# Does anyone remember this "paint by felt" hobbycraft? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148 "2009-04-23T21:17:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/1 "2009-04-23T21:17:22Z")
I don’t know how to explain it better than this. When I was a kid, I got a present that was very similar to paint by number… but instead, the front of the picture was cut up in various spaces with numbers on them. Like a sticker backing, you pulled off the number one (1) for example, everywhere on the canvas, and sprinkled the color of “felt dust” corresponding to one, let’s say black. You did this until the picture was finished. It was very similar to paint by numbers, but I can’t seem to find a reference to them anywhere out there in the 'net. Anyone remember what I’m referring to, and if they still make them? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/2 "2009-04-23T22:38:35Z")
Sure, I did these when I was a kid, but with sand, not felt. Try searching for “sand painting” or “sand art”. You can buy kits with the pre-cut shapes you peel off at craft stores. Here’s a link: [http://www.artbeatgifts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category\_Code=SAND](http://www.artbeatgifts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=SAND) ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/3 "2009-04-23T22:51:15Z")
Amazon has a few: [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb\_ss\_t?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=sand+art+kit](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_t?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=sand+art+kit) ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/4 "2009-04-23T23:20:56Z")
> [@Wisp00](#): > > Amazon has a few: > > [Amazon.com : sand art kit](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_t?url=search-alias%3Dtoys-and-games&field-keywords=sand+art+kit) Thanks for the links, **Wisp00** , but I definitely remember felt. The sand things look interesting, though, so I may get one to see if I’d like them. The reason why I remember them so well is that my set was the emblems of the AFC and NFC teams. No amount of creative searching on eBay or google has given me a clue. Maybe I was hallucinating. Damn airplane glue! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/5 "2009-04-23T23:32:54Z")
I remember those kits when a kid. I can’t tell you the name. I was a flock that you sprinkled on. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/6 "2009-04-24T00:23:46Z")
Ooh, ooh! I had one of those, too, of a glammy boy band (fictional), with circa-1976 flared pantsuits and, just for extra mind-blowing fabulosity, mood-ring-like color-transitioning black plastic thermometer discs that you’d stick on to the picture. (Each disc would reveal a given temperature.) Kinda like what you’d end up with if you crossed a poster of The Bay City Rollers with an arts & crafts kit and a grade-school-appropriate science project. 😛 Anyway, I second trying a search using the term “flock” or “flocking,” and also “velvet/y/ine”, even though that glue-on lint wasn’t really velvet. And if you’re serious about treading this particular trip down a psychedelic memory lane, I think you can buy additional flocking material at some arts & crafts & hobby shops, although color matching might be a problem. If memory serves, you’ll need it, especially if you like to lay that stuff on extra thick and velvety. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/7 "2009-04-24T00:29:47Z")
On edit: you might also try “thermometer poster” or “temperature poster” or similar terms (NFL emblems poster) in your search… I don’t suppose your NFL emblems were mood-ring-like? ---
**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/8 "2009-04-24T00:42:02Z")
I remember those! The flock was _not_ fun to vacuum out of the shag rug in my bedroom, when I spilled some. It was 1975-ish when I had a brief interest in making them. I found some jars of flock as a scrap-booking item here, if you want to make your own pictures: > **[Amazon.com: DOODLEBUG Crushed Velvet Flock Assortment, 1-1/4 Gram Bottles,...](https://www.amazon.com/DOODLEBUG-Crushed-Assortment-Bottles-12-Pack/dp/B001DI4IG0)** > > Crushed Velvet Flock Assortment. Crushed velvet is the perfect texture to dress up any layout or craft project! Simply use glue adhesive paper double-sided tape or a glue pen. Sprinkle with Crushed Velvet flock and shake off excess. You'll have the... ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/9 "2009-04-24T08:06:03Z")
I remember something like that: it was a grippy board onto which you pressed felt shapes to make pictures. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/10 "2009-04-24T12:37:38Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I remember something like that: it was a grippy board onto which you pressed felt shapes to make pictures. Er, no. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/11 "2009-04-24T13:21:40Z")
Pfft. Felt? _Sand_? You rich kids and your exotic materials. When we were young, all we had to paint with was water. No, not watercolors, just paper you ‘painted’ with a wet paintbrush to get the colors to appear. Since everyone’s mind is in Toyland at the moment, I hope this isn’t too much of a hijack… does anyone remember Sculpt-at-em or Sculpt-away or Sculpt-begone! Circa early seventies. It was a big (well, big to a four year old) block of white something (wax?) where you chiseled away to a toy statue inside (football player? Horse?). I think it came with paints, too (water or otherwise). Was this real? Or was I also too close to the airplane glue? ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/12 "2009-04-24T13:31:10Z")
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if what you remember was real, **Rhyhthmdvl**. the 70’s were the era of bizarre kid-crafts, and I think I tried all of them. Fromm Spin-Art and Shrinky Dinks to decoupage and string-art, my house was in constant crap-making mode. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/13 "2009-04-24T15:17:56Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Pfft. Felt? _Sand_? You rich kids and your exotic materials. When we were young, all we had to paint with was water. No, not watercolors, just paper you ‘painted’ with a wet paintbrush to get the colors to appear. We had a babysitter who would bring us those–the paint was in little dots until you wet them? We loved her. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/14 "2009-04-24T15:55:05Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Was this real? Absolutely. I believe it was called “Chip Away”. I got one for Christmas one year. There was also “Whittle Away”, where you did the same thing with a block of fake wood. ---
**Author:** ![Archeonomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Archeonomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archeonomist)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/15 "2009-04-24T16:12:38Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Pfft. Felt? _Sand_? You rich kids and your exotic materials. When we were young, all we had to paint with was water. You had _water?_ ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/16 "2009-04-24T21:13:39Z")
I looked at some old paint by number sets and a few of the odder ones wher these. 1. Ground stone in different colors you glued into a picture. 2. Tile pictures 3. Velveteen pictures 4. Sand pictures 5. Glitter pictures 6. Clear glass tile pictures 7. A paint on plastic kit where you shrunk it in the oven into a miniature. This is not the same as Shrinky Dinks. 8. Paint on wood 9. Paint on cork 10. Felt pictures. Glue together pieces of felt. I didn’t find the flocking pictures. Maybe you people remember those acrylic tube applicator paints they sold at parties like Tupperware. They were used to paint clothing, pillow cases and anything else cloth. My aunt sold them so she had about a fifty of those tubes and a lot of painted clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/17 "2009-04-24T22:00:01Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I remember something like that: it was a grippy board onto which you pressed felt shapes to make pictures. Are you thinking of Fuzzy Felt? ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/18 "2009-05-02T05:38:58Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > 1. Velveteen pictures They made pictures out of cheese? Seriously, I never heard of flock, but that may have been the material used. I remember decoupage, string art and shrinky-dinks. Loved those shrinky dinks. searching has turned up nothing. Here’s a better description, based on the descriptions in this thread. Picture an 11x14 sheet, that has the basic look of a puzzle. The lines of the white plastic covering this “puzzle” were numbered, you pulled them off by number, and spread the felt, flock, or whatever into the space until it was stuck. Once completely covered, you cleaned up the leftover, pulled all the number 2’s, and so forth until complete. I don’t recall if it mattered if you started with dark colors and moved to light, or the opposite, but you get the idea. This was definitely 70’s era. Right around when Shaker Makers were big. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/19 "2009-05-02T18:30:01Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > I looked at some old paint by number sets and a few of the odder ones wher these. > > 1. Ground stone in different colors you glued into a picture. > 2. Tile pictures > 3. Velveteen pictures > 4. Sand pictures > 5. Glitter pictures > 6. Clear glass tile pictures > 7. A paint on plastic kit where you shrunk it in the oven into a miniature. This is not the same as Shrinky Dinks. > 8. Paint on wood > 9. Paint on cork > 10. Felt pictures. Glue together pieces of felt. > > I didn’t find the flocking pictures. > > Maybe you people remember those acrylic tube applicator paints they sold at parties like Tupperware. They were used to paint clothing, pillow cases and anything else cloth. My aunt sold them so she had about a fifty of those tubes and a lot of painted clothes. Those tube things were call Liquid Embroidery, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-remember-this-paint-by-felt-hobbycraft/494148/20 "2009-05-02T23:20:05Z")
I recall, from the early ‘60’s, black felt “paint-by-number” type art crafts that involved glue and the application of dollops of various colored gravel (small nugget-sized, similar to that used in aquariums). I was quite proud of my twin gravel-art creations of 50’s-modern stylized cats that I “painted” and hung from my bedroom walls for the following couple of decades.