Felt Bean Bags

I am surprised I have never made a bean bag for my kids. I mean, they're so simple and easy and the uses in games are endless. Put a bucket in the middle of the room and toss some bean bags in. Carry it between your knees in a race. Throw them through a hula hoop. The reason I came to make some now is an upcoming birthday party with a lack of game ideas. And bonus, after the game, the little guests can take a bean bag home as a favor. And so I set forth.

What You Need:

• Felt in various colors
• Thread
• Sewing Machine (or do it by hand with a needle, cause you could you know.)
• Pins
• Beans (I used Lentil because they felt nice and because they are small enough that the baby would not choke if she came across a bean on the floor that escaped during my crafting- and a lot did because I had some help filing the bags.)
• Wide-necked funnel (or in my case a piece of paper and tape.)

What You Do:

       1. Cut felt into squares. I did 4.5" so I could get 2 bean bags out of one 9x12" sheet of felt.

       2. Pin two squares back to back, putting a pin in each corner so the squares don't shift while sewing. (I learned the hard way it doesn't pay to be too lazy not to.)

       3. Sew around three sides and most of the 4th, stopping an 1-2" from the corner. I got on a roll a couple times and just sewed all four sides, so I had to rip some stitches- whoops! Learn from my mistake and stick a pin where you mean to end.  Like sew.  (I am so funny.)

--Excuse my rudimentary drawing. I am terrible about taking pictures when little hands are helping.

       4. Insert your funnel (or you rolled up paper cone. Or a bottle with the bottom cut off and the cap off the neck.) in the opening that's left. 

       5. Pour in some beans. We used about 1/2 cup and some tiny fistfuls for ours. (As an aside the kids loved running their hands in the beans and playing with them.)

       6. Sew the opening shut.

       7. Play!

Egg Carton Tulips

Using individual egg cartons ripped from the box and pipe cleaners, Squidgee and I made some flowers.

I love reusing what would otherwise be trash in a craft project. Usually I use egg cartons to hold paint (see that sidebar?) but this time around we decided to paint them instead. (And used a paper plate as a palette instead.)

Here's What You Need:

• Cardboard Egg Carton
• Craft paints
• paint brushes
• Pipe Cleaners, yellow and green
• Pencil (for hole poking.)

Here's What You Do:

        1. Tear egg carton into individual cups,or cut them if you prefer to be neat. 

        2. Have your octopus paint the cups different colors.

        3. Let them dry.

        4. Punch a hole with a pencil in the bottom of each cup.

        5. Take a yellow pipe cleaner and fold it in half. Insert the folded end into the hole from the inside of the cup so you have a loop coming out the bottom.

        6. Put an end of a green pipe cleaner through the loop of the yellow pipe cleaner. Fold the end down and twist around the other end of the green pipe cleaner to hold it to the yellow one.  Push up the twisted "knot" so it's snug in the hole of the "flower".

        7. Twirl the ends of the yellow pipe cleaner around the pencil to make it look more... I dunno, pistil and stameny. (Yeah, I just made stamen an adjective; my high school English teacher and Biology teacher would be impressed.)

        8. Make a bunch and put them in a cup for pertiness. (Excuse me. It's getting late, I get punchy.)