How to make a simple pretty tote bag & fabric hoop with the kids... read more
Half term is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with the little ones. As the weather turns, why not spend a ‘crafternoon’ at home? We invited blogger Emily of blog The Startup Wife to share the craft projects she’s been doing with her daughter…
1. Pretty Tote Bag.
This is a beautiful but simple craft to make with your children and it’s great way of using up some of your leftover fabric.
We used the gorgeous Laura Ashley Peony Garden Cranberry Linen Mix fabric and a plain grey tote bag.
First we looked at the flowers and talked about the shapes and the colours. My daughter chose her favourite flower for the middle of the bag and then picked out two smaller ones, which she wanted to place at opposite ends of the bag.
She cut them out using pinking shears and then we used Bondaweb to easily attach it to the bag. As this involves ironing I did the ironing while Imogen started choosing buttons to sew onto the flowers…
Once I’d fixed the fabric flowers onto the bag with Bondaweb I then helped Imogen to sew on a few buttons.
One pretty tote bag all ready to take to the shops! I think it would make a lovely gift for a child to give to a Grandmother or Aunty. You could add more buttons or sequins and embroidery would look beautiful too…
2. Fabric hoop
A sweet way to use a favourite fabric and turn it into something you can hang on your wall.
We used another flower from the Laura Ashley Peony Garden Cranberry Linen Mix fabric.
We placed our 12″ embroidery hoop onto the fabric and then cut a piece larger than the hoop…
Next we used some letter stamps and fabric ink to print onto the fabric. We wanted to keep it simple because the peony is so beautiful in itself but also wanted to personalise it. So, we chose some pink fabric ink and printed ‘peony’ with our letter stamps…
Then we popped it into the hoop, cut the extra material off at the back and tied a pink ribbon at the top for hanging…
It looks so pretty hanging on the wall and I think it would make another sweet gift for your child to make and give.
You could make several of these using different flowers from the fabric and hang them together on a wall. I know my children love having their artwork up on the walls at home and I think this would feel extra special!
Both these crafts are simple and quick to make, which is often the key to making things with children. I love the way that if you only have 20minutes together you can make one of these things and if you have more time you can add extra sparkle and prettiness with buttons, sequins, stamping. And, if you are looking for things to make for gifts for the Festive Season, then I think these would be lovely.
Emily