This past Mother’s Day, as I was opening the cute handmade gifts that my kids had made me in school, my husband got a wistful look on his face.  With a somewhat sad face, he alerted me to the fact that he never gets handmade gifts for Father’s Day.  And I realized it was true, since Father’s Day falls in the summer, long after the school bell has stopped ringing the kids don’t always get crafty for Father’s Day.  So this Father’s Day, I decided to have the kids make something cute, easy and useful for Dad!

This is a great craft for kids of all ages to complete with some help from Mom!  The first step is to identify Dad’s interests and find a coordinating fabric.  My husband is a musician, so my kids picked out a music themed fabric for the mousepad since this mousepad will be used with the computer in his music studio.

What you need:

1. Cardboard – approximately 6″ x 8″
2. Themed Fabric – approximately 8″ x 10″
3. Non-slip shelf liner – approximately 6″ x 8″
4. Hot glue gun & hot glue
5. Miscellaneous craft supplies; scissors, pencil

Begin by cutting the cardboard in the shape you want your mousepad.  I chose a rectangle, becuase of the ease in covering with fabric.  However, you can choose any shape you wish.

Once you’ve chosen your shape and cut your cardboard, you are ready to cut your fabric.  Cut your fabric about 2″ larger than your cardboard base.  Be sure to pay attention while cutting, if you have a design on your fabric, be sure you have the area you want centered in the middle.  Begin on one side and lay down a line of hot glue.  Fold fabric over the card board and secure to the hot glue.  Do the same on the opposite side of the rectangle.   At the corners, you are going to use an accordian fold, so you do not have loose fabric on the front of the mouse pad.  To do this, you fold over small sections and secure with glue before moving on to the next section.  You should end up with a nice smooth surface on the front when done correctly.  Continue to do all four corners, then finish glueing the two sides that are still unglued.  While glueing, be sure to pull the fabric tight across the front of your mouse pad.  This is what the back of the pad should look like at this stage.  Don’t worry about the unfinished edges, becuase in a minute you’ll be covering them up with the non-slip backing!

Trim your non-slip material to fit the back of the mousepad.  You don’t want to have any material overlapping the sides, and showing when you’re using the mouse pad so cut the backing just a bit smaller than the mousepad.  Cover the back side with enough hot glue to hold the non slip backing in place.

Place backing on, and allow to dry a few minutes.  Now your mouse pad is ready to present to Dad for Father’s Day!  This is a great project for older and younger kids.  If you have younger kids, you can swap out the hot glue for regular white craft glue and allow the little ones to spread the glue, it just takes a bit longer to dry!   Older kids can do the project on their own start to finish!

And don’t forget to add a handmade card with a cute poem or verse written by the kids!  Nothing will pull at Dad’s heartstrings more!  Enjoy!

Related posts:

1. Easy Preschool Caterpillar Craft So simple and one of my childhood favorites.  This craft...
2. Canvas Totes your Preschooler Can Make Are you struggling to find something to give/make for someone...
3. Preschooler Plant Parts Craft Project Have fun discussing the names and basic functions of parts...
4. Pine Cone Bird Feeder Craft If your kids are like mine they are obsessed with...
5. Homemade Gift Idea: “I Spy” Jars, my preschooler loves them! These “I Spy” jars are great fun for a wide...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.