The Story of a Mom, a Wife a Small-Business-Owner-Hopeful (Happy Baby Designs) and a Craft Lover, trying to be present (not just exist) in my life with my children, my husband and myself. Follow along with me as I chronicle my crafting and business endeavors, my true life and some mommy moments along the way .


Sunday, February 14, 2010

Travel Distractions...er...Games

I have been traveling with my children since they were both only a few months old. They have always done great on airplanes, even amidst long delays, late nights, early mornings, full flights and all of the security inconveniences (Really, I have to take my 2-month-old's shoes off?). However, now that my son is almost 3, I have to admit that I have begun to rely on the power of the almighty DVD player. Sure, I still bring toys, books, markers, snacks, etc...but I can't deny that the DVD player holds some magical power of distraction.

I'm taking the children (solo) to see their grandparents and Tia in Arizona soon. I decided to see if I could find some new ideas for toys, games, and distractions of the non-battery-operated kind. I found these wonderful ideas from Obsessively Stitching's blog

My first project was an I Spy Book. I grouped the kids' toys together and took pictures of them. Some I just piled together,



others I lined up.



Then, I bought some $1 photo albums from the Dollar Tree...



printed off my photos...



and voila! An I Spy book that will hopefully provide some new and exciting entertainment on the airplane.



This project was great because it was almost free! All I spent was $2 for the photo albums, and I printed the pictures right here at home. If I had more time, I'm sure I could find more things to take pictures of to add to the book, but for now I have about 13 different I Spy pictures. Maybe for our next trip!

My second project was an I Spy Bag. I got the idea from Obsessively Stitching's blog, but then I found this tutorial and pretty much followed it. I had never seen these before, but I can see how kids must LOVE them! I didn't have a lot of time to collect small objects, so I actually just went to the Dollar Tree (gotta love that place!) and bought a bunch of little toys and party favors. And I still have a ton of toys leftover to make more bags! I added a few other items from around the house (paper clips, coins, buttons). I made sure to take pictures of everything before I put them in the bag so my children will know what they're looking for.



I cut my fabric in a 10" x 10" square so that the finished project would be 5" x 10".



I cut a 3" x 3" opening in my fabric so that once I folded back the fabric as the tutorial suggests, my "window" is about 3.5" x 3.5". I could not find the Poly Pellets but I found this Vase Filler instead and it works great (they're like little acrylic beads).



As Obsessively Stitching did, I used a plastic bag from a set of sheets (you know the zippered bags that new sheets, blankets, etc... come it) since it's pretty heavy duty plastic.

Then, I sewed my bag, filled it with about half the bag of "beads" and all of the toys. Then I sewed the opening closed and voila! an I Spy Bag that I hope will rival the DVD player in entertainment value.



Although I will still bring the DVD player on our trip, I hope that it will remain packed safely in my carry-on. I am now armed with a whole new arsenal of distractions...I mean games!



If you have any suggestions for kid-tested travel games, I'd love to hear them! Leave me a comment!

26 comments:

  1. Fabulous! I love how all your photos turned out! I'll have to check out the link for the I-Spy bag tutorial.

    We take our DVD player on trips too, but I am happy to say we only used it for ONE MOVIE on our last 10-day, 1200+ mile trip! However, it is VERY nice to know that it's there as a back-up for those inevitable "emergency" situations! :o)

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  2. Thanks! I'm hoping that the DVD will be used only as a last resort :)

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  3. These are both great ideas Rebecca! I'll have to try an I-spy book before our next trip!

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  4. Thanks Jacinda! They were both really fun projects to make. I think they'd be great just to keep in the car for running around town, too.

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  5. looks like fun! i would like to play those games :)

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  6. Laura, I hope the kids enjoy them as much as we adults think they will!

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  7. hi, neat projects! I found you from Prudent Baby- our projects are featured together :) We got given a Peek-a-boo bag as a gift (like your I-spy one) and I was thinking of having a go at making one myself so thanks for the tutorial!

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  8. Like the I-spy book. I've been thinking about making a quiet book but need more time to do that. I could probably put together the "I-spy" book in about an hour--much more do-able! If your kids are into cars you might google car cozy for a cute tutorial (almost like a crayon roll but for matchbox-type cars). Happy travels!

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  9. @Megan - Thanks! I didn't even know my project was on the Prudent Baby site (I'm out of town and a little out of touch!). You can totally make the I-spy bag. It was so easy!
    @Sally - It probably won't even take an hour to make the I Spy Book. I think I'm going to just keep taking pictures periodically to add to the book. I am happy to report that it was a huge hit on the airplane! I will definitely see if I can find a car cozy tutorial. What a great idea!
    @Kate - Thank you so much for reading (and commenting!). It's nice to know people out there in cyberland are reading and enjoying what I have to say :)

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  10. Love your idea for filling. You can also use rice for the filling (we don't have a craft store nearby - I improvise a lot). Decorative buttons also work well for things to find. Great tutorial

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  11. I love these I-SPy books. We have a ton of little toys that would make a great book like this! Thanks for linking up this idea at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com for Whatever Goes Wednesday.

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  12. This is absolutely genius! I am going to make I Spy Books for our youngest daughter for her birthday. What a fantastic idea! :)

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  13. Love that I Spy book! I will definitely have to try that! Thank for linking up to Mad Skills Monday!

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  14. I made I-Spy jars for my kids when they were young. I used plastic peanutbutter jars! For my youngest, I used a small jar with clear beads like you used and lots of colorful tidbits that were easy to see. My son was 4-years older and needed more of a challenge, so I used a bigger pb jar and colored pony beads. Things were more camoflauged in the colored beads. I printed a list of what was in each one a taped it to the top of the jar so I could remember what to tell them to look for...the photo is a great idea! I used Barbie shoes that had lost their mates, dice, buttons, dry beans...hours of fun!

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  15. Fantastic idea!! think i might make the kids some of these for Christmas!

    just to let you know that i have featured these on my blog
    www.serenityyou.blogspot.com

    Natasha xx

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  16. Such wonderful ideas, I do adore the I Spy book idea and might use it for a Christmas gift for my girls!

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  17. These are so wonderful! I am looking for these types of projects for Christmas gifts this year.
    www.mun-emakingblogs.blogspot.com is having a party today. please go link up!

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  18. I shared your ideas at:
    http://thezkids.blogspot.com/2011/11/lots-of-ideas.html
    Please grab a button. Thanks.

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  19. Just love this idea. I’ve added it to NZ Ecochick’s homemade kiddies gifts ideas. I can’t wait to make one of these. Please check out this post on: http://www.nzecochick.com/2011/11/homemade-kiddies-gifts.html

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  20. I just stumbled on your idea and, as a parent with a 15 year old and 11 year old, it sparked a slightly different idea - to take similar I Spy pictures of things familiar to them. Things like hot wheels, kitchen items, Christmas ornaments, legos, etc. Then use them to make a photo book that is really just memorabilia for them - and might be great I Spy books for their kids some day!

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  21. i love the I spy book idea, my son loves looking at picture books and finding objects - he'd think it was very cool if they were made up of pictures of his own toys

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  22. Thank you for great idea!
    This is my version of i-spy Book http://polinakuts.blogspot.com/2012/09/blog-post_13.html

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  23. Fab Idea!!! Thanks for sharing. I am currently putting an article together which will definitely have your eye spy ideas and my little boy will love your idea of the eye spy books so I will be making him one too! :) Sach xx

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  24. Hi I have linked to your post here http://theholidaytotsblog.co.uk/2014/01/07/i-spy-games-for-all-ages-perfect-for-family-travel/

    I hope that's ok

    s xx

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  25. Wonderful ideas. You really shared an excellent diy project.

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