Kids Will Fall For These Cute Pumpkin-Spice Latte Felt Toys
Pumpkin-spice lattes – Starbucks or otherwise — are always a huge seasonal hit with grownups. But now, kids have their own caffeine-free toy version, courtesy of Megan Menne, a New Jersey mom and Etsy crafter who turned the popular PSL and a companion treat into adorable playthings.
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Menne has sold felt food toys on her Etsy shop, Cuddle Bear Boutique, for more than two years. But just last week, she created a white takeout coffee cup with a pumpkin on it, and a felt frosted pumpkin scone. Each scone and coffee set is handmade by Menne and sells for $20. And like their real-life counterparts, sales have been gourd-geous.
"They have been a huge hit!" Menne told The Daily Meal in an email. "By far my fastest-selling item. At the moment I have six in my queue to make! As soon as I stock them up, they sell."
Pumpkin-spice lattes have always meant the start of the holidays for Menne, she says. She tried numerous times to create one out of felt, but until recently, couldn't come up with a realistic-looking and durable design.
"I love pumpkin scones and wanted to add them in with the set because I thought it would add more play value rather than just the PSL," she said. "My daughter and I always stop in at Starbucks and I will get a coffee for myself and a treat for her, so I really wanted the set to resemble that experience."
Menne said her nieces and her daughter, Rae, 2½, test everything she makes. Rae especially liked the pumpkin-spice coffee toy, she says.
"She instantly screamed, 'pumpkin coffee!' and wouldn't put it down and even slept with it for a day, so I knew I had a hit on my hands with this one," Menne said. "My items are handmade items, and if people are going to spend money on them I want to be sure they will last, so having my daughter test them out is a must."
Menne has been crafting for as long as she can remember. When Rae was born, she remembered how much she loved her own play kitchen and play food as a child. She looked for some to buy for her daughter, but didn't find anything she liked.
"I was really disappointed with the cheap plastic play food I was finding online and in stores, so I looked into other options," she said. Wooden food seemed too heavy and hard, so she tried felt. When her 9-year-old niece "went crazy" over the felt Pop-Tarts that Menne had made, she realized she'd stumbled on the solution.
"Felt is such an amazing material that you can really create anything your mind can think of," she said.
Here are a few more of her yummy felt food creations:
Birthday cake:
Breakfast of champions:
PB&J:
Halloween cookies:
If the felt toys aren't your slice of pumpkin, there are plenty of other seasonal gourd-a-riffic options. From syrup to Oreos, here's a definitive guide to pumpkin-spice products.