Felt Mini Crayon Roll Tutorial

My twins are in their first year of preschool and we just encountered our first "Valentine Exchange".  I know a lot of parents are trying to watch what their children eat and personally the last thing we need in our house is another bag of mini candy!  So I decided to put on my craft hat and make a mini crayon roll to give out with our personalized "color in" Valentine cards (we gave out these and these).   I had purchased a few boxes of crayons on wicked sale at the beginning of the school year, I grabbed some ribbon from my ever growing stash and I had a ton of felt left over from the Halloween costumes I made last fall.  So besides picking up a new spool of thread for my new sewing machine, the cost for this project was pretty minimal. 

Supply List

Felt (I used off the bolt felt)

Ribbon (cut into strips 10in long)

Thread

Scissors or a rotary cutter

Pinking Shears

Ruler

Marker or fabric marker

Crayons

I first started to cut my felt with scissors, then quickly discovered I suck at cutting straight lines.  So, ultimately, I broke down and bought a new small rotary cutter and mat.

For each roll I cut two squares of my main color (in this case, chocolate brown) 7in x 6in.  For the pocket color (red) I cut the square 8in x 6in.

{here is where I'll disclose that I was VERY generous with measuring out my felt squares.  I am a beginner with my new sewing machine, so things like "seam allowance" and sewing in a straight line aren't yet 2nd nature for me.  So I gave myself extra room for mistakes.  If you are an experienced sewer, you might want to go a little smaller.  My finished crayon roll measures 6in x 5in or so).

Fold the pocket piece in half, with the fold at the top.  I used a special ruler with slots for an inch, etc. to mark out my crayon pockets, but you could easily use a regular ruler (or straight edge) to mark out the pockets & lines.  I started the first one 1 1/4in in, then marked an inch for 3 pockets and the last pocket should have another 1 1/4in from the other side (see, here I go showing off my lack of sewing skills again.  Basically, I measured out where my outer seam would be, then marked for the inside pockets.  In total, there should be 5 pockets for crayons).  

Take a piece of your main color felt and line it up behind the pocket color.  Sew down your markings for the pockets.  I made sure to back-stitch at both the top & the bottom of each line.  I only stitched the four inside lines for the three inner pockets as the other pockets will be created when you sew your two main color pieces of felt together. 

Line up the second piece of main color (brown for mine) behind the piece you just sewed with the pockets.  Now you will sew all around the roll.  As you approach the right side, slip two of the cut ribbons in between the main color felt -- I placed it just as the red pocket color started.  I made sure to back stitch a few times over the ribbon spot as to make sure it is secure. 

Once you have sewn all around the mini roll, break out those pinking shears and cut around the edges.  {here is where I tried to make up for any unstraight lines!  Pinking shears are my new BFF!}  Be careful as you near the spot of the ribbon -- I had to cut into it from a couple of different angles to make sure I didn't accidentally snip up the ribbon.

Insert crayons and VOILA!  You now have a mini crayon roll - perfect to stash in backpacks or mama's purse.  Or hand out as party favors or Valentine's "treats". 



  This is a great beginner sewing project (it was only my 2nd time using my machine) and I was finished with 8 rolls in an evening (which explains the poor quality of pictures -- the lighting in my basement isn't the best and the only time I have to craft is after my kiddos are in bed). 

As I like to say, if I can master this project, ANYONE can!

Goodies for Halloween - Cupcake & Cookie Costume Tutorial

My family lives near a wonderful bakery.  And my children are the biggest fans!  While trying to decide what to torture dress up my twins for Halloween, I landed on a couple of super cute options from PBK which would fit the theme of "Goodies from the Bakery".  And while I am often a shopper of this wonderful store, I found this tutorial online and became inspired to get my craft on!   The result? 

A CUPCAKE for my daughter!

And a COOKIE for my son!

My supply list included:

 2 yards of Pink fleece

1.5 yards of dark brown felt

1 yard of cream felt

White grosgrain ribbon

Wide brown ribbon

1 yard of white ruffle trim

10 felt squares (various colors)

Scissors
Pins
Heat/Iron Interfacing

Thread or Embroidery floss (I used the embroidery floss) in colors to match felt

Items to make circles (I used a stencil tool, container from kitchen, basket & place mat.  I could have also used an embroidery hoop)

Cupcake

I pretty much followed the tutorial from Lemon Tree's site.  I decided to make mine "sew" vs. "no sew" only because I knew my 2.5 year old would find more joy in ripping off glued pieces / circles than collecting candy on Halloween.  And since I don't have a sewing machine ::cough, cough . . . Xmas list!::  I decided to hand sew all the pieces.  Yes, this took a lot bit more time, but since I don't know how to use a sewing machine I'll call it a "wash" time-wise in the end.  :)

I used a few items for guides instead of free handing . . . like, I used one of my daughter's dresses to measure out the length for the two fleece pieces and the felt cupcake bottom (go ahead -- try to get a 2.5 year old toddler to sit still to measure.  I dare you!).

I used a kitchen container to map out the scallop look on the two fleece pieces

I also used a ruler / guide to measure out the pieces for the bottom of the cupcake and the circles for the sprinkes on the cupcake.

I also cut arm holes for the bottom layer of fleece -- it just seems to lay a bit better.  And I also sewed on a strawberry with fluff to a headband just to complete the piece!

Cookie

I took my scraps from the cupcake project and made a cookie for my son.  My scientific way to measure out the size for this was to take various circle shaped things from around my house and hold them up to my son's chest.  Nice, eh?  The black basket that holds decorative balls in my living room seemed to be the best fit.  So I used this to cut out my main cookie.  I folded the felt in half and cut 2 circles at a time (so I had 4 total circles).

I then used a smaller circle (a place mat from my dining room) to measure out the "icing".  I only cut one circle for this.  

Next I used scrap felt to make the "sprinkles" and placed them on (and pinned) to see how many I would need. 

{this is where it got to be late into the night and I stopped taking pictures.  Sorry!}. 

I pinned the cream "icing" to ONE piece of the brown felt.  Then I stitched the icing to the brown felt and each piece of sprinkle to the icing.  Then I used the interfacing to bond a 2nd piece of brown felt to the main front (just making it thicker and more sturdy).  I did the same to the 2 remaining pieces of brown felt for the back of the cookie.  Then I measured out two shoulder straps from the brown ribbon and I also ended adding 2 small straps to the sides for stability as well.

Both outfits will be finished off with brown pants & coordinating shirts underneath.  Check my family blog later this week for pictures of the little peeps in their outfits (hopefully). 

Happy Halloween!

Ice Pop Sleeves

My boys have recently become obsessed with ice pops, a little later in the game compared to other 2 1/2 year olds.  They hate, however, cold fingers.  When I came across this post from A Girl and A Glue Gun, I knew I had to make some.

While shopping in Joanne's, I couldn't remember what sort of fabric was used.  I thought it was fleece, but couldn't find anything with a small print that would be cute, so I opted for flannel.  

If they fray, we'll make replacements soon.  It's more likely that they will get lost.

I made eight of these in no time flat.  Just cut and sew. 

Easy peasy, my kind of sewing.

Hope you enjoy the photos of my guys showing them off.

I'll try to remember to take photos during the process next time!