These frogs must have been made in the 70's. They were wearing Holly Hobby-ish gingham outfits that were faded pink, light blue, and lavender. They'd lived in a classroom that was frog-themed and this teacher gave them to my daughter for her Animal Print/Jungle classroom.
They were big and cute, but the color and style of the outfits just ruined everything, so I brought them home and cut their clothes off! I also shortened the long legs. (Imagine them longer than in the photo)
Next, I laid them on the top two folded animal print fabric remnants from other classroom projects and drew around the bodies kind of like a paper doll, leaving room for seams. This gave me a front and a back. I made a cut down the back piece from the neckline so I would be able to get them on. I sewed the two pieces together along the leg/crotch seam and at the shoulders, turned it right side out and pressed with an iron.
I slid the little animal print rompers on each frog and used the opposite animal print fabric, alone with rafia, around the waist and the legs.
Easy. Fast. Creative. Inexpensive. Recycled. Cute.
The students loved to get them down from the top of the cubby shelves and read with them during Silent Reading Time. They lived for 5-6 years in my daughter's classroom until we changed to a Domestic Cat Classroom. They actually live in a tub in my garage right now. If you know anyone who might love them, email me at dinahgt@roadrunner.com. If not, I'll eventually get them on Ebay, along with all the other Animal Print decorations.
So keep an eye out for stuffed animals that might be repurposed to fit your classroom theme!
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