10 Minute DIY Stuffed Animal Holder

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutEmotions #CollectiveBias #cbias

My kids LOVE their new Inside Out plush characters and want to take them everywhere.  When I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE.   On the couch, in bed, in the car, to Grandma’s house and even to the bathroom.

Yuck.  Let’s figure out a way to keep these plush characters off the bathroom floor and clean for play, shall we?

Thankfully I have a 10 minute solution and you probably have some of the supplies on hand already.  It’s a really fun and frugal craft project perfect to do with the kids!  

Even if you had to buy all the supplies, you’d spend just over $8 per bag.  That’s it.  Inexpensive, easy and fun–that’s my kind of DIY project!

10 Minute DIY Stuffed Animal Holder

Supplies Needed:

• Craft glue: $1.27
• Acrylic stones: $2.97
• Drawstring backpack: $3.97
• Total: $8.21 per bag

I found some cute drawstring backpacks in the craft aisle at Walmart and knew they’d be the perfect holder for plush characters.

Let your kids choose their backpack color and how they’d like to decorate it.  My daughter is all about everything sparkly, so it was no surprise she chose a pink backpack and wanted to decorate it with acrylic rhinestones.  

On the other hand, my son wanted his to be plain.  In his own words he wanted to  “weave it gween because it’s my favwite cowor” {leave it green because it’s my favorite color}

Oh how I will miss his three-year-old talk.

Moving on to the craft…here are some other fun decorating ideas for your DIY Stuffed Animal Holder:

• Draw on the backpack with fabric pens
• Decorate it with duct tape
• Use iron on transfers
• Decorate with glitter glue
• The possibilities are endless!

Directions:

Lay the backpack down and stretch it out on a flat surface.

Insert a sheet of parchment or wax paper underneath the area you’ll be gluing, drawing or ironing on.  This will protect the back side of the backpack.

Decorate!  For my daughter’s holder we used all purpose craft glue to attach the pretty rhinestones.

Stay away from decorating the very top of the backpack.  When the backpack is being worn, most of the fabric at the very top will fold over so anything towards the top probably won’t be seen.

If needed, let the decorations dry completely before wearing.

By the way, aren’t those plush characters from Inside Out adorable?  The first time I saw a preview for the new Disney Pixar film Inside Out, I knew we would have to see it.

We were super excited about Inside Out and saw it on opening day!  Getting to know the characters from the movie (Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust) and how they work really helped my kids understand more about their own emotions.

Tips on How To Talk To Kids About Emotions

Both of my children get lost in their own little world pretending with their favorite stuffed animals (which we call characters)

Some days are an emotional roller coaster, and it’s the same for children.  Kids have emotions and need to learn appropriate ways to feel those emotions and know how to express them in the right way.  For my kids, the best way they learn this is when we pretend and act out different emotions and situations with characters.

Pretending with characters is also a good way to demonstrate how not to express certain emotions.  Like letting disgust take control and yelling at your brother because he’s smacking his cereal.  

Having Disgust has come in quite handy, I have to admit.  She’s been used a lot to help drive home the point of saying things in a nice way. 

Talking about emotions shouldn’t just happen when kids are in trouble.  Playing and pretending during good times will help children feel comfortable and at ease with you, so when those hard times come, they’ll be more likely to open up and tell you what’s going on. 

I’m so glad we got the Inside Out characters from Walmart because this makes acting out emotions fun!

How do you help your kids sort through emotions?

This post shared at: The Best DIY Projects & Recipes, Motivational Monday, Project Inspire{d}, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Think and Make Thursday, Your Turn To Shine, and Sundays Down Under.