Over the weekend j attended his new classmate's birthday party. I've become friends with Miss N's mother and have spent enough time in the classroom to know she is not a girly girl. I was pretty certain my pretty-in-pink little girlfriend gift set would not be well received so I asked j what he thought Miss N would like for her birthday. He told me she likes dogs and the color blue [me, too!]. I also happened to know Miss N loves stuffed animals and although I usually try to veer away from purchasing gifts that will just end up cluttering up a home, I found this sweet black labrador puppy that I thought would be perfect for her.
I wanted to add a little handmade touch to the store bought gift so I made a simple dog collar by cutting a strip of blue wool felt, sewing a button on one end and cutting a little opening on the other end. I love working with felt since it doesn't fray. I found the little "N" bracelet charm at the toy store and sewed it on to the dog collar.
I sewed a large drawstring bag out of blue cotton twill and added a fabric letter applique to give it a personal touch. I was so happy to hear the birthday girl loved her gift!