What are you creating?

The kids seem to LOVE dino nuggies!  Don't know what they are? They make chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs.  Yes...it's a thing!! ha ha  There are shirts, earrings, pushies, pillows...a whole dino nuggie industry!  I've wanted to make my own pushies/pillows, but it took awhile to find a fabric I thought would work(Dollar Tree...imagine that!?!).  I made a pattern to the size of the fabric, cut them out, sewed them together, and stuffed them. It went relatively quick, and I had a lot of fun doing it!  A friend saw my post on facebook, and asked if I could make her class (she teaches EE/Special Ed) one.  They like to hold something during share time.  I gladly gave her one of the dino nuggies!  Happy to know it will be loved & used in a school setting!  

What are you creating?

Emoji Stuffies w/ Painted Faces

My 5th graders are creating Emoji Stuffies!  In the past I've done "ugly dolls" & "shape monsters" for sewing projects with my 4th graders.  We now have 5th grade in elementary, and I decided to move the sewing up to be one of their projects.  I am using Smart-Fab's pre-cut circles.  I purchased them through BLICK(I believe they come in a pack of 100).  They are a great manageable size for students that have no background in sewing.  Doing too large of a project can become extremely overwhelming.  Some of my classes are finding great success...and some are struggling a bit.  The struggle is worth it...I feel sewing is a life skill kids need!  Here are some of the finished results.  They used Sharpie & acrylic paint to create the faces.

 

Emoji Stuffy Tutorial

You may have seen me do "Ugly Dolls" in the past, but time is escaping me to get such a project completed before the end of the year.  I decided to modify it so students still had the skill development in sewing.  I made a video showing how I approach this project.  If you have never sewn before with your students...this might be a great "gateway" into it!  It should take just two class times (45 to 60 min classes).  Please feel free to comment or message me if you have any questions.  I'll help out anyway I can! Have a wonderful day.

Sewing With Mr.E: How to Make a Yo-Yo

I've had a lot of you ask how I make the "yo's" for the yo-yo wall hanging I've been working on.  So here is a video to give you the details.  Please remember...I'm not a "professional" seamster/clothier/tailor! So there may be things I do that are cringe worthy for those of you who have more experience with a needle and thread. 

Ugly Dolls Heading Home

I made the kids put their Ugly Dolls/Soft Sculptures together on the last day before they took them home.  I'm thrilled with the results this year.  I'm already excited about next year....I've ordered a pack of smart fab that contains at least 16 different colors!  I think the variety will be amazing.  Here are the "family pictures"!! 

 

Sewing with Elementary: Answering Some Questions

Hey friends!  There were a handful of questions that several people asked concerning sewing with elementary students.  Hopefully this quick video answers your questions! If not...please leave me a comment with your question/concern.  I'll try to respond ASAP!

Oh..and if you aren't following me on YouTube..check out my channel & subscribe. I'm going to try to be better about posting more content!! 

https://www.youtube.com/user/TnTedDE 

Soft Sculptures/Sewing: 4th Grade

Here are the amazing 4th grade Crazy Birds!!

Some of you have seen the progress of my soft sculpture/sewing project on Facebook & Twitter.  I've had many questions, and have tried to answer them the best I could in those formats.  I thought I'd do a blog post...where I can hopefully share a bit more information & answer any questions you might still have!  If not...as always...please feel free to ask me anything!

My students start by selecting the color of Smart-Fab they want for their bird's main body.  They fold that in half(you will need to precut if you get a large roll).  Then they will use the fold as one side of their bird...and draw a desired simple shape...triangle, oval, rectangle, circle all work well.  This will allow one less side to sew...which is a good thing(TRUST ME!).  Regular classroom scissors cut through it pretty well. They then sew the the rest of it together using a large plastic needle and yarn (color of their own choosing).  Remind them to leave about two inches to stuff their birds body.  After it is stuffed..they can finish sewing it up.

Between classes...my students store the body/parts in a lunch sack with their name one.  So helpful!!

Now for the rest of the bird, I have the student use felt.  They will use tacky glue to adhere it to the surface.  This will work if the students use enough tacky glue.  Get the gallon refill ready friends..you will go through a lot.  BUT IT IS WORTH IT!!!!   

SmartFab
This stuff is AMAZING!  Non-woven material....works so well for young inexperienced sewers.  The big plastic needles go through super easy.  

Plastic Needles
I buy these through School Specialty by the dozen.  Expect several to get bent up by student who are doing the wrong thing every year!! (order extra...order some each year)  

The Felt/Supply Station!
I have colors separated out in aluminum roasting pans(they are so handy & cheap!).

Tacky Glue Rules!!!!  I like Elmer's version, but

any good thick tacky glue should do! After keeping after my kids forever about not using too much glue when doing collage....the rules change for this.  More Glue/More Better! :) ha ha

STUFFING!

So after Christmas last year I found "snow" on sale for .50 a bag!! I snatched up several bags knowing this project would come around again!  So keep your eyes open after the holidays.  

Day 2 of the Ugly Dolls: 4th Grade

Day 2 of our Ugly Doll project produced some great progress!!  I am allowing them to have one more day to finish adding face/arms/legs and hair (they'll sew the yarn hair in if time allows).  

The Start of Ugly Dolls: 4th Grade

Last year was the first time I tried having my 4th graders create "ugly" dolls.  I had used burlap, but this year switched to felt.  It is a little harder to sew through with the plastic needles, but doable & more attractive.  

Day one I have students draw what the want their finished doll to look like, create a pattern for the main basic shape, cut the felt out, and begin sewing.  Yep..busy jammed packed hour!!!!!!!  Can't wait to see how they end up!  Stay tuned!!  

Monster Dolls/Soft Sculptures: 4th Grade

I have a few more posts coming with these guys!!!!  I really do love all the little personalities they have.  

ENJOY LOOKING THROUGH THEM!!  

(ps..I'm still getting the storage message error/issue thing! However, by going to photo manager in microsoft (standard on our school computers)...I resize the photos to Web Large...and am able upload them. Photos below a certain size do not count against your storage)