Friday, May 14, 2010

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!

32 comments:

Bonnie said...

Loved Monday's buttons!

Shirley said...

Super cute! Especially today's towels!

Katherine said...

It's a toss up b/t the onesie w/ skirt and today's towels as to which I like best. New granddaughter coming in July could use onesie while older siblings could help by carrying their own towels to the pool.

Scrapamum said...

Love that towel project! What a fabulous idea!!!

Ann Cicilie said...

Hard to chooose!

Think it's gonna be the towel tip today, that will really come in handy this summer :)

Have a nice weekend!

Rikki said...

I love the towels and the sleeve for the sunglasses. Two, practical, useful projects. Nikki is a genius!!

Barb Craft said...

Oh my... these are the cutest towels ever!! Definitely my favorite project for the week!! Adorable!!
Barb :)

Trude Julie said...

These towels are just amazing! Just have to steal this idea :D

Janell said...

What a great idea to make the handles on the towels. I like the towels, but I think my favorite for the week was the buttons.

Alissa said...

I loved all of Nikki's projects! I actually began following this blog because I am a follower of Nikki's. My favorite was the party ideas, with the matching fabrics and papers. Such fun ideas!

Summer Braxton said...

i loved the button bracelets... and this towel tote. Great ideas!

Beth said...

My favorite was the glasses case!

Jess said...

The towels are so unique and cute. They are my fave!

Kyla Armstrong said...

So cute! I need to make some of those. I hate carrying it all to the beach by myself.

Kim M said...

Although I did like the buttons, today with the towels was my favorite. I am so gonna make that for my little girl. She is going to get swim lessons this summer and that would be so perfect. Thanks for the great idea and instructions!

Hilde Aaslund aka Scoobie said...

My kids are too small to go to the beach alone, so we fill a trolley witj all the junk we need for a day there (we live in walking distance from th beach so we don't have to pack the car): buckets for crab fishing, food, towels, camera, etc etc. But some days the kids go with friend's parents, and don't bring the trolley. This idea for th towels are just great for those occations.


Thank you for all the interesting blog posts this week, I have really enjoyed them.

The Despain Gang said...

Definitely the monster towel; it gets my "favorite" vote. I loved the idea--definitely perfect for a pool party gift and just the best way for kids to enjoy "hauling" their pool gear---great idea to encourage helpful kids. So perfect!

Justhaveingfun said...

I love the towels today. TFS

Unknown said...

I'm loving the beach bum towels. They are sooo cute! Thanks for all the fun ideas!
-Cher

Sheri M. said...

I love today's towels! Such a great idea to include the little ones in helping schlep everything around. Fabulous!

Brittney Aldous said...

Oh my goodness, these towels are adorable!

Suzanne said...

What a wonderful array of crafty projects over the week. I LOVE the baby shower bunting displaying the gifts, but as a newcomer to jewelry making then I have to say that Mondays post about the button charms on the bracelet was the one that I will make most use of personally. Thanks for all the great ideas though :)

alisa logue said...

I played with the monster iron-ons at CHA and loved them! Such a fun project! Would love to win these and make one for my kiddos! -Alisa

kaw1963 said...

I really like the towel bag, what a neat idea, but the eye glass pouch really caught my attention with the dill blossom material. Great ideas all week long!

Laura Stewart said...

I loved the cute towel project - how cute!

Lillian Child said...

How sweet are these towel bags??!! My grandson just turned two and this little towel bag would be perfect for him this summer. Fabulous idea and thanks for sharing the tutorial with us!

Tabitha K said...

I liked the idea foe the sunglass case. I am always looking for a safe place to stash my glasses :)

LynnSevillana said...

I love the towel idea!

Wendy said...

The monster towel is the coolest! It's really nice to see more ideas for boys lately! My son is going to love this! Thanks for the chance and the idea!

CuCuCreates said...

Loved the iron ons!

Unknown said...

Oh my, decisions, decisions. I loved the buttons, and the towels....hmmm, I will go for the buttons..yes, buttons it is!!!!!

Pinque Scrapbooking said...

Wow the towels are amazing but the buttons I think is my favorite!

 

newsletter | shop sei

Free Blog Counter

Pin It button on image hover