Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Birthday Gift: Beanbag Jar


Time for another homemade gift! This is for my dear friend Melissa's sweet little Jane! I asked her for any ideas she had that would fit my homemade theme and she mentioned beanbags - perfect!

Turns out, I didn't have any dry beans on hand as I had just cooked a bunch so I filled them with rice which I had plenty of. Rachel picked out all the fabrics and helped stuff them and trim threads. I found the container in the recycling and had fun prettying it up!




On one side, I hung a little stack of cards that have ideas of fun ways to enjoy the beanbags:

* Find a basket and toss them in. How far back can you stand? Backwards? Eyes closed?
* Draw a target on a dry erase board, on the driveway with sidewalk chalk or on paper - how is your aim?
* Pretend the bags are tea cakes and serve tea to your babies and stuffed animals!
* Imagine your bag is a hot potato! How long can you keep it from hitting the floor? How fast can you pass it?
* Try and juggle or play catch!
* Grab a hula hoop and lean against a tree - can you toss the bags into the hoop?
* Find a basket, bowl or box - can you catch the bags when someone tosses to you?
* Put on pretty music and balance a beanbag on your head and dance around. How long can you balance?
* Can you make up your own idea or game?
* Draw a big tic-tac-toe game on your driveway with chalk. Use the blues and pinks to play!
* Play beanbag hide-and-seek! How fast can you find all of them? Try in the dark using a flashlight!
* Lay out in a shape and as you hop to each one practice a Bible verse or skip counting!
* Use to play hopscotch! {just thought of this one}






Bottom line: Shopped my own scraps for both fabric and paper. Used thread leftover from another project and about 1/3 c. rice for each bag. A recycled free container was repurposed, so I spent absolutely nothing.

Big win: Rachel loves these so much she asked for a homemade gift for her Birthday!!! So cute!