I SPY

With my boys, we play I Spy everywhere we go. They ~love~ I Spy books, games and toys. I've been wanting to get them a Find-It game for a really long time, but I can't bear to pay the price for one, so I came across a great tutorial on how to create your own I Spy bag for just a fraction of the cost.

WARNING: There is sewing involved. And I am just about the worst sewer on the planet, but I managed to do it and get the results I was looking for. So, if you can sew a straight line, (I truly can't yet), then this is the project for you!

Honestly, after using the tutorial, I found out later that the bags were too big and too heavy for my liking. The next one I make will be smaller. You can do different shapes and sizes.

Before getting started with the materials list, I should explain what I did for filler.

Filler:

1 Large bag of cheap rice (the cheapest you can find)

Measuring cup to measure 5 cups

1 Large plastic bag

2 tsp vinegar

Food coloring any choice color

Cookie sheet

-Turn oven on to 200ºF.

-Place 5 cups of rice into a plastic bag.

-Add 2 teaspoons of vinegar and a few drops of food coloring.

-Now shake it! Mix up well and spread it out on a cookie sheet.

-Place in oven for 30mins to dry out.

Directions for the bag:

Materials:

5 cups colored rice

1 piece of fabric (I used fleece)

1 piece of clear vinyl

1 small piece of ribbon

a good mix of assorted little treasures (approx 32 items)

1 3x5 photo of your treasures and trinkets

sewing machine

thread of any color

velcro

Cut fabric to desired length or shape and fold in half.

-I used the tutorial for a guide. 1

8" x 9" to make an 8" x 8" bag.

-Cut a 3" x 3" square in the center of one half of the fabric.

(Note: my square is certainly not centered. I fixed it after I took this picture. Sorry.)

-Cut small diagonal slits at each corner of your center square and fold back.

-Cut out a piece of vinyl to cover the entire square

and lay it over the open flaps.

-Pin down the vinyl to the fleece.

-Sew around your window attaching the vinyl and the fleece together.

(I found this step a little difficult to do with my lack of sewing abilities, so I stitched down the flaps first before sewing down the vinyl.) It creates a slightly different look, but still functions the same)

-Place vinyl side down on your sewing machine so that your fabric can move without getting caught into your machine.

-Cut off excess vinyl to about .5"

-Fold fabric wrong sides together and sew leaving a small hole big enough for your filler and trinkets

-Turn your bag inside out

-Fill your bag with treasures and rice

-Attach one end of the ribbon to your 3x5 photo and laminate.

-Insert other end of ribbon into the hole of the bag and topstitch the hole shut.

-Add velcro to the middle of the backside of your bag and to the backside of the picture card.