Valentine's Day Party Bean Bag Toss

My daughter (5) requested a bean bag toss for her class Valentine's Day party at school this year. I make bean bag toss games for many holidays and parties so it was easy to make one in just a short time.

Here's what you'll need:

cardboard box
old steak knife or cutting tool
paint
half a yard of fabric total in different patterns as desired
plastic sandwich baggies
dry beans
sewing machine/needle and thread

Start with a cardboard box in the size you wish your bean bag toss game to be.  Trim off all the flaps so you're left with a solid base to cut on.  Draw your design on the box, including holes for the kids to toss bean bags through.  I made the word "LOVE" with the "O" being a toss hole, and a couple hearts for Valentine's Day.  Now carefully cut out your design using your steak knife or other cutting tool. A simple steak knife works so well for me and I have so much control when cutting out shapes like hearts!

Now you're ready to decorate your box. I painted mine with Crayola washable paints, which dry really quickly.  You can also use construction paper or markers if you're in a time crunch.  But really, the paint goes on fast and dries so quickly!

As that dries, start making your bean bags. Cut your fabric into 5 inch squares - you'll need two squares for each bean bag.  I made a total of six bean bags in three different patterns.  I found really cute, inexpensive fabric at Wal-mart for this project.

For the inside of our beanbags, I bought a bag of dry beans from the grocery store. Molly helped me fill six sandwich bags with about 3/4 cup of the beans in each and seal them up.  Fold each bag in half, then in half again so it's the right size.

Place two squares together, with the fabric design facing each other.  Sew around three complete edges, and part of another edge. Leave that hole open so you can turn it right-side-out. Then put the plastic baggie filled with beans inside your semi-sewn bean bag.

 

Finally, fold the open edges in a little and sew it closed. That way you won't have any rough edges poking out. You can also sew this part by hand.  Be careful not to sew the plastic bag inside so you don't mess up your sewing needle.  I have a set of bean bags I made this way from five years ago and they're still perfect, so these will stand up to lots of play and last for years to come!

Sew Easy Fleece Hat!

My daughter, Molly (4), has really been interested in sewing lately so I found a great project for her and I to work on! We made a really easy and cute fleece hat! This was actually from a pattern I bought several years ago but I made this one by memory. Here it goes!

First, cut out two pieces of fleece in kind of a "bunny ear" shape, pictured below. The dimensions are about 9" wide at the bottom, and 14" tall. They should each be the same, and totally symmetrical from one side to the other. Be sure you find the front of the fleece - the design on it will be brightest on the front.

Put both pieces together, with the fronts touching. Use straight pins to hold them together if your child is old enough to be careful... of course surely if your child is old enough to use your sewing machine then they are also old enough for straight pins! haha!

Next, use a straight stitch on your sewing machine to sew your fleece pieces together... but don't sew the bottom closed! For this part, Molly sat on my lap and I held the fabric while she pressed down on the foot petal. I had raised it up on a box so she could reach it easily.

When you're done sewing around the edges, fold the bottom up a few inches, all the way around, pictured above. Remember - you're still working with it inside out! Now sew all around that edge. *Be careful to fold down the seams as you sew over them so there won't be any bumps! (pictured below)

Finally, turn your hat right side out. The last step is to tie each bunny ear into a knot. Now hope for warmer weather than we are having and enjoy your new fleece hat!!

No-Sew Fleece Scarf and Blanket

Molly (4) and I were just hanging out on my bed one day, pulling tiny feathers out of my down comforter and blowing them up into the air, then watching them float back down into our waiting palms. It was pretty enchanting but a little boring, so an idea sprang to mind - let's make a scarf! I told Molly we were going to do a project, to which she insisted we were already doing a project. So.. we continued with the feathers for a few more minutes before I dug out some left over fleece I had in a craft bin.

I cut the fleece into strips - about eight inches by two yards. I used rolling scissors and a cutting mat for quilting to make quick work but really, just cut some strips. Molly used her own little scissors to cut fringe into each end and voila! A scarf. She also chose to make one for her grandma as a gift and took quite the time wrapping it (with plenty of tape).

Meanwhile, I wanted to make something for Ben (1) who was taking his nap at the time, but knew he was really too little for a scarf. Luckily I had a larger piece of fleece with cars and trucks on it that I knew he would like! I trimmed the edges and ended up with a piece that was about 2 yards by 1.5 yards. Then I folded it over twice and cut fringe along all the edges. Using my cutting mat, I was able to make each cut 1"x 3", though as an afterthought you might want to make them a bit longer, like 1"x5" or 6".

While Molly was busy wrapping her gift, I sat down and tied knots all around Ben's blanket. Just double-knot two strips that are side-by-side all the way around your blanket. It'll get kind of scrunched so just pull and stretch it as you go along. One piece of fleece is thick enough for a small blanket, but if you want to make it even warmer, you can use two piece the same size and tie them together front to back. I might try that one down the road, but I was just using up what I had leftover from a previous project.

Side note: when Ben woke up from his nap, I excitedly showed him his new blanket. He was very pleased to point out a "car" on it, but backed away shouting "Noooo!" when I tried to wrap him up in it. Then he reached for one of Molly's old blankets - one with pink flowers on it that he inexplicably has loved since he was a baby - and promptly wrapped himself in that one instead!