Valentines Day Chair Backer

I may be cheesy, but I love writing little Valentine love notes to those I love. At my house we are working on getting along better, and using kind words.. Like not screaming at your little sister, when she so much as touches your toy train, or not freaking out when you don't get the silverware with flowers on them, does this sound familiar to anyone else? So with valentines approaching I thought it would be fun to make Valentine pouches we could write or draw NICE notes and deliver them to each other.

My inspiration for this project was Pottery Barn Kid's valentine chair backer, so cute I LOVE IT! Also, this cute plastic purse I fell in love with at a craft fair a year ago, isn't it cute? It reminds me of one of my favorite children's books, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse! Anyway, I knew the instant I saw the plastic purse, I wanted to play with VINYL, so here we go!

Item's Needed

• 1/3 yard vinyl covering
  
• Ribbon
  
• Vinyl tubing, you can find this at the plumbing section of a hardware store
  
• Wet-erase marker
  
• Wire
  
• Scissors
  
• Hole-punch
  
• Velcro
  
• Bling, to decorate your pouch.

Step 1: Cuttinga) Using a wet-erase marker, mark 2, 12"x24" rectangles on the vinyl covering. My cutting mat, and quilting ruler helped out a ton.b) Cut rectangular pieces out with scissors.c)Place the two rectangle vinyl pieces on top of each other. Trim the sides up as needed so that they match up well.d)Round the corners on one of the shorter sides of the rectangles, to make the flap. I made a template out of a piece of scrapbook paper.e) Wipe of any excess marker spots. A baby wipe works great.

Step 2: Bindinga) With the two pieces of vinyl still on top of one another, fold the square end up to make the pocket. I made my pocket 9 inches deep.b) With your wet-erase marker, mark dots about 1/2 an inch around the edge of the vinyl, where you want your holes to be placed. I made a simple template here.c) Punch holes. In the pocket portion of the pouch you should be punching through 4 layers of vinyl. Don't panic, Vinyl is so easy to work with!d) Cut (2) 1-yard lengths of ribbon for your binding. Knot one end of the ribbon, and put tape around the other.e) Weave ribbon in and out of holes.f) Stop as you reach the curve of the flap, so that you can put your decorations in.

Step 3: Blinga) This is the fun part where you can show your personality! My kids had so much decorating their pouch.b) You can slip a picture etc, in the pocket part of the pouch. Use the vinyl as a guide to make round corners on fabric, or paper for the flap piece.c) I used pictures my kids drew, scrapbook paper, fabric, old jeans, foam shapes, old greeting cards, etc. etc, to decorate the pouch.

Step 4: Finishing touchesa) Weave the rest of the ribbon on the flap portion of the pouch, tie with a bow.b) Put velcro on the underneath side of the flap to secure pocket.c) Make Handle: Punch two holes above the pocket.d) Cut 12 inches of vinyl tubing, and about 16 inches of ribbon. e) Put a long piece of sturdy wire through the hole (I had to like quadruple my wimpy wire to make it strong enough) Connect ribbon to the wire. Pull ribbon through tube.f) Slip ribbon through the hole you just punched and tie a knot. Repeat for the opposite side.g) I used the same hole I used for the handle, to stick another piece of ribbon through to secure the pouch to a chair.

I love how my Valentine's Chair Backers turned out. You can really see our individual personalities. Plus, I love the fact that next year it will be so easy to change the decorations in the Chair backers..... if I want to.

My five year old loves to draw and loves pink!

I thought it would be fun to do a candy heart theme, for my littlest princess!

I used an old greeting card for the lightening McQueen. Can you tell my three year old is excited about his McQueen pouch?

I considered using bailing twine and duct tape for my hubby, but I decided this was cuter.

I love how mine turned out!

However, my FAVORITE, part about this project is all of the fan mail I keep receiving in my pouch!

I am submitting this project to Crafting With The Stars! Wish me luck, it would be so fun to learn from a Star Blogger, to help get my Blog started!

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