{Tutorial} "Name" Beanbags

I decided to make my son Travis some beanbags to help him to learn the letters of his name.

Uppercase letters on one side and lowercase letters on the other.

I went through my felt stash (yep, I have a whole bin FULL of felt) and realized that I could get almost all the colors of the rainbow to spell out his name!

First, cut your fabric into 5"x5" squares. 2 of each color.
Then arrange them into a rainbow and take a picture.Very important step! Unless your fabrics are not, in fact, a rainbow of colors because that just would not make sense.


#1. Trace the REVERSED Letter onto the shiny side of Heat N Bond, iron it onto the fabric you are using for your letters and then cut it out. Remove paper backing and iron to the center of your 5"x5" square.

#2. Using a zigzag or straight stitch, sew the applique to the fabric square.

#3. Here is my first one all stitched down. I used a straight stitch as close to the edge as I could. GO SLOW as there are lots of turns and curves.

#4. Here is what the back looks like...as you can see it looks just like the letter because of how carefully I sewed. My thread matches, so it's probably not that big of a deal, but I am a firstborn(read:Type A) so I kept it as neat as I could. I eased up a bit after the first one.

#5. Repeat with the lowercase letter on the other 5"x5" square of the same color.

#6. Pin the two squares "T" to "t" like they are smooching. Maybe even make the sound when you do this step. Pin the crap out of it, or don't. Not really necessary to use that many pins, but whatever.

#7. Sew around the outside of the squares leaving a 2"-3" opening. Back stitch at the beginning and at the end so that it is nice and strong when you turn the bag.

#8. "Clip" the corners. This removes some of the bulk once you turn the bag right side out. Make sure you don't cut through the thread.

#9. Turn the bag right side out and poke out the corners with something pointy (pencil, chopstick, actual apparatus meant for poking out corners).

#10. Fill bag with beans. I used about 3/4 cup in mine.

#11. Top stitch all the way around the bag to seal it closed and to add strength.

Let your toddler play with the beans on the floor so that he will leave you alone

long enough to get these finished!

Just FYI:

Making these assembly line fashion is the way to go!

Do each step with all the beanbags at the same time so you save time

and are not going back and forth.

Let the LEARNING FUN begin!

You may find me linking up with some of these blogs:
Fingerprints on the Fridge, Making The World Cuter, Dittle Dattle, Mad Skills Monday, Skip to my Lou, Craft O Maniac, Delicate Construction, Ask Anna, New Nostalgia, House of Grace, Sassy Sites, Not Just a Housewife, Today's Creative Blog, My Craftie Life, Sew Much Ado, Seven Thirty-Three, Someday Crafts, A Diamond in the Stuff, My Girlish Whims, Somewhat Simple, Momnivores Dilemma, Paisley Passions, Fun to Craft, Make it, Wear it, Gluesticks, House of Hepworths, What Allie's Making Now, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Mommas Kinda Crafty, Its a Hodgepodge Life, Inspiring Creations, Be Different Act Normal, Wildflowers and Whimsy, Tatertots and Jello, The Idea Room, My Repurposed Life, Sew Many Ways, I Heart Naptime, Thirty Handmade Days, Under the Table and Dreaming, Creative Itch, Oops I Craft My Pants, Addicted 2 Decorating

Rhythm Sticks

I introduced Travis to rhythm sticks, and he loved it!

Have you ever played with rhythm sticks with your kids?

You should...it's fun!

They are simple wooden sticks painted in fun colors that are used to drum out rhythms and to tap together.

They are great for teaching/developing:

Hand/Eye coordination

Gross and Fine motor skills

Crossing the midline of the body

Spacial awareness

Directionality

Following directions(when older)

Movement exploration

And really alot more that I can't think of right now:)

 Here he is trying to figure out what the heck to do with these things.

How does a 13 month old discover the world around him?

He puts things in his mouth! :)

Then he discovered the sound that it makes when the two sticks make contact. Yay! He loves playing with the rhythm sticks:)

At this point I am not trying to direct his play...I watch him play and then I talk about what he is doing: "Travis is hitting the floor with a red stick!", "You are tasting a yellow stick!"

Telling your baby/toddler what they are doing gives them the words to go with their actions and helps to build up their vocabulary.

As I say the color of the stick I also make the sign for the color to teach him a little sign language.

Right now he can tap the sticks together and loves to take them out of the bin and then put them back in. He also hands one to me and then takes it back from me. 

As he gets older we will be doing more structured playtime with the sticks.

I bought my sticks, but you could easily make some of your own with some dowels and some food grade paint.


Here are some blog parties I link up to:)