Dry Erase Activity Placemat



Dry erase activity mat on one side



Placemat on the other



   

 With five nieces and nephews, I am well aware of how a trip to a sit-down restaurant of any sort can easily become a parent's worst nightmare if there is nothing for their child to do. Hence, this project, where I have transformed a placemat into a dry erase activity mat and board. Children can fit their favorite activity book, coloring pages, or the activity menus that some restaurants give out inside of the plastic sleeve and use dry erase markers to complete and then reuse them. And in case none of those items are available to you, it can simply be used as a dry erase doodle mat. Oh, and I didn't even mention the best part of this project...it cost me a total of $5 using products found at my local Dollar Tree!!! Love that place!



Materials:

 

-plastic folder-$1

-placemat-$1

-ribbon-$1

-children's activity book-$1

-dry erase markers-$1

-Exacto knife

-glue gun/sticks

-scissors

-1/4" elastic-2 pieces, cut into one 1-1/2" piece and one 2" piece

-paper clips

Instructions:

1. Open the plastic folder and separate the clear plastic from the folder pockets by using an Exacto knife to cut along the middle seam (Note: Don't fret if the middle seam looks a little sloppy or uneven, as you will cover it up eventually!). Discard middle pockets

2. Lay the plastic sheet on top of the placemat and cut off edges of plastic to make the same size

3. Using paper clips, align and clip the plastic sheet and placemat together.  Fold the pieces of elastic in half and paper clip one to each vertical side of the placemat between the two  layers (use picture for reference).

4. Sew layers together along the edge using a zigzag stitch

5. Using a low-temp hot glue gun, glue a piece of ribbon down the center of the plastic seam (Note: Hold the plastic layer away from the placemat so that the layers do not potentially stick together)




A sample of a completed activity

 


Use an extra napkin to easily erase your work!









Bon Appetit!



Dry erase activity mat on one side

How To: Toy Car Holder and Felt Road Roll Up

Here is a project I have been wanting to do for a while! My nephew, Royce turned one in September, and, while his motor skills may not quite be prepared to play with this to its fullest extent, I think its a gift he will love, not only now, but even more so down the road. It is certainly a gift I think his parents will appreciate, as its easily transportable and can be used in lots of different environments and situations. I have seen projects similar to this, but I wanted to fashion something that could hold a few more cars than what I had seen, along with a much bigger area in which to "drive." Here is how to make your own:

Materials:

-blue felt

-yellow felt

-sewing machine

-black felt

-double-sided, fusible web (I used Steam-a-Seam Lite)

-ironing board/iron

-green felt

-white felt

-brown felt scraps

-pinking shears

-scissors

-toy cars (7-8)

-craft glue

-8" elastic

-needle

-thread

Directions:

1. Cut out a piece of 18" x 36" blue felt

2. Using black felt, cut out pieces of road to adhere to blue felt (I cut out a piece at a time and placed it on the blue felt to determine how much space I had remaining for additional pieces)

3. Trace each piece of road onto fusible web. Cut out and adhere to road pieces. Align road pieces onto blue felt according to where you would like it to be permanently located

4. Set iron to "wool" setting and follow the directions of the fusible web to adhere road pieces permanently.

5. Cut out a 3" x 18" yellow felt piece and align on the bottom of the blue felt. Pin the yellow and blue felt pieces together along the edges

6. Sew along the edges where pinned.

7. Measure and pin every 2 1/2" of yellow felt. Sew 7 vertical stitches where pinned to form car pockets.

8. Cut out small, rectangular pieces of yellow felt to form the dashes on the road. Using craft glue, adhere felt.
9. Using pinking shears and scissors, cut green and brown felt to create trees and bushes. Adhere along the road and surrounding area using craft glue
10. Cut cloud shapes out of white felt and adhere using craft glue.

11. Using pinking shears, create a sun out of yellow felt. Adhere in top corner of blue felt using craft glue.
12. Allow about an hour for pieces to dry
13. Loop a 12" piece of elastic and hand stitch both ends to the bottom of the second pocket

14. Place toy cars into pockets, leaving the middle pocket empty

15. Fold the car holder/road in half vertically and roll toward the elastic strip

16. Stretch elastic around rolled felt piece

This project shared with the following awesome blogs and websites:

Tatertots and Jello, Be Different, Act Normal, Cheerios and Lattes, i heart nap time, Flamingo Toes, Skip to My Lou, Sew Can Do