At The Crafty Kit Company, we love a craft project with heart - and it doesn’t get more heartfelt (or more sunny!) than our Van Gogh’s Sunflowers Felt Craft Kit, winner of the Gift of the Year Award 2025 in the Design & Craft category. 🌻 But have you ever wondered about the story behind the real sunflowers that inspired it?
Let’s take a little trip back in time - to the South of France, 1888...
Why Sunflowers?
Vincent van Gogh painted not just one - but seven versions of sunflowers in a vase, all within a matter of months. He created them to decorate the guest room in his house in Arles, in anticipation of a visit from fellow artist Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh wanted the room to be filled with warmth and colour, and chose sunflowers as a bold, optimistic symbol of friendship and creativity.
That’s right—those glowing yellow blooms weren’t just pretty flowers. They were meant to welcome and inspire. In fact, he wrote to his brother Theo:
"The sunflower is mine in a way."
Did You Know?
Here are a few lesser-known facts about Van Gogh’s Sunflowers that we think are just as charming as the painting itself:
- 🌻 They were painted using just three shades of yellow. Van Gogh wanted to show that it was possible to create a beautiful image using only variations of a single colour. It was a radical idea at the time!
- 🌻 One of the versions hung in Gauguin’s bedroom, and he later said it was "completely Vincent." The friendship didn’t last, but the flowers remained iconic.
- 🌻 The painting has survived bombings. One of the sunflower paintings was displayed in Munich during WWII and was destroyed in an air raid in 1945. Other versions live on in London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Philadelphia.
- 🌻 You can still visit the house in Arles, where Van Gogh hoped to build an artists' community, though the original “Yellow House” was damaged in the war and eventually demolished.
Bringing Sunflowers to Life - Craft Style!
Our Van Gogh’s Sunflowers Felt Craft Kit takes inspiration from these powerful, personal paintings and reimagines them as a hands-on felt project. It’s designed to be simple and satisfying to make, while still capturing the cheerful essence of the original masterpiece. The kit includes everything you need to create a vase of textured, wool-felt blooms in golden shades - just like Van Gogh’s palette.
Whether you're a fan of art, a keen crafter, or simply someone who needs a little sunshine in their life, this kit offers a joyful way to connect with one of history’s most beloved artists.
Craft your own version of Van Gogh’s sunny legacy, and let every felted petal be a tribute to creativity, friendship, and the power of making something by hand.
🧵 Explore the kit: Van Gogh's Felt Sunflowers Kit🌻
