Last year I finally bit the bullet and attempted my first I-Spy Bag. It was just a tiny little sampler I made up, but my daughter LOVED it...!! I had all intentions of making mass amounts of these to add to my stock but I havent got around to doing so as of yet. This is partly due to the lack of little nic nacs to find to put into them. I brought a mass amount of Christmas Crackers on Clearance last year at Christmas time to get some things to put into them, but they still arent enough variety for my liking. Trying to find sources in New Zealand is hard!!! Without having to buy in from overseas I do know that you can get them on Etsy - a few names to look under crackalakin - AnniesMarket - HighPie (this is one of my faves).
Anyway, I had an order for one last year and I have just had another one come in, with that I have made my daughter a larger one to the original little sampler I made. We took them with us on our first plane ride 3 months ago, and they were a hit with the children of a friend I had been staying with at the time too. I have noticed some people use Rice or Beans in these, however because I make these to sell and they are such great things to take on long trips be it by air, land or sea etc they pose a risk when crossing international boarders through customs. My lovely next door neighbour works for MAF and I know that whilst domestically these are fine on planes however going on international flights in and out of New Zealand they arent allowed over if they contain food products like Legumes. So for mine I use the plastic toy pellets used for in toy bears etc.
This is a tutorial to show you how easy they are too make. Hopefully!! Any questions you may have feel free to ask.
You will need:
- Fabric
- Ribbon (optional)
- Clear Plastic Vinyl
- Plastic Toy Pellets
- Little Nic Nacs/Trinkets/Charms etc
- Sewing Machine and Thread
- Scissors and/or Rotary Blade
- Ruler
- Pen or Taylor's Chalk/Marker
- Cutting Board
- Key Ring/Split Ring
- Laminating Pouches and Machine
- Printer and Photo paper
- Hole Punch
I am making this approx 6-7in in size.
First you want to cut out ONE 8x8in square, TWO strips measuring 8inx2.5in and TWO strips measuring 5inx2.5in. (I cut mine just a little under!!).
Next cut a 5x5in square of Clear Vinyl. You can by this vinyl from your local fabric or craft store by the meter otherwise up-cycle the packaging from bedding etc..!
Sew the 5x2.5in strips to the top and bottom of the vinyl square.
Sew the 8x2.5in strips to the opposite sides of the vinyl square.
Once this is all completed you can top sew around the edge of the vinyl window to help keep the seams sitting down nice and flat (I didnt with looking back now that it is all completed, packaged up ready to be sent out!)
Line your base up with the top piece with the window in it and sew around the edges, remember to leave a gap for turning and filling.
Trim the edges of excess fabric if you have any (I cut some of my strips a little too short as you can see some Im a little wonky!!!).
Cut the corners, not too close to the stitching though. This gives them a nice clean and not so bulky corner when you turn it right side out.
Once turnt out the correct way, top stitch close to the edge to give it a nice finish. This is optional!
These are the toy pallets I use in mine. You can find these at your local craft store in the toy making area usually.
I like to use a funnel to fill my bags with. Fill it approx half to three quarters full, you dont want it to be too bulky otherwise you wont be able to move things around and find the hidden treasures.
Next pick out the goodies for inside, now is a good time to take a photo of them, I like to put mine on a sheet of white paper to do this. You could get creative with this process and write up a list of things to find not just the main items in there, some of the things we like to do with one of the ones I made for my daughter when we were looking at it is finding how many Yellow items there are, how many red...how many square or round... how many cars, insects...how many wooden, metal etc..
Put you goodies into the bag, insert a loop out of ribbon or matching fabric into the opening and triple stitch it closed.
Print your photo and/or lists out either at home or at a photo center, laminate them either using a machine or you can get self adhesive pockets like these here.
Punch a hole in the corner and thread them all onto the key ring then attach this to the loop on the bag.
Your I-Spy Bag is now complete!
No comments:
Post a Comment