Well I’m late again posting. I fear this is becoming a habit. This was the last week of summer for Julius before he started school again. Last week he had “space” summer camp but it only went to 1pm. That meant we got to hang out doing silly things together. We biked to the orchard and picked peaches, blueberries and grapes. Then yesterday for the last day of summer we biked to the library and playground. He is doing really great biking! One of our friends saw us biking on one of the main streets in Lancaster (which happens to be a really big hill). Julius made it up without much grumbling!
As much as it will be nice to have an actual kid free day of sabbatical to myself I will miss my little buddy! He was a bit nervous for his first day of school but I’m sure he’ll do great! A few weekends back amidst our traveling I made a little kit for my BFFITWWW’s son for his birthday. (Amy I know you said no presents but you also got me a birthday gift so fair is fair. ) Alex loves matchbox cars so this little case is one you can both color and use for cars. Hopefully to much entertainment on road trips. At Alex’s birthday Patricia stole it an colored in in for hours so I knew I had to make one for her and Julius as well… So here it is. Note – if you don’t have a sublimation printer don’t fear! I discovered that cricut has sublimation markers! You draw on sublimation paper with them and then you can sublimate the marker ink onto your polyester surface. Oh! And I forgot to mention the best part! Since these are 100% polyester if you use washable markers you can wash the markers right out after playing!
Washable Coloring Car Play Mat
What you’ll need:
- 100% polyester fabric (mine is leftover woven polyester fabric from the towels I made for everyone for xmas)
- a candle (recommended to prevent fraying edges)
- 1/4″ elastic (2 pieces, cut to 7″ each)
- Sublimation printer and ink – or cricut sublimation markers and paper (see comment above)
- My designs for the castle set here and the road set here
- Ultra-Washable Crayola Markers (for playing)
1. The first step is to cut your fabric into a rectangle (that will leave about 1/2″ for seam allowance).
2. Use the candle to melt the unfinished polyester edges. I do this by moving the fabric close to the flame and watching it carefully as it melts together. This is a bit fiddly but I really think it helps keep the polyester intact. The other option is to make your fabric slightly wider and doing a rolled hem.
3. Fold under 1/2″ on each side of the fabric then press.
4. Pin the hem of the fabric, and at the top of your design, 2″ from each side insert the elastic (fold in half, then insert both unfinished sides into the hem.
5. Stitch entire seam.
6. Flip elastic up and then stitch again to hold in place (so loop protrudes above the top of the fabric, not inside.)
7. Press your fabric with a heat press at 375F for 30 seconds to steam out any moisture.
8. Apply the sublimation design with your heat press. I used my head press set to 375F for 60 seconds and covered the sublimation paper & design with a sheet of parchment paper.
9. If desired, apply a second design below the road/castle scene. (I did my child’s names.)
10. Fold the bottom edge under 4″ to form a pocket. Stitch along both edges to finish the pocket.
11. Place markers and car inside the pouch then let them play!
Note: It’s best to wash it within a day or two after coloring to prevent lingering stains. I used just water and mild soap then hung it to dry.
Alex loved this. It was such a great gift!