Odd Little Toy

It doesn't really have a name. I suppose that will be Judah's job once he wakes to discover this magical literary wonder I created this afternoon.
A friend of mine gave me a huge box of vintage fabrics and notions a while back and this rainbow treasure was in the mix. I've made headbands out of the flower section, but there's so much going on here: paintbrushes, balloons, ABC's, hearts, crayons, more flowers...
Since Judah loves his letters and sounds, I've been meaning to do something with that portion. Please don't ask me why a padded stick with streamers came to mind - I have no clue. It just seamed like a good idea. And more than that, it seemed like something Judah would like. Why padding? I assumed it would hurt less when he beat up the dog with it (by accident, of course).
Here's the "How to" (because I know so many of you want to make a cushy stick for your kids)
I used:
1. dowel rod, which I sawed to length with a bread knife
2. a tangle of ribbons, various lengths
3. fun fabric
4. buttons, I used green ones from my Grandmommy's button jar
5. batting (not pictured)











I cut my fabric into two long strips and sewed a sleeve, with the ribbons streaming from one end. Then I wrapped the dowel rod with two strips of batting, taping around it in a few select spots. After turning the sleeve right side out and fitting the now padded dowel inside the sleeve, I sewed up the edge using a zipper foot so I could get closer to the dowel rod. I then added the buttons to cover up my dirty sewing job. And...there you have it! A weird alphabet ribbon wand stick toy thingy. Better than these though.