One of Sutton’s most favorite things in the world right now are I Spy books, so I knew this I Spy treasure hunt bag would be right up his alley. I got the idea years ago from Babycenter on a discussion thread about frugal homemade holiday gifts. I had originally intended to make them for my triplet niece and nephews, but somehow the supplies got shuffled to the back of the craft closet, and I didn’t see them again until recently!
For this project you’ll need a pencil pouch with a large clear window (I got mine at Walmart for $.97), 20-25 small flat-ish objects, poly-fil micro beads, some strong glue and a ribbon or something to seal off the zipper area of the pencil pouch.
The directions couldn’t be any easier…fill your bag with the objects and the micro beads, seal the zipper shut with strong glue (I also removed the pull-tab from the zipper first to keep it flat), and cover the zipper opening with a ribbon. I used a hefty dose of Fabri-Tac glue to seal my pouch and attach the ribbon in one step.
Get spying!
I also chose to make a laminated tag to show Sutton exactly what’s inside the bag, but it’s just as fun to explore the bag without a key chart. To make my chart I arranged all of the objects on a white sheet of paper and took a quick photo before stuffing them into the bag. I used PhotoShop to add the text, and I also typed out a list of the objects without photos on the back side to make it more challenging when they get older. The tag is simply attached to the pencil pouch using a binder ring.
There has definitely been a lot of spying and treasure hunting going on around here now!
Lisa S. says
August 4, 2010 at 7:03 pmThis is a great idea. I have never seen it done with a pencil holder, what a good idea! Where did you find all the flat items and did you have to buy them in bulk?
Heidi says
August 4, 2010 at 10:44 pmLisa, we used to have a party supply store in town that sold the items individually for $.15 each, but unfortunately they have recently gone out of business. They had aisles and aisles of bins of different objects, and I just went around and chose the ones that I thought would work the best 🙂
Lisa says
August 8, 2010 at 3:40 amI’ve sewn these before but I think this is such a great idea. It would be fun for older kids to make themselves at a party.
Amy says
September 2, 2010 at 5:05 amGenius! I’ve made Eye Spy bottles and sewn several out of clear vinyl and flannel but the vinyl always sticks and they were so AWFUL to sew together. I have tons of the fillers so I’m going to do this this week!
The Princess and the Tot says
June 7, 2011 at 1:36 pmLove this!! I have I Spy Bags on my “to make” list, but never get around to actually sewing them. I’ll get these done so quickly this summer!
Tara says
July 21, 2011 at 3:06 amWhere did you get the poly-fill micro beads?
Heidi @ Mom's Crafty Space says
July 30, 2011 at 12:08 amTara, they came from my local Joann’s craft store 🙂
nbrawley says
September 1, 2011 at 9:50 pmI stumbled across your blog from pinterest and was curious if you like the pencil pouch better than fleece and vinyl. I am planning to do this activity for a “craft” girls night out, so any helpful information would be awesome. Thanks!!
Tami says
January 18, 2012 at 3:34 amJust stopping by to let you know that I’ve featured your craft on Family Fun Crafts! You can see it here:
http://funfamilycrafts.com/i-spy-bags/
If you have other kid friendly crafts, I’d love it if you would submit them. 🙂 If you would like to display a
featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above.
Anonymous says
April 13, 2012 at 9:20 pmLove this!! I am a preschool teacher and I made an eye spy with soda bottles and rice, but the kids had a very difficult time finding the objects. Your flat ones will be better for me to put them away and trade out for different themes.
Lynn says
July 5, 2012 at 6:47 amVery clever idea! Gotta make these for my 5 year old twin grandsons.
Lydia Criswell says
July 22, 2012 at 3:12 amHeidi, could I use rice instead of the micro beads? I have seen the tubes with rice and was wondering if I could use the same types of stuff.
Heidi @ Moms Crafty Space says
July 22, 2012 at 4:30 amHi Lydia! I’m sure you could use rice instead of the microbeads…just make sure it doesn’t get wet! 🙂
Patti says
January 5, 2014 at 4:13 amI my goodness – – I have been cleaning my craft room and found my microbeads and box of charms I was going to do for easter gifts about 3 years ago. My problem – I don’t sew! Thank you so much for this brilliant idea. This I can pull off. THANK YOU!!
Heidi says
January 5, 2014 at 11:19 pmYou’re so welcome, Patti! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Rachel says
October 17, 2014 at 6:35 pmWould colored duck tape wrapped around a couple of times work instead of ribbon and glue?
Heidi says
October 18, 2014 at 9:23 pmHi Rachel, I think that would probably work well, too!
Rachel says
November 20, 2014 at 6:24 pmJust so you know, Wal-mart no longer carries pencil pouches with clear windows. My dollar store does not carry them, nor did the other dollar stores I checked. The workers just said the item wasn’t very popular. However, because I have a group that will make these, I just ordered a case off of the dollar store website. We have limited colors, but we didn’t have to spend $3 per bag.
Miss Poipois says
August 9, 2016 at 1:24 pmwonderful idea ! just a question, because I’m in France and don’t know how to translate “poly fil micro beads”. Are there a kind of b”water beads” such as the one you put in a vase ? thank you for your answer !
Heidi says
August 13, 2016 at 1:57 pmThese are different from the water beads as these micro beads do not expand if they get wet. They are small plastic pellets used for stuffed animals, bean bags, etc. You can see what I’m referring to here: http://amzn.to/2bqEsuD. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂