A bag full of treasure to spy = quiet kids : All about i spy bags

It's been a busy couple of days, recovering from having 4 wisdom teeth out and the pile of housework which waited patiently for me.


After about a month, my plastic pellets for a project I've been dying to finish arrived!
The bag had been punctured and retaped, sent back to the supplier as 'address does not exist', sported a boot print and the bags of pellets had split open and were all through the package. Not impressed with the postal system lately, but that's yet another thing to do, angry letter pending.. sigh.


So here's one of them, rose-print lycra-feel front with black ruffle fabric back:
An eye-spy-like bag for little ones to find treasures in. Included is a picture list of things.

USE:
To give parents and carers a break (even some quiet) , kids some fun and the world something pretty :)

Toddlers to preteens (although I've admittedly sat happily with one for more than a few times) can find the special hidden objects on the list through the peekaboo clear window by moving the bag around, squishing, tapping and turning it.


On long car trips or for older children, you can ask them to find things by color, make up a story about what they find, guess what they might find next, or use a list of written words to improve their vocabulary.
In my bags with letters included in them, older kids can find the word, and perhaps even make up some silly acronyms, and find some anagrams.


Also for young children and those with special needs, it can potentially help develop motor, sensory, puzzle solving and coordination skills.




I love the little spy bags and made a few (less girly) ones with rice in them for our son.
I thought I'd try my hand at selling them potentially, so here's one of my prototypes with plastic pellets.
My aim was to make them unique, eco-friendly and pretty/cool.
They're made using fabric samples from a resource recycling center and both new and clean pre-loved treasures inside the bag.

Here are the contents of one of the bags.


I actually did a lot of research on the general concept.

The generic fleece ones didn't quite suit my taste and I thought I'd try and make some cute themed ones, thinking to combine another sensory experience by adding some ribbon tags.
I really thought about some of the common issues with the bags, here's what I came up with.

PROBLEM: If a rice filled bag gets wet it smells or the rice may potentially attract rodents.
SOLUTION: Plastic pellets (most are made from recycled material).

PROBLEM: Some fabrics may fray with use or time.
SOLUTION: I used two bag layers.


PROBLEM: The vinyl window commonly comes apart.
SOLUTION: I cut a large bit of vinyl and somewhat quilt it around the window for safety.

PROBLEM: Sewing up at the end looks uneven.
SOLUTION: I stitched a straight line then used a strong decorative stitch below it as a feature.

PROBLEM: A common complaint was of cheap plastic toys breaking.
SOLUTION: Sturdier everyday objects can be fascinating to children (take the plastic bobbin for instance) and beads from old necklaces/brooches, buttons, blocks, dice etc. seem a good replacement to me (though I may invest in some cute plastic animals in the next one).

IMPORTANT: These greatly resemble the bean bags children are so used to throwing.

I must urge people NOT to use glass objects such as marbles in them for this very reason.
If you make or purchase any, think reasonably about the contents and their impact resistance.

Feel free to use these ideas and constantly think about how you can improve the safety and fun of such a versatile idea.

Well I'd better toddle off to bed, I hope I helped some DIY crafters or spying bag curios out there this morning.
I'd love to hear your ideas/comments on your own experiences with treasure bags.
Also any feedback, would you buy something like this?
How much should I price them at?

Thanks for reading :)