Felt Campfire Set

We have a family birthday to celebrate very soon and I have been busily working on some homemade goodness to celebrate the birthday boy. Even though I've been a bit under the weather lately, I've had time to do some sewing and now have everything ready for this special 3-year-old.

Using felt, I constructed a toy campfire, complete with logs, flames and marshmallows to roast. I didn't take a lot of photos during the process, but I am working on a pattern and complete tutorial.  In the meantime, I will give you a brief description of how I did the logs and flames.

Log Supplies:
Dark Brown Felt (1 piece per log)
Tan Felt (1 piece is enough for 4-5 logs)
Tan Embroidery Thread
Scissors
Sewing Thread & Needle
Fiberfill Stuffing

Log Directions:
1. Fold the brown felt in half lengthwise and trim off about 1 to 1-1/2" from the open edge, allowing for a small "branch".
2. Cut out circles for the ends of the logs from the tan felt (2 per log). My circles were about 3 to 3-1/2" in diameter.
3. Using the Tan Embroidery Thread, I used a running stitch to create wood-like motifs on the flat piece of dark brown felt.  I didn't draw these out beforehand, I just made it up as I went, trying to keep the grain somewhat straight and making a couple of swirls for knots in the tree.

4. Make circles of running stitches on the tan felt circles.

5. With the felt folded in half lengthwise, sew that seam on the sewing machine, going around the branch.
6. While the log is still inside out, sew a tan circle to one end of the log. (This is not an exact thing--sometimes my circles fit better than other times, but they all ended up looking just fine.  Just go slowly and turn as you go.
7. Turn right side out and use a knitting needle or other stick to turn the corners of the branch.
8. Stuff with fiberfill. I used the knitting needle to be sure the fiberfill got into the small branch area.
9. Stitch the other end closed with a tan circle.  I put right sides together and stitched halfway around the circle before turning it and hand-stitching it closed.

Now, every campfire needs some fire, right?!?  These flames were super easy!

Flame Supplies:
Red Felt (1 piece per flame part)
Orange felt (1 piece per flame part)
Yellow felt (1 piece per flame part)
Matching Embroidery Thread
Scissors
Sewing Thread and Needle
Fiberfill

Flame Directions:
1. Fold the red felt in half and cut out a flame shape. (You will have 2 pieces now)
2. Layer the orange felt on top and repeat the process,  cutting these pieces about an inch smaller all around. (you will have 2 orange pieces)
3. Lastly, do the same with the yellow pieces. I just free-hand cut these and didn't worry if they didn't fit exactly.
4. Use the embroidery thread to stitch the orange and yellow flames in place over the red piece.  Remember that this is a flame, so it should be irregular.
5. Repeat with the other side (be sure that you are doing it on the correct side of the flame)
6. With right side together, stitch around the outside of the flame, leaving the bottom free for stuffing.
7. Turn right sides out, using a knitting needle or other stick to get into the points.
8. Stuff with fiberfill.
9. Stitch the bottom closed.

Given our birthday boy's fondness for s'mores, I stitched up some felt marshmallows and even a couple of hot dogs that would fit on the ends of "roasting sticks".  The process for these was a bit complicated to describe, so you'll have to wait until I can take more pictures and develop a step-by-step guide. (The hot dogs are a little bit wonky, but I think they will still be fun!)

Using an embroidery design that I purchased from NNKidsEmbroidery, I stitched some crackers, chocolate and melted marshmallows so that the pretend play can be complete. The design was quick and easy and stitched up really nicely.

Using some leftover canvas I had on hand, I made a simple drawstring backpack to carry all the pieces and we are including a pair of real binoculars and  this amazing lantern. Not only does it serve as a real lantern, but it also displays stars on the ceiling.  How fun is that!

Now, let the pretending begin!

What have you been up to lately?

For some strange reason, I thought that once I retired, I would have all of this extra time on my hands. Time to lounge around out on the deck, time to work in my garden, time to paint, time to practice photography, time to volunteer and even time to blog.  It hasn't really panned out that way this year, but it's totally fine with me. It has been crazy busy, but somewhat relaxing at the same time. When my friends who are still working ask me, "Do you ever get bored?" I want to laugh!  Not at all!! I have a list a mile long of projects that I want to tackle and am slowly, but surely checking them off my list. At times, I get a little frustrated with myself for the lack of progress in certain areas, but then I remind myself of what Valine told me: "It doesn't all have to happen the first year!" I guess that I felt like it was a short vacation--like spring break or summer--and I needed to cram every single project into that time. But, it's not! I'm going to be retired for a long time. If I do a little bit here and there, it will all get done.  And if it doesn't, oh well.

Ron and I slipped away for a short weekend camping trip over the Easter weekend. Because his work has been so busy and unpredictable lately, it is unlikely that we will be going on a real vacation until sometime in the fall. But, having a place to go that is only 45 minutes away gave us a much-needed break. I didn't break out my "big girl camera" the entire weekend, so he is an unedited, iPhone look at our time.

Callie and the crew came out to visit one of the days we were there and after dinner and s'mores, Luke stayed to spend the night.

While he was sort of interested in fishing, he REALLY just wanted to hide and hunt Easter eggs.

After a bit of a rough night away from mommy in the camper, we awoke to a happy toddler who was thrilled with camping again. We went on a little hike and to a visit to the nature center.

While we tried to interest him in more fishing, he really just wanted to hide and find Easter eggs again.

And again and again!

Oh the joy of being 2 years old!

When Callie came to pick him up, we all visited the small zoo where the peacocks really put on a show for us!

That night, Ron and I did a little more hiking and some fishing as well. I was on a roll---I caught 20 fish, many of them nice-sized catfish, while Ron only caught 6.

Easter morning, I got up, showered & dressed and headed into town for church before returning to spend the rest of the day at the campsite.

We had such a nice, relaxing weekend filled with family, fishing and fun!

And in case you're wondering, I have indeed reminded Ron of my fishing prowess several times since then!

Happy Campers

Back in October, we spent a weekend camping with Callie & Jordan at Beaver's Bend Park. While it was a vacation wrought with interruptions in the form of new tires for the camper and a full campground, we ultimately had a great time hiking and fishing and just being outdoors. It was fun being there with two little guys who loved being outdoors and didn't want to leave.

Ron and I left late in the afternoon on Sunday and since we'd had to come up separately, I was following him home.  The weather was great and there was a huge harvest moon in the sky.

Just a few miles from home, I saw Ron's truck suddenly begin to swerve with the camper throwing his truck back and forth across the interstate. In horror, I watched as he fought to regain control of his small truck and ultimately land in the ditch on the side of the road with the camper flipped on its side.  Miraculously, he was able to keep the truck upright. As I ran to hug him when he emerged from the cab of the truck, I was flooded with relief that he was okay. I remember him hugging me and telling me he was sorry about the camper.  At that moment, I couldn't have cared less about the camper or anything inside it, even though it was already pretty clear that it was a total loss.

We spent the next few hours with a big-rig tow truck and lots of deputy sheriffs, along with Jordan who had come to help.

Eventually, the camper was separated from the truck and Ron were actually able to drive it home.  We LOVED our camper that we bought from Juliet and were sad to tell it goodbye, but were able to get inside to get most of our belongings out in the following week.  This is what we found . (Notice that the "happy camper" dish towel that is still hanging neatly on the stove, despite the fact that every other part of the stove was thrown throughout the camper)

Yep, that is a biscuit hanging from the ceiling--still in its zip-lock bag.

The end of 2016 also brought about the demise of Ron's truck--possibly accelerated by the wreck, although insurance begs to differ about that.  He brought home his new chariot--a Ford that is big enough to pull a camper and is comfortable for more than 2 people to ride.  He has waited a long time for it and loves it!

Which brings us back to the camper.  Having our little camper for just a year and a half was long enough to let us know how much we love camping and that we really do want to invest a little bit more money in having a new one.  This weekend we went out to the RV show to look around and scout out what kind of model might best suit our needs.

We checked out a variety of models and styles, but likely have a lot of research ahead of us before we figure out exactly what we want and need.

There might be some fussin' and discussin' going on, but I'm confident that eventually we will find the right thing for our family and I can't wait to get back on the road again!