Gone to the Beach

Here's the finished play screen:

This side came together quite nicely over a sewing night with friends
- who inspired various features, such as the bucket and spade 

A bit crumpled, but already much played with and definitely a hit. I'd wondered whether they would like being closed in, but had clearly forgotten that children LOVE dens. (Not to mention hurling themselves in and out of holes, too. The strength of the Velcro that holds the whole thing up has been well and truly tested, and the screen hasn't fallen down yet - phew.)

My favourite bit - makes me think of holidays each time I look at it.

And when they have had enough of serving up ice creams to their friends and toys, they can entertain us all with their own unique take of the annual pantomime they'll be going to with their grandparents next week.

No expense spared - spot the bit of garden cane used for the curtain pole. 

With only a couple of nights left until Christmas, a heavy cold, and so no intention of spending both evenings sewing, I adjusted what I was going to do for the reverse side, and opted for a simple design that came together by taking a pair of scissors to whatever bits of fabric I had leftover from other recently finished projects.

I'd normally have wanted to painstakingly hand sew all those branches, and make sure every finished edge was nice and neat. And then, feeling cold ridden, I remembered I had a big tube of fabric glue tucked away in my sewing box. Ta da! Second side of the screen finished in plenty of time to resume position on sofa (with tin of Quality Street close to hand) for the Miranda Christmas special.

Hello, Elephant!

The occupant of the lower bunk is absolutely gleeful at having her own curtains to draw at bed time. I think this play screen is staying put for the foreseeable future...

So a big slice (or three) of Smug Cake for me. This play screen might be a bit shabby around the edges, but unlike some other toys I have made for my girls that have barely been played with, this one has already been worth the effort in terms of fun had out of it. Hooray for sewing and gluing!