Making Felt Zombies: Family Harmony

I was so sick of the stupid screens. Stupid Minecraft. The kids are so addicted that they go donwstairs at 6am and play it with the sound turned off to avoid detection. I know I'm being unreasonable but it drives me potty to see their beautiful young brains wasting away with such nonsense. I have also noticed, and I was NOT looking out for this, that they get really narky when they've been playing the x-box for ages. They normally get on really well, by and large, but they are at each others' throats after a while on it. Even Paddy (11), who is extremely mild-mannered. His sister Honor (13) is not quite as mild-mannered so it's just an all-round disaster. They even forget to have breakfast and start shouting for it at midday, they get so engrossed (wish I'd invented it).

So yet another day of xboxing was unrolling before me. It was crap outside as usual, dark and wet, and in spite of swearing I would never subject my kids to living in the middle of nowhere, we do.
I put the foot down and told them they HAD to do some sewing if they wanted to go on the stupid computer the next day (why did I buy it then? Try putting a boy to bed every night for a year in tears that he's not allowed to get an xbox, all his friends have one etc etc.). I also promised a square of chocolate each. My friend Emma thinks I am a witch the way I don't give sweets. It worked when they were little - now they get them from everyone, everywhere - bus driver - teachers - coaches - you name it. So I'm GLAD they went without for the few years that I could control it. I can still get them to do loads of things with the promise of a square of chocolate...

I had just bought a book called Zombie Felties (can't remember the author but it is brilliant) and Liv was given one called Felties I think, in the same series, which is also brilliant. So, armed with these, we began... 

Here's the good bit: within half an hour there were three kids around the kitchen table all sewing away happily. I helped the youngest a bit (okay, a lot) as she's pretty new to sewing and she's only 8. But she's pretty confident on the sewing machine and has sewn two monsters so far! 

Here's Honor's zombie bride:

The bride has a streak of blood coming from her mouth and a bunch of dead flowers:

We told her about Miss Haversham (is that her name?) in Great Expectations. I think she liked the idea of a dusty old wedding cake, covered in cobwebs, sitting on a table for decades...Her dad and I are trying to encourage her to set up a business - she sold personalised voodoo dolls last Hallowe'en to her school pals and earned a few quid...she was very resentful that she had to pay her fabric supplier (me) and her subcontractor (also me). I agreed a rate with her at the time for piecework (sewing a zigzag around the edge) and told her afterwards I would have given her a better rate. Tough but you need to know these things!

Here's Paddy's zombie mummy:

Its left eye pops on and off with a tiny black snap. I thought it was an adorable zombie mummy but I didn't like to say (somehow everything he draws or sews has a distinctively cute look, which is very reflective of his own looks and personality...very odd).

Liv made a fellow called Messenger Bear, with some help from me...

I did loads - she was getting a bit restless by the time she'd made any progress. I think with her I would have more success if I did her on her own and watched her the whole time. The other two would be extremely annoyed if I made any suggestions!

Moral: you can get the kids away from stupid screen for a few hours if you bribe them.