Crayon Holder Made Easy

Well, I finished my crayon holder for my niece B. This one was harder for me. I think because the sparkle fabric was stiffer and not as easy to work with. Live and Learn. Also, next time I think I will make the crayon slots a little bigger. Some of them are kind of tight. My sister may have to help them put the crayons away, but at least it will be an easy way to take crayons to church.

If you were intimidated by this project, Skip To My Lou has come out with an easier felt tutorial. Give it a try. And while you are there, check out the rest of her site. She's got some great projects.

Hopefully I will get these crayon holders in the mail this week. I was going to wait till next time I see them. but I'm impatient. Plus, all kids like to receive mail, right?

Crayon Holder

So, I made this cute crayon holder yesterday. I found a tutorial at a neat blog called Skip To My Lou. I made this one for my nephew S. It's not perfect, but I don't think it's so bad for my fist try, especially considering I'm not really a sewer. I doubt S will care anyway. I'm going to be making one for my niece B. Hopefully I'll get a chance to fly out to see them soon.

Homemade Beanbags

Free Pattern from grandrevivaldesign.typepad.com. She has a fun blog. If you like to sew she has a couple for fun free patterns on the right side bar.

Fairy Wings With That TuTu?

Click here to find the directions to make fairy wings. It would look so cute with a no-sew tutu. As always at FamilyFun.com, there is a video to show you how to make the wings. I'm sure some of you guys are smart enough to figure out your own way to make them. If you do, please post and let us all know.

No Sew Tutu

You will need:
Crinoline - in a few colors

Scissors

Elastic band - i used a large hair band in pink but you could always sew one from elastic just a little smaller than the child’s waist.

Cut the pieces of fabric into strips. They can vary on width and on length as this will work well for the tutu when completed. My strips were approximately 3 inches wide by 20 inches long.

Loosely knot a strip of fabric onto the elastic band - make sure that the knot is in the middle of the strip so you have approximately the same amount of fabric on either side of the knot. Do this many times, alternating colors, until the elastic is covered. It is better to overcrowd as the tutu elastic will grow once it is worn.

Do a little trimming if pieces are too long or too uneven.

(http://lovemonkey.wordpress.com/)

T-Shirt Project

(I got this project from the wondertime web site. I think it looks so cute and easy, but a little too girly for Baby D)













Cover your work surface with newspaper: Choose a picnic table outdoors (ideal), or a spot indoors near an open window, as the alcohol can be fumey. (It's flammable, too, so stay away from heat sources.)

Lay the T-shirt flat on the work surface, then slip the cup inside the shirt from the bottom, standing the cup upright in the place you'd like to start decorating. Stretch the rubber band over the T-shirt and the rim of the cup, pulling the T-shirt taut.

Put the bottle cap in the center of the stretched fabric. Have your child use a marker to make a circle of dots around the bottle cap, keeping the dots fairly close to the cap.

Remove the bottle cap. Using the eyedropper, slowly squeeze 20 drops of rubbing alcohol onto the blank spot where the cap was. (Supervise closely or do this part yourself; the alcohol can sting and is dangerous if ingested.) As the fabric absorbs the alcohol, the ink will spread outward in a circular pattern like fireworks. Allow the design to dry for 5 minutes before repeating on a new area of the shirt.

Experiment with different shapes — a dotted star, a heart, or concentric rings of dots. To make flowers, when the designs are dry, slip some paper towels inside the shirt and draw stems with markers.

When the shirt is done and completely dry, pop it in the dryer for 20 minutes to set the colors, then wash and dry as usual

Fun fabric craft

Embellish a solid-colored shirt with bright fabrics and fun shapes -- and conceal stains at the same time. Have your child choose the fabric; iron it to one side of fusible webbing. Trace any shape using templates found on the computer, cookie cutters or stickers onto the fusible-webbing side, and cut out. Remove paper backing, and iron the shape on top of the stain. Use several sizes and vary fabrics for a decorative effect or to cover multiple stains. I have never actually done this, but found it on the web and thought it was a great idea! -Ashley Hancey