This simple and affordable DIY play mat makes a fun and special gift for the little ones in your life. Because it's made of a protective fabric, the play mat easily folds or rolls up for convenient storage.
Cut strips of chalk cloth for paths and/or train tracks. For two-lane roads or highways, cut strips at least 3-1/2” wide. For smaller pathways, cut the strips at least 1-3/4" wide. Also, cut some curved pieces. The easiest way to do this is to trace curved pieces of toy train track. If you want to create a parking lot, cut out a large rectangle or square.
Use hot glue to adhere the road pieces to the mat. Cut and line up the road strips until you've created a fun pattern that goes around the entire mat.
Use the space between your paths as a guide to create the elements of the city. Houses can be created with a large rectangle, a triangular roof, a small rectangle for a door, and a square for a window. Use hot glue to assemble them. Repeat in different colors to create as many houses as you want.
For city buildings, simply cut high-rise shapes out of the felt and add windows and doors.
Trees can be created by cutting logs from brown felt and leaves from green felt. The simplest tree is just a green triangle.
Mountains can be made by cutting triangles out of gray felt and finishing them off with small triangles out of white felt.
A playground can be created by cutting shapes for a slide, seesaw, and sandbox.
You may have room for more design elements. We built a crane for construction in the city and a soccer field next to the park. A large piece of blue felt can be cut to create an ocean or lake.
Lay out all of your items on the playmat and use hot glue to attach them to the drop cloth.
Use chalk to draw lines on roads or turn them into train tracks.
