I am always stumped as to what to make for really young children that are no longer infants but are also not big enough for all out toys. Looking over the internet for inspiration and ideas, I ran across this great tutorial by Susan Beal for a crinkly, crackly owl toy It was a great toy and easy to make. I did it basically in a few hours. I used her pattern as a jumping off point and put my own little spins on it.



Here is the front of my owl all pinned together and waiting to be appliqued together.



Getting his back contrasts put together



The owl gets his wings!



Oh No! Look out owl! Here comes the iron for one good last pressing!



And here he is all stuffed with crackly recycled shopping bags and fiberfill. This tutorial was great and easy to follow. I made mine much more involved by giving him wings and also appliqueing the eyes, nose, and feet on. In the tutorial you just sew them on using felt rather than fraying cotton cloth. She also suggests the possibility of using buttons for the eyes, but Jozef is only one, so cloth only for him. I hope you all go and check out her tutorial and perhaps even her book. If you have seen the book or read it, what did you think?

( Here is my finally finished Tea Cozy Tutorial. I hope you all enjoy it. )
I hope this keeps you all busy while I am away visiting my sister next week. I will return to writing when I get back at the beginning of February. I still have a lot to do to get ready to go. I wanted to make some napkins to match the cozy out of the left over fabric today, so Dan can mail it off for me tomorrow. I also have to do the laundry and pack for the trip as well as a little house cleaning before I go. I wish you all creative thoughts and fun times while I am gone and look forward to hearing from people on their tea cozy adventures!