hi-ho apple-o (in miniature)

No Monday food fest tonight - the rents are on a date.  Awwww.... I know.  So cute.  This week we’ll have a Tuesday food fest. In the meantime, I thought I’d show you some things I whipped up for bug to play with on our plane ride out to Utah a few weeks ago.

This first idea is so awesome, I wish I could claim it as my own.  But I can’t.  It comes from ellie g at Less Cake {More Frosting}.  You’ll probably want to go there for the tutorial, not only because hers is super cute, but also because my camera was being seriously HORRIBLE when I was trying to take pictures for this.  So I have very few pictures of the process and the ones I do have are blurry.  PLUS, she sewed her version, and because I love my hot glue gun so much, mine are NOT sewn.  

Here it is.  My very own, toddler friendly travel version of hi-ho cherry-o.  My version differs from the inspiration in several ways.  First, and previously mentioned, it’s no-sew.  It is held together with hot glue, which makes it easy and quick but also less durable, I’m sure.  Also, the inspiration uses all felt for the pieces.  Mine does not.  Mine also is a lot smaller because I wanted it to fit in bug's little backpack.  And the spinners are different as well.

OK.  First, I took your average 40 cent folder.  I cut it to size.  (“Size” is a little smaller than 8x10).

I used hot glue to cover the whole thing with red flannel-type fabric.  On the back, I left a small opening on the side where the folder opens.

I cut all around the folder with pinking shears, because I think it looks cool.  Plus, I just got my pinking shears and I’ve been a little obsessed with them.

Then, I hot glued some felt letters on to the front, spelling out the game.  I wish I’d had smaller letters so it wasn't quite so squinched up...  I tried to make it look purposeful.  Did I succeed?

I cut a small strip of complimentary fabric with my pinking shears and hot glued it into the opening I left on the side in the back. Then I glued the red fabric down on and around it.

I hot glued velcro on to the strip and on to the front cover.  Now the game has a closure.

I opened the game up.

On the left side, I glued a tree made out of brown and green felt.

I glued the smoother side of velcro dots down onto the green treetop.  I glued the rough side of the velcro dots on to small red buttons.  Then I ran out of red buttons.  I didn’t want to go get more, so I racked my brain.  Then I realized, “hey!  Apples are green too!”  So I used green to fill in the bare spots.  Then I realized.  “Hm.  That would have been a good idea if the name of the game were hi-ho-APPLE-O.”  But it’s not.  So apparently there are now green cherries.

Then I cut a shape out of burlap that looked like this:

and glued it to the bottom half of the right side for a basket.  I left the top open and when I glued it down, I kind of squished the sides together a little so that the top bulges open a bit. 

I cut a thick ponytail holder in half and glued the two pieces in loops under the top corners of the basket for handles.

Then I made the spinner.  

I cut out a square from the bottom of a shoebox sized so it would fit in the top half of the right page. 

I covered the front with some fun scrapbook paper and adhered it with mod podge.

I drew lines on the spinner, dividing it in fourths with a sharpie.  This is how my spinner differs.  I decided to simplify the options for the game so it would be easier for bug to learn (he IS only 2).  (Is it ok for me to pretend I did this to simplify things for him even though I really did it to simplify things for me?)

I got some images off the internet and printed them out.  (for the basket tipping over, I had to make my own image and I used picnik.)

I cut them out and mod podged them on to the square, then mod podged over the whole thing.

I punched a hole in the middle.

I used a green popsicle stick and glued some foam triangles to the tip to make an arrow.  

I punched a hole in the middle of the popsicle stick with my cropadile and used a brad to attach it to the spinner.

I glued this down to the top of the right page.

And there you have it!  My easy-shmeezy, no-sew version of this super cute version of travel hi-ho cherry-o )or hi-ho apple-o, whichever).  It actually did keep bug busy on the plane and he enjoyed showing it off to his grandparents.  I like to take it to church with us, too, for a quiet activity he can do on his own.  

Now I’m all full of ideas for how to make travel hangman, travel tic-tac-toe, and lots more.  Obviously those will be for mr and me, since bug can’t spell yet and has no concept of tic-tac-toe strategy.

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