the animal play mat (another finished object)

One day ,about a year ago, I sat watching my kids play with their animal figurines and I thought to myself, "wouldn't it be great if they had a playmat to play with them on?" 

Then, as I do, I got carried away with the idea and decided it would be really great if they had a playmat to go with their box of toy cars too..... 

After a trip to Spotlight, where I purchased some felt in just about every colour they had, I got to work with my scissors and cut and pinned and cut and pinned some more until I came up with two fantastically fabulous play mats that the kids couldn't wait to play with.

I finished off the car playmat back in April last year. 

Remember that one?  It was a beauty.

Well, after finishing that one I lost enthusiasm for the project and the animal playmat has hung around, being moved back and forth, from here to there, with all the other UFO's cluttering up my space. 

Recently, while it was sitting on my bed, Miss B noticed it there and asked me when I was going to finish it like I had promised to do. 

Boy did I get an attack of the guilts! 

Needless to say, it was the next project on the machine and in next to no time at all it was done. 

I remembered seeing this fantastic Snailblazer Bean Bag Toss game made by Cass and decided to finish the mat in the same way.  I made the holes using my button hole foot and thick piping cord for the string.

It makes packing and unpacking a breeze and if we want to take it with us on holidays or on a play date it's soooo easy peasy!

I suppose you can buy similar things at toy stores or on-line; I really don't know, I've never looked. 

I know you can get mats with roads and things on them anyway. 

I tried to make my versions a bit unique by adding things like the caves, which the girls love. 

 And I love the grass which you can make stand up by brushing it to one side.

I also love the way Miss A and Miss B arrange all the toys so neatly, grouping similar animals together. 

They always do it this way.

But I especially loved this little bit

I'm lovin' it! 

And you know that tight feeling you get in your chest everytime you see the mountain of stuff sitting on your sewing table waiting to be done (or is that just me?!), well it's slowly abaiting.