Special Craft for the Little Artist... Art-Pad! 小小艺术家美工袋

Mommy has an iPad;
Daddy has an iPad;
Grandpa has an iPad;
Grandma has an iPad...
And my little Captain? He has an Art-Pad.
No joke, it's the exact size of an iPad! :)

It comes with 11 slots for the coloring pencils or crayons, and a large compartment for the notepad and papers up to B5 size. In fact, can fit his favorite toy cars too. I added a matching fabric handle on the side so he can carries it like a little pouch when going out, designed for mobility and comfort for the little hands. :)

I could have make this Art-Pad bigger in size but I thought this can nicely fit into his Reversible Sling Bag or Explorer backpack I made for him. Any bigger, it may be too bulky.

OK, a little confession. I have been wanting to make him and the baby sister a carrier bag since sometimes back, some how it didn't happened and remain a thought at the back of my mind, until yesterday. After I bought a box of 24 washable Crayola crayons for my girl, who had shown keen interest on drawing or should I say, scribbling, I decided to divide the box into half so she can have a set in the nanny's house and another set at home. After all, out of the 24 crayons there are several duplicate colors in similar shade. For her current stage, I only need basic color set for me to teach her the color naming.

I used thick cotton for the exterior cover for durability reason and felt for the interior for easy crafting. I spent a fair bit of time choosing fabrics and felt of different color for that contrasting effect. I am quite happy with the outcome of my color choice. *wink*

The front exterior.. a naughty bear with the giggling eyes :)

The rear... with his name and a little star for the captain.

The pencil holder slot.. enough to hold up to 11 pencils!

A tiny "Hand Made" charm. To prove that this is mommy's TLC creation. :)

So, are you interested to make one too? Read on then.. But if you are not into sewing yet would like to own a piece of this, do place an order with my online store, http://PeaHatch.blogspot.com, I shall be happy to custom made a unit for your litter one if my time permit.

Materials You'll Need:

• A sewing machine
• A pair of scissors
• A fabric pencil
• Thick cotton / normal cotton, B5 size (varied depending on your preference)
• Thick felt, B5 size (varied depending on your preference)
• Thick felt for crayon holder, approximate 22cm x 10cm (choose contrasting color)
• Thick felt for notepad holder, approximate 22cm x 16cm
• Extra fabric for handle - a pair of 14cm x 4cm
• Threads of matching color
• A pair of Velcro, 10cm in lenght
• Extra felt or ribbons for decoration

The Making:

1. Cut all the fabric pieces into desired sizes. Sew on the crayon holder and notepad holder first, decide where you want to place the velcro. Leave about 2cm apart for each crayon compartment.

You may want to test with an actual pencil / crayon before you proceed to sew all the slots. 

2. Start decorating the exterior fabric. As you can see here, I personalized the cover with a little yellow bear applique and my little Captain's name. 

Attaching the Velcro tape, make sure you sew an "X" across.

3. Place the fabric wrong side facing each other, if you are adding a handle too, slot the handle into the desired side and pin both sides onto the edge. 

4. Sew along the 3 sides, leaving the top part open (where the Velcro tape is). Clip the 2 corners as shown in the picture below.

5. Turn the fabric over, we are almost there. Take sometime to check for any misalignments that need to be corrected. It is better to detect now before you seal off the top. I never like removing stitches, I am rather clumsy with that. *arrggghh*

6. Seal the top by stitching both ends together. I attached a bias tape to create a neat finishing but it is really optional. It is just me who likes everything trim and proper, you may call it an OCD syndrome... :S

That's all the steps, not too difficult right? Actually it can be completed in about 45 minutes if you forgo all the decoration. It is always the tiny details that is time consuming (but then again it's the tiny details that makes the different), otherwise it is as easy as combining 2 rectangular shape and flip them over. :)

My little Captain really likes this Art-Pad, couldn't wait to start drawing right away when I showed it to him after I got back from work. Would love to see how my sweetie pie react to this thou, althought I am pretty sure she will love this, especially the little bear with the rolling eyes.. :)

Not To Forget...

If you do make an Art-Pad following this tutorial, do share with me and the readers here by emailing it to me posting it onto the Facebook page, will you? You can become a Facebook fan by clicking on the "Become a Fan" button at the bottom of this post. *wink wink*

Just one tip: If you do not have Velcro tape at home, you may replace it with buttons and an elastic band. Just like what I did with my baby girl's Spring Blossom blouse.


Till later, Happy crafting peeps!





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