Two Crafty Girls: Colouring Art Folder

What on earth am I gonna give him for his birthday?

What does a toddler boy want that he doesn't already have?

That's what I was thinking as I browsed through stores, Pinterest, and Google.

I saw a Colouring Art Folder and knew that it would be make interesting and interactive gift for him.

I had some dinosaur fabric that I thought would make a great looking cover.

Starting with an old binder, I tore out the metal clippy thing in the center and had to cut off one end of the spine where it tore uneven. You can see the notched end at the top of this photo. It doesn't matter. Use an old binder or folder or whatever, we are going to cover it all up anyway.

I laid out the fabric over the binder to see how much I would need to cut. Wrap the fabric around the binder and add an extra inch or so for seam allowance. Notice that I created a wrap around sort of effect, with the ends of the fabric going completely around the binder and meeting in the middle.

Now that I had the cover measured and cut, I used contrasting fabric to create a few pockets. I just cut out a few rectangles and then folded one edge over and sewed a "hem" to create a clean edge for the top.

Lay them out on the cover where you think you want and pin them in place. Then wrap the cover around the binder again to make sure they will end up correctly!

Now that the pockets are in place, ensure the fabric is "right sides together" and turn the edges over and sew the pockets to the cover.

I sewed the bottom in a straight line, folding over both sides. Then I turned it up and sewed the sides up. Now all the sides are finished and there are three sides attached to the cover making a cute little pocket!

At this point I sewed the cover together. First turn the ends under and hem. This makes a nice edge along the center spine. Then I did a seam along the top and bottom, making an enclosed folder.

Just fold the binder and slide it into the cover.

I made carrying handles for the Art Colouring Folder.

Take a piece of fabric and cut a rectangle, about 8 cm wide and 20 cm long. Use the cover fabric or a contrasting fabric, whatever you choose. Put right sides together again, and sew this into a tube, just one seam, leaving the ends open.

Now turn that tube right side out. My fingers are not small enough so I had to use my scissors to help me. Then cut it in half, making 2 handles.

Mark center on the end of the folder and attach the handles an inch off center. One side, one inch above, and the other side, one inch below. See here I have it laid out, then I pinned it in place and attached, turning under the raw edges.