Well it was real hit with my son. But I knew he would eventually get bored with it, so I had in mind to make another version or two. I've finally had a chance to put some time to it and came up with this ice cream cone version.
It currently has seven different scoops of ice cream. He's 10 and has quite a few simple chores (like brushing his teeth,) so I thought I would combine it with the burger chart.
I plan on putting "sweet" chores on this one, like "Share your toys," or "Recycle." And doing a "sweet" gets him a special treat.
He's already excited about the idea. If you'd like to make one for yourself, follow along and I'll step you through the process.
This is the design I came up with. You're welcome to use it, or you can come up with one of your own. It's a pretty simple design to create.
I used my embroidery machine and stitched the designs, but this could easily be done with a regular sewing machine or even by hand. For the scoop of ice cream, I used cotton fabric in a variety of colors and prints. I started out using felt, but I wanted something a little more festive and didn't want to have to coordinate the extra stitching and thread colors. Also, it seemed like the felt stretched a bit when handled. I did use felt for the cone, because it's just tan and won't be handled excessively like the scoops of ice cream.
Next, I stitched a small piece of clear vinyl onto a piece of white fabric that I planned to use for the backing. I only stitched three sides of the vinyl, leaving the top open. When completed, this will be used to hold the name of the chore.I'm sure there's a trick to sewing vinyl, but I haven't figured it out yet. This vinyl is particularly sticky and tends to adhere to the sewing foot. I've found that what works for me is to cover it with paper, stitch through the paper, then tear it away at the perforation created by the stitching.
I glued a small magnet to the back of the stitched scoop of ice cream. I found some very strong disk magnets to use. I like the thin strip magnets, but they just didn't seem strong enough. I wanted to be able to have the magnet adhere whether from the front or back of the finished item.
Next, I used some fabric glue and outlined the design. It wasn't necessary to be particularly neat with this step, because the excess will be trimmed off. I also added a few spots of glue in the center.
After the glue was applied, I placed the piece of white backing fabric onto the back of the design, lining up the vinyl window in the center with the open side facing the top.
I glued all the pieces and set them aside to dry for a bit. The glue dries invisible, so you don't have to worry about it looking messy on the back. Alternatively, you could use a backing color other than white.
Once the pieces dried, I used a pair of scissors to trim away the excess fabric about 1/8" beyond the stitching line. The completed pieces are fairly stiff. There's 3 layers on mine -- the printed cotton, the stabilizer needed for the embroidery machine which I didn't remove, and the backing piece which was a little thicker than the cotton (not counting the little strip of vinyl.)
I repeated the same process with the cone ...
... except that it doesn't need a vinyl pocket. I guess you could use the cone for a chore too, but I like the empty cone sitting ready for scoops, as an incentive to load them on.
I also used pinking shears to trim the edges instead of using a regular pair of scissors, to give it a bit of a rough edge.
The felt gives the cone a nice texture.
All that was left was to cut small pieces of card stock to fit in the vinyl pocket, write the chore names, and insert the card stock into the vinyl pocket. With the chore on the back, the "flavor" of the ice cream is hidden until the chore is completed and the scoop is added to the cone.
And that's it, ready to go! I like the Burger Chore Chart, but I think this one is very fun too! It's sort of like a dessert to go with the burger.
Whether you make yours with an embroidery machine, a regular sewing machine or even by hand, just remember to glue on the magnet and sew the vinyl pocket onto the backing before putting it together.
You can make as few or as many scoops as you'd like. You might even want to add a cherry to the top!
Need to put it away for a while, or package one that you made for a gift? Just stack them up and the magnets hold them together.I'd love to hear if you give this a try, one like this or even another version! Some other ideas are a cupcake, a sundae, or a hot dog. I even thought it would be cute as some sort of dress-up. But I'll have to work on that another time.
UPDATE: Check out Melissa's finished project on The Mud Puddle! You can read about her slight variations, and the great way she's approaching it with her daughter.
If you have a finished project, let me know and I'll link it up too!
And be sure to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.
I'll be linking to some of the fabulous link parties listed on the right sidebar ... but really, that's a LOT of parties! I probably won't get to them all, but you should stop in and visit a few yourself.
While you're at it, stop by my home page and add a few links of your own there too!
