year old daughter}
• Scissors
• Lion Tag Toy for Baby: Cricut Design Space Library

Weed the Lion Iron-On

After you get all your pieces cut, it's time to weed. I am loving iron on. This is my 4th project and these single color projects are so easy. I learned a lot on my first multi-color {or layered} project, so read about the donut tote bag first for tips {Coming soon} if you are planning to use more than one color of iron on.

In the meantime, you can weed the extra material with a weeding tool and my new favorite toy…..the Bright Pad! It makes seeing the cut lines so much easier and eliminates accidental tears or scratches on the design.

Iron on The Lion 

You can't have a lion baby tag toy without a cute little lion. He's the reason I started this gift project in the first place. Iron on is pretty easy to work with, especially if you have an Easy Press. I did have to switch from this thick towel to a thinner tea towel however in order to get a good stick. After that, everything worked perfectly.

Determine Taggie Ribbon Color Scheme

This project is a gift for my friend Jordan at Jordan's Easy Entertaining who just had her third boy. You can see the Glam Safari Baby Shower we hosted to celebrate.  This became the inspiration for the ribbon color scheme.

If you are a maker, chances are good you've got a stash of ribbon you can raid. I selected different blues, browns, and golds, then purchased a few animal prints at Michaels. I ended up with 9 different types of ribbon.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Measure out the ribbon to approximately 4″ and cut 18-24 pieces TWO OF EACH COLOR/PATTERN. The thicker the ribbon the less pieces you'll need. Thinner ribbon will require a few more.

Let's Do this! 

Now your ribbons are cut and your lions are ironed on, it's time to add the mane.

Arrange Ribbon Mane 

If you love randomness, skip this step and just pick a ribbon from the pile and start pinning. I prefer to have the colors and patterns balanced so I offset them by mirroring the layout on both sides. If you've cut TWO of each color it'll be easy to line them up like matching sun rays.  If it looks too thin, you can always go back and cut more ribbons to evenly space them with the rest.

Fold and Pin Ribbons

I really like the fullness these looped ribbons give the mane. So instead of simply folding it over, you want to twist the ribbon so it looks like a breast cancer awareness ribbon {above}.

Then carefully pin it onto the top face of the lion felt. If you don't want to make holes in the foil lion keep the pins in the tiny outer edge of felt. You just need them to stay still for the next step.

Hand Stitch Ribbons

This step it totally optional. If you don't mind holes in your lion then just pin them straight down and use your machine to sew everything all at once. Or use some kind of adhesive to stick the ribbon until sewn. It does make a nice finished product to hand stitch and only takes a few extra minutes, so I went for it.

Hand stitching from the front. I'm not the best seamstress so they aren't perfect but using a thread that matches your felt will work wonders to hide any imperfections.

Pin Wrong Sides Together

You always hear “pin right sides together” when sewing but this is so easy – you don't need to turn it right side out. We're just stitching along the outside edge. So carefully pin both sides together. I kept my pins in the felt areas to avoid holes {there's those holes again!} which helped make sure the designs lined up front and back.

Add Sensory Filling

I added 1/4 c of popcorn kernels before sewing but they started to squeeze out. So I would recommend adding some popcorn while pinning but sewing three-quarters around the circle before adding the remaining kernels. It's not going to be super full. Just enough to make some noise and give it some squish. 

The thin felt edge makes this an intermediate sewing project. If you are a beginner, YOU CAN STILL TOTALLY DO THIS! Just go slowly and keep the stitch between the edge of the lion and outside of the felt circle.

Lion Baby Tag Toy Sewn Up

My lines aren't perfect but all the ribbons are held on tight. All edges are securely fastened and no popcorn is going to escape into little hands. * But mom's do be careful to watch for wear and tear as loose popcorn kernels could pose a choking hazard to a little one.* I don't anticipate it tearing with the thick wool felt but it's better to play it safe.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Perfect baby gift – Lion Baby Tag Toy DIY Tutorial! ” quote=”This tag toy makes the perfect baby gift! “]

These little hands couldn't wait to squish it! My 3 year old isn't sure he wants to let the baby have HIS new lion ribbon toy! ?I might have to make another one that stays home.

Gift it Proudly

Now that your lion baby tag toy is all ready to go, how will you package it? Mine is getting mailed and I fear my postal box isn't very fun. Whether the taggie toy is for your own little one, or you're making a shower gift for someone else, it's a fun, SIMPLE, and adorable addition to the DIY baby toy list! Have fun creating and I'd love to see your finished product. Send photos to bri{at}halfpintpartydesign{dot}com if you try it out.

Pin it for Later

Additional Baby Reading

• Glam Safari Baby Shower
• Donut Sprinkle Baby Shower Ideas
• Practical Baby Shower Gifts for Breastfeeding
• Best Baby Shower Gifts for Mom

Until next time my friend,