Because it is often hard to find things to make for older boys, and I know many of you are still looking for ideas for small gifts, I wanted to repost this. Bug loved the movie The Never Ending Story. (Joy of joys, he's now ready to read the book.  The Never Ending Story. I will need to remember to give it to him later 🙂 Anyway… just thought some of you might have a budding Atreyu in your house that would love this as much as Bug did… actually, still does.

Excerpt from The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende:

Everyone in Fantastica knew what the medallion meant. It was the badge of one acting on orders from the Childlike Empress, acting in her name as though she herself were present. It was said to give the bearer mysterious powers, though no one knew exactly what these powers were. Everyone knew its name: AURYN

When Atreyu, the little boy hero, accepts the Great Quest bestowed upon him by the Childlike Empresses, a quest to save Fantastica from the Nothing, the medallion is placed around his neck.

"AURYN!" Atreyu repeated with awe. "I will be worthy of the Glory."

A couple of days ago I watched The Never Ending Story with Bug, Fairy and Pixie. They were enthralled. I promised them that the next time they were over I would begin reading them the book. Bug said, "I need a thing to put around my neck like Atreyu.

Well, of course he does! I did an Internet search to see if there were any metal ones out-and-about to purchase. There were, but all of them were pricey. So, I set about making one for him out of felt. When I gave it to him today, I know he couldn't have been more pleased if it were made out of gold. He immediately changed into what he considered appropriate attire (his Pirate Shirt Michelle made for him, although I'm thinking of actually making him an Atreyu costume), and he was more than willing to participate in a photo shoot!  Although I did make this as a medallion, if enlarged slightly, it could be used as one of our 6" applique blocks. Hope you have a little boy hero (or little girl hero :)to give AURYN to! Enjoy!

Materials:
wool felt
embroidery floss
lid of wide mouth Mason jar
1mm satin cording
pattern


Make a copy of the pattern and cut out the necessary pieces. (Directions for cutting out felt can be found HERE.)

Using the pattern as a guide, place pieces on top of pattern, weaving them together following the pattern. Note: It is easier if you make 2 copies of the pattern; one to lay the pieces on and one to refer to for weaving the pieces correctly. Pin the felt together so it will not shift when you move it.

Position the snakes in the center of one of the felt circles. Pin in place. Stitch the snakes to the felt circle following the stitching lines on the pattern. Embroider eyes. (BTW… the pattern calls for a "stain stitch"… this should read "satin stitch"). Note: When cutting out the 2 large sections of the snake, you cut through the snake's body. This is necessary so you can intertwine the snakes. When sewing the snakes to the felt DO NOT sew along this edge because it is suppose to look like one continuous piece of snake. Instead, from the back side, tack this edge to the felt, making sure you do not go all the way through the snake. You do not want to see the stitching from the front but you want to make sure it lays down flat. Instead of tacking it from behind, you can put a little tab of fabric glue under this edge to hold it in place.


Lay the embroidered felt circle on top of the other. Pin in place and blanket stitch half way around the 2 circles.

Slide the wide mouth Mason jar lid between the 2 circles. This will give it body. If you do not have a wide mouth Mason jar lid, cut a circle from a rigid piece of plastic (mayo or peanut butter jar lid will work). The circle needs to be smaller than the felt circles since you need to blanket stitch around the outer edge. Finish blanket stitching around the rest of the circles.

Cut out a piece of felt 1" x 2" the same color as the felt circles.

Fold the piece of felt in thirds creating a 2" long, skinny loop. Sew a running stitch down the middle to hold the folds together.

From the front, mark the top of the medallion with a pin so you can see it from the back side.

Fold your loop in half and pin it to the back of the medallion so the top of the loop is 1/2" from the top.

Sew the loop to the medallion across the loose bottom edges and a few tacking stitches on either side near the bottom of the loop.

Cut a length of cord the desire you want. Make sure it will be able to slide over your child's head. String the cord through the loop and tie off the edges.


You are now ready to send your little boy hero on his own Quests!