Crafting with the Kids: Handmade Critters

At school the other day, the kids had free drawing time in art class, and Shannon came home with a drawing of a neat little critter. It reminded me of the kids' Ugly Dolls (love them!), so I suggested we make a stuffed friend for her using her drawing as a pattern. Of course, Ronan wanted one too and quickly drew one up. Look at that smile - seems like a bit of a self portrait to me!

(Ronan with "Venus" and Shannon with "Blurg")

It didn't take long at all to translate their drawings into these stuffed critters, but I did learn some tips along the way:

*Have the kids draw their picture, including any appendages, as large as possible - even after you add a seam allowance, once you stitch and turn any arms, legs, tails, ears, etc. they can be pretty small
*Use a low-pile (micro) polar fleece that won't shed too much
*Let the kids have a say all along the way - have them pick out the colors & any embellishments that are added

My kids were so proud of these creations. They couldn't wait to show them off at school!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy