K's Birthday Present (Part 1)

About 6 months ago, I decided that for K's birthday I wanted to make him a fabric house to fit over our dining room table. It would be kind of like a tent. I thought it was such a cool idea that I went out and bought all the fabric I needed to make it immediately with full intentions of working on it little by little. Alas, other things came up and when I thought about making it, I decided it was a bit daunting. I wasn't working off of a pattern, or even a general guide. This was all me. I was really worried that I would totally mess it up and all of that fabric would be such a huge waste. I put it off for so long that if I really wanted this to be a birthday present, I needed to haul all of the fabric to the US with us and work on it here. I'm going to be pretty busy preparing for his party when we get back - pinatas and cakes and snacks to make - so I have about 2 weeks left to get this project done.

I started the house last week. I figured I would start with the front door. The frame was a bit of a pain, but it worked out. The post box has the Japanese postal symbol on it. I made a huge button hole for the mail slot and it is velcro-ed to the bottom of the mail box. I hope to draw little pictures for him at some point and stick them in the slot for K to find. I couldn't decide how to actually make the door, but settled on a hanging door that can be tied up.

After making this wall, I started on the opposite wall - an apple tree in the back of the house.

K can go apple picking and take the apples out of their pockets.

I hope to keep adding to the tree by making other fruits he can pick off - pears, peaches, oranges, etc. But I think I will get the bare bones done first and then work on adding other fun bits. I kind of envision this as an ongoing project that maybe he can give ideas for at some point. If he decides he wants lemons on the tree, then I'll whip some up!

With that, I have half of the house (minus the roof) done. I am very pleased with how it is turning out so far. I hope he likes it - although I am fully prepared for him to not be into it.

I've started the third wall, but this one is taking some time. Hopefully I will post it later this week.

I know I've been a bit lame with posting recently, but I've been working on this and just enjoying my time with my family. I plan to do a bit of baking this week and as above working on wall #3. Keep checking back!!