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DLTK's Crafts for Kids
Frog Bean Bag

The project requires either sewing or hot glue skills.  A child of age 9 or so could do the project with adult supervision.  Younger children can help stuff the project and would love to receive it as a gift from an older sibling, parent or grandparent.

You could put in stuffing instead of rice to make this more of a "pillow frog" than a beanbag.

This is a terrific first sewing project for children.  If using it as such, I recommend having the children sew the body pieces together using a running stitch or a blanket stitch and then glue the remaining pieces together.  I would fill with pillow stuffing instead of rice ... stuffing won't leak out as easily if the child didn't keep their stitches tight enough.

Materials:

bullettwo pieces green felt  (body)
bulletone scrap red felt  (tongue)
bulletOPTIONAL:  scrap of darker green or brown felt  (spots)
  
bullettwo wiggly eyes
    
bullethot glue OR sewing machine OR needle and thread
  
bulletrice OR small beans  (or pillow stuffing, cotton balls or toilet paper if you'd prefer a pillow to a bean bag)
  
bulletscissors
bulletscotch tape
bulletprinter and paper

Instructions:

bulletPrint out the template (see bottom of this page)
  
bulletCut out the template pieces
  
bulletScotch tape the frog body template to one of the pieces of green felt.
bulletCut the shape from the felt
bulletI scotch tape templates onto felt instead of pinning them as I find it easier... it doesn't "buckle" as much.  It's very easy to just pull any tape off the felt after cutting
bulletMake sure you scotch tape liberally!
  
bulletRepeat with the second piece of felt.
  
bulletScotch tape the tongue to the red felt and cut out.
  
bulletScotch tape the splotch template to the other color of felt and cut out the shape... you can make 0 to 6 splotches, depending on how many you want on your frog.
  
bulletput the two body pieces together and hot glue them, leaving a space at the top to add rice or stuffing.
    
bulletIf you're hot gluing, do a 2 to 4 inch section at a time (so the glue doesn't harden on you).  
bulletThe less experienced you are with hot glue, the shorter the section should be.
bulletI usually have my daughter use a popsicle stick to press pieces together without getting any of the heated glue on her skin... I just use my fingers.
bulletMy 9 year old daughter has been able to use my "low temp craft glue gun" with supervision for a couple of years.
bulletFill with rice or small beans (a funnel or a home made funnel made of paper will help with the pouring).  Sew or glue the hole shut.
    
bulletGlue the splotches to the body.
  
bulletGlue the tongue inside the mouth.
  
bulletGlue on the wiggly eyes
  

bulletNOTE:  If you are sewing instead of hot gluing, I would recommend sewing the spots onto the body, then sewing the two pieces of the body together.  That way you can tie knots and whatnot on the back side of the fabric.  If sewing and adding rice, make sure you sew the body with small, tight stitches (sewing machine or blanket stitch) so the rice doesn't leak out.
  
bulletYou will find the legs don't get too much rice in them, but the double layer of felt and wee bit of rice gives them a nice feel.

Printing the Template:

bulletClose the template window after printing to return to this screen.
    
bulletSet page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).
  
bulletYou need to print both templates

Template

 

 

Printable version of these instructions