Princess and the Pea Craft: Activities During Corona

This is a repost of an activity that I shared in 2009. It has been a popular link ever since.




After digging through my files, I rediscovered this craft that I regularly used for Bedtime themed storytimes when I was working as a children's librarian. This was always a favorite with kids and parents, especially after hearing the tale by Hans Christian Andersen. With summer here and so many children out of school, I thought I'd clean it up a little and create a new pattern to share here.

When I used this craft with large groups, we used wallpaper scraps to create the mattresses as you can see in the completed image above which was made for me by one of the girls who regularly attended my storytimes.

For the SurLaLune version of the pattern, I've created some mattresses out of clip art patterns that can be colored. The bottom blank is the base of the bed or can be used as a pattern for cutting mattresses out of different paper. Of course, the bedposts and base also are wonderful when made out of brown construction paper. The possibilities for adaptation are endless, but if all you have is a printer and some white paper, that's all you need to create this craft. Don't forget to draw a pea or paste a split pea below the lowest mattress. Enjoy!



I've made the craft available in full size in three different file formats:

Princess and the Pea JPG

Princess and the Pea GIF

Princess and the Pea PNG

Printing Tips: If you are on a PC, right click over the image to get a menu and save it to your computer. Then use a photo editor program to print it without any clipping of the image. Printing it from the internet browser will most likely cause clipping unless you adjust your printer settings to print to size. Or you can copy and paste the image to a word processing program such as Word and then adjust margins to avoid clipping before printing.

This is a smaller version of the pattern for illustration purposes only. Use the links above to get bigger images.

Miniature Libraries: Activities During Corona

  

Looking for some small activities while spending extra time at home right now? I recommend My Miniature Library: 30 Tiny Books to Make, Read and Treasure by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini and My Fairy Library: Make a Magical World of Miniature Books by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini. (These are Amazon links, see the note at the bottom of this entry.)

My 10-year-old niece got the first set for her birthday in February and has fallen in love with putting together many of the little books. The My Miniature set contains many fairy tale titles including Beauty and the Beastm Cinderella and Goldilocks. She has been out of school for the last 10 days due to Coronavirus shutdowns in her area. This has been one of the activities that has kept her and her mother (my sister) sort of sane.

My Miniature Library:

My Fairy Library:

SurLaLune's Small Print:

As an Amazon Associate, the SurLaLune Fairy Tale site earns a percentage from qualifying purchases as a referral incentive which helps support the site. Your cost does not increase by using the links on this site. Read SurLaLune's Privacy Policy here.

Crafty Friday: Little Stitcher's Cinderella and Snow White and Rose Red

This week's Crafty Friday is courtesy of a SurLaLune reader who sent me the link and a short email:

I spotted these new releases on The Little Stitcher's blog and thought of you.

Jo P

Thanks for sharing, Jo, and thinking of SurLaLune. If you are curious, you can also visit Jo's blog at Serendipitous Stitching.

These images come from the designer's blog at The Little Stitcher. They are available for sale in her Etsy Store.

About the designs:

For these designs I wanted to put together some details of two versions of the story of Cinderella, the first by the Brothers Grimm and the second by Charles Perrault. I warmly suggest you to read both fairy tales because they are beautiful, much more the cartoon adapted by Disney.

The detail of the Fairy Godmother, who asks Cinderella to bring her a big pumpkin, and then the mice - and even six lizards that the Fairy turns into lackeys - comes from the fairytale collected by Perrault, while in the version collected by the Brothers Grimm, which in my opinion is so sweet, there is the lovely white bird, which lives on a hazel tree grown on the grave of the mother of the maiden. The bird hears the prayers of Cinderella and launches her the clothes she will wear in the three evenings of dance at the court.

In both tales there is the detail of the little shoe left at the castle, but if in Perrault's version it is made of transparent glass, in the one by the Brothers Grimm it always change, depending on the different and beautiful dresses worn by the girl.

I am tickled that the designer is Italian and chose to draw inspiration from the German and French Cinderellas. No murderous Cenerentola for her! But I am thrilled that she has also created designs for other fairy tales. If you have always wanted to stitch Snow White and Rose Red, here's your chance! She has that pattern, too.

She has a few other surprises in her shop, too, but I think I will save those for later. Unless you want to spoil the surprise and visit her shop yourself.

Crafty Friday: Crochet Stories: Grimms' Fairy Tales by Vanessa Putt

Crochet Stories: Grimms' Fairy Tales (Dover Knitting, Crochet, Tatting, Lace) by Vanessa Putt is today's Crafty Friday offering. I couldn't find many images to share but there's enough to entertain for today.

Book description:

"Incredibly innovative, fun, and creative, Crochet Stories: Grimms’ Fairy Tales is something you can share with your loved ones for many years and it will surely inspire you to go on to create even more fairy tale characters." —Erisea Mag

Practitioners of amigurumi, the Japanese art of crocheting stuffed dolls, will adore this collection of sixteen playful patterns for fairy tale figures. Projects include the witch and the gingerbread house as well as the hero and heroine of "Hansel and Gretel"; the giant and the golden goose's eggs of "Jack and the Beanstalk," in addition to the beanstalk and Jack himself; the long-haired captive of "Rapunzel," her lonely tower, and her rescuer, the prince; the animals of "The Hare and the Hedgehog" plus a juicy carrot; and the wee subject of "Tom Thumb" and his cow.

Clear instructions for creating the characters are accompanied by color photos of the finished products along with charming retellings of all five fairy tales. An introductory chapter offers general notes and tips, including pointers on working in the round, stuffing, measurements, and finishing.

Crafty Friday: Fairy Tale Amigurumi: Crochet Patterns by Lis Sun

I am trying to get organized enough to get some regular blog posts going again. So Crafty Friday is returning with Fairy Tale Amigurumi: Crochet Patterns by Lis Sun. Since most of you are like-minded and mostly want to enjoy the pictures and cleverness of the crafts, I have pictures! Enjoy!

I really do like the Amigurumi style.

Book description:

This compilation consists of the fairy tales that we grow up with. The stories of red riding hood and the big grey wolf, the nursery rhymes of dumpty humpty, the little pinocchio that grows a long nose when he lies, the beautiful rapunzel saved by the charming prince, and the famous Chinese teaching on the frog in the well.

This book consists of written pattern instruction and well illustrated pictorial instruction with generous spread of photos to guide you along.

Skill level: *Easy
*Patterns use basic stitches such as sc, dc, hdc, inc, dec, ch, sl st etc.

I found many of these images on Lisa Sun's various internet hangouts. At SAPlanet, she tells a little more about this pattern's inspiration, which is not the expected European frog, well, etc. stories:

One of the most commonly used Chinese phrase would be ‘frog in the well’ – ( 井底蛙 )

This usually refers to one who thinks too full of himself, and thinks he knows everything, neglecting the fact that there is a bigger world out there than the shallow well he stays in.

And let's not forget Humpty Dumpty...

Crafty Friday: To Grandma's House by Melissa Schaschwary

Today I am sharing To Grandma's House by Melissa Schaschwary available from Ravelry. I love this reversible caplet which allows you to be Little Red or the Wolf!

Description:

Perfect for this year’s holiday knitting!

Every sweet Red Riding Hood has a big, bad wolf hiding inside.
This reversible caplet appeals to the gentle, whimsical child, as well as the adventurous spirit who’d rather to bare her ferocious teeth. And who says you can’t be both? There is nothing more fun than living a fairytale to its fullest.

And yes, there is an adult version coming soon!

Crafty Friday: Amigurumi Fairy Tales - Crochet Your Own Enchanted Forest by Tessa van Riet-Ernst

Amigurumi Fairy Tales - Crochet Your Own Enchanted Forest by Tessa van Riet-Ernst was released this year.

As always, pictures speak louder than words when it comes to crafts. You can click on the images below to see them larger.

Book description:

Amigurumi-expert and fairy tale lover Tessa van Riet-Ernst puts numerous world famous fairy tale characters in a new crochet jacket. Of course Tessa put a bit of herself in there as well. The big bad wolf is secretly a softy, but he tries to look more dangerous by wearing a spiky collar. And Prince Charming is still not sure which princess stole his heart: the lovely Snow White or Cinderella. Or maybe Rapunzel, with her beautiful long hair? Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, the seven goats, the ugly duckling and the three little pigs all play a leading role.

This book contains 8 world famous stories and more than 20 new patterns. Projects ranging from beginner to advanced crocheter. Find complete instructions for all basic stitches needed and lots of pictures of each character from all sides.

Crafty Friday: Fairy Tale Sewing: 20 Whimsical Toys, Dolls and Softies by Heidi Boyd

Fairy Tale Sewing: 20 Whimsical Toys, Dolls and Softies by Heidi Boyd was released earlier this year.

As always, pictures speak louder than words when it comes to crafts. You can click on the images below to see them larger.

Book description:

Sew your way to happily ever after! Bring story time to life with this collection of imaginative projects. Drawing inspiration from classic fairy tales, author Heidi Boyd adds a modern twist to everything from huggable softies such as the magical Unicorn to interactive toys such as Snow White's Cottage Tote. Sleeping Beauty's Castle Quilt brings sweet dreams to any child's room, and the Rapunzel Pillow is perfect for cuddling and play. Readily available cottons, felts, yarns and embroidery floss plus clear instructions and detailed illustrations make sewing simple and straightforward so you can spend less time sewing and more time enjoying your favorite fairy tales.