Make A Fort Kit

My nephew is having a birthday party and I thought this would be a fun gift for him to use. (With help of course, until he gets old enough to use it by himself.)  What child doesn't enjoy playing in a fort?  By "fort", I mean under a blanket or sheet.  I love this idea because it reminds me of being a kid, pitching a blanket up over a tree branch and creating a space to play in for hours.  We used to play under the truck bed shell that was propped up against the house.  My brother built a really neat hut that looked like a pile of garbage from the outside.  Inside there were at least two rooms.  My nephew needs a fort kit, immediately.  

I found a portable laundry bag and decided that it would be strong enough to hold the items inside.  I used some felt to create a simple sign for the bag.  I hot glued the letters and sewed the sign to the front of the bag.

I purchased two flat sheets at Fred Meyer.  At $4.99 each, I thought this was a steal!  I chose black because it's fun to play with a flashlight in a dark tent.  My only regret is that I could immediately notice every piece of fuzz on the sheets, but I still stand by using black.  I grabbed some fabric scraps that I had and cut them into strips.  These were sewn onto the sheets to create ties.  

I drew a simple photo of how this should work.  Secure the clothesline, drape the sheets over it.  The ties should secure the fort. 

I added some fun animal clips and some clothespins.  This way the sheets can be hung up by the shorter side to create a tall fort.  Also included in the kit:

Two strong clamps, these should be able to hold a clothesline up. 

Flashlight!

Glowstick stuff!

I used a 100 ' clothesline.  

I added a couple of cars for instant gratification.  My nephew is 2, and he isn't going to care so much about the other stuff in the bag until he gets to play in it.

It all fits inside the laundry bag, with room to spare for extra toys and blankets, anything else needed. 

Friday we worked on the concept "behind".  They created a barn, added a horse with a cart BEHIND it.  Simple, and they get it.

Here's Smudge being perfect, attempting for the millionth time to get Chippy to play with him.  Nope!  

♥♥♥Happy Monday!♥♥♥

Now playing at Henle House- "Spoonman" by Soundgarden.  This song takes me back to 1994, I got to spend part of my summer visiting my Grandparents here is Washington.  Washington has such a different kind of energy compared to Utah, so  was always really happy to be here.  I purchased this Soundgarden tape during that visit, and the song Spoonman is about Artis, the Spoonman who performs on the streets of Seattle.  He has also played his spoons with the Seattle Symphony, I'm sure you can search for a video on Youtube.