Little Elephants: Kids Crafts and Fun Activities

Vero triumphs over the machine

I gave in and read the manual. I would have saved myself a heck-of-a-lot of angst if I had done that to start with. There's nothing wrong with the machine -- it was all me.

To finish the blanket I followed an excellent tutorial I found on happythings, and kept things as simple as possible. The final product is a mash of fabrics I liked, but that don't really go well together, is a bit small, and a bit wonky, but Miss M loves it.

To keep things fair, and because I now knew how to make a quick blanket, I also made a super-simple one for my boy. His is incredibly comfy, with t-shirt material on one side, and super-soft flannel on the other.

Why?

Why is it that whenever I try to learn something new I always start out with a heck of a lot of frustration?

The olders were at school and the baby toddler was quietly napping. This morning was the perfect time for me to do something just for me. Today was my day to sew. I was going to finish the patchwork quilt I'd started for my girl oh so many months ago.

After spending two straight hours trying to stitch just a few simple pieces this morning I had to admit defeat. It's the same thing I ran into with Miss M's machine. For some reason the thingy where you put the little bobbin in keeps getting mucked up and I end up with a tangled, snarled, and ugly mess. I've dis-assembled, and re-assembled the monster too many times to count, but enough times that I actually understand (I think) how the mechanism works.

Google is not helping me any this time around so I think it's time I got one of my friends with skills to come give me a hands-on tutorial.

Plaid Skirt!

Plaid Skirt!, originally uploaded by VeroC.

Next up on the party list was a skirt for Miss M.

{I can't believe I made this!}

The fabric had a nice fringe on the finished side so all I did was cut it to the length Miss M desired (adding a couple inches for the waist-band). We ended up sewing just two straight lines (I could handle that!). First the waist, folded over about an inch to accommodate an elasticized ribbon. Second the length. The last step was to thread in the ribbon. Voila!

I highly recommend using checkered, or striped fabric if you are a novice seamstress like I am -- all you have to do is sew along the lines!

After twirling around in a bit, my girl informed me that I had to blog this. She also thought I should "do this for work."

I am so relieved it worked out, I was terrified to mess this one up. Note to self: perfectionism isn't worth the stress.

Sewing sachets and wallets

Miss M is passionate about creating. Anything. She loves choosing her elements and imagining what they can become. And then she goes and does it. How great is that?

These days she is all about preparing for Christmas (though she is very careful not to say anything about who presents are for or from 'cause B still believes in Santa. So, shhhh!).

A couple nights ago she asked if she could make a Lavender Sachet. All I had to do was hand her the supplies: fabric, needle, thread, lavender, rice, ribbon.

Her brother saw what she was up to and asked if he could sew, too. Of Course! He chose to make a wallet (this is Monopoly Boy, after all). I set him up with the fabric (he wanted the same as hers), threaded the needle, and showed him where to sew. When he was done, we stuck on some Velcro to hold it shut.

They are both incredibly pleased with their creations. I am, too.

Work in progress...

I've mentioned before that I don't sew, and that my Mom is a Very Talented Quilter. I've started doing little projects here and there and finally began a quilt for Miss M. I think (hope) she'll like it. My entire life, I've never liked reading instruction books, always preferring to figure stuff out as I go -- maybe not the best, but the information seems to stick that way. Maybe I'm just lazy...

Anyway... I started this project by just cutting two fabrics I liked into 4.5 inch squares and started piecing them together with the machine. Added on, and connected my blocks. I can tell already that I'm going to be needing to do quite a bit of math to get this thing to a size where she can actually snuggle under it.

I'm also going to need to figure out how to assemble the thing with the batting and backing (both of which still need to be purchased!).

Caterpillow!

We did it!

I figured out why the sewing machine wasn't cooperating (thread was too taught, so I re-threaded it -- somehow that did the trick), and M and I were able to complete our Caterpillow project. Hooray!

I made things a little harder on myself than they needed to be by sewing the length of the body before attaching the head and tail, but at least I'll know better next time. We'll also add legs -- this one is more of a worm that a caterpillar...

Miss M chose all the fabrics and put a lot of thought into every step of it. The ends are green to match the middle band. And she drew the mouth for me to sew on, and found flowers on a scrap of fabric that she liked for the eyes. She did do some of the sewing, but found it a bit tedious. Much easier to have Mom do that part.

She decided that we should give this to Little T for Christmas since it's so special, so it's been hidden waaay up high in a closet.

Quite a nice Mommy & Me collaboration!

My #$@&!! sewing machine

Ok... First of all, the sewing machine is technically my daughter's, but because I don't have any real experience machine sewing I've decided that this thing is the (current) bane of my life.

Not too bad a bane, considering...

Today Miss M and I had our Mommy and Me day. I do these with the older kids now since the children  out-number the grown-ups in our family -- it's really difficult for them to get focused attention from us. Whoever's day it is gets to stay home from school and gets to pick all the activities.

The day was great. We went bowling, had lunch, and then M had a Very Specific Idea. We stopped at our local fabric shop to pick out her materials. The plan was to sew a Caterpillow. A pillow of her design, shaped like a caterpillar.  I could do this. It was easy. Strips of colorful (rainbow) fabric sewn together and then we'd make a tube out of them. Easy-schmeasy.

Ha. The Machine had other plans and tangled up the threads. Repeatedly.

We are lucky that we live in a town that has an incredible variety of adult ed classes available. I am determined to get this Sewing Thing. My mind is so full of projects I'm ready to create. All I need is the Skills.

Journey doll COMPLETED!

I am so proud of Miss M. She has worked so diligently to complete her doll. We spent part of the afternoon yesterday working on the final touches; a belt and her hair. M had a very clear plan in mind and was determined to do the job all on her own. Did pretty well, too, and didn't get too frustrated. I did help out a bit when frustration started to set in. The new doll's name is Ling-ling, and I think she is lovely.

>> Previous posts about Ling-ling are here and here

Journey doll

I mentioned Miss M's Journey doll project in an earlier post. Well she's come home for a few days so my girl can finish dressing & tressing her. She's still a work in progress but I think she is is perfection already. I love that the doll has a bit of M's attitude.

Kirby doll

I showed Miss M this morning's post and she immediately said "Let's do it!" — That's my girl :-)

She and her brother have been obsessively drawing these characters they call Kirby recently, so it made sense to make one for him (her idea) since he was away on a playdate. For our first try at sewing together, I think we did quite well!

I think we're going to have to make another one for the baby 'cause he was smitten as soon as he saw this one.

UPDATE: Turns out Kirby is "real" and has a TV show and website. Guess we're not up to date on our TV time :-)