I am privileged to introduce you to today’s guest blogger, Alicia.  Yes, she is as warm and sweet as her blog, Mayfly.  Alicia has a special eye for photography.  Her photos make you stop, pause and really notice. I always feel that Alicia has found the trick to getting every drop of enjoyment out of each day! I hope you will stop by and see her beautiful murals, darling dolls and tons of creativeness!

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Alicia writes…

When my son was born, my husband’s very cool cousin Chuck sent a very cool gift: Where the Wild Things Are, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. It’s one of those books that you loved yourself as a child and thought you had outgrown, but now that you look again you realize you haven’t. It is full of spirit and imagination and beautiful artwork. I’m betting you all know this book as well as we do.


So when Cindy asked me to guest post here, I had to do something Wild Thing related. We decided to
make our own Wild Guys. They turned out pretty cute and were super easy! These little creatures are
essentially just pillows. So for you sewers, there you go. Have fun! But for those of you who aren’t, here are the steps to take:
Draw your creature. We used used fabric markers (fabric crayons or fabric paint would work too), so I cut each kid two pieces of white cotton from a thrifted cotton sheet- one for the front and one for the backing. Tape down the edges so the fabric stays tight.

I told them that they could use the whole piece of fabric, but that they needed to leave some little space all the way around for the stitching. Then they drew their guys. J wanted to use the book for inspiration, N wanted to create her Wild Guy from scratch. Next follow the directions on the markers to heat set the ink.

Now cut around the guys with about a 1” border for stitching. (We didn’t decorate the guy’s backside, but you surely could. Just be sure to do it before you stitch, so the markers don’t bleed through to the front.) Turn the drawing right side down against the backing fabric, pin and stitch around the critter leaving a space for turning and stuffing. I used my machine, but you could easily sew these by hand. An older child could even do this step him/herself. Trim to about 1/4” from your seam.

Next turn the Wild Guy right side out and stuff him full. My kids loved this step. We used polyfill so they will be washable. Hand stitch the opening closed and you’re ready for business!

You could do this with any book really, making existing characters or adding new ones for reenactments, inventing sequels, or just for snuggling.

Enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing. There is nothing sweeter in the world than seeing your older child reading to the younger one. Nothing. If you haven’t experienced this yet with your kids, just wait. You’ll melt into a puddle- you’ll see.
Thank you, Cindy, for including me here and for your efforts encouraging the love of reading and raising
awareness for the Read to Feed program– such an incredibly worthwhile cause.

You might also be interested in:

Making Creatures with Fabric Crayons


About Cindy Hopper

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Comments

  1. I love this idea so much. My little guy, Mr.P, is not old enough to enjoy such a project yet but I will be sure to do it when he is older.

    Love the idea!

  2. I love your wild thing creations! They are just precious. Encouraging reading and art is the most essential part of a child’s education–in my mind!

  3. I’ve just come over from Crafty Crow – what an amazing idea. This is a favourite book of both myself and my children and I know they will be desperate to do this once I’ve shown them your own lovely toys!

    Like you, hearing my daughter read to her younger brother is one of the most lovely things. x

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