Happy Birthday, Joe!

Could it really have been a year since we celebrated Joe-Bear's first birthday?  Geez.  After a string of little girl birthday parties, it's was fun switch gears and make something for a boy.  This year, I made Joe a set of number/color bean bags.  (Lots of tutorials on these, here is a good one.)  I made some for my kids, too.  Who doesn't love a toy you are actually supposed to throw?  When I finished, I realized that I needed to make something fun to store them in.  This way maybe Shelley wouldn't kill me for giving her son 10 small things to throw (and lose) around the house.

I settled on a zippered monster bag.  I made the zipper his mouth and gave him some felt and embroidery floss details.  Rory immediately asked me to make one for her and Jack, and I got another request from a friend for her nephew.  I think I may end up making more of these for The Pretty Bean. They're fun.  The final design is still evolving.  So far, I've added a carrying strap and a lining on the inside that I think I like.  A little more tweaking and I might be satisfied.