Under the Sea Play Mat

Yes, another play mat.  This time for my daughter's sister-in-law who is having a baby boy.  She is having an underwater theme for the baby, so I decided to make another toy set like the one I did for my granddaughter, Annie.  I did not make a mat and arches for Annie, but I did for this baby.  The toys are from the same patterns, but I made more toys for Annie since I didn't have the arches and mat.

The mat is made up of different underwater creatures, seaweed, grass, and rocks.  It even has a diver.  All have been cut out and sewn onto the mat.  Some features have been hand sewn or drawn on to add affects. I also made a dolphin for this set, like I did for Annie's, to store the mat and toys when not being used. As with all my play sets that have arches, this can be used on the floor, or it can be hung across a crib to be used as a mobile.  My neighbor has used her set for Olivia strictly as a mobile. It looks really cute that way and Olivia loves reaching for the animals.

I have made a taggy blanket for this baby.  I haven't made one of them in awhile, so I decided to do one.  I had some left over Red Sox and Patriots fleece that made a nice one.  One side is the Red Sox and the other side is the Patriots. I used red, white, and blue ribbons for the tags.  I also had some nice baseball print ribbon and some striped red, white, and blue which I added, too.

The mat with the arches and the hanging animals.

The mat without the arches.  I'm not really happy with the material I chose for the whale, but it is going to have to be as is. It would be way too much work to change it.

I adore this little Sammy Sea Star and he is super soft.

Oscar Octopus has a crooked smile and big green ringed eyes.  I thought I was using black because it is so hard to see some dark colors down in my sewing room.  In natural light, you can see that they are green, but I like them that way.

Freddie Fish is the tiniest of all the animals, but he does have character with his big yellow fins.

Teddy Turtle has to hang upside down by his tail and his legs are all different sizes, but he is still sweet. I love his little googly eyes that stick out of the side of his head.

Stanley Seahorse sports a multicolored body which was not so easy to do, but he does look handsome in his coat of many colors. I had to sew him from the outside so you could see his curvy outline, but since he is made from fleece and felt, it was okay to do it that way.  Neither fleece nor felt fray.

Donny Dolphin lays flat without any toys inside.  Actually, I decided to stuff his tail and the fins which I had not done in this shot of him.  It makes him look fuller when the toys are inside. He has a zipper in his belly so that the mat and the toys can be put inside of him when they are not being used.

This is Donny Dolphin with everything inside and with his stuffed tail and fins. He kind of looks grumpy all stuffed.

The Patriots side of the taggy blanket.

Of course, the Red Sox side.  I couldn't get a place the size I needed that had the logos centered for this side like I was able to do for the Patriot's, but that's okay. The ribbons have two textures, some are satin and some are ribbed.

I will be making quite a few more things for the baby.  I have a Snugly Friends blanket almost finished.  I also want to make some novelty bibs and a changing pad.  I may also make some bath puppet pals, which are wash clothes that look like little animals.  I will see on that one because they are actually better for kids that are a little older, but I still think they are cute, so I just might do some.