I was having to look through one of my many craft books the other day when I came across a tic, tac, toe game in a drawstring bag. I thought it was a lovely idea as a handmade gift for kids and straight away knew I’d have to have a go at making it…and then it came to me – hearts and stars are way more interesting than noughts and crosses and would look cute all tumbling out of the bag. I set to it – armed with my salt dough recipe (you can find the recipe here) and the basic ability to sew. Below is how I put this handmade gift together…
Materials required for the shapes:
- Salt dough
- Biscuit cutters (I used hearts and stars but the possibilities are endless – rockets & moons for a more “boy” themed game?)
- Spray paint or acrylic paint
Materials required for the drawstring bag:
- Calico fabric
- Print off of the attached image onto iron on transfer paper for a printer – I used but there are other types. I have used it for quite a few projects and found it easy to use (you’ll need printer and an iron to do this)
- Ribbon
- Sewing machine
Instructions:
- Make up the salt dough, roll out and cut into the shapes – I did nine of each – a bit excessive but better to be safe than sorry!
- Once baked and cool, place the shapes onto newspaper and either paint or, if using spray paint (which I did) take outside or into a garage and spray as per instructions on the can.
- Print off the grid I have attached onto the transfer paper (the image is back to front so that when you iron it onto the fabric it transfers the right way round. Transfer the image as per instructions on the transfer paper. If you don’t want to do this you can always draw with a Sharpie onto the fabric.
- Make up the drawstring bag – as per a previous post and pop the hearts and stars into the bag and you’re good to go.
It is easy to go out and buy gifts for kids but something handmade and unique is an option worth thinking about. The game above is also a handy item to make ready for holidays as it is easy to pack away and take it you.
Georgie
