The Cutest Fishing Pond You Ever Did See

After making my son a fabric campfire, I decided he also needed a fishing pond. Of course he does. Hum, I think someone is a little spoiled. Well, he's the baby. It's my right. Right?

This was SO NOT HARD or expensive. The blue felt is from JoAnn's, and was $2.99 per yard. I used 1 yard, and cut out a large double circle. I laid brown felt on top in layers, and sewed that on, before sewing the blue pieces together. I then turned it right-side-out, and top stitched the side of the pond to close it off.

The grasses are made using the same technique I used to make the rocks and fire see campfire post.

To make the lily pads, cut out double circles, cut a slice out of one side, and top stitch together. It really is that easy.

I love these fish so much. The red gingham is my favorite. They each have a washer from Home Depot near the mouth. To do this, I sewed a small fabric envelope for the washer, and then sewed that into the fish as I sewed the two pieces together.

My frog is a round circle (I cut two). I hit the sides with fray check before sewing up and stuffing. I just cut legs out of felt scraps.

The fishing pole is a dowel from Home Depot. We drilled a hole for the, "fishing line," (twine) in the top, and attached it to a $3 magnet from Home Depot. We used pretty big washers inside of each fish.

It is a pretty good sized magnet, and very strong.  The package said 20lbs.

Right now, the pond lives in his room.

He LOVES playing with it. I don't know if we have ever had a toy he has played with more.

Sometimes he likes to hook the fish to the magnet by hand. 

I like to put some of the extra campfire rocks around the pond. Makes it feel even more real.

Thanks for stopping by. The camping fun doesn't end here. I had a camping inspired birthday party for him that was just darling! I will be sharing that next.

Have a Happy and Creative Day,

Risa

DIY Campfire set

Meet the newest member of our toy collection. My toddler LOVES camping, and always asks to go camping. This is the perfect toy for a camper-in-training. 

I have drooled over the Land of Nod Campfire Set from the minute I saw it. I wanted to order it for my son for his birthday, but with a hefty price tag, of $69.00 before shipping, $83 after shipping, and no availability until mid-March, I knew I had to take things into my own hands. So, I created one myself. Dare I say, I like mine better than theirs? Well, I said it; I do like it better.

I think the thing that really makes the whole thing is the faux bois fabric I used for the logs. I got it at Lily Bella Fabrics. Lily Bella has the BEST designer fabric at great prices!

I also love the different sizes and colors of the rocks. Seems like each craft store has a different color and texture of gray felt sheets. The dark sheets were from Bennion Craft, the medium shade sheets were from JoAnn, and the lightest sheets were from Hobby Lobby. Sometimes they go on sale at Hobby Lobby for 8 sheets for $1. This toy is so affordable to make!

You can't have a campfire without s'mores and hotdogs. I made these out of felt as well, and made holes in them so they fit perfectly on the end of a marshmallow roaster, ahem… dowel.

The kids LOVE playing with the whole set.

 I love watching my kids pretend play. 

The whole set really was easy to make, and I have a little tutorial on the rock for you. I used the same technique for the fire, and logs and for making multiple sizes of rocks. I wanted to have rocks that stand up.

Get a felt sheet from the craft store. Cut it in half, and round the edges on one side. If you don't want your rocks to stand, just cut the corners off all the sides, and finish it off. If you do want it to stand, follow the directions below.

Stitch around the rounded edges, leaving the the bottom open.

Turn right-side-out and stuff.

Place the top piece of the rock on another piece of felt, and cut out a bottom that will fit the opening. If you are making many rocks the same size, use this as a template, and cut multiples out.

It will look like this.

Remove the stuffing, and turn the top inside out again. Pin the bottom on. The nice thing about felt, is you  can stretch it if you need to. So, if you get the bottom too small, you can still make it work. Sew around the perimeter leaving a two inch opening. 

Turn right-side-out, and put the stuffing in through the hole.

Whip stitch the the hole closed with a needle, and you are finished!

I used the same idea for the fire, but used bigger pieces of fabric, and left the stitching exposed. I felt like it looked better to have the stitching on the outside for the fire. I started with the red piece, added the orange, then the yellow, cutting down as I saw fit. Then I stitched the whole thing together, and used the same technique as above for the bottom. I started out thinking I would use printed cotton for the fire, but found that it competed with the logs. I liked the simplicity of the felt.

For the log, get a piece of fabric, fold it in half.  Stitch up the side. Turn, iron, and sew the ends. Use the same technique as above for the closing it up. I just used tan felt for the ends.

Of course I couldn't leave it at just a campfire. I had to make him THE CUTEST FISHING POND EVER! I will be sharing that next. Be sure and check back.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa