Summer Fun Day 66 - Sight Word Sewing Cards

Just because it's summer, doesn't mean we can't throw some second grade spelling practice in with the fun.

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Summer Fun Day 42 - Reversible Minion/Evil Minion Inspired Finger Puppets

We haven't seen Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment's Despicable Me 2 yet, but we've already been inspired by the new "evil" side to the otherwise adorable horde of minions.  I thought, whether we make it to the theater this summer, or not, it would be fun to make up a few split personality finger puppets - sweet and yellow on the outside - crazy and purple on the inside.

Reversible, felt, finger puppets, minion or otherwise, are fairly simple to put together.  Start by making two separate puppets out of felt...

...like so...

Then, when you have them both complete, turn one of them inside out (leaving the little arms pushed in).

Push the inside-out puppet into the outside-out puppet...

....and whip stitch them together around the bottom edge (in this case just the purple and yellow layers).

So, you'll be ready to save the world...

...or...

...wreak some havoc...

...depending on your mood.

Oh, and speaking of the movie, was that really a corn chip sombrero I saw Gru wearing in the preview?

It's great to be a homeschooler.

Simple Felt Barbie Clothes

Wouldn't it be nice if life was always so simple?


It's great to be a homeschooler.

Valentine's Hand Sewing

I worked with the older girls (ages 10 and 12) and one of their friends, this weekend, on a simple Valentine's sewing project from Holiday Crafts and Creations. The site offers a free printable template for felt heart bookmarks like those above (I thought it was a little big, and eyeballed the pattern instead).

To keep things simple, I cut out the felt pieces ahead of time...


...a laid them out with needles, embroidery floss, and paper clips for each girl.


Then, we sat down with the computer in front of us, to show the girls what we were making, and so we could follow the step-by-step instructions together.


It's an excellent tutorial with instructions for the backstitch, running stitch, and French knot (it was the first time I've been able to master that one). The length of the project is perfect for the 10-12 year old crowd...


...and as a bonus, the bookmarks are beautiful, and just the right size for slipping into a Valentine's Day card, or mailing off to cross-country friends.


It's great to be a homeschooler.

Colander Sewing Practice

We woke up to 34 degrees, and a slushy rain, today. Needless to say, we won't be going out to any Memorial Day services, or parades. Instead, I found myself pulling out my two colanders, a couple of balls of yarn, and our blunt end, child safe, plastic needles, for a little impromptu, boredom buster, sewing practice.

Why colanders?


Well, because I have two colanders, and two little girls. The colanders have pre-punched holes, big enough for the chunky needles to fit through. And, I don't currently have any of that grape bag type mesh, which is also good for beginning sewing practice.


I threaded each needle with a nice long piece of yarn, knotted at one end, and pulled it through the first hole for the girls.


Then, I set them stitching the thread, in and out of the holes.


E (age 6), took right off, without much supervision, but C (age 4), needed more help, to figure the right hole, and direction to pass the yarn through, and how to keep the yarn on the needle, as she pulled her stitches tight.


Once they got going, they looked so cute, stitching and chatting away - just like an old fashioned sewing bee.


They kept at the task for quite a while this morning, E's interest lasting longer than C's. Though, both girls were happy to discover, that pulling the yarn back out of the colanders, one stitch at a time, was even more fun than the sewing it in.


It's great to be a homeschooler.