Oil cloth apron

As you can see in the photos, P is not into posing for me anymore. He had to do it, because I made these oil cloth aprons for his kindergarten so he felt somewhat obliged to put it on, but not really enough to put on his model face too.

These were surprisingly simple to do. The pattern was drafted from the old cloth apron they've been using in the group. Since they use them when they put away dishes after lunch (4 kids are always in charge, one for each of the 4 tables they have) I though it might be useful to make it stain and water proof. 
This is actually the same fabric/different color I used in my Last minute floorbed. When I did it then I had some problems with the machine catching on to the fabric, I thought it was because of the plastic feel to it so I had some doubts, but this time it was so simple I couldn't believe it. Cutting the fabric was extremely simple, because it is like paper, it doesn't really move or wrinkle. So I cut the shape out and used twill tape as binding/straps. I did iron the binding in half to get that bias tape look and from there on I just went around, didn't even pin it. No problems with sewing, I am not sure if it is because of the twill tape or my machine just decided to do it this time, but it worked like a charm.

Kids love it! What do you think?

Tree softie for a baby

I made this softie during nap time, for the baby boy we went to visit yesterday. Very simple project from an old Ikea Fredrika fabric with tree prints. 

Note: stump needs to be made wider otherwise it will fold over because it can't keep the weight of the tree top.

P woke up and had a complete meltdown over the tree softie. He's never been interested in softies, but if I make a toy for someone else he needs it really, really bad.

I am awesome T-Shirt

As the title says, I think I am awesome! My whole life I was freaked out of sewing with knits. I started a while ago with some upcycles and it really wasn't that bad at all. But to make a T-Shirt was impossible to imagine for me. I thought I needed a serger, my machine isn't good enough and that I would fail miserably. But reading all the sewing blogs out there and seeing how people do wanders without sergers and any special equipment I though it is time to give it a go. Plus, what is the worst that can happen? T-Shirt turns out to be a disaster, I wasted a little time (not the first) and fabric (I upcycle anyway, so no biggie).

But I didn't fail:)
I am quite happy with the result. There are some things I will do differently next time, but in general, this is a perfectly wearable piece of clothes.

It is a little loose on him, but he loves it and he'll grow into it in no time anyway. I made it a bit longer than the pattern suggests. This T is made of two old T-shirts of mine. I used the old neck ribbing. Dana from MADE did a tutorial on this recently if you are not familiar with the process. I also made cuffs bigger and wider.

Pattern from Tank Engine (free, available in sizes 110, 120, 130). It is in Japanese, but there are photos if you are new to sewing, otherwise you will figure it out for yourself, it is a 3 piece pattern. The pattern lines up real nice and is very easy to work with.

What do you think?

Are you following my Free Sewing Patterns board on Pinterest yet?


Linking to The Train To Crazy

My Two things - again

I can't believe it's been a year already! And here it is again, Dr Seuss' birthday is tomorrow! I want to show you a project I did for the boys last year, originally posted on Budapest Moms.

Exactly a year ago today, P & I stood wondering

How did it get so late so soon?
Its night before its afternoon.

We sat there with P

We sat there, we two.
And I said, “How I wish
We had something to do!”
So all we could do was to
Sit!
Sit!

Sit!
Sit!
And we did not like it.
Not one little bit.
And then
Something went BUMP!
How that bump made us jump!
We looked!
Then we saw him step in on the mat!
We looked!
And we saw him!
The Cat in the Hat!

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, more places you’ll go.

So we read…but this was still not the project I needed so badly to do for Dr Seuss Day.


Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!


I could always print out the Cat in the Hat and stick it to P’s T-Shirt, but I am not too fond of cartoon characters on clothing, or anything else to be honest. I am more for subtly pointing out the obvious.


I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat. I’m all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”


And really, my troubles were all gone when The Cat said:

  I will pick up the hook.

 You will see something new.

Two things. And I call them

Thing One and Thing Two.

These Things will not bite you.

They want to have fun.

Then, out of the box

Came Thing Two and Thing One!

Original illustration from The Cat in the Hat

And immediately it hit me. I have two boys. It is late. I need a project, and I need something easy, fast and funny.

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.

So after they went to bed, I made these:

I created a template in Picnik  but Picnik is gone now, so you can try using Ipiccy to create printables from scratch. Picnic didn't have that possibility and my background turned a bit greyish, so if you use my downloads be aware of that.

I printed them on iron-on paper. Don’t forget to print it in mirror image, otherwise it will be backwards, which can also be fun sometimes…
After that I only had to iron it on a white T-shirt and a onesie I had for the boys. It is really important to do the ironing on a stable surface, so you can press the iron as hard as you can. The harder you press it, the better the result will be. An ironing board is not the best choice, although I did this on an ironing board yesterday.
And here they are, on Dr. Seuss’s birthday. My Two Things 

Will you try this?

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good.

Boxy the Robot

Hi there, I am Boxy the Robot!

 

They made me out of boxes, egg cartons, Makedo connectors,  floral wire and they even some Christmas led lamps into my head.

P also made me a trunk to carry his Teddy Bear friend we had visiting from his kindergarten.

Friends.

Hm...Do I dare?

Villa Carton City Blocks product review and a giveaway

Anybody who ever read this blog knows I am a little bit obsessed with cardboard toys. This tiny obsession of mine seems to have been passed on to my son(s). That, and re-creating the obvious:)
I first met Villa Carton through their flip dolls and I soon realized majority of their products is actually made of cardboard.Imagine my luck when they asked me to review their City blocks. Also try to imagine P. when we were handed over the big package by the postman. His question: Mommy, is this something for me to play with so you can write it on your blog? was precious...as his face as I tried to take photos.

 Set we received has a Hospital design on one side and a Fire Station design on the other. It contains seven blocks with a print on most sides. What I lover the most is that these blocks are actually boxes. Not boxy blocks! They are made like boxes that can be opened and closed whenever you want, without ruining the toy.

 

And just when I was happily plotting how this is totally cool, because I can also use it to store their smaller toys we are always stepping on, P decided he had a much better idea and asked me to cut out the doors on both sides of the biggest block, so he could park his cars inside.

First I was reluctant to do it, after all, we just got it...no sense in ruining it immediately, but when he patiently explained to me how it should be done and along which lines I should cut, I just had no argument left. And he was right! I mean, this is what this toy is all about. You can use it as is, but there are numerous possibilities for kiddos to practice their creativity.



























They can, for example, color it green...

or white...

Looks like this when big boy is playing:

and like this when the baby takes charge:

To be honest, I was worried how it will work with curious baby boy around, I was afraid he will ruin it in no time, but these blocks are sturdy enough for some baby roughing it around (he even sat on it several times). Baby test passed too:)
All in all, I think this is a perfect cardboard toy. I love the design, it is super practical because you can use it as storage as well as just fold it back flat when they get bored and put it away for a while since it is constructed that way. I personally love them monochrome but I can imagine how much fun it could be for bigger kids to personalize them. City blocks are also available as City/Shops and Western/Farm pairs and you can buy them here.

To read more about Villa Carton, check out this interview.

You can also win one set here by going through the Rafflecopter tool below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everybody! And thanks to Villa Carton for having us test this super cool toy! 

4 wheely by Luka Jelušić - Cubodelubo

If you are a 4 year old girl whose dad is a Croatian product designer/ landscape architect Luka Jelušić who also loves reclaimed wood, this is what you get when you ask for a toy car...5 minutes before bedtime:

Cubodelubo

Also make sure to check out the fantastic zoozle and antoine.

Wrapping-paper-making evening

Oh paper tree...

P chose paper patterns, I drafted a tree shape and cut one out of each pattern, he glued them together and decorated with buttons. They tell me in his kindergarten he is not into crafting...hm?!

Tree stump tools - our Happy Toys

I came across a Happy Boat made out of tree stump on Pinterest and remembered I never showed you the tools we made this summer.

So here they are: