Make Your Own Sackboy Doll/Plushie

You may have heard the video game Little Big Planet 2 has recently made it's debut. My sons loved the first version and have been begging for the game and game system for months. Well that's a little out of the reach of my budget. Luckily they have cousins that own the game. ;)  What I can provide is a character plushie.

If you don't happen to have a sewing machine, this is a small project that would be very easily done by hand.


You Will Need:

• Brown Knitted Fabric
• Black Fabric
• Red Fabric
• Stuffing
• Black Buttons
• A Zipper

First you will need to cut your body pieces. It's important to cut the grain or lines of the knit in the way indicated due to streatching.

I will be using a brown scarf bought at the dollar store.

Pieces:
Head A- 3in x 6in cut with the knit lines going the 3in length
Head B- 2in x 6in cut with the knit lines going the 2in length
Circle- 3in (I used a child's drinking cup for this)
Body- 3.5in x 3.5in
Legs and Arms- 3in x 3.5in cut with the knit lines going the 3.5in length

Putting it Together

1.) The head consists of the two pieces, joined around the mouth. To make the mouth, I cut a piece from the cardboard tag (cereal box cardboard would work as well)...

I then used craft glue to attach them to black fabric (I used cotton, but any scrap you have would do)...

 

I'm making two at a time, you only need one of these.

...Cut around the cardboard at about 1/4in...

...Cut and glue a red tongue to the front (I used felt).

2.) Sew the mouth piece to 'Head A' by centering it and then starting from one mouth edge.

3.) Sew the mouth piece to 'Head B' in the same manner, then sew 'Head A' to 'Head B' at the mouth seam.

4.) Sew the Circle to 'Head A' leaving the ends un-sewn.

I found it very easy to sew without the pins but this somewhat shows the placement.

5.) Sew the body to 'Head B', matching the knit line direction.

Again, easily sewn without the pins, just stretch the smaller body piece to fit the head piece.

7.) Sew the back seam leaving the 'Head A' section open for stuffing, then flatten and sew to round off the bottom of the body.

You can see the back seam is in the middle.

6.)Stuff and hand stitch shut.

7.)  Make the Legs and arms by sewing down one long (3.5in) edge and then sewing a rounded bottom edge.

8.) Stuff, then fold the open end in and hand-stitch shut.

9.)  Sew the eye and limbs in place.

10) For the zipper, I just went to my stash and cut a 7in zipper down to size, whipstitched (stitched around and around in one place) the end, and hand stitched in place.

There's your Sackboy.

I would love to see what you have made! Please join in on the Link Party going on Monday, 1/24/11 through Tuesday, 1/25/11.

New Year's Eve Disco Ball- Party Favor (Kid Friendly) Craft

Ahhh New Year's Eve... proof that there really is something even gaudier than Christmas decorations (I say this with a great deal of fondness). Christmas may have the childlike, multicolored, cuteness, but New Year's Eve? Well NYE has all the spangle and sparkle of a Vegas Show Girl's undies.

In that vein, what could be more fun than a mini disco ball as you watch that famed ball drop? This would also work for a kid or tween's themed party.

For this you will need:

• Styrofoam Craft Balls (I used 3 in)
• A Bag O' Sequins (for a traditional disco ball look, you can use all silver)
• Silver Straight Pins
• Ribbon

First, I used a little hot glue to attach the ends of my ribbon to the Styrofoam ball.

For added strength, I started pinning sequins right on top of the ribbon.

Continue pinning the sequins to cover the ball surface.

(Fairly) Soon, you will have a little disco ball, ready for the dance party!  5...4...3...2...

Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving Napkin Rings (Kid Friendly Craft)

Continuing with the Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts Kids Can Make book (could they have picked a longer title?), today we do the multicolor corn napkin rings. I think these are very cute and a great addition to the harvest theme.


You Will Need:

• Multicolored Corn (used for harvest decor)
• Cardboard Tubes- TP tubes or Paper Towel tubes (you will get about 4 rings from a TP tube and 11 from a Paper Towel tube)
• Tacky Glue
• Glitter if Desired
• Scissors
• Measuring Tape
• Small Paint Brushes

• Newspaper and other mess containment items (I found a pizza box works wonderfully!)

1.) Remove the corn from the cob.I find this easy to get started by holding the kernels with one hand around the cob and turning the cob with the other hand... like a twisting or wringing motion.

2.) With the measuring tape mark the tubes at one inch intervals.



3.) Cut the tubes at the one inch marks to make rings.


4.) Paint the tacky glue onto the cardboard rings, and apply the kernels. We did this in sections, but whatever way works best is the way you should do it..

(Be advised that with young children-4 and under- the kernel placement will not be this neat. ;) )

5.) When the outer surface of the ring is covered as much as you can, you either just let it dry or place it in a baggy of glitter and roll/tilt gently to fill in the gaps.

(You may also cut strips of felt and glue them to the inside of the rings if so desired)





After the glue dries you have a lovely Thanksgiving Napkin Ring!

Kids Thanksgiving Craft: Pine Cone Place Cards

Hopefully you have gathered your cones and are ready for an easy kid friendly craft.

I have a copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts Kids Can Make from '87, and the boys wanted to use the place card craft found in the Thanksgiving Table section. Mine came from a family friend but they also have it at Amazon.















On to the craft...

1.) We took our cones outside, spray painted them, and used spray craft adhesive to add glitter.

2.) While they dried, we went inside and worked on our name cards. I had some pretty cardstock, so we kept it simple and used the fancy-schmancy sisscors  on the edges. The boys wrote the names of family members that are expected for our Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner.

(I'm especially proud of my youngest- he'll be 5 in December- and how well he wrote names)


3.) When you're setting the table, just slip the name card into the pine cones for an Earthy, harvest decoration.

In case you were wondering, THIS is what happens when you combine all this with three boys. LOL



Of course when they are not being used for place cards, the pine cones look great just in a basket.

***Options: You can use letter stickers for the names, and if course you can decorate the card stock anyway you like... beads, glitter, yarn, bric-a-brac, etc



HEADS UP FOR LATER: WE WILL BE USING MULTICOLOR CORN FOR SOME MORE THANKSGIVING PROJECTS