When I was 8 years old, I spent a summer with my grandma learning to sew. She was a fantastic seamstress and I loved spending time with her just to soak up all the knowledge she seemed to exude. My own daughter turns 8 this winter and so I decided it was high time for her to learn the basics, and what better opportunity than the Kids Can Do week at SYTYC! She's been wanting to make a swimsuit cover-up for herself and here it is!
She picked out the fabric and buttons and did about half the sewing (until Phineas & Ferb came on tv and I lost her completely). I made the design as easy as possible so she could follow my instructions:
The swimsuit cover is made of lightweight fleece to absorb the water but not be too hot, and it was perfect for her to sew because it doesn't fray like terry cloth or knit. The front is held closed by stick-on strips of Velcro so she didn't burn out on button holes on her first project. The three buttons that are across the top are functioning but since the fleece doesn't fray it didn't need a fussy buttonhole. 
Now she's desperate to get to the lake and try it out. And she's got a notebook full of sewing projects to try before school begins again!
that I decided to make my own version.
I made my grapefruit slices a little smaller so there were more of them going around and they have 7 sections instead of her 6. I also prefer Ruby Red grapefruit to the plain kind so I chose my colors accordingly. When I was a kid, grapefruit eaten at my grandparents' house was always sprinkled with sugar on top so I sewed on irridescent beads for a sparkly finish. 
It's my new favorite scarf -- and I hope you like it too!
3. Once the holders were attached to the two upper plates - and DRY - I put glue around the bottom rim of the middle holder. Because E-6000 bonds better when both pieces to be attached have glue on them, I used the holder to "stamp" a ring of glue onto the center of the bottom plate. This also helped mark where the center was so it wouldn't be cocky-waller.
Reapply glue to the bottom of the middle holder and press onto the glue ring "stamp". Press hard to squeeze out any air bubbles.
4. When step 3 is completely DRY, repeat step 3 with the smaller top plate and holder. Allow to dry completely - usually at least 24 hours.
I found an old pair of navy pants at the thrift store, along with a blue broadcloth button-down shirt and a tiny navy blue beanie (we live in the cold most of the year and our mailman wears a ski cap). I printed out some post office insignia and a "letter carrier" name tag onto iron-on transfer sheets and sewed them on to the hat, the shirt and the bag. The bag was just a remnant of fabric I had around the house which I fashioned into a messenger bag and added the stars and stripes ribbon strip. 
And because the mailman needs letters to deliver, I made some felt postcards and envelopes to go in the bag. I used various ribbon strips for the addresses and return-addresses and cut hearts and diamonds for the stamps. 
Some of the envelopes open and close with velcro so he could write his own note and letters.
When the outfit was done, my son ran out to show our mailman -- and was rewarded with a ride in the mail truck! Love that little Mailman!