A Little Panda Goes Trick-or-Treating

I'm so excited for Halloween this year since it's my son's first real trick-or-treating experience. He's going as a panda, of course, and I'm making a matching tote for his costume. He's going to be adorable!!! Hubby and I became addicted to pandas when we were living in San Diego and watched the Zoo's panda cam all the time. When the cubs were born, we'd be checking on the cub day in and day out. We counted how many stuffed pandas my son had accumulated just in his first year and the number was something like 14. LOL

This tote sparkled the idea:

So anyway, I was not happy with the Halloween totes I saw out there and couldn't find one like the one I had as a kid. They don't make things the way they used to! I decided to head to Fabricland and make my own. I was inspired by the Easter tote my son received from his paternal grandparents in the spring. He loves this tote so much and carries it around with some of his building blocks. I wanted to add a lining to my version to make it more hefty. I wish I started earlier so I could get more intricate with the design on the front. Instead, I went with a simple panda to match my little guy's Halloween costume. If I had more time I would've loved to have put a second panda on the back of the tote or maybe even a pumpkin. Maybe next year.

Close up of the lining:

Normally I only craft when my little guy is napping but he wouldn't take his nap this afternoon so I put my son in his high chair so he could watch me finish sewing and understand that I made it for him. When I was done and handed it to him, he was all smiles, pointed at the panda and proudly exclaimed, "CA-!" He knows the panda is not a cat but it's the only animal word he knows so he calls all animals cat. Sometimes he says to the dogs, "WO-WO-WO-WO-WO!" It's all too cute! I'm sure he'll enjoy his panda tote long after Halloween is over. ;)