I Spy Bag

I'm making I Spy bags for my son's friend's birthdays this year. They are great in the car, doctor's appointment, church, etc.

Here's what you'll need:

• 5" square of plastic vinyl (bought in a fabric section)
• 2- 2 x 5" strips of fabric
• 2- 2 x 7.5" strips of fabric
• 7.5" square of fabric
• polly pellets (bought at a craft store)
  
• an assortment of items to "spy"

Here's what to do:

1. Sew the 5" strips of fabric to either side of the 5"square of plastic.

2. Sew the 7.5" strips to the other sides of the plastic to frame it.
3. Top stitch around the plastic

4. Sew the back of the bag placing right sides together and leaving an opening to fill the bag. Clip the corners and turn right side out.

5. Place the "spy" items in the bag and fill with polly pellets until the bag is about 2/3 full. Whip or blind stitch the opening.Write on a label some of the items to find and stitch it to the back...and you're DONE!
Easy!

"Loves" Book

My friend gave me this idea when my boy was little and didn't get to see all of the family very often. We made a "Loves" book for him to remember all the people that love him. Since I recently had a daughter I have made her one too.

I used

• a 4x6 photo book,
  
• cardstock paper,
• this template,
  
• and photos of the different family members preferably with the child. I used his parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and then I also added Jesus.

I printed the words
"Who loves (the child's name)?
(The family member's name) loves (the child's name)!"

I spaced the words using the ruler on a regular sized paper in a Word document (or you can download my template). I got 2 pages per paper. Print the page, cut it to 4x6, and stick it in the book. Pretty simple.

I love that he can see their pictures, know that he has at some point been with them, read their names, and read his name. Now that he is older, he remembers them more, so we update the pictures so he can remember things he's done with them (especially the cousins). Plus he gets to read how much he is loved...who wouldn't love that?