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!

Pile of quilts bound…check!

I had five quilts waiting to be bound.  I had even actually sewn the binding on, just needed to fold it over and sew it down.  Seriously, why do I put things off like this?  I got them all done today!

So this is one of my favorite ones to finish this weekend.  Of course Milo has to help me out by sitting on the newly laundered quilt.  Anyone else out there have to wash a quilt after finishing it??

I mean seriously I toss them straight into the washer when they are done.

I am loving these colors…the fabric is from Connecting Threads a few years ago and the leaf print is the same in lots of colors. 

I’m using up scraps so the back is strips of leftover fabrics that I had “stashed”. 

I even used scraps of the fabric for binding it too!  Don’t you just love it when you pick off all the pieces of thread and fuzz off before the picture and then post a pic with a giant fuzz ball or piece of string?  Let’s just pretend that string is not in this picture, OK?

I might be linking to these great parties!

Two seam pillow cover

I received some canvas fabric from Wholeport that is really vivid colors.

I covered a 20 inch pillow so I cut a pieces 21 inches x 59 inches (the width of this particular fabric).  This fabric is sooo easy because it can be cut with scissors on the squares for an accurate size.

I love this bright and cheery fabric with the blues and pinks.

I laid my pillow form on top just to confirm the size.

Don’t cut the selvages…I use them for the pillow back for the opening to put the pillow inside.  Fold over and press the selvage about 1/2 inch or even an inch.  Use iron on fusible tape to hold the selvage down.

Just make sure that it is ironed down all the way.

Now fold the pillow cover right sides together so that the folded edges are not showing. 

Adjust it until the measurement is 20 inches wide.  There is no seam to shorten this side, so make sure it measures accurately. 

Now pin the two cut edges together.

Make sure that the folded over edge is laying flat.

Seam down the cut edges, using a 1/2 inch seam.

I use Fray Check to keep the edges from unraveling.  This fabric is a looser weave. The Fray Check dries perfectly clear without showing at all.

Now turn right side out and iron the seams out.  Then slip your pillow in and enjoy!

This style takes very little time and you can make several for one form to change up for different seasons or moods! 

I might be linking to some of these great parties!

How to update an old woven rug…

I won this great rug four years ago from Its Great To Be Home.  I was so proud of it!  Well that rug has been in constant use for four years now!  I use it in front of the front door or in the bathroom or where ever.  I use rugs a lot as they save the carpet and collect dirt at the door.  My dog Rachel always chose this particular rug to throw up on (sorry, TMI?).  She was an old dog and couldn’t help it!  And on a side note, please don’t judge my old blogging style! 

Here’s an up close of the rug…it’s woven but it has started to wear and fray but only at the ends.  I washed it this past weekend and even though the ends have been sewn down several times, it had frayed beyond repair.  So I was sitting at the sewing table with scraps from my last project around me.  And then I started thinking, and then this happened!

It’s a great update for this rug which still has a lot of life left!

I had some blue chevron fabric but the blues in the rug have faded a bit over the years and it is more of a blue grey color.  So the grey chevron scraps match/coordinate nicely!

I think this rug will last at least another four years!

Mama Kitty approves!

One of my better upcycle projects, if I do say so myself!

I might be linking to some of these great parties!