TeePee Time!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the latest craze to hit the toddler playroom or bedroom is the teepee.  I decided that I would try and create one using some ideas that I saw on Pinterest.

I purchased the canvas fabric last year when I was visiting the USA and got a 50% off deal at Hobby Lobby.  I wanted to use a canvas type material as it was much stronger than cotton and I felt it would last up to the wear and tear of a toddler.

I'm not going to go into great detail on how I made the actual teepee, as there are hundreds of online DIY tutorials.

I did purchase 5 yards of the red and white chevron canvas and cut 4 sides according to the size of the poles that I purchased (60").  I procrastinated for months on starting this project, mainly due to fear of getting it wrong.  Once I started, I realized that it really wasn't that hard.

My little grandson is going to have a "British" themed big boy bedroom so I wanted to incorporate some of the detail into the teepee using the British soldier cotton on the front opening panel as well as the matching reversible pillow.

I created tie-backs with velcro for the opening on the teepee so that his little hands would be able to open and close the flaps easily.

I looked everywhere for very large buttons that little hands could grab easily and couldn't find anything that I liked so I purchased these 2" wooden circles from Michaels and had my husband drill two holes in the centre and I painted them black.  I sewed them onto the velcro end of the tab with thick embroidery thread.

I painted the top 3" of the poles in a bright red to match the fabric.  The holes were drilled into the poles approximately 4" down from the top and I used heavy cording to tie them all together and covered it with a piece of canvas fabric.

The playmat on the floor is reversible and made with washable heavy-duty indoor-outdoor fabric.  There is a zipper along the back of the mat to allow easy removal of the puffy 2" foam layer inside.  

The floor mat has elastic loops sewn into each corner and they are looped around the poles legs in order to keep it flat on the floor.  I used rubber feet at the base of each pole so it does not slip on hardwood floors.

The little pillow is reversible with white Minkee dimple dot fabric on the reverse of the soldier fabric.  I love how this makes a great little reading nook.

Here is a closeup of the soldier fabric panel on the front of the teepee.  

This really was such a fun project and not as hard as I had envisioned it to be.  The total project cost was just under $150 as I was fortunate enough to get all the fabrics on sale for 50% off.

Henry's Busy Book

I know it's been a while since I've posted but things have been crazy busy with the business and it seems like blogging has been last on the list this past year.

I wanted to share the latest project that I made for my one year old Grandson.  It's a busy book!
There are a few of the pages that are a little advanced for a one year old, but I wanted him to grow into the book and have it last several years.

This was a time-consuming project, taking almost a month to complete but I wasn't in any rush so it was a lot of fun to work on.


The sunshine circle is made with crinkle fabric and sensory ribbon tags.

The I Spy page is a fabric magnifying glass with lots of little trinkets to catch your attention.

Henry's favourite thing to do right now is play peek-a-boo so this is his favourite page as he can put his hands inside the mittens!

A little too young for this page but he will have fun matching the shapes in the future.  Each vinyl shape has velcro attached to the back to secure it to the opposite shape page.

Counting beads are so much fun!

This little octopus has sensory fur balls attached

The finger puppets are easily removed for play.

The button maze is lots of fun!

Each of the blue squares works on fine motor skills.  Velcro, Snap, Button and Magnet and a little zipper for added fun.  Beads spell his name and slide along the top.

   Unzip the tent to see the 3 little bears inside.

Learning to tell time with movable clock hands.

Henry's favorite dinosaur with sensory tags.

Learning to tie.

Removable fish in a clear plastic fish bowl.

Lift the flaps to see your favourite animal.  Pictures can be changed as they are behind plastic fabric and easily slide out.

Having fun with buckles and clips.

Let's learn to buckle our overalls.

I had so much fun making this Busy Book and I hope he enjoys it for years to come.

Branding

Branding is more than just your company name, logo or tag line.....It's the entire experience your company has with their customers.
Every brand makes a promise and that promise serves as a differentiator between you and your competitors.  My promise is not to just sell you a baby blanket but rather to make the experience not only fast and easy but also enjoyable.

The key to branding is consistency.  Does your logo convey something that you are selling or is it just a cute picture that might end up confusing someone?  My logo is a baby pram, quite simple but who doesn't associate a baby when seeing the pram?  The colour scheme is soft and feminine to attract women.  I keep this consistent throughout my marketing materials from my invoices, business cards,  gift cards etc.

I use one source for all my marketing materials and FreshBooks for my accounting.  FreshBooks allows the customer to keep their brands consistent by using their online invoicing system.  It can help to keep your brand consistent by easily inserting your business logo.  Keeping things aesthetically pleasing and professional at the same time.   All my social media accounts have the same flow keeping consistent in my branding.   Social media sites contain the largest amount of connections so every single piece of media that you share should support your brand image.

Try using emotional triggers to strengthen the customer's loyalty.  I try and make them feel like they are part of the buying experience by allowing them as much input in the design process as possible.  An important factor in buying from Sun 7 Designs is to make the customer's life easier.

In the end, branding and marketing is a long road and an on-going process.  Setting up your accounts is one step, the real challenge is actively participating.  Have fun with it and keep it consistent.

Check out my Website and Facebook page to view my products and connect with Sun 7 Designs.  Let me create something special for your little one with one of my custom designed personalized baby blankets.

Bringing Comfort

Last November I was contacted by the principal of an elementary school who wanted me to make a special blanket for a very special little boy who was terminally ill.  Alex was in grade six and only had a few months to live and his classmates wanted him to have something that would give him comfort during this very difficult time.
They chose a heart with his name for the middle of the blanket and the following designs were created for the four corners.
His favourite colour was purple so the blanket was embroidered with the main design on the purple side and the four corners of the reverse in latte had the other designs.

The school's initials with all his classmates holding hands.

His favourite sports.

 His family.

 And, lastly.... Alex with his friends having a campfire.

Sadly, Alex passed away in January of this year and this special blanket was draped over his coffin at the funeral.  The principal of the school called to tell me that Alex had taken his blanket with him everywhere he went and it did give him comfort.

Sometimes the creation of these blankets is difficult.   Most of my orders are for blankets to celebrate life as in the birth of a brand new baby but, on occasion, I do get requests to do something like this one that was done for Alex.  

A New Year!

Check out the latest edition of Scrapbook Magazine UK, it features two of my layouts.  Issue #87 in stores now.
This layout commemorates a trip that 6 of us took to New York in October of 2011.  My favourite part of the week in NYC was the ride through Central Park.

The challenge for this layout was to use the title "A New Year".......  This year I will become a Grandma for the first time so this layout was so much fun to create.

Sometimes you want your journaling to be private.  I included mine on this layout under this  (Grandma) flap.

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS

This is the busiest time of year for Sun 7 Designs so I get very little time to create for myself.  If it wasn't for the time that I spend once a month with my scrapbooking girls, I would get nothing done for Christmas.
This year I created these adorable little ornaments using the inserts from the Tim Holtz configuration box.

So what do you do with the actual box that these little boxes came in?  You make a Christmas shadowbox.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2015.