Owl Toddler Backpack

 
I started this owl backpack 3 months ago. It's a first birthday gift for little A and it took me way longer than I expected. I guess I'm the kind of person who works better under pressure. I have only made these backpacks for little boys so it was such a pleasure to make something a little more girly.

Although I could probably make this owl gender neutral by changing the colours, I went with pink. I used recycled jersey for the applique... the pink owl was from a cerveza cusqueña t shirt that I got in Peru. I bought it after hubby and I hiked the Inca trail. When I washed it at home, it shrunk to toddler sized proportions. I didn't even get a chance to wear it! I've been waiting for a chance to repurpose it into something else. Given that it was a beer shirt, I didn't want to make a toddler dress out of it.

Too many choices for the piping...

 
It took me forever to sort out where the eyes would go.

But I finally figured it out

Some more pics...

Side shot... no pockets this time

I also made the lining a little different this time.  I decided to sew the lining to the backpack and cover the open seams with bias tape.  To be honest, I'm not sure which method I like better.  This way keeps the lining tight against the bag but I like the seams hidden, not covered. 

Joshie said he wanted this backpack too or if not, then I have to make him one with a dinosaur on it AND an owl.  Oh boy... he is growing up way to fast.   I guess it's time to move him up to the medium sized toddler backpack.

Here it is on my front porch... waiting to be given to little A.

Edited 11/2012 - New pic of the little A

Happy Sewing!

Sew Mama Sew Stroller Bag Winner

Thank you to all of you lovely people for taking the time to stop by my blog and enter my stroller bag giveaway.  It was nice to read the comments and meet new bloggers.  You were all nice enough to tell me what you liked from my shop which was really helpful for me as I work to move my business forward.  

Using the Random org number generator, the winner is: #100:  Congrats to atabanana29 who said:  I like you on FB!. 

As a thanks for all who entered, I am offering Sew, Mama, Sew! readers a coupon code that will provide you with a 10% discount on any item in my Josh & Teo ETSY shop.  Just make sure that you enter the code SEWMAMASEW10 before you check out of my shop to receive the discount.  This code will be valid until Friday June 8, 2012.

Have a happy Sunday!

p.s.  I will participating in the Winter 2012 SMS Giveaway so be sure to check back!

Last day for the Giveaway and the Sally Ann Auction

Today is the last day of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway (insert sad face here). It's been a lot of fun reading everyone's comments and reading a lot of your blogs!   I'll be entering some more tonight.  If you haven't done so already, you may also enter my giveaway through SMS and then go back to Sew Mama Sew to see other awesome stuff.

Alright, today's post is about today's Salvation Army auction.  It starts at 6pm and here are some goodies that you can bid on. 

There's always a sewing machine up for grabs

Yay for Fisher Price

So there's an eye missing...  that's ok

Look at the date on this one

These goodies came from the Sally Ann on 1225 Kennedy Road.  If you like what you see, drop by and make a bid. Proceeds go to a needy cause so everybody wins!

Little man is striking a pose and big brother is playing with his dinosaur way off to the side of the pic

Have a great weekend and I will post again this Sunday with the SMS winner's info.

Recipe: 4 Layer Frozen Pops

It's been so hot here lately... way hotter than normal for this time of year. We're not complaining because this means more fun outside at the park or in the backyard. This also means more frozen treats! If you follow my blog, you probably know that I am obsessed with two things: 1) jello jigglers 2) frozen pops 

We made a 4 layer frozen treat and it was yummy!  

Gather your stuff

Open up everything so it's easier later

 Layer it up... 1) Chocolate pudding  2) Raspberry apple sauce  3) Vanilla pudding  4) Yogurt

Pop in some sticks and put it in the freezer for about 2-3 hours.  Take out and enjoy!

Clean messy faces

Enjoy the weather!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day - May 21!

Sew Mama Sew is doing another Giveaway Day Week!  It starts today and runs until May 25, 2012 at 5 pm PST.




There will be 5 categories of giveaway goodies.

• Handmade for the Home (quilts, hot pads, pillows, etc.)
• Handmade Bags
• Handmade Baby + Kid Items
• Sewing + Craft Supplies (fabric, patterns, buttons, trims, yarn, etc.)
• Handmade Accessories (hats, scarves, belts, adult clothes, etc.)

It's such a great way to visit some crafty blogs as well as enter to win tons of handmade goodies.  I participated last year and gave away a Josh & Teo Toy Leash.   I'm really happy to be participating again.

Here's what you are going to win:  A slim stroller bag! 

I designed one of these for myself when I got tired of carrying my life in a big diaper bag.  But don't let the size fool you... this bag has room for lots.

This is what I carry in mine:  phone, diapers, wipes, keys, snacks, lip balm, camera, wallet, drink box, and sometimes toys!

It's slim for a reason - keeps you from carrying too much stuff.  You know what I mean... if your bag is so full that you can't find something, it's time to go light.

Contest Details:
This giveaway is open internationally and ends Friday May 25 at 5pm PST.  A random number generator will choose one winner.

Entries:
1st Entry:  Visit my ETSY shop and tell me what your favourite item is

2nd Entry:  Follow my blog and then come back here and let me know that you've done so!

3rd Entry:  Follow me on Facebook (Josh and Teo) and then come back here and let me know that you've done so!

If you're already following me, that counts as an entry but you do still need to leave a comment stating that you are a follower.  Please leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry.  For each entry, leave your EMAIL ADDRESS in your comment, which may be written as: jenny (at) hotmail (d0t) com, if you're worried about leaving your real email address in cyberspace. 

I will announce the winner in a blog post by Sunday May 27, 2012.  If you left an email address, I will contact you for your mailing address.  The order will ship by June 1, 2012.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go and enter some more Sew Mama Sew Giveaways!

Introducing the Tricycle Handlebar Bag!

Now that the warmer weather is here, we have been out and about a lot.   There's something about the smell of lilacs that makes me happy (and makes me sneeze!).

Today I'd like to introduce you to something that I have been working on for the last 2 months.  It's finally here... the Tricycle Handlebar Bag!

Backstory:   Joshie's tricycle gets used daily for our walks.   However, when he wants to bring his toys along with him, he usually has to stuff it between one of the bars and hope for the best.  When he tries to collect sticks and stones along the way, I have to carry them!  So then it hit me... a handlebar bag for his tricycle!    I wanted a bag that would be easily accessible for little hands and easy to put on/take off so I decided to make him one.

Here it is:   a denim handlebar bag with the words "stuff" appliqued to the front.

It snaps on quickly

I lined with a fun animal print cotton.  Toss in your stuff - rocks, sticks, balls

I left it open (no closure) because we keep his tricycle in our shed.  I also interfaced the denim to give some more structure to the bag.

Joshie was very happy with his new tricycle bag.  His exact words were "nice"!  Why didn't I think of this sooner?

He loves his bag but baby brother loves it even more!

 
If you would like to purchase a "Stuff" Tricycle Bag, please visit my ETSY shop Josh & Teo Handmade. 

Linking up with:  I heart naptime

Happy Sewing!

DIY: Lego Superheroes

When you're raising little boys who love superheroes, anything and everything becomes a superhero or a bad guy.  So, to keep things fresh, I decided to help them build superheroes from Lego.   These won't last long because too much banging around will cause them to fall apart.   But the best thing about lego is that once you're sick of what you built, you can break it down and build something else.

This is Iggle Piggle's blankie which has now been turned into a superhero cape (Joshie's idea, not mine)



We ended up making a lot of them.  Unfortunately the legs kept falling off  (it's a structural flaw in my design) but it made us all laugh!

We made 6 superheroes.  Can you guess who these are?  (I'll let you know tomorrow...)

 Happy Lego Building!

My City: Artists Matter

Check out my new button!   The kids got this button from their loot bag courtesy of the Art Gallery of Ontario.  Yesterday we painted up a storm but today was a day for looking (no touching!!!)

Artists and Art DO matter and I hope that the kids can learn to appreciate art when they are older.  Right now, they are young, but not too young to look and observe.

We took a more relaxed approach to viewing the art.  Today was contemporary art day with the exception of our viewing of the Massacre of the Innocents by Rubens on the way to the potty.  We also saw this Bernini and this Bernini before heading up to floor 4 and 5.  We ended up playing "I spy" with the art and the kids had fun sitting in one of the interactive displays.  They liked Iain Baxter&'s exhibit (particularly the one with the animals) so if I have a moment, I might enter the Ampersand Challenge...

We also stumbled upon the new Weston Family Learning Centre.  How cool is this?

or this?

Love glue...

Unfortunately, we found this place too late and had only 20 minutes of play time.

Kids left with a loot bag of goodies including some art cards, pipe cleaners, a puzzle and a pencil crayon.  Now that they have added a kid's play section, I'm sure my munchkins will be asking us to go more often.

Note:  One of my favourite exhibits from the AGO is Bruce Mau's Massive Change from 2005.  Click here to learn more about Massive Change.