DIY Game Day Pillows for Football Fans

The DIY Game Day Pillows are the perfect afternoon project to be ready for Thanksgiving Weekend football...or get a jump start on a Christmas gift for your favorite football fan.  Special thanks to Shannon Fabrics and Fairfield World for providing me with product and to Fairfield World for compensating me for this post.

Basic Box Cushion Cover - For Chairs, Bean Bags, and Floor Pillows

Box cushions are easy to make and very versatile.  They can be used to recover chair and sofa cushions or made on their own can make great floor cushions, bean bags cushions, and pet beds.

One of the best things about designing projects for Fairfield World is that they send me free product that I can use to do projects like this to benefit individual classrooms at my kids school.  They sent me bean bag filler, poly-fil, and pillow inserts and compensated me to complete this project.  Dritz also sent me their brilliant Cut-to-Size Upholstery zippers.  All opinions, ideas, enthusiasm, and gratitude are 100% my own.

Depending on the level of support you need, you can fill box cushions covers with support cushion foam, bean bag filler, or poly-fil fiber fill.

And while these cushions found their home in a first grade classroom, these cushions also make for relaxing seating at home as well.

(Bean bag filler inside.)

Get the full tutorial, needed materials, and instructions to make your own Basic Box Cushion Covers on the Fairfield Site here.

DIY Pygmy Puffs - Pygmy Puff Worry Pets

Pygmy Puffs are among the most adorably cute magical creatures in Harry Potter's magical world, and now you can make one of your own.  (Thanks to Fairfield World for providing product and compensating me for this post and to Shannon Fabrics for providing the fur.  This post may contain affiliate links.  All opinions, ideas, and enthusiasm are 100% my own.)

This project is also part of the this year's Happy Harry Potter series at Raegun Ramblings.  Be sure to check in there for lots of other fun Harry Potter themed projects.  And read to the end to enter this year's amazing giveaway.

Back to School Ideas and the Weekly Block Party Link-Up

I can't believe school starts in less than a month there.  These great back-to-school ideas will make going back to school a whole lot craftier.  It is crazy to think that this week it's August!  I am already seeing back to school pictures on my social media feed, it's crazy.  I am always sad to see summer go but I am always excited for the structure that school brings.  To get ready for school, here are some great ideas to make the transition easier. 

Giant Floor Bean Bags

Giant Floor Bean Bags are easy to make and perfect seating for TV rooms, reading corners, and kids' bedrooms.  I'm super grateful to Fairfield World and Shannon Fabrics for compensating me for this post and sending the materials so I could donate these to one of the new teachers at my kids' school for her reading corner.  All opinions, ideas, and enthusiasm are 100% my own.

Whether your looking for comfortable classroom reading space, or a relaxing place to do homework or watch TV, these giant floor bean bags will be the perfect fit.  The Shannon Cuddle fabrics on the outside makes them snuggly soft and you'll love that the 60" wide fabric makes it easy to make nearly 30" large bean bags.

Jumbo Zipper Pouch Tutorial

This easy Jumbo Zipper Pouch is the perfect pencil case to send your kids back to school with.  (I don't know about you...but the little ones they sell at the store never seem to fit the huge list of supplies the kids are asked to bring.)

They also make great gifts for teacher and if you choose the right novelty fabric they can be personalized to anyone's taste.  Disclaimer: Thanks as always to Fairfield World for providing the support foam and batting as well as compensating me for this project.  All opinions, ideas, and enthusiasm are 100% my own.  This post also contains affiliate links to help support my blog.

We also love to use these as Thank You gifts for our kids' teachers at the end of the year.  A good zipper pouch is a universally appreciated gift if you choose the right fabric and colors.

And once you get the hang of them, they are SO fast and easy.

Reversible Cuddle® Chair Cover

This is an easy reversible chair cover for a favorite chair that just needs a facelift and only takes and hour or two of your time.  I used Cuddle® Fabric to make it extra soft and comfortable.

Thank you Fairfield World for their continued support of my creativity by providing me with products to try and compensating me for my work sharing it with you.  Thank you also to Shannon Fabrics for providing me with the Cuddle® fabric.  The support of these companies made this donation to my daughter's classroom possible.  All opinions, ideas, and enthusiasm is entirely my own.  This post contains affiliate links.

We've all got that chair that we LOVE and is SO comfortable, but is ugly as all get out, right?  Different covers work for different kinds of chairs, but this is an easy cover that can work for most kinds of chairs.  It will work best for chairs with open arms, so that you can tie the cover in place at the back of the seat.

Rebecca's teacher loves owls and her favorite colors are blue and green, so these seemed like the perfect fabrics.

Before the instructions....just a little backstory...

DIY Classroom Reading Corner with Cuddle® Fabric and Fairfield World

Every elementary school classroom needs somewhere comfortable to curl up with a good book.  Of all the reading areas we've helped with (and there have been a lot), this DIY Reading Corner is definitely my favorite.  HUGE thanks to Fairfield World for donating all the "insides" supplies for this project and another HUGE thanks to Shannon Fabrics for donating all of colorful chevron cuddle fabrics.  Both companies jumped into action when I requested materials and we got this project finished just in time for the first day of school.  Fairfield World has compensated me for writing this post, but all ideas, opinions, and enthusiasm are 100% my own.  This post also contains affiliate links.

My daughter's first grade teacher last year was brand-new to our school, and this year, she got to move in to a larger room with space for a reading corner.  She wanted a really large bench with lots of pillows for relaxing.  She's decorated her room with bright bulletin boards surrounded with chevron trim, so we decided to keep with that theme for the reading corner too.

We used mostly solid Embossed Chevron Cuddle® for the larger pillows and then made some smaller accent pillows using the Easiest Ever Cuddle® Pillow Instructions on Shannon Fabrics blog.

We also knew that it was a MUST that the reading bench cover and pillow covers come off for easy washing.  I NEVER donate any fabric goods to the school that can't be washed.

DIY Worry Pet - Pocket Pet - For Kids with Anxiety

If you have kiddos with anxiety about going back to school, they might like to take one of these Worry Pets with them in their pocket.  The poly-pellets inside give nervous fingers something to fiddle with and the super soft cuddle is soothing.  Once you make one, you won't be able to stop.  Your whole family will want one.

DIY Weighted Vests for Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Sensory Issues & More

With Back-to-School, that means many of us are looking for new ways to help our kids deal with challenges brought on by anxiety, ADHD, autism, sensory issues and more.  In our family, we have one child with a severe form of social anxiety called selective mutism and another child with ADHD.  As we've been working with professionals over the last year to help each of them, I've been struck by how many strategies can help both of them.

First of all, though, a few disclaimers.  Please don't take anything I say as medical advice.  If your child is struggling with any of these issues, please make sure you're working with a professional(s) and check with them before starting new therapies.  Fairfield World providing me with Poly-Pellets and compensated me for writing this post, but all ideas and opinions are 100% my own.  This post contains affiliate links that help support my blog and keep bringing you new ideas.

My 7-year-old struggles a lot with social anxiety at school.  Last year, there were quite a few days when she insisted on wearing her winter jacket through her whole school day.  It would get hot and the sleeves were bulky and could get in the way, but it helped her feel safe.  I wanted to find a way to help her get the same feeling without all the bulk.  I've been considering trying weighted vests for my kiddos for a while, and this month when Fairfield asked us to use their weighted Poly-Pellets in a challenge project, I decided it was time to make them a reality...and they're surprisingly easy to make.