Traveling Project #4 - I-Spy Bag

These I-Spy bags aren't a new concept, especially in blog land. They've been around for a while, but they make a great quiet time or traveling activity. I do have to say though that this kind of project is probably better suited for an older child. We tried this when Andrew was just barely two (about 27 months) and he had a hard time knowing what to do and maneuvering the pellets around. Even now, at almost 3 years old, he has a hard time maneuvering the pellets, but he enjoys sitting with me and helping me find all the objects.

 

I put this together pretty easily with some soft, fuzzy material I had leftover from doing the cover of Andyroo's quiet book. Grab a bag or two of some Poly Pellets (any craft/hobby store should have them - even Walmart) and a myriad of objects to put into the bag.

Here's a shot of all the objects I put in before I added them to the bag. That little clear jellyfish can be pretty hard to find! Most of these were found at Michaels in their buttons section. That can be a little pricey though, so try and find little things around your house. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of small things like this (with only one two-year-old) so I had to look elsewhere.

Cut your material to your preferred size. I did about 8"x8", but I think that's too big, especially for the littler ones. I should have gone with maybe a 5" or 6" square. Keep in mind that the Poly Pellets make this really heavy!

In the middle of the front, I cut out a 3" or 4" square (your size will depend on how hard you want this to be) and then also cut out a 5" piece of clear vinyl to make a window. Sew the vinyl onto the square to make the window. If the vinyl sticks to the machine, put a piece of tissue paper on both (or just one) sides of the vinyl and that will keep the vinyl from sticking or sliding. When you're finished, just tear it away. Something like this.

Sew three of the bag sides together, leaving a good portion of one side open. Fill the bag with your items and poly pellets. To ensure a better stitch, I turned in/under the edges and then machine sewed the hole.

I also added a grommet in one corner so that I could attach a picture of all the objects in the bag.

The I-Spy bag is great to take to church, in the car, or to even just have some quiet time at home. No matter how many times we've gone through the bag, Andyroo still enjoys finding stuff with me. And it seems like we're always discovering something new hiding in there. We still haven't been able to find the sneaky little penny or quarter!