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T-Day Table Decor

Posted by Vickie Howell on November 2, 2009 at 3:36 PM in General Crafts, Nature Crafts, Painting, Parent/Child Collaboration, Thanksgiving Projects, Tutorial

Happy November, fellow crafty parents! Chances are you've already started thinking about Thanksgiving Day (but don't worry if you haven't, there's still plenty of time), and how to make your family's celebration extra special. We often put much effort into the main dinner table--making sure that it looks as inviting as the food that will be served on it. A common afterthought however, is the kids' table; a place for the T-Day tots to have their own dining space. Today on Craft Apparent, I show how to honor that space by using fall leaves to print on no-sew place mats (sized down to accommodate smaller plates), and make glittered pumpkin place cards for each of your little guests. Finish decorating by covering their table in colorful burlap and sprinkle with leaves and candy corn--you'll find that even the tiniest of diners will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Who knows, now they may never want to graduate to the "big people's" table!

Materials
Place mat:
Unbleached Cotton Fabric
Iron-on Adhesive (found in the Sewing aisle of the craft store)
Iron
Scissors
Decorative Ribbon
Fabric Fusion Glue
Fabric Paint
Sponge Brush
Fall Leaf
Letter Stamps & Stamp Pad

Pumpkin Place Card:
Small Pumpkin
Tacky Glue
Sponge Brush
Orange Glitter
Letter Brackets (found in the Scrapbooking aisle of the craft store)

Place Mat How-To

Cut 2, 9"x13" pieces of fabric and 1, 9"x13" piece of iron-on adhesive. Following adhesive manufacturer's instructions, sandwich between fabric and iron together to make place mat.

Sponge brush a thin layer of fabric paint over the front side of a leaf. Place face down on fabric and press. Repeat this step across fabric to create printed design; leave blank space for text. Note: If you live in a part of the country that doesn't have a ton of great, fall leaves, fake ones from the craft store will work just as well!

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Using letters and ink, stamp "I am thankful for..." on blank space of mat. Note: If stamps are unavailable, hand write message using fabric markers. They work great, too!

Cut 9" lengths of decorative ribbon and glue on to each end of mat. Well, fancy mat, you're done! ;-)

T-Day Tips:

Encourage your children to finish the sentence on their place mat by telling you what they're thankful for.
For all-day affairs, set up a crafts table for kids to do their own leaf printing and pumpkin glittering!

Pumpkin Place Card How-To

Sponge brush a liberal amount of Tacky Glue on the top of wee pumpkin. Make glue line uneven, to give more of a dripping effect.

Pour glitter over glue. Let dry. Shake excess off.

Push letter brackets (to spell child's name) into pumpkin front.

Place pumpkin place card at each child's place setting, so they know there's a special seat just for them!

Stay tuned in two weeks for the dish on a picture perfect project, designed with your family photo in mind. Until then, happy Fall crafting!

xo,
Vickie

Psst! Make this craft? We'd love to see a picture of it...and we're sure others would too! Join the Craft Apparent Flickr group and upload photos of you're awesome Craft Apparent Crafts!

Wicked Stitch--Embroidered Trick or Treat Totes

Posted by Vickie Howell on October 20, 2009 at 8:59 AM in Embroidery, Halloween Projects, Parent/Child Collaboration, Tutorial

One of my favorite ways to encourage kids to be creative is by collaborating with them on projects. A simple but rewarding way to do this is by embroidering their artwork onto fabric; making it a usable keepsake. In the past I've stitched my sons' artwork onto journals, t-shirts and even a birthday card pillow for Nana. The possibilities for this technique are endless, including incorporating it into your Halloween celebration!

This year, sweeten a Trick or Treat tote with scary sketches done by your little devils. Kiddos will feel proud displaying their talents, and parents will have a crafty record of darlings' doodles to save for years to come. Oh and if you've never embroidered before, no problem! This project requires only using one, easy stitch: the back stitch. Here's everything you'll need to know to make one of these boo-tiful bags yourself!

Materials
Paper & Pencil (for child's drawing)
Plain, Canvas Tote Bag
Assorted Colors, Embroidery Floss
Embroidery Needle
Embroidery Hoop
Transfer Paper (found in art supply aisle at craft store)
Note: Be sure to buy light colored transfer paper if you're working with a dark, tote bag and dark paper for lighter versions.

"Fracking Stine" (aka Frankenstein) artwork by Tristan, age 7. Ghost artwork by Tanner, age 9.

Project How-To

Ask your child to draw a simple, picture of something Halloween-related. The less detailed the drawing, the easier it is to translate into an embroidered image.

Lay transfer paper, face down on tote bag. Lay drawing, face up on top of transfer paper. Using a pencil, stylus or anything pointy (a knitting needle, works great), firmly trace over drawing. Image should now be transferred onto tote bag front.
Place tote bag front in embroidery hoop. Back stitch over transferred image outline.

Psst! Got older kids? Have them do the embroidery themselves!

Back Stitch Tutorial

Step 1: Knot embroidery thread end. Starting from the backside of the piece, come up through fabric at Point A (just pick a starting point on the outline).

Step 2: Come back down with your needle at Point B (about 1/8" from Point A--stitches do not need to be exact); pull thread through. Your first stitch is now complete!

Step 3: Come up through the back at Point C; pull thread through. Your second stitch is now complete!

Repeat Step 3, coming up through the fabric about 1/8" from the stitch before, until design is finished. Knot end. Snip thread.

Spooky Stitching!,
Vickie

Psst! Make this craft? We'd love to see a picture of it...and we're sure others would too! Join the Craft Apparent Flickr group and upload photos of you're awesome Craft Apparent Crafts!

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T-Day Table Decor

Wicked Stitch--Embroidered Trick or Treat Totes

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