A new bean is created...

Having spent rather a lot of years making crafty things with three and four year old in my previous life as a nursery teacher, I have a cupboard full of treasures to do makey-crafty-nasties and a head full of ideas to use the treasures. Imagine my horror when SmallBean arrived and grew and made it perfectly clear that he Didn't Like Craft. Cajouling, persuading, bribing and beating (only kidding) didn't seem to work so the cupboard remained full and tidy. Making junk models and tissue paper crowns and finger painted chickens with string legs on my own aged 37+ just seemed a bit odd. So imagine my delight when SmallerBean made it equally clear that she was going to be the Makey Queen. Now I sometimes wish that the cupboard had a lock on it...

To cut a long story short, I was determined that over the summer hols we would all do lots of stuff together at the kitchen table. Small overdid the eye-rolling (he's practising for his teenage years in seven years time) but then those big brown eyes lit up when I mentioned that we were going to try to make a soft toy of his design. A long time ago I came across a website which turned childrens drawings into soft toys. Very exciting but toooo much cash for us Beans. Small is into design at the moment. I think that it must play a large part in the KS1 curriculum for Y1. Anyway. He did a drawing. Then I made him do another when I saw the absurdly thin legs he'd given his design. We went through the trunk of fabric and he chose the material for the body, legs, arms and head. All very tasteful and complimentary. I was totally surprised as he is the type of boy who wears camouflage shorts with a stripey t-shirt and socks and crocs... We (I) cut out the parts and he began to get bored and went off to play Lego Atlantis and I pinned it together and he came back and changed the design so I repinned and began to sew.

Slowly, painfully, painstakingly, it began to take shape.

The legs and arms were stuffed and joined to the body. Then tugged away form being all joined up inside as I turned it the right way round.

The eyes, ears and fangs(!?!) were attached.

I stuffed the head (at this point Small had come back and was beginning to be a bit more interested although he was still not showing 100% attention).

He then said that the fangs looked like a moustache and was a bit disappointed although he tried very hard not to show me quite how bad he was feeling- I think he realised that I might blow a gasket at this stage in the proceedings.

Finally the body got stuffed and the head and torso were united.

Drum roll drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Introducing Vampire Dog. Small loves him. I hope Vampire Dog's head stays attached or there may be tears.

Now I have the little problem of turning this design into something for SmallerBean. Wish me luck.