TICKLED PINK

LOOKING TO DO SOMETHING GIRLY FOR YOUR LITTLE PRINCESS’S ROOM BUT WANT SOMETHING FUNKY TOO? WITH SOME IMAGINATION AND KNOW-HOW A TRENDY GIRL’S DREAM IS POSSIBLE

MAKE THIS ELLIE BEANBAG!

Update a beanbag pouffe by adding an elephant trunk and ears. If you do not want these to be a permanent feature, secure the trunk and ears with Velcro or press studs so that they are easy to remove. This can also become a fun game for the children: pin the trunk, ears and tail onto the ellie!

MATERIALS

Felt for head, ears and tail Felt for eyes and eyelashes Press studs or Velcro Small amount of stuffing

1. Cover the pouffe with pretty fabric. Use a zip so that this cover can be removed and washed. 2. Cut out the face and trunk shape, and ear and tail shapes (get the pattern at www.yourparenting.co.za). 3. Sew the eyes and eyelashes onto one piece of the face shape. 4. Sew the face and trunk parts together, leaving a small gap for stuffing. Sew the ear components together, leaving a gap for stuffing. 5. Stuff with a small amount of stuffing and sew up the gap. 6. Position the elements onto the beanbag pouffe with pins so that you can place the Velcro or press studs. Take the fabric cover off so that you can sew the Velcro or press studs on. Sew the fasteners on well, as this beanbag is likely to see a lot of rough-and-tumble play!

Extract from Rooms Your Kids Will Love by Sam Scarborough

Sam Scarborough, creative director, stylist and children’s room consultant at Kids Décor, gives the following tip to parents who want to decorate with pink as a theme: “To prevent an all pink room from becoming too sugary sweet, add soft shades of strawberry and vanilla, finding inspiration in the palettes and tones of old children’s story books.” She also suggests trying to keep a child’s room as neutral as possible, as too many bright colours can become overwhelming for them. “When painting a room in pink be very careful to choose the right pink, if you go for a dull pink it is easier to co-ordinate with other décor items.” You could also paint pink and

white stripes on the wall.