Of course you know how to make a lemonade stand, but check out my post over on Alpha Mom for some crafty ideas.

I ordered some flex frames a while back, and just got around to trying them out. There’s a tutorial over at The Small Object, but I was determined to hide the frame within the fabric, so I made mine differently.

First of all, I made the fabric wider than the 4″ frame to create some gathers (6″ cut with 1/2″ seam allowance). Then I also added a lining fabric just shorter than the exterior fabric and then encased the frame in the same way that you would make an elastic casing. This requires you to slide the opened metal frame into the casing through a 1″ opening, then close the frame by attaching the tiny screw, then sew the opening in the fabric closed once the frame is inside. So, I did wrestle with it a bit, but it worked. This is a gift for a 6-year-old, so I included six dollars. Maybe I’ll write up a tutorial for this one day. Not today.

Here’s a round-up of some projects to get the kids ready for school. Can you tell I’m ready? Be sure to share links to your own back-to-school projects in the comments section. We love to see what you’re making!

BACKPACKS, BAGS & POUCHES

Apple Print Backpack from Alpha Mom.

School Bag from Make it Do.

Personalize a Backpack from Simply Modern Mom.

Oilcloth Backpack from Uhandbag.

Kid’s Backpack from Four Wise Monkeys for Sew, Mama, Sew!

Zakka-Inspired Pencil Pouch from Noodlehead.

Pencil Case from Annie Get Your Glue Gun.

LUNCH BAGS & ACCESSORIES

Lunch Bag from The Long Thread.

Embroidered Lunch Sack from The Purl Bee.

Reusable Snack Sack from Reprodepot.

Kids’ Placemat & Napkins from The Long Thread.

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES

Apple Appliqué Tee from The Long Thread.

Yoga Skirts from Patty Young for Sew, Mama, Sew!

Art Smock from Patterns by Figgy’s for Sew, Mama, Sew!

Ribbon Hair Clips from The Long Thread.

Flower Headband from Simple Modern Mom for Ucreate.

Back to School Embroidery Designs from Sarah Jane Studios for Sew, Mama, Sew!

Nap Mat from Prudent Baby.

PRINTABLES

Days of the Week Hanger Tags from Living Locurto.

Lunchbox Notes from Cindy Hopper for Alpha Mom.

I saw these super-cute pet tees at Mini Boden and decided to make some of our own with a photo of our cat Kiki.

The hardest part of this project was getting the cat to pose. I used Photoshop to edit the pictures, but perhaps you could use another free photo program? I looked at a couple of tutorials for extracting an image from a background here and here. Then I brightened up the photo, desaturated it, added some color and flipped it to print in mirror image. I printed the image on iron-on transfer paper (available at office supply stores), pressed it onto the fabric and voilà — a custom pet tee! I’m thinking of embroidering around the edge, maybe with some silver thread on the one above since this is my glamour girl. And they would definitely be cute worn over striped tees like the Mini Boden shirts.

Here’s the other one that I made for my older daughter. The kids picked out the colors and the pose. And of course this kid wouldn’t model for me. She’s apparently seven going on seventeen. Such attitude, but I think she actually likes the shirt.

Here’s the progression of the images:

I’ve started working on some back-to-school clothes for the girls this week. Here’s the first round of skirts, made with this Echino fabric and a coordinating stripe (can’t remember if I got it here or here). They also have this fabric in a laminated version which would work well with the lunch bag from this week’s Make it Monday project. Hopefully I’ll have more clothes to show soon. I’m thinking of making some matching shirts with rows of buttons sewn in a square to echo the dot design in the fabric.

For some reason, I get obsessive over lunch containers. I love to look through the bento blogs and I’m always cutting the girls’ sandwiches with cookie cutters. I never thought I’d be this kind of parent, but here I am. I want their lunch to look good. So after I ordered this adorable stacking container set purely based on its appearance, I realized that it wasn’t insulated and wouldn’t fit in any of our existing lunch bags. I considered making a simple insulated sleeve, but then just decided to make the bag to also hold a drink, silverware and a napkin.

This bag is fully lined, insulated and fastens with a magnetic snap at the top. See below for variations and a link to the pattern. It was simple to make and is extra roomy (9″  x 9″ and 5 1/2″ deep). I used vinyl-coated cotton, but acrylic-coated cotton may be a safer and more eco-friendly choice. If you have a teflon presser foot attachment, that’s helpful but not required as you’ll mostly be sewing the vinyl right sides together. I got the printed fabric from Fabricworm, but it looks like it’s currently out of stock. It is perfect for my five-year-old and even has bits of glitter in the fabric.

Variations on this pattern:

• Make it your own size. Change the dimensions to suit your needs. This bag is large enough to work for an adult lunch bag as well. Simply choose your favorite fabrics or try a basic black.
• Use all cotton. This is a simple tote bag pattern and can be made with all organic cotton for easy care in an eco-friendly fabric.
• Add a flap. By simply inserting a lined flap in the final step, you can help keep food contained. You’ll need to move the magnetic snap to the front of the bag and use one strap attached to the sides.
• Make a tab. You could also make a simple tab with the magnetic closure attached to it.
• Add a zipper. Someone mentioned in the comments that she might like to add a zipper, which is a great idea. But I’d suggest omitting the side pieces and squaring off the bottom corners of the bag (similar to the construction of this tote). This would make zipper installation much less complicated.
• Add a pocket. You could easily add a pocket to the inside for an ice pack, an outer pocket for notes, or a side pocket for a drink. But this is a pretty roomy bag as it is.

Click on the image below to download the pattern .pdf file.

Working on summer reading with the kids? Print out this summer reading log I made for my post over at Alpha Mom.

My five-year-old and I made painted sun prints for my guest post and tutorial over at Skip to My Lou.

Here are some more photos from our rainy weekend hanging around the house. Hannah from Lily & Thistle generously sent over some of her beautifully illustrated MiniMe paper dolls for the girls which kept them happily occupied through the rain. The dolls are personalized to look like your child with your choice of skin, eye, hair color and style and her name at the bottom. I wish my children always looked as sweet as these paper dolls. They come with a sticky strip so the clothes really stay put and a CD so that you can print out more dolls and outfits (if say, your daughters accidentally tear one when they are fighting over it). Also included is a set of All About Me pages for your daughter to complete.

These dolls led to all kinds of great imaginative play involving my daughters as characters. Here, they were playing Sleeping Beauty so my older daughter made a spinning wheel. Be sure to check out Hannah’s shop to see more of the lovely artwork she has created for these dolls. So sweet.

Another project from the weekend was this zippered pouch. My five-year-old embroidered this as a gift for her friend (with a little help on that back stitch). We added some pencils and a drawing book.

And during a rain break, the kids painted some fabric with squirt bottles and diluted fabric paint. We probably should have stopped there, but we didn’t so the fabric is really covered in paint. I might make some patchwork pillows from it. Another addition to the project pile.

Even though summer doesn’t officially start until June 21, today was the girls last day of school and it’s already getting hot here in Atlanta. So I am thinking about how to entertain these kiddos and was looking through the summer crafts that I posted about last year.  So check it out here.

Apparently this week is Children’s Book Week, so I thought I’d write about my all-time favorite children’s book illustrator, Dick Bruna. Anyone studying illustration or graphic design should be familiar with his amazing work. The Dutch artist manages to take a drawing to its essence of line and color, creating brilliant work with zen-like simplicity. My kids love Miffy and I myself have fond memories of his work from my childhood.

This well-loved copy of b is for bear belonged to me and the images are forever etched into my brain. Can you see that I wrote my name on the cover and tried to color the bear purple? This book is sadly out of print now, but you can see the emphasis on simplicity here. Read this interesting article for more about his process. I especially love the way he talks about whittling down his drawings to their bare essence by removing details like Miffy’s tears. His spartan lifestyle reflects his art. And who wouldn’t want a husband that makes you a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a drawing every morning?

Pictured below are the “L” and “O” pages from the book.

I also had a copy of Snuffy, in which Bruna manages to tell a heart-wrenching story of a lost child found by a puppy with minimal words and details. My original copy was apparently loved to death, but I was able to find a new one. My seven-year-old read this book to my younger daughter’s class last week.

And then I bought the girls a vintage copy of Cinderella with sweet drawings of Cinderella in a simple yellow frock. And look at those stepsisters! I love the symmetry of that image. I think that all three of these books might be hard to find now, but there are plenty of Dick Bruna books that are available and the Miffy franchise remains popular. And take a look at the Miffy website for games and activities.

The girls and I made these linoleum prints for the grandmothers. My favorite thing about making prints is that you can make multiples, so we made some for teacher cards, some for us, and some for both grandmothers. And all you need is a simple drawing to make a nice print. We basically used the same process that we did here, but this time I used their existing artwork and I have now invested in a baren, so no more foot pressing. I used easy-cut linoleum so I was able to easily trace their drawings from the paper onto the linoleum.

I think it’s particularly effective with younger children’s artwork to make multiple prints in varying colors as I did here with the sunshines. We’re late with these, but the grandmothers will get them next weekend. Happy Mother’s Day!