Placemats

I don't L-O-V-E licensed characters around here, but I understand that they are part of being a kid for a lot of us... ... My kids included. So on the night before Mimi's Hello Kitty themed birthday, I happened to find some HK fabric that someone had donated to me. (score! What to make now?) I set to work with some of that plastic furniture cover stuff that is on rolls outside of mom & pop hardware stores... I'd bought some once, thinking it would come in handy... So I made a super fast little placemat for her, which reversed into the fabric we'd used for the goodie bag napkins for the party. HUGE HIT.
Z immediately began campaigning. I remembered that I'd once bought some Superman fabric at SAS for a few bucks and I offered him a Superman placemat. (I was asked about it almost hourly for the next 2 days).
These are so easy to make! Trace your favorite sized placemat, leaving room for trimming (1/2") around the edges. Make a plastic sandwich over the two fabrics, and then sew a straight line (3/4" from edge). Then trim with pinking shears. easy peasy. (these would also be fun to make for seasonal decor)

More time as art teacher...

I love being the art teacher for Mimi's class! The kids either call me " Mimi's mom" or "art teacher" (both of which I love!) the teacher asked if this week I would do something about apple trees or farms, so I (of course) "googled" that and found the cutest craft - which I modified, of course. The kids traced their hands with crayon, painted that in with brown paint to serve as the trunk and branches of the trees. Then we tore little pieces of paper to make leaves (note: tearing was a little hard for some of these kindergarteners), glued them onto the trees and then polkadotted some apples onto the trees for a final touch. I love how they came out! My favorite part was sewig the different artistic styles come out... Abstract vs. Literal... Minimalist vs. Extravagent...