Monday 11 November 2013

Fabric balloon balls

Ellie still loves to put things in her mouth. Seriously, it feels like every time I turn around I catch her eating something she shouldn't be. Most things are fairly harmless - various toys, books (this I'm trying to curb, telling her that we respect books in this house!). Some are gross - my slippers, the hound's pork skin chew toys. Some are just plain dangerous - the dishwasher tablet wrappers and small rocks and other things unidentified.

That being said, she also loves balloons. However as we all know, balloons can pop quite easily. Add an inquisitive toddler with sharp fingernails, an insatiable need to put things into her mouth and an inquiring mind into the mix, and I'm just not comfortable letting her play with these things unsupervised. Enter, the fabric balloon cover!


I'm a little chuffed with this sewing creation, as it lets me tick a few things off my 101 things list, it lets me be crafty and it lets Ellie have some sensory fun.  


What is a fabric balloon cover I hear you ask? Simply that, a cover that allows you to enclose a normal balloon inside. This results in several things:

  • If the balloon pops, no problem! All the pieces are contained inside so exploratory small people can't eat them
  • The cover gives the balloon really cool properties - one being, they now bounce!
  • For extra sensory and educational fun, I like to add some dried beans to the balloon before I tie it off inside. This makes it roll in unexpected ways and makes the entire item into a giant maraca
  • The covers are washable and easily portable for instant amusement  
It took me a long time to get the pattern right for these covers. I can't even tell you how many attempts I made! Some shapes were too big for the balloons, some too small. Some were the wrong shape entirely and some didn't fully enclose the balloon when tied up, negating the purpose. I even tried different materials until I found ones with the right properties.  But! Trial and error paid off and now I have a pattern I'm happy with (and Ellie has lots of draft covers to enjoy too!).

The covers here are off to a new home soon... I hope their new owner loves them.


What about you? Made anything crafty lately?

3 comments:

  1. I SUPER like this idea! If I have time I'll make one for my littlies in my paediatric placement at the hospital next week. It's always enjoyable for them to have an interesting toy to play with as a break/reward from therapy :) D

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    Replies
    1. dee, I can make you one. If I do it this weekend and post it so it arrives Monday/Tuesday, is that too late?

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  2. I am the 'new owner' and I can tell you how fabulous I think they are! They look wonderful, and the kids that will play with them will be very happy. I will report back on their progress :-) I may even have a photo for you! Thanks Lisa!

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