Last month we set off for Provence laden with just about everything you would possibly need for a short break in the French countryside, and many things you wouldn’t.  We are masters at packing random exotica and hopeless at remembering necessities; this time we were determined not to leave anything behind.

We left before dawn one chilly July morning and had got as far as the airport before disaster struck, as we realised that ALL of Harry’s stuffed toys were still fast asleep in his bed, blissfully unaware that they had been forgotten in the rush. Boris the fox, Marvin the mouse, Wilberforce the polar bear… home alone.  Oh dear.

Harry was temporarily bereft at the thought of sleeping solo, but soon rallied when I promised that next time, we’d make sure they had passports and could take it in turns to travel with us.  Promises made to small people must certainly be kept, so I spent an evening last week forging making passports for this unruly cast of shady characters….

To make them, I designed a lookalike passport photo page and we asked each gentleman in turn to take a seat and pose for their official photograph.  The rules were carefully adhered to; no smiling, and absolutely no hats of any kind.

That means you, Wilberforce..

Some, like Boris, were naturals in front of the camera;

We added the photos onto the ‘passport’ page on my laptop and then printed them out with some blank sheets to make a booklet.  I mocked-up a cover page for each passport and we printed these onto coloured paper to make the covers.

(By the way, for the lovely gold foiled covers, I experimented with a laser printer and gold foil printing technique – I’ll do a step-by-step tutorial soon; it’s fascinating and surprisingly easy – but if you’re desperate to have a go sooner, this link  gives you a very good overview).

And for those making passports for British animals, here are my blank templates for you to download and have a play with…

Toy Passport Cover

Blank toy passport page

We obviously made quite sophisticated toy passports (though rest assured; they certainly wouldn’t fool anyone in authority), but of course you can make these very simply using just craft paper, scissors, pens and glue; Harry enjoyed making these just as much as our computer versions…

However much time you invest in these, it’s a great way of filling a rainy afternoon with the littles in your house.  You could use stamps and punches to decorate the pages, reflecting a world of glamorous adventures….

So now all the animals in our bedroom menagerie have passports (and in fact, I have received a number of black market enquiries from stuffed animals seeking passage from around the world; word has obviously spread that we’re the go-to people for fun-fur illegal immigration).

Now, which to take with us on holiday? Decisions, decisions….

See you next week!