my funny valentine

I know that a lot of people feel that Valentine's Day is a sham holiday created by greedy fat cat corporations to eke more money out of us.  That may be, but why turn your nose up at an opportunity to celebrate love in all of its various manifestations?  And this is one holiday where handmade always says it best.  There are few things that I find to be as heartwarming as watching my little boy create presents for the people he loves, and he had a great time making these snowmen for the ladies in his life (aka his grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and aunts).  If your child can do some very rudimentary cutting, gluing, and drawing, he or she can easily mass-produce these sweetheart snowmen for their valentines.

We happen to have a lot of toilet paper and paper towel rolls stockpiled because Bugsy, the pre-school's class gerbil, has a pathological cardboard addiction.  We invaded his supply and used one toilet paper roll per snowman.  We ran out of toilet paper rolls, so we cut a paper towel roll into two smaller pieces.  Other than that, all we used was red, white, and black construction paper, child safety scissors, a glue stick, and crayons.  As you can tell, I helped by cutting the three circles, hat, and heart needed for each snowman, but the rest was simple enough to be done "all by self," as my son says.  He even cut the scarves himself!

The assembly-line technique that we used was to line all the heads up and draw all of the faces at once.  Then we lined up the bodies to draw "buttons".  I pointed out exactly where the glue needed to be applied and handed him the right pieces as he worked, and we had a little army of snowmen in no time.  The toilet paper roll makes them stand up, but I thought it would be adorable for an older child to tuck a heartfelt note into that space.  I have to say that I was more than pleasantly surprised at how much of this my two-and-a-half year old could do on his own.  I am sure a three-or-four year old could truly do this all by self.  And the product would probably look a little more "Frosty" and a little less "Nightmare Before Christmas", but hey, these valentines are the genuine article.

If you have not tried crafting with your very young child because you think they are too young, please, please, please go ahead and do it anyway.  There are so many things that tiny children can do beyond coloring and fingerpainting, and it just feeds their imaginations and self-esteem in such a wonderful way.  The end product will not be beautiful in the classical sense, it is true, but it will look perfect to them, and, I am willing to gamble, to you.

a book pocket to be envied

I am back and I absolutely promise to post more frequently.  It is my Groundhog's Day promise to all 27 of you!  Now, on to a delicious little craft that is so ridiculously easy you will want to whip one up for every kid you know.

Debate over whether or not a 2 1/2 year old should still be in a crib aside, a crib-friendly book pocket is a delightful accessory for any book-loving kidlet.  This project took about an hour to make and it was so easy to throw together that my own book-loving kidlet actually assisted.  Which of course made him love the finished product that much more.

I came up with this idea while making the craft apron (note the use of that same bolt of green home dec fabric that I bought 10 years ago).  This book pocket is not just for cribs; it could be used in any bed with a rail situation.  I do not recommend this for children under 18 months for safety reasons.  We all know that any 18-month-old worth his salt would either have these straps unknotted and wrapped around his neck or use the whole contraption to launch himself over the rails in no time.

Before you begin, select a book that is a reasonable size to be hanging over a child's body.  This will be your size template.  I'll give you the measurements I used--my finished product was 9"h x 12"w with a 6" pocket and three 9" straps to tie onto the rail.  I made my straps, but you could use pre-made webbing instead. 

Now, cut your fabric into two large pieces (mine were 10" x 13") for the pocket back, one 10" x 13" piece for the pocket, and three 4" x 13" pieces for the straps. 

Sew the three straps (or cut your webbing).  Evenly space them between the two back pieces (right sides facing) with a good four inches hanging out and pin them in place.  Fold the piece of fabric for the small pocket in half, iron it, and pin that into place, between the two larger pieces, as well.  Sew around the three edges, leaving the bottom open and double stitching at the straps.  Turn everything right side out and iron.

Sew across the bottom with a double stitch.  Turn the pocket out so that the unfinished edge is tucked inside the pocket.  Done.  How easy is that?

I added an applique on the pocket using Wonder Under (one of my favorite things ever) and some scrap fabric.

May I also recommend two books to tuck inside your new pocket?  In our house, we absolutely love Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Jen Corace and Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems.  Both are hilarious and delightfully illustrated--you will love reading them as much as your book pocket recipient will love hearing them. And I like to think that wonderful, creative, hip illustrations instill a certain design sensibility in my offspring.

a pretty easy apron to make

With a pile of grading and a million other things to do, I knew that it was the perfect time to make an art apron for C., my two-year-old.  He loves to draw more than anything, but his crayons and pencils are always rolling away, causing him major frustration.  I wanted to make him a little apron with big pockets so that he could stow his writing implements as he worked.

Now, before I proceed, I must warn you that I am super imprecise and rarely use patterns.  I am the less alluring, non-British Nigella Lawson of sewing.  I just make it up as I go along and hope it will pan out OK.  I sort of measure, but I often use a book or whatever is lying around to keep my lines straight.  My mantra in crafting, which I filched from my personal hero Amy Sedaris, is "Eyeball It!"  While this approach can end with a crying jag over my sewing machine, it has generally worked out for me.

So! On to the apron.  I started by measuring C.  He is a pretty standard-sized tyke.  I measured from his waistline to his neck (about 7"), from his waistline to his knees (again, about 7") and his waist (about 22").  Then, I gathered the supplies:

• A 1/2 yard of heavier fabric (you will need more if you are making a bigger apron, obviously)
• A small amount of accent fabric for the big pocket
• 2 sets of D-rings, size 1 1/4"
• Scissors
• Wonder Under (if you want to do a little applique on the top pocket)
• all-purpose thread
• pins
• measuring tape
• needle (to clean up ends)
• iron
• sewing machine

Now you are ready to start cutting everything out.  To cut apron body (Piece A), I folded the fabric in half and cut a 16" by 12" rectangle.  I measured 8" up from the fold and marked it with a pin.  I then folded the piece length-wise (like a hotdog bun) and measured 4" along the open edge from the fold and marked with a pin.  I then cut diagonally from the top pin to the middle pin.  This way, everything turns out even when you unfold it.  Here is a little chart of the pieces you need to cut:

Step 1. Straps.  By far the most annoying part is the straps.  I made them by cutting 3" wide pieces, then folding each in half, ironing, folding in a 1/2 or so along each long edge (and one short edge on Pieces C, D, and E), ironing again, and sewing.  Pieces C, D, and E can have one end that is not finished since it will be sewn into the apron.  Piece F does not need either side to be finished.  You can rest assured that once you have finshed the straps, it is smooth sailing.

Step 2. Attach D-rings.  Attach 2 D-rings to finished end of Piece E by folding it over and sewing securely.  This will be for the waist strap.  Fold Piece F in half, slip D-rings into crease, and sew securely.

Step 3. Big pocket.  Fold accent fabric--Piece B--in half and iron.  Line the folded fabric up so that it is upside down against the right side of Piece A, about 1" up from the fold in Piece A.  Sew.  Fold back up and iron.

Step 4. Attach side straps and sew apron sides.  This is a very rewarding step.  Make sure that the big pocket is smooth.  Now, pin the side straps D and E into the apron,along the top of the big pocket, at the 7"-8" mark.  Make sure that the side of the straps that you want to face out is pinned facing the apron.  Fold the bottom half of the apron up and pin, foming a sort fabric pita pocket with the straps and pocket inside.  Sew.  Unpin and turn the whole thing right side out.  Now your pocket and straps are attached!  You are in the home stretch.

Step 5.  Attach top pocket and sew divider into big bottom pocket.  First, take Piece G and fold it, right sides in, and sew along each short side.  Turn it right side out.  You should have a piece that is finished on three sides and open on the fourth.  Position this upside down on the bib of the apron and sew along the unfinished edge.  Flip it up and sew along each short edge to attach the pocket.  At this point, I attached an applique that I cut from the accent fabric using the Wonder Under.  Then sew a line down the middle of the big bottom pocket to form two pockets.

Step 6.  This is it!  Attach the neck straps by folding in the unfinished top edge of the apron.  Position Straps C and F on either edge of the top and pin.  Sew along the top to secure everything.

When I gave the finished product to C., he said, "Mama, you made it-- for me?"  And really, isn't that all the thanks you need?  He wears it all the time, even with his pj's, as you can see.