The Discoverizer: a safety device, organizer, and activity center all in one!

So here's what I made for week one of SYTYC.  The theme was Stash busting!  Thank you for all that voted!!! Don't forget to vote right now!!!!   Every Monday starts a new voting week!  

 Hmm... What's that you say?! A "Discoverizer"?! Well let's just start at the beginning shall we? For this week's stash buster theme, I had a vision. A vision of covering a somewhat dangerous aspect of our new home in a fun-ctional way. My little one is constantly trying to play near this wrought iron railing feature that separates our living room from, well, nothingness aka an open staircase. I didn't have a lot of time as there was a LOT of hustle and bustle around here due to a certain birthday party for my oldest that occupied most of my time. But! I did have a lot of fabric... and I decided to seek inspiration from a bolt of Ikea fabric I procured a little while ago an design an organizer. Every bit of this contraption was made from my stash or scrap bin.

So rewarding when you don't have to spend a dime on a useful and beautiful project, isn't it?! So, I thought, if I'm going to make a "shield" (if you will) I should probably make it practical and fun! So I decided to add various sized pockets, some small and some really big and all of the top edges of them are bar-tacked to stand the inevitable weight that will soon be bestowed upon them. For fun, I decided to make it a sensory station for my one year old (but as a double win my 5 year old loves it too!). I made a Velcro face to help her learn the different features of face. I made a "please touch" textural station made of different bits of fabric that all have a unique feel to them, plus a little zipper.

Then I repurposed an old tummy time mirror in to a peek a boo mirror and finally as a pièce de résistance I made a peek a boo Moono from Yo Gabba Gabba, my baby's favorite show. They L-O-V-E it! It ties through buttonholes to make little knots through out the top of the Discoverizer and finished with a nice box pleated ruffle along the bottom front. So pleased with how it turned out!! I can't wait to de-clutter the living room a bit! And it makes me relieved that I won't have to be so worried about my little one as much anymore (well, in regards to the railing anyways!) 

All in all, it took about a day to cut all the pieces, and a day and a half to sew the whole thing together!  Not bad, right?! Well, crafters?!  What do you think?

"Where's Moono?... PEEKABOO!!"