Summertime wrap up

I had the opportunity this summer to babysit a family friend's kid. A tween amateur crocheter, I knew she'd probably enjoy some sewing. Boy, is that an understatement. Every time I'd show up "What are we making today?" Even her mom would start to ask to get in on the fun. However, finding enough crafts that were engaging and easy was a bit of a challenge. If you've ever been in that situation, you know what I mean. So here's my list of "tween-approved" summer crafts. Most of these involve some basic sewing, some just newspaper and a stapler, but they're all fun and relatively easy. Here she is, modeling them all.

 1. Headband from Oh So Happy Together - I absolutely LOVE this tutorial. There's an included pattern, they fit really well, their not too wide, and take about 30 minutes or less to make. I've made about 10 of these - 5 for me, 5 for gifts.

2. Sleeping shorts - Simplicity #9918 *This is an old, out of print pattern* - Sleeping shorts were my first sewing project. Their simple, practical, and really give you a handle on how to work with patterns. I found this owl fabric at Hobby Lobby and was completely sold. You can't see the fabric well, but there are sleeping owls on it. An easy choice when the kid you're babysitting is an owl fanatic.

3. Pillow - flower from McCalls M6047 - Great way to use some fabric scraps!! In this case, just cut 2 pieces of fabric about an inch wider than a pillow form, sew around 3 sides, flip right side out, insert pillow form, and hand stitch bottom closed. The flower takes an otherwise blah pillow to a new level.

4. Owl stuffed animal from Lu Bird Baby - This owl is absolutely ADORABLE!!! Again, using only fabric scraps, you can take this to a whole new level. I think this was my favorite craft of the summer.

5. Curly Bird from Family Fun - Again, another cute little guy. You could even thread some embroidery floss through the paper to make an ornament.

6. Ditty bag - No source for this one, but have hope!! I'm hoping to roll one out soon!! This bag is great for grabbing a change of clothes, or holding your basic cosmetics to throw into an overnight bag.

7. Melted Crayons - Preheat oven to 350. Grab a mini muffin tin and line with wax paper or mini cupcake liners. Place broken crayons in tin. Place tin in oven for 5-8 min, Let cool and color. If you have crayon stick to the tin, learn how to clean it here. Have fun mixing the colors.

8. Recycled t-shirt bowl from Family Fun - So this was supposed to be a rug, but we pulled the fabric too taught at the beginning and slackened as we went. The "rug" started taking a natural bowl shape, so I figured "why not fight it?" Sometimes things turn out cooler than you thought they would.

 9. Drip Paint pot form Clever Nest - so these things have been all over Pinterest lately, and I wanted to give it a shot. It turned out SO cool!!!

10. Newspaper Basket from How About Orange - These are quite easy, and I love that they're made out of newspaper. These make a great catch-all for the things that float around your living room.