Give Your Bae a Swan Towel Animal For Valentines Day!

Not sure what to give your significant other for Valentines Day? Don't settle with a meaningless box of chocolates, why not give them a swan towel animal instead! They will be in awe of your talent and effort to break the boundaries of a standard Valentines gift. From my experience from reading Holland America Line Towel Creations, I will be demonstrating the steps and instructions on how to make this easy towel creation!


For materials, you will need a large 30 x 50 in. towel and a medium sized 17 x 28 in. towel in order to create this towel animal. Additional accessories like googly eyes or decorations I would recommend to your towel creation, but its not necessary.


1st: For this step I recommend you have a hook attached to a wall so that this step can result in a more accurate towel fold. Either way, grab your large towel and "Latch the towel onto a support and tightly roll both sides of the towel to the center." (Holland 85)

2nd: Flip the towel over and grab the tip and fold it around 3/4s backwards (Holland 85)

3rd: Grab the very tip of the towel and curve it (Holland 85) to form the neck and mouth of the swan

4th: Now get the medium sized towel from before and "Spread over towel over the bottom body and tuck two corners into the front of the body"

5th: Finally, "Pick the center up and put the rest underneath to make it stand" (Holland 85). Optional, add any decorations or googly eyes to your swan. If not, your all done!

As I come to a close with my blogs, my journey with creating cute and adorable towel animals was a fun yet challenging task. I would make towel animals for my own use or to bring joy to others, either way, I consider this my favorite hobby or activity I would do in my spare time. For this Valentines Day, my hope is that you create or give something meaningful and special to your loved ones. For this, I ask you what is your favorite activity/hobby?

Thank you for reading my blogs throughout this season!

Have a Great Day!

Janice Herrador

Holland, comp. Towel Creations: Holland America Line 40 Designs. Seattle, WA: Holland America Line, 2007. Print.

Hang On Through Finals With a Monkey Towel Animal!

Ever felt like you were at your maximum limits, that you just want to give up, that you have no motivation to carry on with life?

Welcome to finals season!
Is it just me or that I personally dread this time of the year. Test and presentations back-to-back with hours of preparation and studying, I'm going to need better motivation other than getting an A on my chemistry test (which I am barely passing that class anyway). So as we all brace for finals, why not take a break from studying by making a monkey towel animal based off my book Holland America Line Towel Creations! Recommended by Ms. Robison, I'll demonstrate the steps and instructions on how to create this monkey with ease.

Materials you will need for this will be a large 30 x 50 in. towel for the main body and a medium sized 17 x 28 in. towel to create the head for the monkey. Additional materials like googly eyes or fun decorations are optional but not necessary.

1st: You may have seen these steps in my previous blogs, but you will need to lay out your large towel and "Roll widthwise tightly into the center from both edges" (Holland 53) to form what looks like 2 burritos.

2nd: Fold your towel again in half so that the edges are together (Holland 53), but now it looks like 4 burritos clumped together!

3rd: Finishing up the main body, "Pull out the center of each roll to form the body" (Holland 53), then your going to need a clip or hanger that holds the body in an upright position.

4th: Now that your done with the body, lay out your medium towel  to fold it in half widthwise and then fold it in half again (Holland 53).

5th: Grab the corners of the towel and pull them down to the center of the towel (Holland 53), to form a triangle

6th: "Fold the triangle backwards, take the loose ends from each side of folded triangle and fold back" (Holland 53). Almost done!

7th: Wrapping this up (see what I did there), "Shape the side with the flaps into the mouth and place the head on the body" (Holland 53). When I placed the head between the hands, it would fall out of place, so i recommend using a clip to hold the head in place. After that, your done!

Big tasks or assignments can take a toll on your ability to learn or think after a long period of time, so it's important to take a breather once in a while. Anything from having a snack break or using 20 stress balls at a time, let me give you another alternate activity that will for sure clear your mind from stress. This works for me all the time, which makes me wonder why I have such a bad grade in Chemistry... Or ending up with piles of towel animals all over my room...
I want to ask you how you clear your mind from stress when you have big tasks coming up.

Have a Great Day Everyone!
Janice Herrador

Holland, comp. Towel Creations: Holland America Line 40 Designs. Seattle, WA: Holland America Line, 2007. Print.

Make Your Very Own Cat Towel Animal Right Meow!

This is my cat Dude.

He is very lazy unlike most cats and tends to photo-bomb my post. So why not dedicate an animal towel folding just for him! Also recommended by Jenny Sizemore, I will be creating a cat towel animal based off my IRP book Holland America Line Towel Creations!

For materials, you will need a medium-sized 17 x 28 in. towel for the head, a 12 x 12 in. washcloth to create the tail of the cat, and a large 30 x 50 in. towel for the main body structure. Optional, you may add additional decorations or props to enhance your cat.

Lets start with creating the main body. Grab your large towel and roll the edges widthwise towards the center of the towel (Holland 42). With this step completed, the towel should look like 2 burritos.

Secondly, "Fold the towel in half joining the four rolled edges together" (Holland 42), now your towel looks like 4 burritos!

Finishing up the body, grab the tips from the center of each roll and pull them outwards (Holland 42) to form what looks like a chicken rotisserie. Finished with the first half!

Now grab your washcloth to make the tail. Lay the towel flat-out and roll from the top corner to the end (Holland 42). Insert the rolled-up towel between the body and curl to form the tail.

Were down to the final steps! Get the medium sized towel from before and "Latch the towel onto a support and roll both sides tightly to [the] center. Cross the tail ends of the rolled towel for the ears" (Holland 42). Using a hook is optional, but using it results in finer, sharper results.

Finally, "Tightly roll it [the tips] upwards and tuck the pointed [tips] in, adjust the ears and place on body." (Holland 42). Then add any additional accessories or googly eyes to your liking. All finished!

Many can say that a dog (or any pet really) is a man's best friend. They are with you in your ups and downs in life, but in the end, it is the moments and memories between your pet that counts. I hope that by creating this towel animal or any creations that I have demonstrated that you can cherish life's moments and bring joy to others. Or that's what I have learned from making these.

My question for you is if you have any pets and what special memories you have had with them.

Have a Fantastic Day Everyone!

Janice Herrador.

Holland, comp. Towel Creations: Holland America Line 40 Designs. Seattle, WA: Holland America Line, 2007. Print.

Get Festive with a Winter Themed Polar Bear Towel Animal!

Its that time of the year again. Getting out those heavy boxes from the garage, baking yummy sugar cookies, placing each ornament on the tree precisely and as equally spaced apart from other ornaments as possible (Is that just me), or just binging on Netflix for 8 hours, Its hard to accept that it is the holiday season. Those days where you just sit on your bed all day, thinking whether to do your homework or procrastinate until the 31st, why not add to your Christmas decorations by creating your very own polar bear towel animal! Guest will for sure be in awe of the cuteness of this towel creation on Christmas Day and wonder where to buy one on eBay (which they'll realize they cant buy a towel animal and to make one themselves), which Is why I am here to teach you how to make one! As I have read my book Holland America Line Towel Creations over the past few weeks, I have learned to be more patient and self-conscious with myself when making towel animals. In the end, the accomplishment of adding the googly eyes to your finished product creates a sense of happiness and is something you can share with everyone. Anyway, lets get started!


For materials, you will only need a large 30 x 50 in. towel and a medium sized 17 x 18 in. towel. Add to the festive season by adding decorations such as hats, scarfs, a snowy background, etc. to your towel animal. Recommended, but optional.


Step 1:Starting with the large towel, you will create the main body first. Begin by grabbing the sides of the towel and tightly rolling each side to the center (Holland 62), creating what looks like 2 burritos.

Step 2: "Fold the towel in half joining the four rolled edges together" (Holland 62), creating what looks like now four burritos together

Step 3: Grab the corners of each roll and pull out the center of it to form the body, make sure to hold the corners tight in your hands or else you will mess up (Holland 62). Done with the first part! It should look like what you call a chicken rotisserie

Step 4: Now grab your medium towel to create the head. With it, "Fold towel into three folds widthwise, pull down the corners towards center to form triangle and roll tightly to center"(Holland 62). This step might seem long and confusing at first, but just read it slowly at first and imagine what the outcome would look like. For me at first, I ended up making a square at this step, but with a clear image and goal in mind, I ended up with the correct results.

once again...

Step 5: "Pull down front flap to cover half of [a] nose and pull small edges from back as the ears" (Holland 62) to create the head. This is really tricky at first, but make sure to pull both edges of your towel to the back

Step 6: Place the body in an upright sitting position. Then place the head between the top-middle part of the body (Holland 62) and then add decorations (optional) to your polar bear. Your all finished!

As I continue to read this step-by-step book, I deal with many hardships and tough challenges along the way that hold me at a stopping point. But I should mention that I couldn't do this without the help of my aunt; who helped me clarify some of the steps and even let me use her laptop as a background for my towel animal. Especially during the holiday season, as your loved ones come over for that big family dinner and reflect back on those special moments this year, remember to cherish what you have and don't forget to never stop practicing on your towel animal skills. To end this year, I would again like to ask you for more suggestions and how your family has been with you in times of need.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Janice Herrador  



Holland, comp. Towel Creations: Holland America Line 40 Designs. Seattle, WA: Holland America Line, 2007. Print.



How to Make Cute and Adorable Elephant Towel Animals

It was all just a coincidence. On my cruise trip on Holland America Line in Europe last summer, I stumbled across a hidden detail that had been on the very bottom of my event schedule pamphlet. It had read "3:30- How to Make Towel Animals- B Deck". Bored out of mind, I went to the event, and found out after that I can purchase the book Holland America Line Towel Creations for $10.99


And so I bought it.


In this article, I will be teaching you how to make one of the most iconic towels animals there is to make; an elephant. There are two types of elephants that you can make; a regular elephant and another called a "Jumbo" but I will only be demonstrating the regular elephant in this article. From following the instructions, it may seem difficult, but along the way, you will discover the fun and joy, and that other side of you that will want to make towel animals all day.


For towels, you will need a large-sized towel (about 30 x 50 in.) and a medium-sized towel (about 17 x 28 in.). Additional accessories such as googly eyes, sunglasses, ribbons, etc. may be added to your towel creation to make it look cuter and add scenery


Step 1: Grab your large towel. You will need to fold both sides of the towel two inches in to create what looks like 3 rectangles.

Step 2: "Roll the top and bottom towel towards the center" (Holland 29) of the towel to create what looks like 2 burritos.

 my cat also decides to join the picture

Step 3: Grab one side of the towel and fold it in half to make four rolls, then place the folding in an upright position. Now you have created the legs!

Step 4: Now grab the medium towel from before. Before you start the next step, I recommend having a hook attached to a wall to make this next step easier and make your final product look neater. Now, with the hook, "Hook the center and roll both sides towards the middle" (Holland 29) of the towel.

 

Step 5: This step is the one where I always get stuck on, but after many attempts, I finally could complete the step, just takes practice. You will need to pull the 2 front flaps from the top and pull them down to form the ears (Holland 29).

 

Step 6: Almost done! Grab the pointy end of the head and twist it to form the trunk, then place the head on the body to make an elephant!

Congratulations on making your first towel animal (I presume!). Its not everyday you read how to make cute towel animals. If you don't feel satisfied with your towel animal, thats okay! When I first bought the book, I underestimated the difficulty of making these towel animals. I ended up frustrated with myself since I could never match what the book would end up having after the directions. But after trying many time and having patience with myself, I ended up with the results I wanted. So don't put yourself down just yet, and just try again!


There are many animals which you can make, which I would like you to comment down which towel animals you would like me to demonstrate in future blogs. But I would like to ask everyone; What have you done to over come your obstacles?


Have a great day everyone!



Janice Herrador



Holland, comp. Towel Creations: Holland America Line 40 Designs. Seattle, WA: Holland America Line, 2007. Print.