Basket of Bean Bags

Two grandchildren are celebrating birthdays. Chloe, a leapling, just turned 3 and her brother, Caleb will be 7 in a few days. A basket of bean bags for Chloe and a toy combining two of Caleb’s favorite things should bring smiles.

I gave Caleb a clue about his gift… that it contains the letters L and M. He didn’t guess, but a LEGO Minecraft building set made him a happy boy!

I took my camera to their party but didn’t even remove it from its bag. I found a cozy spot with a view of the 18 children and 14 adults gathered in this small but welcoming little cape cod home. I had to ask Jamie to send me a few pics of these these sweethearts each surrounded by people that love and pray for them as they grow.

~little blessings from heaven~

So here is how I went about making the basket of bean bags

A simple set of ten bean bags with a stenciled number on each should provide Chloe with lots of imaginative play. The basket ($4.99) and pink disk ($1.99) are from Michael’s Craft store.The cotton fabric was cut into 5.5-inch squares but since it seemed a little too thin I used a double thickness. If you are using a heaver fabric you won’t need this step. The squares were sewn right-sides together leaving an opening for filling.

While at the craft store, I considered using beads as filler, making the bags washable. Because I wanted more weight to the bags and because the cost of the beads was more than I want to spend on this project, I opted to use dried beans. It took a little more than one bag each of dried beans and dried peas to fill the ten bags. I like the weight and the feel of the beans.

After filling each bag, I stitched it closed using the sewing machine. With the left-over scraps of fabric, I fashioned a bow and tie and secured it to the basket handle.

Playing with bean bags doesn’t need to be a formal game. Tossing, juggling, balancing, catching, counting, ordering are all creative and fun activities for tots to do with bean bags. But for more structured play a game provides opportunity for teamwork and a little adding.

Make up your own set of rules or right click the photo above and save it to your computer. Print to desired size. Laminate for durability.

My seventeen year old grandson stopped by after school last week as I finished this project. He felt we should try out the game just to see how it worked before giving it to Chloe. 🙂

It is harder than I thought getting the bean bags into the dish. First try, Jared got two and I got none. We moved the designated distance closer and did just a bit better. We would had continued playing but I wanted the bean bags to remain new since it was a gift. We concluded, getting all of the bean bags, number side facing up will be impossible. Perhaps the little ones will be better at this game than the big people and I anticipate some fun competition 🙂

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Comments

Debby Ray says
March 6, 2015 at 1:01 am
I mean GREAT gifts…lol!
Debby Ray says
March 6, 2015 at 1:00 am
Such a sweet present! I am sure that Chloe and Caleb will have great fun celebrating and playing with these gifts great from Grandma 🙂
Debbie says
March 4, 2015 at 4:48 pm
What a perfectly wonderful and brilliant idea. I know several of my grands would enjoy this too. I love that you shared this idea with us. Happy birthday to them all!
Brenda Kay Ledford says
March 3, 2015 at 6:30 pm
This is a beautiful photo of bean bags. This brings back many wonderful childhood memories. You have a beautiful blog. I found your blog on Cat Tails.
Have a blessed week.
Just a little something from Judy says
March 3, 2015 at 12:32 pm
Brilliant idea! I know my grandchildren would love receiving this gift! Do your grandchildren know how fortunate they are to have such a gifted, talented grandma?
The pictures of each of them, are so cute!
SarahGeorge says
March 3, 2015 at 8:49 am
Wow! That's so special! Very cute bean bags and children:).
Lorrie says
March 3, 2015 at 5:20 am
Bean bags are a great toy – and these are so pretty. Chloe will love them. Happy birthday to her and Caleb.
I have a couple of bean bags and my granddaughter (3) insists they are doll pillows.
Lea says
March 3, 2015 at 2:21 am
These are so, so cute and I bet that my Grans would love some. You are so creative and I love that you share it with us. :o)) Have a great week!
Pondside says
March 3, 2015 at 1:53 am
First of all, the bean bags are just so pretty! Second, I'll bet they'll provide a lot of fun times. You are a very crafty grandma!
Ann Thompson says
March 2, 2015 at 5:28 pm
Happy Birthday to Chloe and Caleb. What a cute gift
CatTales says
March 2, 2015 at 12:34 pm
Happy Birthday to Caleb and Chloe. This is a great gift!