All posts tagged toddler

Fish Backpack

by Vanessa Brady on 10 February 2011 in Tutorial with 12 Comments

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Well, I’m finally getting around to putting up some sort of tutorial for the Fish Backpack I made for So You Think You’re Crafty. It only took six months. Hey, it could be worse! I should, however, make a disclaimer first about the quality of this tutorial. Or lack there of… (hangs head in shame)

Since I was on a bit of a time crunch to whip out this backpack before the weekly deadline of SYTYC, I wasn’t really concerned with taking measurements or saving patterns for a future tutorial. Bummer, I know. So instead I have just a few photographs that will hopefully help an experienced sewer figure out how the heck I made this backpack. It really is just your basic drawstring bag, in the shape of a fish. So if you’ve made one of those, this project will be a breeze!

If anyone has question, please feel free to comment and I’ll try to clarify or find more pictures.

Fish Backpack Tutorial

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Fort Making Kit

by Vanessa Brady on 31 January 2011 in Kids with 2 Comments

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(Shhh, Josh! No peeking!)

Here’s my version of a Fort Making Kit I found on Saltwater Kids. I made a few of them as end-of-the-year gifts and they seemed to be enjoyed. A wonderfully easy gift that I hope will bring hours of entertainment!  No need for any tutorial over here since the Saltwater Kids tutorial is so well done. Yay for great tutorials!

Toddler Activity Bags Swap

by Vanessa Brady on 12 November 2010 in Kids, Tutorial with 19 Comments


1) Color/Shape Matching Cards 2) Oversized Dominos 3) Button Snake
4) Lacing Cards 5) Color Sorting 6) Dough Fun
7) Shape Stencils 8) Popsicle Puzzle 9) Rigatoni Stringing
10) Coloring/Stamping 11) Counting and Sorting 12) Scavenger Hunt

I’ve got to admit…this whole toddler thing is uncharted territory for me! Just when I thought I was getting the hang of caring for a baby, Jackson went and changed into a toddler. His amazing little mind needs me to be so much more engaged and I find myself trying to play “catch up.”

So how do I research activities to stimulate a growing mind? The internet, of course. I first came upon the idea of toddler activity bags through Chasing Cheerios. What a great way to keep a kid busy for just a few minutes while you change out of your pajamas or finish your burger and fries at a restaurant! Here are a few more links for toddler bags: Muses of Megret, Intrepid Murmurings, and the motherload of activity ideas, My Delicious Ambiguity.

Yesterday a few local moms and I got together to swap our activity bags. The concept was easy: we each made 12 identical gallon-sized freezer bags filled with a toddler friendly activity and swapped for 12 other different bags. We all ended up with about a dozen activities that can be pulled out when needed.

Can’t wait to put these to good use!

 
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