Ice Cream Cone Chore Chart
You might remember the Burger Chore Chart I designed a few months back.
Well it was real hit with my son. But I knew he would eventually get bored with it, so I had in mind to make another version or two. I've finally had a chance to put some time to it and came up with this ice cream cone version.
It currently has seven different scoops of ice cream. He's 10 and has quite a few simple chores (like brushing his teeth,) so I thought I would combine it with the burger chart.
I plan on putting "sweet" chores on this one, like "Share your toys," or "Recycle." And doing a "sweet" gets him a special treat.
He's already excited about the idea. If you'd like to make one for yourself, follow along and I'll step you through the process.
This is the design I came up with. You're welcome to use it, or you can come up with one of your own. It's a pretty simple design to create.
I used my embroidery machine and stitched the designs, but this could easily be done with a regular sewing machine or even by hand. For the scoop of ice cream, I used cotton fabric in a variety of colors and prints. I started out using felt, but I wanted something a little more festive and didn't want to have to coordinate the extra stitching and thread colors. Also, it seemed like the felt stretched a bit when handled. I did use felt for the cone, because it's just tan and won't be handled excessively like the scoops of ice cream.
Next, I stitched a small piece of clear vinyl onto a piece of white fabric that I planned to use for the backing. I only stitched three sides of the vinyl, leaving the top open. When completed, this will be used to hold the name of the chore.I'm sure there's a trick to sewing vinyl, but I haven't figured it out yet. This vinyl is particularly sticky and tends to adhere to the sewing foot. I've found that what works for me is to cover it with paper, stitch through the paper, then tear it away at the perforation created by the stitching.
I glued a small magnet to the back of the stitched scoop of ice cream. I found some very strong disk magnets to use. I like the thin strip magnets, but they just didn't seem strong enough. I wanted to be able to have the magnet adhere whether from the front or back of the finished item.
Next, I used some fabric glue and outlined the design. It wasn't necessary to be particularly neat with this step, because the excess will be trimmed off. I also added a few spots of glue in the center.
After the glue was applied, I placed the piece of white backing fabric onto the back of the design, lining up the vinyl window in the center with the open side facing the top.
I glued all the pieces and set them aside to dry for a bit. The glue dries invisible, so you don't have to worry about it looking messy on the back. Alternatively, you could use a backing color other than white.
Once the pieces dried, I used a pair of scissors to trim away the excess fabric about 1/8" beyond the stitching line. The completed pieces are fairly stiff. There's 3 layers on mine -- the printed cotton, the stabilizer needed for the embroidery machine which I didn't remove, and the backing piece which was a little thicker than the cotton (not counting the little strip of vinyl.)
I repeated the same process with the cone ...
... except that it doesn't need a vinyl pocket. I guess you could use the cone for a chore too, but I like the empty cone sitting ready for scoops, as an incentive to load them on.
I also used pinking shears to trim the edges instead of using a regular pair of scissors, to give it a bit of a rough edge.
The felt gives the cone a nice texture.
All that was left was to cut small pieces of card stock to fit in the vinyl pocket, write the chore names, and insert the card stock into the vinyl pocket. With the chore on the back, the "flavor" of the ice cream is hidden until the chore is completed and the scoop is added to the cone.
And that's it, ready to go! I like the Burger Chore Chart, but I think this one is very fun too! It's sort of like a dessert to go with the burger.
Whether you make yours with an embroidery machine, a regular sewing machine or even by hand, just remember to glue on the magnet and sew the vinyl pocket onto the backing before putting it together.
You can make as few or as many scoops as you'd like. You might even want to add a cherry to the top!
Need to put it away for a while, or package one that you made for a gift? Just stack them up and the magnets hold them together.I'd love to hear if you give this a try, one like this or even another version! Some other ideas are a cupcake, a sundae, or a hot dog. I even thought it would be cute as some sort of dress-up. But I'll have to work on that another time.
UPDATE: Check out Melissa's finished project on The Mud Puddle! You can read about her slight variations, and the great way she's approaching it with her daughter.
If you have a finished project, let me know and I'll link it up too!
And be sure to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.
I'll be linking to some of the fabulous link parties listed on the right sidebar ... but really, that's a LOT of parties! I probably won't get to them all, but you should stop in and visit a few yourself.
While you're at it, stop by my home page and add a few links of your own there too!
Chore Chart
I have been in need to make a chore chart for some time now. I needed something that would motivate, and be fun at the same time. An awesome thing about the internet is that if you want to know how to make something or get a tutorial for something it is available. So, I googled chore chart tutorials.After searching and finding many different ideas I finally found one that I felt would be perfect for my little girl.
Here are some pictures of my version of the tutorial. If you want to take a look at the actual tutorial go to Childmade here.
The ones on Childmade were done with an embroidery machine. I don't have one, so I set my sewing machine to a zigzag stitch, and little stitch width. It basically gives them the same look as the embroidery machine.
Since I was just using what I had available already I didn't to the nice strong magnets in between the fabric like she did. It would have looked a lot nicer, but I only had the dinky magnetic tape. So I just used that on the outside.I also have a visual little gal, so I went ahead and found clip art pictures of chores that she needed to work on. The nice thing about the vinyl holder is that I can replace these chores with others as she learns to make some of these a habit.
Her chores include:*Put shoes away *Get dressed *Listen*Flush toilet/wash hands *Brush Teeth*Make bed *Say Prayers*Pick up toys *Eat Dinner/clear plate*Put dirty clothes in laundry *Do homework
The way I plan to do it is when she accomplishes a task/chore then she earns that scoop of ice cream. Once she earns all of the ice cream scoops, and the cone she gets to put the cherry on top, and then chooses a reward from a list we made. Some examples are: a popsicle, ride your bike for 25 minutes (that is a chore for me because it is so hot out), play on playhouse disney for 20 minutes. Really it can be anything that is fun or special to them. Just make sure they are motivated to achieve it. Another thing is that if she earns the ice cream scoop let say for flushing the toilet and washing hands, but then she forgets to flush the next time she has to give me that scoop of ice cream back.I really hope this works and that she will enjoy making ice cream cones.
... and this one is a wonderful little vegetable garden!
The first thing I did was draw out a variety of vegetables and digitize them for my embroidery machine. Having learned previously from my Ice Cream Chore Chart, I opted to use a printed cotton for the background color and stitch the shape of the vegetable.
I backed the designs with a stiff white fabric, gluing the outline on the sides and top of the design, but leaving the bottom and center loose. When it was dry, I trimmed the designs to within about 1/8" of the stitching. I still need to apply some anti-fray to the edges.
Next, I opened the bottom ...
... and inserted a popsicle stick, gluing it in place.
I made a pumpkin, watermelon, radishes and beets, ...
... asparagus, turnips, carrots, and tomatoes, ...
... lettuce, cellery, and corn. I still need to do eggplant, onions, and yellow squash, and maybe some mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower. The variety in shape and color makes the finished product really bright and cheery.
First, I grabbed a cereal box from the recycle bin. I used a ruler to draw parallel lines at an angle on both sides.
Then I cut the sides and continued through the ends. When finished, I was left with two equal 4-sided "trays" that sat at an angle.
I flipped the box over and drew parallel lines inside about 2 inches apart. These lines represent the "rows" of the garden.
Next, I used a razor knife to cut slits out of the row. I made the slits about 1/4" wide, in varying lengths and varying positions to account for the fact that my veggies are different sizes and shapes. The slits needed to be wide enough to fit the popsicle sticks loosely, without being too wide such that the veggie would slip through.
I repeated this with all the rows. It's not important that this step look neat, as it won't be visible on the finished product. It's more important to focus on the size and alignment. I experimented a bit with the finished veggies to get the correct size and placement.
Next, I placed the second half of the cereal box inside the first one, matching the angle of the first box. I left a 1/2-inch gap between the two boxes and glued it in place. I didn't put any spacers between the two box parts, but would probably suggest it if your little one might be a little rough with the finished product.
The gap allows room for the popsicle sticks to fit through, while keeping them from flipping forward from the weight of the veggie, plus it gives the garden a 3-dimensional effect.
Hopefully you can tell from the pictures what this finished step should look like.
Next, I began covering the cardboard with various brown fabrics. I started at the top, wrapping the fabric around the top and sides, and stopping at the slits for the first row. This won't show on the finished product, and it's important to keep the slits clear.
The next step was to align another piece of fabric. I tried to just fold it over and glue it in place, but I found the fabric tended to crumple when I inserted the popsicle sticks. I addressed this problem by adding a strip of cardboard and folding the fabric over the cardboard before adding it to the garden.
I positioned the folded edge covering the slits, gluing the fabric in place just below the slits. (Be sure not to glue the fabric above the slits, or it will cut off the access.) Effectively, there's about 1/2" of "loose" fabric at the top, but it's supported by the piece of cardboard placed into the fold, and stabilized by gluing the fabric around the sides of the box. Then I trimmed the bottom of the fabric before the next row of slits.
I repeated this until the whole box was covered with mixed brown fabric, wrapping the last piece around the sides and bottom so that the cardboard is completely covered.
The popsicle stick is used for labeling the chore. I used a label maker, but you could also just write directly on the popsicle stick. Alternatively, if you put scotch tape on the popsicle stick, you can write on the scotch tape and just peel it off when you want to change it.
I arranged the veggies into the garden by slipping the popsicle stick between the folds, through a slit in the row.
Next, I decided it needed a little picket fence. I cut down some square craft sticks and glued them together to make the fence.
I glued the fence to the bottom of the garden.
As a side note, you can also make it so that the veggies are inserted into the side too, you just need to plan for it (I glued my fabric down tightly so I couldn't.)
Then I made a little sign to hang on the fence, identifying it as Jake's garden.
I had a couple of mini tools in my 
And that's my version! Isn't it cute?! I just love it!
I'm going to start out the day with all the fruits and veggies in a jar or cup. Then as my son does a chore or service, he'll "plant" the veggie in his garden. As the day goes on, he'll be able to see the "fruit of his labor." Then at the end of the day, he can "harvest" his crop (pull the veggies from the garden,) bring it to market (to mom,) and sell it at the current market rate (get paid his allowance.)
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