Travel Chalkboard Placemat

 Roll it open to color or eat:

Roll it closed to travel:

Did you know that they make chalkboard fabric?!  How cool is that?!  I have so many ideas for it (a table runner so that you can "name" all the dishes set out on your table, placemats with people's name's written on them for assigned seating, and so much more!!!), but for this project I made a travel chalkboard / placemat for Eliana.

I made a small pouch to store the chalk:

The pouch velcros right onto the chalkboard so it doesn't get separated during travel:

It rolls up:

And gets tied together:

 It rolls up pretty compact and when unrolled it the size of a large placemat

Two fabrics were used:  1. chalkboard fabric and 2. laminated fabric 

The laminate fabric is great because it can easily be wiped down.  That way when we take it to a restaurant for entertainment both food and chalk can be wiped away.  The laminate side can even be used as a placemat/eating area for a young toddler instead of a plate.

To make your own: Cut out two rectangles from your fabrics (chalkboard fabric and laminated fabric).  Place the wrong sides together and serge around the outside. 

Then sew on the ribbon so that it can be tied closed.

And of course sew on a label if you have one :-)

To make the pouch: cut out two smaller rectangles.   Fold the long side up 3/4 of the way and then serge around all four sides (you serge the pocket as you are serging around the edges). 

I then used Fray Block on all corners to keep my thread from unraveling.