Guest Tutorial: "Shutter Pals" with B is for Boy

Through the rest of this month, I'm going to spotlight some amazing ladies and their creative blogs. To start us off, I want to introduce Erica. She and I got to know each other right when I first started In Between Laundry and I've loved keeping up with her boy projects. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hi! I'm Erica

from

I am so happy to be guest posting over here today!
I am a mom with 2 boys, ages 2.5 years & 8 months!  Yes, I have my hands full!

B is for Boy
 is my little creative place. I do a little of this and a little of that.

You'll find sewing & craft tutorials, recipes, and pretty much anything boy!

Here are a few examples of my projects. (Yeah, we're into Thomas the Train over here!)

Today I'm sharing how to make a

Raise your hand if you are tired of pulling your hair out trying to get your child (especially toddlers) to even just look at the camera when you're trying to take their picture!

I've seen these cute things for sale on Etsy like this which is crocheted, or this with a squeaker inside, or this cute monster.  They all are intended to help gain the attention of your child.

Today I am going to show you my DIY version which is very simple, easy, and best of all CHEAP! 

*Please note this is made to fit around a lens of your camera so not all point and shoot cameras will work (I'll try and come up with a different version for you guys later!)

1. First, raid your Goodwill or garage sale box and find an unwanted stuffed animal.  You don't want one too big or too small.  The body should accommodate a camera lens looking through it.  **you might want to do this while your child is not around because they always seem to want that toy back once they see it again!

2. Now, take off anything attached that might be covering the belly area.

3. Grab your seem ripper and start oping up the back seem.  Then take out all the belly stuffing.  Make sure to leave the stuffing in the arms, legs, & head.

4. Find a lens cap or something round that is going to give you the size of your lens.  Trace around it on the tummy of the toy.  I used a fabric marker but it probably doesn't matter since this will be covered up later.

You should have a circle traced on the front.

5. Now pin around that circle through front & back layers making sure to push extra fabric toward the center.  You want the outside edges to be flat.  See the backside, how there is extra fabric in the center.

6. This is where it gets tricky.  You need to sew around that circle you drew.  I'm not going to lie, it's kinda hard.  If you have a walking foot I think it would help but since I just got a new machine my old walking foot doesn't fit my new machine.  

I used black thread because I'm lazy and that's what was already there so you can easily see where I sewed!

7. Now we are going to cut out the material inside the circle.  Use sharp scissors!  Make a little snip through both layers then just cut around the circumference of the circle.  

**At this point try slipping it over your lens and make sure it isn't too tight.  Make your circle larger if you need to.

8. This part is optional.  If you find that the head of your toy is a little floppy try inserting something stiff like a straw because you don't want that head covering your lens! 

9. For the next step you need either Fold Over Elastic (FOE) or a stretchy headband type thing... see picture:

10. Ok, now plug in your glue gun.  Take your FOE (Fold Over Elastic) or hair band and start gluing it to one side.  Once you get around the whole circle then flip it over and glue it to the other side.  

**I did not stretch the elastic very much since the opening is already pretty snug around the lens. 

That's all there is to making a cute little Shutter Pal!  Hopefully, you'll have better luck now getting those adorable smiles out of your little ones!