Seek & Find ~ for the kiddos

My husband was so excited when we found out we were having a baby. There are all the normal and obvious reasons but there is one I wasn't really expecting. We went over to his parents house where he had one last box that he was leaving there until this very reason. The box had a couple of his stuffed animals that he wants to pass on to his own kids. There was also a seek~&~find that his Aunt had made using a soda bottle. She filled it with rice, put a bunch of trinkets in it then typed out a list of the items so he could mark them off with a dry erase marker as he found them.

How cute is that, he liked it so much that he held on to it all this time so that he could pass it along to his kids. I love that about him. I thought it would be fun to make a couple of changes and give it to Lady A.

First I made the bag from flannel scraps that I had but the material pilled and got even worse when I needed to wipe it clean from dirty prints. The second go around I used apulstry material. This was for a couple of reasons: it would be easier to wipe clean, the material wouldn't pill and the more sturdy material would help it last longer.

You will need:
Ribbon, plastic vinyl, fabric {3 if you want to vary the colors like mine}, silicon beads, little trinkets, sewing machine and thread, dry erase marker, binding ring and funnel.

*1/4 inch sewing allowance

Cut material, plastic, ribbon
Plastic Vinyl: 4 1/2" x 5 1/2"
Material A {front sides}: 4 1/2" x 2" {2 pieces}, 8 1/2" x 2" {2 pieces}
Material B {back}: 8 1/2" x 7 1/2"
Material C {pocket}: 8 1/2" x 5"
Ribbon: 5"
Silicon Beads: 2 cups

Sew the short sides from Material A the vinyl.

Sew top and bottom on to front.

{Make sure that the hems from the previous step fold out so that you won't see them through the vinyl}.

I used the serpentine stitch to add a little bit of fun and to help lay the hems down.

*Tip: Since I was using vinyl I needed to make sure not to perforate it so the vinyl, when sewing the sides on, wouldn't tear out so I used the longest stitch length. The serpentine stitch was done with a smaller stitch length and was to help secure the vinyl and not put too much tension on the vinyl.

Getting the pocket ready. 

{ONE} For this fold one of the long sides down about 1/4", then fold it a second time. This is a small piece so you can pin it or use your finger to press it, really no need for the iron. Now stitch down the hem.

{TWO} Now mark a line where you want to put a stitch to separate the pocket for a dry erase marker and photo. Place the pocket piece face up on the back piece, also face up. Stitch along the line. 

Now we need to sew the front and back together. First place the front face up and fold the ribbon and line up the edges along the outside edges. I put mine on the top right corner and also lined it up with the seam of the top piece. Put the back piece face down on top of the front. When sewing all four sides be sure to leave a generous opening so you can turn the bag right-side out. Since I don't have a surger I did a zig-zag stitch as well.

{I would suggest leaving it a bit bigger so that the plastic can fit through.}

Turn the bag right-side out.

Before you add the trinkets you have collected for the seek-n-find bag take a picture of them for your search card. I took out some items because they fell apart being in a pliable seek~&~find bag, there were also sharp items that I couldn't put in since they would pock through the material and plastic.

Now add the trinkets to the bag.

Pour the silicon beads in, the funnel makes this part a lot easier

{you can add more to make it more full if you want}.

Last thing to do is sew closed the opening.

Here is the back with a spot ready for the photo once I get it printed and laminated. I'll put a hole in the corner and hook it to the ribbon. There is also a place for the dry erase marker to cross of the pictures as the items are found.

 

I am pretty pleased with how it turned out and love that it has a little bit more meaning as a handmade gift passed down from her dad. Right now Lady A is too little to really seek out the trinkets but she loves to slap the plastic window and hear the fun noise it makes.

The kiddos can find all the items or you can suggest categories, ie: all the silver pieces, hearts, beads etc.