She bounces from one activity to the next and it is extremely challenging trying to find a way to keep her attention for more than five minutes at a time. I know this is typical toddler behavior, but I been on a mission to find something that really interests her and also something that interests me so we can do it together.
I am getting really tired of patting a little pretend kitty that crawls around the floors of my house, licking her 'paws' and insisting I pat her belly every ten minutes. It seems like that is all she is interested in doing lately, and since we aren't getting a cat anytime soon...
This year for Christmas I decided to make each of my girls a homemade gift. I was inspired by flashbacks of handmade Popples, Carebears and Cabbage Patch Kid clothes all made for me by my Mother. She was/is amazing at whipping up fun sewn toys for us and our kids. So by golly, if she can do it... so can I!
After much searching I came up with the most perfect idea. You guessed it... PUPPETS!
It didn't take long before I came across this gem from The Crafty Cupboard. It's a doorway Puppet Theatre!! I knew instantly that I would be making it (or something like it) for my Pumpkin. I had to. There was no way that I could leave this Pinterest idea sitting there wasting away on the Kids board like all the other projects that I wish I had time to do. This one was gonna get done.
I set out to find some fabric, and being the frugal person that I am, I thought I would hit up the fabric section at Value Village first. Oh, and by the way... if you are planning a sewing project like new pillow covers or something that doesn't take too much fabric, check this store first. People make one cut in a piece of fabric and clearly lose interest in their project and ba-da-bing cheap fabric for me!
For around fifteen dollars I got enough fabric for three infinity scarves, a baby wrap, four pillow covers, two Spa totes, and the puppet theatre! Yup. Fifteen bucks for all that. I was a happy shopper that day.
I wanted the theatre to be kind of fancy looking, but also very durable. I planned on Pumpkin loving this gift so I figured it should last her a while. Also, since GIRLIE #3 is on the way I figured it better last for her childhood too. This lead to the decision to go with a thick purple corduroy fabric for the top and bottom of the theatre. Pretty and durable.
I have a well stocked cabinet of scrap fabric so I chose a bright red dress lining material for the fancy curtains and some black accent ribbons that I had leftover from our wedding decor.
The pattern uses a tension rod for the top so you can adjust it to your own sized doorway, and also a wooden dowel goes under the curtains to keep it straight across the doorway. I hit up Target for the curtain rod ($5) and Micheals craft store for the dowel ($1.50) and that was pretty much all there was to it!
If I could have done it in one sitting it would have taken me about four hours from start to finish, but since that is impossible in my world, it took me about two weeks of multiple thirty minute hideaways in my craft room.
So dun da da daaaaa...
Oh, and before I forget... What's a Puppet Theatre without some totally awesome puppets!!
I was pretty impressed with the theatre, but these puppets took the project to a whole new level! I got the idea from this seller on Etsy. I didn't have time to have these shipped to me from this talented lady, so I decided I better get some felt and start gluing myself!
From start to finish, these took me about six hours to complete. I really wish I had of made pattern pieces to share with everyone, but I didn't because I kind of just 'winged it'. Next time I won't make that mistake though, I promise!
I was so excited to give them to my Pumpkin with the theatre on Christmas morning. She is slightly obsessed with Doc McStuffins so I knew they would be a huge hit. And I must say, I get quite the applause from her when I do my own rendition of her favorite episodes from the show. I know most of episodes by heart by now. It's just one of the many perks of being a Mom I guess.
And I'm not the only that enjoys putting on the shows. It is so wonderful to see my daughters playing together. Bear LOVES doing shows for her little sister. We have started to incorporate all the other stuffie puppets that we had kicking around the house into the shows too. I think the Lion had a case of "No-friend-a-tosis" during this scene. Hehehehe.
This has been HOURS of fun for our family. I can't wait to make more puppets to add to her growing collection.
Speaking of more puppets... I recently saw a really cute pattern for NO SEW Princess Puppets from a blog I follow called Fynes Designs. AND guess what?! She happens to be from Nova Scotia (home!!!) so in a sense I feel like I am 'shopping' local. Not really, but ya know what I mean. Oh, and her pattern is free! Win, win, winning!
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| Image from www.fynesdesigns.com |
I will be sure to update this post with some pictures when I get-on-it and get them done. Hopefully it won't take me too long to finish them. I also have a few other sewing projects in the works that I am super excited about too!
Check out this beautiful fabric I found last weekend. It's going to turn into a beautiful quilt for baby GIRLIE#3.
This cold and snowy weather always inspires me to make warm and cozy things. Did a Blizzard keep you inside considering a sewing project this week?
Much Love,
Kate
This is so cute! Lucky girls (congrats on Girl#3!) Xo
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