Make an I Spy Bag

Kids love these I Spy bags…they are great in the car or at home to keep kids occupied and distracted.  Truthfully, the first time I saw one of these was in the hospital.  I am a nurse as some of you may know and for five years I worked on the IV team and I worked a lot on pediatrics.  There were all kinds of distraction techniques that the nurses and child life therapists used to take the kids’ minds off the painful stick.

I saw one that was tiny, made of a felt that couldn’t be washed, but was really cute.  I decided to make one and had a lot of fun collecting little tiny things to go inside it.

This is the back…I just used scraps of fabric. one square that was about 8 inches and then a contrasting piece across the middle for fun.  I think the bag was about 7 inches square finished.

To make the front, I cut four squares 6 inches each.  I folded each square in half diagonally and pressed them, then laid them out as shown above.  Then I laid them out on a square of heavy clear plastic (the kind you buy at a fabric store).  I stitched along each triangle edge and around the outside edge as well.

Trim away the extra plastic. 

And now you have this…

Remember no pressing from this point out as the plastic will not like it.  I tried that once and had to start all over!

Now lay it right sides together with the back of the bag.  I never worry too much about it all being perfect, when it is stuffed it’s hard to tell if the seams are perfectly straight.

Now sew the edges using about a 1/2 inch seam.  Leave a small area, about 2-3 inches for turning it right side out and stuffing.

Now you have it finished except for the stuffing.  Turn it right side out and smooth the seams with your fingers. 

Fold under the open edges so they can be seamed up after you get it stuffed.

Find all sorts of little things that will appeal to your recipient.  I collect little character erasers, little animals, some craft pom poms, all sorts of things that are NOT SHARP! 

You want to avoid things that are sharp like this little dino with the pointy tail.  I was afraid he would puncture the plastic and cause a leak.

I use Poly Pellets for the stuffing.  They are semi transparent round pieces of plastic.  You want to avoid overfilling with these pellets so the little animals etc. will still be visible.

I toss my critters, trucks and erasers and pom poms in the bag and follow with the pellets.

Those little animal sets in the $1 section at Target are perfect size and price!

Pin up the open edge and sew it up quick before the pellets run out.

And now you can admire your handiwork!

I love the elephants and the polka dots on the back.

There’s an eraser giraffe…

and a sparkly pom pom…

And a little car…

Christmas Chaos

I meant to get a picture of Brady opening the I Spy bag, but it was such bedlam that I missed it.  Plus he had so many fun things to look at he was going ten different directions at once!

But I am pretty sure he liked it!  I can tell by the look on his face…

I will be linking to these great parties!

Easy Laundry Detergent

Today was a “snow day”, it’s really cold outside and snowed most of the day.  I got a few things checked off my to do list.  I baked cookies, made a nice lunch, cleaned up the kitchen, and made laundry detergent.  The last time I made it was in the fall of 2011. I used the basic recipe I found here but of course tweaked it a bit. 

Last time I used Fels Naptha soap, Borax and Washing Soda.  This time I used Zote, the Borax and Washing Soda, I added Oxy Clean and Baking Soda.  I used the same recipe except I did not add the Purex crystals. 

Instead of grating the soap, I cut it in smaller pieces with a knife and added 3-4 pieces of the soap to the washing soda in the blender, made it smooth as silk!  And I didn’t have to grate it!

Pulse the blender until it looks like this picture.

Then run it a bit longer and presto!  I kept adding the ingredients in the biggest mixing bowl I have stirring. 

See how smooth it is?  The Zote smells much better than Fels Naptha, at least that is my opinion. 

I used a jar funnel to pour the soap into the big jars.  I found one at Wal-Mart and I think it was $5.99.  The second one I found at Goodwill for $2.  So this made a jar and a half, at 1 tablespoon (2 for heavily soiled loads) a load it will last me forever!  Which is nice to not have to buy expensive detergent.  This quantity of detergent cost me about $12, not counting the jars. 

The little blue scoop from the Oxy Clean makes a perfect scoop!

I might be linking to these great parties!

Easy Button Earrings

My sponsor Wholeport sent me these fabulous pearl like buttons.  I didn’t have a specific use for them yet…when I started thinking about making some earrings out of them.

There were two sizes of them I received, each from different orders (with Wholeport I get monthly orders of craft supplies that I choose and then I add a tutorial showing how I used their product to their website). 

I used jump rings to add a small and a large button to one ring and then put that ring of buttons on another jump ring with a button on either side.  I thought it wasn’t quite enough…So I added a few more buttons.

This is how I did it…

Loving them!

I will be linking to these great parties!

Upcycled Phone Case for Kate

My mom always says that it is hard to cook in someone else’s kitchen…I find it difficult to sew or craft away from home.  My niece Kate asked me to make her a new phone case…

So I challenged myself to create one from a few thrifted items.  I found a tea towel (50 cents) and an old wool/cotton baby blanket (I think $1) at the Restore in Loveland, Colorado.

I borrowed Kate’s sewing machine which was almost exactly the same model as one of mine, so that part was easy, I also borrowed her sewing supplies.  Problem was, her straight pins, well they just weren’t straight.  I got her a new pack of straight as machine rent so she doesn’t have to deal with this…

I found some 1” masking tape in the garage and used it as a guide for quilting. I quilted the tea towel with the baby blanket tucked inside and measured Kate’s phone and cut it to the appropriate size.

A Velcro closure and a iron on applique monogram were purchased to finish up the deal!  I would have used my serger and would have done the flap a bit differently if I could have used my own machines at home, but I still think it turned out pretty nicely!!

I love this photo prop rock at my niece’s house.  Tried to stuff it in my suitcase, but it just wouldn’t fit!  Such an interesting frond/leaf pattern.

I might be linking to these great parties!