The Kids Can Handle It + Giveaway

I want to thank SEI for giving me the opportunity this week to share some of my ideas and creations. I thought it would be fun to leave you with a tutorial (it's fun to have a project for the weekend). Summer is coming up and my kids are already talking about going swimming. With three little ones, going to the pool is no small task. I thought it would be fun to make something the kids could carry to help lighten the load of junk we haul to the pool. My inspiration for this handled towel came from the straw mats available all over the beach in Waikiki.


Supplies:
1 towel washed
26-30 inches of grosgrain ribbon
iron on transfers
sewing machine

The first step to making this towel is to fold it just the right way.



Follow the picture above and fold your towel into thirds length wise.


Now fold your skinny towel in half. Finally, fold the towel into thirds like the picture.


Cut your ribbon to the length you want each handle. I made mine 13 inches each. Use a candle or lighter to melt the edges of the ribbon to prevent fraying. I pinned my ribbon three inches in from the edges. Make sure the ribbon isn't twisted. You should have one handle pinned to the finished edge of your towel, and the other pinned to the middle of the towel. Look at the picture on the far left. Sew the ribbon to the edge of the towel. I used a box stitch (a square with an X through the middle). Repeat sewing the ribbon to the center of the towel.


Your towel should look like this when opened up. The ribbon is soft and when you lay on the towel you won't feel it.


I let my kids design their own monster and critter. This was probably the most time consuming part of the project. They were so excited about all the options. Once everything was picked out, the towel headed over to the ironing board.


This is how our towels turned out.


Now the beach bums are ready to carry their own towels.
Wouldn't this be fun for a pool party present?!

Thank you so much, Nikki! We have really enjoyed having you with us this week. Every project was amazing and are so excited to try out all of your creative ideas. Readers, you can find more even more great ideas on Nikki's blog Salty Pineapple.

Ready for another giveaway? To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling us which post was your favorite this week, you will be entered into a giveaway for a chance to win some of the monster iron-ons and tumble dye Nikki used this week.

Just leave your comment by Monday, May 17th at midnight MST and we will announce the winner Wednesday. Be sure to check back to see if you are the winner. If we don't hear from the winner within a week we will have to pick a new one!