Water Bottle Holder
By: Amanda Formaro
Difficulty: Average
Age: 7 and up. . . Parental supervision is
recommended
Using patterned felt and old t-shirts you can make
your own water
bottle holder.
What you'll need:
● 2 sheets felt any color
● Old T-shirt(s)
● Scissors
● Hot glue
● Needle and thread
How to make it:
1. Glue the two sheets of felt together. (We
used a camouflage pattern and a solid brown.)
2. Place the water bottle on to the felt
(see photo) and fold felt up and over the bottom of the bottle. 3.
Tack sides together with hot glue. (See photo.)
4. Fold one side of the felt around the
bottle, then fold the other side and tack with glue.
(see photo at right)
5. Reinforce seam with needle and thread.
6. Cut or tear t-shirt material into three
separate strips. Braid together.
7. Hot glue the ends of the braids inside
the bottle and reinforce with needle and thread.
Tips:
● For an extra long handle, sew 2 strips
together at the ends to make one long strip. Repeat two more times
then braid them together.
● Do not wash in washing machine, instead
wipe off stains with a damp cloth.
● You may need a heavy duty needle to get
through the felt; you can find this at any discount department store
in the sewing and notions department.
ong, long ago animals had no tails. One morning when Elephant
was drinking at Mangochi with his friends, it was very hot, and the
flies were bothering them. "It would be a wonderful thing if we had
tails," said Elephant. "We could chase away the flies with tails. I
wonder where one gets such a thing as a tail?"
"Across the valley, and over the hill lives Kudu who has boxes
full of all sorts of things. perhaps one of them is full of tails,"
answered Eland. So Elephant lumbered off across the valley and over
the hill to where Kudu always browsed.
"Now that the sun is shining and the flies are bothering me, I
have come to get a tail," said Elephant as he approached Kudu, who
was resting under a big kachere tree, surrounded by his boxes. "All
the animals want tails, and you have many boxes. One of them is
surely full of tails, is it not?"
Kudu looked at his visitor. "I'm not sure," he answered. "But
look through one of those boxes, Elephant," he said. "Perhaps tails
are packed away in it." Elephant lifted the lid of a box with his
trunk and peered inside. All he saw were dozens of beads, all made
of glass.
"What is this about?" he asked Kudu. "How is it that this box is
full of beads made of glass?"
"Oh," answered Kudu. "When an animal comes to me for help, he
leaves behind glass beads for me to look at. Now I remember! Some of
these boxes are full of beads that animals have given me for favors
I have done for them."
"But we want tails, and I have no glass beads to offer you Kudu,"
said Elephant.
"No matter," answered Kudu. "You can bring some glass beads the
next time you need a favor. Go back now to your friends and say, "Tibibibi,"
and you will all have tails."
"Thank you for your trouble," said Elephant. "The next time I see
you I will have glass beads for you," and he flapped his ears and
walked back over the hill and down the valley to Mangochi. When he
got to the waterhole, the animals crowded around him.
"What have you found out from Kudu?" they asked at once. "How
will we get tails?"
"Animals usually pay Kudu in glass beads for any favor that he
does for them. But as I had no beads he said it did not matter, and
he told me to say . . . er, he said I should say . . . Oh no! I have forgotten
the words that will get us tails! I am sorry," said Elephant, "but I
cannot remember them. It is very strange, because an elephant never
forgets!" And Elephant flapped his ears and rolled over in the mud
to cool off after his long journey.
Then Eland said that he would go and ask Kudu if he could look
through a box for tails, and if there were none, for the magic words
that would give the animals tails. "After all, Kudu may like a visit
from one of his own kind," he said. And off he ran fleet of foot.
But the same thing happened. There were only glass beads in the box,
and of course Eland had also not brought any beads with him. But
Kudu gave him the magic words "Tibibibi" anyway. And strangely
enough, by the time Eland got back to Mangochi, he had, just like
Elephant, forgotten them.
Then Leopard went to see Kudu to ask for tails from a box, and
when he found only glass beads, he asked for the magic words that
would give the animals tails. But of course, by the time he got back
to Mangochi, he too had forgotten the magic words, "Tibibibi".
Then
Tortoise spoke up. "I think that Kudu is a very clever animal," he said. "It is time
for me to visit him with some glass beads. Perhaps if he receives
payment for his advice, we will have our tails. I will take a little
longer than Elephant and Eland and Leopard to get to him. But I may
just be lucky and remember the magic words that he gives me when I
get back to Mangochi. Goodbye friends. Wish me luck!" And Tortoise
crept off slowly to the village to collect glass beads from the
market place that lay where the sellers had dropped them. When he
had found five glass beads he wrapped them in a leaf and tucked them
up in his shell. Then he set off to see Kudu. After many days of
travelling he found Kudu resting under his kachere tree, surrounded
by his boxes.
"Good day Kudu," he said. "I have brought some beautiful colored
glass beads with me to give to you as a present. Would you like to
see them?"
"Oh, yes please," answered Kudu, and he came bounding up to
Tortoise. Tortoise unwrapped the beads and spread them out at Kudu's
hooves. There was a bright green bead the color of a baobab leaf.
There was a blue bead the color of the sky, and an orange bead the
color of fire. There was a bead as yellow as the sun, and one as
black as a night without stars. Kudu was enchanted. "Is there
anything I can do for you to thank you for this gift?" he asked.
"I need your help," answered Tortoise. "Perhaps you would be kind
enough to tell me the magic words that will give all of us animals
tails?"
"With pleasure," said Kudu. "You are sure to remember the words "Tibibibi"
when you get back to the other animals, because you are very clever
and wise, dear Tortoise."
"Thank you," answered Tortoise, and he crept slowly off, back
towards Mangochi.
Meanwhile, all the animals had long despaired of ever seeing
Tortoise again. He had been away for weeks and weeks. So when they
saw the exhausted little creature come slowly and quietly up to the
waterhole to slake his thirst, a great cheer went up from them.
"Hello, dear Tortoise," they laughed. "We have missed you. It is
good to see you back home even through you too have no doubt
forgotten the magic words that Kudu gave you to get us tails to
chase away the flies."
Tortoise finished drinking his water, and then slowly looked
around him. "It is good to be back home, my friends. Tibibibi! May
all of us have tails!" And with those words every animal looked
behind him and saw that he had a tail. Tortoise looked over at
Elephant, who was trumpeting with pleasure and swishing his tail
back and forth. "That's a fine tail that Elephant has to chase away
the flies," he thought. "It's almost like a broom." Then he looked
at Eland's tail. "That's a satisfactory tail too. It finishes the
end of Eland off rather well. And look at the wonderful swinging
tail that Leopard now sports!"
Then Tortoise looked for his own tail. He noted that it was one
of the smallest tails of all the animals. In fact it was hardly a
tail to speak of. It was then that he realized that every animal had
a tail to suit him. He himself was well protected by his shell, so
that the flies didn't bother him. And he certainly didn't wish to
drag a big tail along in the dust behind him. His tail was just
right. He looked around him at the animals and their new tails.
"And now that we are all satisfied, I must sleep awhile, as I am
very tired," he murmured.
"Thank you, Tortoise," cheered all the animals. "Thank you for
getting us tails!" Then Elephant lifted the tired little creature up
on his trunk and placed him in a shady spot under the kachere tree,
so that he could rest inside his shell after his long and tiring
journey.
