Drawing Pad and Crayon Holder

I found a free tutorial to make drawing pad and crayon holder at Skip to my Lou. Little Pumpkin is turning 2 this weekend and at our church 2 year olds go to Sunday School and begin to learn to sit through the church service. (Sniff. . . how can she be old enough for Sunday School???) She loves the nursery so I'm not sure how well this change is going to go over with her. She is a very social person, so learning to be quiet is going to be a challenge for sure.

The directions were very clear, well written and it didn't take very long to make. I am mostly happy with the way it turned out. The only change I would make if I were to make it again is that I would add a bit more length (maybe an inch???) to the folded fabric rectangle that holds the crayons. See how you can see the bottom of the book when it is closed? Well, without the crayons it is pretty even, but the crayons pull the fabric on top just enough so that it looks wonky. After adding more length I would run a gathering stitch along the raw edge and ease it into the length of the holder.

I added a bird applique to the front because Little Pumpkin likes "tweets" (That is also the reason my etsy store is named "Little Tweeters") I used a hair band and button for the closure. My fabric was just mid-weight cotton so I lined the front and back with a heavier canvas so it wouldn't be too flimsy. Skip to my Lou made hers with denim.
Here's what it looks like inside:

I'm hoping to find a doodle pad the right size, but so far no luck. I don't think she will care at all, but I'm picky like that.


More Inspiration:

mmmcrafts also made one of these holders and hers turned out very cute. I could get lost in her blog for hours!
Ducky House also made something similar. Her closure is so amazing. The only reason I didn't do it is because 2 year olds can be kinda clumsy and I wanted to make sure we didn't drop everything all over church.