A Friend from Under the Sea
Play , Summer 2010
Rhythm of the Home1 Comment
My boy has a bit of an obsession with all things animal. Water animals, to be specific. Sharks, whales, dolphins, manatees, and his latest favorite, the octopus. He chooses to watch Animal Planet over cartoons and has a bookshelf which grows every month with new books on animals.
One of the books that we found at the thrift store a few years ago is Sticks and Stones and Ice cream Cones, by Phyllis Fiarotta, a first edition from 1973. It is full of fun, quick projects to do with your kids and easily learned crafts such as macrame, weaving, and candle making. Unfortunately, the book is out of print now, but I would love to share a really fun project from its pages here with you.
Following are the instructions to help your little ones make their own undersea friend.
SUPPLIES NEEDED
A piece of felt
A skein of yarn
2 yards of ribbon or thinner yarn
A handful of stuffing
2 buttons
Scissors
Glue or glue gun
You will move through each set of pictures in this tutorial in a box formation.
1 -> 2
/
3 ->4
(In the book, they use a styrofoam ball, but I didn’t have one, so this the alternative I came up with.)
Your undersea friend is complete!
A new little friend with LOTS of arms to hug.
Just a reminder: if you want to make one of these for a child under the age of three, omit the buttons and consider stitching on some eyes or leaving it plain to avoid a choking hazard.
Craft Fact of the Day….
Did you know that an Octopus has a beak? Just like a parrot or a bird! Its mouth is at the center of its tentacles. That is why Eben wanted to leave some of the felt at the center; he said it was so that his octopus could eat.
Happy Crafting.
Julia Daby is a Registered Nurse who lives happily with her husband and little boy in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. She enjoys crafts of all kinds, eating good food, reading, and being outdoors. Most important of all….she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She has a small store on etsy and she blogs about life, family and creativity at Adirondack Mama.
