Welcome to metomi.com, your online source of creative activities for children! We are having "sew" much fun in this edition - pardon the pun! Grown-ups will have to do most of the sewing, but that shouldn't stop our creative children from coming up with interesting things to make! Whether it's as simple as a purse or something more complicated, sewing can really help turn imagination into reality! And of course, when Halloween and trick or treating is just around the corner, get your kids to brainstorm with you on some great costumes! You don't need to be an expert seamstress to have a lot of fun (we at metomi.com certainly aren't)! Our sewing machine is just the basic starting model from Sears - not fancy, just a few essential features - but it's perfect for fun with the kids. There are also sewing machines for children - we got a great Hello Kitty sewing machine from friends - but they still require adult supervision. So be brave, watch those fingers, and just go for it!

We recently stopped by our neighbourhood Fabricland for some great fleece fabric. Especially around Halloween, you can get great sales on fleece - yes, they see us coming a mile away! We love fleece - the material is very forgiving and an amateur should be able to sew several layers together quite effortlessly. We were also delighted to find that prices for patterns have dropped significantly in the past 20 years! We picked up a great basic Simplicity penguin pattern 3639A for $2.50 Canadian that retails for $14.95US! It is a great basic pattern for building the body and head of a costume for children (and adults)! Feel free to improvise, if patterns aren't providing enough support: sew cloth on an old baseball cap, which provides a great base all on its own. Think of a wire structure using coat hanger wire. Our blender wore the costume head so that we could see how it would look upright. Our children were looking for Pokemon costumes that are impossible to find, so we used this base to build our own Pokemon costumes. The photo shows the results of our Buizel and Pichu Pokemon Halloween costumes; they were based on the 3639A penguin pattern and then modified slowly but satisfyingly over several long nights. The Pichu head was 1% pattern and 99% perspiration!

Two squares of fabric sewn on three sides plus some string makes a quick and cool craft, be it purse or pouch. Craft kits with safety needles (big plastic ones without sharp points) can be bought for children to try, but even without sewing children can help grown-ups choose the fabric and the trimmings and help assemble the final product. Use fabric that is easy to work with, fleece or poly-cotton or felt. Try the usual trimmings that can be applied with white glue: sequins, rhinestones, pom poms, etc. Children love to have a small holder for change, especially when out on shopping trips where there are vending machines!

We at metomi.com LOVE puppets! Sock puppets can be easily made from an old sock with buttons for eyes and coloured yarn or felt for a mouth. You can also get some felt, cut out two rectangles of the same size and a third of the same width but shorter length, and sew (or glue) the pieces together so that the smaller piece is sandwiched between the larger rectangles, for a mouth. Decorate with your favourite googly eyes and other trimmings and enjoy!

We've given most of our children's clothes to Goodwill, but there are a few favourites that both we and the children love. A great way to keep them around a little longer is to either (a) store them away or (b) turn them into t-shirt pillows! We have turned a great Wiggles t-shirt into a lovable pillow by sewing all t-shirt openings save one, stuffing the pillow with some polyester filling, and then sewing the last opening by machine or by hand. Your bright child can pick out his or her favourite shirt! Another great pillow idea is to make letter pillows by cutting out two sturdy pieces of clothe in the shape of your children's favourite letters. Great for craft and nap time!

Have a lot of fun making some pretend food out of felt! You will need some good sturdy felt of various colours, a needle, thread, scissors, some polyester filling and a touch of white glue. A fun food to try is a hamburger or sandwich. Cut out two brown circles and sew them together with a bit of stuffing inside for a burger or a bun. Try a red version with lines sewn on top for a yummy tomato. An orange slice or two of felt for cheese, some beige felt bits for sesame seeds, a "squirt" of felt sauce and presto - you're all set for an afternoon of pretend play! Try making other "foods" - how about other types of fruit, vegetable, or maybe a dessert? Have fun with it and Bon Appetit!!